英语四级美文：The Wind

We notice the wind when it seems cruel,when the trees turn away from it,and it cuts into our hearts.“Certain winds will make men’s temper bad,” said George Eliot.In Israel, there is one kind of wind that brings irritability,headaches, sickness and respiratory difficulties.In Germany, a warm, dry wind is said to blow heartaches down from the Alps.In Southern California,the Santa Ana is associated with an increase in depression and domestic violence.Scientists have tried without success to identify physiological reasons for these reactions.Everyone agrees, however, that dry winds like the Santa Ana,the cold northerly wind in France and the wind in Germany and Switzerland seem to have negative effects on our mental and physical well-being.

On windy days, playground fights,suicides and heart failures are more frequent.In Geneva, traffic accidents increase when a wind called the bise blows.At the request of patients,some Swiss and German hospitals postpone surgery when the wind blows off the northern slopes of the Alps.It is human to ask what is behind the wind.It is easy to personify the wind as the breath of God.The act of taking wind into our lungs is what gives us life.The Jews, Arabs, Romans and Greeks all took their word for spirit from the word for wind.Eskimo women once chased the wind from their house with clubs,while the men shot it with rifles to kill the evil spirit they believed rode its gusts.But our day-to-day lives are no longer blown on the winds.

We do not identify wind with spirit any more.That is good for commerce,but it exacts a cost to the human eye and heart.The wind blows us simple pleasures.There are winds lapping at shores,bathing us in scents of coconut and spice,beckoning us further.

　　英语四级美文：Types of University Students

University students are different.They come from different parts of the country,speak various dialects,and follow their distinctive regional customs.However, a closer look at their purposes of learning at university will enable us to classify them roughly into three groups:those who learn out of instinct,those who learn for a promising future,and those who learn with no definite purposes.Firstly, there are a handful of students who learn without fatigue simply because they like to learn.They read a great deal of British and American novels because they are keenly interested in literature.

Others sit in front of the computer screen,working on one new program after another all day and all night because they have discovered beauty in complicated signal patterns,and dream of becoming “Bill Gates” one day.Secondly, there are job-oriented who work hard for a better career.It is arguable that the majority of university students fall into this category.After enrolling in the hottest specialty of the moment,they throw themselves into books, whether they like them or not,so as to absorb the most knowledge and to obtain all the available certificates,which may serve as a competitive edge in the cut-throat human resources market in four years’ time.

Thirdly, there is a small fraction of students who learn without an aim.They take courses, finish assignments, enjoy life on campus,but lead a directionless life.They do not know what they are doing,nor what they are willing to do,nor what they will be doing after college.They are a group of “sleepers”.Students from all parts of the country gather in the same university.After four years, they part to continue their various lives.However, it is almost certain that those who learn out of instinct will be happy,those who learn with a determination will be professionally successful at least,and those who learn without an aim will end up with nothing.

英语四级美文：Christmas Carols

Usually at this time of the year,Christmas carols can be heard all over New York.They will waft from any street and lane,even from the dirtiest station of the dirtiest route, Route 7.Many people have to change trains there.When dusk falls, the commuters have to line up to move upstairs.The train is to clime up and onto the overpass and drive its way through this dirty and messy block.Peering downwards and into the windows of some extremely dilapidated building,passengers may sometimes see some mysterious-looking orientals dressed in Japanese-style dark suits practicing karate.

Looking further downwards,they may see an elderly black woman wearing a dirty flowery skirt,and holding a big plastic bag.Breathing with much difficulty, she is tottering along.If one happens to be in a dreamy and imaginative mood,he might think he has blundered into Hollywood and happens to be watching the making of a crime film.This is America too!.At the sight, some “rags to riches” dreamers might burst into tears.The other day, Christmas fast approaching,I was changing trains here.It was cold and wet. People inched forward,intending to change to Route 7.

Then I heard the voice of a child,who was singing “Silent Night” to the accompaniment of a small accordion.They were standing at the foot of the stairs, an elderly man and a little boy.Holding a little red tin can in one hand,the boy was ringing an iron bell with the other.His little face that appeared above his black overcoat was flushed in the cold air.Some passengers produced coins and dropped them with a tinkle into the can.In the bone-chilling dusk,the bell kept ringing,and the child singing, loud and clear.