考博英语写作参考范文50篇

　　13 Skyscrapers and Environment

　　In the late 1960‘s， many people in North America turned their attention to environmental problems，

　　and new steel-and-glass skyscrapers were widely criticized. Ecologists pointed out that a cluster of tall

　　buildings in a city often overburdens public transportation and parking lot capacities.

　　Skyscrapers are also lavish consumers， and wasters， of electric power. In one recent year， the addition

　　of 17 million square feet of skyscraper office space in New York City raised the peak daily demand for

　　electricity by 120， 000 kilowatts-enough to supply the entire city of Albany， New York， for a day.

　　Glass-walled skyscrapers can be especially wasteful. The heat loss (or gain)through a wall of half-inch

　　plate glass is more than ten times that through a typical masonry wall filled with insulation board. To

　　lessen the strain on heating and air-conditioning equipment， builders of skyscrapers have begun to

　　use double-glazed panels of glass， and reflective glasses coated with silver or gold mirror films that

　　reduce glare as well as heat gain. However， mirror-walled skyscrapers raise the temperature of the

　　surrounding air and affect neighboring buildings.

　　Skyscrapers put a severe strain on a city‘s sanitation facilities， too. If fully occupied， the two World

　　Trade Center towers in New York City would alone generate 2.25 million gallons of raw sewage each

　　year-as much as a city the size of Stanford， Connecticut ， which has a population of more than 109，

　　000.

　　14 A Rare Fossil Record

　　The preservation of embryos and juveniles is a rate occurrence in the fossil record. The tiny， delicate

　　skeletons are usually scattered by scavengers or destroyed by weathering before they can be

　　fossilized. Ichthyosaurs had a higher chance of being preserved than did terrestrial creatures because，

　　as marine animals， they tended to live in environments less subject to erosion. Still， their fossilization

　　required a suite of factors: a slow rate of decay of soft tissues， little scavenging by other animals， a

　　lack of swift currents and waves to jumble and carry away small bones， and fairly rapid burial. Given

　　these factors， some areas have become a treasury of well-preserved ichthyosaur fossils.

　　The deposits at Holzmaden， Germany， present an interesting case for analysis. The ichthyosaur

　　remains are found in black， bituminous marine shales deposited about 190 million years ago. Over the

　　years， thousands of specimens of marine reptiles， fish and invertebrates have been recovered from

　　these rocks. The quality of preservation is outstanding， but what is even more impressive is the

　　number of ichthyosaur fossils containing preserved embryos. Ichthyosaurs with embryos have been

　　reported from 6 different levels of the shale in a small area around Holzmaden， suggesting that a

　　specific site was used by large numbers of ichthyosaurs repeatedly over time. The embryos are quite

　　advanced in their physical development; their paddles， for example， are already well formed. One

　　specimen is even preserved in the birth canal. In addition， the shale contains the remains of many

　　newborns that are between 20 and 30 inches long.

　　Why are there so many pregnant females and young at Holzmaden when they are so rare elsewhere?

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　　The quality of preservation is almost unmatched and quarry operations have been carried out carefully

　　with an awareness of the value of the fossils. But these factors do not account for the interesting

　　question of how there came to be such a concentration of pregnant ichthyosaurs in a particular place

　　very close to their time of giving birth.

　　15 The Nobel Academy

　　For the last 82years， Sweden‘s Nobel Academy has decided who will receive the Nobel Prize in

　　Literature， thereby determining who will be elevated from the great and the near great to the

　　immortal. But today the Academy is coming under heavy criticism both from the without and from

　　within. Critics contend that the selection of the winners often has less to do with true writing ability

　　than with the peculiar internal politics of the Academy and of Sweden itself. According to Ingmar

　　Bjorksten ， the cultural editor for one of the country‘s two major newspapers， the prize continues to

　　represent "what people call a very Swedish exercise: reflecting Swedish tastes."

　　The Academy has defended itself against such charges of provincialism in its selection by asserting

　　that its physical distance from the great literary capitals of the world actually serves to protect the

　　Academy from outside influences. This may well be true， but critics respond that this very distance

　　may also be responsible for the Academy‘s inability to perceive accurately authentic trends in the

　　literary world.

