英语四级美文

?英语四级美文：
　　the rules for being human1. You will receive a body.

　　You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for the entire period.

　　1.你将拥有一个躯体。

　　你可以喜之也可以恶之，但它毕生都会属于你。2. You will learn lessons.

　　You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called Life. Each day in this school you will learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid.2.你将接受教育。

　　你入读了一所叫做”生活”的大学的全日制非正式学校。在学校的每一天你都将接受教育。你可以爱你所爱或者视之无聊而又豪无裨益。 3. There are no mistakes, only lessons.

　　Growth is a process of trial and error: Experimentation. The “failed” experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately “works”.3.没有过失，只有教训。

　　成长就是反复”尝试-犯错”的渐进过程，或者说是实验。那些所谓”失败”的实验和最终”奏效”的实验一样重要，都是这个过程的一部分。4. A lesson is repeated until learned.

　　A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. Once learned, you then go on to the next lesson.4.同样的教训会不断重复直到你真正领悟为止。

　　同样的教训会以不同的形式不断出现在你面前直到你学会为止。而一旦你学会了，就会马上进入下一课的学习。5. Learning lessons does not end.

　　There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.5.学无止境。

　　生活的每个部分无不包含可学之处。只要活着，你就学无止境。6. “There” is no better than “here”.

　　When your “there” has become a “here”, you will simply obtain another “there” that will again look better than “here”.当你终于拥有了不曾拥有的东西，你只会发现自己又在向往别的东西，它们看起来总比你拥有的东西要好些。

　　7. Others are merely mirrors of you.

　　You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself.7.他人只是你的镜子。

　　不要去爱慕或憎恶别人的品性，除非这些品性在你自己身上也能找到，而你以同样的态度处之。

　　8. What you make of your life is up to you.

　　You have all the tools and resources you need.

　　What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.8.要过怎样的生活由你作主。

　　你掌握着陆一切你所需的工具和资源，怎么用全由你作主。决策权在你手中。

　　9. The answers to Lifes questions lie inside you.

　　All you need to do is look, listen and trust.9.生活的答案皆藏心中。

　　你只须观察，聆听和信任。

　　10. You will forget all of this.10.生活中你会忘记这些准则。 下面这个网址有很多，你看下，五篇足够了

　　本文来自: 恒星英语学习网(www.Hxen.com) 详细出处参考：http://www.hxen.com/englisharticle/yingyumeiwen/2009-07-16/84371.html

　　1.Don’t wait for a smile to be nice…

　　不要等到了一个笑容才面露慈善

　　Don’t wait to be loved, to love.

　　不要等被爱了以后，才要去爱

　　Don’t wait to be lonely, to recognize the value of a friend.

　　不要等到寂寞了，才明白朋友的价值。

　　Don’t wait for the best job, to begin to work.

　　不要非要等到一份最好的工作，才要开始工作

　　Don’t wait to have a lot, to share a bit.

　　不要等拥有许多后，才开始分享一些

　　Don’t wait for the fall, to remember the advice.

　　不要等到失败后，才记得别人的忠告

　　Don’t wait for pain, to believe in prayer.

　　不要等到受伤了，才相信愿意祈祷

　　Don’t wait to have time, to be able to serve.

　　不一定要等到有时间，才能够去付出服务

　　Don’t wait for anybody else pain, to ask for apologies…

　　不要等别人受伤了，才来乞求原谅

　　… neither separation to make it up.

　　不要等到分开了，才想到去挽回

　　Don’t wait…

　　Because you don’t know how long it will take.

　　不要等待,因为，你不知道等待需要花费多少的时间

　　Remember: Friendship is like wine, it gets better as it grows older.

　　记得：友谊像醇酒，越久越浓。

　　2.A friend walk in when the rest of the world walks out.

　　Sometimes in life,

　　You find a special friend;

　　Someone who changes your life just by being part of it.

