上外版高校英語寫作精選其次冊的

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上外版高校英語寫作精選其次冊的內容

上外版高校英語寫作精選其次冊⑶

UNIT3

TEXT

Jeffersondiedlongago,butmayofhisideasstill

ofgreatinteresttous.

LessonsfromJefferson

ThomasJefferson,thethirdPresidentofthe

UnitedStatesymaybelessfamousthanGeorge

WashingtonandAbrahamLincoln,butmostpeople

rememberatlastonefactabouthim：hewrotethe

DeclarationofIndependence.

AlthoughJeffersonlivedmorethan200yearsago,

thereismuchthatwelearnfromhimtoday.Manyof

hisideasareespeciallyinterestingtomodernyouth.

Herearesomeofthethingshesaidandwrote：

Goandsee.Jeffersonbelievedthatafreeman

obtainsknowledgefrommanysourcesbesidesbooks

andthatpersonalinvestigationisimportant.Whenstill

ayoungman,hewasappointedtoacommitteeto

findoutwhethertheSouthBranchoftheJamesRiver

wasdeepenoughtobeusedbylargeboats.Whilethe

othermembersofthecommitteesatinthestate

capitolandstudiedpapersonthesubject,Jefferson

gotintoacanoeandmadeon-the-spot-observations.

Youcanlearnfromeveryone.Bybirthandby

educationJeffersonbelongedtothehighestsocialclass.

Yet,inadaywhenfewnoblepersonseverspoketo

thoseofhumbleoriginsexcepttogiveanorder,

Jeffersonwentoutofhiswaytotalkwithgardeners,

servantsyandwaiters.Jeffersononcesaidtothe

Frenchnobleman,LafayetteyYoumustgointothe

peopleshomesasIhavedone,lookintotheircooking

potsandeattheirbread.Ifyouwillonlydothis,you

mayfindoutwhypeoplearedissatisfiedand

understandtherevolutionthatisthreateningFrance.

Judgeforyourself.Jeffersonrefusedtoaccept

otherpeoplesopinionswithoutcarefulthought.

Neitherbelievenorrejectanything,hewrotetohis

nephew,becauseanyotherpersonhasrejectedor

believedit.Heavedhasgivenyouamindforjudging

truthanderror.Useit.

Jeffersonfeltthatthepeoplemaysafelybe

trustedtoheareverythingtrueandfalse,andtoform

acorrectjudgment.Wereitlefttometodecide

whetherweshouldhaveagovernmentwithout

newspapersornewspaperswithoutagovernment,I

shouldnothesitateamomenttopreferthelatter.

Dowhatyoubelieveisright.Inafreecountry

therewillalwaysbeconflictingideas,andthisisa

sourceofstrength.Itisconflictandnotunquestioning

agreementthatkeepsfreedomalive.ThoughJefferson

wasformanyyearstheobjectofstrongcriticism,he

neveransweredhiscritics.Heexpressedhisphilosophy

inletterstoafriend,Therearetwosidestoevery

question.Ifyoutakeonesidewithdecisionandonit

witheffect,thosewhotaketheothersidewillof

courseresentyouractions.

Trustthefuture；trusttheyoung.Jeffersonfelt

thatthepresentshouldneverbechainedtocustoms

whichhavelosttheirusefulness.Nosociety9hesaid,

canmakeaperpetualconstitutionyorevena

perpetuallaw.Theearthbelongstotheliving

generation.Hedidnotfearnewideas,nordidhefear

thefuture.Howmuchpain,heremarkedyhasbeen

causedbyevilswhichhaveneverhappened!Iexpect

thebest,nottheworst.Isteermyshipwithhope,

leavingfearbehind.

Jeffersonscourageandidealismwerebasedon

knowledge.Heprobablyknewmorethananyother

manofhisage.Hewasanexpertinagriculture)

archeologyyandmedicine.Hepracticedcroprotation

andsoilconservationacenturybeforethesebecame

standardpractice,andheinventedaplowsuperiorto

anyotherinexistence.Heinfluencedarchitecture

throughoutAmericayandhewasconstantlyproducing

devicesformakingthetasksofordinarylifeeasierto

perform.

OfallJeffersonsmanytalents,oneiscentral.He

wasaboveallagoodandtirelesswriter.Hiscomplete

worksynowbeingpublishedforthefirsttime,willfill

morethanfiftyvolumes.Histalentasanauthorwas

soondiscoveredyandwhenthetimecametowrite

theDeclarationofIndependenceatPhiladelphiain

1776,thetaskofwritingitwashis.Millionshave

thrilledtohiswords：Weholdthesetruthstobe

self-evident,thatallmenarecreatedequal...

WhenJeffersondiedonJuly4,1826,the50th

anniversaryofAmericanindependence)helefthis

countrymenarichlegacyofideasandexamples.

AmericaneducationowesagreatdebttoThomas

Jefferson,Whobelievedthatonlyanationof

educatedpeoplecouldremainfree.

PHRASESEXPRESSIONS

gooutofonesway(todosth.)

takeparticulartrouble；makeaspecialeff