標(biāo)簽：
高級(jí)中學(xué)課本英語(yǔ)教育分類：
英文資料LESSON THREE
ON READING
The Author’s Club
London, S.W.1
2nd January, 19_
Dear Francisco
I’m glad to know you enjoyed the books I sent you for Christmas. Your letter of thanks was very well written and I congratulate you on being able to write so well.
You ask me for advice on reading. That’s a very difficult request. I always hesitate to advise my friends on what to read. How can I possibly know what will interest other people? And you don’t say in your letter what you want to read.
What you do say is that you’re very fond of reading, and I’m delighted by that. Do you know the essays of Francis Bacon, who lived about the same time as Shakespeare? They’re full of good advice about reading. Here is a bit from the essay “Of Studies.”
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.”
I can’t give you better advice than that. It tells you how to read books of different kinds. I suppose most travel books are “to be tasted”; it’s enough to dip into them and read bits here and there. If you’re fond of stories, you will, if you’re like me, read them quickly; you’ll “swallow” them. And then there are books that you’ll read slowly and carefully. If a book’s on an important subject and a subject you’re interested in, you’ll want to “chew and digest” it
If the book’s in English, that may mean slow progress for you. But I don’t advise you to read too slowly. When I was living in Tokyo many years ago, I used to go to the second-hand bookshops. They were full of English books. The first twenty of thirty pages of many of them had their margins filled with penciled notes and there were dozens of words and phrases underlined. The owners, probably earnest students, had started out very seriously, determined to master the books. Then , as I turned the pages over, I found clean white margins, with not a single note. It was clear that the reader had given up in despair.
I suppose that’s a common experience in many countries with books in a foreign language. The reader starts out, full of hope and determination. Then the need to turn to a dictionary or a reference book, perhaps ten or even twenty times a page, tires him out.
There are two or three answers to this problem. The first is: Don’t start reading a book unless you see, from the first few pages, that it’s one you can read with ease and understanding. Don’t try to run before you can walk. There are plenty of books that have been rewritten in simple language – and shortened too, if necessary.
My second answer to this question of difficult vocabulary is, I think, a much better one. Don’t stop every time you come to a word or phrase you don’t know. Read the whole chapter quickly. Quite often you’ll find the unknown word comes again, perhaps several times, and by the end of the chapter you’ll have guessed its meaning. That’s how we learn the meaning of words in our own language, isn’t it? When we’re children, I mean. When I’m telling a story to children, they seldom stop to ask what a word means. Even when they read, they don’t turn to the dictionary every time they see an unknown word.
Read a chapter quickly, and then go back and read it more slowly. This time, use your reference books when necessary. But try to judge what is worth looking up and what is not.
You’ll tell me that it’s difficult, very often, for you to judge whether an unknown word is important or not. I agree that this is often true. But it’s not always difficult. You’re going to be an architect, so words used in architecture are important to you. If they’re new to you, you’ll look them up. But if the reader is not interested in architecture, he could pass them by. They’re not at all necessary for his enjoyment of the book.
When I read my Times these days I often find articles about the uses of atomic energy. There are sometimes words I don’t know – and some of them are so new that they’re not yet in the dictionaries. But I’m slowly beginning to understand what some of the words mean – simply by meeting them so often.
Well, that’s my advice to you. I hope you’ll find it helpful. It isn’t perfect, I know. There will be times when, if you decide not to look up a reference, you’ll miss something that may be important.
But I feel I’m right in advising you not to be too thorough in your use of reference books – except when you’re studying your own special subject. If you’re too thorough, you’ll lose heart and perhaps give up.