　　Someone who makes you laugh until you cant stop;

　　Someone who makes you believe that there really is good in the world.

　　Someone who convinces you that there really is an unlocked door just waiting for you to open it.

　　This is Forever Friendship.

　　when youre down,

　　and the world seems dark and empty,

　　Your forever friend lifts you up in spirits and makes that dark and empty world

　　suddenly seem bright and full.

　　Your forever friend gets you through the hard times, the sad times, and the confused times.

　　If you turn and walk away,

　　Your forever friend follows,

　　If you lose you way,

　　Your forever friend guides you and cheers you on.

　　Your forever friend holds your hand and tells you that everything is going to be okay.

　　And if you find such a friend,

　　You feel happy and complete,

　　Because you need not worry,

　　Your have a forever friend for life.

　　3.If the Dream is Big EnoughI used to watch her from mykitchenwindow, she seemed so small as she 1)muscled her way throughthecrowd of boys on the playground. The school was across thestreetfrom our home and I would often watch the kids as theyplayedduring recess. A sea of children, and yet to me, she stoodout fromthem all.I remr the first day I saw her playing basketball.Iwatched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids.Shemanaged to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into thenet.The boys always tried to stop her but no one could.I begantonotice her at other times, basketball in hand, playing alone.Shewould practice 2)dribbling and shooting over and overagain,sometimes until dark. One day I asked her why she practicedsomuch. She looked directly in my eyes and without a momentofhesitation she said, “I want to go to college. The only way Icango is if I get a scholarship. I like basketball. I decided thatifI were good enough, I would get a scholarship. I am going toplaycollege basketball. I want to be the best. My Daddy told me ifthedream is big enough, the facts don’t count.” Then she smiledandran towards the court to 3)recap the routine I had seen overandover again.Well, I had to give it to her—she was determined.Iwatched her through those junior high years and into highschool.Every week, she led her 4)varsity team to victory.One day inhersenior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled inherarms. I walked across the street and sat down in the coolgrassbeside her. Quietly I asked what was wrong. “Oh, nothing,”came asoft reply. “I am just too short.” The coach told her that at5’5”she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team—muchless offered a scholarship—so she should stop dreamingaboutcollege.She was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tightenas Isensed her disappointment. I asked her if she had talked to herdadabout it yet.She lifted her head from her hands and told methather father said those coaches were wrong. They just didnotunderstand the power of a dream. He told her that if shereallywanted to play for a good college, if she truly wantedascholarship, that nothing could stop her except one thing — herownattitude. He told her again, “If the dream is big enough, thefactsdon’t count.”The next year, as she and her team went totheNorthern California Championship game, she was seen by acollege5)recruiter. She was indeed offered a scholarship, a fullride, toa Division I, 6)NCAA women’s basketball team. She was goingto getthe college education that she had dreamed of and workedtoward forall those years.It’s true: If the dream is big enough,the factsdon’t count.

　　我以前常常从厨房的窗户看到她穿梭于操场上的一群男孩子中间，她显得那么矮小。

　　学校在我家的街对面，我可以经常看到孩子们在下课时间打球。尽管有一大群的孩子，但我觉得她跟其他的孩子截然不同。

　　我记得第一天看到她打篮球的情景。看着她在其他孩子旁边兜来转去，我感到十分惊奇。她总是尽力地跳起投篮，球恰好越过那些孩子的头顶飞入篮筐。那些男孩总是拼命地阻止她，但没有人可以做得到。

　　我开始注意到她有时候一个人打球。她一遍遍地练习运球和投篮，有时直到天黑。有一天我问她为什么这么刻苦地练习。她直视着我的眼睛，不加思索地说:“我想上大学。只有获得奖学金我才能上大学。我喜欢打篮球，我想只要我打得好，我就能获得奖学金。我要到大学去打篮球。我想成为最棒的球员。我爸爸告诉我说，心中有目标，风雨不折腰。”说完她笑了笑，跑向篮球场，又开始我之前见过的一遍又一遍的练习。

