01 New Year 新年
New Year’s Eve is the last day of the year. We have a custom that people stay up late on New Year’s Eve. They want to wait for the new year to start. When the new year starts the people blow horns and say， “Happy New Year！” Many parades are in different cities on New Year’s Day. Some people make lists of things they want to do in the new year. The good times， the parades， and the lists are customs.
In a little town in England people gather around a fire. A band plays songs. The people skip around the fire. The custom is for the people to stay until the fire goes out. They say “Happy New Year” in this way. The custom is so old that no one knows how it starts.
In Japan， people eat fish on New Year’s Day. They hope the fish will make them strong.
Farmers in Belgium say “Happy New Year” to all their animals on New Year’s morning.
People in Vienna， Austria chase a pig on New Year’s morning. If they feel the pig， they believe they will have good luck.
Long ago in Scotland the people wanted to have good luck. The custom of having someone bring good luck on New Year’s Eve was called “first footing”. The first boy to come to a house on New Year’s Eve brought good luck. If a girl was the first to come to a door， she brought bad luck. Only boys went out so that everyone would have good luck in the new year. First footing is still a custom in Scotland on New Year’s Eve.
The Chinese New Year is not the first day in January. It is at the end of January or the first part of February. Chinese fathers and mothers put money in a little red envelope. They put the envelop by their sleeping child. They put the money in a red envelop because red means good luck in China.
Vocabulary 词汇
eve [i：v] n. （宗教节日或假日的）前日、前夕、（重大事件发生的）前一刻
horn [h？：n] n. 角、触角、号、号角、喇叭、报警器
parade [p？"reid] vt. & vi. （使）集合接受检阅、游行；
vt. 展示、炫耀；
n. 游行
list [list] n. 一览表、目录、清单；
vt. 列出、把……编列成表
skip [skip] vi. 跳、蹦、跳绳；
vt. 略过、跳过、漏过；
n. 跳、蹦跳
envelope ["env？l？up] n. 信封
Practice
1．The last day of the year is ．
A．the Chinese New Year B．New Year’s Eve
C．New Year’s Day
2．“First footing” is a custom in ．
A．Japan B．Austria C．Scotland
3．People in Vienna， Austria， think it is good luck ．
A．to feel a pig on New Year’s Day B．to eat hot dogs for breakfast
C．to put money in red envelops．
译文
新年前夜是一年中的最后一天。在这天，人们有熬夜的习俗，他们要等待新的一年开始。当新的一年开始时，人们吹响号角并且说：“新年快乐！”新年这天，不同的城市中有许多游行。有些人会把新的一年中想做的事情列出清单。欢乐时光、游行和清单都是习俗。
在英国的一个小镇，人们围着篝火聚集在一起。乐队演奏歌曲，人们围着火跳舞，直到篝火熄灭。他们以这种方式表达“新年快乐”。这种风俗太过古老，因此没有人知道是从什么时候开始的。
在日本，人们在新年这天要吃鱼，他们希望鱼可以让他们变得更强壮。
在新年这天的早晨，比利时的农民会对他们所有的动物说“新年快乐”。
在奥地利的维也纳，新年的早晨，人们会追逐一只猪。如果摸到了猪，他们相信新的一年里将有好运气。
很久以前，在苏格兰，人们总是盼望有好运气。在他们的习俗中，新年前夜有人带来好运的习俗被称为“第一只脚”。在新年前夜，第一个到达自己家的如果是男孩，就会带来好运气。如果是女孩，她会带来坏运气。于是，只有男孩允许出门，这样在新的一年中，每个人都会有好运气。现在，“第一只脚”仍然是苏格兰新年前夜的习俗。
在中国，新年并不是1月份的第一天，它大概是在1月底或者2月上旬。中国的父母会把钱装在一个小红包中，然后把信封放在熟睡的孩子旁边。他们把钱装在红包中是因为在中国红色代表好运。
练习
1．一年中的最后一天是 。
A．中国新年 B．新年前夜 C．元旦
2．“第一只脚”是_____的习俗。
A．日本 B．奥地利 C．苏格兰
3．在奥地利的维也纳，人们认为_____是好运的。
A．在元旦当天摸到猪 B．在早餐时吃热狗
C．在小红包里装上钱
1．C 2．C 3．A
02 The Rise of Greece 古希腊文明
Ancient Greece， practically cut off by sea from Asia Minor （Turkey）， had escaped conquest by the warlike empires of the Near East.
