爱华网近年来,英语阅读的份量和重要性在英语学习中愈来愈突出,教师和学生对阅读能力的培养投入了很大的精力。下面是小编带来的经典英语四级美文阅读，欢迎阅读!
经典英语四级美文阅读篇一
I want a wife (我想要个妻)
Judy Syfers，a wife，and mother of two children，argues in this essay for a wife of her own. Although her argument might seem strange，her position will become apparent once you move into the essay. She presents many points to support her position，so you want to keep in mind those you think are the strongest.
I belong to that classification of people known as wives. I am a Wife. And，not altogether incidentally，I am a mother.
Not too long ago a male friend of mine appeared on the scene fresh from a recent divorce. He had one child，who is，of course，with his ex-wife. He is looking for another wife. As I thought about him while I was ironing one evening，it suddenly occurred to me that I，too，would like to have a wife. Why do I want a wife?
I would like to go back to school so that I can become economically independent，support myself，and if need be，support those dependent upon me，I want a wife who will work and send me to school. And while I am going to school I want a wife to take care of my children. I want a wife to keep track of the children‘s doctor and dentist appointments. And to keep track of mine，too. I want a wife who will wash the children’s clothes and keep them mended. I want a wife who is a good nurturant attendant to my children，who arranges for their schooling，makes sure that they have an adequate social life with their peers，takes them to the park，the zoo，etc. I want a wife who takes care of the children when they are sick，a wife who arranges to be around when the children need special care，because，of cause，I cannot miss classes at school. My wife must arrange to lose time at work and not lose the job. It may mean a small cut in my wife‘s income from time to time，but I guess I can tolerate that. Needless to say，my wife will arrange and pay for the care of the children while my wife is working.
I want a wife who will take care of my physical needs. I want a wife who will keep my house clean. A wife who will pick up after my children，a wife who will pick up after me. I want a wife who will keep my clothes clean，ironed，mended，replaced when need be，and who will see to it that my personal things are kept in their proper place so that I can find what I need the minute I need it. I want a wife who cooks the meals，a wife who is a good cook. I want a wife who will plan the menus，do the necessary grocery shopping，prepare the meals，serve them pleasantly，and then do the cleaning up while I do my studying. I want a wife who will care for me when I am sick and sympathize with my pain and loss of time from school. I want a wife to go along when our family takes a vacation so that someone can continue to care for me and my children when I need a rest and change of scene.
I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife‘s duties. But I want a wife who will listen to me when I feel the need to explain a rather difficult point I have come across in my course of studies. And I want a wife who type my papers for me when I have written them.
I want a wife who will take care of the details of my social life. When my wife and I are invited out by my friends，I want a wife who will take care of the babysitting arrangements. When I meet people at school that I like who will have the house clean，will prepare a special meal，serve it to me and my friends，and not interrupt when I talk about things that interest me and my friends. I want a wife who will have arranged that the children are fed and ready for bed before my guests arrive so that the children do not bother us. I want a wife who takes care of the needs of my guests so that they feel comfortable，who makes sure that they have an ashtray，that they are offered a second helping of the food，that their wine glasses are replenished when necessary，that their coffee is served to them as they like it. And I want a wife who knows that sometimes I need a night out by myself.
I want a wife who is sensitive to my sexual needs，a wife who makes love passionately and eagerly when I feel like it，a wife who makes sure that I am satisfied. And，of course，I want a wife who will not demand sexual attention when I am not in the mood for it. I want a wife who assumes the complete responsibility for birth control，because I do not want more children. I want a wife who will remain sexually faithful to me so that I do not have to clutter up my intellectual life with jealousies. And I want a wife who understands that my sexual needs may entail more than strict adherence to monogamy. I must，after all，be able to relate to people as fully as possible.
If，by chance，I find another person more suitable as a wife than the wife I already have，I have the liberty to replace my present wife with another one. Naturally，I will expect a fresh，new life;my wife will take the children and be solely responsible for them so that I am left free.
When I am through with school and have a job，I want my wife to quit working and remain at home so that my wife can more fully and completely take care of a wife‘s duties.
My God，who wouldn‘t want a wife?
Judy Syfers
经典英语四级美文阅读篇二
Changes in the concept of nationalism (爱国主义的变迁)
Nationalism can be defined as a deep sense of loyalty and devotion that one feels for one‘s own race and country. It is a set of emotions that is nurtured over thousands of years. And as agrarian communities give way to modern urban societies，nationalism today has also evolved into a form that is quite different from the ancient one that we know of.
Nationalism in the old days did not just refer to loyalty to the country. It was closely tied up with loyalty to the emperor or sovereign king. Both were inseparable. Chinese general Yue Fei‘s undivided loyalty to the country and the Song emperor(who was misled by corrupt court officials)was what led to his tragic death years ago.
Empirical evidences also showed that early nationalism had its origin in regional and blood ties. Unless a grouping was assured that the interests of its own families and communities were met，it would be difficult for them to fulfil their duties and obligations to the country. This was why when a new emperor was enthroned，he would confer titles and territories to his kinsmen. Such feudal practices were also common among regional government officials. The wider sense of patriotism to the emperor and country could only be stimulated in turbulent times when a country was in danger of invasion by outside forces.