　　嘿，我服了她了——她是下定了决心了。我看着她这些年从初中升到高中。每个星期，她带领的学校篮球代表队都能够获胜。

　　高中那会儿的某一天，我看见她坐在草地上，头埋在臂弯里。我穿过街道，坐到她旁边的清凉的草地上。我轻轻地问出什么事了。“哦，没什么，”她轻声回答，“只是我太矮了。”原来篮球教练告诉她，以五英尺五英寸的身材，她几乎是没有机会到一流的球队去打球的——更不用说会获得奖学金了——所以她应该放弃想上大学的梦想。

　　她很伤心，我也觉得自己的喉咙发紧，因为我感觉到了她的失望。我问她是否与她的爸爸谈过这件事。

　　她从臂弯里抬起头，告诉我，她爸爸说那些教练错了。他们根本不懂得梦想的力量。他告诉她，如果真的想到一个好的大学去打篮球，如果她真的想获得奖学金，任何东西也不能阻止她，除非她自己不愿意。他又一次跟她说：“心中有目标，风雨不折腰。”

　　第二年，当她和她的球队去参加北加利福尼亚州冠军赛时，她被一位大学的招生人员看中了。她真的获得了奖学金，一个全面资助的奖学金，并且进入美国全国大学体育协会其中一队女子甲组篮球队。她将接受她曾梦想并为之奋斗多年的大学教育。

　　是的，心中有目标，风雨不折腰。

　　4.If I had my life to live over…I would have talked less and listened more.

　　I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was strained and the sofa faded.

　　I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

　　I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

　　I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

　　I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

　　I would have cried and laughed less while watching television – and more while watching life.

　　I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding patter if I were not there for the day.

　　I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, would not show soil or was guaranteed to last a life time.

　　There would have been more “I love yous” … more “Im sorrys”… but mostly, given another shots at life, I would seize every minute… look at it and really see it…live it…and never give it back.

　　5. Love and Time

　　Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.

　　Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.

　　When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

　　Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said,

　　”Richness, can you take me with you”

　　Richness answered, “No, I cant. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you.”

　　Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. “Vanity, please help me!”

　　”I cant help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat,” Vanity answered.

　　Sadness was close by so Love asked, “Sadness, let me go with you.”

　　”Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!”

　　Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.

　　Suddenly, there was a voice, “Come, Love, I will take you.” It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Realizing how much was owed the elder,

　　Love asked Knowledge, another elder, “Who Helped me”

　　”It was Time,” Knowledge answered.

　　”Time” asked Love. “But why did Time help me”

　　Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, “Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is.”

　　爱和时间

　　从前有一个岛，的情感都住在那里：幸福、悲伤、知识和其它的，爱也不例外。一天，的情感听说小岛即将沉没，因此建造小船，纷纷离开，除了爱。

　　爱是唯一留下来的，因为它希望能坚持到最后一刻。

　　小岛即将沉没了，爱决定请求帮助。

　　富有驾着一艘大船从爱身边经过，爱说，

　　“富有，你能带上我么？”

　　富有回答说：“不行，我的船上载满金银财宝，没有你的地方。”

　　虚荣坐在漂亮的小船中从爱身边驶过，爱问：“虚荣，你能帮助我么？”

　　虚荣说：“不行，你全身湿透，会弄脏我的船。”

　　悲伤的船靠近了，爱问：“悲伤，请带我走吧。”

　　“哦。。。爱，我太难过了，想一个人呆着。”

　　幸福经过爱的身边，它太开心了，根本没听见爱在呼唤。

　　突然，一个声音喊道：“来，爱，我带你走。” 声音来自“年老”。爱太高兴了，甚至忘了问他们即将去何方。当他们来到岸上，年老自己离开了。爱突然意识到“年老”给了它多大的帮助。

　　于是，爱问另一位老者–知识：“谁帮助了我？”

　　知识说：“是时间。”

　　“时间？”爱问：“但是时间为什么帮助我？”

　　知识睿智地微笑道：“因为只有时间了解爱的价值。”

　　Ask a student who has failed a final exam.