Farmland was so scarce that many Greeks left home and wandered in search of new lands. They built fine oared ships， and Greek colonists and traders could be found from one end of the Mediterranean Sea to the other.
In many ways， ancient Greece was the birthplace of Western civilization. In the small Greek cities， and especially in Athens， people gathered to discuss new ideas. The word “philosophy” comes from two Greek words meaning love of wisdom， and it is to the Greeks that we owe many of our ideas about beauty， justice， and government.
The Greeks were never united as one nation， but they shared the same language and religion， and many similar ideas about the world.
The ancient Greeks were pioneers in medicine， mathematics， and science. They looked at the world in the light of logic and reason and made some fundamental discoveries. In the 400s BC Democritus declared that everything was nude of atoms， Aristarchus of Samos （200s BC） knew the Earth was round， and even suggested that it traveled around the Sun.
The names of great Greek scientists such as Archimedes are familiar lo this day. Socrates， Plato， and Aristotle were three of the greatest philosophers of that， or any other， age. But the common people were often suspicious of their questioning and free thinking. Socrates was sentenced to death in 399 B.C. for his views.
The Greeks believed in many gods. Each city had its own protector god or goddess， and families made offerings to household gods too. The gods were thought to live on Mount Olympus， under the rule of Zeus， the king of the gods. Greek gods were immortal， but they had human characteristics too — such as displaying love and jealousy.
The Greeks built many beautiful temples to their gods. They developed an elegant architecture based on mathematical rules and the use of three styles for the stone columns that are a feature of many Greek buildings.
Greek sculptors portrayed die human body in superb lifelike detail. Music also flourished， often accompanying dances or stories. The most famous stories were the heroic tales of Homer， but the Greeks also invented theater as we know it， and some of their plays are still performed， in many languages other than Greek.
Vocabulary 词汇
conquest ["k？？kwest] n. 攻取、征服、克服
warlike ["w？：laik] adj. 军事的、与战争有关的
scarce [sk？？s] adj. 缺乏的、罕见的
wander ["w？nd？] vt. & vi. 漫游、徘徊；
vi. 迷失
oared ["？：d] adj. 有桨的
philosophy [fi"l？s？fi] n. 哲学、人生观、达观
wisdom ["wizd？m] n. 明智、智慧、正确的判断、知识、学问
fundamental ["f？nd？"ment？l] adj. 基本的、重要的、必要的；
n. 基本原则
nude [nju：d] n. （绘画、照片或雕塑）裸体；
adj. 裸体的
atom ["？t？m] n. 原子、原子能、微粒、微量
suspicious [s？"spi？？s] adj. 猜疑的、疑心的、可疑的、表示怀疑的
Zeus [zju：s] n. 〈希神〉宙斯
immortal [i"m？：tl] adj. 不朽的、流芳百世的；
n. 不朽的人物、永生不朽者
jealousy ["d？el？si] n. 妒忌、妒羡
temple ["templ] n. 庙、寺、神殿、太阳穴
elegant ["eliɡ？nt] adj. 优美的、文雅的、讲究的、简洁的、简练的
architecture ["ɑ：kitekt？？] n. 建筑学、建筑术、建筑风格、建筑式样
column ["k？l？m] n. 柱、圆柱、纵队、直行、栏、专栏（文章）
sculptor ["sk？lpt？] n. 雕刻家
portray [p？： "trei] vt. 画像、描述、扮演
superb ["sju： "p？：b] adj. 卓越的、杰出的、极好的
lifelike ["laif"laik] adj. 活像真的、栩栩如生的
flourish ["fl？ri？] vi. 茂盛、繁荣、兴旺发达；
vt. 挥动
Practice
Answer each of the following questions.
1．Greek colonists and traders can be found all over the bank of Sea．
2．Ancient Greece was the birthplace of Western ．
3．The word “philosophy” means and ．
4． declared that everything was nude of atoms．
5． was sentenced to death in 399 BC for his views．
6．Greek temples based on rules．
译文