摘要：
英语读书笔记5篇，50词左右，超过65词不采纳1.Todayandfriendsofforeigntravel,outsideairisverygood,peoplefeelver... 英语读书笔记5篇，50词左右，超过65词不采纳
1.Today and friends of foreign travel, outside air is very good, people feel very comfortable. We all appreciate the fine girls bicycles. We enjoyed the beautiful nature brought. We happily spent a happy day. 今天和朋友一起出外交游,外面的空气很好,人感觉很舒服.我们骑着自行车一路欣赏鸟语花香.享受着大自然带给我们的无限美好.大家开开心心地度过了愉快的一天.
2.Today Mailehaoduo clothes, and parents take to the streets is happy, the parents have to pay to buy things. Unlike in their street to buy things they like to take a long time but saw the price, Ha-ha, is really very happy. I love my parents, I too thank them for the care and love. `` 今天买了好多衣服,和父母上街就是愉快,买东西有父母帮付钱.不像平时自己上街买东西碰到喜欢的但看了价钱都要考虑好久,呵呵,真的是很开心.我爱我的父母,太感谢他们对我的关心和爱戴了.
A farmer has five sons.They are Ted,Bob,Tom,John and Bill. John has no elder brother. He was four years older when his first younger brother was born. The number of Tom's elder brothers is equal to his younger brothers. Bill will be twenty-one years old next year, and he is five years older than Bob. Bob is two years younger than Tom. Ted was sad because he has no younger brother. There are twelve years between him and John.
一个农民有5个儿子.他们是Ted,Bob,Tom,John 和 Bill.John没有比他大的哥哥,他比第一个出生的比他小的那个弟弟大4岁,Tom哥哥的数量和他的弟弟的数量是一样的（就是他是老三）Bill 明年就21岁了,他比Bob大5岁,比Tom小2岁,Ted因为没有弟弟而难过 Ted 和John之间差了12岁
3.I work for 7up"! 我可是在七喜公司工作呀
Four best friends met at the hospital since their wives were giving births to their babies. The nurse comes up to the first man and says, "Congratulations, you got twins." The man said "How strange, I'm the manager of Minnesota Twins." After awhile the nurse comes up to the second man and says, "Congratulations, you got triplets." Man was like "Hmmm, strange I worked as a director for the "3 musketeers." Finally, the nurse comes up to the third man and says
"Congratulations, you got twins x2." Man is happy and says, "Ironic, I work for the hotel "4 Seasons." All three of them are happy until they see their last buddy jumping all over the place, cursing God and banging his head on the wall. They asked him what's wrong and he answered, "What's wrong? I work for 7up"!
四个好朋友在医院里碰面了,他们的妻子正在生产.护士过来对第一个男人说:"恭喜,你得了双胞胎."男人说:"多奇怪呀,我是明尼苏达双子队的经理."过了一会儿,护士过来对第二个男人说:"恭喜,你得了三胞胎."男人很喜欢:"嗯,又巧了.我是3M公司的董事."最后,护士跑来对第三个男人说: "恭喜,你得了2对双胞胎."男人很开心地说:"真令人啼笑皆非,我为四季宾馆工作."他们三个都很高兴,但第四个伙伴急得像热锅上的蚂蚁,咒骂上帝并用头撞墙.他们问他有什么不对劲,他回答道:"什么不对劲?我可是在七喜公司工作呀!"
4.Five Hundred Times 五百遍
In the traffic court of a large mid-western city, a young lady was brought before the judge to answer a ticket given her for driving through a red light. She explained to his honor that she was a school teacher and requested an immediate disposal of her case in order that she might hasten on to her classes. A wild gleam came into the judge's eye. "You are a school teacher, eh?" said he. "Madam, I shall realize my lifelong ambition. Sit down at that table and write 'I went through a red light' five hundred times."
在中西部一个大城市的交通法庭里,一位年轻女士被带到法官面前,她由于开车闯红灯被开了罚单.女士向法官解释,她是一名学校老师,请求法官马上处理她的案子,以便可以赶回去上课.法官眼中闪过一丝狡黠,说道：“你是学校的老师,对吗?女士,我马上要实现我毕生的愿望了.在那张桌子旁坐下,写‘我开车闯了红灯’500遍.”
5. Second language
A mother mouse was out for a stroll with her babies when she spotted a cat crouched behind a bush. She watched the cat, and the cat watched the mice.
Mother mouse barked fiercely, "Woof, woof, woof!" The cat was so terrified that it ran for it's life.
