英语范文背诵Types of Speech
Standard usage includes those words and expressionsunderstood, used, and accepted by a majority of the speakersof a language in any situation regardless of the level offormality. As such, these words and expressions are well defined and listed in standarddictionaries. Colloquialisms, on the other hand, are familiar words and idioms that areunderstood by almost all speakers of a language and used in informal speech or writing, butnot considered appropriate for more formal situations. Almost all idiomatic expressions arecolloquial language. Slang, however, refers to words and expressions understood by a largenumber of speakers but not accepted as good, formal usage by the majority. Colloquialexpressions and even slang may be found in standard dictionaries but will be so identified.Both colloquial usage and slang are more common in speech than in writing.
Colloquial speech often passes into standard speech. Some slang a
lso passes into standardspeech, but other slang expressions enjoy momentary popularity followed by obscurity. Insome cases, the majority never accepts certain slang phrases but nevertheless retains them intheir collective memories. Every generation seems to require its own set of words to describefamiliar objects and events. It has been pointed out by a number of linguists that three culturalconditions are necessary for the creation of a large body of slang expressions. First, theintroduction and acceptance of new objects and situations in the society; second, a diversepopulation with a large number of subgroups; third, association among the subgroups and themajority population.
Finally, it is worth noting that the terms "standard"
"colloquial" and "slang" exist only asabstract labels for scholars who study language. Only a tiny number of the speakers of anylanguage will be aware that they are using colloquial or slang expressions. Most speakers ofEnglish will, during appropriate situations, select and use all three types of expressions.
英语范文背诵Suburbanization
If by "suburb" is meant an urban margin that grows morerapidly than its already developed interior, the process ofsuburbanization began during the emergence of the industrialcity in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Before that period the city was a smallhighly compact cluster in which people moved about on foot and goods were conveyed byhorse and cart. But the early factories built in the 1840's were located along waterways andnear railheads at the edges of cities, and housing was needed for the thousands of peopledrawn by（由……拉
动） the prospect of employment. In time, the factories were surroundedby proliferating（增生扩
散） mill towns of apartments and row houses that abutted(v.邻接，毗
邻) the older, main cities. As a defense against this encroachment（侵
蚀） and to enlargetheir tax bases, the cities appropriated their industrial neighbors. In 1854, for example, the cityof Philadelphia annexed（并吞，附
加） most of Philadelphia County. Similar municipalmaneuvers took place in Chicago and in New York. Indeed, most great cities of the UnitedStates achieved such status only by incorporating the com
munities along their borders.
With the acceleration of industrial growth came acute urban crowding and accompanying socialstress-conditions that began to approach disastrous proportions when, in 1888, the firstcommercially successful electric traction line was developed. Within a few years the horse-drawn trolleys were retired and electric streetcar networks crisscrossed and connected everymajor urban area, fostering a wave of suburbanization that transformed the compact industrialcity into a dispersed metropolis. This first phase of mass-scale suburbanization was reinforcedby the simultaneous emergence of the urban Middle Class, whose desires for homeownershipin neighborhoods far from the aging inner city were satisfied by the developers of single-familyhousing tracts.
英语范文背诵American Revolution
The American Revolution was not a revolution in the sense ofa radical or toal change .It was not a sudden and violentoverturning of the political and social framework, such as lateroccurred in France and Russia, when both were already independent nations. Significantchanges were ushered(引导，展
示) in, but they were not breathtaking(惊人的，惊险
的). Whathappened was accelerated evolution rather than outright(直率的，彻底
的) revolution. Duringthe conflict itself people went on working and praying, marrying and playing. Most of themwere not seriously disturbed by the actual fighting, and many of the more isolatedcommunities scarcely knew that a war was on.
America's War of Independence heralded(预报，宣
布) the birth of three modern nations. Onewas Canada, which received its first large influx(注入，流
入) of English-speaking populationfrom the thousands of loyalists(忠诚的人，反对独立的
人) who fled there from the UnitedStates. Another was Australia, which became a penal(刑事
的) colony now that America was nolonger available for prisoners and debtors. The third newcomer-the United States-based itselfsquarely 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 alreadyexisting. British o
fficials, everywhere ousted, were replaced by a home-grown governing class,which promptly sought a local substitute for king and Parliament.(现在就算是政治革命也不如以前想像的那样具有革命性。在一些州，特别明显的像康涅狄格和瑞候德岛，战争在很大程度上批准一些殖民居住地自治的做法已经存在。英国政府到处掠夺，它被本国的政治阶层所取代，而这个政治阶层很快地在当地为国王和国会找到本国的替代品)
英语范文背诵Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie, known as the King of Steel, built the steelindustry in the United States, and , in the process, becameone of the wealthiest men in America. His success resulted inpart from his ability to sell the product and in part from his policy of expanding during periodsof economic decline, when most of his competitors were reducing their investments.