This form of early nationalism was suitable for old economies that were basically agrarian in nature，and interdependence and communication links among them were limited. Under these circumstances，rulers resorted to power politics to preserve their territories and their system of government. And power politics went hand in hand with nepotism and cronyism.
Actually，it is not difficult to understand why ancient rulers behaved in this manner. In primeval times，tribal chiefs and their members had to resort to power to ensure the survival of their whole community.
Today，however，a different perspective of nationalism has been taken. People can now differentiate between loyalty to the individual ruler and loyalty to the country. They would not rise to calls for nationalism unless the interests of the ruler and theirs are identical，that is，they truly reflect the interests of the country. To love the country is to love its citizenry. This is fundamental. Loyalty to the nation and country must take precedence over blood ties and loyalty to an individual or to a community.
Unfortunately，social progress does not take place evenly. As a result，the new concept of nationalism also evolves at a different pace. In some societies，people still hold on to the narrow brand of nationalism——one that is confined to their region. These people place high regard for their immediate families，then relatives，then clans and then regions or religious groups. Examples of these are found in many developing countries，where many of their citizens unscrupulously sacrifice national interests for their own benefits or those of their groups. For these people，loyalty to the country is secondary. They would only npursue national interests or turn to diplomacy when their individual or their group‘s interests need to be protected.
So how do we reinforce the modern concept of nationalism?We need to understand that rights and responsibilities are paradoxes. On one hand，a person needs to be given some political rights before he is able to perform his civic duties. On the other hand，a civic conscious person will demand rights that are due to him. In time to come，as a society modernises，people‘s rights and responsibilities should be balanced.
Once the majority in a society are able to exert their rights and fulfil their responsibilities，they will regard themselves as masters of their country and their own destiny. Citizens whose nationalism is built on this foundation are likely to have acquired a high level of modern civic consciousness.
Governments of developing countries need to understand this simple principle if they want to conduct education and publicity programmes effectively to promote the new concept of nationalism among their citizens.
Generally，governments find it effective to use the mass media to transmit nationalistic values as they are penetrating and far-reaching. At the same time，governments should，at appropriate times，respond with changes in civic laws and regulations in order to support the new concept of nationalism.
In a nutshell，national education should be accompanied by legal changes that would accord its people basic civil rights. Without this guarantee of basic civil and individual rights，a country‘s citizens would not be able to say that they are masters of their destiny. Then there is no need to talk about setting up a law-abiding society or even creating a consciousness of the new concept of nationalism.
经典英语四级美文阅读篇三
电
The modern age is an age of electricity. People are so used to electric lights， radio， televisions， and telephones that it is hard to imagine what life would be like without them. When there is a power failure， people grope about in flickering candlelight， cars hesitate in the streets because there are no traffic lights to guide them， and food spoils in silent refrigerators.
Yet， people began to understand how electricity works only a little more than two centuries ago. Nature has apparently been experimenting in this field for millions of years. Scientists are discovering more and more that the living world may hold many interesting secrets of electricity that could benefit humanity. All living cells send out tiny pulses of electricity. As the heart beats，it sends out pulses of record; they form an electrocardiogram， which a doctor can study to determine how well the heart is working. The brain，too， sends out brain waves of electricity， which can be recorded in an electroencephalogram. The electric currents generated by most living cells are extremely small —— often so small that sensitive instruments are needed to record them. But in some animals， certain muscle cells have become so specialized as electrical generators that they do not work as muscle cells at all. When large numbers of these cells are linked together， the effects can be astonishing.
The electric eel is an amazing storage battery. It can send a jolt of as much as eight hundred volts of electricity through the water in which it lives. (An electric house current is only one hundred twenty volts.) As many as four-fifths of all the cells in the electric eel's body are specialized for generating electricity， and the strength of the shock it can deliver corresponds roughly to the length of its body.
电
当今时代是电气时代。人们对电灯、收音机、电视和电话早已司空见惯以致很难想象没有它们生活会变成什么样。
当停电时，人们在摇曳不定的烛光下暗中摸索;因没有红绿灯的指示，汽车在道路上迟疑不前;冰箱也停止工作，导致食物变质。人们只是在两个世纪前一点才开始了解电的使用原理，自然界却显然在这方面经历过了数百万年。科学家不断发现许多生物世界里可能有益于人类的关于电的有趣秘密。所有生物细胞都会发出微小的电脉冲。
当心脏跳动时，把它发出的脉冲记录下来就成了心电图，这可让医生了解心脏的工作状况。大脑也发出脑电波，这可在脑电图上记录下来。
许多生物细胞发出的电流都是极微小的，小到要用灵敏仪器才能记录和测量。但一些动物的某些肌肉细胞能转化成一个个发电机，以致完全失去肌肉细胞的功能。
这种细胞大量地连接在一起时产生的效果将是非常令人吃惊的。电鳗就是一种令人惊异的蓄电池。它可以在水中发出相当于800伏特电压电流(家庭用户的电压只有120伏特)。在电鳗的身体里，多至五分之四的细胞都专门用来发电，而且发出的电流的强度大约和它身体的长度成正比。
