Unit 1

Inside View Conversation 1

Janet: Hi, it’s me again, Janet Li. I’m still a student at the University of Oxford in

England. But I’m not in Oxford right now. And I haven’t gone back home to China either. It’s the long vacation now, and believe it or not, it’s the middle of summer. I’m spending my summer in one of the world’s greatest cities. I’m in London, home to the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Tower Bridge…and the double-decker bus. I want to find out what it’s like to live in this busy, lively city. So I’m working for London Time Off, a website about what’s on in London. This is Joe…, he’s my boss, and this is Andy, who is a reporter. And what’s my job? Well, I don’t know yet, because it’s my first day. But I’m meant to be shadowing Andy, oh, what I mean is, I’m going to be helping him. So can you tell me something about London, Andy? Andy: It’s the greatest city in the world. . Joe: Except for New York!

Andy: New York? Don’t make me laugh! Joe: And your point is…?

Andy: Look, if you want my opinion, London is greater than New York… Joe: No, I don’t want your opinion, thank you very much. It’s a fact. Andy: A fact! Are you serious?

\\Janet: And here we are in London, probably the greatest city in the world. Andy: What? Probably? Excuse me, I prefer to deal with this myself… Joe: Ah, dream on, Andy………

珍妮特：嗨，又是我，珍妮特.李。我目前还是一位英国牛津大学的学生，但我

现在不在牛津，也还没有回中国的家。现在在放长假，而且不管你信不信，现在是夏天的中期。我现在正在世界上最棒的城市之一里度过我的夏天。我在伦敦，它是英国国会大厦、大本钟、塔桥…和双层巴士的故乡。我想知道住在如此热闹和生气勃勃的城市里是什么感觉。所以，我现在在为伦敦下班网效劳。它是一个报道伦敦时事的网站。这是乔，他是我的老板，而他是安迪，一位记者。我的工作是什么呢？这个我也不知道，因为今天是我的第一天，但我会注定跟随着安迪。喔，我的意思是，我将会协助他。那么安迪，你能告诉我一些关于伦敦的事情吗？

安 迪： 伦敦是世界上最棒的城市。 乔 ： 除了纽约以外！

安 迪： 纽约？别逗我笑了！ 乔 ： 那你的观点是… ?

安 迪： 注意，如果你真的需要我的观点，伦敦确实比纽约棒… 乔 ： 不，我不需要你的观点，非常感谢！这是事实！ 安 迪： 事实！你是当真的吗？

珍妮特：我们现在在伦敦，或许是世界上最棒的城市。 安 迪： 什么？或许？对不起，我宁可自己处理这个…

乔 ： 啊，安迪，继续做你的美梦吧...

Conversation 2

Janet：So when did you start working at London Time Off? Andy: About a year ago.

Janet: And I hope you don’t mind my asking ,but do you like working here?

Andy: Yes, I love it. I mean, Joe and I get along quite well. He drives me crazy

sometimes, because he’s my boss, and I wish I earned a bit more money, but…I think my job is really cool, because I get to see everything that’s happening in London. And I didn’t want to join the rat race. Janet: What do you mean by the rat race?

Andy: You know, doing the same thing day in day out, and not doing anything

creative, or having any time to enjoy life. It’s the last thing I want to do. Janet: So do you mind telling me what you do exactly?

Andy: Basically, we check out new events on the London music scene, you know,

new clubs, the latest plays and films, as well as exhibitions in galleries and museums. Then we go and film interviews with the musicians or the actors, or anyone who has anything to do with the event. Janet: Ok, then what happens?

Andy: We edit the interviews, and then we upload it all onto the website. We get

200,000 hits a week. We’re London’s biggest listings site. Janet: Can I ask you something else? Andy: Fire away.

Janet: What are we going to do now?

Andy: I need to go back to my flat, and get my research. Then we’ve got an interview

to do. Let’s get the tube back to my place. Janet: And what about Joe?

Andy: Well, he’s supposed to be on his way to the National Theatre, to do an

interview with the director of a new play. But I kind of hope he gets lost on the way. Then he’ll discover what a great place London is. Janet: I don’t understand.

Andy: I’m joking! Come on, let’s go!

珍妮特：那么你是什么开始在伦敦下班网上班的呢？ 安 迪： 大约一年前。

珍妮特：我希望你不要介意我的发问，你喜欢在这里工作吗？

安 迪： 是，我非常喜欢。我的意思是，乔跟我相处得挺好的。虽然有时我快被

他搞疯了，因为他是我的老板，而且我又希望能多赚点钱，但…我认为我的工作是十分有趣的，因为我能够看到伦敦正在发生的事情。再说，我不愿意自己处在商业中无意义的竞争里。

