ebony大学英语快速阅读教程(第一册第二单元)

2021年1月21日发(作者：乱七八糟英文)
Book One


Unit Two


Passage One

Directions:
You
will
have
10
minutes
to
read
this
passage
quickly

and
answer
the
following
questions from A, B, C and D
.
You should decide on the best choice.


Confucianism
Confucianism is the very base of traditional Chinese culture. It is a complete ideological (
意
识形态的
) system created by Confucius (
孔子
), based on the traditional culture of the Xia, Shang
and Zhou Dynasties. Confucianism has lasted more than 2, 000 years in China, and for that reason
its influence over the history, social structure and the people of China cannot be overlooked.

Confucius has proved to be the greatest influence over the Chinese character. Besides being a
great educationist, thinker and unsuccessful politician, he was first of all an intellect (
有才智的人
)
with
a
noble
morality.
He
pursued
truth,
kindness
and
perfection
throughout
his
life
and
his
success and failure were largely due to his character, which had a permanent influence on Chinese
intellect.

Confucius’
career
as
a
teacher
and
philosopher
was
brilliant
and
full
of
achievements.

He
promoted
the
ideas
“to
educate
all
despite
their
social
status”
and
“to
teach
according
to
the
students’ characteristics”. The first of these broke with tradition as only the
high social class had
the right of education. Confucius also proposed a complete set of principles concerning study. He
said, “Studying without thinking leads to confusion; thinking without studying leads to laziness.”
Today’s quality
-education was nothing new to Confucius.
Spreading knowledge was only part of his teaching; he was a living example of the concepts
he promoted and this had a deep and lasting influence upon his follower
s. Confucius’ private life
was a model of his doctrines (
学说，
教条
).
The Analects of Confucius
provide a vivid record of his
teachings but although he wrote nothing personally, his words were collected and recorded by his
followers.

Confucius took great delight in studying and was modest enough to learn from anyone. He
was never tired of teaching his followers while his pursuit of truth, ideas and perfect personality,
his honesty, kindness, modesty and politeness inspired his followers and the intellects of following
generations. Uniquely, only he is qualified to be called
“the teacher of ten thousand generations”.
It
is
said
that
among
3000
of
Confucius’
followers,
there
were
72
who
were
brilliant
and
who
succeeded in morality,
literature, language, and especially politics. These politicians contributed
much to the spreading, formation and development of Confucianism.
Influenced by Confucianism, in Chinese culture, an intellectual is not limited in study alone.
He should be successful in being a human and in his behavior. A key objective of an intellectual
should
be
to
make
full
use
of
his
ability,
personality
and
intelligence
to
do
good
for
the
state,
society
and
the
world
at
large.
This
idea
is
so
precious
that
we
cannot
help
asking
why
the
products of today’s education system are far from satisfactory
. Why don
’
t we pay attention to our
ancestor’s core values instead of wasting so much of our time and energy in word puzzles
!

Confucianism
was
further
developed
by
Mencius
and
Xun
Zi.
It
was
in
Han
Dynasty
that

1
Confucianism
was
promoted
to
being
the
state
ideology.
Since
then,
Confucianism
became
the
orthodox doctrine (
正教
) of Chinese society. And Confucius was respected as a Saint instead of an
ordinary man.

In the coming Wei and Jin Dynasties, Confucianism coexisted with Buddhism and Taoism.
Up to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the struggle for dominance between the three became heated.
The
Song
Dynasty
witnessed
a
vital
period
of
the
development
of
Confucianism.
Featuring
Confucian school of idealist philosophy of the Song and Ming dynasties, Confucianism restored
its orthodox role for the following 700 years.
Waving
the
banner
of
science
and
democracy,
the
New
Cultural
Movement
from
1915
attacked
Confucianism.
During
the
Cultural
Revolution,
Confucianism
was
once
again
under
violent attack.
In recent years people can look at Confucianism with a more reasonable state of mind, some
even
suggest
returning
to
Confucianism
for
wisdom
while
opponents
hold
that
Confucianism
should hold the responsibility
for the backwardness of China’s development and for that reason its
dominance should not be revived. In any event, that would not be possible.
To
our
delight,
many
scholars
devote
themselves
to
the
study
of
Confucianism
and
its
application to modern society. Such study is important as the Chinese language has experienced
great changes over the centuries, and it is difficult for us
to fully comprehend Confucius’ ideology.


(700 words)
Questions
1.

Confucianism has its influence















of China.






A) over the history

























B) over the social structure





C) over the people

























D) all of the above
2.

Confucius’ career
___________ was brilliant and full of achievements.






A) as a politician



























B) as a teacher





C) as a thinker





























D) both B and C
3.

Which of the following is right about
The Analects of Confucius?






A)
The Analects of Confucius
provide a vivid record of his teachings.
B)
The Analects of Confucius
record
Confucius’
private life.





C)
The Analects of Confucius
was written by Confucius himself.

D)
The Analects of Confucius

perfect Confucius’
personality.
4.

In






, Confucianism coexisted with Buddhism and Taoism.






A) the Han Dynasty
























B) the Sui and Tang Dynasties




C) the Song Dynasty
























D) the Wei and Jin Dynasties
5.

Nowadays, the study of Confucianism














.