　　To realize the value of one month:

　　Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

　　To realize the value of one week:

　　Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

　　To realize the value of one hour:

　　Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

　　To realize the value of one minute:

　　Ask a person who has missed the train, bus or plane.

　　To realize the value of one second:

　　Ask a person who has survived an accident.

　　To realaize the value of one millisecond:

　　Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.

　　Time waits for no one.

　　Treasure every moment you have. Sonnet

　　Fresh spring the herald of loves mighty king,

　　In whose cote armour richly are displayed

　　All sorts of flowers the which on earth do spring

　　In goodly colours gloriously arrayed.

　　Go to my love, Where she is carelesse laid,

　　Yet in her winters bowre:

　　Tell her the joyous time will not be staid

　　Unlesse she do him by the forelock take,

　　Bid her therefore her selfe soon ready make,

　　To wait on love amongst his lovely crew.

　　Where every one that misseth then her make,

　　Shall be by him amercest with penance dew.

　　Make hast therefore sweet love, whilest it is prime,

　　For none can call againe the passed time.

　　你买本英语沙龙 或者英语文摘 里边大把的啊或者找找旧的也行啊很多书摊都有的

　　第一篇

　　Right Beside You

　　The passengers on the bus watched sympathetically as the young woman with the white cane made her way1 carefully up the steps. She paid the driver and then, using her hands to feel the location of the seats, settled in to one. She placed her briefcase on her lap and rested her cane against her leg.

　　It had been a year since Susan, thirty-four, became blind. As the result of a medical accident she was sightless, suddenly thrown into a world of darkness, anger, frustration and self-pity. All she had to cling to2 was her husband Mark.

　　Mark was an Air Force officer and he loved Susan with all his heart. When she first lost her sight, he watched her sink into despair and he became determined to use every means possible to help his wife.

　　Finally, Susan felt ready to return to her job, but how would she get there She used to take the bus, but she was now too frightened to get around the city by herself. Mark volunteered to ride the bus with Susan each morning and evening until she got the hang of3 it. And that is exactly what happened.

　　For two weeks, Mark, military uniform and all, accompanied Susan to and from work each day. He taught her how to rely on her other senses, specifically her hearing, to determine where she was and how to adapt to4 her new environment. He helped her befriend the bus drivers who could watch out for her, and save her a seat.

　　Each morning they made the journey together, and Mark would take a taxi back to his office. Although that meant he had to travel through the city and the routine was costly and exhausting, Mark knew it was only a matter of① time before Susan would be able to ride the bus on her own. He believed in her.

　　Finally, Susan decided that she was ready to try the trip on her own. Monday morning arrived. Before she left, she embraced her husband tightly. Her eyes filled with tears of gratitude for his loyalty, his patience, and his love. She said good-bye and, for the first time, they went their separate ways. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday… Each day on her own went perfectly, and a wild gaiety5 took hold of Susan. She was doing it! She was going to work all by herself!

　　On Friday morning, Susan took the bus to work as usual. As she was exiting the bus, the driver said, “Miss, I sure envy you.” Curious, Susan asked the driver why.

　　“You know, every morning for the past week, a fine looking gentleman in a military uniform has been standing across the corner watching you when you get off the bus. He makes sure you cross the street safely and he watches you until you enter your office building. Then he blows you a kiss, gives you a salute6 and walks away. You are one lucky lady,” the bus driver said.

　　Tears of happiness poured down Susans cheeks. She was so lucky for he had given her a gift more powerful than sight, a gift she didnt need to see to believe—the gift of love that can bring light where there is darkness.