Mother mouse turned to her babies and said, "Now, do you understand the value of a second language?"
一只母老鼠带着孩子出来散步,突然她看见一只猫正在灌木丛中虎视耽耽.
母老鼠向着猫叫道：“汪,汪,汪”,猫听了非常害怕,拼命跑走了.
母老鼠回过头洋洋自得的对孩子说：“现在你知道外语的重要性了吧.”
求25篇英语读书笔记
瑞普?凡?温克尔
There is a farmer named Rip Van Winkle. He doesn’t like working at all, but he likes to talk. One day, Rip goes to the mountains with his dog, Wolf. They meet an old man. He is strange, he has a big barrel on his back. He never talks! They walk and walk up the mountain. They come to a building, there, Rip meets a lot of strange man. Rip and the old man had a lot of drinks in the barrel. Then Rip fall in to sleep. He sleeps for 20 years! Rip wakes up and goes home. He meets his daughter and knows that many people died in the war between America and Britain. Later, ,rip tells his strange story to his new friends in his new town——The United States of America. Comment: After reading, I think that Rip Van Winkle is a very interesting person. He likes talking with other people. He is good at communicate. So he has finding that it’s fine to stay with others. We must learn this from Rip. Rip also has some bad manners. He doesn’t like working. We mustn’t do as Rip does.
海底两万里 By Jules Verne [法]凡尔纳 著
Summary: Story started in 1866. Aronnax, a natural historian, was studying for a large monster under the sea. At that time, the monster’s massagers were traveling around the world. After the investigation, he would return from aboard. And then he received an invitation from sea forces of America. So he was going to make the monster die out. Comment: What a great story it is! How exciting the trip under the sea was it! I also want to go with captain Nemo. But I’m afraid that I’m not so lucky as Aronnax. The life under the sea must be nice. There are many coral, water plants, fish, mineral products in stead of worried and strife. I like that kind of world!
汤姆?索亚历险记 By Mark Twain [美]马克?吐温 著
Summary： Tom Sawyer loves adventures. He has adventures at home, at school, and other mysterious places with his friends. One day, Tom has an adventure in the graveyard. And they sea Injun Joe
棕眼 By Paul Stewart [英]斯图亚特 著
Summary： Peter and Susan arrived at their hotel in Lea-on-Sea. They always visit a beautiful island every year. But this time, they meet a man who pretends to be Peter. He has the same face as Peter by his mask. He is Stephen Griggs. He killed Susan and takes out his mask, and then gives Peter the gun! In this way, peter was caught by the police.
急需30篇英语读书笔记，大概20词左右吧
我自己总结的、、要给分哦、、
1.Yesterday, I read a book, the name of the book is《Dr Bethune》.
Dr Bethune was a famous doctor From Canada. In 1938, he came to China. At that time , China was at war with Japan. He worked as a doctor in the Chinese army and saved many soldiers’ lives. He worked very hard and became sick. Dr Bethune died in 1939. He was only 49 years old. He was a good man and we remember him today.
I think the book is very, very good!
2. Yesterday, I read a book, the name of the book is《Dr Bethune》.
Dr Bethune was a famous doctor From Canada. In 1938, he came to China. At that time , China was at war with Japan. He worked as a doctor in the Chinese army and saved many soldiers’ lives. He worked very hard and became sick. Dr Bethune died in 1939. He was only 49 years old. He was a good man and we remember him today.
I think the book isvery good!
3. Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea 海底两万里
Story started in 1866. Aronnax, a natural historian, was studying for a large monster under the sea. At that time, the monster’s massagers were traveling around the world. After the investigation, he would return from aboard. And then he received an invitation from sea forces of America. So he was going to make the monster die out.
4 Brown Eyes 棕眼
Peter and Susan arrived at their hotel in Lea-on-Sea. They always visit a beautiful island every year. But this time, they meet a man who pretends to be Peter. He has the same face as Peter by his mask. He is Stephen Griggs. He killed Susan and takes out his mask, and then gives Peter the gun! In this way, peter was caught by the police.
5 Surfer! 冲浪好手
Nick is a good surfer. He wants to go to Australia for three months. But his parents don’t like his plan. They want Nick to go to college. But Nick still tries his best to make his parents agree. Because he wants to join an important surfing competition there. Later Nick join another surfing competition, and he win the first price——a thousand pounds! Then his father agrees with Nick’s plan, and affords his plane ticket!
