牛津高中英语模块8Reading课文翻译

1、资料收集于网络，如有侵权 请联系网站删除Unit 1Appreciating literatureWhat is classic literature? Classics are the antiques of the literary world. They are novels, plays andpoems that were written a long time ago and were so well written and well received that people still read themtoday. They are examples of great writ

2、ing and wisdom, and even those written centuries ago can still be foundin bookshops and libraries today.Because a lot of classics were written so long ago, the language used in them is quite different from thelanguage used today. This makes them difficult for some people to read, and often, the clas

3、sics are left togather dust on shelves. Many people do not read them because they think that they are old-fashioned andboring, and have nothing to do with life today.However, if this is true, why do we still find classics in bookshops and libraries?They have not disappeared and still have a place in

4、 the world today. Why else would many films basedon them be successful? In 1995, Clueless, the award-winning film based on Jane Aus tins novel Emma, wasreleased. Three years later, in 1998, a modern adaptation of Charles Dickensnsovel Great Expectationsappeared in cinemas. I do not think that these

5、classic novels would be made into films if they had nothing to dowith life today.Charles Dickens:Englands greatest writerCharles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England in 1812. He wrote many novels. Olive Twist, DavidCopperfield and Great Expectations are probably his best-known works. He first pub

6、lished many novels onechapter at a time in newspapers, and some were later performed on stage. For people at that time, his storieswere like the soap operas we see on TV today.by his death, one ogfreEantgelsatnwdriters is lost tso theworld.Great ExpectationsGreat Expectations is set in England in th

7、e early 1800s.Dickens uses Pip, the main character, to tell thestory. Pip is not only a character, he also tells the story ofGreat Expectations. Pip lives withhis older sister and her husband Joe. Pips sister seldom has a kind word to say, but Joe is a kind and simpleman, who would rather die than s

8、ee any harm come to Pip.Pip, who is seven years old when the story begins, is in a misty field of tombs when a man appears andfrightens him. Mist is a symbol of danger and uncertainty in Great Expectations. Classic novels often havesymbols which add interest, tension or deeper meaning to the text. R

9、eaders may not be able to see the danger,so they need a symbol like the mist to make it clearer to them.He died in 1870 and his tomb reads,There is a twist in the plot when a very generous stranger gives Pip a lot of money. Pip is about只供学习与交流资料收集于网络，如有侵权 请联系网站删除资料收集于网络，如有侵权 请联系网站删除18 years old when

10、 this happens, and the fortune sets him free from the financial worries. Pip makes the abruptdecision to move from Kent, which is a constant remainder of his shabby beginnings, to the bright lights of London.Excited by his move to London, Pip can hardly wait to begin his new life. Money and educatio

11、n have changedhim, and before long he develops the shortcomings of being shallow and having prejudice, even against his oldcompanions. Pip dislikes it when Joe comes to visit him in London. He has rigid ideas of what it means to be civil andto be a gentleman, and is embarrassed by Joe he does not fi

12、t these.Pip is bent on becoming a gentle man and winning Estellas love. Estella is a beautiful girl, and for Pip, she isa symbol of education and money. What it really means to be a gentleman is an important theme in GreatExpectations. Is an educated person with a lot of money a gentleman? Or is a g

13、entleman somebody who is kind andgood to his friends?By the end of the novel, Pip has changed a lot. He learns that wealth does not buy happiness and that friends aremore important than a fancy education. This change in Pip is called character development and is an important part ofany novel. Does J

14、oe forgive Pip? Does Pip get the girl of his dreams? You will just have to read it yourself to find out!1. What does classic literature refer to in the passage?A. Literary works written in classical form.B. Literary works with a long history.C. Literary works that were written long ago, well written

15、 and well received.D. Novels, plays and poems that were written long ago.2. According to the author, classic literature _.A. is old-fashioned and boringB. has nothing to do with life todayC. is novels that can be made into filmsD. still has a place in todays world3. All of the following are written

