選修6英語課文及翻譯
選修6英語課文及翻譯
導語：選修是新課程標準改革中的一個名詞，是課程結構調整中的一種課程型別。接下來我們一起來看看選修6英語課文及翻譯吧！
Unit 1 A SHORT HISTORY OF WESTERN PAINTING 西方繪畫藝術的歷史
Art is influenced by the customs and of a people. Styles in Western art have changed many times. As there are so many different styles of Western art, it would be impossible to describe all of them in such a short text. Consequently, this text will describe only the most important ones. Starting from the sixth century AD. The Middle Ages(5th to the 15th century AD)
During the Middle Ages, the main aim of painters was to represent religious themes. A conventional artistof this period was not interested in showing nature and people as they really were. A typical picture at this time was full of religious symbols, which created a feeling of respect and love for God. But it was evident that ideas were changing in the 13th century when painters like Giotto di Bondone began to paint religious scenes in a more realistic way.
The Renaissance(15th to 16th century)
During the Renaissance, new ideas and values gradually replaced those held in the Middle Ages. People began to concentrate less on religious themes and adopt a more humanistic attitude to life.At the same time painters returned to classical Roman and Greek ideas about art. They tried to paint people and nature as they really were. Rich people wanted to possess their own paintings, so they coule decorate their superb palaces and great houses. They paid famous artists to paint pictures of themselves, their houses and possessions as well as their activities and achievements.
One of the most important discoveries during this period was how to draw things in perspective. This technique was first used by Masaccio in 1428. When people first saw his paintings, they were convinced that they were looking through a hole in a wall at a real scene. If the rules of perspective had not been discovered, no one would have been able to paint such realistic pictures. By coincidence,oil paints were also developed at this time, which made the colours used in paintings look richer and deeper. Without the new paints and the new technique, we would not be able to see the many great masterpieces for which this period is famous. Impressionism(late 19h to early 20th century)
In the late 19th century, Europe changed a great deal,from a mostly agricultural society to a mostly industrial one. Many people moved from the countryside to the new cities. There were many new inventions and social changes also led to new painting styles.
Among the painters who broke away from the traditional style of painting were the Impressionists, who lived and worke in Paris. The Impressionists were the first painters to work outdoors. They were eager to show how light and shadow fell on objects at different times of day. However, because natural light changes so quickly, the Impressionists had to paint quickly. Their paintings were not as detailed as those of earlier painters. At first, many people disliked this style of painting and became very angry about it. They said that the painters were careless and their paintings were ridiculous.
Modern Art(29th century to today)
At the time they were created, the Impressionist paintings were controversial, but today they are accepeted as the beginning of what we call “modern art”. This is because the Impressionists encouraged artists to look at their environment in new ways. There are scores of modern art styles,but without the Impressionists, many of these painting styles might not exsist. On the one hand, some modern art is abstract; that is, the painter does not attempt to paint objects as we see them with our eyes, but instead concentrates n certain qualities of the object, using colour, line and shape to represent them. On the other hand, some paintings of modern art are so realistic that they look like photographs. These styles are so different. Who can predict what painting styles there will be in the future?
