内容简介

本书选自“美国之音”特别英语广播节目的“这就是美国”和“太空与人”

两个栏目。前者介绍美国社会生活的各个侧面，帮助我们全面了解美国社会。

有电视和暴力、单亲家庭和安乐死等引起争论的热点话题，，有老年人、妇女、

无家可归者及黑人权利等普遍关注的社会问题，还有介绍赌城拉斯维加斯及

国家公园等美国风景名胜的节目。“太空与人”介绍小到人体内部空间，大至

宇宙外层空间的各种科学知识和技术问题。包括阿波罗登月飞行、飞碟和外

星人探秘、信息时代和信息高速公路、爱因斯坦和相对论以及太阳系有历史

记载以来最大的彗木星相撞等。这些内容具有很强的知识性、趣味性和时代

感，大学生及英语爱好者阅读本书不仅可以提高英语水平，还可以增加知识，

开阔眼界。

Contents 目 录

SectionOne：ThisIsAmerica

第一部分：这就是美国

1.Television&Violence

电视和暴力

2.Si ngle －pare ntFam ilies

单亲家庭

“单 亲家 庭对 孩子

的影响这一美国人关

心的问题，曾因对电视

喜剧“莫菲·布朗”的争

论和前副总统丹·奎尔

的卷入而成为轰动全国

的大辩论。本文刚从各

个方面介绍了单亲家庭

这一当今美国的新家庭

现象。正确认识这一现

象，恐怕对于美国社会

学家也还是个尚无结论

的课题。

3.Illiteracy

美国的文盲

4.OldAmericans

美国的老年人

5.Homelessness

无家可归

6.PublicTelevision

公众电视

7.GrandCanyon

大峡谷

8.Telecommuters

在家里办公

过去，美国人每天

开着汽车或利用公共交

通工具去上班。现在，越

来越多的人利用计算机

和通讯工具，坐在家里

办公。这将会引发一次

工作和生活方式的重大

变革。

9.WeekendActivities

周末活动

10.AntismokingMovement

禁烟运动

11.WomeninPublicOffice

公职妇女

12.Euthanasia

安乐死

13. Las Vegas

赌城拉斯维加斯

14.SoccerinUSA

足球在美国

15.HeadStart Progr am

笨鸟先飞

家贫的孩子入学前

不能接受良好的学前教

育，所以入学后就显得

智 力 落 后。HEAD

START PROGRAM

就是让这些孩子“笨鸟

先飞”。

16.Brownvs.theBoardofEducation

布朗对教育管理委员会诉讼案

17.NationalParks

国家公园

Las Vegas

18.Wh0WeAre

给美国画个像

美国宪法规定每十

年进行一次人口普查。

这不仅为美国政府制定

政策提供依据，也为我

们了解美国提供了详实

的资料。《纽约时报》记

者山姆·罗伯茨根据最

近一次人口普查所写的

《WHO WE ARE》 这本

书， 就是给 美国 画 了个

像。

19.YardSales&FleaMarkets

周末集市

20.ScienceinAmericanLife

科学与生活

SectionTwo：Space andMan

第二部分：太空与人

1.Apolloprogram（PartI）

阿波罗计划（I）

2.ApOlloProgram（PartⅡ）

阿波罗计划（Ⅱ）

3.Apoll0Program（Par tⅢ）

阿波罗计划（Ⅲ）

4.ApolloProgram（PartⅣ）

阿波罗计划（Ⅳ）

5.The25thAnniversaryoftheMoon－Landing

阿波罗登月25周年纪念

6.Spa cewal ks

太空行走

去年 12月 ，“奋进”