珍妮特：你说的商业中无意义的竞争是什么意思？ 安 迪： 你知道，日复一日地做着同样的事情并且不做任何有创意的事或拥有任

何可以享受生活的时间。这是我最不想做的事情。

珍妮特：那你介意告诉我你具体都做些什么吗？

安 迪： 基本上，除了新的俱乐部、最新的戏剧和电影，还有美术馆和博物馆里

的展览，你知道，我们会关注伦敦乐坛的新动向。然后，我们去采访音乐家或演员或任何与此事件有关的人并将此采访的内容录下来。

珍妮特：好的，那接下来呢？

安 迪： 我们编辑这些采访然后将它们全部都上传到网站上。我们一周就取得了

二十万个网路点击数。我们是伦敦最大的数据站点。

珍妮特：我能问你其他事情吗？ 安 迪： 尽管问吧。

珍妮特：我们现在要做什么？

安 迪： 我需要回到我的公寓去拿我的研究调查。然后，我们得去做个采访。让

我们乘地铁到我家去吧。

珍妮特：那乔怎么办？ 安 迪： 他现在应该在去国家剧院的路上。他要去给一位新戏剧的导演做个采访。

但我有点儿希望他在途中迷路。然后，他将会发现伦敦是多么棒的一个地方。

珍妮特：我不明白。

安 迪： 我是在开玩笑！快点，我们走吧！

Outside view

Happiness is not what most students have in mind when they think of school. Yet a school in Germany has developed a novel way to raise the morale of its students, by teaching happiness in classes. Students at Heidelberg’s Willy Hellpach School of Economics are learning how to achieve happiness as an official subject, alongside mathematics and languages. This is the first school in Germany to develop a happiness course, intended for 17- to 19-year-olds preparing for university entrance exams.

Ernst Fritz-Schubert, the school’s principal, is on a mission to change things.

Ernst Fritz-Schubert: It was my idea-I’ve been at this school for 31 years, and I feel that school and happiness have to be reunited. These are two terms which are not considered together, because one does not connect school with happiness. In some cases school comes behind the dentists on the popularity scale and we should try to push schools’ popularity a bit.

It has been proved by science that a happy student can learn more than an unhappy one, Unhappy students can concentrate for a while but do not use all their potential. The happiness classes are intended to help students fulfill their potential. They will help the students live happy and prosperous lives.

The classes aim to help students in achieving a positive state of mind, by using all their own resources and boosting their self-esteem. In addition, they hope classes will increase self-awareness and physical comfort. Happiness classes are also intended to make students more aware about their environment and society as a whole. During classes students are encouraged to express themselves and observe their peers’ behavior. The classes are taught by Bjoern Bonn, an actor and visiting lecturer.

Bjoern Bonn: One of the exercises I do is to have one of the students walk

across the classroom, with the others copying his walk. Through this exercise, I hope they learn something about themselves. Why do I move like this? How do others see my way of walking? I hope that with a higher body awareness they ideally –of course it will take time-achieve a higher self-consciousness which could lead to happiness.

Wolfgang Lang: We give these classes to students to help them find happiness. Now the question is: How do I define happiness? Happiness is for example a strengthening of the personality. We are providing helpful suggestions to make stronger people. People that ask“Who am I as a person? Am I really happy?”

Pascal Gemble: It takes time and everybody has to find happiness for themselves. You cannot go into a coaching lesson and say teach me happiness. One can only get indications from teachers or the visiting lecturers. There are also happiness scientists, if we could talk to one of those, I am sure he would have some hints.

Yosma Pinar Cetinkaya: You would think that the teachers are writing definitions on the board. Not true. Those who want happiness have to find it for themselves, you cannot really learn that.

So what does it take to be happy and can you learn it at school?

当学生想起学校，快乐不是多数人想到的。目前，德国一所学校已经创造了一种新颖的通过在课堂上教授快乐的方法来提升其学生们的精神面貌。 Heidelberg ‘s Willy Hellpach School of Economics 正在研究怎样将快乐实现为与数学和语言一样的官方课程。这是德国第一家开设快乐课程的学校，意欲为17至19岁的学生作高考的准备。

Ernst Fritz-Schubert,学校的校长，肩负着变革的使命。 Ernst Fritz-Schubert：“这是我的想法—我已经在这所学校呆了31年，我认为学校和快乐必须被重组，这是不被认为该在一起的两部分，因为学生不把学校与快乐联系起来。在某些情况下，学校在受欢迎程度上落后于牙医，我们应该努力推动学校的受欢迎度。

科学已经证明一个快乐的学生能比一个不快乐的学生学到更多。不快乐的学生能在一段时间内集中注意力，但不能发挥他们所有的潜力，这些快乐课程致力于帮助学生发挥他们的潜能，能帮学生生活在快乐繁荣的生活中。”

这种课程旨在帮助学生们通过用他们自己的特长和激励他们的自尊来达到思想的积极状态。另外，他们希望课程会增加自觉意识和身体素质，快乐课程还致力于让学生意识到环境与社会是作为一个整体存在。课堂期间学生被鼓励表达自我和关注同伴的行为，课程由演员和客座讲师 Bjoern Bonn讲授。

Bjoern Bonn：“我做的其中一个练习是让学生走过教室，其他学生模仿他的步伐。通过这个练习，我希望他们从自己身上学得一些东西‘为什么我像这样行动？其他人怎样评价我走路的方式？’我希望伴随着更高的身体意识他们原则上——当然这需要时间——实现更高的抵达快乐的自我意识。”

Wolfgang Lang：“我们为学生们开设这些课程来帮助他们找寻快乐，现在问题是：我该如何给快乐下定义？比如快乐是个性的加强。我们正提供有帮助的建议来使学生更强健，学生会问：我是一个怎样的人？我真的高兴吗？”

Pascal Gembe：“这需要花时间，每个人必须为自己找寻快乐，你不可能去一个训练课说：‘教给我快乐’。一个学生只能从教师或客座讲师那得到暗示，另