西方的藝術風格經歷了多次變革，而中國藝術所經歷的變革則比較少。藝術受到人民生活方式和信仰的影響，而中國，和歐洲不同，它的生活方式在很長時期裡都是相近的。西方藝術風格多種多樣，在短短的一篇課文裡不可能進行全面的描述。因此，本文只談從公元5世紀以來少數幾種主要的藝術風格。
中世紀（公元5世紀到15世紀）
在中世紀，畫家的主要任務是把宗教的主題表現出來。藝術家們無意於如實地展現自然和人物，卻著意體現對上帝的愛戴與敬重，因此，這段時期的繪畫充滿著宗教的信條。到13世紀時，情況已經開始發生變化，像喬託這樣的畫家們開始以一種比較現實的風格來畫宗教場景。
文藝復興時期（15世紀到16世紀）
在文藝復興時期，新的思想和價值觀取代了中世紀的思想和價值觀。人們開始更多地關注人而非宗教。畫家們回到了羅馬、希臘的古典藝術理念上。他們力爭如實地畫出人物和自然。富人們想為自己的宮殿和豪宅收集藝術品，他們高價聘請著名藝術家來為自己畫相，畫自己的房屋和其它財物，以及他們的活動和成就。
在此期間，最重要的發現之一就是如何用透視法來畫出事物。第一個在繪畫中使用透視法的人是馬薩喬，那是在1428年。當人們第一次看到他的畫時，還以為是透過牆上的小洞來觀看真實的場景，並對此深信不疑。如果沒有發現透視法，人們就不可能畫出如此逼真的畫。在文藝復興對期，油畫也得到了發展，它使得色彩看上去更豐富、更深沉。
印象派時期（19世紀後期到20世紀初期）
19世紀後期，歐洲發生了巨大的變化，從以農業為主的社會變成了以工業為主的社會。許多人從農村遷入到新城市。有著許多新發明，還有許多社會變革。這些變革也自然而然地導致了繪畫風格上的變化。在那些突破傳統畫法的畫家中有生活和工作在法國巴黎的印象派畫家。
印象派畫家是第一批室外寫景的藝術家。他們想把一天中不同時間投射到物體上的光線和陰影呈現出來。由於自然光的變化很快，所以印象派畫家們必須很快地作畫，因此，他們的畫就不像以前那些畫家的畫那樣細緻了。起初，多數人都討厭這種新式畫法，甚至還怒不可遏。他們說這些畫家作畫時漫不經心、粗枝大葉，而他們的作品更是荒謬可笑。
現代藝術（加世紀至今）
在印象派作品的建立初期，它們是存在著爭議的，但是如今已被人們接受而成為現在所說的"現代藝術"的始祖了。如今，現代藝術風格已經有好幾十種，然而如果沒有印象派，那麼這許多不同的風格就不可能存在。印象派畫家幫助藝術家甩新的方渙來觀察環境與藝術。有些現代藝術養砷象的，《祖就是說,；畫家並不打算把我們眼睛看到的東西如實地畫出來，而是集中展現物體的某些品質特性，用色彩、線條和形狀把它們呈現出來。而另一方面，有些現代派的藝術作品卻是太現實了，它看上去就像是一張照片。預言將來繪畫藝術的風格倒是饒有興趣的一件事。
Unit 3 Healthy Life 健康的生活
It is a beautiful day here and I am sitting under the big tree at the end of the garden. I have just returned from a long bike ride to an old castle. It seems amazing that at my age I am still fit enough to cycle 20 kilometres in an afternoon.Its my birthday in two weeks time and I ll be82years old! I think my long and active life must bedue to the healthy life I live.
This brings me to the real reason for my letter, my dear grandson. Your mother tells me that you started smoking some time ago and how you are finding it difficult to give it up. Believe me, I know how easy it is to begin smoking and how tough it is to stop. You see, during adolescence I also smoked and became addicted to cigarettes.
By the way, did you know that this is because you become addicated in three different ways. First, you can become physically addicated to nicotine, which is one of the hundreds of chemicals in cigarettes. This means that after a while your body becomes accustomed to having nicotine in it. So when the drug leaves our body, you get withdrawal symptoms. I remember feeling bad-tempered and sometimes even in pain. Secondly, you become addicted through habit. As you know, if you do the same thing over and over again, you begin to do it automatically.Lastly, you can become mentally addicted. I believed I was happier and more relaxed after having a cigarette, so I began to that I could only feel good when I smoked. I was addicted in all three ways, so it was very difficult to quit. But I did finally manage.
When I was young, I didnt know much about the harmful effects of smoking. I didnt know, for example, that it could do terrible damage to your heart and lungs or that it was more difficult for smoking couples to become pregnant. I certainly didnt know their babies may have a smaller birth weight or even be abnormal in some way. Neither did I know that my cigarette smoke could affect the health of non-smokers. However, what I did know was that my girlfriend thought I smelt terrible. She said my breath and clothes smelt, and that the ends of my fingers were turning yellow. She told me that she wouldnt go out with me again unless I stopped! I also noticed that I became breathless quickly, and that I wasnt enjoying sport as much. When I was taken off the school football team because I was unfit, I knew it was time t quit smoking. I am sending you some advice I found on the Internet It might help you to stop and strengthen your resolve. I do hope so because I want you to live as long and healthy a life as I have.