　　Regardless of concerns over the selection process， however， it seems that the prize will continue to

　　survive both as an indicator of the literature that we most highly praise， and as an elusive goal that

　　writers seek. If for no other reason， the prize will continue to be desirable for the financial rewards

　　that accompany it; not only is the cash prize itself considerable， but it also dramatically increases sales

　　of an author‘s books.

　　16. the war between Britain and France

　　In the late eighteenth century， battles raged in almost every corner of Europe， as well as in the Middle

　　East， south Africa ，the West Indies， and Latin America. In reality， however， there was only one major

　　war during this time， the war between Britain and France. All other battles were ancillary to this larger

　　conflict， and were often at least partially related to its antagonist’ goals and strategies. France sought

　　total domination of Europe . this goal was obstructed by British independence and Britain’s efforts

　　throughout the continent to thwart Napoleon; through treaties. Britain built coalitions (not dissimilar in

　　concept to today’s NATO) guaranteeing British participation in all major European conflicts. These two

　　antagonists were poorly matched， insofar as they had very unequal strengths; France was

　　predominant on land， Britain at sea. The French knew that， short of defeating the British navy， their

　　only hope of victory was to close all the ports of Europe to British ships. Accordingly， France set out to

　　overcome Britain by extending its military domination from Moscow t Lisbon， from Jutland to Calabria.

　　All of this entailed tremendous risk， because France did not have the military resources to control this

　　much territory and still protect itself and maintain order at home.

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　　French strategists calculated that a navy of 150 ships would provide the force necessary to defeat the

　　British navy. Such a force would give France a three-to-two advantage over Britain. This advantage

　　was deemed necessary because of Britain’s superior sea skills and technology because of Britain’s

　　superior sea skills and technology， and also because Britain would be fighting a defensive war，

　　allowing it to win with fewer forces. Napoleon never lost substantial impediment to his control of

　　Europe. As his force neared that goal， Napoleon grew increasingly impatient and began planning an

　　immediate attack.

　　17.Evolution of sleep

　　Sleep is very ancient. In the electroencephalographic sense we share it with all the primates and

　　almost all the other mammals and birds: it may extend back as far as the reptiles.

　　There is some evidence that the two types of sleep， dreaming and dreamless， depend on the life-style

　　of the animal， and that predators are statistically much more likely to dream than prey， which are in

　　turn much more likely to experience dreamless sleep. In dream sleep， the animal is powerfully

　　immobilized and remarkably unresponsive to external stimuli. Dreamless sleep is much shallower， and

　　we have all witnessed cats or dogs cocking their ears to a sound when apparently fast asleep. The

　　fact that deep dream sleep is rare among pray today seems clearly to be a product of natural selection，

　　and it makes sense that today， when sleep is highly evolved， the stupid animals are less frequently

　　immobilized by deep sleep than the smart ones. But why should they sleep deeply at all? Why should

　　a state of such deep immobilization ever have evolved?

　　Perhaps one useful hint about the original function of sleep is to be found in the fact that dolphins and

　　whales and aquatic mammals in genera seem to sleep very little. There is， by and large， no place to

　　hide in the ocean. Could it be that， rather than increasing an animal’s vulnerability， the University of

　　Florida and Ray Meddis of London University have suggested this to be the case. It is conceivable that

　　animals who are too stupid to be quite on their own initiative are， during periods of high risk，

　　immobilized by the implacable arm of sleep. The point seems particularly clear for the young of

　　predatory animals. This is an interesting notion and probably at least partly true.

　　18.Modern American Universities 胖胖：)

　　Before the 1850’s， the United States had a number of small colleges， most of them dating from

　　colonial days. They were small， church connected institutions whose primary concern was to shape

　　the moral character of their students.

　　Throughout Europe， institutions of higher learning had developed， bearing the ancient name of

　　university. In German university was concerned primarily with creating and spreading knowledge， not

　　morals. Between mid-century and the end of the 1800’s， more than nine thousand young Americans，

　　dissatisfied with their training at home， went to Germany for advanced study. Some of them return to

　　become presidents of venerable colleges-Harvard， Yale， Columbia-and transform them into

　　modern universities. The new presidents broke all ties with the churches and brought in a new kind of

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　　faculty. Professors were hired for their knowledge of a subject， not because they were of the proper

　　faith and had a strong arm for disciplining students. The new principle was that a university was to

　　create knowledge as well as pass it on， and this called for a faculty composed of teacher-scholars.