Good luck to you in your reading. Do write again, and if you think I can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Yours ever,
John Churchman
WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
Author n.作家；作者
Club n.俱樂部；社團(tuán)
Francisco n.弗朗西斯科（男名）
Congratulate vt.祝賀
Advise vt.忠告，勸告，建議
Delight vi. & vt.（使）歡喜，（使）高興 n.歡喜，高興
Essay n.散文；小品文；論說文
Francis Bacon 弗朗西斯.培根（1561-1626，英國(guó)哲學(xué)家及作家）
Shakespeare 莎士比亞（William, 1564-1616，英國(guó)劇作家及詩(shī)人）
Swallow n., vt. & vi. 吞，咽
Chew vt. & vi.嚼，咀嚼
Digest vt. & vi.消化 n.文摘
Dip into 看一看，瀏覽
Subject n.問題；主題；題目
Tokyo n.東京（日本首都）
Second-hand adj.第二手的；用過的；舊的
Margin n.頁(yè)邊的空白；欄外
Penciled adj.用鉛筆寫的
Dozen n.一打（十二個(gè)） dozens of幾十；許多
Phrase n.短語(yǔ)；習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)
Underline vt.在……下劃線
Earnest adj.熱切的，認(rèn)真的
Determined adj.堅(jiān)決的；有決心的
Note n.注釋
Reader n.讀者；讀本
Determination n.決定；決心
Reference n.參考；參考書；附注
Turn to求助于，求教于
Tire vt.使疲倦；使厭倦 vi.累；厭倦 tire out使筋疲力盡
Ease n.安逸，熟練，輕易 vt.使……舒服；放松 with ease輕易地，毫不費(fèi)勁地
Understanding n.理解；領(lǐng)悟；諒解
Rewrite vt.重寫；改寫
Simple adj.單純的；簡(jiǎn)易的；樸素的
Shorten vt. & vi.縮短
Vocabulary n.詞匯表；詞匯；詞匯量
Chapter n.（書籍）章；回
Meaning n.意思，意義
Architect n.建筑師
Architecture n.建筑；建筑學(xué)
Pass by（by作副詞）忽略，不過問
Enjoyment n.享樂；欣賞
Atomic adj.原子的
Thorough adj.徹底的；非常精確的；（對(duì)細(xì)節(jié)）不厭其煩的
Lose heart灰心，氣餒
John Churchman 約翰.邱奇門（人名）
NOTES TO THE TEXT
1. 英文書信有一定的格式。若是公務(wù)性的或商業(yè)性的書信，要把發(fā)信人的地址和發(fā)信日期寫在第一張信紙的右上角，從靠近信紙的中央寫起，上面要留至少一英寸的空白。這一部分稱為信頭（Heading）。把收信人的姓名、職位和地址寫在信頭下面靠左邊，也可寫在簽名下面的左邊。這一部分稱為信內(nèi)陸址（Inside Address）。
發(fā)信人的地址和日期，第一行寫門牌號(hào)和街名或路名，第二行寫地名和郵政區(qū)號(hào)，若寄往國(guó)外，還要加上國(guó)家的名稱。第三行寫日期。日期可以先寫日子，再寫月份，最后寫年份，也可先寫月份，再寫日子，最后寫年份。收信人地址的寫法與發(fā)信人的相同。
一般個(gè)人來往信件，可以不寫發(fā)信人和收信人的地址，只寫發(fā)信日期。
結(jié)尾客套語(yǔ)（Closing）寫在正文（Body）下面二三行的地位。一般從信紙中央寫起，只有第一個(gè)字母要大寫，末了加個(gè)逗號(hào)。
簽名（Signature）是在結(jié)尾客套語(yǔ)的下面，稍微偏右，使末尾一個(gè)詞與上面的正文一樣齊。
信的正文前的稱呼（Greeting）一般用“Dear ____,”（加逗號(hào)或冒號(hào)）
2. S.W.1是郵政區(qū)號(hào)。倫敦按方位劃區(qū)。S代表South, S.W.代表Southwest。S.W.1是“西南一區(qū)”。
3. Congratulate somebody on something為某事祝賀某人。On是介詞，后面跟名詞或動(dòng)名詞。例如：
I congratulate you on your success.我祝賀你獲得成功。
They congratulated me on having passed the exam.他們祝賀我通過了這次考試。
4. I always hesitate to advise my friends on what to read.我總是不大愿意指點(diǎn)我的朋友們?cè)撟x些什么書。
hesitate在這里的意思是be unwilling to do something（不愿意做某事），是一種委婉的說法。又如：
He hesitated to take such a big risk.他不大愿意冒這樣大的險(xiǎn)。
I hesitate to say he lied but he certainly didn’t tell me the truth. 我不大愿意說他撒了謊，但是他的確沒有對(duì)我說實(shí)話。
advise somebody on something（= give advice to somebody on something）就某事向某人提出意見或建議。例如：
He is the right man to advise you on this question.關(guān)于這個(gè)問題，去請(qǐng)教他最合適。
Please advise me on what to do.請(qǐng)告訴我該怎么辦。
5. What you do say is that you’re very fond of reading, and I’m delighted by that.你倒是說了你非常喜歡讀書，這一點(diǎn)使我感到很高興。
