最新高中英语选修6课文(word人教版)

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高中英语选修

6

Unit 1

A SHORT HISTORY OF WESTERN PAINTING

Art

is

influenced

by

the

customs

and

faith

of

a

people.

Styles

in

Western

art

have

changed

many

times.

As

there

are

so

many

different styles of Western art, it would be impossible to describe all

of them in such a short text. Consequently, this text will describe only

the most important ones. Starting from the sixth century AD.

The Middle Ages(5

th

to the 15

th

century AD)

During the Middle Ages, the main

aim

of painters was to represent

religious

themes.

A

conventional

artistof

this

period

was

not

interested

in

showing

nature

and

people

as

they

really

were.

A

typical

picture

at

this

time

was

full

of

religious

symbols,

which

created a feeling of respect and love for God. But it was

evident

that

ideas were changing in the 13

th

century when painters like Giotto di

Bondone began to paint religious scenes in a more realistic way.

The Renaissance(15

th

to 16

th

century)

During the Renaissance, new ideas and values gradually replaced

those held in the Middle Ages. People began to concentrate less on

religious themes and

adopt

a more humanistic attitude to the

same

time

painters

returned

to

classical

Roman

and

Greek

ideas

about art. They tried to paint people and nature as they really were.

Rich

people

wanted

to

possess

their

own

paintings,

so they

coule

decorate their

superb

palaces and great houses. They paid famous

artists

to

paint

pictures

of

themselves,

their

houses

and

possessions

as well as their activities and achievements.

One of the most important discoveries during this period was how

to

draw

things

in

perspective.

This

technique

was

first

used

by

Masaccio

in

1428.

When

people

first

saw

his

paintings,

they

were

convinced that they

were looking through a

hole in a wall at a real

scene. If the rules of perspective had not been discovered, no one

would

have

been

able

to

paint

such

realistic

pictures.

By

coincidence,

oil paints were also developed at this time, which made

the colours used in paintings look richer and deeper. Without the new

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paints and the new technique, we would not be able to see the many

great masterpieces for which this period is famous.

Impressionism(late 19h to early 20

th

century)

In the late 19

th

century, Europe changed

a great deal,

from a mostly

agricultural

society

to

a

mostly

industrial

one.

Many

people

moved

from

the

countryside

to

the

new

cities.

There

were

many

new

inventions and social changes also led to new painting styles. Among

the

painters

who

broke

away

from

the

traditional

style

of

painting

were the Impressionists, who lived and worke in Paris.

The

Impressionists

were

the

first

painters

to

work

outdoors.

They

were eager to show how light and

shadow

fell on objects at different

times of day. However, because natural light changes so quickly, the

Impressionists

had

to

paint

quickly.

Their

paintings

were

not

as

detailed as those of earlier painters. At first, many people disliked this

style of painting and became very angry about it. They said that the

painters were careless and their paintings were

ridiculous.

Modern Art(29

th

century to today)

At

the

time

they

were

created,

the

Impressionist

paintings

were

controversial,

but

today

they

are

accepeted

as

the

beginning

of

what

we

call

“modern

art”.

This

is

because

the

Impressi

onists

encouraged artists to look at their environment in new ways. There

are scores of modern art styles,but without the Impressionists, many

of

these

painting

styles

might

not

exsist.

On

the

one

hand,

some

modern art is abstract; that is, the painter does not

attempt

to paint

objects

as

we

see

them

with

our

eyes,

but

instead

concentrates

n

certain

qualities

of

the

object,

using

colour,

line

and

shape

to

represent them.

On the other hand

, some paintings of modern art

are so realistic that they look like photographs. These styles are so

different.

Who

can

predict

what

painting

styles

there

will

be

in

the

future?

Unit 3

It is a beautiful day here and I am sitting under the big tree at the

end of the garden. I have just returned from a long bike ride to an old

castle. It seems amazing that at my age I am still fit enough to cycle

20 kilometres in an ’s my birthday in two weeks’ time and I

‘ll be82years old! I think my long and active life must be

due to

the

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healthy life I live.

This brings me to the real reason for my letter, my dear grandson.

Your

mother

tells me

that

you

started

smoking some time

ago

and

how you are finding it difficult to give it up. Believe me, I know how

easy

it

is

to

begin

smoking

and

how

tough

it

is

to

stop.

You

see,

during

adolescence

I

also

smoked

and

became

addicted

to

cigarettes.

By

the

way,

did

you

know

that

this

is

because

you

become

addicated

in three different

ways.

First,

you can

become

physically

addicated to nicotine, which is one of the hundreds of chemicals in

cigarettes.

This

means

that

after

a

while

your

body

becomes

accustomed

to

having

nicotine in it. So

when the

drug leaves

our

body,

you

get

withdrawal

symptoms.

I

remember

feeling

bad-tempered and sometimes even in pain. Secondly, you become

addicted through habit. As you know, if you do the same thing over

and

over

again,

you

begin

to

do

it

automatically.

Lastly,

you

can

become

mentally

addicted.

I

believed

I

was

happier

and

more

relaxed after having a cigarette, so I began to that I could only feel

good when I smoked. I was addicted in all three ways, so it was very

difficult to

quit.

But I did finally manage.

When I was young, I didn’t know much about the harmful

effects

of

smoking.

I

didn’t

know,

for

example,

that

it

could

do

terrible

damage

to

your

heart

and

lungs

or

that

it

was

more

difficult

for

smoking

couples

to

become

pregnant.

I

certainly

didn’t

know

their

babies

may

have

a

smaller

birth

weight

or

even

be

abnormal

in

some way. Neither did I know that my cigarette smoke could affect

the

health

of

non- smokers.

However,

what

I

did know

was that

my

girlfriend

thought

I

smelt

terrible.

She

said

my

breath

and

clothes

smelt, and that the ends of my fingers were turning yellow. She told

me that she wouldn’t go out with me again unless I stopped! I also

noticed that I became

breathless

quickly, and that I wasn’t enjoying

sport

as

much.

When

I

was

taken

off

the

school

football

team

because I was

unfit,

I knew it was time t quit smoking.

I am sending you some advice I found on the Internet It might help

you to stop and

strengthen

your

resolve.

I

do hope so

because

I

want

you

to

live

as

long

and

healthy a life as I have.

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