新概念英語美文文章學習
英語閱讀教學是大學英語教學中的重要組成部分,而我國高校的大學英語閱讀教學現狀不容樂觀。下面是小編帶來的新概念英語美文文章,歡迎閱讀!
新概念英語美文文章篇一
A famous monastery
The Great St Bernard Pass connects Switzerland to Italy. At 2470 metres, it is the highest mountain pass in Europe. The famous monastery of St Bernard, which was founded in the eleventh century, lies about a mile away. For hundreds of years, St Bernard dogs have saved the lives of travellers crossing the dangerous Pass. These friendly dogs, which were first brought from Asia, were used as watch-dogs even in Roman times. Now that a tunnel has been built through the mountains, the Pass is less dangerous, but each year, the dogs are still sent out into the snow whenever a traveller is in difficulty. Despite the new tunnel, there are still a few people who rashly attempt to cross the Pass on foot.
During the summer months, the monastery is very busy, for it is visited by thousands of people who cross the Pass in cars, As there are so many people about, the dogs have to be kept in a special enclosure. In winter, however, life at the monastery is quite different. The temperature drops to -30 and very few people attempt to cross the Pass. The monks Prefer winter to summer for they have more privacy. The dogs have greater freedom, too, for they are allowed to wander outside their enclosure. The only regular visitors to the monastery in winter are parties of skiers who go there at Christmas and Easter. These young people, who love the peace of the mountains, always receive a warm.
Welcome at St Bernard's monastery.
聖伯納德大山口連線著瑞士與義大利,海拔2,473O米,是歐洲最高的山口。11世紀建造的著名的聖伯納德修道院位於離山口1英里遠的地方。幾百年來,聖伯納德修道院馴養狗拯救了許多翻越這道山口的旅遊者的生命。那些最先從亞洲引進的狗,待人友好,早在羅馬時代就給人當看門狗了。如今由於山裡開挖了隧道,翻越山口已不那麼危險了。但每年還要派狗到雪山地裡去幫助那些遇到困難的旅遊者,儘管修通了隧道,但仍有一些人想冒險徒步跨越聖伯納德山口。
夏天的幾個月裡,修道院十分忙碌,因為有成千上萬的人駕車通過山口,順道來修道院參觀。由於來人太多,狗被關在專門的圍欄裡。然而到了冬天,修道院裡的生活則是另一番景象。氣溫下降到零下30度,試圖跨越山口的人寥寥無幾。修道士們喜歡冬天,而不太喜歡夏天。因為在冬天,他們可以更多地過無人打擾的生活。狗也比較自由,被放出圍欄,四處遛達。冬天常來修道院參觀的只有一批批滑雪者。他們在聖誕節或復活節到那兒去。這些熱愛高山清靜環境的年輕人每年都受到聖伯納德道院的熱烈歡迎。
新概念英語美文文章篇二
Flying cats
Cats never fail to fascinate human beings. They can be friendly and affectionate towards humans, but they lead mysterious lives of their own as well. They never become submissive like dogs and horses. As a result, humans have learned to respect feline independence. Most cats remain suspicious of humans all their lives. One of the things that fascinates us most about cats is the popular belief that they have nine lives. Apparently, there is a good deal of truth in this idea. A cat's ability to survive falls is based on fact.
Recently the New York Animal Medical Center made a study of 132 cats over a period of five months. All these cats had one experience in common: they had fallen off high buildings, yet only eight of them died from shock or injuries. Of course, New York is the ideal place for such an interesting study, because there is no shortage of tall buildings. There are plenty of high-rise windowsills to fall from! One cat, Sabrina, fell 32 storeys, yet only suffered from a broken tooth. 'Cats behave like well-trained paratroopers.' a doctor said. It seems that the further cats fall, the less they are likely to injure themselves. In a long drop, they reach speeds of 60 miles an hour and more. At high speeds, falling cats have time to relax. They stretch out their legs like flying squirrels. This increases their air-resistance and reduces the shock of impact when they hit the ground.
