英语新概念短文

英语新概念短文篇一：新概念英语2 课文及翻译

新概念英语第2册课文

1 A private conversation私人谈话

Last week I went to the theatre. I had a very good seat. The play was very interesting. I did not enjoy it. A young man and a young woman were sitting behind me. They were talking loudly. I got very angry. I could not hear the actors. I turned round. I looked at the man and the woman angrily. They did not pay any attention. In the end, I could not bear it. I turned round again. 'I can't hear a word!' I said angrily.

'It's none of your business,' the young man said rudely. 'This is a private conversation!'

上星期我去看戏。我的座位很好。发挥是很有趣的。我不喜欢它。一青年男子与一年轻女子坐在我的身后。他们在大声地说话。我很生气。我听不见演员。我转过身。我看着那个男人和女人生气。他们没有注意。最后，我忍不住了。我又一次转过身去。”我不能听到一个字！”我愤怒地说。”这不关你的事，”那男的毫不客气地说。”这是私人间的谈话！”

2 Breakfast or lunch?早餐还是午餐？

It was Sunday. I never get up early on Sundays. I sometimes stay in bed until lunchtime. Last Sunday I got up very late. I looked out of the window. It was dark outside. 'What a day!' I thought. 'It's raining again.' Just then, the telephone rang. It was my aunt Lucy. 'I've just arrived by train,' she said. 'I'm coming to see you.'

'But I'm still having breakfast,' I said.

'What are you doing?' she asked.

'I'm having breakfast,' I repeated.

'Dear me,' she said. 'Do you always get up so late? It's one o'clock!'

它是星期日。在星期天我是从来不早起。有时我要一直躺到吃午饭的时候。上周日我起床很晚。我看着窗外。它是黑暗的外面。”多好的一天！”我的思想。”又下雨了。”正在这时，电话铃响了。是我姑母露西打来的。”我刚下火车，”她说。”我来看你。”“但我还在吃早饭，”我说。”你干什么呢。她问。”我正在吃早饭，”我又说了一遍。”我亲爱的，”她说。”你总是起得这么晚吗？现在已经一点了！”

3 Please send me a card请给我寄一张明信片

Postcards always spoil my holidays. Last summer, I went to Italy. I visited museums and sat in public gardens. A friendly waiter taught me a few words of Italian. Then he lent me a book. I read a few lines, but I did not understand a word. Everyday I thought about postcards. My holidays passed quickly, but I did not send cards to my friends. On the last day I made a big decision. I got up early and bought thirty-seven cards. I spent the whole day in my room, but I did not write a single card!

明信片总是破坏我的假期。去年夏天，我去了意大利。我参观了博物馆，然后坐在公园里。一位好客的服务员教了我几句意大利语。然后他借给我一本书。我读了几行，但一个字也不懂。我每天都想着明信片的事。假期过得真快，可我还没有给我的朋友寄卡片。在最后一天我做了一个重大的决定。我起得很早，买了三十七张明信片。我花了一整天在我的房间，但我没有写一张卡片！

4 An exciting trip激动人心的旅行

I have just received a letter from my brother, Tim. He is in Australia. He has been there for six months. Tim is an engineer. He is working for a big firm and he has already visited a great number of different places in Australia. He has just bought an Australian car and has gone to Alice springs, a small town in the centre of Australia. He will soon visit Darwin. From there, he will fly to Perth. My brother has never been abroad before, so he is fending this trip very exciting.

我刚刚收到弟弟的来信，提姆。他在澳大利亚。他有六个月了。提姆是一个工程师。他是一家大公司工作，他已经访问了许多不同的地方在澳大利亚。他刚买了一辆汽车和澳大利亚已经向爱丽丝斯普林斯，一个小镇的中心，澳大利亚。他将很快访问达尔文。从那里，他再飞往珀斯。我兄弟从来没有出过国，因此他觉得这次旅行非常激动。

5 No wrong numbers无错号之虞

Mr.James Scott has a garage in Silbury and now he has just bought another garage in Pinhurst. Pinhurst is only five miles from Silbury, but Mr. Scott cannot get a telephone for his new garage, so he has just bought twelve pigeons. Yesterday, a pigeon carried the first message from Pinhurst to Silbury. The bird covered the distance in three minutes. Up to now, Mr.Scott has sent a great many requests for spare parts and other urgent messages from one garage to the other. In this way, he has begun his own private 'telephone' service.