6 Alice in Wonderland 爱丽丝奇遇记
One hot summer day, Alice and her sister are sitting under the tree. Alice sees a white rabbit, and she run after it. The rabbit goes down a rabbit whole and Alice follows it, she is now in a strange wonderland. Alice eats some special things, and she changes her size! Everything is different and strange there. The animals there can speak! Alice meets many interesting things. At last, she wakes up. It’s just a dream!
7. Five Famous Fairy Tales 著名童话五则
This book tells five famous fairy tales. Today, I will mainly introduce the story, The White Birds, written by Hans Anderson.
There is a king with ten sons and one daughter. Their mother died when the daughter, Elisa, was born. Then the king married with another woman. But she is a bad and jealous woman. She changes the boys in to ten white birds. Elisa makes the coats of gold flowers to help them. Finally she succeeds, her brothers change bake to people, and she married with a king.
8. Gulliver’s Travels 格列佛游记
The story includes three parts. They are respectively talking about: Gulliver in Lilliput, in Brobdingnag, and in Houyhnms.
Gulliver travels to the South Seas. On their way to the East Indies, a strong wind carried them to the wrong way. Most of the people died. Some days later, he comes to Lilliput, everything is small there. Three days later, he comes to Brobdingnag. This country is opposite from Lilliput, the thing are huge, very huge! Then he travels to a place called Houyhnms, which is also very interesting.
9. Heidi 海蒂
Heidi is a cute and kindhearted girl. She lives in the mountain of Switzerland, and has no mother or father. One sunny day, she goes to stay with her grandfather in his little wooden house, high up in the mountain. She soon has a friend——goat-Peter. She makes Alm-Opa no longer lonely. One day, Heidi’s aunt takes her to Miss Rohmer’s house to be a servant. Later she helps Clara to stand up from the wheel chair, and can even walk more!
10 The Jungle Book 森林王子
There is a family of wolf live in the jungle. They find a very young brown child, with big eyes and no clothes. The wolves take the little boy in to their home. The child learns and plays with the other cubs. And they named him Mowgli. Later he becomes a brave and clever teenager. At last, Mowgli hunts with his ‘brothers’ in the jungle!(想得到的就只有这个了！！）
求英语读书笔记6篇 每篇300字左右。
自从读了这本书之后，我知道了自己的不足，学习上不再因为一两次不顺利而失去信心，而是越考不好，就越要考好。今后，我不管遇到什么困难，都要信心十足地去面对，坚持到底，决不退缩。我要感谢这本书，感谢它让我学到了那么多知识，感谢它让我懂得了那么多道理，感谢它让我知道自己的不足，及时改正自己的缺点，使我成为一个对社会有用的人。不妨将鲨鱼看作打击，吃掉我们的成功和幸福。但正如那孩子说的：“它没有打败你，它没有。” 一个真正的强者，只能被摧毁而不能被击败。 永不言败，这就是《老人与海》告诉我们的。Since reading this book, I know less than their own, not because of learning one or two do not go well and lose confidence, but more test well, the more to be a good test. From now on, I do not care what kind of difficulties encountered, we must face with confidence, insisted in the end, and never flinched. I would like to thank the book, thanks to it so that I have learned so much knowledge, it let me know how to thank so many reason, let me know for its own lack of timely and correct their own shortcomings, so that I become a socially useful people. Sharks may be seen as a blow to eat our success and happiness. But as the child said: "It does not beat you, it does not." A real strong, can only be destroyed can not be beat. Solely, which is "Old Man and the Sea" tells us.
《基督山伯爵》读后感
爱也彻底,恨也彻底.报恩也彻底,复仇也彻底.这就是在我读完《基督山复仇记》后最大的感受.中国有句俗语叫做"君子报仇,十年不晚",报仇也是需要养精蓄锐的,并不是凭着一时的心绪就可轻举妄动的.而基督山伯爵,则是最具体的用自己的行动阐释了这句俗语的.在经历十四年的地牢生涯后,他的人生要义就是找寻曾经的亲人,曾经的恩人和曾经的仇人.在确认了所要寻找的人以后,他并没有如我们在武侠小说里所见的那样,于恩人抱拳云"赴汤蹈火,再所不惜",于仇人一剑刺死.他选择了他自己的方式.对曾经有恩于自己的船主一家,他竭其所能,默默地支持着,以各种各样的方式,却从来不让他们知道其实自己就是为了报恩而来.如果说他的报恩令人感动,那他的复仇则是如此的淋漓尽致,在我们也有几度的叫好后不免有点心惊.
