初二英語課外閱讀文章
英語閱讀作為語言技能的重要組成部分,作為語言輸入的主要環節之一,在英語教學中佔有重要地位。培養學生的閱讀能力是主要教學目標之一。下面就是小編給大家整理的，希望大家喜歡。
：簡約主義生活
If you've ever fantasised about selling everything you own and paring down your possessions to the bare essentials, you're probably familiar with minimalism.
“所有的物品全部賣掉，只保留最基本的必需品，越簡單越好。”如果你曾有過這種幻想，那麼簡約主義對你來說應該並不陌生。
But it's about more than just de-cluttering -- it's about getting rid of all clutter, permanently. "Minimalism isn't about empty white rooms with hardly any furniture," said Chris Wray, who writes a UK blog about minimalism, TwoLessThings.co.uk. "It's about removing all the things that distract us from what's important in our lives."
For extreme minimalists, such as Andrew Hyde, who lives in Colorado in the US, it means owning only about 15 items. For others, it means getting rid of the excess until you are left with essentials -- and your definition of essential might evolve.
"A minimalist lifestyle entails being mindful about the things we own, the things we buy, and how we spend our time," said Francine Jay, author of The Joy of Less. "It is a lifestyle that values experiences more than possessions."
Naturally, minimalism tends to flourish in countries that have embraced consumer culture, such as the US, UK and parts of Europe. It's difficult to revolt against the get-more-stuff mentality if that isn't your country's way of life. But you can live a minimalist life anywhere and capture more money for savings and great experiences, and have less stuff to maintain and clean.
：Just one kiss
Mr.Bauman's doctors had warned him and his wife that the was at high risk for a heart attack. But when the attack actually came, Mrs.Baumann still wasn't prepared. Gripped with shock, fear, and panic, she rode by her husband's side in the ambulance, repeatedly crying.
At the hospital, the nurses had to pull Mrs.Baumann away from her husband so the doctors could examine him. After they had successfully stabilized his heart, Mrs.Baumann rushed down the hall to the telephones to call each of their seven children. With tears of exhaustion and relief, she told them of their father's heart attack, assuring them that his condition was now stable.
But when Mrs.Baumann returned to her husband's room, she gasped at the sight before her. Two nurses stood over her husband. Tubes ran in and out of his trembling body, and machines and monitors were humming and beping. His face was bright red, and he was gasping for breath.
"What have you done to my husband?"she cried.
One of the nurses explained, as sympathetically as possible, that he had suffered a massive stroke.
A stoke! On top of the heart attack! Mrs. Baumann couldn't control her emotions, Overcome with grief and blinded by tears, she grabbed her husband's head off the pillow. She held him tightly in her arms, calling out his name and kissing his lips.
At that very moment, the doctor walked in and demanded, "Mrs. Baumann, what do you think you're doing?"
She turned to the doctor and hotly declared, "The question is, Doctor, what have you done to my husband?"
For a moment, Mrs.Baumann was so stunned she couldn't speak. Then she looked more carefully at the man on the bed.
"He's …he's…not!" she cried, turning a dark shade of crimson. "Oh no! Oh dear! Oh no!"
Gently a nurse escorted Mrs. Baumann out into the hall.
"Why didn't that man try to stop me?" asked Mrs.Baumann.
"Because of his stroke, he's unable to move or to speak," the nurse answered.
Mrs. Baumann gasped."And now he must be wondering why that strange lady kissed him!"
As soon as they entered her husband's room, Mrs.Baumann rushed to her husband's side and kissed him. Then, still very shaken, she related her mistake. "He had so many tubes and…and…I hope I didn't hurt him, Bernie!"
A few days later the doctor dropped by Mr.Baumann's room for him final checkup.
"Mrs.Baumann," he said, "you'll be glad to know that your husband and my patient across the hall have both made miraculous recoveries. Do you suppose it was my good doctoring, your prayers,or your passionate kisses?"
"Why, why…" she fumbled.
"Maybe it was all three?" the doctor added with a wink.
：The Real Self
The only problem unconsciously assumed by all Chinese philosophers to be of any importance is: How shall we enjoy life, and who can best enjoy life? No perfectionism, no straining after the unattainable, no postulating***假定，要求*** of he unknowable; but taking poor, modal human nature as it is, how shall we organize our life so that we can woke peacefully, endure nobly and live happily?
Who are we? That is first question. It is a question almost impossible to answer. But we all agree with the busy self occupied in our daily activities is not quite the real self. We are quite sure we have lost something in the mere pursuit of living. When we watch a person running about looking for something in a field, the wise man can set a puzzle for all the spectator to solve: what has that person lost? Some one thinks is a watch; another thinks it is a diamond brooch***胸針***; and others will essay other guesses. After all the guesses have failed, the wise man who really doesn't know what the person is seeking after, tells the company: "I'll tell you. He has lost some breath." And no one can deny that he is right. So we often forget our true self in the pursuit of living, like a bird forgetting its own danger in pursuit of a mantis which again forgets its own danger in pursuit of another.