新编大学英语2inclass-reading课文

1、and becaust have one munit 1 a good heart to lean on1 when i was growing up, i was embarrassed to be seen with my father. he was severely crippled and very short, and when we would walk together, his hand on my arm for balance, people would stare. i would inwardly squirm at the un-wanted attention.

2、if he ever noticed or was bothered, he never let on.2 it was difficult to coordinate our steps his halting, mine impatientwe didnt say much as we went along. but as we started out, he always said, you set the pace. i will try to adjust to you. 3 our usual walk was to or from the subway, which was ho

3、w he got to work. he went to work sick, and despite nasty weather. he almost never missed a day, and would make it to the office even if others could not. a matter of pride.4 when snow or ice was on the ground, it was impossible for him to walk, even with help. at such times my sisters or i would pu

4、ll him through the streets of brooklyn, ny , on a childs sleigh to the sub-way entrance. once there, he would cling to the handrail until he reached the lower steps that the warmer tunnel air kept ice -free. in manhattan the subway station was the basement of his office building, and he would not ha

5、ve to go outside again until we met him in brooklyn on his way home.5 when i think of it now, i marvel at how much courage it must have taken for a grown man to subject himself to such indignity and stress. and at how he did it without bitterness or complaint .6 he never talked about himself as an o

6、bject of pity, nor did he show any envy of the more fortunate or able. what he looked for in others was a good heart, and if he found one, the owner was good enough for him.7 now that i am older, i believe that is a proper standard by which to judge people, even though i still don t know precisely w

7、hat a good heart is. but i know the times i don8 unable to engage in many activities, my father still tried to participate in some way. when a local sandlot baseball team found itself |without a manager, he kept it going. he was a knowledgeable baseball fan and often took me to ebbets field to see t

8、he brooklyn dodgers play. he liked to go to dances and parties, where he could have a good time just sitting and watching.9 on one memorable occasion a fight broke out at a beach party, with everyone punching and shoving. he wasnt content to sit and watch, but he couldnt stand unaided on the soft sa

9、nd. in frustration he began to shout, i ll fight anyone who will tit down with me!10 nobody did. but the next day people kidded him by saying it was the first time any fighter was urged to take a dive even before the bout began.11 i now know he participated in some things vicariously through me, his

10、 only son. when i played ball (poorly), he played too. when i joined the navy he joined too. and when i came home on leave, he saw to it that i visited his office. introducing me, he was really saying, this is my son, but it is also me, and i could have done this, too, if things had been different.

11、those words were never said aloud.12 he has been gone many years now, but i think of him often. i wonder if he sensed my reluctance to be seen with him during our walks. if he did, i am sorry i never told him how sorry i was, how unworthy i was, how i regretted it. i think of him when i complain abo

12、ut trifles, when i am envious of anothers good fortune, when i dont have a good heart.13 at such times i put my hand on his arm to regain my balance, and say, you set the pace, i willtry to adjust to you.unit2 speaking different languages1 when martians and venusians first got together, they encount

13、ered many of the problems with relationships we have today. because they recognized that they were different, they were able to solve these problems. one of the secrets of their success was good communication.2 ironically, they communicated well because they spoke different languages. when they had

14、problems, they would just go to a translator for assistance. everyone knew that people from mars and people from venus spoke different languages, so when there was a conflict they didnjudging2 or fighting but instead pulled out their phrase dictionaries to understand each other more fully. if that d

15、idn t work3 they went to a translator for help.3 you see4, the martian and venusian languages had the same words but different meanings depending on the way they were used. their expressions were similar, but they had different connotations or emotional emphasis. misinterpreting each other was very

16、easy. so when communication problems emerged, they assumed it was just one of those expected misunderstandings and that with a little assistance they would surely understand each other. they experienced a trust and acceptance that we rarely experience today.4 even today we still need translators. me

17、n and women seldom mean the same things even whenthey use the same words. for example, when a woman says,“ i feel like you never listen,”does not expect the word“ never ” to be taken literally5. using the word“ never ” is just aexpressing the frustration she is feeling at the moment. it is not to be

18、 taken as if it were factual information.5 to fully express their feelings, women would tend to exaggerate the facts a little bit for effect and use various superlatives, metaphors, and generalizations. men mistakenly take these expressions literally. because they misunderstand the intended meaning6