Carnegie believed that individuals should progress through hard work, but he also felt stronglythat the wealthy(有钱人，富
人) should use their fortunes for the benefit of society. Heopposed charity(施
舍), preferring instead to provide educational opportunities that w
ould allowothers 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, includingthe Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, which has a library, a museum of fine arts, and a museumof national history. He also founded a school of technology that is now part of Carnegie-MellonUniversity. Other philanthrophic gifts are the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace topromote understanding between nations, the Carnegie Institute of Washington to fundscientific research, and Carnegie Hall to provide a center for the arts.
Few Americans have been left untouched by Andrew Carnegie's generosity(慷慨，大
方). Hiscontributions of more than five million dollars established 2,500 libraries in small communitiesthroughout the country and formed the nucleus of the public library system that we all enjoytoday.
英语范文背诵Television
Television-----the most pervasive（弥漫性的，渗透性的）and persuasive(有说服力的，使人信服
的) of moderntechnologies, marked by rapid change and growth-is movinginto a new era, an era of extraordinary（非凡
的） sophistication and versatility(多功能
性),which promises to reshape our lives and our world. It is an electronic revolution of sorts(各种各样
的), made possible by the marriage of television and computer technologies.
The word "television", derived from its Greek (tele: distant) and Latin (visio: sight) roots, canliterally be interpreted as sight from a distance. Very simply put, it works in this way: through asophisticated system of electronics, television provides the capability of converting an image(focused on a special photoconductive plate within a camera) into electronic impulses(刺激，推动
力), 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 wellas a vehicle for communication, and as such becomes a powerful tool for reaching otherhuman beings.
The field of television can be divided into two categories determined by its means oftransmission. 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 controlledtransmission techniques.
Traditionally, television has been a medium of the masses. We are most familiar with broadcasttelevision because it has been with us for about thirty-seven years in a form similar to whatexists today. During those years, it has been controlled, for the most part, by the broadcastnetworks, ABC, NBC, and CBS, who have been the major purveyors(承办
商)of news,information, and entertainment. These giants of broadcasting have actually shaped not onlytelevision but our perception(感
觉) of it as well. We have come to look upon the picture tubeas a source of entertainment, placing our role in this dynamic medium a
s the passive viewer.(我们作为被动的观众把我们的角色溶入这种动态的媒体，我们已经开始把显像管看做一种娱乐的资源。)
英语范文背诵The Beginning of Drama
There are many theories about the beginning of drama inancient Greece. The one most widely accepted today is basedon the assumption that drama evolved from ritual（典礼，宗教仪
式）. The argument for this view goes as follows. In the beginning, human beings viewedthe natural forces of the world-even the seasonal changes-as unpredictable, and they soughtthrough various means to control these unknown and feared powers. Those measures whichappeared to bring the desired results were then retained and repeated until they hardened intofixed rituals. Eventually stories arose which explained or veiled(以面纱遮盖，隐
避) themysteries of the rites(仪式，典
礼). As time passed some rituals were abandoned, but thestories, 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 theseed of theater because music, dance, masks, and costumes(服
装) were almost always used,Furthermore, a suitable site had to be provided for performances and when the entirecommunity did not participate, a clear division was usually made between the "acting area" andthe "auditorium." In addition, there were performers, and, since considerable importance wasattached to avoiding mistakes in the enactment(设定制
定) of rites, religious leaders usuallyassumed that task. Wearing masks and costumes, they often impersonated other people,animals, or supernatural beings, and mimed(模
仿) the desired effect-success in hunt or battle,the coming rain, the revival of the Sun-as an actor might. Eventually such dramaticrepresentations were separated from religious activities.
Another theory traces the theater's origin from the human interest in storytelling. According tothis views tales (about the hunt, war, or other feats) are gradually elaborated, at first throughthe use of impersonation, action, and dialogue by a narrator and then through the assumptionof each of the roles by a different person. A closely related theory traces theater to thosedances that are primarily rhy
thmical and gymnastic or that are imitations of animal movementsand sounds.
英语范文背诵Electricity
The modern age is an age of electricity. People are so used toelectric lights, radio, televisions, and telephones that it is hardto imagine what life would be like without them. When thereis a power failure, people grope(摸
索) about in flickering candlelight, cars hesitate in thestreets because there are no traffic lights to guide them, and food spoils(损坏，宠坏，弄糟) insilent refrigerators.
Yet, people began to understand how electricity works only a little more than two centuriesago. Nature has apparently been experimenting in this field for million of years. Scientists arediscovering more and more that the living world may hold many interesting secrets ofelectricity that could benefit humanity.
All living cell send out tiny pulses(脉
冲) of electricity. As the heart beats, it sends out pulses ofrecord; t
hey form an electrocardiogram, which a doctor can study to determine how well theheart is working. The brain, too, sends out brain waves of electricity, which can be recorded inan electroencephalogram. The electric currents generated by most living cells are extremelysmall ? often so small that sensitive instruments are needed to record them. But in someanimals, certain muscle cells have become so specialized as electrical generators that they donot work as muscle cells at all.(但是一些动物它们特定的肌肉细胞已经变得和发电机一样，但是发电机的工作原理和它们完全不一
样) 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 hundredvolts of electricity through the water in which it live.