助動(dòng)詞do在這里是用來加強(qiáng)語(yǔ)氣。又如：
He did tell me that he would help us in the work.他確實(shí)告訴過我他要在工作上幫助我們。
She does feel that way.她的確有那種感覺。
I do think you should go.我的確認(rèn)為你應(yīng)當(dāng)去。
be delighted by (at)意思是“因……感到高興”。又如：
I was delighted by the concert.這音樂會(huì)使我很高興。
We were delighted by (at) the news of the victory.我們聽到這個(gè)勝利的消息很高興。
6. “Of studies” = “On studies” 《論讀書》。
of在這里作about講，是舊的用法，現(xiàn)在一般用on。
7. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested.有些書是應(yīng)當(dāng)嘗嘗滋味的，有些書是應(yīng)當(dāng)吞下去的，有少數(shù)書是應(yīng)當(dāng)咀嚼和消化的。（這是些比喻的說法，大體上相當(dāng)于我們常說的“涉獵”、“瀏覽”、“通讀”、“精讀”之類。）
8. I suppose most travel books are “to be tasted”; it’s enough to dip into them and read bits here and there.我想游記之類的書大多是應(yīng)當(dāng)“嘗嘗滋味”的，隨便翻閱一下，這里看一點(diǎn)，那里看一點(diǎn)，就滿可以的了。
dip into在這里的意思是read (a book) or study (a subject) quickly and not carefully（隨便翻閱；稍加研究）。例如：
I’ve dipped into his book on Shakespeare, but I haven’t read it right through.我隨便翻閱一下他那本論莎士比亞的書，但是沒有從頭到尾讀完。
He dipped into oil painting a few years ago.他幾年前曾對(duì)油畫稍作研究。
I usually dip into a book before deciding whether to read it.我在決定是否閱讀一本書之前通常先瀏覽一下。
9. The first twenty or thirty pages of many of them had their margins filled with penciled notes and there were dozens of words and phrases underline.其中許多的書頭二、三十頁(yè)的邊上都用鉛筆寫滿了批注，還有許多單詞和短語(yǔ)的下面劃了線。
filled是過去分詞，作賓語(yǔ)their margins的補(bǔ)足語(yǔ)。
penciled notes用鉛筆寫的批注。
過去分詞underlined用作定語(yǔ)，修飾words和phrases。
dozen與數(shù)詞或several等連用時(shí)，復(fù)數(shù)不加-s。例如：
two dozen pencils兩打鉛筆 several dozen eggs幾打雞蛋
但是：dozens of pencils幾十支鉛筆 some dozens of people幾十個(gè)人
10. The owners, probably earnest students, had started out very seriously, determined to master the books.書的原主很可能是些用功的學(xué)生，他們開始讀的時(shí)候很認(rèn)真，決心要把這些書讀好。
形容詞短語(yǔ)determined to master the books用作狀語(yǔ)，修飾had started out，表示伴隨情況。
11. Then the need to turn to a dictionary, or a reference book, perhaps ten or even twenty times a pape, tires him out.后來，每讀一頁(yè)，需要查閱詞典或參考書十次甚至二十次，這就使他疲憊不堪。
turn to在這里的意思是go for help or advice（求助于，求教于）。又如：
Don’t hesitate to turn to him if you are in trouble.你要有困難，盡管找他好了。
All sorts of people turned to him for advice.各種人都來向他求教。
One can always turn to music for comfort.人們總是可以到音樂里去找安慰。
tire out的意思是tire completely（使筋疲力盡）。又如：
The hard work tired her out.這件費(fèi)力的工作把她累壞了。
I must sit down and rest. I’m tired out! 我得坐下來歇一歇，簡(jiǎn)直累死了！
12. If necessary = if it is necessary
類似的說法還有when necessary, if possible, when possible等。
13. When we’re children, I mean. 我指的是我們小的時(shí)候。
這是事后想起的話，用來補(bǔ)充說明前句里how we learn the meaning of words in our own language。
14. I agree that this is often true. 我承認(rèn)情況確實(shí)常常如此。
agree用作及物動(dòng)詞，后面可以接that引導(dǎo)的賓語(yǔ)從句。又如：
They agreed that it was a mistake.他們承認(rèn)這是錯(cuò)誤的。