杰姆斯先生在锡尔伯里有一个汽车修理厂史葛，现在他刚在平赫斯特买了另一个汽车修理厂。只从炽热玻璃的五英里，但史葛先生未能为他新的汽车修理部得到一个电话机，所以他买了十二只鸽子。昨天，鸽子把第一封信从。鸟覆盖的距离在三分钟。到目前为止，史葛先生发送了大量索取备件的信件和其他紧急信息从一个地方到另一。就这样，他开始自己的私人电话服务。

6 Percy Buttons珀西.巴顿斯

I have just moved to a house in Bridge Street. Yesterday a beggar knocked at my door. He asked me for a meal and a glass of beer. In return for this, the beggar stood on his head and sang songs. I gave him a meal. He ate the food and drank the beer. Then he put a piece of cheese in his pocket and went away. Later a neighbour told me about him. Everybody knows him. His name is Percy Buttons. He calls at every house in the street once a month and always asks for a meal and a glass of beer.

我刚刚搬进了大桥街的一所房子。昨天一个乞丐来敲我的门。他问我要一顿饭和一杯啤酒。作为回报，那乞丐头顶地倒立起来，唱起了歌。我给了他一顿饭。他吃的食物和喝啤酒。然后他把一块奶酪放在口袋里，走了。后来的一位邻居告诉了我他的情况。每个人都知道他。他的名字叫佩尔西。他这条街上的每户每月一次，而且总是要一顿饭和一杯啤酒。

7 Too late为时太晚

The plane was late and detectives were waiting at the airport all morning. They were expecting a valuable parcel of diamonds from South Africa. A few hours earlier, someone had told the police that thieves would try to steal the diamonds. When the plane arrived,

some of the detectives were waiting inside the main building while others were waiting on the airfield. Two men took the parcel off the plane and carried it into the Customs House. While two detectives were keeping guard at the door, two others opened the parcel. To their surprise, the precious parcel was full of stones and sand!

飞机误点了，侦探们在机场等了整整一上午。他们正期待从南非钻石的贵重包裹。几个小时前，有人告诉警察，小偷想偷钻石。当飞机到达时，一些侦探等候在主楼内，另一部分则等在停机坪。两个男人带着包裹下了飞机，进了海关。当两个侦探把住门口，另外两个打开包裹。令他们吃惊的是，那珍贵的包裹里面装的全是石头和沙子！

8 The best and the worst最好的和最差的

Joe Sanders has the most beautiful garden in our town. Nearly everybody enters for 'The Nicest Garden Competition' each year, but Joe wins every time. Bill Frith's garden is larger than Joe's. Bill works harder than Joe and grows more flowers and vegetables, but Joe's garden is more interesting. He has made neat paths and has built a wooden bridge over a pool. I like gardens too, but I do not like hard work. Every year I enter for the garden competition too, and I always win a little prize for the worst garden in the town!

乔·桑德斯拥有我们镇上最漂亮的花园。几乎每个人都参加每年举办的最佳花园竞赛，而每次都是乔获胜。比尔弗里斯的花园比乔。比尔比乔工作努力，种植了更多的花和蔬菜，但乔的花园更有趣。他修筑了一条条整洁的小路，池塘上架了一座小木桥。我也喜欢花园，但是我不喜欢辛苦的工作。每年的花园竞赛我也参加，我总因是镇上最差的花园！

9 A cold welcome冷遇

On Wednesday evening, we went to the Town Hall. It was the last day of the year and a large crowd of people had gathered under the Town Hall clock. It would strike twelve in twenty minutes' time. Fifteen minutes passed and then, at five to twelve, the clock stopped. The big minute hand did not move. We waited and waited, but nothing happened. Suddenly someone shouted. 'It's two minutes past twelve! The clock has stopped!' I looked at my watch. It was true. The big clock refused to welcome the New Year. At that moment, everybody began to laugh and sing.