　　第二篇

　　True Happiness

　　Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The authors of the American Declaration proclaimed happiness to be one of the essential rights that make life worth living. William James, the first American psychologist, echoed this emphasis on happiness: If we were to ask the question: What is human lifes chief concern One of the answers we should receive would be: It is happiness. Every philosophical and religious system has offered its pathway to happiness for the individual and the group. Happiness has been related to pleasure, refuge from pain, intellectual contemplation, union with God, friendship, children, wealth, honor, successful activity, and even state burial with statues! Today, scientists have joined the dialogue to seek answers about what contributes to happiness or, as they call it, subjective well-being.

　　If happiness is activity in accordance with excellence, it is reasonable that it should be in accordance with the highest excellence. – Aristotle The concept of happiness–while difficult to define– is obviously here to stay. But the desire for happiness can set up expectations that are often hard to fulfill. The right to pursue happiness was conceived of as an inalienable right; the entitlement that everyone be happy was never promised. As captured by Eric Hoffer, a misguided search we hope to provide a framework that will guide you in your personal pursuit of happiness.

　　第三篇

　　The trend in everyday conversation is to use grandiose words. Outstanding is new good, amazing is the new OK, and huge is the new big.

　　I was in a restaurant in D.C. last weekend and everything I asked was answered in superlatives.

　　Me: How s the salmon

　　Server: Fantastic!

　　Me: Does it come with rice

　　Server: Absolutely!

　　Would a good and a yes have been sufficient Undeniably!

　　At Starbucks, the smallest coffee you can order is a Tall. Tall would seem to indicate that there was also a short and medium, with Tall being the largest. But at Starbucks, Tall is small. Grande, which is both Italian and Spanish for large, is medium.

　　Likewise, at your local 7-Eleven you cannot buy a small: Your choices are Big Gulp, Super Gulp and Extremely Big Gulp. OldBananaNavyGap also did away with the small. You cannot buy anything from the chain stores that is really a small. My father is an average-sized man. He hasn t gained weight (or height, for that matter) for the past 30 years. Ergo, his size remains the same. But in the same amount of time, his T-shirt size has gone from small/medium to medium to large to extra large.

　　Upon reflection, the reason for all this colossal-speak is clear: We are bored with our fantastic, wonderful lives. We want the next-next thing now. Now!

　　And we also want others to think that we still care, that we can still be delighted, that we know that everything is just great. Even when deep inside we know it can t be. Everything can t be great. Hence, we live in a world where extreme is ordinary, where radical is quotidian; exceptional is pedestrian. And to not be overly delighted by the mundane is appalling. It s horrific. And, Dude, that s heinous.

　　I m not scientist, and my methods of proof leave a little to be desired, or a lot to be desired, or an immensity. An to be honest, I guess I d rather live in a world where people were overly excited than depressed.

　　But listen to the voices around you. Listen to your own voices. There is nothing on the news that is good or bad, only things that are wonderful or devastating. Even the weather is either beautiful or horrible.

　　Listen the next time when someone asks you something and you agree, because when you could simply say yes, instead you will say absolutely or without doubt or Oh, yeah, unquestionably – absolutely without doubt.

　　Have people forgotten what it is like to be OK Simply OK with what they have and who they are

　　If everything is outstanding, if everything is the most amazing thing ever, is anything ever amazing at all

　　第四篇

　　Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel.

　　All claimed that they were the best.

　　The most important.

　　The most useful.

　　The favorite.

　　Green said:

　　Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority.

　　Blue interrupted:

　　You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing.

　　Yellow chuckled:

　　You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun.

　　Orange started next to blow her trumpet:

　　I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes, and papayas. I dont hang around all the time, but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you.

　　Red could stand it no longer he shouted out:

　　I am the ruler of all of you. I am blood – lifes blood! I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy.

　　Purple rose up to his full height:

　　He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and obey.

　　Finally Indigo spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination:

　　Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace.

　　And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down relentlessly. The colors crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort.

　　In the midst of the clamor, rain began to speak:

　　You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Dont you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different Join hands with one another and come to me.

