《大学英语读写》课程教学资源（A）Ⅱ_大学英语读写（A）Ⅱ_Unit 1 Discovering yourself 课文

Unit 1 Discovering yourself Active reading(1) Catching crabs In the fall of our final year,our mood changed.The relaxed atmosphere of the preceding summer semester,the impromptu ball games,the boating on the Charles River,the late-night parties had disappeared,and we all started to get our heads down,studying late,and attendance at classes rose steeply again.We all sensed we were coming to the end of our stay here, that we would never get a chance like this again,and we became determined not to waste it.Most important of course were the final exams in April and May in the following year.No one wanted the humiliation of finishing last in class,so the peer group pressure to work hard was strong.Libraries which were once empty after five o'clock in the afternoon were standing room only until the early hours of the morning,and guys wore the bags under their eyes and their pale,sleepy faces with pride, like medals proving their diligence. 2 But there was something else.At the back of everyone's mind was what we would do next,when we left university in a few months'time.It wasn't always the high-flyers with the top grades who knew what they were going to do.Quite often it was the quieter,less impressive students who had the next stages of their life mapped out.One had landed a job in his brother's advertising firm in Madison Avenue,another had got a script under provisional acceptance in Hollywood.The most ambitious student among us was going to work as a party activist at a local level.We all saw him ending up in Congress one day.But most people were either looking to continue their studies,or to make a living with a white-collar job in a bank,local government,or anything which would pay them enough to have a comfortable time in their early twenties,and then settle down with a family.a

Unit 1 Discovering yourself Active reading (1) Catching crabs 1 In the fall of our final year, our mood changed. The relaxed atmosphere of the preceding summer semester, the impromptu ball games, the boating on the Charles River, the late-night parties had disappeared, and we all started to get our heads down, studying late, and attendance at classes rose steeply again. We all sensed we were coming to the end of our stay here, that we would never get a chance like this again, and we became determined not to waste it. Most important of course were the final exams in April and May in the following year. No one wanted the humiliation of finishing last in class, so the peer group pressure to work hard was strong. Libraries which were once empty after five o'clock in the afternoon were standing room only until the early hours of the morning, and guys wore the bags under their eyes and their pale, sleepy faces with pride, like medals proving their diligence. 2 But there was something else. At the back of everyone's mind was what we would do next, when we left university in a few months' time. It wasn't always the high-flyers with the top grades who knew what they were going to do. Quite often it was the quieter, less impressive students who had the next stages of their life mapped out. One had landed a job in his brother's advertising firm in Madison Avenue, another had got a script under provisional acceptance in Hollywood. The most ambitious student among us was going to work as a party activist at a local level. We all saw him ending up in Congress one day. But most people were either looking to continue their studies, or to make a living with a white-collar job in a bank, local government, or anything which would pay them enough to have a comfortable time in their early twenties, and then settle down with a family, a

mortgage and some hope of promotion. 3 I went home at Thanksgiving,and inevitably,my brothers and sisters kept asking me what I was planning to do.I didn't know what to say.Actually,I did know what to say,but I thought they'd probably criticize me,so I told them what everyone else was thinking of doing. 4 My father was watching me but saying nothing.Late in the evening,he invited me to his study.We sat down and he poured us a drink. "So?"he said. 6 "Er.so what?" 个 "So what do you really want to do?"he asked P My father was a lawyer,and I had always assumed he wanted me to go to law school.and follow his path through life. So I hesitated. 9 Then I replied,"I want to travel,and I want to be a writer." 10 This was not the answer I thought he would expect. Travel?Where?A writer?About what?I braced myself for some resistance to the idea. 11 There was a long silence. 12 "Interesting idea,"he said finally. 13 There was another long silence 14 "I kind of wish I'd done that when I was your age." 5 I waited. 16 "You have plenty of time.You don't need to go into a career which pays well just at the moment.You need to find out what you really enjoy now,because if you don't,you won't be successful later." 17 "So how do I do this?" 18 He thought for a moment.Then he said,"Look,it's late. Let's take the boat out tomorrow morning,just you and me. Maybe we can catch some crabs for dinner,and we can talk more

mortgage and some hope of promotion. 3 I went home at Thanksgiving , and inevitably, my brothers and sisters kept asking me what I was planning to do. I didn't know what to say. Actually, I did know what to say, but I thought they'd probably criticize me, so I told them what everyone else was thinking of doing. 4 My father was watching me but saying nothing. Late in the evening, he invited me to his study. We sat down and he poured us a drink. 5 "So?" he said. 6 "Er . so what?" 7 "So what do you really want to do?" he asked. 8 My father was a lawyer, and I had always assumed he wanted me to go to law school, and follow his path through life. So I hesitated. 9 Then I replied, "I want to travel, and I want to be a writer." 10 This was not the answer I thought he would expect. Travel? Where? A writer? About what? I braced myself for some resistance to the idea. 11 There was a long silence. 12 "Interesting idea," he said finally. 13 There was another long silence. 14 "I kind of wish I'd done that when I was your age." 15 I waited. 16 "You have plenty of time. You don't need to go into a career which pays well just at the moment. You need to find out what you really enjoy now, because if you don't, you won't be successful later." 17 "So how do I do this?" 18 He thought for a moment. Then he said, "Look, it's late. Let's take the boat out tomorrow morning, just you and me. Maybe we can catch some crabs for dinner, and we can talk more