A) is declining




























B) is difficult





C) arouses many scholar
’
s interest













D) both A and B








2
Passage Two


Directions:
In
this
part,

y
ou
will
have
10
minutes
to
go
over
the
passage
quickly
and
decide questions 1-9 according to the passage. If it is true you fill
“
T
”
in the
parenthesis, if not or false fill
“
F
”
in parenthesis before the sentence.

Three Steps to an Environmentally Responsible Home
More
and
more
homeowners
are
interested
in
having
their
homes
built
in
an
ecologically
conscious manner. But what does that mean? What makes one house more environmentally sound
than another? Whether you are buying a new home or upgrading (
改善，改进
) your present living
place, here are three simple ways to go green:

1. Look for products that don’t waste energy.

This isn’t just
cleverer for the environment
—
it’s
cleverer for your purse. The insulators that
play a large factor in our homes’ energy efficienci
es are often overlooked. But the insulation (
绝缘
)
used
can
greatly
decrease
the
energy
you
take
in.
Homeowners
can
upgrade
insulation
in
their
existing home to fill gaps that allow warm air to escape in colder months

Companies
like
Dow
offer
a
huge
range
of
insulating
products
for
new
construction
or
reconstruction.
Not
only
do
foam
(
塑料泡沫
)
and
other
insulating
products
help
preserve
the
energy you’re using in your home, but they can also
reduce noise pollution between rooms.

2. Look for products that don’t waste
natural resources.

Energy
conservation
is
only
one
piece
of
the
puzzle.
To
show
true
concern
for
the
environment requires making full use of
materials that don’t cause an unnecessary
use of natural
resources.
Some
of
the
greatest
changes
in
the
use
of
resources
have
come
in
wood
products.
Manufacturers
have
developed
highly
sophisticated
technology
to
minimize
waste
and
improve
product performance at the same time.

In
hardwood
flooring,
Weyerhaeuser
has
taken
a
different
method
to
conserve
natural
resources. The company recently introduced a
“new” hardwood called Lyptus.

According
to
Ian
Firth
from
Weyerhaeuser
Building
Materials,
“We
spent
five
years
conducting research and testing to bring something new to the high-grade wood flooring industry
that we can honestly say is 100 percent good f
or the environment.”

When
asked
about
the
specific
environmental
benefits
of
Lyptus,
Firth
explained,
“We
selected a Eucalyptus hybrid as the primary species for Lyptus, but we planted it South America.
In that climate, the trees we planted on plantations will grow to harvest size in about 15 years --
two to three times faster than comparable quality hardwood species grown in colder climates. This
enables us to produce more flooring material faster, while using less of the earth’s resources.”

Lyptus is being greeted as the newest quality hardwood. Comparable to cherry and mahogany,
Lyptus is a perfect hardwood product for flooring, cabinetry, millwork and furniture. High-density
characteristics enable Lyptus to take on actually any stain or finish a homeow
ner’
s desires, which
makes it good for the environment and easy on the eye.

3. Look for products that incorporate (
结合，混合
) recycled materials.

It’s one thing not
to
waste raw materials; it’s another to actually turn waste into raw materials.

3
Post
industrial
and
post
consumer
waste
is
quickly
becoming
a
viable
source
for
creating
new
building materials. When items thrown away are given a second life instead of being thrown here
and there, environmental burdens can be reduced significantly.

Often it is wood that is reborn as a building product, specifically in exterior siding and trim
products. When wood is recycled, these new siding products actually look like real wood, but they
require much less maintenance (
维护
) and can be used as long as 30 years.

“We use 50 percent post industrial and consumer recycled and recovered wood fibers in our
TruWood siding and ChoiceTrim products,” says
Less
Richardson, vice president of
the Collins
Companies. “This allows us to
maximize the use of natural resources while still offering products
with the aesthetic appeal of solid wood
—
but with better product performance and less waste.”

Exterior surfaces such as decks are the perfect place to incorporate other recycled materials.
Here
again,
Weyerhaeuser
is
one
of
the
pioneers
of
the
industry,
introducing
decking
materials
such as ChoiceDek. A composite
(
复合物
) made of 80 percent recycled plastic and wood fiber,
ChoiceDek is actually maintenance free and never splits. Decorative railing systems, longer life
spans, and an option for use in wet climates (such as port, marina and boardwalk projects) make
composite decking a great choice for environmentally conscious homeowners.

As
long
as
demand
for
environmentally
responsible
products
continues
to
grow,
manufacturers will continue to develop new materials that protect the planet and perform better
than their ancestors. New products allow homeowners to select products that help preserve natural
resources
—
all without any harm to quality or style.

(729 words)
True or False
(


) 1. More and more people want to build their homes in an ecologically conscious manner.
(


) 2. To l
ook for products that don’t waste energy
can save people money.
(


) 3. Some of the greatest changes in the use of resources first took place in wood products.
(


) 4. A
“new” hardwood called Lyptus
was introduced by Weyerhaeuser company.
(


) 5. Eucalyptus hybrid can grow to harvest size in about 15 years South America because of
the colder climate.
(


) 6. Cherry is a better hardwood product than Lyptus for flooring and furniture.
(


) 7. To turn waste into raw materials is another way to save natural resources.
(


) 8. Less Richardson, vice president of the Collins Companies said they could produce solid
wood with better product performance and less waste.
(


) 9. New environmentally responsible products allow people to have better products that help
preserve natural resources.











4