　　Drilling and learning by rote were replaced by the German method of lecturing， in which the

　　professor’s own research was presented in class. Graduate training leading to the Ph.D.， an ancient

　　German degree signifying the highest level of advanced scholarly attainment， was introduced. With

　　the establishment of the seminar system， graduate student learned to question， analyze， and conduct

　　their own research.

　　At the same time， the new university greatly expanded in size and course offerings， breaking

　　completely out of the old， constricted curriculum of mathematics， classics， rhetoric， and music. The

　　president of Harvard pioneered the elective system， by which students were able to choose their own

　　course of study. The notion of major fields of study emerged. The new goal was to make the

　　university relevant to the real pursuits of the world. Paying close heed to the practical needs of society，

　　the new universities trained men and women to work at its tasks， with engineering students being

　　the most characteristic of the new regime. Students were also trained as economists， architects，

　　agriculturalists， social welfare workers， and teachers.

　　19.children’s numerical skills 怎么还是胖胖：)

　　people appear to born to compute. The numerical skills of children develop so early and so inexorably

　　that it is easy to imagine an internal clock of mathematical maturity guiding their growth. Not long

　　after learning to walk and talk， they can set the table with impress accuracy-one knife， one spoon，

　　one fork， for each of the five chairs. Soon they are capable of nothing that they have placed five

　　knives， spoons and forks on the table and， a bit later， that this amounts to fifteen pieces of silverware.

　　Having thus mastered addition， they move on to subtraction. It seems almost reasonable to expect

　　that if a child were secluded on a desert island at birth and retrieved seven years later， he or she could

　　enter a second enter a second-grade mathematics class without any serious problems of intellectual

　　adjustment.

　　Of course， the truth is not so simple. This century， the work of cognitive psychologists has illuminated

　　the subtle forms of daily learning on which intellectual progress depends. Children were observed as

　　they slowly grasped-or， as the case might be， bumped into-concepts that adults take for

　　quantity is unchanged as water pours from a short glass into a tall thin one. Psychologists have since

　　demonstrated that young children， asked to count the pencils in a pile， readily report the number of

　　blue or red pencils， but must be coaxed into finding the total. Such studies have suggested that the

　　rudiments of mathematics are mastered gradually， and with effort. They have also suggested that the

　　very concept of abstract numbersthe idea of a oneness，

　　a twoness， a threeness that applies to any class of objects and is a prerequisite for doing anything

　　more mathematically demanding than setting a table-is itself far from innate

　　20 The Historical Significance of American Revolution

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　　The ways of history are so intricate and the motivations of human actions so complex that it is always

　　hazardous to attempt to represent events covering a number of years， a multiplicity of persons， and

　　distant localities as the expression of one intellectual or social movement; yet the historical process

　　which culminated in the ascent of Thomas Jefferson to the presidency can be regarded as the

　　outstanding example not only of the birth of a new way of life but of nationalism as a new way of life.

　　The American Revolution represents the link between the seventeenth century， in which modern

　　England became conscious of itself， and the awakening of modern Europe at the end of the

　　eighteenth century. It may seem strange that the march of history should have had to cross the

　　Atlantic Ocean， but only in the North American colonies could a struggle for civic liberty lead also to

　　the foundation of a new nation. Here， in the popular rising against a “tyrannical” government， the

　　fruits were more than the securing of a freer constitution. They included the growth of a nation born

　　in liberty by the will of the people， not from the roots of common descent， a geographic entity， or the

　　ambitions of king or dynasty. With the American nation， for the first time， a nation was born， not in

　　the dim past of history but before the eyes of the whole world.

　　21 The Origin of Sports

　　When did sport begin? If sport is， in essence， play， the claim might be made that sport is much older

　　than humankind， for ， as we all have observed， the beasts play. Dogs and cats wrestle and play ball

　　games. Fishes and birds dance. The apes have simple， pleasurable games. Frolicking infants， school

　　children playing tag， and adult arm wrestlers are demonstrating strong， transgenerational and

　　transspecies bonds with the universe of animals – past， present， and future. Young animals，

　　particularly， tumble， chase， run wrestle， mock， imitate， and laugh (or so it seems) to the point of

　　delighted exhaustion. Their play， and ours， appears to serve no other purpose than to give pleasure to

　　the players， and apparently， to remove us temporarily from the anguish of life in earnest.