19 It was a small motorboat,moored ten minutes away,and my father had owned it for years.Early next morning we set off along the estuary.We didn't talk much,but enjoyed the sound of the seagulls and the sight of the estuary coastline and the sea yond. 20 There was no surf on the coastal waters at that time of day,so it was a smooth half-hour ride until my father switched off the motor."Let's see if we get lucky,he said,picked up a rusty mesh basket with a rope attached and threw it into the sea. 21 We waited a while,then my father stood up and said, "Give me a hand with this,"and we hauled up the crab cage onto the deck. 22 Crabs fascinated me.They were so easy to catch.It wasn't just that they crawled into such an obvious trap,through a small hole in the lid of the basket,but it seemed as if they couldn't be bothered to crawl out again even when you took the lid off.They just sat there,waving their claws at you. 23 The cage was brimming with dozens of soft shell crabs. piled high on top of each other."Why don't they try to escape?" I wondered aloud to my father. 24 "Just watch them for a moment.Look at that one,there! He's trying to climb out,but every time the other crabs pull him back in,"said my father. 25 And we watched.The crab climbed up the mesh towards the lid,and sure enough,just as it reached the top,one of its fellow crabs reached out,clamped its claw onto any available leg,and pulled it back.Several times the crab tried to defy his fellow captives,without luck. 26 "Now watch!"said my father."He's starting to get bored with this game." 27 Not only did the crab give up its lengthy struggle to escape,but it actually began to help stop other crabs trying to escape.He'd finally chosen an easy way of life 28 Suddenly I understood why my father had suggested

19 It was a small motorboat, moored ten minutes away, and my father had owned it for years. Early next morning we set off along the estuary. We didn't talk much, but enjoyed the sound of the seagulls and the sight of the estuary coastline and the sea beyond. 20 There was no surf on the coastal waters at that time of day, so it was a smooth half-hour ride until my father switched off the motor. "Let's see if we get lucky," he said, picked up a rusty mesh basket with a rope attached and threw it into the sea. 21 We waited a while, then my father stood up and said, "Give me a hand with this," and we hauled up the crab cage onto the deck. 22 Crabs fascinated me. They were so easy to catch. It wasn't just that they crawled into such an obvious trap, through a small hole in the lid of the basket, but it seemed as if they couldn't be bothered to crawl out again even when you took the lid off. They just sat there, waving their claws at you. 23 The cage was brimming with dozens of soft shell crabs, piled high on top of each other. "Why don't they try to escape?" I wondered aloud to my father. 24 "Just watch them for a moment. Look at that one, there! He's trying to climb out, but every time the other crabs pull him back in," said my father. 25 And we watched. The crab climbed up the mesh towards the lid, and sure enough, just as it reached the top, one of its fellow crabs reached out, clamped its claw onto any available leg, and pulled it back. Several times the crab tried to defy his fellow captives, without luck. 26 "Now watch!" said my father. "He's starting to get bored with this game." 27 Not only did the crab give up its lengthy struggle to escape, but it actually began to help stop other crabs trying to escape. He'd finally chosen an easy way of life. 28 Suddenly I understood why my father had suggested

catching crabs that morning.He looked at me."Don't get pulled back by the others,"he said."Spend some time figuring out who you are and what you want in life.Look back at the classes you're taking,and think about which ones were most productive for you personally.Then think about what's really important to you,what really interests you,what skills you have.Try to figure out where you want to live,where you want to go,what you want to earn,how you want to work.And if you can't answer these questions now,then take some time to find out. Because if you don't,you'll never be happy. 29 He paused. 30 "So you want to travel?"he asked 31 "Yes,"I replied. 32 "Better get you a passport.And you want to be a writer?" 33 "I think so." 34 "Interesting choice.We've never had a writer in the family,"he said. 35 My father started the motor and we set off back home

catching crabs that morning. He looked at me. "Don't get pulled back by the others," he said. " Spend some time figuring out who you are and what you want in life. Look back at the classes you're taking, and think about which ones were most productive for you personally. Then think about what's really important to you, what really interests you, what skills you have. Try to figure out where you want to live, where you want to go, what you want to earn, how you want to work. And if you can't answer these questions now, then take some time to find out. Because if you don't, you'll never be happy." 29 He paused. 30 "So you want to travel?" he asked. 31 "Yes," I replied. 32 "Better get you a passport. And you want to be a writer?" 33 "I think so." 34 "Interesting choice. We've never had a writer in the family," he said. 35 My father started the motor and we set off back home