Love also thoroughly, and hate also thoroughly. Gratitude also thoroughly also, revenge thoroughly. This is when I read the record "JiDuShan revenge after the biggest feelings. Chinese proverb called" the gentleman revenge, decade not night, "vengeance is also need to refresh, and not by temporary mood can indiscretion. And JiDuShan earl, is the most concrete with his actions explains the saying. After 14 years of dungeons career after his meaning of life is looking for ever loved ones, once benefactor and former enemies. In confirmed what to look after the man, he is not as we in wuxia novels seen in that, to go through fire and water benefactor fuels cloud" notted hesitate again ", in enemy sword stabbing to death. He chose his own way to once one. The owner of a himself, he exerting its can, silently support, in a variety of ways, but never let them know oneself is to repay. If his gratitude sensational, that his revenge is so incisively and vividly, there are moments when we also gave a bit after the unavoidable effects-packed chiller.
读《永别了武器》
一个告别了武器的人,不是敌人的俘虏,就是爱的俘虏.我不是不善于自我保护,实在是一个放弃自我保护的人.就如同生命的数据库,已经不需要进入的密码,随时都可以打开全部程序,可以读出全部的文件.我说的俘虏,就是这个意义上的俘虏.当我把自我放到阳光下的时侯,我明白从此不能有所伪装,隐蔽的日子一想起就令人不安.当我意识到抗拒的无奈,有多少时间无可挽回,有多少记忆渐渐从内心淡出.说到底,俘虏就是一个不能抵挡伤害的人,就是要有足够的勇气放弃希望,必须承受生存的全部压力.本来,在属于个人的空间,可以沉浸于独自的幻想,可以从尘埃里开出虚拟的花朵.而一个放弃自我保护的人是连欺骗自己都不能,只有不断地净化内心世界.
A bid farewell to arms, not enemies captive, is love captive. I am not good at to protect themselves, is really a abandon ego to protect people. Just like life database, already did not need to enter the password can always open all programs, you can read all the files. I said, is this sense captive prisoners. When I put the self in the sunshine of hou, I understand from now on can't have camouflage, hidden days of disturbing. When I realized I resist helpless, how much time irreparably, how much memory gradually from the inner atomica. After all, captive is a can't withstand the hurt, is must have enough courage to give up hope, must bear survival of all pressure. Originally, in belongs to individual space, can immerse yourself in the illusion of alone, can leave from the dust of flower. And a virtual abandon protective man is even deceive himself can't, only by continuously purification inner world.
《哈姆雷特》读后感
莎翁的《哈姆雷特》是一部经典的代表作.这本书在表面情节上与历史的传说并没有多大的区别,讲的还是丹麦王子为父报仇的故事,其中充满了血腥暴力和死亡.正如 剧中人霍拉旭所说:" 你们可以听到奸淫残杀,反常修理的行为,冥冥中的判决,意外 的屠戮,借手杀人的狡计,以及陷入自害的结局." 曲折选宕的情节,紧紧围绕着复仇 而展开.哈姆雷特从德国的威登堡匆匆赶回国内,是来参加他父亲的葬礼的,使他不能 接受的是,他未赶上父亲的葬礼,却目睹了母亲与叔叔克劳迪斯的婚礼,这已使哈姆莱特疑窦在心,加之夜晚在王宫城堡的露台上与父亲的亡魂相见,亡魂哀诉,这桩暴行是 哈姆雷特的叔叔所为,并要他为父报仇.至此,他开始了艰难的复仇历程,与克劳迪斯展开了你死我活的较量.最终,向克劳迪斯发出了复仇之剑.
Shakespeare's Hamlet is a classic masterpiece. This book in surface witcher and history of legend doesn't make much difference, speak or revenge for the father of the prince of Denmark, including filled with stories of blood and violence and death. As dramatis personae huo pull xu said: "you could hear adultery slaughter, abnormal repair behavior, mianmianzhong the judgment, accidental massacring, borrow hand the guile of Hegelian reason, and kill into the harm of ending." choose either plot twists and turns, and tightly around revenge on. Hamlet from the German vuitton hurried home, is come to his father's funeral, so that he can't accept, he missed his father's funeral, but saw his mother and his uncle claudius wedding, it has made Hamlet doubts in mind, coupled with the night at the palace of the castle with father spirits of the balcony meet, ghosts cry of lawsuit, this pile of Hamlet brutality is behaved, and his uncle vengeance for father. So far, he began his difficult process, and revenge claudius launched a life-and-death battle. Eventually, to claudius issued the sword of revenge.