　　Some philosophers have claimed that our playfulness is the most noble part of our basic nature. In

　　their generous conceptions， play harmlessly and experimentally permits us to put our creative forces，

　　fantasy， and imagination into action. Play is release from the tedious battles against scarcity and

　　decline which are the incessant， and inevitable， tragedies of life. This is a grand conception that

　　excites and provokes. The holders of this view claim that the origins of our highest accomplishments

　　-liturgy， literature， and law can be traced to a play impulse which， paradoxically， we see most

　　purely enjoyed by young beasts and children. Our sports， in this rather happy， nonfatalistic view of

　　human nature， are more splendid creations of the nondatable， transspecies play impulse.

　　22. Collectibles

　　Collectibles have been a part of almost every culture since ancient times. Whereas some objects have

　　been collected for their usefulness， others have been selected for their aesthetic beauty alone. In the

　　United States， the kinds of collectibles currently popular range from traditional objects such as stamps，

　　coins， rare books， and art to more recent items of interest like dolls， bottles， baseball cards， and comic

　　books.

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　　Interest in collectibles has increased enormously during the past decade， in part because some

　　collectibles have demonstrated their value as investments. Especially during cycles of high inflation，

　　investors try to purchase tangibles that will at least retain their current market values. In general， the

　　most traditional collectibles will be sought because they have preserved their value over the years，

　　there is an organized auction market for them， and they are most easily sold in the event that cash is

　　needed. Some examples of the most stable collectibles are old masters， Chinese ceramics， stamps，

　　coins， rare books， antique jewelry， silver， porcelain， art by well-known artists， autographs， and period

　　furniture. Other items of more recent interest include old photograph records， old magazines， post

　　cards， baseball cards， art glass， dolls， classic cars， old bottles， and comic books. These relatively new

　　kinds of collectibles may actually appreciate faster as short-term investments， but may not hold their

　　value as long-term investments. Once a collectible has had its initial play， it appreciates at a fairly

　　steady rate， supported by an increasing number of enthusiastic collectors competing for the limited

　　supply of collectibles that become increasingly more difficult to locate.

　　23 Ford

　　Although Henry Ford’s name is closely associated with the concept of mass production， he should

　　receive equal credit for introducing labor practices as early as 1913 that would be considered

　　advanced even by today’s standards. Safety measures were improved， and the work day was reduced

　　to eight hours， compared with the ten-or twelve-hour day common at the time. In order to

　　accommodate the shorter work day， the entire factory was converted from two to three shifts.

　　In addition， sick leaves as well as improved medical care for those injured on the job were instituted.

　　The Ford Motor Company was one of the first factories to develop a technical school to train

　　specialized skilled laborers and an English language school for immigrants. Some efforts were even

　　made to hire the handicapped and provide jobs for former convicts.

　　The most widely acclaimed innovation was the five-dollar-a-day minimum wage that was offered in

　　order to recruit and retain the best mechanics and to discourage the growth of labor unions. Ford

　　explained the new wage policy in terms of efficiency and profit sharing. He also mentioned the fact

　　that his employees would be able to purchase the automobiles that they produced – in effect creating

　　a market for the product. In order to qualify for the minimum wage， an employee had to establish a

　　decent home and demonstrate good personal habits， including sobriety， thriftiness， industriousness，

　　and dependability. Although some criticism was directed at Ford for involving himself too much in the

　　personal lives of his employees， there can be no doubt that， at a time when immigrants were being

　　taken advantage of in frightful ways， Henry Ford was helping many people to establish themselves in

　　America.

　　24.Piano

　　The ancestry of the piano can be traced to the early keyboard instruments of the fifteenth and

　　sixteenth centuries -the spinet， the dulcimer， and the virginal. In the seventeenth century the organ，

　　the clavichord， and the harpsichord became the chief instruments of the keyboard group， a supremacy

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　　they maintained until the piano supplanted them at the end of the eighteenth century. The

　　clavichord’s tone was metallic and never powerful; nevertheless， because of the variety of tone

　　possible to it， many composers found the clavichord a sympathetic instrument for intimate chamber

　　music. The harpsichord with its bright， vigorous tone was the favorite instrument for supporting the

　　bass of the small orchestra of the period and for concert use， but the character of the tone could not

　　be varied save by mechanical or structural devices.