　　Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands.

　　The rain continued:

　　From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace. The Rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow. And so, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a Rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another.

　　

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　　01 The Language of Music

　　A painter hangs his or her finished pictures on a wall, and everyone can

　　see it. A composer writes a work, but no one can hear it until it is

　　performed. Professional singers and players have great responsibilities,

　　for the composer is utterly dependent on them. A student of music needs

　　as long and as arduous a training to become a performer as a medical

　　student needs to become a doctor. Most training is concerned with

　　technique, for musicians have to have the muscular proficiency of an

　　athlete or a ballet dancer. Singers practice breathing every day, as

　　their vocal chords would be inadequate without controlled muscular

　　support. String players practice moving the fingers of the left hand up

　　and down, while drawing the bow to and fro with the right arm-two

　　entirely different movements.

　　Singers and instruments have to be able to get every note perfectly in

　　tune. Pianists are spared this particular anxiety, for the notes are

　　already there, waiting for them, and it is the piano tuner’s

　　responsibility to tune the instrument for them. But they have their own

　　difficulties; the hammers that hit the string have to be coaxed not to

　　sound like percussion, and each overlapping tone has to sound clear.

　　This problem of getting clear texture is one that confronts student

　　conductors: they have to learn to know every note of the music and how

　　it should sound, and they have to aim at controlling these sound with

　　fanatical but selfless authority.

　　Technique is of no use unless it is combined with musical knowledge and

　　understanding. Great artists are those who are so thoroughly at home in

　　the language of music that they can enjoy performing works written in

　　any century.

　　02 Schooling and Education

　　It is commonly believed in United States that school is where people go

　　to get an education. Nevertheless, it has been said that today children

　　interrupt their education to go to school. The distinction between

　　schooling and education implied by this remark is important.

　　Education is much more open-ended and all-inclusive than schooling.

　　Education knows no bounds. It can take place anywhere, whether in the

　　shower or in the job, whether in a kitchen or on a tractor. It includes

　　both the formal learning that takes place in schools and the whole

　　universe of informal learning. The agents of education can range from a

　　revered grandparent to the people debating politics on the radio, from a

　　child to a distinguished scientist. Whereas schooling has a certain

　　predictability, education quite often produces surprises. A chance

　　conversation with a stranger may lead a person to discover how little is

　　known of other religions. People are engaged in education from infancy

　　on. Education, then, is a very broad, inclusive term. It is a lifelong

　　process, a process that starts long before the start of school, and one

　　that should be an integral part of one’s entire life.

　　Schooling, on the other hand, is a specific, formalized process, whose

　　general pattern varies little from one setting to the next. Throughout a

　　country, children arrive at school at approximately the same time, take

　　assigned seats, are taught by an adult, use similar textbooks, do

　　homework, take exams, and so on. The slices of reality that are to be

　　learned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the

　　working of government, have usually been limited by the boundaries of

　　the subject being taught. For example, high school students know that

　　there not likely to find out in their classes the truth about political

　　problems in their communities or what the newest filmmakers are

　　experimenting with. There are definite conditions surrounding the

　　formalized process of schooling.

　　03 The Definition of “Price”

　　Prices determine how resources are to be used. They are also the means

　　by which products and services that are in limited supply are rationed

　　among buyers. The price system of the United States is a complex network

　　composed of the prices of all the products bought and sold in the

　　economy as well as those of a myriad of services, including labor,

　　professional, transportation, and public-utility services. The

　　interrelationships of all these prices make up the “system” of prices.

　　The price of any particular product or service is linked to a broad,

　　complicated system of prices in which everything seems to depend more or

　　less upon everything else.

　　If one were to ask a group of randomly selected individuals to define

　　“price”, many would reply that price is an amount of money paid by the

　　buyer to the seller of a product or service or, in other words that

　　price is the money values of a product or service as agreed upon in a

　　market transaction. This definition is, of course, valid as far as it

　　goes. For a complete understanding of a price in any particular

　　transaction, much more than the amount of money involved must be known.

