初一英语优美文章

美文助读式教学的模式,是一种高效率的实用的教学模式。所谓美文,就是发表在报刊上的关于某篇课文的精美的赏析性短文或者教师自己撰写的此类文章。我整理了初一短篇英语美文，欢迎阅读!

Women in Colonial North America

The status of women in colonial North America has been well studied and described and can bebriefly summarized. Throughout the colonial period there was a marked shortage of women,which varied with the regions and was always greatest in the frontier areas. This favorableratio enhanced women's status and position and allowed them to pursue different careers.

The Puritans, the religious sect that dominated the early british colonies in North America,regarded idleness as a sin, and believed that life in an underdeveloped country made itabsolutely necessary that each member of the community perform an economic function.

Thus work for women, married or single, was not only approved, it was regarded as a civic duty.Puritan town councils expected idows and unattached women to be self supporting and for along time provided needy spinsters with parcels of land. There was no social sanction againstmarried women working; on the contrary, wives were expected to help their husbands in theirtrade and won social approval for doing extra work in or out of the home. Needy children, girlsas well as boys, were indentured or apprenticed and were expected to work for their keep.

The vast majority of women worked within their homes, where their labor produced mostarticles needed for the family. The entire colonial production of cloth and clothing and partiallythat of shoes was in the hands of women. In addition to these occupations, women werefound in many different kinds of employment. They were butchers, silversmiths, gunsmiths andupholsterers. They ran mills, plantations, tanyards, shipyards, and every kind of shop, tavern,and boardinghouse. They were gatekeepers, jail keepers, sextons, journalists, printers,apothecaries, midwives, nurses, and teachers.

北美殖民时期的妇女

北美殖民时期女性的社会地位曾得到过深入研究和描述，并可简短概括。 整个殖民时期，女性人数明显不足，各地情况不尽相同，在边远地区尤其缺少。 这种对女性有利的比例提高了她们的社会地位和职位，使她们能追求不同的事业。 清教徒是早期英属殖民地的宗教主流。 它视懒惰为犯罪，认为在不发达农村社区的每一个成员都必须发挥经济作用。 所以已婚或单身女性工作不仅是许可的，而且被认为是公民的义务。 清教徒的镇议会认为寡妇和未婚女性也应该自食其力，而且在相当长一段时期里，向贫困的老而未婚的女子提供土地。 社会不反对已婚妇女工作;相反，要求她们帮助丈夫从事他们的行当。在家庭内外做额外劳动的妻子们会得到社会的赞同。贫困的儿童，女孩和男孩一样，也要签师徒契约做学徒，想保住这个生计就要工作。 绝大多数女性在家庭里劳动，生产大部分家用必需品。 殖民时期全部的布料和衣服以及一部分的鞋都出自女性的双手。 除了从事这些职业，妇女也从事许多不同类型的职业，如做屠夫、铁匠、军械工和家俱修理工。 她们经营手工作坊、种植园、制革场、造船厂和各类商店、小旅馆和供膳寄宿处。 她们当守门人或狱卒，教堂司事、记者、印刷工、药剂师、助产士、护士和教师。

The Definition of "Price"

Prices determine how resources are to be used. They are also the means by which productsand services that are in limited supply are rationed among buyers. The price system of theUnited States is a complex network composed of the prices of all the products bought andsold in the economy as well as those of a myriad of services, including labor, professional,transportation, and public-utility services. The interrelationships of all these prices make upthe "system" of prices. The price of any particular product or service is linked to a broad,complicated system of prices in which everything seems to depend more or less uponeverything else. If one were to ask a group of randomly selected individuals to define "price",many would reply that price is an amount of money paid by the buyer to the seller of a productor service or, in other words, that price is the money value of a product or service as agreedupon in a market transaction. This definition is, of course, valid as far as it goes. For acomplete understanding of a price in any particular transaction, much more than the amountof money involved must be known. Both the buyer and the seller should be familiar with notonly the money amount, but with the amount and quality of the product or service to beexchanged, the time and place at which the exchange will take place and payment will bemade, the form of money to be used, the credit terms and discounts that apply to thetransaction, guarantees on the product or service, delivery terms, return privileges, and otherfactors. In other words, both buyer and seller should be fully aware of all the factors thatcomprise the total "package" being exchanged for the asked-for amount of money in order thatthey may evaluate a given price.