19、, they commonly react in an unsupportive manner. the following chart lists ten female complaints that men easily misinterpreted, as well as how men might respond unsupportively.ten common complaints that are easily misinterpretedwomen say things like this: men respond like this:“we never go out. ”“t

20、hat s not true. we went out last week.”“ everyone ignores me. ”“ i m sure some people notice you. ”“i am so tired, i can t do anything. ”“if you don t like your job, then quit. ”“ i want to forget7 everything. ”“ i dont think theres anything to forget7.”“the house is always a mess.”“it s not always

21、a mess. ”“ no one listens to me anymore. ”“ but i m listening to you right now. ”“ nothing is working. ”“are you saying it is my fault?”“you don t love me anymore. ”“ of course i do. that swhy i m here. ”“ we are always in a hurry.” “ we are not. friday we wererelaxed.”“ i want more romance8. ”“are

22、you saying i am not romantic?”6 you can see how a “ literal ” translation of a woman s words could easily mislead a man who is used to using speech as a means9 of conveying only facts and information. you can also see howa man sresponses might lead to an argument. unclear and unloving communication

23、is the biggest problem in relationships. the number one complaint women have in relationships is: don t feel heard.10 ”7 even this complaint is misunderstood and misinterpreted!8 a man sliteral translation of “ idon fteel heard ” leads him to take the woman scomplaint lightly. he thinks he has heard

24、 her if he can repeat what she has said. a correct translation11 of a woman saying “ i don t feel heard ” is:“ i feel as though you don t fully understand what i realmean to say or care about how i feel. would you show me that you are interested in what i have to say? ”9 if a man really understood h

25、er complaint, then he would argue less and be able to respond more positively. when men and women are on the verge of arguing, they generally misunderstand each other. at such times, it is important to rethink or translate11 what they have heard.unit 3 born to win1 each human being is born as someth

26、ing new, something that never existed before. each is born with the capacity to win at life. each person has a unique way of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and thinking. each has his or her own unique potentials -capabilities and limitations. each can be a significant, thinking, aware, and creat

27、ive being -a productive person, a winner.2 the word “ winner ” and “ loser ” have many meanings. when we refer to a person as a winner, we do not mean one who makes someone else lose. to us, a winner is one who responds authentically by being credible, trustworthy, responsive, and genuine, both as a

28、n individual and as a member of a society.3 winners do not dedicated their lives to a concept of what they imagine they should be; rather, they are themselves and as such do not use their energy putting on a performance, maintaining pretence and manipulating others. they are aware that there is a di

29、fference between being loving and acting loving, between being stupid and acting stupid, between being knowledgeable and acting knowledgeable. winners do not need to hide behind a mask.4 winners are not afraid to do their own thinking and to use their own knowledge. they can separate facts from opin

30、ions and don pt retend to have all the answers. they listen to others, evaluate what they say, but come to their own conclusions. although winners can admire and respect other people, they are not totally defined, demolished, bound, or awed by them.5 winners do not play “ helpless no”r ,do they play

31、 the blaming game. instead, they assume responsibility for their own lives. they don t give others a false authority over them. winners aretheir own bosses and know it.6 a winner s timing is right. winners respond appropriately to the situation. their responses are related to the message sent and pr

32、eserve the significance, worth, well -being, and dignity of the people involved. winners know that for everything there is a season and for every activity a time.7 although winners can freely enjoy themselves, they can also postpone enjoyment, can discipline themselves in the present to enhance thei

33、r enjoyment in the future. winners are not afraid to go after what he wants, but they do so in proper ways. winners do not get their security by controlling others. they do not set themselves up to lose.8 a winner cares about the world and its peoples. a winner is not isolated from the general probl

34、ems of society, but is concerned, compassionate, and committed to improving the quality of life. even in the face of national and international adversity, a winner -image is not one of a s self powerless individual. a winner works to make the world a better place.9 a loser is held back by his low ca

35、pacity to appropriately express himself through a full range of possible behavior. he may be unaware of other choices for his life if the path he chooses goesnowhere. he is afraid to try new things. he repeats not only his own mistakes and often repeats those of his family and culture.10 a loser has

36、 difficulty giving and receiving love. he does not enter into close, honest, direct relationships with others. instead, he tries to manipulate them into living up to his expectations and channels his energies into living up to their expectations.unit 4 is there a doctor in the body?1 when you go to