《傲慢与偏见》
正如她自己所说,是在两寸象牙上细细的雕刻,它是奥斯汀的代表作.这部反映婚姻问题的小说是作者作品中最受欢迎的一部,也是她本人最喜欢的作品.作品生动的反映了18世纪末到19世纪初处于保守和闭塞状态下的英国乡镇生活和世态人情.其社会风情画似的小说不仅在当时吸引着广大的读者,实至今日,仍给读者以独特的艺术享受.她是第一个现实地描绘日常平凡生活中平凡恩的小说家,在英国小说史上起了承上启下的作用. 整部作品没有滂沱的气势,没有曲折跌宕的情节,但就是这种简单,精致深深地吸引着我们.奥斯汀短暂的一生几乎都是在英国的乡间度过的,也许就是周围朴素,宁静的氛围孕育了她淡然的气质.并不能因为没有丰富的经历,就对她的对于事物的分析能力有所怀疑,读过《傲慢与偏见》的人一定会为她细腻,敏锐的情感所折服.在写《傲慢与偏见》时,她只是一个十几岁的女孩,难道这不是一种天赋么?她的确很少接触"外界",但思想存在,想象存在,这一切的存在就足够
Just as what she said, is in two inches of ivory carving narrow, it is the masterpiece of Austin. The reflection of marital problems novel is the author works in the most popular film, and also her personal favorite works. Works vivid reflects the 18th century to the early 19th century in conservative and unenlightened condition of British town life and generally favor. Its social walking like novels not only at that time attracted broad readers, real to today, still give the reader a unique art enjoyment. She was the first to describe reality daily in the ordinary life ordinary grace in British novelist, novel plays a connecting link between the preceding full-length works no role. The imposing manner, no torrential twists plot twists and turns, but is this kind of simple, delicate deeply attracts us. Austin brief life is almost in Britain spend, is perhaps the countryside around simple, halcyon atmosphere gave birth to her couse temperament. Not because no rich experience, to her for things analytical suspect somewhat, read "pride and prejudice" will for she is exquisite, sharp emotional tracks. Write "pride and prejudice", she's just a teenage girl, would it not a gift? She really rarely contact "outside", but the thoughts, imagine the existence of existence, all this is enough
《释梦》
弗洛伊德(1856--l939)是奥地利著名的精神病学家,精神分析学派的创始人.他的著作横跨半个世纪,对文学,哲学,神学,伦理学,美学,政治科学,社会学和大众心理产生了广泛而深入的影响,如果以影响的范围作为衡量伟大的标准,那么弗洛伊德无疑是最伟大的心理学家.弗洛伊德发动了人类思想史上又一次哥白尼式革命,他指出人类的无意识是无法被意识所控制,人类的潜意识中蕴含了巨大的心理内容,他以最理性的声音诉说了人类的无理性.《释梦》是弗洛伊德支柱性的学术著作.通过对梦的研究极大地拓展了人类对自身的探究的幅度,对我们的生活产生了深远的影响.
Freud (1856 - l939) is Austrian famed psychiatrist, psychoanalytic founder. He works for half a century, across the literature, philosophy and theology, ethics, aesthetics, political science, psychology sociology and mass produced extensive and profound influence, if with the scope of influence of as a measure of great standard, then Freud is undoubtedly the most great psychologist. Freud launched human history again Copernican revolution, he pointed out that the human unconscious cannot be conscious control, human unconscious mind contains a huge psychological content, he with the most rational voice telling the human irrational. "dream" is the release of academic works. Freud backbone through in dreams greatly expand the human to oneself of exploration of the amplitude, we live in a far-reaching influence.
求8篇英语读书笔记，越简单越好！越少字越好！
.《Jane Eyre》
I have read a book called 《Jane Eyre》. I think the story was very interesting. The girl called Jane Eyre was very brave.
Jane was an orphan. She lived in her aunt’s house. Her aunt didn’t like her, so she took her to an orphanage. Jane studied in the orphanage and learned a lot of things. When Jane grew up, she worked as a governess in a big family and taught the child in this family. Bit by bit, Jane and her master Mr Rochester came to fall in love with each other. But the master had a wife. She was a madwoman. When Jane knew this, she left her teaching post.
But she could not forget her master. So, at last, she visited her master. At that time, her master’ house was burnt down and he became handicapped. His mad wife died in the big fire. Jane decided to get married with him and look after him.
Jane Eyre found his real love and she was a happy woman. The most important thing is that Jane believed everybody were equal. Do you think so?