在星期三的晚上，我们去了市政厅。这是一年的最后一天，一大群人聚集在市政厅的大钟。它将十二在二十分钟的时间。十五分钟过去了，然后，在五至十二，钟停了。大分针不动了。我们等了又等，但是什么都没发生。突然有人喊道。”这是两分钟过去十二！那钟已经停了！”我看了看我的手表。这是真的。大钟拒绝欢迎新年。在那一刻，大家开始又是笑。

10 Not for jazz不适于演奏爵士乐

We have an old musical instrument. It is called a clavichord. It was made in Germany in 1681. Our clavichord is kept in the living room. It has belonged to our family for a long time. The instrument was bought by my grandfather many years ago. Recently it was damaged by a visitor. She tried to play jazz on it! She struck the keys too hard and two of the strings were broken. My father was shocked. Now we are not allowed to touch it. It is being repaired by a friend of my father's.

我们有件古乐器。它叫击弦古钢琴。它是德国制造的1681。我们的这架古钢琴存放在起居室里。它属于我们家很长时间。这件乐器是我祖父在很多年以前买的。可它最近被一个客人。她用它来弹奏爵士乐！她击键太猛，损坏了两根琴弦。我父亲大为震惊。现在是不让我们碰它。它正在修理我父亲的一个朋友。

11 One good turn deserves another礼尚往来

I was having dinner at a restaurant when Tony Steele came in. Tony worked in a lawyer's office years ago, but he is now working at a bank. He gets a good salary, but he always borrows money from his friends and never pays it back. Tony saw me and came and sat at the same table. He has never borrowed money from me. While he was eating, I asked him to lend me twenty pounds. To my surprise, he gave me the money immediately. 'I have never borrowed any money from you,' Tony said, 'so now you can pay for my dinner!'

我正在一家饭馆吃饭，托尼·斯梯尔走了进来。托尼曾在一家律师事务所工作，而现在正在一家银行。他的薪水很高，但他却总是向朋友借钱，并且从来不还。托尼看见了我，就走过来和我坐到一张桌子前。他从未向我借过钱。当他吃饭时，我提出向他借二十英镑。让我惊讶的是，他立刻把钱给了我。”我还从未向你借过钱，”托尼说道，“所以现在你可以替我付饭钱了！”

12 Goodbye and good luck再见，一路顺风

Our neighbour, Captain Charles Alison, will sail from Portsmouth tomorrow. We'll meet him at the harbour early in the morning. He will be in his small boat, Topsail. Topsail is a famous little boat. It has sailed across the Atlantic many times. Captain Alison will set out at eight o'clock, so we'll have plenty of time. We'll see his boat and then we'll say goodbye to him. He will be away for two months. We are very proud of him. He will take part in an important race across the Atlantic.

我们的邻居，查尔斯艾丽森船长明天将从朴茨茅斯启航。我们将在港口见到他在清晨。他将在他的小船，上桅帆。这是有名的小艇。它已经多次横渡大西洋。艾丽森船长将于八点启航，因此我们有充裕的时间。我们将参观他的船，然后和他告别。他要离开两个月。我们真为他感到自豪。他将参加一次重大的横渡大西洋的比赛。

13 The Greenwood Boys绿林少年

The Greenwood Boys are a group of pop singers. At present, they are visiting all parts of the country. They will be arriving here tomorrow. They will be coming by train and most of the young people in the town will be meeting them at the station. Tomorrow evening they will be singing at the Workers' Club. The Greenwood Boys will be staying for five days. During this time, they will give five performances. As usual, the police will have a difficult time. They will be trying to keep order. It is always the same on these occasions.

绿林少年是一个流行歌曲演唱。目前，他们正在全国各地巡回演出。明天他们将到达这里。他们将乘火车来，大多数镇上的年轻人会到车站迎接他们。明晚他们将在工人俱乐部。绿林少年准备在此逗留五天。在这期间，他们将演出五场。如往常一样，警察的日子将不好过。他们将设法维持秩序。它始终是相同的在这些场合。

14 Do you speak English?你会讲英语吗？

I had an amusing experience last year. After I had left a small village in the south of France, I drove on to the next town. On the way, a young man waved to me. I stopped and he asked me for a lift. As soon as he had got into the car, I said good morning to him in French and he replied in the same language. Apart from a few words, I do not know any French at all. Neither of us spoke during the journey. I had nearly reached the town, when the young man suddenly said, very slowly, "Do you speak English?' As I soon learnt, he was English himself!'