　　The piano was perfected in the early eighteenth century by a harpsichord maker in Italy (though

　　musicologists point out several previous instances of the instrument). This instrument was called a

　　piano e forte (sort and loud)， to indicate its dynamic versatility; its strings were struck by a recoiling

　　hammer with a felt-padded head. The wires were much heavier in the earlier instruments. A series of

　　mechanical improvements continuing well into the nineteenth century， including the introduction of

　　pedals to sustain tone or to soften it， the perfection of a metal frame， and steel wire of the finest

　　quality， finally produced an instrument capable of myriad tonal effects from the most delicate

　　harmonies to an almost orchestral fullness of sound， from a liquid， singing tone to a sharp， percussive

　　brilliance.

　　NOTE:

　　Musical Instruments

　　1.The strings (弦乐)

　　1) plectrum: harp， lute， guitar， mandolin;

　　2) keyboard: clavichord， harpsichord， piano;

　　3) bow: violin， viola， cello， double bass.

　　2. The Wood(木管)—winds : piccolo， flute， oboe， clarinet， bassoon， English horn;

　　3. the brass(铜管): French horn， trumpet， trombone， cornet， tuba， bugle， saxophone;

　　4.the percussion(打击组): kettle drum， bass drum， snare drum， castanet， xylophone， celesta， cymbal， tambourine.

　　25. Movie Music

　　Accustomed though we are to speaking of the films made before 1927 as “silent”， the film has never

　　been， in the full sense of the word， silent. From the very beginning， music was regarded as an

　　indispensable accompaniment; when the Lumiere films were shown at the first public film exhibition in

　　the United States in February 1896， they were accompanied by piano improvisations on popular tunes.

　　At first， the music played bore no special relationship to the films; an accompaniment of any kind was

　　sufficient. Within a very short time， however， the incongruity of playing lively music to a solemn film

　　became apparent， and film pianists began to take some care in matching their pieces to the mood of

　　the film.

　　As movie theaters grew in number and importance， a violinist， and perhaps a cellist， would be added

　　to the pianist in certain cases， and in the larger movie theaters small orchestras were formed. For a

　　number of years the selection of music for each film program rested entirely in the hands of the

　　conductor or leader of the orchestra， and very often the principal qualification for holding such a

　　position was not skill or taste so much as the ownership of a large personal library of musical pieces.

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　　Since the conductor seldom saw the films until the night before they were to be shown(if indeed， the

　　conductor was lucky enough to see them then)， the musical arrangement was normally improvised in

　　the greatest hurry.

　　To help meet this difficulty， film distributing companies started the practice of publishing suggestions

　　for musical accompaniments. In 1909， for example， the Edison Company began issuing with their films

　　such indications of mood as “ pleasant”， “sad”， “lively”. The suggestions became more explicit， and so

　　emerged the musical cue sheet containing indications of mood， the titles of suitable pieces of music，

　　and precise directions to show where one piece led into the next.

　　Certain films had music especially composed for them. The most famous of these early special scores

　　was that composed and arranged for D.W Griffith’s film Birth of a Nation， which was released in 1915.

　　Note:

　　美国通俗音乐分类：

　　1.Jazz;

　　1) traditional jazza) blues， 代表人物：Billy Holiday

　　b)ragtime(切分乐曲): 代表人物：Scott Joplin

　　c)New Orleans jazz (= Dixieland jazz) eg: Louis Armstron

　　d)swing eg: Glenn Miller， Duke Ellington， etc.

　　e)bop (=bebop， rebop) eg: Lester Young， Charlie Parker etc.

　　2)modern jazz a) cool jazz(=progressive jazz)高雅爵士乐。Eg: Kenny G.

　　b)third-stream jazz. Eg: Charles Mingus， John Lewis.

　　c) main stream jazz.

　　d)avant-garde jazz.

　　e) soul jazz. Eg: Sarah Vaughn， Ella Fitzgerald

　　f) Latin jazz.

　　2.gospel music 福音音乐，主要源于Nero spirituals. Eg. Dolly Parker， Mahalia Jackson

　　3.Country and Western music. Eg. John Denver， Tammy Wynette， Kenny Rogers， etc.