我发给你拉！
好累啊~~
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英文读书报告
写古埃及的书，给你两篇读后感：
The ancient Egyptians are an enduring source of fascination--mummies and pyramids, curses and rituals have captured our imaginations for generations. We all have a mental picture of ancient Egypt, but is it the right one? How much do we really know about this once great civilization? In this absorbing introduction, Ian Shaw, one of the foremost authorities on Ancient Egypt, describes how our current ideas about Egypt are based not only on the thrilling discoveries made by early Egyptologists but also on fascinating new kinds of evidence produced by modern scientific and linguistic analyses. He also explores the changing influences on our responses to these finds, by examining the impact of Egyptology on various aspects of popular culture such as literature, cinema, opera, and contemporary art. He considers all aspects of ancient Egyptian culture, from tombs and mummies to the discovery of artefacts and the decipherment of hieroglyphs, and from despotic pharaohs to animal-headed gods. From the general reader interested in Ancient Egypt, to students and teachers of ancient history and archaeology, to museum-goers, this Very Short Introduction will not disappoint.
Be careful to buy this book only if you want to learn about Egyptology as an academic discipline, more than about what scholars think really went on in ancient Egypt. This book is a learned and fascinating introduction to the study of ancient Egypt. If you are looking to understand how scholars painstakingly piece together tiny shards of ambiguous and insufficient evidence to construct an understanding of ancient Egypt, this is your book. If you seek a primer the current state of knowledge on life, religion, politics, culture, and society in ancient Egypt, you should probably buy another book. I bought the book out of a desire to learn more about what current scholarly thinking about ancient Egypt in order to open up a window on that fascinating civilization. Instead, I discovered a compelling (if dry) narrative on how Egyptologists work and reach conclusions. This is a really interesting topic in its own right, and, of course, it is fundamental to evaluating what is presented as "what we know" about ancient Egypt in an intelligent fashion. However, you might not want to spend time learning about Egyptology, but instead want to learn about ancient Egypt. If so, this is likely not the book for you right now
The title of this excellent entry in an excellent series should be 'Egyptology', as it is more about the study of ancient Egypt than the history itself. At 190 pages, it is a little longer than many entries in this series, but the final 30 of those pages are References, Timeline and so on, which provide a good springboard for further study.
Pharaonic Egypt was Earth's first great empire and it lasted for 3 millennia. The author examines the way in which that civilization has been perceived, interpreted and mythologized by, among others, Victorians seeking verification of Biblical stories and by modern, popular culture.
Ian Shaw writes well and comes across as an erudite and objective scholar. He has not used this book as an opportunity to put forward any unorthodoxy of his own, and has not been afraid to include many quotations from other Egyptologists. All of this makes the book a perfect introduction to this fascinating subject.
agree with the other reviewers that this book is not so much about Ancient Egypt as it is about Egyptology. I would say it even expects a previous knowledge of the periods and dynasties of Ancient Egypt. In that respect it fails to live up to its title.
As a book about Egyptology it's slightly dry and not very tight. The author seems to be all over the place. After reading this book, I have learned very little of Egyptology as a discipline except for a few theories expounded in the text.
I would not recommend this book. I am interested in reading Egyptian Myth: A very short introduction as a possible better introduction to Egyptian history, myths, and beliefs.
2
I knew absolutely nothing about ancient Egypt and cared less. I was still fascinated by this book and inspired to follow it up.
It starts with the Narmer Palette, an artefact in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and uses the decoration on both sides, pictures and hieroglyphs, to explain some of the things we think we know about ancient Egypt and how we think we know them. It's thought the elegantly outlined depression between the serpopards was used for crushing pigment for eyeshadow....serpopards? Leopards with the heads and neck of snakes.
The book goes on to look specifically at how we establish the narrative history of ancient history (or rather, perhaps, speculate about it rather than establish it), the roles of kings, and the issues of identity (the significance of race and gender in particular) and of religion (mummification, the pyramids and so on). Ancient Egypt really was ancient - the Pharaonic period started 5000 years ago and the timeline in the book goes further back than that - and covered a very long period, lasting into the Roman era AD. It's not surprising perhaps that it's very hard to "know" much, and of course, things will have changed quite a lot in the thousands of years covered by the Egyptian era.
In particular the book exposes some of the conflicts between archeologists, who look at what's left of the buildings and artifacts, and those who read and interpret the writing and hieroglyphs found on them. It had never occurred to me that there might be a division like that.
