英語文章背誦

　　背誦英語文章有助於提高語言感覺能力以及對聽力很有幫助. 下面是小編帶來的，歡迎閱讀!

　　Suburbanization

　　If by "suburb" is meant an urban margin that grows more rapidly than its already developed interior, the process of suburbanization began during the emergence of the industrial city in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Before that period the city was a small highly compact cluster in which people moved about on foot and goods were conveyed by horse and cart. But the early factories built in the 1840's were located along waterways and near railheads at the edges of cities, and housing was needed for the thousands of people drawn by the prospect of employment. In time, the factories were surrounded by proliferating mill towns of apartments and row houses that abutted the older, main cities. As a defense against this encroachment and to enlarge their tax bases, the cities appropriated their industrial neighbors. In 1854, for example, the city of Philadelphia annexed most of Philadelphia County. Similar municipal maneuvers took place in Chicago and in New York. Indeed, most great cities of the United States achieved such status only by incorporating the communities along their borders.

　　With the acceleration of industrial growth came acute urban crowding and accompanying social stress-conditions that began to approach disastrous proportions when, in 1888, the first commercially successful electric traction line was developed. Within a few years the horse-drawn trolleys were retired and electric streetcar networks crisscrossed and connected every major urban area, fostering a wave of suburbanization that transformed the compact industrial city into a dispersed metropolis. This first phase of mass-scale suburbanization was reinforced by the simultaneous emergence of the urban Middle Class, whose desires for homeownership in neighborhoods far from the aging inner city were satisfied by the developers of single-family housing tracts.

　　郊區的發展

　　如果"郊區"指的是比已建好的城市內部發展更為迅速的城市邊緣地帶，那麼郊區化可以說始於1825年至1850年工業化城市出現期間。在這之前，城市只是高度密集的小聚居群。在其中，人們步行走動，商品靠馬車來運送。但是建於18世紀三四十年代的早期工廠位於城邊的航道和鐵路附近，被工作機會吸引到這裡的成千上萬的人們需要住房。漸漸地，在與舊有的主要城區相毗鄰的地方，不斷湧現出由排房和公寓樓組成的工人聚居區，包圍了工廠。作為對這種侵蝕的自衛，也為了擴大它們收稅的地域範圍，城市吞併了工業化的臨近地帶，比如1854年費城的城區就兼併了費縣的絕大部分地區。相似的城市化也發生在芝加哥和紐約。今天很多美國的大城市其實就是靠吞併它們附近的邊緣地區而變成大都會的。

　　隨著工業化的加速發展，城市裡出現了嚴重擁擠和相伴而來的社會壓力。當1888年第一條商業上成功的電氣化鐵軌被製造出來時，壓力開始接近危機的程度。幾年之內，馬車就被廢棄了，電車網相互交織連線著各個重要的城區，從而形成了一種郊區化的潮流，即密集的工業城市轉變成了分散的都市。此時城市中產階級的出現進一步加強了第一波大規模郊區化。這些中產階級希望在遠離老舊城市的地區擁有住宅，單一家庭住宅地區的開發者滿足了他們的願望。

　　Television

　　Television-----the most pervasive and persuasive of modern technologies, marked by rapid change and growth-is moving into a new era, an era of extraordinary sophistication and versatility, which promises to reshape our lives and our world. It is an electronic revolution of sorts, made possible by the marriage of television and computer technologies.

　　The word "television", derived from its Greek ***tele: distant*** and Latin ***vision: sight*** roots, can literally be interpreted as sight from a distance. Very simply put, it works in this way: through a sophisticated system of electronics, television provides the capability of converting an image ***focused on a special photoconductive plate within a camera*** into electronic impulses, 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 well as a vehicle for communication, and as such becomes a powerful tool for reaching other human beings.

　　The field of television can be divided into two categories determined by its means of transmission. 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 controlled transmission techniques.

　　Traditionally, television has been a medium of the masses. We are most familiar with broadcast television because it has been with us for about thirty-seven years in a form similar to what exists today. During those years, it has been controlled, for the most part, by the broadcast networks, ABC, NBC, and CBS, who have been the major purveyors of news, information, and entertainment. These giants of broadcasting have actually shaped not only television but our perception of it as well. We have come to look upon the picture tube as a source of entertainment, placing our role in this dynamic medium as the passive viewer.

