Step by Step2000 Unit 7 Approaching Culture

Unit 7 Approaching Culture

Part II Museums in the modern world

Museums have changed. They are no longer places for the privileged¹ few or for bored vacationers to visit on rainy days.

At a science museum in Ontario, Canada, you can feel your hair stand on end as harmless² electricity passes through your body. At the Metropolitan³ Museum of Art in New York City, you can look at 17th century instruments while listening to their music. At the Modern Museum in Sweden, you can put on costumes provided⁴ by the Stockholm Opera. At New York’s American Museum of Natural History recently, you could have helped make a bone-by-bone reproduction of the museum’s stegosaurus, a beast that lived 200 million years ago.

As these examples show, museums are reaching out to new audiences, particularly the young, the poor, and the less educated members of the population. As a result, attendance⁵ is increasing.

Many museums have changed in appearance. Some of the old, gray museums have been rebuilt, and the newer ones are open and modern in their architecture. Inside, there is modern lighting⁶, color, and sound. Instead of displaying everything they own, museum directors show fewer objects and leave open spaces where visitors can gather and sit down. They also bring together in one display a group of objects drawn⁷ from various parts of the museum in an effort to represent the whole lifestyle of a region⁸ or a historical period. In one room, for instance⁹, you may find materials, clothing, tools, cooking pots, furniture, and art works¹⁰ of a particular place and time.

More and more museum directors are realizing that people learn best when they can somehow become part of what they are seeing. In many science museums, for example, there are no guided tours, they visitor is encouraged to touch, listen, operate, and experiment so as to discover scientific principles for himself. He can have the experience of operating a spaceship or a computer. He can experiment with glass blowing and papermaking. The purpose is not only to provide fun but also to help people feel at home in the world of science. The theory is that people who do not understand science will probably fear it, and those who fear science will not use it to best advantage.

Many museums now provide educational services and children’s departments. In addition to the usual displays, they also offer film showings and dance programs. Instead of being places that one “should” visit, they are places to enjoy.

Part III Kwanzaa

On the day after Christmas in 1966, a small group of Americans in the western city of Los Angeles began a seven-day celebration. The celebration was not religious. Its purpose was to honor¹¹ black culture, especially the importance of the family. The celebration is Kwanzaa.

The word Kwanzaa is Swahili. It means “first fruits of the harvest.” Today, millions of African Americans celebrate Kwanzaa during the month of December. Families in Canada, Britain, France and Africa also celebrate it. The main celebration is held for seven days after Christmas from December 26 through January 1. Kwanzaa, however, does not replace Christmas. Most people who celebrate Kwanzaa also celebrate Christmas. Kwanzaa is a time for black families to discusses seven goals to live by all year. The seven goals are unity¹², personal independence, joint¹³ responsibility, cooperative¹⁴ economics¹⁵, purpose, creativity and faith. On each of the seven days of Kwanzaa, family members gather to light a black, red or green candle in a special candleholder. Each day, the family discusses one of the goals. People may also get together for a party and enjoy a holiday meal. They may play some African music.

Maulana Karenga is a college professor who developed Kwanzaa. He says Kwanzaa’s goal of unity includes unity in the family, in the local community, in the nation and in the African community throughout the world. He also says that celebrating Kwanzaa will not cure the social problems of blacks. But he says that honoring¹⁶ the goals of Kwanzaa will make people more creative and productive¹⁷ citizens.
 

1 privileged   

adj.享有特权的；特许的，专用的；秘密的，保密的；幸运的

参考例句：

• Those in authority were in a privileged position. 有地位者自有特权。
• a privileged Wasp background 享有特权的盎格鲁&dash1;撒克逊裔白人新教徒出身

2 harmless   

adj.无害的，无恶意的

参考例句：

• This experiment was harmless to the animals.这个试验不会对动物造成伤害。
• He was a harmless sort.他是一个不怀恶意的人。

3 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

4 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

5 attendance   

n.出席，出席人数，护理，照料

参考例句：

• The attendance of this class never dropped off.这个班的出席人数从未下降。
• The young man danced attendance on his rich aunt.这个年轻人小心侍候他有钱的姑妈。

6 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

8 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

9 instance   

n.例，例证，实例

参考例句：

• Can you quote me a recent instance?你能给我举一个最近的例子吗？
• He's a greedy boy,yesterday,for instance,he ate all our biscuits!他是个贪吃的孩子――比如，他昨天把我们的饼干都吃了！

10 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

11 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

12 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

13 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

14 cooperative   

adj.有合作意向的，合作的；n.合作社（企业）等

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• We decided to set up a cooperative.我们决定开办一家合作社。

15 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

16 honoring   

v.尊敬，给以荣誉( honor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They sat in silence, honoring the clan Jordache for a moment. 他们默默地坐了一会儿，对乔达虚家族表示了一番敬意。 来自辞典例句
• Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check. 美国没有履行这项神圣的义务，只是给黑人开了一张空头支票。 来自辞典例句

17 productive   

adj.能生产的，有生产价值的，多产的

参考例句：

• We had a productive meeting that solved some problems.我们开了一个富有成效的会议，解决了一些问题。
• Science and technology are part of the productive forces.科学技术是生产力。