There is an outline of the rise of Egyptology in the nineteenth century, the mistakes made by early investigators which may have destroyed important evidence (and why they made the mistakes), and, finally some discussion of the impact of ancient Egypt on the twentieth century. This short section gives equal space to the Anthony and Cleopatras of Burton and Taylor on the one hand and of Kenneth Williams and Amanda Barrie on the other - this book has its feet on the ground.
There are good illustrations to support the text (full-page photos of both sides of the Narmer Palette, for example, so you see exactly what the author is writing about), a glossary and several pages of further reading and useful websites.
I was really surprised at being drawn in so thoroughly. Fascinating introduction.
另一篇哲学方面的书：
The last great mystery for science, consciousness has become a controversial topic. Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction challenges readers to reconsider key concepts such as personality, free will, and the soul. How can a physical brain create our experience of the world? What creates our identity? Do we really have free will? Could consciousness itself be an illusion? Exciting new developments in brain science are opening up these debates, and the field has now expanded to include biologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers. This book clarifies the potentially confusing arguments and clearly describes the major theories, with illustrations and lively cartoons to help explain the experiments. Topics include vision and attention, theories of self, experiments on action and awareness, altered states of consciousness, and the effects of brain damage and drugs. This lively, engaging, and authoritative book provides a clear overview of the subject that combines the perspectives of philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience--and serves as a much-needed launch pad for further exploration of this complicated and unsolved issue.
I have to admit that at first I dismissed this little introduction to consciousness, but then I read the book again. It's a gem. Blackmore makes it all clear right up front what the problem of consciousness is and several ways that consciousness might be defined. She considers whether consciousness is some integral feature of brain processes or something in addition to the physical features of the brain (a position that goes by the clumsy name of "epiphenomenalism"). Next she talks about a last Cartesian seduction in the thinking of some materialists called "the Cartesian theatre", a phrase coined by Daniel Dennett that means that some scientists have embraced the material operation of the brain but still believe that consciousness is something that appears at a place and time in the brain. It as if there is a little theatre in the brain where consciousness is played.
Blackmore next questions the natural or intuitive idea that consciousness is present in a continuous stream: this is a grand illusion and how the brain may create this illusion is investigated. She focuses on visual perceptual consciousness and presents research that questions our natural understanding of what is going on with our brains while we experience the world. There follows a consideration of "the self" (a useful construction, it seems), conscious will, and altered states of consciousness (psychedelic drugs, meditation, and out-of-body experiences). All in all this is a brief, but very clear and stimulating discussion of consciousness. I find it remarkable that so much was packed in a little volume that left me stimulated and grateful instead of exhausted, bored, or confused.
It's just a great place to begin trying to get a grip on what the fuss is and why consciousness is such a curious and marvelous phenomenon.
No one book can cover all there is to say about the burgening field of Consciousness Studies of Consciousness Research, but this book comes as close as any one up-to-date one can; furthermore, it has all the usual physical advantages of Oxford University Press' "Very Short Introduction" titles: small enough to actually fit into a pockes yet so well bound that when carried so the spine will never crack nor pages ever fall out.
Susan Blackmore's experience as a Zen meditator adds depth to the section on altered states of consciousness as well as to her final summary on the future of consciousness and consciousness research.
A minor disappointment was the abscence of any treatment of Artificial Intelligence and the philosophical problems it raises, especially unfortunate since she sha covered that subtopic well and thoroughly in a longer book. Also some cartoon drawings are rudimentary and add little to the text, but on the other hand, some photographic, do-it-yourself demonstrations of how our conciousness differs from what we believe we introspectively know it to be are excellent.
Another positive for any book but especially one suitable as an initial introduction to a topic is an excellent bibliography for further reading.
2
I first encountered Blackmore's work when, after searching long and hard for a scientific explanation of out-of-body experiences, I came across her book Beyond the Body. It was astonishingly well researched and offered a rational, convincing explanation for phenomena that were usually neglected by the scientific community. I became an instant fan and have followed her work ever since. But now, alas, she has aligned herself with the Dawkins/Dennett axis of drivel, and my loyalty to her is badly shaken. In this book (a shorter version of her Consciousness: An Introduction) she follows Dennett by denying the existence of consciousness and then indulging in much speculation about the properties and evolutionary history of this non-existent entity. Consciousness, she maintains, is an 'illusion', which she defines as something that exists but does not have the properties it appears to have. She then proceeds to discuss it as if it does not in fact exist, and slips into calling it a 'delusion', which she apparently regards as a synonymous term. So far, so Dennett. She follows Dawkins by labeling just about everything a 'meme' (as Poe might have said 'All that we see or seem is but a meme within a meme'), unless she happens not to approve of it, in which case it is 'a virus of the mind'. As an example, she indulges in a quite intemperate and completely irrelevant rant against religion, in which Roman Catholicism is described as a parasitic infection. Like Dennett and Dawkins, she leaves no axe unground.
