【導讀】YoungLifesaverSchemeathishighschol.WhencongratulatingJohn,MrAlanSoutherton,DirectoroftheYoungLifesaverSchemesaid,“ThereisnodoubtthatJohn’squickthinkingandthefirstaidskillshelearnedatschoolsavedMsSlade’slife.Itshowsthataknowledgeoffirstaidcanmakearealdifference.”Beforereceivingtheirawardslastnight,JohnandthenineotherLifeSaversattendedaspecialreceptionyesterdayhostedbythePrimeMinister.選修六Unit1ASHORT

　　

【正文】 re than just the visual del i ghts of art. It i ntroduces you to anci ent ways of l i vi ng. You can vi sit an Egypti an tem pl e, a fragrant Mi ng garden, a typical room i n an 18th century French house and m any other speci al exhi biti ons. Museum of Modern Art ( 53rd Street. Between 5th and 6th Avenues) It i s am azi ng that so m any great works of art from the l ate 19th century to the 21st century are housed i n the sam e m useum. The col ecti on of Western art i ncl udes pai nti ngs by such fam ous arti sts as Mo, Van Gogh, Pi casso and Mati se. A few words of warni ng: the admi ssi on pri ce i s not cheap and the m useum i s often very crowded. Whitney Museum of Am eri can Art (945 Madi son Avenue, near 75th Street) The Whi tney hol ds an excel l ent col ecti on of contem porary Am erican pai nti ng and scul pture. There are no perm anent di spl ays i n thi s m useum and exhi bi ti ons change al the tim e. Every two years, the Whi tney hol ds a speci al exhi biti on of new art by li vi ng arti sts. The museum al so shows vi deos and fi lm s by contem porary vi deo arti sts. Unit 2 A FEW SIMPLE FORMS OF ENGLISH POEMS There are various reasons why people wri te poetry. Som e poem s tel a story or descri be som ethi ng i n a way that wi l gi ve the reader a strong im pression. Others try to convey certai n em otions. Poets use m any di ferent form s of poetry to expres them sel ves. In thi s text, however, we wi l l ook at a few of the sim pl er form s. Som e of the first poetry a young chil d l earns i n Engli sh i s nursery rhymes. These rhym es li ke the one on the ri ght (A) are stil l a m on type of chil dren’s poetry. The l anguage i s concrete but im agi nati ve, and they del i ght sm al l chil dren because they rhym e, have strong rhythm and a l ot of repetiti on. The poem s may not m ake sense and even seem contradi ctory, but they are easy to l earn and reci te. By playi ng with 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 schol. 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 first ai d can m ake a real di fference.” Before receivi 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 Mi nister. 選修六 Uni t 1 A SHO RT H ISTO RY O F WESTERN PAIN TIN G Art i s i nfl uenced by the custom s and fai th of a peopl e. Styl es i n Western art have changed m any tim es. As there are so m any different styl es of Western art, it woul d be i m possi bl e to descri be al l of them i n such a short text. Consequentl y, thi s text wi l descri be onl y the m ost i m portant ones, starti ng from the si xth century AD. The Mi ddl e Ages (5th to the 15th century AD) Duri ng the Mi ddle Ages, the m ai n aim of pai nters was to represent reli gi ous them es. A conventi onal artist of thi s period was not i nterested i n showi ng nature and peopl e as they real y were. A typi cal pi cture at thi s tim e was ful of rel igi ous sym bol s, which created a feeli ng of respect and l ove for God. But i t was evi dent that i deas were changi ng i n the 13th century when pai nters li ke Gi oto di Bondone began to pai nt rel i gi ous scenes i n a m ore real i sti c way. The Renai ssance (15th to 16th century) Duri ng the Renai ssance, new i deas and val ues gradual l y repl aced those hel d in the Mi ddl e Ages. Peopl e began to concentrate less on reli gi ous them es and adopt a m ore hum ani sti c atti tude to l ife. At the sam e tim e pai nters returned to cl asi cal Rom an and Greek i deas about art. They tried to pai nt people and nature as they real y were. Ri ch peopl e wanted to possess thei r own pai nti ngs. so they coul d decorate thei r superb palaces and great houses. They pai d famous artists to pai nt pi ctures of them sel ves, thei r houses and possessi ons as wel l as thei r activi ti es and achi evem ents. O ne of the m ost im portant di scoveri es during thi s peri od was how to draw thi ngs i n perspecti ve. This techni que was first used by Masacci o i n 1428. When peopl e fi rst saw hi s pai nti ngs, they were convi nced that they were l ooking through a hol e i n a wal l at a real scene. If the rul es of perspective had not been di scovered, on one would have been abl e to pai nt such real i sti c pi ctures. By coi nci dence, oi l pai nts were al so devel oped at thi s ti m e, whi ch made the col ors used i n pai nti ngs l ook ri cher and deper. 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 i s fam ous. Im presi oni sm (l ate 19th to earl y 20th century) In the l ate 19th century, Europe changed a great deal , from a m ostl y agricul tural soci ety to a m ostl y i ndustri al one. Many peopl e m oved from the countrysi de to the new ci ti es. There were m any new i nventions and soci al changes. N atural y, these changes al so l ed to new pai nti ng styl es. Am ong the pai nters 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 pressi oni sts were the fi rst painters to work outdoors. They were eager to show how l ight and shadow fel l on objects at di fferent tim es of day. However, because natural li ght changes so quickl y, the Im pressioni sts had to pai nt qui ckl y. Thei r painti ngs were not as detai l ed as those of earl i er pai nters. At fi rst, many peopl e di sli ked thi s styl e of pai nti 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 pressi oni st pai nti ngs were controversi al, but today they are accepted as the begi ni ng of what we cal l