Before You Read
1.Do you like reading literary works？What do you like best，novel，poetry，prose or drama？
2.Have you ever read any world classics or lines of foreign poetry？What poems and novels impress you most？
3.In which dynasty did poetry flourish in Chinese history？And who were famous during this period？
4.Do you know the three elements a novel should include？
5.What will you do if the last night of the world comes？
Reading 1
Last Night of the World
By Ray Bradbury
Originally published in the February 1951 issue of Esquire
“What would you do if you knew this was the last night of the world？”
“What would I do；you mean，seriously？”
“Yes，seriously.”
“I don't know-I hadn't thought.She turned the handle of the silver coffeepot toward him and placed the two cups in their saucers.
（旁注：saucer［'sɔ:sə（r）］）
（旁注：n.茶托；碟子）
He poured some coffee.In the background，the two small girls were playing blocks on the parlor rug in the light of the green hurricane lamps.There was an easy，clean aroma of brewed coffee in the evening air.
（旁注：parlor［'pa:lə］）
（旁注：n.客厅；起居室）
（旁注：aroma［ə'rəʊmə］）
（旁注：n.芳香）
（旁注：brew［bru:］）
（旁注：vt.酿造；酝酿）
“Well，better start thinking about it，”he said.
“You don't mean it？”said his wife.
He nodded.
“A war？”
He shook his head.
“Not the hydrogen or atom bomb？”
（旁注：hydrogen［'haɪdrədʒ（ə）n］）
（旁注：n.［化学］氢）
“No.”
“Or germ warfare？”
（旁注：germ［dʒə:m］）
（旁注：n.细菌；微生物）
（旁注：warfare［'wɔ:feə］）（旁注：n.战争；冲突）
“None of those at all，”he said，stirring his coffee slowly and staring into its black depths.“But just the closing of a book，let's say.”
“I don't think I understand.”
“No，nor do I really.It's jut a feeling；sometimes it frightens me，sometimes I'm not frightened at all—but peaceful.”He glanced in at the girls and their yellow hair shining in the bright lamplight，and lowered his voice.“I didn't say anything to you.It first happened about four nights ago.
“What？”
“A dream I had.I dreamed that it was all going to be over and a voice said it was；not any kind of voice I can remember，but a voice anyway，and it said things would stop here on Earth.I didn't think too much about it when I awoke the next morning，but then I went to work and the feeling as with me all day.I caught Stan Willis looking out the window in the middle of the afternoon and I said，‘Penny for your thoughts，Stan，and’he said，‘I had a dream last night，and before he even told me the dream，’I knew what it was.I could have told him，but he told me and I listened to him.”
“It was the same dream？”
“Yes.I told Stan I had dreamed it，too.He didn't seem surprised.He relaxed，in fact.Then we started walking through offices，for the hell of it.It wasn't planned.We didn't say，let's walk around.We just walked on our own，and everywhere we saw people looking at their desks or their hands or out the windows and not seeing what was in front of their eyes.I talked to a few of them，so did Stan.”
“And all of them had dreamed？”
“All of them.The same dream，with no difference.”
“Do you believe in the dream？”
“Yes.I've never been more certain.”
“And when will it stop？The world，I mean.”
“Sometime during the night for us，and then，as the night goes on around the world，those advancing portions will go，too.It'll take twentyfour hours for it all to go.”
（旁注：portion［'pɔ:ʃ（ə）n］）
（旁注：n.门帷；部分）
They sat a while not touching their coffee.Then they lifted it slowly and drank，looking at each other.
“Do we deserve this？”she said.
（旁注：deserve［dɪ'zə:v］）
（旁注：v.应受，应得）
“It's not a matter of deserving，it's just that things didn't work out.I notice you didn't even argue about this.Why not？”
“I guess I have a reason，”she said.
“The same reason everyone at the office had？”
She nodded.“I didn't want to say anything.It happened last night.And the women on the block are talking about it，just among themselves.”She picked up the evening paper and held it toward him.“There's nothing in the news about it.”
“No，everyone knows，so what's the need？”He took the paper and sat back in his chair，looking at the girls and then at her.
“Are you afraid？”
“No，not even for the children.I always thought I would be frightened to death，but I'm not.”
“Where's that spirit of self-preservation the scientists talk about so much？”
（旁注：self-preservation）
（旁注：［self-prezə'veɪʃn］）
（旁注：n.（尤指本能的）自我保护）
“I don't know.You don't get too excited when you feel things are logical.This is logical.Nothing else but this could have happened from the way we've lived.”
“We haven't been too bad，have we？”
（旁注：enormously［ɪ'nɔ:məslɪ］）
（旁注：adv.极度；大量）
“No，nor enormously good.I suppose that's the trouble.We haven't been very much of anything except us，while a big part of the world was busy being lots of quite awful things.”