I agree that the book is well worth reading. 我同意這本書很值得一讀。
agree后面接動(dòng)詞不定式，表示“答應(yīng)”。例如：
He agreed to help us. 他答應(yīng)幫助我們。
agree with 后面接指人或表示意見的詞。例如：
I agree with you. 我同意你的看法（意見）。
I agree with what you say. 我同意你的話。
agree to 后面一般接表示“計(jì)劃”、“建議”、“辦法”、“意見”等的詞。例如：
She agreed to my proposal. 她同意我的建議。
Does he agree to this plan? 他同意這個(gè)計(jì)劃嗎？
15. Times在這里指The Times（倫敦）泰晤士報(bào)。
16. …you’ll miss something that may be important.……你會(huì)漏掉某些也許是重要的東西。
注意：當(dāng)先行詞為everything, anything, nothing等不定代詞時(shí)，關(guān)系代詞需用that；當(dāng)先行詞為something時(shí)，關(guān)系代詞可用that,也可用which。例如：
Is there anything (that) I can do for you in town?有什么事要我在城里代你辦嗎？
There is nothing that is not useful.沒有什么無用的東西。
He has told me everything (that) he knows about it. 他把他所知道的關(guān)于這件事的一切情況都告訴了我。
There’s something that (which) keeps worrying me. 有一件事老使我不安。
17. If you’re too thorough, you’ll lose heart and perhaps give up.如果摳得太細(xì)，你就會(huì)灰心喪氣，多半不能堅(jiān)持下去。
lost heart = lose hope of success灰心；氣餒。
18. Yours ever你永久的朋友。
這是信的末尾加在署名前的一這是信的末尾加在署名前的一種客套語(yǔ)，也可以說Ever yours，用在熟人之間。第一個(gè)字母要大寫，后面要加逗號(hào)。寫信人的名字簽在這客套語(yǔ)的下一行。措辭的變化是依照友誼而定。對(duì)方是比較親密的，可用：
Faithfully yours Cordially yours Sincerely yours
一般的交際信，可用：
Yours sincerely Yours very sincerely Yours cordially Yours faithfully Yours affectionately Yours lovingly
EXERCISES
Ⅰ. Answer the following questions:
1. On what does Francisco ask the writer for advice?
2. Why does the writer consider Francisco’s request a difficult one?
1) Is it easy to advise others on what to read? Why not?
2) Does Francisco tell the writer what he wants to read in his letter?
3. What do you know about Francis Bacon?
1) Was he a German writer or an English writer?
2) About what time did he live?
3) Did he write an essay on studies? What is its title（題目）?
4. What’s the advice Bacon gave on reading?
5. Did the writer explain Bacon’s advice to Francisco? How?
1) What kind of books are “to be tasted”? What does “to be tasted”mean?
2) What kind of books are “to be swallow”? What does “to be swallowed” mean?
3) What kind of books are “to be chewed and digested”? What does “to be chewed and digested”mean?
6. What is a common experience with many people who read books in a foreign language?
1) What happens to them when they start to read a book in a foreign language?
2) Why do they give up after reading a few pages?
7. What are the writer’s answers to the question of difficult vocabulary?
1) What is the first answer?
2) What is the second answer?
8. How should we use reference books?
1) When should we use a reference book?
2) Need we look up every unknown word or phrase when we read? Why not?
3) If some of the new words are not yet in the dictionaries, what should we do with them?
4) What does the writer mean by “not to be too thorough in your use of reference books”?