16、by Charles Dickens EXCEPT _ .A. Oliver Twist B. A Tale of Two Cities C. CluelessD. Great Expectations4. What is/are the theme(s) in Great Expectations ?A. Wealth does not buy happiness.B. What it means to be a gentleman.C. Friends are more important than a fancy education.D. All of above.5. What is

17、the authors intention in writing the article?A. She tries to convince us to adopt a new point of view towards classics.B. She asks us to reconsider our ideas about the films based on classics.C. She tells us that classics are the antiques of the literary world.D. She suggests that there are enough c

18、lassics in bookshops and libraries.只供学习与交流Unit 2Turandot in BeijingBy Jane JonesLast night, I witnessed the first of only eight performances of Giacomo Puccini -famousopera, Turandot , beingperformed in the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. The performance was splendid. It starred some of the worlds

19、 greatest opera singers. Many great Chinese musicians, actand singers were also cast. Puccini, an Italian, wrote Turandot towards the end of his life, in 1924. He liked East Asiavery much and also wrote Madam Butterfly , which is set in Japan.Turandot is the story of a cold-hearted Chinese princess,

20、 named Turandot, who lives in Beijings ForbiddenCity. In order to avoid marriage, she says that any potentliahusband must answer three riddles correctly or die.Just imaging performing such an opera in the Forbidden City-there could not be a bettersetting! You could almost feel the history. The weath

21、er was also perfect for an outdoor performance. Instead of astage curtain, there were decorated panels covered with red and gold, and traditional Chinese drums were used toannounce the start of the opera.The story begins when a prince is killed for being unable to answer Turandots ridafterwards, ano

22、ther prince, Calaf, sees Turandot for the first time and falls in love. The handsome prince says that hewill solve the riddles and marry her. Then, in a moving solo performance, a young slave of Calaffasther, Liuexpresses her love for Calaf. The story then takes on a classic triangle featuring Calaf

23、, Turandot, and Liu, whose lovefor Calaf is unconditional.In the story, Turandot was drunk with power. She even dares to try and exercise control over her father, theemperor of China, who has promised to allow her to choose her own husband. The emperor finds the deaths of somany men disturbing and a

24、lthough he would like to, he cannot break his promise.Calaf recites the answers to the Turandots questions correctly, but she is greatly upset by thisSeeing this, Calaf says that if she can guess his name by sunshine, she does not have to marry him. Turandot isdesperate to learn his name and threate

25、ns and terrifies Liu because he knows his name. while she is being tortured,Liu grabs a sward from a guard and kills herself. Everyone is shocked by this. After Liu kills herself, Calaf kissesTurandot and finally wins her affection. Then Calaf says his own name aloud, leaving his future in Turandots

26、hands.The opera finishes with a beautifully-sung final duet, which was so moving that the audience fell silent. At the endof the story, the prince and princess marry and the whole city celebrates their happiness. Unfortunately, Puccini diedbefore he completed this final scene, but he left notes for

27、the final duet, which was completed by one of his formerstudents, Franco Alfano.只供学习与交流资料收集于网络，如有侵权 请联系网站删除只供学习与交流An opera company staged the opera in Beijing in the 1990s, but the performance I saw was the first timeTurandot was staged inside the Forbidden City. The production combined the very bes

28、t of Western and Chinesetalents in music, staging and directing. The orchestra was conducted by the Zubin Mehta, an internationally famousconductor, who was born in India. The opera was directed by the well-known Chinese director, Zhang Yimou. In theBeijing performance I saw, Turandot was played by

29、Sharon Sweet from the USA, Liu was played by another operasinger from the USA, Barbara Hendricks, and Calaf was sung by Kristjan Johannsson from Iceland. They were allexcellent.The Forbidden City is an area where once only the emperor, his family and officials were allowed. However, inthis wonderful

30、 production, it has been transformed into the location for a beautiful and heartbreaking love story. Thebringing together of this group of people from many countries, the music, and the setting are clearly the keycomponents of this amazing production.1. Who completed the world-famous opera Turandot

31、?A. Giacomo Puccini alone.B. Puccinis former student Franco Alfano.C. Giacomo Puccini and Franco Alfano.D. Kristjan Johannsson from Iceland.2. How many times was Turandot staged in the Forbidden City according to the article?A. Only once. B. Twice.C. Eight times.D. Unknown.3. What does the writer me