去年我有过一次有趣的经历。在我离开法国南部的小村庄，我继续驶往下一个城镇。途中，一个青年人向我招手。我停了下来，他要求搭便车。他刚一上车，我就用法语向他问早上好，他也用同样的语言回答。除了几个单词外，我根本不会法语。在旅途中我们都没有说话。就要到达那个镇时，那青年突然开了口，慢慢地，“你会讲英语吗？”我很快了解到，他自己就是个英国人！”

15 Good news佳音

The secretary told me that Mr. Harmsworth would see me. I felt very nervous when I went into his office. He did not look up from his desk when I entered. After I had sat down, he said that business was very bad. He told me that the firm could not afford to pay such large salaries. Twenty people had already left. I knew that my turn had come.

'Mr.Harmsworth,' I said in a weak voice.

'Don't interrupt,' he said.

Then he smiled and told me I would receive an extra thousand pounds a year!

秘书告诉我说哈姆斯沃斯先生要见我。当我走进他的办公室时，我感到很紧张。当他没有抬头看他的桌上我进入。待我坐下后，他说生意很不好。他还告诉我，公司支付不起这么大的工资开支。二十人已经离开了。我知道这次该轮到我了。”哈姆斯沃斯先生，”我用微弱的声音说。”不要打断我的话，”他说。然后他微笑着告诉我，我每年将得到一个！

16 A polite request彬彬有礼的要求

If you park your car in the wrong place, a traffic policeman will soon find it. You will be very lucky if he lets you go without a ticket. However, this does not always happen. Traffic police are sometimes very polite. During a holiday in Sweden, I found this note on my car: 'sir, we welcome you to our city. This is a "No Parking" area. You will enjoy your stay here if you pay attention to our street signs. This note is only a reminder.' If you receive a request like this, you cannot fail to obey it!

如果你把汽车停错了地方，交通警察很快就会发现。你将非常荣幸，如果他让你不用票。然而，这并不总是发生。交通警有时也很客气。在瑞典度假期间，我在我的车子：“先生，欢迎您光临我们的城市。这是一个“禁止停车”的地区。你会喜欢这里的生活，如果你留意我们街上的标牌。谨此提请注意。”如果你收到这样的请求，你不可能不服从！

英语新概念短文篇二：新概念英语第1册课文及详解

新概念英语第一册

Lesson 1Excuse me!

对不起！

Listen to the tape then answer this question. Whose handbag is it? 听录音，然后回答问题，这是谁的手袋？

Excuse me!

Yes?

Is this your handbag?

Pardon?

Is this your handbag?

Yes, it is.

Thank you very much.

New Word and expressions 生词和短语

excuse

v.原谅

me

pron.我(宾格)

yes

adv. 是的

is

v.be 动词现在时第三人称单数

this

pron.这

your

possessive adjective 你的，你们的

handbag

n.（女用）手提包

pardon

int. 原谅，请再说一遍

it

pron.它

thank you

感谢你（们）

very much

非常地

参考译文

对不起

什么事？

这是您的手提包吗？

对不起，请再说一遍。

这是您的手提包吗？

是的，是我的。

非常感谢！

（偶数课为习题，无课文）

Lesson 3Sorry, sir.

对不起，先生。

Listen to the tape then answer this question.

听录音，然后回答问题。这位男士有没有要回他的雨伞？

My coat and my umbrella please.

Here is my ticket.

Thank you, sir.

Number five.

Here's your umbrella and your coat.

This is not my umbrella.

Sorry sir.

Is this your umbrella?

No, it isn't.

Is this it?

Yes, it is.

Thank you very much.

New words and Expressions 生词和短语

umbrella

n.伞

please

int. 请

here

adv. 这里

my

possessive adjective 我的

ticket

n.票

number

n.号码

five

num. 五

sorry

adj. 对不起的

sir

n.先生

cloakroom

n.衣帽存放处

参考译文

请把我的大衣和伞拿给我。

这是我（寄存东西）的牌子。

谢谢，先生。

是5号。

这是您的伞和大衣

这不是我的伞。

对不起，先生。

这把伞是您的吗？

不，不是！

这把是吗？

是，是这把

非常感谢。

Lesson 5Nice to meet you

很高兴见到你。

Listen to the tape then answer this question. Is Chang-woo Chinese?

