大学英语快速阅读教程(第一册第一单元).doc

Book One Unit One Passage One Directions: You will have 10 minutes to read this passage quickly and answer the following questions from A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice. Chinese Alcohol An important part of Chinese culture, the use of alcohol can be traced back to the dawn of the nation’s history. Over the centuries many different kinds of alcoholic drinks have been developed and brewing (酿造) methods as well as distillation (蒸馏) has become more sophisticated. At the same time the way of enjoying these desirable products has become a vital part of custom and culture. Alcoholic beverages have inspired many writers resulting in thousands of poems and other works relating to “the magic elixir” (长生不老药). People drink it when they are joyous and for fun. No formal dinner would be complete without it, while a toast can seal a business enterprise, send troops into battle with a prayer for victory as well as express a wish for the health and happiness of family and friends. One of the classic examples of the ceremonial use of alcohol is described in the famous story Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The three heroes in the tale, become blood brothers by drinking bowls of wine into which they have mixed drops of their own blood from cuts in their fingers. This act may seem extreme but was a symbol of faithfulness in those days. The symbolic serving and drinking of wine on various occasions and in different places can convey many meanings. It can express either joy or sorrow. In China, there is a saying that “a thousand cups of wine is not too much when bosom friends meet together”, which indicates the happiness between two close friends; whereas a poem by Li Bai, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), says, “releasing melancholy by wine, but adding more,” suggested a touch of sadness. There are frequent references to wine in well-known legends, as for example?“to taste the sweet osmanthus (木犀属植物) wine on the moon, produced by the beautiful fairy