时间:2018-12-04 作者:英语课 分类:新编大学英语教程


英语课


Unit 5

DIALOGUE I

Learning Chinese as a Foreign Language

A: Hi, Xiaohua!
B: Hi, David, how's everything?
A: Good. So far so good, I mean.
B: You've been in China for two months. How do you like your CFL programme in the Chinese Department?
A: My interest in Chinese grows with each passing day. So does my difficulty in learning Chinese. It's such a difficult language! It's go different from European languages, such as English and French.
B: As a learner of English as a foreign language, I'm going through a similar ordeal 1. I have difficulty with spelling, pronunciation and, believe it or not, with numbers and figures.
A: But you speak English so much better than I do Chinese. I wish I were able to talk to native speakers in Chinese the way you are talking to me.
B: You will. Only it takes time.
A: I know. "Rome was not built in a day."
B: And “只要工夫深,铁杵磨成针”, as the Chinese saying goes.
A: Which means...?
B: Which means "Dripping water wears away stone", or "Where there's a will, there's a way." By the way, what do you find most difficult with your Chinese learning?
A: The grammatical structure of Chinese doesn't seem to be as complex as I used to think. In many ways it is simpler than most European languages. No verb agreement, no irregular verbs and nouns, very few and simple tense markers, to name just a few.
B: On the other hand, these are exactly the causes of some of the major problems I have with my English learning.
A: But the Chinese writing system is altogether new to me. Instead of neat rows of 26 simple alphabetic 2 letters, there are tens of thousands of unique characters formed with a varied 3 number of strokes. Many of these characters seem complex. Although the calligraphy 4 of Chinese characters is artistically 5 beautiful, I won't be able to appreciate it until I can recognize and write at least 8,888 Chinese characters. I'm just kidding.
B: How does Chinese sound to you?
A: I find putonghua rather melodious 6, a little like singing.
B: Basically, Chinese is a tonal language. I'm not sure if you have trouble with making distinctions of the four tones.
A: Yes, I do. The tonal system of Chinese really bothers me. It's a major source of difficulty with my comprehension and pronunciation. It's so upsetting that most of the time I don't understand what I hear and am not understood by others.
B: I suggest you take advantage of living in China and go to lectures, movies, and plays "8,888 times", and dip yourself in the language environment as much as possible. Before I forget, I have two tickets for a newly-released feature film. Would you like to go with me and improve your listening for the tones?
A: Certainly! Thank you so much.
B: My pleasure.


DIALOGUE II

Dialogue:
Two English teachers from a foreign language university in China are talking about a book called Beijing opera and Mei Lanfang. One of the teachers saw a Beijing opera a week ago and bought the book afterwards; the other teacher didn't see the opera, but is interested in buying the book.
A: Where did you buy it?
B: In the bookshop. It wasn't very expensive.
A: What does the book say about Beijing opera? I don't know anything about it.
B: Well, neither did I before I read the book. It says that the Beijing opera is a very old art form, over hundreds of years old.
A: Do you think I should buy it?
B: Yes, if you are interested. It tells you all about the history, the famous actors, the costumes and what all the different movements mean.
A: What's the difference between Beijing opera and Western theatre?
B: Well, it's totally different. One of the authors points out that Beijing opera is actually "larger than life."
A: Yes, I can see that from these pictures.
B: One of the two authors says that some people think the Beijing opera is not real drama (theatre).
A: Well, I don't agree with that.
B: No, neither do I. He wonders whether Beijing opera will ever die. He has to admit that there are many keen Beijing opera enthusiasts 7, and they will never let it die.
A: Mei Lanfang writes something in the book, too, doesn't he?
B: Yes, he declares that he loves the theatre more than anything else, although he admits that it has not always been an easy life.
A: Do the two authors agree that Mei Lanfang was the best Beijing opera actor?
B: Yes, of course. They agree that Mei Lanfang was the "Father" of Beijing opera. They both want to know whether Beijing opera will remain the same in the future, and they wonder if there are enough young Chinese people interested in it today.
A: Mmm, it sounds like an interesting book. If they have any left in the bookshop, I think I'll buy one.


READING I
The Weather

This is the most important topic in the land. Do not be misled by memories of your youth when, on the Continent, wanting to describe someone as exceptionally dull, you remarked: "He is the type who would discuss the weather with you." In English this is an ever-interesting, ever-thrilling topic, and you must be good at discussing the weather.
Example of conversation:

For good weather
"Lovely day, isn't it?"
"Isn't it beautiful?"
"The sun..."
"Isn't it gorgeous?"
"Wonderful, isn't it?"
"It's so nice and hot..."
"Personally, I think it's so nice when it's hot — isn't it?"
"I adore it — don't you?"