32、an by saying“there could not be a better setting”?A. Because the weather was perfect for an outdoor performance.B. Because she felt that the audience could almost feel the history.C. There were decorated panels covered with red and gold.D. Because Turandot was born in the Forbidden City.4. Which of

33、the following statements is NOT mentioned in the passage?A. Lius love for Calaf is unconditional.B. The story takes on a classic love triangle.C. Calaf finally wins Turandots affection.D. Hundreds of princes were killed for being unable to answer Turandots riddles.5. We may conclude from the passage

34、 that _.A. more princes would be killed if it were not for CalafB. no prince could solve Turandots riddlesC. Calaf would marry both Liu and Turandot if Liu were still alive.D. Liu could have won Calafs affection if she hadnt killed herself.资料收集于网络，如有侵权 请联系网站删除Unit 3 Visiting the mastersHi Yang Yan,H

35、ere I am in Amsterdam. This trip has been fantastic! As you know, I am with my aunt and grandmother. Theyare both very talented artists, and I am thinking about starting painting myself after I get back. Let me tell you all aboutour trip.We started in Spai n and went to the city of M laga, the birth

36、place of Pablo Picasso. The house where Picassowas born is now a museum full of his art. M laga is a lovely city and the architecture is beautiful. I was amazed to learnthat Picasso produced more than 20000 pieces of art and he wasn just a painter. He drew pictures for books, and wasalso a sculptor

37、and photographer. He developed different style of painting, including cubism, which is a type of artwhere things are represented as geometric shapes. My grandmother really likes cubist paintings and thinks he is thegreatest artist ever.After visiting Spain, we flew to Paris. In Paris, all the buildi

38、ngs were very historic. The architecture was myfavorite part of Paris. Everything was just so beautiful!During our four days in Paris we spent one whole day at the Louvre Museum. I thought it was going to be veryboring, but it wasn the Louvret.MInuseum is the famous Mona Lisa painting by the Italian

39、 artist Leonardo da Vinci. Hecreated this masterpiece between 1503 and 1506. I am sure you have seen this picture of a lady with dark hair and amysterious smile. This painting is so valuable that it is difficult to calculate what its price would be if the museumwanted to sell it. Besides being a pai

40、nter, da Vinci was also a sculptor, an architect, an engineer and a scientist. Hemade a lot of scientific discoveries that he shared with the world, particularly in the field of astronomy.Besides the works of da Vinci, the Louvre Museum has more than 6000 other European paintings, ranging fromthe 13

41、thcentury to the 19thcentury. It doesnt have any modern paintings in it. Modern paintings are not all kept atanother museum in the city called the Musee dOrsay. We weour second day in Paris because my aunt wanted to see the works of Claude Monet.Monet was a French painter who lived between 1840 and

42、1926. He loved to paint lotus flowers so much that hebuilt a special garden at his home, where hundreds of lotus plants floated on the surface of a pond. I think it would feelvery peaceful to live there. My aunt wants to go back to France again to see the garden. She almost wept because wemissed it

43、this time.Now let me tell you about our trip to Amsterdam. On the way here, we flew over a thunderstorm. Some peoplewere scared, but I liked seeing the thunder in the clouds beneath the plane. Eventually, the thunderstorm stopped andwe saw a beautiful rainbow in the clouds.Yesterday we went to the V

44、an Gogh Museum. Van Gogh painted everything from people to只供学习与交流nature during his ten years of painting. He painted about 800 oil paintings and did 1600 drawings. One of his mostfamous oil paintings is The Potato Eaters, which he painted in 1885. His early paintings used a style calledImpressionism

45、, but towards the end of his life, he created more abstract artwork. He did 36 paintings of himself, andhis most famous still lifes are of sunflowers. One of my favorites of his paintings is called Starry Night, which he资料收集于网络，如有侵权 请联系网站删除completed in 1889.The sad thing is that although Van Gogh de