　　4. Rock music-a) rock and roll eg: Elvis Prestley(US) ， the Beatles(UK.)

　　b)folk rock Eg: Bob Dylon， Michael Jackson， Mariah Carey， Bruce Springsteen， Lionel Riche etc.

　　c)punk rock

　　d)acid rock

　　e)rock jazz eg: M.J. McLaughlin

　　f) Jurassic rock

　　5.Music for easy listening (i.e. light music )

　　26. International Business and Cross-cultural Communication

　　The increase in international business and in foreign investment has created a need for executives

　　with knowledge of foreign languages and skills in cross-cultural communication. Americans， however，

　　have not been well trained in either area and， consequently， have not enjoyed the same level of

　　success in negotiation in an international arena as have their foreign counterparts.

　　Negotiating is the process of communicating back and forth for the purpose of reaching an agreement.

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　　It involves persuasion and compromise， but in order to participate in either one， the negotiators must

　　understand the ways in which people are persuaded and how compromise is reached within the

　　culture of the negotiation.

　　In many international business negotiations abroad， Americans are perceived as wealthy and

　　impersonal. It often appears to the foreign negotiator that the American represents a large multimillion-dollar corporation that can afford to pay the price without bargaining further. The American

　　negotiator’s role becomes that of an impersonal purveyor of information and cash.

　　In studies of American negotiators abroad， several traits have been identified that may serve to

　　confirm this stereotypical perception， while undermining the negotiator’s position. Two traits in

　　particular that cause cross-cultural misunderstanding are directness and impatience on the part of the

　　American negotiator. Furthermore， American negotiators often insist on realizing short-term goals.

　　Foreign negotiators， on the other hand， may value the relationship established between negotiators

　　and may be willing to invest time in it for long-term benefits. In order to solidify the relationship， they

　　may opt for indirect interactions without regard for the time involved in getting to know the other

　　negotiator.

　　27. Scientific Theories

　　In science， a theory is a reasonable explanation of observed events that are related. A theory often

　　involves an imaginary model that helps scientists picture the way an observed event could be

　　produced. A good example of this is found in the kinetic molecular theory， in which gases are pictured

　　as being made up of many small particles that are in constant motion.

　　A useful theory， in addition to explaining past observations， helps to predict events that have not as

　　yet been observed. After a theory has been publicized， scientists design experiments to test the theory.

　　If observations confirm the scientist’s predictions， the theory is supported. If observations do not

　　confirm the predictions， the scientists must search further. There may be a fault in the experiment， or

　　the theory may have to be revised or rejected.

　　Science involves imagination and creative thinking as well as collecting information and performing

　　experiments. Facts by themselves are not science. As the mathematician Jules Henri Poincare said，

　　“Science is built with facts just as a house is built with bricks， but a collection of facts cannot be called

　　science any more than a pile of bricks can be called a house.”

　　Most scientists start an investigation by finding out what other scientists have learned about a

　　particular problem. After known facts have been gathered， the scientist comes to the part of the

　　investigation that requires considerable imagination. Possible solutions to the problem are formulated.

　　These possible solutions are called hypotheses.

　　In a way， any hypothesis is a leap into the unknown. It extends the scientist’s thinking beyond the

　　known facts. The scientist plans experiments， performs calculations， and makes observations to test

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　　hypotheses. Without hypothesis， further investigation lacks purpose and direction. When hypotheses

　　are confirmed， they are incorporated into theories.

　　28.Changing Roles of Public Education

　　One of the most important social developments that helped to make possible a shift in thinking about

　　the role of public education was the effect of the baby boom of the 1950‘s and 1960‘s on the schools.

　　In the 1920‘s， but especially in the Depression conditions of the 1930‘s， the United States experienced

　　a declining birth rate -every thousand women aged fifteen to forty-four gave birth to about 118 live

　　children in 1920， 89.2 in 1930， 75.8 in 1936， and 80 in 1940. With the growing prosperity brought on

　　by the Second World War and the economic boom that followed it young people married and

　　established households earlier and began to raise larger families than had their predecessors during

　　the Depression. Birth rates rose to 102 per thousand in 1946，106.2 in 1950， and 118 in 1955.