The girls were laughing in the parlor as they waved their hands and tumbled down their house of blocks.
（旁注：tumble［'tʌmbl］）
（旁注：v.暴跌；倒塌）
“I always imagined people would be screaming in the streets at a time like this.”
（旁注：scream［skrɪ:m］）
（旁注：v.尖声喊叫）
“I guess not.You don't scream about the real thing.”
“Do you know，I won't miss anything but you and the girls.I never liked cities or autos or factories or my work or anything except you three.I won't miss a thing except my family and perhaps the change in the weather and a glass of cool water when the weather's hot，or the luxury of sleeping.Just little things，really.How can we sit here and talk this way？”
（旁注：auto［'ɔ:təuz］）
（旁注：n.汽车）
（旁注：luxury［'lʌkʃ（ə）rɪ］）
（旁注：n.奢侈品；奢侈）
“Because there's nothing else to do.”
“That's it，of course，for if there were，we'd be doing it.I suppose this is the first time in the history of the world that everyone has really known just what they were going to be doing during the last night.”
“I wonder what everyone else will do now，this evening，for the next few hours.”
“Go to a show，listen to the radio，watch the TV，play cards，put the children to bed，get to bed themselves，like always.”
“In a way that's something to be proud of-like always.”
“We're not all bad.”
They sat a moment and then he poured more coffee.“Why do you suppose it's tonight？”
“Because.”
“Why not some night in the past ten years of in the last century，or five centuries ago or ten？”
“Maybe it's because it was never February 30，1951，ever before in history，and now it is and that's it，because this date means more than any other date ever meant and because it's the year when things are as they are all over the world and that's why it's the end.”
“There are bombers on their course both ways across the ocean tonight that will never see land again.”
“That's part of the reason why.”
“Well，”he said.“What shall it be？Wash the dishes？”
They washed the dishes carefully and stacked them away with especial neatness.At eight-thirty the girls were put to bed and kissed good night and the little lights by their beds turned on and the door left a trifle open.
“I wonder，”said the husband，coming out and looking back，standing there with his pipe for a moment.”
（旁注：stack［stæk］）
（旁注：v.堆积；堆放）
（旁注：trifle［'traɪfl］）
（旁注：n.琐事；少量）
“What？”
“If the door should be shut all the way or if it should be left just a little ajar so we can hear them if they call.”
（旁注：ajar［ə'dʒɑ:（r）］）
（旁注：adj.微开的；半开的）
“I wonder if the children know—if anyone mentioned anything to them？”
“No，of course not.They'd have asked us about it.”
They sat and read the papers and talked and listened to some radio music and then sat together by the fireplace looking at the charcoal embers as the clock struck ten-thirty and eleven and eleven-thirty.They thought of all the other people in the world who had spent their evening，each in their own special way.
（旁注：charcoal［'tʃɑ:kəul］）
（旁注：n.木炭；炭笔）
（旁注：ember［'embə（r）］）
（旁注：n.余烬（常用复数））
“Well，”he said at last.He kissed his wife for a long time.
“We've been good for each other，anyway.”
“Do you want to cry？”he asked.
“I don't think so.”
They went through the house and turned out the lights and locked the doors，and went into the bedroom and stood in the night cool darkness undressing.She took the spread from the bed and folded it carefully over a chair，as always，and pushed back the covers.“The sheets are so cool and clean and nice，”she said.
（旁注：undress［An'dres］）
（旁注：v.脱掉；使脱衣服）
“I'm tired.”
“We're both tired.”
They got into bed and lay back.
“Wait a moment，”she said.
He heard her get up and go out into the back of the house，and then he heard the soft shuffling of a swinging door.A moment later she was back.“I left the water running in the kitchen，”she said.“I turned the faucet off.”
（旁注：shuffling［'ʃʌflɪŋ］）
（旁注：adj.慢慢移动的；滑移的）
（旁注：faucet［'fɔ:sɪt］）
（旁注：n.水龙头）
Something about this was so funny that he had to laugh.
She laughed with him，knowing what it was that she had done that was so funny.They stopped laughing at last and lay in their cool night bed，their hands clasped，their heads together.
“Good night，”he said，after a moment.
“Good night，”she said，adding softly，“dear...”