46、voted his whole self to painting, he only sold one painting before hedied in 1890. His younger brother, Theo, tried hard to sell and distribute Van Goghs paintings to buyers, but he wasnever able to negotiate a successful sale. Although we adore his work today, Van Gogh was not successful while hewa

47、s alive.Tomorrow we are off to another museum in Amsterdam. The most famous paintings there are by Rembrandt. Helived from 1606 until 1669. My aunt really wants to see a painting of his called the Night Watchman, which was paintedin1642.Ill tell you more about my trip when I get back.Regards,Li Ming

48、1. Pablo Picasso developed different styles of painting in his life, and _ is one of them.A. cubism B. impressionismC. portraitD. still life2. Leonardo da Vinci wasnt just a painter; he was also all of the following EXCEPT _.A. an architect B. an engineerC. a photographerD. a sculptor3. If you want

49、to see the works of Glaude Monet, you should go to _ .A. the Louvre MuseumB. the Musee dOrsayC. AmsterdamD. the city of Malaga4._ made van Goghs early paintings special, according to the passage.A. The 800 oil paintings and 1,600 drawings B. The style called impressionismC. The 36 paintings towards

50、the end of his life D. His unsuccessful career while he was alive.5. How many museums did Li Ming mention in the e-mail?A. Two.B. Three.C. Four.D. FiveUnit 4Important film events around the worldHost: welcome to our weekly programme, Movie Magic. Our guests today are representatives from six of the

51、majorinternational film festivals. Those spokeswomen and spokesmen will tell us about the festivals they represent. Joiningus in the studio are Isabel Rose from the Cannes Film Festival, Hanz Muller from the Berlin International Film Festival,Kathy Barnes from the Sundance Film Festival, Maria Bella

52、 from the Venice Film Festival, Mike Taylor from the只供学习与交流Toronto International Film Festival and Xu Li from the Shanghai International Film Festival.Welcome, everyone! Maria, do tell us a little about the Venice Film Festival.Maria: Well, I think it is right appropriate for me to begin our discuss

53、ion. The Venice Film Festival is the oldest filmfestival in the world. It began in 1932. Our festival is part of a larger festival which celebrates contemporary art.资料收集于网络，如有侵权 请联系网站删除We view film as a type of contemporary art.Host: Kathy, please tell us about the Sundance Film Festival.Kathy: Unli

54、ke the Venice Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival only includes small, independentfilms. That is, it only includes those not financed by Hollywood studios. Many are made by amateur directorsand star amateur stars.Maria: Kathy, I hate to interrupt you, but in defence of the V enice Film Festival, I

55、 have to point out that we donjtustfeature Hollywood films. Our policy is to include high -quality films, regardless of who makes them. We dontdistinguish between Hollywood films and independent ones. As long as the films quality meets ourstandards, we include it.Kathy: The Sundance Film Festival bo

56、ycotts all Hollywood films, and we dont foresee evthem. The idea for our festival was hatched back in 1978, when it was known as the Utah/US Film Festival.However, it was not well-known until 1981. it was then that Robert Redford tool over and changed the focus tosaluting independent films. It was r

57、enamed the Sundance Film Festival in 1991. Redford has acted in anddirected many big Hollywood films, and so he knew how many actors and directors were making good filmsunknown to the public. Now, if a film wins an award at Sundance, there is a good chance it will becomefamous!Isabel: Cannes is anot

58、her festival that can make films famous. If a film wins a victory at the Cannes Film Festival,everyone will hear about it. I think it is fair to say that Cannes is the most famous and exciting festival.Hanz: I hate to contradict you, but in recent years, the Cannes Film Festival has given awards mos

59、tly to Americanfilms. So critics say that it has taken a step backwards, and is beginning to resemble the Academy Awards inHollywood too much.Isabel: Well, yes, films shown at Cannes are often made with large budgets, and have well-known actors and directors.Many of them are American, but we reject

60、the idea that we have lost our international angle. Considering thehistory of our festival, we feel it is important not to favor films from any one country. The Cannes Film Festivalwas started in 1939 because many people felt that the Venice Film Festival was giving awards to only Germanand Italian