( An electric house current is only onehundred twenty volts.) As many as four-fifths of all the cells in the electric eel’s body arespecialized for generating electricity, and the strength of the shock it can deliver correspondsroughly to length of its body.
英语范文背诵The Definition of Price
Prices determine how resources are to be used.(价格决定多少资源被使
用) They are also the means by which products andservices that are in limited supply are rationed among buyers.(它们也是有限的产品和服务在购买者之间按比例分配的依
据) The price system of the UnitedStates is a complex network composed of the prices of all the products bought and sold in theeconomy as well as those of a myriad of(无数
的) 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 uponeverything else.
If one were to ask a group of randomly selected individuals to define “price”, many wouldreply that price is an amount of money paid by the buyer to the seller of a product or serviceor, in other words that price is the money values of a product or service as agreed upon in amarket transaction. This definition is, of course, valid as far as it goes. For a completeunderstanding of a price in any particular transaction, much more than the amount of moneyinvolved mus
t be known. (为了在任一个特定的交易中透彻地了解价格的含义，需要了解除钱的数量之外所涉及的更多内
容) Both the buyer and the seller should be familiar with not only themoney 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 formof money to be used, the credit terms and discounts(折
扣) that apply to the transaction,guarantees on the product or service, delivery terms, return privileges(特权，特别待
遇), andother factors. In other words, both buyer and seller should be fully aware of all the factors thatcomprise the total “package” being exchanged for the asked-for amount of money in orderthat they may evaluate a given price. (换句话说，为了能够评估一个给定的价格，买者和卖者都应该完全清楚组成这个总的“包裹”的所有因素，这个总的“包裹”是用来和标定的钱数来交换的)
英语范文背诵Schooling and Education
It is commonly believed in United States that school is wherepeople go to get an education. Nevertheless（然而，不
过）,it has been said that today children interrupt their educationto go to school. The distinction between schooling and education implied by this remark isimportant.
Education is much more open-ended and all-inclusive than schooling. Education knows nobounds（教育被认为是没有界限
的）. It can take place anywhere, whether in the shower or inthe job, whether in a kitchen or on a tractor. It includes both the formal learning that takesplace in schools and the whole universe（整个世界） of informal learning. The agents(代
理) ofeducation can range from a revered (尊敬
的)grandparent to the people debating politics on theradio, from a child to a distinguished(著名
的) scientist. Whereas schooling has a certainpredictability(可预言的), education quite often produces surprises. A chance conversation witha stranger may lead a person to discover how little is known of other religions. People areengaged in education from infancy on. Education, then, is a very broad, inclusive term. It is alifelong process, a process that starts long before the start of school, and one that should bean integral part of one’s entire life.
Schooling, on the other hand, is a specific, formalized process, wh
ose general pattern varieslittle from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive at school atapproximately the same time, take assigned seats, are taught by an adult, use similartextbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The slices of reality that are to be learned(所要学习的本质上
是。。), whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the working ofgovernment, have usually been limited by the boundaries of the subject being taught. Forexample, high school students know that there not likely to find out in their classes the truthabout political problems in their communities(举个例子，高年级学生知道在他们的课堂中不太可能会涉及到他们政党中存在的政治问题的真相) or what the newest filmmakers areexperimenting with. There are definite conditions surrounding the formalized process ofschooling.(在这种正式的学校教学过程中有明确的周边环境)
英语范文背诵The Language of Music
A painter hangs his or her finished pictures on a wall, andeveryone can see it. A composer writes a work, but no onecan hear it until it is performed. Professional singers andplayers have great responsi
bilities, for the composer is utterly dependent on them. A studentof music needs as long and as arduous（艰辛
的） a training to become a performer as amedical student needs to become a doctor. Most training is concerned with technique, formusicians have to have the muscular proficiency of an athlete or a ballet dancer. Singerspractice breathing every day, as their vocal（声音的） chords（和
音） would be inadequatewithout controlled muscular support. String players practice moving the fingers of the left handup and down, while drawing the bow to and fro with the right arm—two entirely differentmovements.
Singers and instruments have to be able to(能够，可
以) get every note perfectly in tune.Pianists are spared this particular anxiety, for the notes are already there, waiting for them, andit is the piano tuner’s responsibility to tune the instrument for them. But they have their owndifficulties; 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 tolearn to know every note of the music an
d how it should sound, and they have to aim atcontrolling these sound with fanatical(狂热的) but selfless authority. （with A but B,是A而不是B）
Technique is of no use unless it is combined with musical knowledge and understanding. Greatartists are those who are so thoroughly at home in the language of music that they can enjoyperforming works written in any century.