architecture equals progress. Developing countries want to build the most modern-looking buildings as the first step towards becoming a modern country．
Modern buildings impress us because they are huge, but many people do not find them beautiful. The buildings look like boxes with flat roofs，sharp comers and glass walls that act as mirrors. You do not feel invited to enter them．Everything about these buildings seems hard and unfriendly． Ancient architecture shows US many beautiful buildings．These include great examples such as Taihe Dian，the Temple of Heaven or the great European cathedrals．Both in the choice of materials and shape of buildings，ancient architecture stands much closer to nature．
Nature does not have any straight lines．Antonio Gaudi，a Spanish architect．was the first to understand that．There are not any sharp comers or straight lines in any of his designs．He only wanted natural materials，such as stone，brick and wood to be used and many parts of his buildings look like things we find in nature．In some of his architecture，balconies look like eyes．other parts look like bones，the walls seem to be covered with the skin of a fish, while the roof looks like the back of a dragon．Most of Gaudi’s works were constructed in and around Barcelona．Looking at the architecture by Gaudi is like a dream，full of fantastic colours and shapes． Despite the fact that he used traditional materials，Gaudi was a modern architect．In fact, there are other modern architects who use designs from nature when they create their buildings．Frank Lloyd Wright，who built an art museum in New York，found himself inspired by Japanese seashells．Another famous building that makes people think of seashells is the Opera House in Sydney, though it makes other people think of ship sails．
The 2008 Olympic Stadium in Beijing is another design that makes us think about nature．Seen from the top, it looks as if the stadium is covered by a gray net of steel, and it looks just like a bird’s nest made of tree branches．Birds fill up the spaces between the branches of their nests with soft materials．Just so，the spaces in the structure of the stadium will be filled with huge plastic bags full of air．Although the stadium will be made of concrete and steel，the flowing lines and round shapes make the building look warm and friendly． B
A SECOND LIFE FOR FACTORY 798 Everywhere in the world old buildings，such as schools，hospitals，factories and even churches are left empty because they are no longer needed．It is usually difficult to find other companies to move into the Old buildings．because the floor plan — the size and the number of halls — does not fit their company．Often，these buildings are pulled down after having stood empty without use for many years．
Factory 798 in the east of Beijing was a building like that．Once an important army factory in Beijing，Factory 798 was designed by East German architects and built with Russian help in the early 1950s．It is one of the most important examples of factory architecture left from that time．The huge factory halls of brick and glass were built in the 1920s modern style．They are decorated with small round windows that remind you of ships，bent roofs and twenty-foot high walls of glass that make them special when compared with other architecture from the same period．The simple style of the buildings and the fact that they are German set them aside as very different from Chinese architecture.
When the army factory moved some years ago，the factory buildings were no longer used．Until about a year ago most of the workshops in the factory stood empty. Some art companies asked if
they could move into the empty space and rent parts of the factory．This was the beginning of the development of this area into a centre for the arts，bringing together Chinese artists，art companies，musicians，a Japanese teahouse，a Sichuan restaurant，a bookshop and a dance club. Old factory buildings have many halls and workshops of different sizes．Painters and other artists can move into the smaller rooms to use them as studios to paint，while music bands rent space to practice. Smaller halls can be changed into shops and restaurants while the main factory hall can be used for concerts，parties and dance festivals．
Young，beginning artists and musicians often do not have enough money to rent studios or other buildings practise，perform or even work and live．They like these buildings because the rooms and halls are often very large，which is good for artists who want to make large objects．Besides，many of these buildings were constructed far from the city，so that people in the neighbourhood are not disturbed when rock musicians move in and practise for a concert.
