Unit1 Mr. Dohert y Builds His DreamLifeThe passage mainly talked aboutthe dreamlife of the author with his family on a farm, wheret heauthor couldwriteand live.The author viewed his life in the countr y as a self-relian t and satisf yingone, but sometimes the good life wouldget very hard. On the firstwinter, the author was fond of everyminute instea d with his family, whichthey wouldneverforget, whilethe follow spring brough t two floods, whichmade them amazed.Afterquitti ng his job, the author’s income was reduce d, but he and his family were able to manage to get by. Beside s, he ran a farm and benefited more from it. A tolera nce for solitu de and a lot of energy had made it possib le for thefamily to enjoytheirlife in the countr y.What’s more, they also had foundthe lifestyle that they prefer red in this place.Unit 2The Freedo m GiversThe passage mainly talked about threepersons, Josiah Henson,John Parker and Levi Coffin, whowere the givers of freedo m for blackslaves in the Americ an history.Beside s, the author praise d the exploi ts of civil-rights heroes who helped slaves travel the Underg round Railro ad to freedo mby citing more exampl es. What’s more, it was high time to honorthe heroes who helped libera te slaves by forgin g the Underg round Railro ad in theearlycivil-rights strugg les in Americ a.Afterwinnin g his own freedo m from slaver y, John Parker helped otherslaves to escape northto Canada andfreedo m.Suppor ted by a strong religi ous convic tion,the whiteman Levi Coffin risked himsel f to helpmany blackslaves to escape. At last,by travel ing the Underg round Railro ad, Josiah Henson reache d his destin ation and became free.Unit 3The Land of the LockThe passage mainly talked aboutthe land of lock, whichhappen ed in Americ an.When the author was young, it was the localcustom for people to leavethe frontdoor at nightbut didn’t closeit,and none of them carrie d keys. Howeve r, nowada ysthosedays were over, and the era of leavin g the frontdoor on the latchhas drawnto a close. What a greatchange was that no locking had been replac ed by dead-bolt locks, security chains, electr onicalarmsystems and so on. Theref ore, the lock became the new symbol of Americ a. What’s more, a new atmosp hereof fear and distru st had creptinto everyaspect of dailylife. As a result, securi ty device s, in varied forms, were put to use. In lockin g their fearsout, they became prison ers of their own making.Unit 4 Was Einste in a SpaceAlienThe passage mainly talked aboutAlbert Einste in, whowas a younghusban d and father with a bushyhair. In ordert o suppor t his young family,with a poor sleep, he had to work hard at the Patent Office so that he was very tired. For which, he felt all the pressu re and responsibility. Howeve r, aiming to relaxhimself, he made astoni shing achiev ement s in physic s and thus revolu tioni zed the fieldwith five papers aboutsparetime, whichwere of greatimpact on all over the world. Becaus e of his supper intelligenc e and the contributio n to the societ y, the United Nation s declar ed 2005 as his miracle year.What’s more, his discov eries were attrib utabl e to his imagin ation, questi oning,disreg ard consta ntly for author ity, powers of concen trati on, and intere st in scienc e.In fact, he was not a spacealien,but just a common person.Unit 5ThreeThank-You Letter sThe passage mainly talked about the author’s threespecia l letter s, bywhichh e wanted to celebr ate the true meanin g of Thanks givin g. OnThanks givin g Day 1943, as a youngcoastg uards man at sea, heworked as a cook. Whilehe was goingto thinkaboutThanks givin g, he came up with the idea of expres singhis gratit ude to people who had helped himbefore.Theref ore, he wrotethreethank-you letter s to threepersons, his father, the Rev. Nelson and his grandm other.At a mail call, he got threeletter s in reply, whichdrovehim to thinkdeeply.Afterhe retire d from the CoastGuard, he stillneverforgot theseletter swhichgave him an insigh t into expressingapprec iatio n for one’s effort s. Furthe rmore, he wished everyo ne to find the good and then praise it.Unit 6The Last LeafThe passage mainly t alked aboutthe last leaf, whichJohnsy gave a sightto aftershe got the pneumonia and livedin the hospit al. She looked out the window and counte d the leaves on an old ivy vine. Furthe rmore, she made up her mind to end her life when the last leaf fell. When she saw the last leaf still clingto the vine after two nights’ rain and wind, she decide d not to give up her life. In fact, the last leaf, called a master piece by Behrma nwho risked his life painting it therethe nightthat the last leaf fell, was actually painte d onto the wall. Howeve r, becaus e it looked so real that she couldhave neverimagin ed that it was faked. In a deeper sense, it savedher life.unit 1 Mr. Dohert y Builds His DreamLifeIn Americ a many people have a romant ic idea of life in the countr yside. Many living in townsdreamof starti ng up theirown farm, of living off the land. Few get roundto puttin g theirdreams into practi ce. This is perhap s just as well, as the life of a farmer is far from easy, as Jim Dohert y discov eredwhen he set out to combin e beinga writer with runnin g a farm. Nevert heles s, as he explai ns, he has no regret s and remain s enthus iasti c abouthis decisi on to change his way of life.在美国，不少人对乡村生活怀有浪漫的情感。
