My Graduation Speech a【DOC精选】.doc

Unit 4 lesson 8 My Graduation Speech By Neil Postman The ability to express yourself clearly and effectively in a few words is a mark of true mastery over language. The burden or brevity has pressured the speaker to hone their messages to the sharpest edge, to communicate and inspire within the narrow period of time before the attention of their audience wanes. The way in which the speaker can express such an inspirational, heartfelt message in so few words is a lesson to us all. 1. Background information ………………………………… 1 2. Language points ………………………………… 3 3. Text and translation ………………………………… 10 1. Background information 1. Neil Postman Neil postman is the chair of the Department of Culture and Communications and professor of media ecology at New York University. He is a critic of online education. 2. Democritus (460 --- 370BC) Democritus was a Greek philosopher who developed the atomic theory of the universe, which had been originated by his mentor, the philosopher Leucippus. 3. The Visigoths The Visigoths (or western Goths) were ancient Germanic peoples who invaded the Rome Empire. Beginning in the 4th century AD, they settled in areas of what are now Spain, Portugal, and France. 4. The Roman Empire When the ancient Greeks were reaching the height of their glory, the power of Rome, to the west, was slowly rising. The genius of the Greeks lay in art, literature, science, and philosophy. The Romans were best in warfare, engineering, and government. During the later republic and most of the empire, Rome was the dominant power in the entire Mediterranean basin, most of western Europe, and large areas of northern Africa. The Romans possessed a powerful army and were gifted in the applied arts of law, government, city planning, and statecraft, but they also acknowledged and adopted contributions of other ancient peoples—most notably, those of the Greeks, much of whose culture was thereby preserved. The Romans called the Mediterranean Mare Nostrum--“our