适合高中生背诵的英语短文.doc

适合高中生背诵的英语短文
The Force of Habits
Habits, whether good or bad, are gradually formed. The more we do a thing, the more we tend to like doing it; and if we do not continue to do it, we feel uncomfortable. This is called the force of habits, and the force of habits should be fought against.
This applies even to such good things as work or rest. Some people form a bad habit of working too much, and others of idling too much. Bad habits, once formed, are difficult to get rid of.
The wise man always remembers to check any bad habit. He warns himself “I am now becoming idle” or “I like too many sweets” or “I smoke too much”. And then adds, “I will get myself out of this bad habit at once.”

The Way to Achieve Success
Many people say that they owe much of it to the cultivation of certain good habits in early life. In forming good habits, I think we should pay attention to four things, that is honesty, industry, enthusiasm and thrift.
“Honesty is the best policy.” This is a proverb to which we must pay attention. There are so many temptations in society that through a little carelessness we may go astray. But when we are honest, people will not be dishonest to us.
Industry gives every man and woman, every boy and girl, proper work to do. To do nothing is going to ruin oneself.
Enthusiasm is a great force. One’s soul will expand if one devotes oneself to a noble cause. The difficulties in our way are tremendous, but what can we not accomplish, if with enthusiasm?
There are many proverbs, which set forth the advantages of thrift. Since we live in the orld in which money is a very powerful thing, we should always try to save a portion of our earnings for future use.
These are the four things to which we must pay attention. It is only by this way that we can achieve success.

The Dictionary
The dictionary is a living teacher. Whenever you come across a new word, just consult it and you will get a clear definition. Every student, whether attending school or self-taught, should always have a dictionary at hand. As a study aid, it is convenient, inexpensive and almost omniscient (all-knowing).
Language skills will develop with your constant use of various dictionaries. The more you use them, the more familiar you will become with them. Sooner or later, you will be quite skilled in finding the page, scanning the entries and locating the exact meanings of the new words. But you should have one thing in mind. As a language student, you can never become too much attached to dictionaries; basic language skills do not come from dictionaries, but from your practice. Expose yourself to the language by listening, speaking, reading and writing more, and that is the only way to the mastery of a language.

On Learning
Learning is one’s own business, which cannot rely on others. As we know, learning is a process of accumulating knowledge. It is one’s life-long task, which cannot be accomplished in one move. A successful learner is an independent one who has both an indomitable (unyielding) will and amazing endurance. He will try to discover his own way of learning. Instead of waiting for the teacher’s help, he will make efforts to create favorable conditions on his own initiative. It will certainly be of great help, if there is good environment, sufficient books and equipment, as well as instructions from teacher and beneficial friends. But even if one has got all these favorable conditions, one cannot be sure to succeed in learning.
So the most important factor in learning consists in one’s own effort. To learn is rather a painstaking and persevering business. Many a man is a failure because he cannot bear such indispensable hardships. Unremitting (never stopping) efforts can compensate for the lack of talents and thus enable one to get considerable progress in learning.

Is Failure a Bad Thing?
Failure is a common occurrence (happening) in our daily life. Whatever we do, there are always two possible results: success or failure. Although everyone wants to succeed in what he tries, sometimes failure can’t be avoided.
Different people hold different attitudes towards failure. When faced with it, some can stand up to it, draw a useful lesson from it and try their best to fulfill what they are determined to do. Others, however, lose heart and give in. They do nothing but complain about themselves and objective conditions.
As a popular saying goes, “Failure teaches success.” In my opinion, what really counts is not the failure itself, but the proper attitude we should take after it. I trust that as long as we keep to what is right and correct what is wrong, that is to say, learn a lesson from failure, we will be certain to succeed. So I am of the opinion that failure is not a bad thing.

On Today’s Education
I think one of the main problems with today’s education is that too much emphasis is placed on test score. It has become the most important criterion (standard) for college enrollment. A student, however creative and intelligent, will not be admitted into a college for his total scores are just one point less than required. It is also on of the crucial (decisive) factors either in job assignment or in employment competitions.
The competition for high scores among students becomes intense. Students find themselves concentrating more on strategies to achieve high scores than on acquiring the knowledge. They will play truant (stay away from) of some subsidiary (less important) courses and skip over the substance, which will not be tested on.
Teachers are apt to give their students high scores. As their job is judged mainly by the students’ performance in terms of scores, some teachers tend to set easy papers to test their students on or narrow down the scope of the exam, even give them the hints to exams, or favor their students with higher scores.
As a result, the competition for high scores becomes so intense that it actually affects our education results.
Knowledge and Power
Knowledge and power are the two things most desired by man. There is close connection between these two things. The man, having done his best in acquiring knowledge, will easily get a high position and perform it successfully.
Power depends on knowledge. Knowledge to power is just like a compass to a ship, by which her sailing is made safely across an unknown ocean. A great statesman or a learned scholar can render (give) his good services to his country just because he has perfect and profound knowledge.
Power only follows knowledge. A man cannot do anything well unless he has some information as how to do it well. A man will sometimes lose his way in a strange land; an apprentice cannot produce any delicate work. Why are these so? Because they are in want of knowledge. If the apprentice wishes to produce good work, he must pay attention to his instructor’s advice.
We are all the future masters of our country. Our country needs our services. How can we fulfill our future tasks? To get more knowledge is the only answer.