37、the doctor, you like to come away with a prescription. it makes you feel better to know you will get some medicine. but the doctor knows that medicine is not always needed. sometimes all a sick person needs is some reassurance that all will be well. in such cases the doctor may prescribe a placebo.2

38、 a placebo is a sugar pill, a harmless shot, or an empty capsule. even though they have no medicine in them, these things seem to make people well. the patient thinks it is medicine and begins to get better. how does this happen?3 the study of the placebo opens up new knowledge about the way the hum

39、an body can heal itself. it is as if there was a doctor in each of us. the doctor will heal the body for us if we let it.4 but it is not yet known just how the placebo works to heal the body. some people say it works because the human mind fools itself. these people say that if the mind is fooled in

40、to thinking it got medicine, then it will act as if it did, and the body will feel better.5 other people say this is not so. they say that the placebo makes the wish to get better become reality. the placebo will not work if the patient knows it is a placebo. this shows that the body is not fooled b

41、y it. it seems that if patients think they have been given medicine, they will have hope. they feel that they are getting some help. this gives them a stronger will to get better, and that is what helps to heal them.6 placebos do not always work. the success of this treatment seems to rest a lot wit

42、h the relationship between the patient and the doctor. if the patient has a lot of trust in the doctor and if the doctor really wants to help the patient, then the placebo is more likely to work. so in a way, the doctor is the most powerful placebo of all.7 an example of the doctors role in making t

43、he placebo work can be seen in this study. some patients with bleeding ulcers were put in two groups. the first group were told by a doctor that they had been given a new drug which, it was hoped, would give them some relief. the second group were told by a nurse that they had been given a new drug

44、but that not much was known about how it would work. as a result, 70 percent of the people in the first group got much better. only 25 percent of the people in the second group got better. and both groups had in fact been given the same thing a placebo.8 the placebo has been found to work with a lot

45、 of different cases. it helps such things as seasickness, coughs, colds, and even pain after an operation. and there was an experiment done to see if a placebo could help old people stay healthy and live longer.9 the test was done in romania with 150 people over the age of 60. they were put in three

46、 groups with 50 people in each group. the first group were given nothing at all. the second group were given a placebo. the third group were given a real drug and told that it would help with the problems of old age. (in fact, it was not a drug for old age at all.) the three groups were studied for

47、many years. the first group showed no changes from the way old people in that village had always been. the second group (with the placebo) had much better health and a lower death rate. the third group (with the real drug) showed much the same results as the group that tookthe placebo.10 a placebo c

48、an also have bad effects. if patients expect a bad reaction to medicine, then they will also show a bad reaction to the placebo. this would seem to show that a lot of how you react to medicine is in your mind rather than in your body. some doctors still think that if the placebo can have bad effects

49、 it should never be used. they think there is still not enough known about it. 11 and yet, the use of the placebo has been well known for hundreds of years in other countries. tribal doctors in some african countries have known for a long time that patients will get better if they think they are goi

50、ng to. many of the treatments they use do not seem able to make a sick person better, and yet such treatments work.12 the strange power of the placebo does seem to suggest that the human mind is stronger than we think it is. there are people who say you can heal your body by using your mind. and the

51、 interesting thing is that even people who swear this is not possible have been healed by a placebo.unit 5 are you a dreamer?1 dreams why do we have them? do they mean anything? is there such a thing as a dream in which the events seen by the dreamer come true? such questions have interested people

52、for thousands of years. scientific advances in the past few decades have revealed more about the physical process of sleep, but they still dont offer any final answers to the many questions about dreams that continue to puzzle us.2 everyone dreams its just that some of us cant remember doing so. rec

53、ordings of human brain waves show that we all go into dream mode when we fall asleep. we dream for most of the night, but were only able to remember our dreams if we happen to wake up while we are still in rem (rapid eye movement) sleep. this is when we dream. we have four or five rem stages of slee

54、p during the night, the first occurring about 90 minutes after we fall asleep. after that, our dreaming periods recur every 90 minutes and last between 15 to 45 minutes, getting longer as the night progresses.3 the main purpose of sleeping (apart from giving us rest) may be to allow us to dream to r

55、eview our lives, our worries and hopes in a totally different way, and to get an unconscious view of ourselves, getting rid of material from our memories that we no longer need.4 some dreams may have a simple physiological cause. dreaming of walking on hot coals, for example, may well be caused by sleeping with your feet too close to a heater. and the frustrating dream in which you try to run but your legs wont move may be explained by bedding that is too tight. a