For bad weather
"Nasty day, isn't it?"
"Isn't dreadful?"
"The rain... I hate rain..."
"I don't like it at all. Do you?"
"Fancy such a day in July. Rain in the morning, then a bit of sunshine, and then rain, rain, rain, all day long."
"I remember exactly the same July day in 1936."
"Yes, I remember, too."
"Or was it 1928?"
"Yes, it was."
"Or in 1939"
"Yes, that's right."
Now observe the last few sentences of this conversation. A very important rule emerges from it. You must never contradict anybody when discussing the weather. Should it hail and snow, should hurricanes uproot 8 the trees from the sides of the road, and should someone remark to you: "Nice day, isn't it?" — answer without hesitation 9: "Isn't it lovely?"
Learn the above conversations by heart. If you are a bit slow in picking things up, learn at least one conversation, it would do wonderfully for any occasion.
If you do not say anything else for the rest of your life, just repeat this conversation, and you still have a fair chance of passing as a remarkably 10 witty 11 man of sharp intellect, keen observation and extremely pleasant manners.



1 ordeal
n.苦难经历,(尤指对品格、耐力的)严峻考验
  • She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
  • Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。
2 alphabetic
adj.照字母次序的,字母的
  • A generic name for a device that can store and process numeric and alphabetic in formation. 能存储和处理数字与字母信息的设备的总称。 来自辞典例句
  • A coded character set whose character set is an alphabetic character set. 一种编码字符集,它的字符集是一种字母字符集。 来自互联网
3 varied
adj.多样的,多变化的
  • The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
  • The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。
4 calligraphy
n.书法
  • At the calligraphy competition,people asked him to write a few characters.书法比赛会上,人们请他留字。
  • His calligraphy is vigorous and forceful.他的书法苍劲有力。
5 artistically
adv.艺术性地
  • The book is beautifully printed and artistically bound. 这本书印刷精美,装帧高雅。
  • The room is artistically decorated. 房间布置得很美观。
6 melodious
adj.旋律美妙的,调子优美的,音乐性的
  • She spoke in a quietly melodious voice.她说话轻声细语,嗓音甜美。
  • Everybody was attracted by her melodious voice.大家都被她悦耳的声音吸引住了。
7 enthusiasts
n.热心人,热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )
  • A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册
8 uproot
v.连根拔起,拔除;根除,灭绝;赶出家园,被迫移开
  • The family decided to uproot themselves and emigrate to Australia.他们全家决定离开故土,移居澳大利亚。
  • The trunk of an elephant is powerful enough to uproot trees.大象的长鼻强壮得足以将树木连根拔起。
9 hesitation
n.犹豫,踌躇
  • After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天,他终于直说了。
  • There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。
10 remarkably
ad.不同寻常地,相当地
  • I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
  • He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。
11 witty
adj.机智的,风趣的
  • Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
  • He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。
学英语单词
3-cholestanone
adenosine monophosphates
Aghiresu
anti-beauty quark
artesian well pump
assignment control number
axiom of parallels
Braxton-Hicks contraction
Browning's phenomenon
Burghley House
buried hildfast
center feeding
Coldbackie
condensational waves
constructive confrontation
current operating performance income statement
Customs Cooperation Council
cystine stone
damosel, damozel
decomposition agent
deflection winding
Dendrobium longicornu
departable
electromagnetostriction
emotion control
fractional monetary units
French horns
funible
glycolaldehydes
Harrington's solution
Hejce
high resolution visible
homosexual conduct
human contact
Hypalon
innubilous
interventions
ionization erosion
ISCOMS
Laprugne
leggett
lob along
lower-energy coast
lysogenic viruses
machilidaes
Magnolia fulva
maintenance mores
medianoscopy
Meier Helmbrecht
mesantoins
Meymeh
myostromin
myotonic muscular dystrophy
narrators
need of growth
news-wall
non-clients
non-system mark time request
ossa japonicum
patro-
pelecanine
Pentecostal Fellowship of North America
Pharmacochalzite
physical educations
pilot-actuated safety valve
poor maintenance of equipment
POS data
pressing powder
pressure, gauge
prostaglandin(s)
radio antenna truck
return chute
rosegolds
sclerotizations
shift driven shaft
short-half-life material
single office exchange
smilacaceous
smooth sequence
snow-slide
soft-touch control
sojo
spasmodized
strength freeboard
strikethrough
Styrax suberifolius
subpixel
succedaneously
tack welding
telecentric light
tension magnet
terminal artery
Time is up
tindered
transfer price
twenty-nines
unmodifiable
uredo microstegii
utilitarianise
vietnam block
vulgarness
zall