Ⅱ. Learn the following:
A. Adj. v.
short shorten
hard harden
loose loosen
soft soften
weak weaken
wide widen
thick thicken
worse worsen
Ⅲ. Match the words and phrases given under A with the meanings under B. List B has some extra items.
A B
1. hesitate a. move (food or drink) down the throat from the mouth
2. be very fond of b. give advice to
3. be delighted c. crush food with the teeth
4. earnest d. be slow in deciding; be unwilling to do smoething
5. swallow e. make short or shorter
6. determined f. a group of twelve
7. with ease g. be greatly pleased
8. rewrite h. search for in a book reference
9. shorten i. draw a line under a word or words
10. advise j. without difficulty
11. dozen k. like … very much
12. underline l. firmly decided
m. write again
n. serious
Ⅳ. Fill in the blanks with the proper words or phrases from the list below:
A reference book an essay penciled notes a vocabulary an architect lose heart to digest a book
To dip into a book a second-hand bookshop a chapter
1. A short piece of writing on any subject called .
2. means to read it quickly and not too carefully.
3. are notes written in pencil.
4. means to study it carefully and take in the most important things in it.
5. is a book to which one goes for information.
6. A list of words used in a book is called .
7. When you , you feel that you cannot succeed.
8. is one that sells books that have been used.
Ⅴ. Fill in each blank with a suitable phrase in its proper form from the list below:
Congratulate … on advise … on be full of ask … for advice on Advise … to do …
give … advice on used to be delighted by pass … by tire out turn on lose heart
1. Will you please me some how to make notes?
2. I the news of our basketball team taking first place.
3. You can him whenever you are in trouble.
4. I you passing the college entrance examination.
5. They her travel for the benefit of her health.
6. You mustn’t ; sooner or later you will succeed.
7. He walked so fast that he soon me .
8. You’d better go and him how to develop your reading skill.
9. We’ll that matter for the moment.
10. I him where to spend his holiday.
Ⅵ. 1. Read the following letter, then point out the five parts of it:
a. body b. signature c. heading d. closing e. greeting
19 Grove Avenue
Warren, Alabama
Ala. 35233
June 9, 19
以上為A
Dear Cal, （B）
Our school will close on June 14. Can you come to visit me during the first week in August?
Our school will have a camp over at Wayland Park during that week. We’re going to have a good time there. We’ll go swimming, practice shooting and do some climbing. You can go to the camp with me if you come to visit us.
Let me know whether you can come.
以上為C
Your friend, (D)
Dick (E)
2. Read the following letter, then write a reply to it:
July 4, 19__
Dear Ah Fang,
With this letter I would like to introduce myself to you as a new pen friend. I am eighteen years old and have just graduated from Central High School. High school studies in this country last four to six years. In a few months I will enter a university to study education. I hope to be a teacher.
My interests, besides my studies, are art, music, and sports. I especially enjoy swimming, horseback riding, and skiing. It doesn’t snow much where I live, so when the skiing season comes, I have to travel to the mountains about ten hours away by car.
I am enclosing a photograph of myself. I would like to hear from you soon. Please tell me about yourself, your interest, and life in your country. I’m looking forward to being your pen friend and exchanging ideas on various subjects, even though we live so far away from each other.
Your friend,
Bob
Your reply to the letter may begin like this:
July 19, 19__
Dear Bob,
I was very glad to receive your letter of July 4. Thank you for writing. I would be very happy to your pen friend.
…
Ⅶ. Read the following passage, then translate it into Chinese orally:
Reading Skills
If you want to get the most out of the study of a language, you must also read for pleasure: novels, plays, travel books, and so on. And in reading books of this kind the important thing is to get on with the reading; to try to grasp what the writer is going to tell you in the book as a whole. This is impossible if you stop and think over the meaning of every single word which happens to be unfamiliar. You cannot enjoy a story if you stop half a dozen times on every page in order to look up words in the dictionary. You may even prevent yourself from understanding the story as a whole by doing this.
When you are reading books of this kind, therefore, you will usually have to rely mainly on the context to help you. If you meet an unfamiliar word, do not let it take too much of your attention from the main thread of the story. In all probability you will meet the same word again a few pages later on in a slightly different context, and each time you see it your understanding of it will become more exact.