Love from
Grandad
親愛的詹姆士：
今天這兒的天氣很好。現在我正坐在花園盡頭的那棵大樹底下暱。我剛剛才回來，騎腳踏車跑了很長一段路，一直到了古城堡。感到驚奇吧，像我這樣的年紀，身體健康而且能在一個下午騎車跑20公里。再過兩個禮拜就是我82歲的生日了！我想我之所以長壽而且精力充沛，要歸功於我的健康生活。
這就是我寫信給你的真正原因，我親愛的孫子。你媽媽告訴我，你已經開始吸菸了，而且還很難把它戒掉。相信我吧，我知道，吸菸容易戒菸難。你知道，當我還是一個十幾歲的孩子的時候，.我也吸過煙，而且還上了癮。這兒我想順便問你一個問題，你知道上癮有三個方面的原因嗎？
你會在身體上對尼古丁有癮，它是香菸裡幾百種化學物質之一。這就是說，過了一段時間以後，你的身體習慣了香菸裡的尼古丁，一旦你的體內沒有這種麻醉劑了，你就會感到不適、煩燥、甚至痛苦。你也可能因為習慣的原因而上癮。你知道，如果你反反覆覆地傲同一件事情，你就會自動地做它。最後，上癮還有心理上的原因。有的人認為，抽了一支菸後，他就會感到輕鬆愉快，於是就以為抽菸才能使感覺良好。我想我之所以上癮是有著這三個方面的原因的，因此，要戒菸就很難。但是我終於還是戒掉了。
在我年輕的時候，關於吸菸的危害性我知道得並不多，當時，我不知道抽菸能嚴重侵害人的心臟和肺部，也不知道吸菸的夫婦生育能力會下降。我更不知道，我自己吸菸還會損害那些不吸菸人的健康。然而我的的確確知道，我的女朋友覺得我的煙味很難聞。：她說載的呼吸我的衣服都有味道，我的手指頭都變黃了。她說在我把煙戒掉之前她是不會同我一起外出的。我也笨現我跑得不如以前那麼快，也不像以前那樣愛好運動了。而當我因為動作慢而被^足球隊除名之後，我^知道該是我戒菸的.時候了。
我把我從網上找到的一些忠告寄給你，也許對你戒菸會有所幫助。我的確希望你把它戒掉，因為我希望你能像我這樣活得健康長壽。
愛你的爺爺
Unit 4 THE EARTH IS BECOMIG WARMER-BUT DOES IT MATTER? 全球在變暖會帶來什麼影響嗎？
During the 20th century the temperature of the earth rose about one degree Fahrenheit. That probably does not seem much to you or me, but it is a rapid increase when compared to other natural changes. So how has this come about and does it matter? Earth cares Sophie Armstrong explores these questions. There is no doubt that the earth is becoming warmer(see Graph 1) and that it is human activity that has caused this global warmig rather than a random but natural phenomenon.
All scientists subscribe to the view that the increase in the earths temperature is due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil to produce energy. Some byproducts of this process are called “greenhouse” gases, the most important one of which is carbon dioxide. Dr Janice Foster explains: “There is a natural phenomenon that scientists call the “greenhouse effect”.This is when small amounts of gases in the atmosphere, like carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour, trap heat from the sun and therefore warm the earth. Without thegreenhouse effect the earth would be about thirty-three degrees Celsciu cooler than it is. So, we need those gases. The problem begins when we add huge quantities of extra carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It means that more heat energy tends to be trapped in the atmosphere causing the global temperature to go up.
We know that the levels of carbon dioxide have increased greatly over the last 100 to 150 years. It was a scientist called Charles Keeling, who made accurate measurements of the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from 1957 to 1997. He found that between these years the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere went up from around 315 parts to around 370 parts per million(see Graph 2) All scientists accept this data. They also agree that it is the burning of more and more fossil fuels that has resulted in this increase in carbon dioxide. So how high will the temperature increase go? Dr Janice Foster says that over the next 100 years the amount of warming could be as low as 1 to 1.5 degrees Celsius, but it could be as high as 5 degrees.
However, the attitude of scientists towards this rise in completely different. On the one hand, Dr Foster thinks that the trend which increases the temperature by 5 degrees would be a catastrophe. She says, “ We cant predict the climate well enough to know what to expect, but it could be very serious.” Others who agree with her think there may be a rise of several metres in the sea level, or predict severe storms, floods, droughts, famines, the spread of diseases and the disappearance of species. On the other hand, there are those, like George Hambley, who are opposed to this view, believe that we should not worry about high levels of carbon dioxide in the air. They predict that any warming will be mild with few bad environmental consequences. In fact, Hambley states, “More carbon dioxide is actually a positive thing. It will make plants grow quicker; crops will produce more; it will encourage a greater range of animals-all of which will make life for human beings better.”
Greenhouse gases continue to build up in the atmosphere. Even if we start reducing the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, the climate is going to keep on warming for decades or centuries. No one knows the effects of global warming. Does that mean we should do nothing? Or, are the risks too great?