　　電視

　　電視--以快速變化與發展為標誌的最普遍、最具有影響力的一項現代技術，正在步入一個極端複雜化與多樣化的新時代。這個時代承諾重新塑造我們的生活和我們的世界。這可以稱得上是又一次電子革命，其關鍵在於電視技術與計算機技術的結合。

　　"電視"這個詞來源於希臘語詞根***tele：遠***和拉丁語詞根***vision：景象***，可以從字面上理解為來自遠處的景象。簡單說來，電視是以這種方式工作的，通過一個複雜的電子系統，電視能夠將一幅影象***這幅影象被聚焦在一部攝像機內的一塊特殊的光導底片上***轉換成能經過導線或電纜傳送出去的電子脈衝訊號。當這些電子脈衝訊號被輸入一部接收機***電視機***時，就可以用電子學的方法把脈衝訊號重新恢復成同一幅影象。但是，電視不僅僅是一個電子系統，它還是一種表達工具和傳播渠道。因此，電視成了一個對其他人發生影響的強大工具。

　　電視這個領域可以根據其發射方式分為兩類。第一類為廣播電視，通過電視訊號的寬頻無線電波發射展現在大眾面前;第二類為非廣播電視，使用受控的發射技術來滿足個人以及某些特殊利益群體的需要。

　　電視早已成為大眾媒介。我們熟悉廣播電視，因為廣播電視已經以類似目前的方式存在了大約37年。在那些年頭中，電視絕大部分一直由ABC、NBC、CBS這些廣播電視公司控制著，這些廣播電視公司一直是新聞、資訊和娛樂的主要提供者。這些廣播業的巨頭實際上不僅塑造了電視，而且也塑造了我們對電視的理解。我們漸漸把映象管看作是娛樂的來源，讓自己成為這個生動的媒介的被動觀眾。

　　Andrew Carnegie

　　Andrew Carnegie, known as the King of Steel, built the steel industry in the United States, and , in the process, became one of the wealthiest men in America. His success resulted in part from his ability to sell the product and in part from his policy of expanding during periods of economic decline, when most of his competitors were reducing their investments.

　　Carnegie believed that individuals should progress through hard work, but he also felt strongly that the wealthy should use their fortunes for the benefit of society. He opposed charity, preferring instead to provide educational opportunities that would allow others 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, including the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, which has a library, a museum of fine arts, and a museum of national history. He also founded a school of technology that is now part of Carnegie-Mellon University. Other philanthrophic gifts are the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to promote understanding between nations, the Carnegie Institute of Washington to fund scientific research, and Carnegie Hall to provide a center for the arts.

　　Few Americans have been left untouched by Andrew Carnegie's generosity. His contributions of more than five million dollars established 2,500 libraries in small communities throughout the country and formed the nucleus of the public library system that we all enjoy today.

　　安德魯·卡內基

　　被稱作鋼鐵大王的安德魯·卡內基在美國建立了鋼鐵工業。在這個過程中，他變成了美國最富有的人之一。他的成功，部分來自於他銷售產品的能力，部分來自於經濟蕭條時期的擴充策略。在蕭條時期，他的多數對手都在縮減投資。

　　卡內基認為個人應該通過努力工作來獲得進展，但他也強烈地感到有錢人應該運用他們的財富來為社會謀取福利。他反對施捨救濟，更願意提供教育機會，使別人自立。卡內基經常說："富有著死去的人死得可恥。"他對社會的較重要的貢獻都以他的名字命名。

　　這些貢獻包括匹茲堡卡內基學校。這個學校有一個圖書館，一個美術館和一個國家歷史博物館;他還創立了一所技術學校，這所學校現在是卡內基-梅隆大學的一部分;其他的慈善捐贈有為促進國家間瞭解的"卡內基國際和平基金"，為科學研究提供經費的華盛頓卡內基學院以及給各種藝術活動提供活動中心的卡內基音樂廳。

　　安德魯·卡內基的慷慨大度幾乎影響到每個美國人的生活。由於他超過五百萬美元的捐款，2500個圖書館得以建立起來，遍佈在美國各地的小村鎮，形成了我們今天還在享用的公共圖書館系統的核心。