　　Both the buyer and the seller should be familiar with not only the money

　　amount, but with the amount and quality of the product or service to be

　　exchanged, the time and place at which the exchange will take place and

　　payment will be made, the form of money to be used, the credit terms and

　　discounts that apply to the transaction, guarantees on the product or

　　service, delivery terms, return privileges, and other factors. In other

　　words, both buyer and seller should be fully aware of all the factors

　　that comprise the total “package” being exchanged for the asked-for

　　amount of money in order that they may evaluate a given price.

　　04 Electricity

　　The modern age is an age of electricity. People are so used to electric

　　lights, radio, televisions, and telephones that it is hard to imagine

　　what life would be like without them. When there is a power failure,

　　people grope about in flickering candlelight, cars hesitate in the

　　streets because there are no traffic lights to guide them, and food

　　spoils in silent refrigerators.

　　Yet, people began to understand how electricity works only a little more

　　than two centuries ago. Nature has apparently been experimenting in this

　　field for million of years. Scientists are discovering more and more

　　that the living world may hold many interesting secrets of electricity

　　that could benefit humanity.

　　All living cell send out tiny pulses of electricity. As the heart beats,

　　it sends out pulses of record; they form an electrocardiogram, which a

　　doctor can study to determine how well the heart is working. The brain,

　　too, sends out brain waves of electricity, which can be recorded in an

　　electroencephalogram. The electric currents generated by most living

　　cells are extremely small – often so small that sensitive instruments

　　are needed to record them. But in some animals, certain muscle cells

　　have become so specialized as electrical generators that they do not

　　work as muscle cells at all. When large numbers of these cell are linked

　　together, the effects can be astonishing.

　　The electric eel is an amazing storage battery. It can seed a jolt of as

　　much as eight hundred volts of electricity through the water in which it

　　live. ( An electric house current is only one hundred twenty volts.) As

　　many as four-fifths of all the cells in the electric eel’s body are

　　specialized for generating electricity, and the strength of the shock it

　　can deliver corresponds roughly to length of its body.

　　05 The Beginning of Drama

　　There are many theories about the beginning of drama in ancient Greece.

　　The on most widely accepted today is based on the assumption that drama

　　evolved from ritual. The argument for this view goes as follows. In the

　　beginning, human beings viewed the natural forces of the world-even the

　　seasonal changes-as unpredictable, and they sought through various means

　　to control these unknown and feared powers. Those measures which

　　appeared to bring the desired results were then retained and repeated

　　until they hardened into fixed rituals. Eventually stories arose which

　　explained or veiled the mysteries of the rites. As time passed some

　　rituals were abandoned, but the stories, later called myths, persisted

　　and provided material for art and drama.

　　Those who believe that drama evolved out of ritual also argue that those

　　rites contained the seed of theater because music, dance, masks, and

　　costumes were almost always used, Furthermore, a suitable site had to be

　　provided for performances and when the entire community did not

　　participate, a clear division was usually made between the acting area

　　and the auditorium. In addition, there were performers, and, since

　　considerable importance was attached to avoiding mistakes in the

　　enactment of rites, religious leaders usually assumed that task. Wearing

　　masks and costumes, they often impersonated other people, animals, or

　　supernatural beings, and mimed the desired effect-success in hunt or

　　battle, the coming rain, the revival of the Sun-as an actor might.

　　Eventually such dramatic representations were separated from religious

　　activities.

　　Another theory traces the theaters origin from the human interest in

　　storytelling. According to this vies tales (about the hunt, war, or

　　other feats) are gradually elaborated, at first through the use of

　　impersonation, action, and dialogue by a narrator and then through the

　　assumption of each of the roles by a different person. A closely related

　　theory traces theater to those dances that are primarily rhythmical and

　　gymnastic or that are imitations of animal movements and sounds.

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