在20世紀期間，地球溫度大約升了華氏1度。這個數值對你我來說很可能是無所謂的，但是跟多數自然變化相比較而言，這卻是一種快速的增長。這種溫度的增長是怎麼產生的呢？會產生什麼影響呢?"關愛地球"組織的阿姆斯特朗就在探究這些問題。
毫無疑問，地球是在變暖（見表一:略)。但是全球變暖的原因是人為的暱，或者僅僅是一種自然現象呢？對於這個問題存在著激烈的爭辯。
許多科學家認為，人們為了生產能量而燃燒化石燃料〖如煤、天然氣和石油等），從而引起了地球溫度的升高。這個升溫過程的副產品就叫做"溫室"氣體，其中最重要的就是二氧化碳。福斯特博士解釋說："你知道，有一種科學家稱之為‘溫室效應’的自然現象。這種現象發生在大氣層中少量的氣體（如二氧化碳、甲烷、水蒸汽等）吸收太陽的熱量，因而使地球變暖的時候。如果沒有這種溫室效應，地球的溫度將比現在的溫度還要低33攝氏度左右。因此，我們需要這些氣體。而當我們因為燒化石燃料而使大—層中增加了大量額外的二氧化碳時，問題就來了。二氧化碳含量的增加意味著更多的熱量被困在大氣層中，從而引起全球溫度上升。"
我們知道，在過去100—150年期間，二氧化碳的含量急劇增加了。有一位名叫査爾斯奎林的科學家曾經把1957—1997年期間大氣層中二氧化碳的含量作了精確的統計。他發現，在這些年裡，大氣層中的二氧化碳含量從百萬分之315上升到百萬分之370。（見表二，略）所有科學家都接受這個資料。他們還認為，正是由於燃燒的化石燃料越來越多而導致了二氧化碳的增加。然而，科學家們在對待這個問題的態度上卻是大不相同的。福斯特博士說，在今後的100年裡，全球變暖的量可能低到1—1.5攝氏度，但是也有可能高達5攝氏度。"我荽說，氣溫升高五度可能是一場大災難。對於未來的氣候，我們不可能作出精確的預測，但是那時的天氣可能是很糟糕的。"多麼糟糕呢？有人認為，全球變暖會導致海平面上升好幾米,也有人預言會出現嚴重的風暴、乾旱、饑荒、疫病和物種的絕滅。
在另一方面，還有一些人，像科學家喬治，漢布利，他們認為我們不必擔心空氣中會有高含量的二氧化碳。他們還認為，科學家對全球變暖的關注只不過是一種推測罷了。他預言說，變暖的情況不會很嚴重，対環境的影響也不會太壞。他實際上是這樣說的："二氧化碳含量的增加實際上是件好事，它使植物成長更快，莊稼產量更高，還會促進動物的生長——所有這些都能改善人類的生活。"
溫室氣體繼續在大氣層中聚集。即使我們開始減少二氧化碳及其它溫室氣體的含量，在未來幾十年或幾個世紀內，氣候仍會持續升溫。沒有人知道全球變暖會帶來什麼樣的影響。這是不是意味著我們就不必採取任何措施暱？還是說，這樣不採取任何措施危險性會很大呢？
Unit 5 AN EXCITING JOB一項具有剌激性的工作
I have the greatest job in the world. I travel to unusual places and work alongside people from all over the world. Sometimes working outdoors, sometimes in an office, sometimes using scientific equipment and sometimes meeting local people and tourists, I am never bored. Although my job is occasionally dangerous, I dont mind because danger excites me and makes me feel alive. However, the most important thing about my job is that I help protect ordinary people from one of the most powerful forces n earth-the volcano.
I was appointed as volcanologist information for a database about Mount Kilauea, which is one of the most active volcanoes in Hawaii. Having collected and evaluated the information, I help other scientists to predict where lava from the volcano will flow next and how fast. Our work has saved man lives because people in the path of the lava can be warned to leave their houses. Unfortunately, we cannot move their homes out of the way, and many houses have been covered with lava or burned to the ground.
我的工作是世界上最偉大的工作。我胞的地方是稀罕奇特的地方，我見到的人是世界各地饒有趣味的人。有時在室外工作，有時在辦公室裡，有時工作中要用科學儀器，有時要會見當地百姓和旅遊人去。但是我從來不感到工作煩人。雖然我的工作偶爾也有危險，但是我並不在乎，因為危險能激勵我，使我感到有活力。然而，最重要的是，透過我的工作能保護人民免遭火山的威脅一這是世界上最大的自然威力之一。
我是一名火山學家，在夏威夷火山觀測站（HVO)工作。我的主要任務是收集有關基拉韋厄山的資訊，這是夏威夷最活躍的火山之一。收集和評估了這些資訊之後，我就幫助其他科學家一起預測下次火山熔岩將往何處流去，流速是多少。我們的工作拯救了許多人的生命，因為熔岩要流經之地，老百姓都可以得到離開家園的通知。遺憾的是，我們不可能把他們的家搬離岩漿流過的地方，因此，許多房屋被熔岩淹沒，或者焚燒殆盡。