听录音，然后回答问题。 昌宇是中国人吗？

MR. BLAKE: Good morning.

STUDENTS: Good morning, Mr. Blake.

MR. BLAKE: This is Miss Sophie Dupont.

Sophie is a new student.

She is French.

MR. BLAKE: Sophie, this is Hans.

He is German.

HANS:Nice to meet you.

MR. BLAKE: And this is Naoko.

She's Japanese.

NAOKO: Nice to meet you.

MR. BLAKE: And this is Chang-woo.

He's Korean.

CHANG-WOO: Nice to meet you.

MR. BLAKE: And this is Luming.

He is Chinese.

LUMNG: Nice to meet you.

MR. BLAKE: And this is Xiaohui.

She's Chinese, too.

XIAOHUI:Nice to meet you.

New Word and expressions 生词和短语

Mr.

先生

good

adj. 好

Miss

小姐

new

adj. 新的

student

n.学生

French

adj. & n. 法国人

German

adj. & n. 德国人

nice

adj. 美好的

meet

v.遇见

Japanese

adj. & n. 日本人

Korean

adj. & n. 韩国人

Chinese

adj. & n. 中国人

too

adv. 也

参考译文

布莱克先生：早上好。

学生：早上好，布莱克先生。

布莱克先生：这位是索菲娅.杜邦小姐。索菲娅是个新学生。她是法国人。 布莱克先生：索菲娅，这位是汉斯。他是德国人。

汉斯：很高兴见到你。

布莱克先生：这位是直子。她是日本人。

直子：很高兴见到你。

布莱克先生：这位是昌宇。他是韩国人。

昌宇：很高兴见到你。

布莱克先生：这位是鲁明。他是中国人。

鲁明：很高兴见到你。

布莱克先生：这位是晓惠。她也是中国人。

晓惠：很高兴见到你。

Lesson 7Are you a teacher?

你是教师吗？

Listen to the tape then answer this question. What is Rober's job? 听录音，然后回答问题。 罗伯特是做什么工作的？

ROBERT: I am a new student.

My name's Robert.

SOPHIE: Nice to meet you.

英语新概念短文篇三：新概念 英语 短文

New Concept English

Unit 1:The Language of Music

A painter hangs his or her finished pictures on a wall, and everyone can see it. A composer writes a work, but no one can hear it until it is performed. Professional singers and players have great responsibilities, for the composer is utterly dependent on them. A student of music needs as long and as arduous a training to become a performer as a medical student needs to become a doctor. Most training is concerned with technique, for musicians have to have the muscular proficiency of an athlete or a ballet dancer. Singers practice breathing every day, as their vocal chords would be inadequate without controlled muscular support. String players practice moving the fingers of the left hand up and down, while drawing the bow to and fro with the right arm—two entirely different movements.

Singers and instruments have to be able to get every note perfectly in tune. Pianists are spared this particular anxiety, for the notes are already there, waiting for them, and it is the piano tuner’s responsibility to tune the instrument for them. But they have their own difficulties; the hammers that hit the string have to be coaxed not to sound like percussion, and each overlapping tone has to sound clear.

This problem of getting clear texture is one that confronts student conductors: they have to learn to know every note of the music and how it should sound, and they have to aim at controlling these sound with fanatical but selfless authority.

Technique is of no use unless it is combined with musical knowledge and understanding. Great artists are those who are so thoroughly at home in the language of music that they can enjoy performing works written in any century.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Unit 2:Schooling and Education

It is commonly believed in United States that school is where people go to get an education. Nevertheless, it has been said that today children interrupt their education to go to school. The distinction between schooling and education implied by this remark is important.

Education is much more open-ended and all-inclusive than schooling. Education knows no bounds. It can take place anywhere, whether in the shower or in the job, whether in a kitchen or on a tractor. It includes both the formal learning that takes place in schools and the whole universe of informal learning. The agents of education can range from a revered grandparent to the people debating politics on the radio, from a child to a distinguished scientist. Whereas schooling has a certain predictability, education quite often produces surprises. A chance conversation with a stranger may lead a person to discover how little is known of other religions. People are engaged in education from infancy on. Education, then, is a very broad, inclusive term. It is a lifelong process, a process that starts long before the start of school, and one that should be an integral part of one’s entire life.