貓總能引起人們的極大興趣。它們可以對人友好,充滿柔情。但是,它們又有自己神祕的生活方式。它們從不像狗和馬一樣變得那麼順從。結果是人們已經學會尊重貓的獨立性。在它們的一生中,大多數貓都對人存有戒心。最使我們感興趣的一件事情就是一種通俗的信念——貓有九條命。顯然,這種說法裡面包含著許多真實性。貓在跌落時能夠大難不死是有事實作為依據的。
最近,紐約動物醫療中心對132只貓進行了為期5個月的綜合研究。所有這些貓有一個共同的經歷:它們都曾從高層建築上摔下來過,但只有其中的8只貓死於震盪或跌傷。當然,紐約是進行這種有趣的試驗的一個理想的地方,因為那裡根本不缺乏高樓大廈,有的是高層的窗檻從上往下墜落。有一隻叫薩伯瑞的貓從32層樓上掉下來,但只摔斷一顆牙。“貓就像訓練有素的跳傘隊員,” 一位醫生說。看起來,貓跌落的距離越長,它們就越不會傷害自己。在一個長長的跌落過程中,它們可以達到每小時60裡甚至更快的速度。在高速下落中,貓有時間放鬆自己。它們伸展四肢,就像飛行中的松鼠一樣。這樣就加大了空氣阻力,並減少了它們著地時衝擊力帶來的震動。
新概念英語美文文章篇三
The loss of Titanic
The great ship, Titanic, sailed for New York from Southampton on April 10th, 1912. She was carrying 1316 passengers and a crew of 89l. Even by modern standards, the 46,000 ton Titanic was a colossal ship. At that time, however, she was not only the largest ship that had ever been built, but was regarded as unsinkable, for she had sixteen water- tight compartments. Even if two of these were flooded, she would still be able to float. The tragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered, for she went down on her first voyage with heavy loss of life.
Four days after setting out, while the Titanic was sailing across the icy waters of the North Atlantic, a huge iceberg was suddenly spotted by a look-out. After the alarm had been given, the great ship turned sharply to avoid a direct collision. The Titanic turned just in time, narrowly missing the immense wall of ice which rose over 100 feet out of the water beside her. Suddenly, there was a slight trembling sound from below, and the captain went down to see what had happened. The noise had been so faint that no one thought that the ship had been damaged. Below, the captain realized to his horror that the Titanic was sinking rapidly, for five of her sixteen water-
tight compartments had already been flooded ! The order to abandon ship was given and hundreds of people plunged into the icy water. As there were not enough life-boats for everybody, 1500 lives were lost.
巨輪“泰坦尼克”號1912年4月10日從南安普敦起錨駛向紐約。船上載有1,316名乘客與891名船員。卻使用現代標準來衡量,45,000 噸的“泰坦尼克”號與算得上一艘巨輪了。當時,這艘輪船不僅是造船史上建造的最大的一艘船,而且也被認為是不會沉沒的。因為船由16個密封艙組成,即使有兩個艙進水,仍可漂浮的水面上。然而,這艘巨輪首航就下沉,造成大批人員死亡。人們將永遠記著這艘巨輪的沉沒慘劇。
“泰坦尼克”起航後的第4天,它正行駛在北大西洋冰冷的海面上。突然,瞭望員發現一座冰山。警報響過不久,巨輪急轉彎,以避免與冰山正面相撞。“泰坦尼克”這個彎拐得及時,緊貼著高出海面100英尺的巨大的冰牆擦過去。突然,從船艙下部傳來一聲微顫音,船長走下船艙去檢視究竟。由於這個聲音非常輕,沒人會想到船身已遭損壞。在下面,船長驚恐的地發現“泰坦尼克”號正在急速下沉,16個密封艙已有5個進水。於是,他發出棄船的命令,幾百人跳進了冰冷刺骨的海水裡。由於沒有足夠的救生艇運載所有乘客,結果,1,500 人喪生。