新时代核心英语教程综合英语4教师用书U6.pdfVIP

Unit 6 Hindsight of History I. Unit Overview Text A discusses some general issues of historical writing. The first and foremost issue is to have a question, so historians are like journalists and questioners. Next, the writing of history imposes very strict requirements on historians and any writer alike. Clarity, logic and fairness are some of the basic requirements. More importantly, historical writing requires both thinking about past experiences in the historical context and the historian’s own perceptions. Based on evidence, historians work like detectives to solve puzzles and intend to write out credible and true stories. Finally, it is pointed out that, whatever the form of historical writing might be in college, college students should apply the same methods and principles as the professional historians do. Text B targets at the specific story of California Gold Rush and conducts a detailed and convincing analysis of how and why it was exaggerated and changed into a rumor. In terms of domestic politics of the United States, the circulation of the Gold Rush rumor was a result of the fact that President James K. Polk needed to stress the importance of California annexed from Mexico. Outside the United States, the political and economic crisis in Europe, especially Britain, Germany, France and Ireland, led to large numbers of emigrants setting out for America and joining the Gold Rush. Finally, the aftermath reveals that most prospectors’ dream of striking it rich was ruined. Both Text A and Text B discuss historical writing from the perspectives of, respectively, theory and practice. Historical writing in some sense offers a kind of “hindsight.” Just like Text A stresses, historical writing should work out the connections of historical events in a chronological order and accordingly offer the “