高中学生英语课外阅读文章
高中时期的学生虽然已经显得不是那么稚嫩，但是并不是所有学生在看到英语课外阅读文章的时候都能够做到游刃有余的。今天小编给大家带来高中学生英语课外阅读，希望大家喜欢并且能够有所收获。
高中学生英语课外阅读(一)
Hip-hop spirit
TURN on Channel V and you might find a singer in a baseball cap, baggy jeans and a big T-shirt rapping. Listening to hip-hop, it''s easy to swing your body to the rhythm (节奏), even if you have no idea what the lyrics are about.
Hip-hop today is a worldwide movement. According to American professor S. Craig Watkins, hip-hop music is "a way to behave and an attitude". He says hip-hop is a rebellious (叛逆的) voice that resonates (共鸣) with young people.
For Wang Liang, a 25-year-old DJ, hip-hop is a form of self-expression. "It''s free, like rock ''n'' roll. We can talk about our lives, what we''re thinking about and what we feel," Wang said in an interview with the New York Times.
While American rappers have been popular in China since the 1990s, homegrown rap didn''t gain a following until a decade later. The group Yincang (meaning hidden) is one of the pioneers of Chinese rap. It is made up of music lovers from both sides of the Pacific Ocean: a Beijinger, a Chinese-Canadian and two Americans.
"The big change was when rappers started writing lyrics in Chinese, so people could understand," said Zhong Cheng, 27, a member of the group who was raised in Canada but born in Beijing, where he returned in 1997. "Before that, kids listened to hip-hop in English but maybe less than 1 percent could actually understand it."
Yincang''s first hit song was In Beijing. It sets a melody (旋律) played on the Chinese traditional music instrument the erhu against a hip-hop beat. The song is an insider''s look at Beijing''s sights and sounds, such as traditional Siheyuan courtyard complexes, the bar area in Houhai, the Guijie food street and the clothes market near the zoo.
However, making Chinese hip-hop is still relatively profitless. Members of Yincang still struggle to pay the bills after seven years together. But they haven''t stopped making hip-hop.
"When I met Jeremy Johnston (a member of the group), we were both so inspired by people here," said Zhong. "We wanted to drop some Chinese rhymes for the locals. From that day, we haven''t stopped rhyming. And we won''t stop."
BONUS
Hip-hop is the culture from which rap emerged. Now the terms "rap" and "hip-hop" are,most of the time, interchangeable.
Hip-hop culture: it''s a street culture that originated in the South Bronx, a district in New York City, in the mid 1970s. Hip-hop featured a group of uniquely dressed teenagers, rap music, breakdancing and graffiti art.
高中学生英语课外阅读(二)
Different ways we care for the dead
TANG Dynasty writer Du Mu once wrote in a poem titled Qingming: "The ceaseless drizzle drips all the dismal day; So broken-hearted fares the traveler on the way。"
Qingming, the traditional tomb-sweeping day on the Chinese lunar calendar, falls on April 4 this year. It is a time for remembering loved ones who have departed (去世). People visit their ancestors’ graves (墓地) to sweep away the dirt and get rid of any weeds. They also leave offerings (祭品) of food and flowers, and burn incense (香) and paper money.
Chinese tombs are usually built in the woods or on mountains, far from the city. It is believed that an area that faces south, with many pine trees, is a proper place for a tomb. People believe such a place will make the ancestors happy, and in return, they will look after the living family.
The Western world has different attitudes towards the dead. From about the 7th century, Europe was under church control and burials (葬礼) could only take place on church ground. But from the late 18th century, many new cemeteries (公墓) were established outside of old towns and cities.
Today, almost all communities have cemeteries. In the US and many European countries, modern cemeteries are large open places filled with tombstones of all shapes and sizes. Friends and family of the dead will often leave flowers at their grave on major holidays and birthdays. Flowers are the most common gift, though parents will often leave small toys for a dead child.
