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Uint1The most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher, Anne Sullivan, came to me. It was the third of March,1887, three months before I was seven years old. On the afternoon of that eventful day, I stood on the porch, dumb, expectant, I guessed from my mothers signs and from the hurrying in the house that something unusual was about to happen, so I went to the door and waited on the steps. Hanging down from the porch was sweet-smelling honeysuckle. My fingers lightly touched the familiar leaves and the blossoms which had just come forth to greet the sweet southern spring I did not know what surprise the future held for me.I felt approaching footsteps, I stretched out my hand as I supposed to my mother. Someone took it, and I was caught up and held close in the arms of her who had come to help me discover all things to me, and, more than anything else, to love me.Unit 2 It seems that marriage and money dont mix, because marriage is a sexy rose-colored event that seems as wonderful as a cake without calories. Money, on the other hand, is the oil that greases the wheel. Money means business and its usually the last topic you want to discuss when you announce your engagement.Beyond the expenses that youll incur with your wedding and honeymoon, money may provide most of the contention within your marriage. While discussions about money might seem unromantic at this moment, its best to talk about the future now before that marriage makes you legally bound to each other. Once youve said, “I do,” some things cant be undone.Unit 3 The Globe Theater is a playhouse built just outside London in 1599. It is the most famous theater in history: on its stage Shakespeares greatest plays were first performed. Big enough to hold about 2,500 people, the Globe had three levels of galleries surrounding an unroofed yard. Extending from one side of the yard to the center was an open stage. From the stage floor rose two posts to support an overhanging canopy known as the heavens. The Globe was built in London by the Burbage brothers in 1599. At the same time, wishing to bind the Lord Chamberlains company closely to the new playhouse, they planned a novel partnership in which the brothers divided ownership of the Globe among themselves and five of the actors in the company, one of whom was Shakespeare. After 1609, when the company opened a second theater, the Globe became less important. On June 29, 1613, during a performance of Shakespeares King Henry the Eighth, fire destroyed the Globe. It was rebuilt within a year but was destroyed forever by the Puritans in 1644.Unit 4 Throughout the long period, the French showed noticeably more enthusiasm for a Channel tunnel than the British. This may seem curious, seeing that France already has many land frontiers, whereas for Britain a tunnel would be its first fixed link with the Continent, and thus more valuable. But the British were held back by their insularity, and especially by fears that an invader might be able to make use of the scheme. Happily, all that is past. Today Britains politicians and business circles have shown themselves as eager as the French.Those who take a wider and longer-term view believe that these possible drawbacks for Britain will be far outweighed by the advantages. Passengers by express train will be able to do the journey at least an hour faster than by air, city center to city center, and without any tedious waits at airports. Also the fares will be cheaper. So the tunnel will probably stimulate a vast increase in tourism and business travel between London and Paris.Unit 5Man has a big brain. He can think, learn, and speak. Scientists used to think that humans were different from animals because they can think and learn. They know now that animals can learn-dogs, rats, birds and even worms can learn. Scientists are now beginning to understand that humans are different from animals because they can speak. Animals cannot speak. They make noises when they are afraid, or angry, or unhappy. Apes are our nearest cousins. They can understand some things more quickly than human beings, and one or two have learned a few words, but they are still different from us. They cannot join words or make sentences. They cannot think like us because they have no language, as we mean it. They can never think about the past or the future. Language is a wonderful thing. Man has been able to develop civilization largely because he has language. Every child can speak his own language very well when he is four or five-but no animal learns to speak. How do children learn? Scientists do not really know. What happens when we speak? Scientists dont know. They only know that man can speak because he has a big brain.Unit 5 Many students who call themselves bad readers nevertheless do read some things successfully. They may read novels or they may read the sports page every day. But a textbook is a different matter. A textbook gives them a lot of troubles. Why is that? One reason is lack of interest. Another is that they are often unfamiliar with the subject about which they are reading. But a third reason is that they try to read a textbook as if it were a novel or a sports story or a problem to be solved by Ann landers. They respond to the textbook inappropriately.How you read something depends on the authors purpose in writing. There are basically four purposes for writing. Some authors write to tell a story; others write to create an image in your mind; some authors write to inform or to teach; and some still others write to convince you of a particular viewpoint. Each of these four purposes requires a different response as you read. If you respond differently to different types of writing, you will find that your reading will be much easier.
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