　　Although economics was probably the most important determinant， it is not the only explanation for

　　the baby boom. The increased value placed on the idea of the family also helps to explain this rise in

　　birth rates. The baby boomers began streaming into the first grade by the mid 1940‘s and became a

　　flood by 1950. The public school system suddenly found itself overtaxed. While the number of

　　schoolchildren rose because of wartime and postwar conditions， these same conditions made the

　　schools even less prepared to cope with the food. The wartime economy meant that few new schools

　　were built between 1940 and 1945. Moreover， during the war and in the boom times that followed，

　　large numbers of teachers left their profession for better-paying jobs elsewhere in the economy.

　　Therefore in the 1950’s and 1960’s， the baby boom hit an antiquated and inadequate school system.

　　Consequently， the “ custodial rhetoric” of the 1930’s and early 1940’s no longer made sense that is，

　　keeping youths aged sixteen and older out of the labor market by keeping them in school could no

　　longer be a high priority for an institution unable to find space and staff to teach younger children

　　aged five to sixteen. With the baby boom， the focus of educators and of laymen interested in

　　education inevitably turned toward the lower grades and back to basic academic skills and discipline.

　　The system no longer had much interest in offering nontraditional， new， and extra services to older

　　youths.

　　29 Telecommuting

　　Telecommutingsubstituting the computer for the trip to the job has been hailed as a solution to

　　all kinds of problems related to office work.

　　For workers it promises freedom from the office， less time wasted in traffic， and help with child-care

　　conflicts. For management， telecommuting helps keep high performers on board， minimizes tardiness

　　and absenteeism by eliminating commutes， allows periods of solitude for high-concentration tasks，

　　and provides scheduling flexibility. In some areas， such as Southern California and Seattle， Washington，

　　local governments are encouraging companies to start telecommuting programs in order to reduce

　　rush-hour congestion and improve air quality.

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　　But these benefits do not come easily. Making a telecommuting program work requires careful

　　planning and an understanding of the differences between telecommuting realities and popular

　　images.

　　Many workers are seduced by rosy illusions of life as a telecommuter. A computer programmer from

　　New York City moves to the tranquil Adirondack Mountains and stays in contact with her office via

　　computer. A manager comes in to his office three days a week and works at home the other two. An

　　accountant stays home to care for her sick child; she hooks up her telephone modern connections and

　　does office work between calls to the doctor.

　　These are powerful images， but they are a limited reflection of reality. Telecommuting workers soon

　　learn that it is almost impossible to concentrate on work and care for a young child at the same time.

　　Before a certain age， young children cannot recognize， much less respect， the necessary boundaries

　　between work and family. Additional child support is necessary if the parent is to get any work done.

　　Management too must separate the myth from the reality. Although the media has paid a great deal of

　　attention to telecommuting in most cases it is the employee’s situation， not the availability of

　　technology that precipitates a telecommuting arrangement.

　　That is partly why， despite the widespread press coverage， the number of companies with work-athome programs or policy guidelines remains small.

　　30 The origin of Refrigerators

　　By the mid-nineteenth century， the term “icebox” had entered the American language， but ice was still

　　only beginning to affect the diet of ordinary citizens in the United States. The ice trade grew with the

　　growth of cities. Ice was used in hotels， taverns， and hospitals， and by some forward-looking city

　　dealers in fresh meat， fresh fish， and butter. After the Civil War( 1861-1865)，as ice was used to

　　refrigerate freight cars， it also came into household use. Even before 1880，half of the ice sold in New

　　York， Philadelphia， and Baltimore， and one-third of that sold in Boston and Chicago， went to families

　　for their own use. This had become possible because a new household convenience， the icebox， a

　　precursor of the modern refrigerator， had been invented.

　　Making an efficient icebox was not as easy as we might now suppose. In the early nineteenth century，

　　the knowledge of the physics of heat， which was essential to a science of refrigeration， was

　　rudimentary. The commonsense notion that the best icebox was one that prevented the ice from

　　melting was of course mistaken， for it was the melting of the ice that performed the cooling.

　　Nevertheless， early efforts to economize ice included wrapping up the ice in blankets， which kept the

　　ice from doing its job. Not until near the end of the nineteenth century did inventors achieve the

　　delicate balance of insulation and circulation needed for an efficient icebox.