The Beginning of Drama

There are many theories about the beginning of drama in ancient Greece. The one most widelyaccepted today is based on the assumption that drama evolved from ritual. The argument forthis view goes as follows. In the beginning, human beings viewed the natural forces of the world- even the seasonal changes - as unpredictable, and they sought through various means tocontrol these unknown and feared powers. Those measures which appeared to bring thedesired results were then retained and repeated until they hardened into fixed rituals. Eventuallystories arose which explained or veiled the mysteries of the rites. As time passed some ritualswere abandoned, but the stories, later called myths, persisted and provided material for art anddrama.

Those who believe that drama evolved out of ritual also argue that those rites contained theseed of theater because music, dance, masks, and costumes were almost always used.Furthermore, a suitable site had to be provided for performances and when the entirecommunity did not participate, a clear division was usually made between the "acting area"and the "auditorium." In addition, there were performers, and, since considerable importancewas attached to avoiding mistakes in the enactment of rites, religious leaders usually assumedthat task. Wearing masks and costumes, they often impersonated other people, animals, orsupernatural beings, and mimed the desired effect -- success in hunt or battle, the comingrain, the revival of the Sun -- as an actor might. Eventually such dramatic representations wereseparated from religious activities.

Another theory traces the theater's origin from the human interest in storytelling. According tothis view tales (about the hunt, war, or other feats) are gradually elaborated, at first throughthe use of impersonation, action, and dialogue by a narrator and then through theassumption of each of the roles by a different person. A closely related theory traces theaterto those dances that are primarily rhythmical and gymnastic or that are imitations of animalmovements and sounds.

戏剧的起源

关于古希腊戏剧的起源存在着多种理论，其中一个最普遍为人接受的理论假设认为戏剧从仪式演化而来。 这个观点是这样进行论证的：一开始，人类把世界上的自然力量，甚至季节的变化都看成是不可预料的。 他们试图通过各种方式去控制这些未知的、令人恐惧的力量。 那些似乎带来了满意结果的手段就被保留下来并且重复直到这些手段固化为不变的仪式，最后产生了能够解释或者掩盖这些仪式神秘性的故事。 随着时间的推移，一些仪式被废弃了，但这些后来被称作神话的故事流传下来并且为艺术和戏剧提供了素材。

认为戏剧从仪式演化而来的人们还认为那些仪式包含了戏剧的基本因素，因为音乐、舞蹈、面具和服装几乎经常被使用，而且，必须为演出提供一个合适的地点;如果不是整个社区共同参加演出，经常在"演出区"和"观众席"之间划分出明显的分界。 另外，仪式中还有演员，而且宗教领袖通常承担演出任务，因为在仪式的执行中避免错误的发生被认为有相当大的重要性;他们经常带着面具，穿着服装象演员那样扮演其它人、动物或超自然的生灵，用动作来表演以达到所需要的效果，比如打猎的成功或战斗的胜利、将至的雨、太阳的复活。 最后这些戏剧性的表演从宗教活动中分离了出来。 另一个追溯戏剧起源的理论认为它来自人们对叙述故事的兴趣。 根据这个观点，故事(关于狩猎、战争或者其它伟绩)是逐渐丰富起来的。 首先通过一个讲解人来运用模仿、表演和对话，然后再由不同的人扮演各自的角色;另一个与之紧密相关的理论将戏剧的起源追溯至舞蹈，这些舞蹈大体上是有节奏感的和体操式的那一类，或者是对动物动作和声音的模仿。