C1Science is a kind of knowledge which is a very useful tool in solving the technical problem of industry, agriculture, warfare and medicine. To understand the width and depth to which science can be applied to the material and spiritual problems that confront the individuals and nations requires an understanding of what science really is.The word science comes to us from a Latin word, scire, which means “to know”. Then, in a broad sense, science is simply what we know; the total of all human knowledge. But the definition of science as all human knowledge would not be a workable one，for it is obvious that there are different types of types of knowledge. The kinds differ according to how the knowledge was obtained，and also according to what frame of experience it fits. What we know of the arts，literature, law, religion，and technical knowhow, are more or less separate funds of information. They have little to do with what we commonly call science.Science is also called natural science to distinguish it from other branches of learning. Science is concerned with nature，that is，with knowledge of the characteristics and operations of any and all natural things and happenings. Science embraces all of nature, and expresses our best ideas of how natural phenomena are related to each other and are to be formed into what is called the universe.Science has many characteristics，and to understand what science is requires a detailed examination of these properties and peculiarities. A number of writers have asserted that science is really only a method——the scientific method. Such a definition is an oversimplification, but it is certain that the scientific method plays an important role in determining the nature of scientific knowledge.C3Lots of people pretend that they never read advertisements, but this claim is hardly believable. It is almost impassible not to read advertisements these days. Just think what fun they often provide! Imagine what a bus and railway station would be like without advertisements? Would you enjoy gazing helplessly at a blank wall while waiting for a bus or train? Would you like to read a daily paper closely-printed with columns of news? A cheerful，witty advertisement makes such a difference to a drab wall or newspaper. We must not forget，either，that advertising makes a positive contribution to our packets. Newspapers, radio or television stations could not subsist without this source of revenue. The fact that we pay so little for our daily paper，or can enjoy so many programs on air is due entirely to the money spent by advertisers. Just think what a newspaper would cost if we had to pay its full price! Another thing we mustn't forget is the "small ads" which are in virtually every newspaper. What a tremendously useful service they perform for the community! Just about everything can be accomplished through these columns，for instance，you can find a job，buy or sell a house，announce a birth，marriage or death. It's the advertisement among the advertisements.C4Few great names in music spell as much magic to the average concert-goer as that of Tschaikovsky. In almost every musical form will be found a work of his ranking high in popularity. And quite deservedly so. Tschaikovsky's music is filled with a warm humanity and stirring drama. The themes and feelings are easy to grasp. The personal，intimate note is so strong in this music that we find it natural，while listening to the Pathetic Symphony or the Nutcracker Ballet Suite，for example，to share Tschaikovsky's joys and sorrows. His music seems to take us into hisconfidence and show us the secret places of his heart. Although Tschaikovsky's range of moods is wide——from the whimsical play of light fantasy to stormy outcries of anguish——essentially he was a melancholy man，in his music as in his life. Perhaps it is the genuineness ofhis music in conveying strong emotions arid suffering that has drawn millions to his symphonies and concertos. A frank sincerity and warm-heartedness flow from his music. The best of his melodies linger hauntingly in the mind and heart. As long as sincere feeling expressed in sincere artistic form can move the hearts of men, Tschaikavsky's music will continue to hold a high place in the concert hall and opera house.Only Beethoven and Mozart can rival Tschaikovsky in the number of compositions in various musical forms that stands out as repertory favorites. Tschaikovsky's violin concerto is as much a "request” item as Beethoven's. The Pathetic Symphony ranks with the three or four enduring favorites of the repertory. Tschaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet is probably the most popular suite of its kind in music.C6Emphasis on "practicalities" is being characterized by the subordination of the social sciences to the natural sciences. History is seen not as essential experience to be transmitted to new generations, but as abstractions that carry stale odors. Art is regarded as something that calls far indulgence or patronage and that has no place among the practical realities. Political science is viewed more as a specialized subject for people who want to go into politics than as an opportunity for citizens to develop