Despite Denmark’’s manifest virtues, Danes never talk about how proud they are to be Danes. This would sound weird in Danish. When Danes talk to foreigners about Denmark, they always begin by commenting on its tininess, its unimportance, the difficulty of its language, the general small-mindedness and self-indulgence of their countrymen and the high taxes. No Dane would look you in the eye and say "Denmark is a great country." You’’re supposed to figure this out for yourself. It is the land of the silk safety net, where almost half the national budget goes toward smoothing out life’’s inequalities, and there is plenty of money for schools, day care, retraining programs, job seminars -- Danes love seminars: three days at a study center hearing about waste management is almost as good as a ski trip. It is a culture bombarded by English, in advertising, pop music, the Internet, and despite all the English that Danish absorbs -- there is no Danish Academy to defend against it -- old dialects persist in Jutland that can barely be understood by Copenhageners. It is the land where, as the saying goes, "Few have too much and fewer have too little," and a foreigner is struck by the sweet egalitarianism that prevails, where the lowliest clerk gives you a level gaze, where Sir and Madame have disappeared from common usage, even Mr. and Mrs.. It’’s a nation of recyclers -- about 55% of Danish garbage gets made into something new -- and no nuclear power plants. It’’s a nation of tireless planners. Trains run on time. Things operate well in general. Such a nation of overachievers -- a brochure from the Ministry of Business and Industry says, "Denmark is one of the world’’s cleanest and most organized countries, with virtually no pollution, crime, or poverty. Denmark is the most corruption-free society in the Northern Hemisphere." So, of course, one’’s heart lifts at any sighting of Danish sleaze: skinhead graffiti on buildings ("Foreigners Out of Denmark!"), broken beer bottles in the gutters, drunken teenagers slumped in the park. Nonetheless, it is an orderly land. You drive through a Danish town, it comes to an end at a stone wall, and on the other side is a field of barley, a nice clean line: town here, country there. It is not a nation of jaywalkers. People stand on the curb and wait for the red light to change, even if it’’s 2 a.m. and there’’s not a car in sight. However, Danes don’’t think of themselves as a waiting-at-2-a.m.-for-the-green-light people -- that’’s how they see Swedes and Germans. Danes see themselves as jazzy people, improvisers, more free spirited than Swedes, but the truth is (though one should not say it) that Danes are very much like Germans and Swedes. Orderliness is a main selling point. Denmark has few natural resources, limited manufacturing capability; its future in Europe will be as a broker, banker, and distributor of goods. You send your goods by container ship to Copenhagen, and these bright, young, English-speaking, utterly honest, highly disciplined people will get your goods around to Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and Russia. Airports, seaports, highways, and rail lines are ultramodern and well-maintained. The orderliness of the society doesn’’t mean that Danish lives are less messy or lonely than yours or mine, and no Dane would tell you so. You can hear plenty about bitter family feuds and the sorrows of alcoholism and about perfectly sensible people who went off one day and killed themselves. An orderly society cannot exempt its members from the hazards of life. But there is a sense of entitlement and security that Danes grow up with. Certain things are yours by virtue of citizenship, and you shouldn’’t feel bad for taking what you’’re entitled to, you’’re as good as anyone else. The rules of the welfare system are clear to everyone, the benefits you get if you lose your job, the steps you take to get a new one; and the orderliness of the system makes it possible for the country to weather high unemployment and social unrest without a sense of crisis. The author’’s reaction to the statement by the Ministry of Business and Industry is