Life Is Struggle
Everything in the world is in constant struggle. Struggle is in a sense of the competition in natural selection among organisms.
Animals and plants struggle for their existence. Nature provides them with weapons for that struggle. Lions have claws; fish have scales; roses have thorns. They use these weapons for the unavoidable war of existence. Nature also orders us to struggle; when we obey the nature, we win our existence.
The result of struggle is the evolution of a better society. In order to surpass the others, one has to devote himself to what he does. If every individual does so, the society will make progress.
Struggle is inevitable. But we should struggle with sportsmanship, not to stand in the way of others in order to achieve our own success. It is only by struggling in such a way, mankind will see a world getting more glorious day by day.

Success
Success is a lousy (very bad) teacher. It seduces (tempt) smart people into thinking they can’t lose. And it’s an unreliable guide to the future. What seems the perfect business plan or latest technology today may soon be out-of-date.
Usually winning lottery (彩票) is thought to be one’s luck. Many people like to try their luck.
One of the lottery’s new millionaires gave an interview on television. When he was asked by the reporter how he had picked his winning numbers, he said that while “two of the six numbers he just pulled for no particular reason.” As for the other four numbers, he used family birth dates. “ So, you see,” he boasted（自夸）, “Winning the lottery is not all just luck.”
Time Is Money
“Time is money.” This saying means that time is very valuable.
But time is more valuable than money. The money we have lost can be gained again, but the time we have wasted cannot be regained. Moreover, sometimes persons can exist without money, but nothing can be done without time, just as no one can live without air.
Despite being so valuable, time is often neglected by men. Since time is an invisible thing, men often waste their time unconsciously（无意地）. Without anything to do, they may gossip from morning till night.
Man can live only at most to about 100 years. It seems fairly long, but in fact it is rather short. We often say “How quickly time flies!” How many things can a man accomplish in such a short period? Hence we should use the valuable time properly to do our work. We will race with it. We will study and work hard. Never waste a little bit of it.

Try to Be a Good Student
Perhaps it is the dream of everyone to be a good student at school, but quite a few students feel at a loss on how to make it. In my opinion it is rather easy if you can act on the following points.
First of all, make full use of your time and work hard. Don’t put off till tomorrow what should be done today, as time past will never come back. The fast developing society requires adequate knowledge, which presses us to spare no efforts to study. Of course, your hard work will be rewarded one day.
Secondly, use your own head and present your point of view. Credulous（轻信的）attitude will only make you take anything for granted. With your own judgment you will be able to tell right from wrong and set up your own theory.
Thirdly, set aside enough time for relaxation, entertainment, etc. don’t ignore the harm of all work and no play. Proper sports will build up your body and improve the efficiency of your studying.
To be a good student is easier said than done, for it needs a student’s consistent efforts. But nothing is difficult to a man if he puts his heart into it.

We Have Only One World
When industries grow, pollution also grows. Today the problem of environment has become more and more important. The world population is rising so quickly that the world has become too crowded. We are using up our natural resources too quickly and at the same time we are polluting our environment with dangerous chemicals. If we don’t take action immediately, then we will destroy our only world.
Man has made great progress in environment protection. Government of many countries has established laws to protect the forest and sea resource and to stop the environmental pollution.
Still more measures should be taken to solve the problem. First, we should start by educating the public about the hazards of pollution. The government on its part should also design stricter laws. This is not only for our own generation but also for the future generation to come. It is necessary to protect our nature environment. We must begin now to protect our only world.
Make The Best Use of Our Land
It is the land that has been providing us with everything we need for centuries. In other words, almost everything we use daily comes from the land directly or indirectly. The food, clothes, houses, even the books and furniture are all supplied by the land. But the limited land is decreasing at a surprising speed. With the expanding of the cities, the development of the industry and over population, lots of large pieces of good farmland are being turned into residential areas with many houses and apartment buildings, or industrial areas, or warehouses.
Therefore some measures must be taken to stop the abusing of our farmland. On the other hand, we should let everyone realize the danger of being short of land. And also we should educate them how to make better use of our land.

Sports and Games
Sports and games do a lot of good to our health. They can make us strong, prevent us from getting too fat, and keep healthy and fit. Especially they can be of great value to people who work with their brains most of the day, for sports and games give people valuable practice in exercising the body.
What’s more, they make our life richer and more colourful. If we do not have a strong body, we will find it hard to do whatever we want. So persons of all ages enjoy watching and taking part in various kinds of sports-track and fields, swimming, skating, football, volleyball and basketball, etc.
Sports and games are also very useful in character training. They demand not only physical skills and strength but also courage, endurance, discipline and usually teamwork. For boys and girls, what is learned in the playground often has a deep effect on their character. If each of them learns to work for his team and not for himself on the football field, he will later find it natural to work for the good of his country instead of only for his own benefit.
A healthy citizen makes a strong country. Let’s all take part in sports and games.

Where do you like to live, in the city or in the country?
Most cities are centers of economy, trade, transportation or culture. With the development of economy and society, more and more people have flooded into the cities, which makes the scale of the cities larger and larger. Surely, it is very convenient for shopping, education, business and so on. But it also has many disadvantages: the large population makes it crowded in each corner of the city; the big factories, too many cars, buses and trucks pollute the clean air; too much noise can make people mad. To live in the city, one even can’t get enough room for living.
To live in the country is another thing. You can breathe the fresh air cheerfully, own a spacious house with a big backyard, and relax yourself in quietness. But when you want to go shopping, or take your child to school, perhaps you will complain about its inconvenient transportation, its remoteness…I am an ordinary person. I am always longing for the peaceful idyllic（田园诗般的） life of the countryside.

The World is Getting Smaller and Smaller
In ancient times, people’s only transportation means were their feet. So it was rather difficult for them to travel from one pl