新世纪英语高二全部课文及重点词组

　　NEWTON Ⅲ: EQUAL AND OPPOSITE(作用力与反作用力)

　　All objects, moving or at rest, obey Newton’s third law of motion, which holds that in nature, unaccompanied(无陪伴的) forces do not exist.

　　You can’t take a step without applying Newton’s third law, which explains that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Each time your foot pushes down on the ground, the ground pushes back with the same amount of force pointed in precisely(精确地，准确地) the opposite direction. In fact, it’s the force exerted(施加压力) by the ground that pushes you along, not the force of your foot.

　　That seems odd, but it’s easy to demonstrate. Stand on a nearly frictionless(无摩擦力的) surface such as an oily floor, or put on a pair of roller skates(四轮旱冰鞋). Now take a step. Push as hard as you like, but the oil or skates keep that force from being applied to the floor, so there is no opposite, reactive force exerted on your foot. The result: Your legs and feet may struggle to move about, but you don’t move forward.

　　29. Oliver wants more (Adapted from Oliver Twist Charles Dickens)

　　Life in the workhouse was very severe indeed. The member of the board of management had ruled that the children should work to earn their living, and that they should be given three meals of thin soup a day, with an onion twice a week and half a cake on Sundays.

　　The room, in which the boys were fed, was a large stone hall, with a huge pot at one end. Out of this, the master, assisted by one or two women, served out the soup at mealtimes. Each boy had one small bowl, and nothing more---except on public holidays, when he had a small piece of bread as well. Never ever did the bowls need washing. The boys polished them with their spoons till they shone again; and when they had performed this operation, they would sit staring at the huge pot, as if they could have eaten that, too.

　　Oliver Twist and his companions suffered terrible hunger in silence for three months; so desperate did they become in the end that one boy, who was tall for his age, told the others that unless he had another bowl of soup every day, he was afraid he might some night eat the boy who slept next to him. He had a wild, hungry eye, and they fully believed him. A council was held; votes were cast, and it fell to Oliver Twist to walk up to the master after supper that evening, and ask for more.

　　The evening arrived; the boys took their places. The master, in his cook’s uniform, stood beside the huge pot with his two assistants behind him; the soup was served out. It quickly disappeared; the boys whispered to each other, and made signs to Oliver. He rose from the table and, advancing to the master, bowl in hand, said.

　　“Please, sir, I want some more.”

　　The master was a fat, healthy man; but the turned very pale. He stared with horror and amazement at the small boy for some seconds.

　　“What!” he said finally in a faint voice.

　　“Please, sir,” replied Oliver, “I want some more.”

　　The master aimed a blow at Oliver’s head with his big spoon, seized him tightly in his arms, and shouted for Mr. Bumble.

　　Mr. Bumble, hearing the cry and learning the cause of it, rushed into the room where members of the board were meeting and, addressing the gentleman at the head of the table, said, “Mr. Limbkins, I beg your pardon, sir! Oliver Twist has asked for more.”

　　There was a general alarm. Horror showed on every face.

　　“For more!” said Mr. Limbkins. “Be calm, Mr. Bumble, and answer me clearly. Do you mean to say that he asked for more, after he had eaten the supper given by the board?”

　　“He did, sir,” replied Bumble.

　　“That boy will be hanged,” said one of the gentlemen on the board. “I know that boy will be hanged one day.”

　　Oliver was locked up at once. Next morning a notice was put up on the outside of the gate, offering a reward of five pounds to anybody who would take Oliver Twist away from the workhouse.

　　30. Enjoy the classics

　　What’s a classic? It can be put in the following way: When you reread a classic, you do not see more in the book than you did before; you see more in you than you did before.

　　In school, we learn one of the most interesting and difficult skills---how to read. At the same time, we learn to hate to read the things worth reading most!

　　It has happened to us all---with assignment reading! It happened to me. The teacher assigned Pickwick Papers(《匹克威克外传》). I didn’t want to read it. So I fought it. I disliked it. I thought I won.

　　But I lost. My struggle to keep away from Pickwick Papers cost me all the good things that can come from getting near to those few books called the “classics”.

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