Many large cities，such as Liverpool and New York，have had experiments of this kind，with old factories turned into successful arts centres．In almost every city around the world，new uses are given to old buildings．It is a great way to save the architecture from the past． C
Integrating Skills
THE FUNCTION OF ART
We see art everywhere around us．In public parks，city squares，shopping streets and public buildings，we find modern art objects on display．Classical art，such as valuable paintings，precious statues and other fine arts，usually ends up in the collections of museums，companies or rich people．Although we can see some of it in museums，those other art collections are not open to the public．
Both art and architecture have a history of ages．All forms and ways of expressing beauty have been explored．In the case of architecture，many buildings that were designed in the past have proven to be beautiful and served their purposes．Governments and companies could save millions of dollars by building or copying designs of architecture of buildings from the past．There are still many designs for buildings made by famous architects that were never realised．Besides，some people find modern architecture ugly．So why should we pay a lot of money to architects for designing new buildings?
The same holds for modern art，both paintings and statues．Many art objects that have been created in the past are now covered by dust in storerooms．These storerooms contain enough art to decorate all public buildings and other public places．There is no need to create more art，and as with modern architecture，many people find new art difficult to understand or appreciate．
Given these facts，why are architects and artists asked to create new art works? And why are we interested in creating new art and architecture，instead of using or copying what was made in the past? The answers to these questions have to do with the function of art in society today．
First of all，the function of art is to decorate．By placing art works in parks and hanging paintings or drawings on the walls we make our living environment more beautiful．When our eyes move across an empty wall they will for a few moments rest on a painting or other kind of work hung there．It is a moment of comfort and makes people feel good．Sometimes，paintings are not beautiful at first glance．But looking at them and thinking about them for a while or repeated viewing will help us to learn to appreciate them．
Another function of art is enriching real life，as art is part of everyday life．Art helps people to
learn to think creatively．In art things are not always what they seem to be．Art objects in a park are sometimes funny．Very often you can hardly tell what they are．People need such creative moments。It helps them to balance their minds．When we see art like that all around us．it helps to make life more interesting．
Finally, art is often seen as a way to instruct the audience．Statues of heroes from the past remind us of our history．Paintings and other art objects can also help us to realise which goals we should set for ourselves and inspire US in our everyday work．
Because ideas about society change and every period of time has its own taste，there is always a need for new art．We can still appreciate art works made in the past for their beauty, but they are often too valuable to be placed in public buildings．Besides，they also often need special protection．
1. Who owns collections of ancient statues and paintings? 2. Why can?t we use old art to decorate public buildings? 3. What are the functions of an in society?
Unit 4 A garden of poems A
ENGLISH POETRY
Reading poetry brings people from different places and different times together．More than any other form of literature，poetry plays with sounds，words and grammar．That makes poetry difficult to write，but very interesting to read．Poetry also calls up all me colours，feelings，experiences and curious images of a dream world．
China has a long history during which many of the world’s greatest poets were active．Poems by Du Fu，Li Bai and Wang Wei among others stand out in the halls of glory．When you have read some Chinese poems，you will have seen and heard some of the features that all good poetry shares．The form is very important：the
number of lines and the number of characters in each line．Poetry often follows special patterns of rhythm and rhyme．
Despite its short history，there is a lot of good English poetry around．The earliest English poetry was written in a kind of English that is now difficult to understand．Modern English started around the time of William Shakespeare，towards the end of the sixteenth century．The seventeenth century was a great time for English poetry．Shakespeare is most famous for his plays．His sonnets，however, belong to the best English poetry．In the next generation of great English poets we meet John Donne. Chinese readers admire his works because of his use of surprising images that reminds them of the works of poets such as Su Dongpo．Before the end of the century，there was another famous writer, John Milton．Once published，his work became famous for the absence of rhyme at the end of each line．In the eighteenth century it was Alexander Pope who wrote the finest poetry in England．
The next period that produced a great number of fine poets was the nineteenth century．Greatly loved in China are the English Romantic poets．Although they were all born in the eighteenth century, they wrote their major works in the early years of the nineteenth century．John Keats died at a very young age in 1821; while William Wordsworth，who spent much of his time in the English Lake District, lived to the age of 80 and r died in 1850．The nature poems by William
Wordsworth，George Gordon Byron’s Isles of Greece and the sonnets and long poems by John Keats have long been favourites．The style and atmosphere in their poems has often led to comparisons with poets such as Du Fu and Li Bai．
Finally, modern poets have their special attraction because they stand closest to us both in the language and images they use．Among them we find the American poet Robert Frost．
The introduction of English poetry to China came late．Towards the end of the nineteenth century Chinese writers started reading more foreign poetry．The great moment for European literature to come to China is between 1910 and the late 1930s when famous writers such as Lu Xun and Guo Moruo translated both poetry and novels Into Chinese.