A. disapproving.
B. approving.
C. noncommittal.
D. doubtful.
What Can We Learn from ArtI . Introduction A. Differences between general history and art history —Focus: -general history: (1)__________ -art history: political values, emotions, everyday life, etc. B. Significance of study More information and better understanding of human society and civilizationII. Types of information A. Information in history books is (2)__________ —facts, but no opinions B. Information in art history is subjective —(3)__________and opinions e. g. —Spanish painter’’s works; misuse of governmental power —Mexican artists’’ works: attitudes towards social problemsIII. Art as a reflection of religious beliefs A. Europe: (4)__________in pictures in churches B. Middle East: pictures of flowers and patterns in mosques, palaces Reason: human and (5)__________are not seen as holy C. Africa and the Pacific Islands; masks, headdresses and costumes in special ceremonies Purpose; to seek the help of (6)__________to protect crops, animals and people.IV. Perceptions of Art How people see art is related to their cultural background. A. Europeans and Americans —(7)__________ —expression of ideas B. People in other places —part of everyday life —(8)__________useV. Art as a reflection of social changes A. Cause of changes; (9)__________of different cultures. B. Changes —tribal people: effects of (10)__________on art forms —European artists: influence of African traditional art in their works —American and Canadian artists: study of Japanese painting
乔羽的歌大家都熟悉。但他另外两大爱好却鲜为人知,那就是钓鱼和喝酒。 晚年的乔羽喜爱垂钓,他说:“有水有鱼的地方大都是有好环境的,好环境便会给人好心情。我认为最好的钓鱼场所不是舒适的、给你准备好饿鱼的垂钓园,而是那极其有吸引力的大自然野外天成的场所。”钓鱼是一项能够陶冶性情的运动,有益于身心健康。乔羽说:“钓鱼可分三个阶段:第一阶段是吃鱼;第二阶段是吃鱼和情趣兼而有之;第三阶段主要是钓趣,面对一池碧水,将忧心烦恼全都抛到一边,使自己的身心得到充分休息。”
Despite Denmark’’s manifest virtues, Danes never talk about how proud they are to be Danes. This would sound weird in Danish. When Danes talk to foreigners about Denmark, they always begin by commenting on its tininess, its unimportance, the difficulty of its language, the general small-mindedness and self-indulgence of their countrymen and the high taxes. No Dane would look you in the eye and say "Denmark is a great country." You’’re supposed to figure this out for yourself. It is the land of the silk safety net, where almost half the national budget goes toward smoothing out life’’s inequalities, and there is plenty of money for schools, day care, retraining programs, job seminars -- Danes love seminars: three days at a study center hearing about waste management is almost as good as a ski trip. It is a culture bombarded by English, in advertising, pop music, the Internet, and despite all the English that Danish absorbs -- there is no Danish Academy to defend against it -- old dialects persist in Jutland that can barely be understood by Copenhageners. It is the land where, as the saying goes, "Few have too much and fewer have too little," and a foreigner is struck by the sweet egalitarianism that prevails, where the lowliest clerk gives you a level gaze, where Sir and Madame have disappeared from common usage, even Mr. and Mrs.. It’’s a nation of recyclers -- about 55% of Danish garbage gets made into something new -- and no nuclear power plants. It’’s a nation of tireless planners. Trains run on time. Things operate well in general. Such a nation of overachievers -- a brochure from the Ministry of Business and Industry says, "Denmark is one of the world’’s cleanest and most organized countries, with virtually no pollution, crime, or poverty. Denmark is the most corruption-free society in the Northern Hemisphere." So, of course, one’’s heart lifts at any sighting of Danish sleaze: skinhead graffiti on buildings ("Foreigners Out of Denmark!"), broken beer bottles in the gutters, drunken teenagers slumped in the park. Nonetheless, it is an orderly land. You drive through a Danish town, it comes to an end at a stone wall, and on the other side is a field of barley, a nice clean line: town here, country there. It is not a nation of jaywalkers. People stand on the curb and wait for the red light to change, even if it’’s 2 a.m. and there’’s not a car in sight. However, Danes don’’t think of themselves as a waiting-at-2-a.m.-for-the-green-light people -- that’’s how they see Swedes and Germans. Danes see themselves as jazzy people, improvisers, more free spirited than Swedes, but the truth is (though one should not say it) that Danes are very much like Germans and Swedes. Orderliness is a main selling point. Denmark has few natural resources, limited manufacturing capability; its future in Europe will be as a broker, banker, and distributor of goods. You send your goods by container ship to Copenhagen, and these bright, young, English-speaking, utterly honest, highly disciplined people will get your goods around to Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and Russia. Airports, seaports, highways, and rail lines are ultramodern and well-maintained. The orderliness of the society doesn’’t mean that Danish lives are less messy or lonely than yours or mine, and no Dane would tell you so. You can hear plenty about bitter family feuds and the sorrows of alcoholism and about perfectly sensible people who went off one day and killed themselves. An orderly society cannot exempt its members from the hazards of life. But there is a sense of entitlement and security that Danes grow up with. Certain things are yours by virtue of citizenship, and you shouldn’’t feel bad for taking what you’’re entitled to, you’’re as good as anyone else. The rules of the welfare system are clear to everyone, the benefits you get if you lose your job, the steps you take to get a new one; and the orderliness of the system makes it possible for the country to weather high unemployment and social unrest without a sense of crisis. According to the passage, Danish orderliness
A. sets the people apart from Germans and Swedes.
B. spares Danes social troubles besetting other peoples.
C. is considered economically essential to the country.
D. prevents Danes from acknowledging existing troubles.