大学英语综合教程4课文summary

U1 AR2This is an in formal and pers on alized acco unt of an econo mic graduate who gets a job in a pub for a year and the n has an opport unity to be successful (a lucky break). Since her family can t support her to further study, she has to work. She has financial problems and feels Ionely. She tells her troubles to Tony,a regular customer of the pub, who talks to some frie nds and gets her a loa n to set up a bus in ess. With this help she has her master' s degree and her own compa ny. The situati on, however, is reversed: Tony is disabled after an accide nt and n eeds the repayme nt of the loa n to adapt his house for his disability.U2 AR1Reading is a life-changing activity. It helps us enter a new world and liberate us from the real world we come from; it stimulates our emoti ons and allows us enjoy and celebrate the variety and difference from books; it aids us to get out of confusion in a material world and to discover the real meaning of the life. Simply put, books are supremely in flue ntial in the way we live.Homer un book might be the an swer for the book that every one should read. It describes the first readi ng experie nce that in duces such pleasure and satisfaction that you cannot put it down and it may rangefrom the classics to the most rece nt. Every one is looki ng for their own homer un books. And what is yours?U2 AR2Henry Miller depicts the struggle waged to obta in books whe n he was young, and then introduces the reason that makes a book live —that is, the passi on ate recomme ndati on of one reader to ano ther. I n his eyes, books are one of the few possessions men cherished deeply, but if you lend it to others, it makes friends for you. He continues to suggest that the vast majority of books overlap what others say, so read as little as possible. He then advises such a way to test his suggestion— that is, leave a book alone, but thi nk as inten sely as possible and if you decide to read, observe with what extraord inary acume n you tackle it and realize that very little of the books is really new to you.U3 AR1No history of fashion in the years 1960 to 2010 can overlook or un derestimate two con sta nt factors: jea ns and hemli nes.Jeans evolved from the work clothes in the Californian gold rush in the mid-19th century to a symbol of youth, new ideas, rebellion and individuality with its expansion to Europe and Asia in late 1950s.Then the hippie movement of the mid-1960s and early 1970s and thepunk period had impact on the desig n of jea ns.In the mid-1980s, denim rema ined popular with the young. But the late 1980s saw jeans not at all what Levi Strauss originally intended while from 2000, desig ner jea ns gained huge popularity.While jeans came to be popular on the worldwide scale, hemlines have a more peculiar significanee (with only a few indicator) as an exceptions of economy, i.e., as the stock market rises, so do hemlines, and when it falls, so do they.The 1960s witnessed the miniskirt by Mary Quant whereas the mid-1980s saw knee-length skirts - the economy was unstable.Gradually hemli nes started to rise aga in... un til the world stock market crash in 1987. The n in Jan uary 2000 the New York tech nology stock market collapsed. As usual, so did hemlines. But merely one year later, the stock market began to recover, and the micro miniskirt returned. Hemlines were higher than they had been for many years.But from 2007, hemli nes were no Ion ger followi ng the stock market.In con clusi on, the con sta nt factors over 1960s and 2010 are denim and hemli nes and the greatest in flue nces have bee n a 19th-ce ntury Californian clothes manufacturer and a young designer in the swinging Lon don of the 1960s.U4 AR1 Today, we are caught in the credit crunch because banks settraps which appeal to our vanity and greed and sometimes to our basic n eed for survival.The banks give a false sense of superiority to people with exclusive gold credit cards in hard. They target people who are prone to impulse-buying , and potentially bad credit risks, tempted to spend more than they have, and liable to fall behind with repayments. They lure impoverished stude nts with un realistic in terest rates.They charge people who go over the limit the exorbitant interest but omit to tell them the interest paid is not for the debt, but for the overspe nd of the overdraft. By attract ing us with their en dless publicity for loa ns of mon ey, the banks ear n mon ey.So how to get ourselves out of the traps? Lay out all of your credit cards in a line, take a large pair of scissors and cut them into small pieces. The n the banks have no pote ntial to tempt money away from you.U4 AR2What' s the key to Wedded bliss? Money matters. Marriage at its core is a financial union. To preserve their marital assets and their union, couples had better share similar outlooks on money matters or, at the very least, find some middle ground. Otherwise, money will be a huge factor in breaki ng up marriages.However, not every one is lucky to get married to a finan cial twin. Tobecome more compatible with their significant other and ultimately more prosperous, couples need follow these guidelines: talking and shari ng goals; running a home like a bus in ess, that is, making a budget and keep ing track of earnin gs, expe nses and debts, making big financial decisions and setting goals together; being supportive of careers; enjoying, but with in reas on; Using a mediator while hav ing strong yet diverge nt opinions. Maintaining some finan cial in depe ndence; spending time and money together as a kind of investment in marriage.U5 AR1Researchershave found that men gossip as much as wome n and men spend much more time talking about themselves. However, men don' t admit they gossip, in stead they defi ne it as “ excha nging in formatio n” . The reas on why female gossip actually sounds like gossip is that there seem to be three principal factors involved. Firstly, the tone rule. Women adopt a tone which is high and quick, or sometimes a stage whisper, but always highly animated, while men gossip in the same flat, unemotional manner as any other piece of information.Secondly, the detail rule. For women, a detailed speculation about possible motives, causes and outcomes is crucial. However, men find allthis detail boring, irrelevant and unmanly. Thirdly, the feedback rule. Female liste ners are required to be at least as ani mated and en thusiastic as speakers. However, men who respond in such a manner would be con sidered in appropriately girly, or eve n disturb in gly effemin ate. For them, a suitable expletive is better to convey their surprise.U5 AR2Wome n con sta ntly have to make choices about dress and appeara nee, and even the way they sign their names, which lead people to make judgments about them. A woman without a particular hair style is considered careless about how she looks and can be disqualified for many positions. Tight or revealing clothes send a message that the wearer wants to be attractive and that she is still available. Light make-up calls atte nti on to the wearer as some one who tries to be attractive without being alluring. A woman who takes her husband' s sur name announ ces to the world that she is married and also that she is traditional and may be less herself. However, men do not have to make the same choices.U6 AR1Churchill believed that he was destined to lead his country. He fought as a soldier in World War I and led the country to victory in World War II. It seems ironic that a leader of such renowned as Churchill could not counton the loyalty of voters in 1945. However, in a democratic country, electors cannot be bullied, and he had to tolerate political defeat after military victory, and went once more to his country retreat, Chartwell.。