【導(dǎo)讀】YoungLifesaverSchemeathishighschool.WhencongratulatingJohn,MrAlanSoutherton,DirectoroftheYoungLifesaverSchemesaid,“ThereisnodoubtthatJohn’squickthinkingandthefirstaidskillshelearnedatschoolsavedMsSlade’slife.Itshowsthataknowledgeoffirstaidcanmakearealdifference.”Beforereceivingtheirawardslastnight,JohnandthenineotherLifeSaversattendedaspecialreceptionyesterdayhostedbythePrimeMinister.選修六Unit1ASHOR

　　

【正文】 the m useum is often very crowded. Whi tney Museum of Am eri can Art (945 Madi son Avenue, near 75th Stret) The Whi tney hol ds an excel ent col ecti on of contem porary Am eri can painti ng and scul pture. There are no perm anent di spl ays in thi s m useum and exhi bi ti ons change al l the tim e. Every two years, the Whi tney hol ds a speci al exhi bi ti on of new art by l i vi ng arti sts. The m useum also shows vi deos and film s by contem porary vi deo arti sts. Unit 2 A FEW SIMPLE FORMS OF ENGLISH POEMS There are vari ous reasons why peopl e wri te poetry. Som e poem s tel a story or descri be som ethi ng i n a way that wil l gi ve the reader a strong im presi on. O thers try to convey certai n em oti ons. Poets use m any di fferent forms of poetry to express them sel ves. In thi s text, however, we wi l l ook at a few of the si mpl er form s. Som e of the fi rst poetry a young chil d l earns i n Engli sh i s nursery rhym es. These rhym es li ke the one on the ri ght (A) are stil l a m on type of chi l dren’s poetry. The l anguage i s concrete but im aginative, and they deli ght sm al chil dren because they rhym e, have strong rhythm and a l ot of repeti ti on. The poem s m ay not m ake sense and even seem contradi ctory, but they are easy to learn and recite. By pl ayi ng wi th the words in nursery rhym es, chi l dren l earn about l anguage. H ush, Young Li fesaver Schem e at hi s hi gh school. When congratul ati ng John, Mr Al an Southerton, Di rector of the Young Li fesaver Schem e sai d, “There i s no doubt that John’s qui ck thi nki ng and the fi rst ai d skil ls he l earned at school saved Ms Sl ade’s l ife. It shows that a knowl edge of fi rst ai d can m ake a real di fference.” Before recei vi ng thei r awards l ast ni ght, John and the ni ne other Li fe Savers attended a speci al recepti on yesterday hosted by the Prim e Mini ster. 選修六 Unit 1 A SHO RT H ISTO RY O F WESTERN PAIN TIN G Art i s i nfl uenced by the custom s and faith of a peopl e. Styles i n Western art have changed m any ti m es. As there are so m any di ferent styl es of Western art, i t woul d be im posi bl e to descri be al l of them in such a short text. Consequently, this text wil descri be onl y the m ost im portant ones, starti ng from the si xth century AD. The Mi ddl e Ages (5th to the 15th century AD) Duri ng the M iddl e Ages, the mai n aim of pai nters was to represent rel i gi ous them es. A conventi onal arti st of thi s peri od was not i nterested i n showing nature and peopl e as they real ly were. A typi cal pi cture at thi s tim e was ful of rel i gi ous sym bol s, whi ch created a feel ing of respect and l ove for God. But it was evi dent that i deas were changi ng i n the 13th century when pai nters l i ke Giotto di Bondone began to paint reli gi ous scenes i n a m ore reali sti c way. The Renai ssance (15th to 16th century) Duri ng the Renaissance, new ideas and val ues gradual y repl aced those hel d in the Mi ddl e Ages. People began to concentrate l ess on reli gi ous them es and adopt a m ore hum ani sti c atti tude to li fe. At the sam e tim e pai nters returned to classi cal Rom an and Grek i deas about art. They tri ed to paint peopl e and nature as they real ly were. Ri ch peopl e wanted to possess thei r own pai nti ngs. so they coul d decorate thei r superb pal aces and great houses. They pai d fam ous arti sts to pai nt pi ctures of themsel ves, thei r houses and possessi ons as wel as thei r acti vi ti es and achi evem ents. O ne of the m ost im portant di scoveri es duri ng this peri od was how to draw thi ngs i n perspecti ve. Thi s techni que was fi rst used by Masacci o i n 1428. When peopl e fi rst saw his pai nti ngs, they were convi nced that they were looki ng through a hol e i n a wal l at a real scene. If the rul es of perspecti ve had not been di scovered, on one would have been abl e to pai nt such real i sti c pictures. By coi nci dence, oi l pai nts were al so devel oped at this tim e, whi ch m ade the col ors used in pai nti ngs l ook ri cher and deeper. Wi thout the new pai nts and the new techni que, we woul d not be abl e to see the m any great m asterpi eces for whi ch thi s peri od is fam ous. Im pressi onism (l ate 19th to earl y 20th century) In the l ate 19th century, Europe changed a great deal, from a m ostly agri cul tural soci ety to a m ostl y i ndustrial one. Many people m oved from the countrysi de to the new ci ti es. There were m any new i nventi ons and soci al changes. N atural y, these changes al so l ed to new painti ng styl es. Am ong the painters who broke away from the tradi ti onal styl e of pai nti ng were the Im pressi onists, who li ved and worked i n Paris. The Im presi oni sts were the first pai nters to work outdoors. They were eager to show how l i ght and shadow fel l on objects at different ti m es of day. H owever, because natural i ght changes so qui ckl y, the Im pressi oni sts had to pai nt qui ckl y. Thei r pai nti ngs were not as detail ed as those of earli er pai nters. At first, m any peopl e di sli ked this styl e of painti ng and becam e very angry about i t. They sai d that the pai nters were carel ess and thei r pai nti ngs were ri di cul ous. Modern Art (20th century to today) At the tim e they were created, the Im presi oni st pai ntings were controversi al, but today they are accepted as the begi nni ng of what we cal “m odern art”. Thi s i s because the Im presi oni sts encouraged arti sts to l ook at thei r environm ent i n new ways. There are scores of modern art styl es, but wi thout the Im pressioni sts, m any of these pai nti ng styl es mi ght not exist. O n the one hand, som e m odern art i s abstract。 that i s, the pai nter does not attem pt to paint objects as we see them wi th our eyes, but i nstead concentrates on certai n qual iti es of the object, using col or, l ine and shape to represent them . On the oth