Schooling, on the other hand, is a specific, formalized process, whose general pattern varies little from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive at school at approximately the same time, take assigned seats, are taught by an adult, use similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The slices of reality that are to be learned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the working of government, have usually been limited by the boundaries of the subject being taught. For example, high school students know that there not likely to find out in their classes the truth about political problems in their

communities or what the newest filmmakers are experimenting with. There are definite conditions surrounding the formalized process of schooling.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Unit 3:The Definition of “Price”

Prices determine how resources are to be used. They are also the means by which products and services that are in limited supply are rationed among buyers. The price system of the United States is a complex network composed of the prices of all the products bought and sold in the economy as well as those of a myriad of services, including labor, professional, transportation, and public-utility services. The interrelationships of all these prices make up the ―system‖ of prices. The price of any particular product or service is linked to a broad, complicated system of prices in which everything seems to depend more or less upon everything else.

If one were to ask a group of randomly selected individuals to define ―price‖, many would reply that price is an amount of money paid by the buyer to the seller of a product or service or, in other words that price is the money values of a product or service as agreed upon in a market transaction. This definition is, of course, valid as far as it goes. For a complete understanding of a price in any particular transaction, much more than the amount of money involved must be known. Both the buyer and the seller should be familiar with not only the money amount, but with the amount and quality of the product or service to be exchanged, the time and place at which the exchange will take place and payment will be made, the form of money to be used, the credit terms and discounts that apply to the transaction, guarantees on the product or service, delivery terms, return privileges, and other factors. In other words, both buyer and seller should be fully aware of all the factors that comprise the total ―package‖ being exchanged for the asked-for amount of money in order that they may evaluate a given price.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Unit 4:Electricity

The modern age is an age of electricity. People are so used to electric lights, radio, televisions, and telephones that it is hard to imagine what life would be like without them. When there is a power failure, people grope about in flickering candlelight, cars hesitate in the streets because there are no traffic lights to guide them, and food spoils in silent refrigerators.

Yet, people began to understand how electricity works only a little more than two centuries ago. Nature has apparently been experimenting in this field for million of years. Scientists are discovering more and more that the living world may hold many interesting secrets of electricity that could benefit humanity.

All living cell send out tiny pulses of electricity. As the heart beats, it sends out pulses of record; they form an electrocardiogram, which a doctor can study to determine how well the heart is working. The brain, too, sends out brain waves of electricity, which can be recorded in an electroencephalogram. The electric currents generated by most living cells are extremely small – often so small that sensitive instruments are needed to record them. But in some animals, certain muscle cells have become so specialized as electrical generators that they do not work as muscle cells at all. When large numbers of these cell are linked together, the effects can be astonishing.

The electric eel is an amazing storage battery. It can seed a jolt of as much as eight hundred volts of electricity through the water in which it live. ( An electric house current is only one hundred twenty volts.) As many as four-fifths of all the cells in the electric eel’s body are specialized for generating electricity, and the strength of the shock it can deliver corresponds roughly to length of its body.

Unit 5:The Beginning of Drama

There are many theories about the beginning of drama in ancient Greece. The on most widely accepted today is based on the assumption that drama evolved from ritual. The argument for this view goes as follows. In the beginning, human beings viewed the natural forces of the world-even the seasonal changes-as unpredictable, and they sought through various means to control these unknown and feared powers. Those measures which appeared to bring the desired results were then retained and repeated until they hardened into fixed rituals. Eventually stories arose which explained or veiled the mysteries of the rites. As time passed some rituals were abandoned, but the stories, later called myths, persisted and provided material for art and drama.

Those who believe that drama evolved out of ritual also argue that those rites contained the seed of theater because music, dance, masks, and costumes were almost always used, Furthermore, a suitable site had to be provided for performances and when the entire community did not participate, a clear division was usually made between the "a(来自:WWw.zHaoqT.net 蒲公 英文 摘:英语新概念短文)cting area" and the "auditorium." In addition, there were performers, and, since considerable importance was attached to avoiding mistakes in the enactment of rites, religious leaders usually assumed that task. Wearing masks and costumes, they often impersonated other people, animals, or supernatural beings, and mimed the desired effect-success in hunt or battle, the coming rain, the revival of the Sun-as an actor might. Eventually such dramatic representations were separated from religious activities.