　　But as early as 1803， and ingenious Maryland farmer， Thomas Moore， had been on the right track. He

　　owned a farm about twenty miles outside the city of Washington， for which the village of Georgetown

　　was the market center. When he used an icebox of his own design to transport his butter to market，

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　　he found that customers would pass up the rapidly melting stuff in the tubs of his competitors to pay

　　a premium price for his butter， still fresh and hard in neat， one-pound bricks. One advantage of his

　　icebox， Moore explained， was that farmers would no longer have to travel to market at night in order

　　to keep their produce cool.

　　31 British Columbia

　　British Columbia is the third largest Canadian provinces， both in area and population. It is nearly 1.5

　　times as large as Texas， and extends 800 miles(1，280km) north from the United States border. It

　　includes Canada’s entire west coast and the islands just off the coast.

　　Most of British Columbia is mountainous， with long rugged ranges running north and south. Even the

　　coastal islands are the remains of a mountain range that existed thousands of years ago. During the

　　last Ice Age， this range was scoured by glaciers until most of it was beneath the sea. Its peaks now

　　show as islands scattered along the coast.

　　The southwestern coastal region has a humid mild marine climate. Sea winds that blow inland from

　　the west are warmed by a current of warm water that flows through the Pacific Ocean. As a result，

　　winter temperatures average above freezing and summers are mild. These warm western winds also

　　carry moisture from the ocean.

　　Inland from the coast， the winds from the Pacific meet the mountain barriers of the coastal ranges

　　and the Rocky Mountains. As they rise to cross the mountains， the winds are cooled， and their

　　moisture begins to fall as rain. On some of the western slopes almost 200 inches (500cm) of rain fall each year.

　　More than half of British Columbia is heavily forested. On mountain slopes that receive plentiful rainfall，

　　huge Douglas firs rise in towering columns. These forest giants often grow to be as much as 300

　　feet(90m) tall， with diameters up to 10 feet(3m). More lumber is produced from these trees than from

　　any other kind of tree in North America. Hemlock， red cedar， and balsam fir are among the other trees

　　found in British Columbia.

　　32 Botany

　　Botany， the study of plants， occupies a peculiar position in the history of human knowledge. For many

　　thousands of years it was the one field of awareness about which humans had anything more than the

　　vaguest of insights. It is impossible to know today just what our Stone Age ancestors knew about

　　plants， but form what we can observe of pre-industrial societies that still exist a detailed learning of

　　plants and their properties must be extremely ancient. This is logical. Plants are the basis of the food

　　pyramid for all living things even for other plants. They have always been enormously important to the

　　welfare of people not only for food， but also for clothing， weapons， tools， dyes， medicines， shelter， and

　　a great many other purposes. Tribes living today in the jungles of the Amazon recognize literally

　　hundreds of plants and know many properties of each. To them， botany， as such， has no name and is

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　　probably not even recognized as a special branch of “ knowledge” at all.

　　Unfortunately， the more industrialized we become the farther away we move from direct contact with

　　plants， and the less distinct our knowledge of botany grows. Yet everyone comes unconsciously on an

　　amazing amount of botanical knowledge， and few people will fail to recognize a rose， an apple， or an

　　orchid. When our Neolithic ancestors， living in the Middle East about 10，000 years ago， discovered

　　that certain grasses could be harvested and their seeds planted for richer yields the next season the

　　first great step in a new association of plants and humans was taken. Grains were discovered and

　　from them flowed the marvel of agriculture: cultivated crops. From then on， humans would

　　increasingly take their living from the controlled production of a few plants， rather than getting a little

　　here and a little there from many varieties that grew wild-and the accumulated knowledge of tens of

　　thousands of years of experience and intimacy with plants in the wild would begin to fade away.

　　33 Plankton 浮游生物. / ‘plжηktэn; `plжηktэn/

　　Scattered through the seas of the world are billions of tons of small plants and animals called plankton.

　　Most of these plants and animals are too small for the human eye to see. They drift about lazily with

　　the currents， providing a basic food for many larger animals.

　　Plankton has been described as the equivalent of the grasses that grow on the dry land continents，

　　and the comparison is an appropriate one. In potential food value， however， plankton far outweighs

　　that of the land grasses. One scientist has estimated that while grasses of the world produce about 49

　　billion tons of valuable carbohydrates each year， the sea’s plankton generates more than twice as

　　much.

　　Despite its enormous food potential， little effect was made until recently to farm plankton as we farm

　　grasses on land. Now marine scientists have at last begun to study this possibility， especially as the &

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