号航天飞机的七名宇航

员 多次走 出机舱 ，经过

几天的努力，终于修复

了重11吨，在570公里

高空轨道上运行的哈勃

太空望远镜，创造了太

空行走的新纪录。

7.H0WtoBeanAstronaut

怎样成为一名宇航员

你可能想当一名宇

航员。宇航员要具备什

么样的条件？接受哪些

教育和训练？美国宇航

局又是怎样挑选宇航员

的？在这篇文章中，几位

宇航员的经历就回答了

这些问题。

8.SpaceTechnologyMakesLifeBetteronEarth

利用空间技术造福人类

9.UFO （PartI）

飞碟（I）

10.UFO（PartⅡ）

飞碟（Ⅱ）

很多人说他们看到

了飞碟，看到了外星人。

有人甚至说他们遭到了

外星人的绑架。这些倒

底是 怎么回事？看完这

些故事后，你可能会有

自己的结论。

11.TheAgeofInformation（PartI）

信息时代（I）

12.TheAgeofInformation（PartⅡ）

信息时代（I）

13.TheAgeofInformation（PartⅢ）

信息时代（Ⅲ）

信息时代的前景是

十分诱人的。这里所讲

的故事，有些已经成为

现实。有些在不远的将

来就可实现，那时我们

的生活将会是什么样子

呢？

14.NewC0mmunicationsPlans

全球通讯计划

15.C0mputerViruses

计算机病毒

16.Galile0Galilei

伽利略

17.AlbertEinstein

爱因斯坦

18.C0metShoemaker－Levy－9

苏梅克—列维—9号彗星

Answer Key toQues tions for Com prehension

理解题答案

Appendix：FiftyAmericanStatesandTheirCapitals

附录：美国五十个州及其首府

studies show that television plays a big part in the lives of

Americans, especially children. Children under the age of five

watch 25 hours of television a week. Young school children

watch 29 hours a week. High'school students watch 13 hours a

week.

What is the effect of so much television? Americans have been

debating the question for years.

Scient'ists say the biggest effect is on children who are 3 or 4

years old. These children do not always understand what is real and

what is imaginary. To them, everything that happens on television

is real. They see television as a true picture of the world. This is

one reason why many people are concerned about the amount of vio-

lence on American television. Researchers at the magazine TV

GUIDE watched 10 television stations during one day. They found

more than 1800 acts of violence. Studies show that children will see

200 thousand acts of violence on television by the time they are 18

years old. This includes 40 thousand murders.

More than 3 thousand studies have been done on the link betw-

een violence on television and violence among children. Most of the

studies sBow that. children who watch a great deal of violence on te-

tevtsion are more aggressive. They fight more with other children,

and they are more willing to use aggression to solve conflicts. The

studies also show that children.,Who.watch violence on television care

leas.about the victms of real violence. Many experts say this incr-

ease in aggression adds to the increase in criminal violence in societ-

y. One study shows that children who watched a lot of violence on

television when they were 8 years old are more likely to be guilty of

a violent crime when they are thirty. Experts also say that people

who watch a lot of violence on television may be more willing to acc-

eptreal violence in society.

Eighty percent of Americans feel therc is too much violence on

television. This belief leads to a difficult problem:Americans would

like to stop the violence children seeontelevision, yet they do not

want to interfere with the guarantees of free speech provided by

"the first amendment1 to the American donstitution.

Earlier this year, people became especially concerned about te-

levision violence. During the month of May, an unusually high

number of violent crime movies were shown on televisidn in the

United States. Some critics called k "murder month". Some said it

was the most violent month in television history'.

May is one of the months when American television networks

compete for viewers at advertising; To gain more viewers this year,

the networks showed many television movies based on real events.

One movie was based on the story of-Charles Stark Withers. He kil

led many people in several American states in 1958. Some people

believe that this movie caused a young man in Canada to carry out

similar murders. Another television movie recreated the violent raid

by United States government agents on a religious group's headqua-

rters in Waco,Texas. And another told the story of a young man

who went in sin and killed many members of his family'. Television

officials say they are not proud of the programs they broadcast last

May. A top official of the NBC2 network says the programs his ne-

twork will show this autumn will be differeht.