Another theory traces the theater's origin from the human interest in storytelling. According to this vies tales (about the hunt, war, or other feats) are gradually elaborated, at first through the use of impersonation, action, and dialogue by a narrator and then through the assumption of each of the roles by a different person. A closely related theory traces theater to those dances that are primarily rhythmical and gymnastic or that are imitations of animal movements and sounds.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Unit 6:Television

Television-----the most pervasive and persuasive of modern technologies, marked by rapid change and growth-is moving into a new era, an era of extraordinary sophistication and versatility, which promises to reshape our lives and our world. It is an electronic revolution of sorts, made possible by the marriage of television and computer technologies.

The word "television", derived from its Greek (tele: distant) and Latin (visi sight) roots, can literally be interpreted as sight from a distance. Very simply put, it works in this way: through a sophisticated system of electronics, television provides the capability of converting an image (focused on a special photoconductive plate within a camera) into electronic impulses, which can be sent through a wire or cable. These impulses, when fed into a receiver (television set), can then be electronically reconstituted into that same image.

Television is more than just an electronic system, however. It is a means of expression, as well as a vehicle for communication, and as such becomes a powerful tool for reaching other human beings.

The field of television can be divided into two categories determined by its means of transmission. First, there is broadcast television, which reaches the masses through broad-based airwave transmission of television signals. Second, there is nonbroadcast television, which provides for the needs of individuals or specific interest groups through controlled transmission techniques.

Traditionally, television has been a medium of the masses. We are most familiar with broadcast television because it has been with us for about thirty-seven years in a form similar to what exists today. During those years, it has been controlled, for the most part, by the broadcast networks, ABC, NBC, and CBS, who have

been the major purveyors of news, information, and entertainment. These giants of broadcasting have actually shaped not only television but our perception of it as well. We have come to look upon the picture tube as a source of entertainment, placing our role in this dynamic medium as the passive viewer.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Unit 7:Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie, known as the King of Steel, built the steel industry in the United States, and , in the process, became one of the wealthiest men in America. His success resulted in part from his ability to sell the product and in part from his policy of expanding during periods of economic decline, when most of his competitors were reducing their investments.

Carnegie believed that individuals should progress through hard work, but he also felt strongly that the wealthy should use their fortunes for the benefit of society. He opposed charity, preferring instead to provide educational opportunities that would allow others to help themselves. "He who dies rich, dies disgraced," he often said.

Among his more noteworthy contributions to society are those that bear his name, including the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, which has a library, a museum of fine arts, and a museum of national history. He also founded a school of technology that is now part of Carnegie-Mellon University. Other philanthrophic gifts are the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to promote understanding between nations, the Carnegie Institute of Washington to fund scientific research, and Carnegie Hall to provide a center for the arts.

Few Americans have been left untouched by Andrew Carnegie's generosity. His contributions of more than five million dollars established 2,500 libraries in small communities throughout the country and formed the nucleus of the public library system that we all enjoy today.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Unit 8:American Revolution

The American Revolution was not a sudden and violent overturning of the political and social framework, such as later occurred in France and Russia, when both were already independent nations. Significant changes were ushered in, but they were not breathtaking. What happened was accelerated evolution rather than outright revolution. During the conflict itself people went on working and praying, marrying and playing. Most of them were not seriously disturbed by the actual fighting, and many of the more isolated communities scarcely knew that a war was on.

America's War of Independence heralded the birth of three modern nations. One was Canada, which received its first large influx of English-speaking population from the thousands of loyalists who fled there from the United States. Another was Australia, which became a penal colony now that America was no longer available for prisoners and debtors. The third newcomer-the United States-based itself squarely on republican principles. Yet even the political overturn was not so revolutionary as one might suppose. In some states, notably Connecticut and Rhode Island, the war largely ratified a colonial self-rule already existing. British officials, everywhere ousted, were replaced by a home-grown governing class, which promptly sought a local substitute for king and Parliament.

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