当代大学英语
2002-8
外语教学与研究出版社
曹文主编
310
I consider myself very lucky and privileged to be given the opportunity to read the manuscripts of Active English Learners Workbook series for Band 3 before they are out for general public. At the series editors cordial request， I venture to make the following observations. As the title of the series betrays its substance， the series are workbooks， viz. books for learners to work on. Books of such kind cannot be more timely！ The more work you do with English and in English， the more English you learn！ This means time and energy. Some may be put off by this fact， for time and energy are exactly what they are always running out of supply. "We have so many other things to do， " they will say. "Theres little time and energy left for English. Tell us the quickest way！ " Nowadays there seems to be a general rush for English， and at the same time an anxious rush for a short-cut route to mastering English. Unfortunately， to the best of my knowledge， there is no such thing as a short-cut way to English. There are only better or poorer ways of learning it. The best way to learn is to use it， to work on it. Some of our teachers may also be put off by the Workbook series， for a totally different reason.They find that if students possess too much information， particularly feedback on exercises， they will have nothing left to offer in class， thus de-authorising their status as a knowledgeable teacher. I have been a teacher for 21 years now. I dont find the students possession of sufficient information disadvantageous to me. If my students can learn more things without my help， Icannot be happier. If they can study Active English textbooks all by themselves，this will save a lot of class time， which I can use to organise more productive activities such as group work， pairwork， panel discussion， inter-group debating， and so on. Furthermore， teacher-led learning tends to foster teacher-dependency， which is far from being desirable. Perhaps it is the greatest reward to a teacher whose students are taught to overtake him/her. The Workbook series will make a positive contribution to the promotion of autonomous learning. As the class size nowadays is getting increasingly large， so large that it is almost impossible for students to get individual attention from the teacher， autonomous learning can no long be dealt with in a lip-service way. Teachers and administrators have to take resolute measures to implement it in order to secure the educational quality which would otherwise deteriorate as a result. The series have some built-in features that are specifically designed for the purpose. I feel confident that both students and teachers will find the series helpful and worth having.
I consider myself very lucky and privileged to be given the opportunity to read the manuscripts of Active English Learners Workbook series for Band 3 before they are out for general public. At the series editors cordial request， I venture to make the following observations.
Unit 1 How do you do！Unit 2 Introducing a speakerUnit 3 Giving a speechUnit 4 A trip down the riverUnit 5 The motion picture industryUnit 6 Help！My computer’S down！Unit 7 Coming for a mealUnit 8 Breaking the iceUnit 9 Welcome to the USUnit 10 Talking about energyUnit 11 Money makes the world go aroundUnit 12 The world of work
lucky ones was a sailor called Billy Barker. Just when most of the other prospectors were sayingthat most of the gold had been found， and were thinking of leaving， he struck a giant seam ofgold. The town of Barkerville that grew up was named in his honor.A few years later， in 1896， an even bigger gold rush occurred when gold was discovered on theAlaska-Yukon border. The Yukon River flows through some of the remotest parts of NorthwestCanada. Until gold was discovered there， few people had ever heard of it; only around 300people——hunters， and Indians —— lived there. The area was so remote that it could take sixteenweeks or more to reach it; yet tens of thousands of men —— and women —— climbed through themountain passes to get there. The authorities insisted that everyone entering the Yukon should have a years supply of food and equipment， and the Northwest Mounted Police made sure that this law was obeyed. The lawmeant that some people had to make the same journey up to forty times in order to build upenough supplies. Many died on the way. One mountain pass was called Dead Horse Trail —— but people as well as horses died there. Many froze to death in the extreme cold; some fell into the river and were drowned; sixty-three people were killed in one day when part of the mountain came crashing down into the river. But people were still intent on seeking their fortunes. Within a year of the discovery of gold on the Klondike， huge numbers of gold seekers hadgathered at a small group of huts near the river， named Dawson City. Most did not stay long —— living conditions were very difficult， and until the police arrived， many criminals were active in the area， robbing miners of the gold that they had found. At the height of the gold rush in1898， 30， O00 people lived in the Yukon —— 16， 000 of them in Dawson City. By 1910， only a thousand lived there. Today， there are about 900 people living there. How much gold was found？ The amount of gold that was found is quite remarkable. In 1896， $300， 000 worth of gold was produced; in the following year， $2. 5 million worth was mined; in 1898， $10 million was extracted. In 1900， the amount of gold reached its height： $22， 275， 000 worth of gold was taken from the Yukon. But by this time， big companies had moved in with machines， and few individual gold prospectors continued to work. Today， the price of gold has fallen， and all the big mining companies have left; a few one- or two-man ousts still pan for gold; but the Yukon has been turned into a tourist destination. As a holiday-maker， you can do a tour to Dawson City which includes an opportunity to pan for gold： you get to keep all the gold you can find. But if you want to get rich quick in the Yukon， your best chance is by going to gamble in Canadas first legal casino in Dawson City. However， most tourists these days go to the Yukon to have a glimpse of the history of this extraordinary time —— and to view the very beautiful wonders of nature.
《当代大学英语》（Active English）是北京外国语大学外语教学与研究出版社与世界最大的跨国教育出版公司培生教育出版集团（Pearson Education）根据我国1999年颁布的《大学英语教学大纲》（修订本）联合推出的新型大学英语系列教材。“学生学习课本”系列在主教材主编、北京外国语大学校长助理、博士生导师顾日国教授指导下，按照主教材两个模块6个级别（基础共核模块：Common Core ModUle，1-4级；高级实用模块：Adva riced ModUle，5-6级）设计。 基础共核模块简介 《综合英语》（Comprehensive English）：以阅读真实英语文本为基础．同时进行英语综合技能的训练，其中包括学习技巧的传授与培养。4个级别构建了一个完整的文化知识结构网络，把语言教学、文化教学与基本素质教育有机地结合起来。 《听说交互英语》（Interactive English）：突破听说课程的传统的设计模式。4个级别囊括了英语交际的主要功能，突出培养学生在交际互动方面的能力，同时配有听、说、读、写技巧之间的循环操练。 《强化阅读英语》（Enrichment Reading）：以《综合英语》的文化知识结构网络为主线，为学习者提供大量的阅读真实英语文本和带着问题进行思考的机会，有利于培养学习者自主自发学习的能力。 学生学习课本特点 ·开放式教材设计与开发理念贯穿各个环节 ——注重听说能力的培养：方法上突出交际法，强调5项技能综合训练和互为补充循环操练。 ——基于任务的编写原则：每个任务包括导学、课文、练习、反馈4个部分。教师以第一人称个性化的形象与学生进行交流，将教与学融会贯通。 ——重视学习过程的自我组织与监控：除设计了不同的学习模式与学习时间表之外，单元自测栏目便于自我检查阶段学习成果。 ——注重培养学生的自主与实践能力：融语言、文化、知识与学习方法和技巧于一体，重素质与学习能力的培养，而不同类 型的作业使学生有大量的机会学以致用。 ·适合用各种学习模式巩固与提高主教材所学内容 互联网学习模式、局域网学习模式、个人电脑学习模式与以印刷教材为主的学习模式均可。 网络教育特点突出，现已列入北京外国语大学网络学院指定教材北京外国语大学经教育部批准于2000年正式成立网络教育学院，旨在充分利用计算机网络技术，发挥北外在师资、教学、科研等方面的综合资源优势，以推动全民英语教育。本系列网络教育特点突出，符合我国加入WTO后国际经济、技术一体化形势的要求。
