高中英語專題 Unit 1 英美文化欣賞

1、 【導(dǎo)讀】飄是美國女作家瑪格麗特米切爾十年磨一劍的作品，也是其唯一的作品。作品刻畫了那個時代的許多美國南方人的形象，成功地再現(xiàn)了林肯領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的南北戰(zhàn)爭和美國南方地區(qū)的社會生活。Gone with the Wind (excerpt)If the educational equipment which Gerald brought to America was scant，he did not even know it.Nor would he have cared if he had been told.His mother had taught him to read and to write

2、in a clear hand.He was adept at ciphering.And there his book knowledge stopped.The only Latin he knew was the responses of the Mass and the only history was the manifold wrongs of Ireland.He knew no poetry save that of Moore and no music except the songs of Ireland that had come down through the yea

3、rs.While he entertained the liveliest respect for those who had more book learning than he，he never felt his own lack.And what need had he of these things in a new country where the most ignorant of bogtrotters had made great fortunes in this country which asked only that a man be strong and unafrai

4、d of work?He liked the South，and he soon became，in his own opinion，a Southerner.There was much about the South and Southerners that he would never comprehend；but，with the wholeheartedness that was his nature，he adopted its ideas and customs，as he understood them，for his ownpoker and horse racing，red

5、hot politics and the code duello，States Rights and damnation to all Yankees，slavery and King Cotton，contempt for white trash and exaggerated courtesy to women.He even learned to chew tobacco.There was no need for him to acquire a good head for whisky；he had been born with one.But Gerald remained Ger

6、ald.His habits of living and his ideas changed，but his manners he would not change，even had he been able to change them.He admired the drawling elegance of the wealthy rice and cotton planters，who rode into Savannah from their mosshung kingdoms，mounted on thoroughbred horses and followed by the carr

7、iages of their equally elegant ladies and the wagons of their slaves.But Gerald could never attain elegance.Their lazy，blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears，but his own brisk brogue clung to his tongue.He liked the casual grace with which they conducted affairs of importance，risking a fortune，a

8、 plantation or a slave on the turn of a card and writing off their losses with careless good humor and no more ado than when they scattered pennies to pickaninnies.飄(節(jié)選)到美國來之前，杰拉爾德沒有受過多少教育，可是他對此并不怎么有自知之明。其實，即使別人給他指出，他也不會在意。他母親教他讀書和工整書寫。他很善于做算術(shù)題。他的書本知識就只有這些。他唯一懂得的拉丁文是做彌撒時應(yīng)答牧師的用語，唯一的歷史知識則是愛爾蘭的種種冤屈。他在詩

9、歌方面，只知道穆爾的作品，音樂則限于歷代流傳下來的愛爾蘭歌曲。他盡管對那些比他有學(xué)問的人懷有敬意，可是從來也沒感覺到自己的不足。而且，在一個新的國家，在一個連那些最愚昧的愛爾蘭人也在此發(fā)了大財?shù)膰遥谝粋€只要求你強(qiáng)壯不怕干活的國家，他需要這些東西干什么呢？他喜歡南方，并且自己以為自己很快就成了南方人。的確，關(guān)于南方和南方人，有許多東西是他永遠(yuǎn)也不會理解的，不過，南方人的有些思想習(xí)慣，如玩撲克、賽馬、爭論政治和舉行決斗、爭取州權(quán)和咒罵北方佬、維護(hù)奴隸制和棉花至上主義、輕視下流白人和過分討好婦女等，他一旦理解便全心全意地接受，并且使它們成為他自己的。他甚至學(xué)會了咀嚼煙葉。至于喝威士忌的本領(lǐng)，他生

10、來就已經(jīng)具備，那是不用學(xué)的。然而，杰拉爾德還是杰拉爾德。他的生活習(xí)慣和思想變了，但他不愿改變自己的態(tài)度，即使他能夠改變。他羨慕那些種稻米和棉花的富裕種植園主，羨慕他們慢條斯理、溫文爾雅地騎著純種馬，后面是載著他們文質(zhì)彬彬的太太們的馬車和載著奴隸們的大車，從他們的古舊王國向薩凡納迤邐而來?？墒墙芾瓲柕掠肋h(yuǎn)也學(xué)不會文雅。他們那種懶洋洋的含糊不清的聲音，他聽著特別悅耳，但他自己那輕快的土腔卻總是依附于舌頭上擺脫不了。他們處理重大事務(wù)時、在一張牌上賭押一筆財產(chǎn)、一個種植園或一個奴隸時，以及像向黑人孩子撒錢幣似的將他們的損失愜意地立即勾銷時，那種滿不在乎的神氣是他十分喜愛的。知識積累1educational adj.教育的，有教育意義的2comprehend vt. 理解3exaggerated adj. 夸張的，言過其實的4mount v. 登上；騎上5conduct