Related Information
Introduction to the author（作者简介）
雷·道格拉斯·布莱伯利（Ray Douglas Bradbury，1920年8月22日～2012年6月6日）是美国科幻、奇幻、恐怖小说作家。除小说外，布莱伯利也著有多部散文集、诗集，并从事广播剧、电视、电影等剧本创作，代表作品有《火星纪事》及《华氏451度》。
Sketch of the story（故事梗概）
《世界的最后一晚》是个温柔、简单的故事。文章的第一句话就引人入胜：“如果这是世界的最后一晚，你会做些什么？”故事描述了世界的最后一晚，四口之家的晚饭后，乏善可陈的平静——两个女儿在客厅地毯上搭积木，夫妻俩洗碗碟、喝咖啡、送孩子上床睡觉。躺在干净的床单上，妻子忽然想起厨房水龙头没关紧，匆忙下床，如愿回到床上，两人相视而笑——地球末日了还忙着关水龙头。世界尽头的最后是紧握双手、头部靠拢后平静、安详地互道“晚安”！
故事中特别令人感动的是丈夫说的一段话：你知道吗？除了你和两个女儿，其实也没什么好留恋的。我从来不曾真正喜欢这座城市，也不喜欢我的工作，或者任何你们三个以外的事。如果真要说舍不得，恐怕只有四季的转换、热天里一杯冰得透凉的水。
这段话点出人生的真正价值所在。享受四季的转换就是能和大自然和谐相处；爱喝暑天的一杯冰水代表的是健康的身体和简单的欲求；能沉沉睡去表示心中坦荡无虑；至于留恋妻女，可不就是对亲人的爱吗？
其实真正的幸福，就是每天可以有闲暇能跟爱人一起，欣赏、共享、一起相拥入眠……看似琐碎，其实是最幸福的事情。而最难的，恰恰在于如何将最平凡的事，持续地维持下去；将最幸福的事情，永远地珍惜。
Reading Comprehension
Decide whether the following statements are true or false.Write“T”for True and“F”for False.
1.The couple were talking their life at the last night of the world.（ ）
2.The man had dreamed of what he would do at the last night of the world before.（ ）
3.Not only he but also his colleague made the the same dream.（ ）
4.Actually，many people around him made the the same dream.（ ）
5.The man really thought that his dream would come true tonight.（ ）
6.There was nothing that the man would miss too much except his wife and girls.（ ）
7.The man really worried about his daughters while they were asleep that night.（ ）
8.Even that night was the last night，the couple tried to make their life as usual.（ ）
9.When the wife got out to the back of the house，the man was nervous.（ ）
10.The couple spent their“last night”of the man's dream peacefully because they loved each other.（ ）
Reading 2
The Daffodils
By William Wordsworth
（1）
I wander'd lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills，
When all at once I saw a crowd，
A host of golden daffodils，
Beside the lake，beneath the trees，
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
（2）
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way，
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
（3）
The waves beside them danced，but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company！
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought.
（4）
For oft，when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood，
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude；
And then my heart with pleasure fills，
And dances with the daffodils.
咏水仙
（顾子欣译）
我好似一朵孤独的流云，
高高地飘荡在山谷之上；
突然我看到一大片鲜花，
是金色的水仙，遍地开放。
它们开在湖畔，开在树下，
它们随风嬉舞，随风飘荡。
它们密集如银河的星星，
像群星在闪烁，一片晶莹；
它们沿着海湾向前伸展，
通向远方仿佛无穷无尽；
一眼看去就有千朵万朵，
万花摇首舞得多么高兴。
粼粼湖波也在近旁欢跳，
却不知这水仙舞得轻俏；
诗人遇见这快乐的伙伴，
又怎能不感到欢欣雀跃！
我久久凝视——却未能领悟，
这景象所带给我的精神至宝。
后来多少次我郁郁独卧，
感到百无聊赖心灵空漠；
这景象便在脑海中闪现，
多少次安慰过我的寂寞；
我的心又随水仙跳起舞来，
重新充满了欢乐。
Language Focus
1.wander'd:wandered徘徊，流浪
2.stretch'd:stretched伸展，延伸
3.jocund［'dʒɔkənd］adj.快乐的，高兴的
