Unit 1 Winston Churchill— His Other LifePainting in oils turned out to be Winston's great love – but the first steps were strangely difficult. He contemplated the blank whiteness of his first canvas with unaccustomed nervousness. He later recalled:“V ery hesitantly I selected a tube of blue paint, and with infinite precaution made a mark about as big as a bean on the snow-white field. At that moment I heard the sound of a motorcar in the drive and threw down my brush in a panic.I was even more alarmed when I saw who stepped from the car: the wife of Sir John Lavery, the celebrated painter who lived nearby.“'Painting!' she declared. 'What fun. But what are you waiting for? Let me have the brush — the big one.' She plunged into the paints and before I knew it, she had swept several fierce strokes and slashes of blue on the absolutely terrified canvas. Anyone could see it could not hit back. I hesitated no more. I seized the largest brush and fell upon my wretched victim with wild fury. I have never fe lt any fear of a canvas since.”Passage for Recitation (U2)This belief in hard work is the first of three main factors contributing to Asian students' outstanding performance. It springs from Asians' common heritage of Confucianism, the philosophy of the 5th-century-BC Chinese sage whose teachings have had a profound influence on Chinese society. One of Confucius's primary teachings is that through effort, people can perfect themselves.Confucianism provides another important ingredient in the Asians' success as well. In Confucian philosophy, the family plays a central role — an orientation that leads people to work for the honor of the family not just for themselves. One can never repay one's parents, and there's a sense of obligation or even guilt that is as strong a force among Asians as Protestant philosophy is in the West.，第三单元背诵篇From the start, Gorge was well accepted by all the Japanese employees. Japanese managers often distrust anyone sent to represent US owners, but Gorge was so naturally nonassertive that no one could see him as a threat to their careers. So they felt comfortable asking his advice on a wide range of maters, including the odd behavior of their partners across the ocean. Engineers throughout the company appreciated Gorge’s expertise and his friendly and capable help, and they got into the habit of turning to him whenever they had a problem—any problem. And the secretaries in the office were eager to help this nice bachelor learn Japanese.Passage for Recitation (U4)Success that comes too easily is also damaging. The child who wins a prize for a carelessly - written essay, the adult who distinguishes himself at a first job by lucky accident faces probable disappointment when real challenges arise.Success is also bad when it's achieved at the cost of the total quality of an experience. Successful students sometimes become so obsessed with grades that they never enjoy their school years. They never branch out into tempting new areas, because they don't want to risk their grade - point average.单元5 Priscilla called the financial-aid office for advice. They told her that prospective students seeking more financial aid are eligible only if they have lived apart from their parents for a minimum of two years. During that time, their parents cannot have claimed them as a dependent on their family tax forms. “H earing this, I was totally stunned,” Priscilla recalls. “I realized I was going to have to take some time off, work, become financially independent from my parents, and then reapply to school. Postponing my dream hurt, but it was the only possibility.”Balancing work and school was difficult. “I was staying up late studying and going to work early every morning. I was having a hard time concentrating in class, and a hard time on the job because I was so tired,” she says. But she ended up with two A’s in her first semester anyway.Unit 6He has been proclaimed “the finest mind alive”, “the greatest genius of the late 20th century”, and “Einstern’s heir”. Known to millions, far and wide, for his book A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking is a star scientist in more ways than one. His gift for revealing the mysteries of the universe in a style that non-scientists can enjoy make hawking and instant celebrity and his book a bestseller in both Britain and America. It has earned a place in Guinness Book of Records for spending 184 weeks in The Sunday Times “top-ten”lists, and has sold more than five million copies worldwide---virtually unhearded-of success for a science book.How did all this happen? How has a man who is almost completely paralysed and unable to speak except through a computer overcome these incredible obstacles and achieved far more than most people ever dream of?。