So why do I give the book 5 stars if I disagree with so much of it? Well, I guess you can't keep a good scientist down, and Blackmore is still a great scientist. She brings considerable knowledge and erudition to the subject, presents fair summaries of opposing views, and gives excellent descriptions of odd phenomena like Libet's Delay and the Cutaneous Rabbit. And her style is as readable as ever. I was suspicious when I saw that her son Jolyon had contributed many of the illustrations - it smacked of nepotism - but I have to say his drawings are really charming and add greatly to the text. The other illustrations are useful too - with the possible exception of a photograph of the author opening a fridge door - which isn't always the case with this series. The book ends with a very useful Further Reading list. It's thus an excellent introduction to the subject (although I think John Searle's The Mystery of Consciousness is still the best place to start).
So, I shall keep the faith and continue to read everything Susan Blackmore publishes. I just hope that one day, just as she once abandoned a belief in the paranormal, she sees the light and abandons the axis of drivel.
3Scientists try to approach the function of the human brain just as they approach the functioning of any other organ in our bodies: as a natural feature of the natural world. According to this view, what we call our "mind" is dependent upon the physical brain, making the mind just as natural and material as other biological processes like digestion. Even so, it's difficult to entirely escape the lure of dualism — the view that "mind" is completely separate from and independent of the physical brain. Usually dualism is accompanied by the belief that the mind is basically the soul — an immaterial, eternal "thing" which represents our true selves. This view has been promoted by theistic religions for millennia.
Because research into the nature and functioning of the brain is still in its relatively early stages, there's a lot of open ground and disputed ideas. Scientific researchers are not united behind a single explanation or way of conceptualizing how the brain creates the mind and consciousness. This means that there is a lot to read and digest before you can claim to at least understand where the current research stands — but fortunately there is a good place to start. Susan Blackmore's Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction is part of Oxford University Press "very short introduction" series and, like other volumes, does a great job at explaining even complicated issues in a way that is comprehensible and engaging for even a general audience. Perhaps the most significant problem in the study of human consciousness is whether there is real problem there or not.
Some argue that there are "easy problems" like explaining how processes like perception and memory work, then the "hard problem" of explaining how consciousness itself works. Others argue that there is no "hard problem" because if we can explain all the "easy problems," then we will have explained consciousness (or at least the explanation for consciousness will immediately and obviously follow). The difference can stated as: is consciousness an "extra thing" or "extra ingredient" in our minds, or is any sufficiently advanced mental processing system also necessarily "conscious"?
For many religious theists, this question necessarily turns on the existence of a soul. Machines and robots cannot be "conscious," for example, because they cannot have souls — only God can imbue a living being with a soul and it cannot automatically appear simply because a system becomes complex enough. Even some scientists who don't believe in souls will agree that simply having all the same parts and complexities as a human brain would not lead to consciousness, but many others think that it would. This means that efforts to create a "conscious" machine will have profound implications for the common belief in dualism, souls, and a "mind" that is immaterial, supernatural, and separate from the physical brain.
Like most scientists and researchers, Blackmore rejects the traditional religious explanations for the mind: she rejects dualism, she rejects the existence of a mind or soul that is independent of the brain, and she rejects the idea that the mind is in any way eternal.
Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction, by Susan BlackmoreBlackmore goes further than most, however, and is inclined to believe that even the existence of a coherent, consistent "self" is likely an illusion. Most scientists seem to be trying to hold on to this, and intuitively it is something that seems to be true. There is a significant amount of evidence and logic which suggests otherwise, though — and if it's true that our traditional, intuitive notion of consistent self is wrong, then what does this say about the existence of a soul?
Although Susan Blackmore certainly has her own views, this doesn't interfere with her explanations — readers won't get the feeling that she is only setting up straw men to attack or that she's giving short shrift to views she doesn't accept. She doesn't hide her own perspective, but she also doesn't let it get in the way of giving readers a broad education in where current research stands, what different researchers think, and of course possible problems with it all.
Blackmore doesn't cover everything, of course, nor could she in a short introduction like this. Yet she does cover plenty, and anyone simply looking for an overview of the field will get all they need. If someone would like more detailed information, a good follow-up would be Blackmore's Conversations on Consciousness, where she interviews many leading researchers to ask them what they think and why.