More and more people are interested to read modern poetry in English．Translations can be good，but being able to read in English gives you much more choice．Besides，no matter how well a poem is translated，something of the spirit of the original work is lost．Reading poetry in English also opens the door to finding new ways of expressing yourself in Chinese．Finally, poems and literature can be bridges between the East and the West．They can help us to understand each other better, or as Mu Dan wrote： Quietly, we embrace
In a world lit up by words．
Read the text carefully and choose the best answer．
1. Modern English came into being from about the end of the __________ century? A. 16th B. 17th C. 18th D. 19th
2. The poetry of John Donne reminds Chinese readers of the poems by ________________． A. Du Fu B. Li Baj C. Su Dongpo D. Guo Moruo 3. Byron’s Isles of Greece (1824) is an example of_______________．
A. a sonnet B. romantic poetry C. nature poetry D. modern poetry
4. The wider public in China discovered English poetry at the beginning of the ____________ century.
A. 17m B. 18th C. 19th D. 20th
5. The advantage of reading English poetry in Chinese translation is_______________． A. that you have more choice B. that something of the spirit is lost
C. that you understand it better D. that you learn how to express yourself in new ways B
SONGS AND POEMS
Why read，and sometimes even write poetry? That question is not difficult to answer if we change
the word poetry to songs．
I sing when I feel good．When I sing my favourite songs，I feel even better．Sometimes when I am
listening to music and to the song words，I feel that it was written for me．A good song always makes
me feel something．There are songs that I sing in my head between classes and songs that I want to sing when the school bell rings by the end of the day．They help me get through the day．
They are like bright and warm colours in the middle of greys and shades．I like songs about love and friendship．The extraordinary thing is，my feelings are more special when I sing my favourite songs in English．
I also like reading．I used to avoid poetry until an e-pal told me I should recite poems and not look
up the meaning of the words．Poetry uses many difficult words and idioms，but the best thing is to just
forget about them．In the beginning I felt quite strange．Now I always lock the door Reading aloud gives you a strange feeling，but when you have some practice and fall into the rhythm，the rhyme and
the sounds of the words，it is really a special experience．
I started with small poems，but now I think I most like long poems．I have different feelings with
different poems．When I have had a bad day at school，I read Keats and forget everything．When I am
sad I read Wordsworth by the light of a candle．When the poem is finished，I close the book and my
sadness is gone．
Read the following poems in class．Discuss with your classmates what they mean to you． DUST OF SNOW
The way a crow Has given my heart Shook down on me A change of mood The dust of snow And saved some part From a hemlock tree Of a day I had rued． By Robert Frost C
Integrating Skills
THE BIRTH OF MODERN POETRY
When asked about poetry, most people will say that a poem is a text that has rhythm and rhyme．Famous are the lines by William Blake，which have clear rhythm and rhyme： Tiger, tiger, burning bright, in the forest of the night．
Other people will add that poems must have a certain form，with a fixed number of lines and a fixed rhyme pattern，such as a sonnet．With rhyme，most people mean the rhyme of sound of words at the end of the lines．It is also true that much of the classical poetry that we have looks like that．Except for some short songs and poems included in his plays，all of Shakespeare’s greatest poems are sonnets．
John Milton was one of the first poets who started writing poems without rhyme at the end of the fines．He wrote other poems too，but he is famous for his long poems without rhyme．After Milton，almost every poet had a hand at this kind of poetry that was free of rhyme．Wordsworth and Keats wrote some such poems，but that is not what they are famous for．This style of poetry became known as free verse (自由诗)．