4.pensive［'pensiv］adj.沉思的，哀思的，忧沉的
5.oft［ɒft］adv.常常；经常；时常
Related Background Information
诗人简介
华兹华斯（William Wordsworth，1770年—1850年），英国浪漫主义诗人。其诗歌理论动摇了英国古典主义诗学的统治，有力地推动了英国诗歌的革新和浪漫主义运动的发展。他是文艺复兴运动以来最重要的英语诗人之一，其诗句“朴素生活，高尚思考（plain living and high thinking）”被作为牛津大学基布尔学院的格言。
诗歌赏析
这首诗写于诗人从法国回来不久。诗人带着对自由的向往去了法国，参加一些革命活动。但法国革命没有带来预期的结果，随之而来的是混乱。诗人的失望和所受的打击是可想而知的，后来在他的朋友和妹妹的帮助下，情绪才得以艰难地恢复。这首诗就写于诗人心情平静之后不久。
在诗的开头，诗人将自己比喻为一朵孤独的流云，孤单地在高高的天空飘荡。孤傲的诗人发现一大片金色的水仙，它们欢快地遍地开放。在诗人的心中，水仙已经不是一种植物了，而是一种象征，代表了一种灵魂，代表了一种精神。
水仙很多，如天上的星星，都在闪烁。水仙似乎是动的，沿着弯屈的海岸线向前方伸展。诗人为有这样的旅伴而欢欣鼓舞、欢呼跳跃。在诗人的心中，水仙代表了自然的精华，是心灵的美妙表现。但是，欢快的水仙并不能时时伴在诗人的身边，诗人离开了水仙，心中不时冒出忧郁孤寂的情绪。这时诗人写出了自己的感受：那高傲、纯洁的灵魂在现实的世界只能郁郁寡欢。当然，诗人的脑海深处会不时浮现水仙那美妙的景象，这时的诗人又情绪振奋，欢欣鼓舞。
诗歌的基调是浪漫的，同时带着浓烈的象征主义色彩。
Reading 3
再别康桥
徐志摩
轻轻的我走了，
正如我轻轻的来；
我轻轻的招手，
作别西天的云彩。
那河畔的金柳，
是夕阳中的新娘；
波光里的艳影，
在我的心头荡漾。
软泥上的青荇，
油油的在水底招摇；
在康桥的柔波里，
我甘做一条水草！
那榆荫下的一潭，
不是清泉，是天上虹，
揉碎在浮藻间，
沉淀着彩虹似的梦。
寻梦？撑一支长蒿，
向青草更青处漫溯，
满载一船星辉，
在星辉斑斓里放歌。
但我不能放歌，
悄悄是别离的笙箫；
夏虫也为我沉默，
沉默是今晚的康桥！
悄悄的我走了，
正如我悄悄的来；
我挥一挥衣袖，
不带走一片云彩。
Saying Good-bye to Cambridge Again
By Xu Zhimo
Very quietly I take my leave
As quietly as I came here；
Quietly I wave good-bye
To the rosy clouds in the western sky.
The golden willows by the riverside
Are young brides in the setting sun；
Their reflections on the shimmering waves
Always linger in the depth of my heart.
The floating heart growing in the sludge
Sways leisurely under the water；
In the gentle waves of Cambridge
I would be a water plant！
That pool under the shade of elm trees
Holds not water but the rainbow from the sky；
Shattered to pieces among the duck weeds
Is the sediment of a rainbow-like dream.
To seek a dream？Just to pole a boat upstream
To where the green grass is more verdant；
Or to have the boat fully loaded with starlight
And sing aloud in the splendour of starlight.
But I cannot sing aloud
Quietness is my farewell music；
Even summer insects help silence for me
Silent is Cambridge tonight！
Very quietly I take my leave
As quietly as I came here；
Gently I flick my sleeves
Not even a wisp of cloud will I bring away.
Related Background Information
作者简介
徐志摩（1897年—1931年），现代诗人、散文家。原名章垿，字槱森，留学英国时改名志摩。徐志摩是新月派代表诗人，新月诗社成员。
1915年，毕业于杭州一中，先后就读于上海沪江大学、天津北洋大学和北京大学。1918年，赴美国克拉克大学学习银行学。十个月即告毕业，获学士学位，得一等荣誉奖。同年，转入纽约哥伦比亚大学的研究院经济系。1921年，赴英国留学，入剑桥大学当特别生，研究政治经济学。在剑桥深受西方教育的熏陶及欧美浪漫主义和唯美派诗人的影响，奠定其浪漫主义诗风。1923年，成立新月社。1924年，任北京大学教授。1926年，任光华大学、大夏大学和南京中央大学（1949年更名为南京大学）教授。1930年，辞去上海和南京的职务，应胡适之邀，再度任北京大学教授，兼北京女子师范大学教授。1931年11月19日，因飞机失事罹难。代表作品有《再别康桥》《翡冷翠的一夜》。
作品赏析
《再别康桥》是现代诗人徐志摩脍炙人口的诗篇，是新月派诗歌的代表作品。全诗以离别康桥时感情起伏为线索，抒发了对康桥依依惜别的深情。语言轻盈柔和，形式精巧圆熟，诗人用虚实相间的手法，描绘了一幅幅流动的画面，构成了一处处美妙的意境，细致入微地将诗人对康桥的爱恋，对往昔生活的憧憬，对眼前无可奈何的离愁，表现得真挚、浓郁、隽永，是徐志摩诗作中的绝唱。
康桥
康桥，今通译为剑桥，是英格兰的一个城市，靠近康河（剑河），是英国著名大学——剑桥大学所在地，也因此驰名于世。它是英国学术、文化中心，也是风景胜地。《再别康桥》中的“康桥”是指剑桥大学。剑桥大学是英国也是全世界最顶尖的大学之一。