a knowledgeable relationship with the systems by which human societies are governed. Finally，literature and philosophy are assigned the role of intellectual adornments that have nothing to do with "genuine" education.Nothing is more valuable for anyone who has had a professional or vocational education than to be able to deal with abstractions or complexities, or to feel comfortable with subtleties of thought or language，or to think logically. The doctor why knows only disease is at a disadvantage compared with the doctor who knows at least as much about people as he does about pathological organisms. For the technologist，the engineering of co-operation can be just as important as the engineering of moving parts.The social sciences would be expendable only if the human past never existed or had nothing to tell us about the present; if thought processes were irrelevant to the achievement of purpose; if creativity was beyond the human mind and had nothing to do with the joy of living; if human relationships were random aspects of life; if human beings never had to cope with panic or pain, or if they never had to anticipate the connection between cause and effect; if all the mysteries of mind and nature were fully probed.C7We live in a materialistic society and are nurtured from our earliest years to be acquisitive. Our possessions——"mine" and "yours"——are clearly labeled from early childhood. When we grow old enough to earn a living, it does not surprise us to discover that success is measured in terms of the money you earn. However, it is not only in affluent societies that people are obsessed with the idea of making more money. Consumer goods are desirable everywhere and modern industry deliberately sets out to create new markets.Gone are the days when industrial goods were made to last forever. The wheels of the industry must be kept turning. Built-in obsolescence provides the means: goods are made to be discarded. You no sooner acquire this year's model than you are thinking about its replacement.This materialistic outlook has seriously influenced education. Fewer and fewer young people these days acquire knowledge only for its own sake. Every course of studies must lead somewhere，for example，to a bigger wage packet. The demand far hi-tech personnel far exceeds the supply and big companies compete with each other to recruit students before they have completed their studies. Tempting salaries and "fringe benefits" are offered to them. Recruiting tactics of this kind have led to the "brain drain"，the phenomena in which highly skilled people offer their service to the highest bidder. The wealthier nations deprive their poorer neighbors of their most able citizens. While Mammon is worshipped as never before，the rich get richer and the poor, poorer.B2Nowadays in the city's tonier residential districts there are people named as the singles, who are usually young, rich and tech-savvy professionals and choose independently their own lifestyles. The number of singles has increased dramatically over the recent years. The reasons of remaining single are various: some may be busy exploring careers without putting their marriage into the agenda, some may indulge in their jobs, travel, entertainment, physical fitness or friendship. More than 80% of them have not abandoned the value of marriage, and they say they aspire to marry or they want to be married someday，but they are patient and feel content being single until they meet the right person.B6The cooperation between China and the West is of mutual benefit. The economic development of China not only improves the life of Chinese people，but also gives a new impetus to the world economy and offers more opportunities far the developed countries in business. China and the West can complement each other quite well on the grounds that China is a potentially great market and the West has advanced technology and abundant funds. With China entering WTO soon，China will greatly increase communication, whether in economy or in culture，with the countries all over the world. Economic globalization will usher in a bright future far China.B7Clinton and Bush are different greatly from each other. Clinton attends in person to everything, trivial or critical; he and his advisors never fail to take part in the interminable meeting of politics or economy; he can memorizes data well just like a computer. On the contrary，Bush dislikes a meeting that lasts over 15 minutes，and even loathes being bothered by confusing figures. Clinton has cared very much about public approval presented by polls since his early presidency，where Bush, in a sharp contrast, proclaimed at the outset of his election that he would make all decisions on his own.Clinton is an avid reader，but his successor is not. Joyful，casual and elegant，theex-president time and again drinks a little, but the new president has been a teetotal since he abstained from it 14 years ago.Bush Jr. was born of a privileged W ASP family in Texas, while the former，from an ordinary family，has tempered himself and developed his talents in hardships. He works with his wisdom and eloquence，which his successor is short of.注：B3、B10、B13在PDF上没有找到，希望有人补上，B5没有汉译英。