美國語文讀本

這套經典讀本的英文原版共分七級，包括啟蒙讀本和第1-6級。因為到啟蒙讀本與第一級篇幅都較少，難易程度也很接近，於是將之合併為第1冊，其餘2-6級與英文原版相同。

基本介紹

• 書名：美國語文讀本
• 作者：威廉·H·麥加菲（wIilliam H. Mcguffey） 
• 原版名稱：The Eclectic Readers
• ISBN：9787542634146 
• 定價：118.00元
• 出版社：上海三聯書店
• 出版時間：2011年1月1日
• 裝幀：平 裝

內容簡介

這樣國內出版的這套讀本共包括6冊。第1冊從字母表開始，主要側重於字母的發音與書寫、簡單的單詞與句型，同時強調英文書寫，課文後面附有不少書法練習，讓孩子們不僅將英語說得像外國人，而且寫得也跟外文書法一樣，這是國內英語教學所缺少的一個環節。從第2冊開始，均是比較正式的課文了，每一課包括辭彙和課文，對一些生詞有英文解釋，讓學生學會通過簡單英文理解生詞，養成用英語理解和思維的習慣。第4冊還附有課後思考練習，這些練習可以幫助學生更好理解文章，引發孩子們的思考。第5冊和第6冊的課文前增加了作者簡介與相關背景知識，內容豐富而有一定深度。

從所選課文的英文難易程度來看，大致而言，這套讀本的第1-3冊跟國內國小畢業程度相近，第4冊則適用於國中生閱讀使用，第5、6冊可供高中及以上程度學習者閱讀。從文體方面我們可以看出，除了常見的記敘、散文體以外，這套讀本對詩歌、戲劇、論說文等文體也很重視，書中選取了不少名家的名作名篇。這對國內孩子們真正感受英語這一西方語言的魄力是大有幫助的。

This series of schoolbooks teaching reading and moral precepts, originally prepared by William Holmes who was a professor at Miami University McGuffey, had a profound influence on public education in the United States. The eclectic readers, meaning that the selections were chosen from a number of sources, were considered remarkably literary works and probably exerted a greater influence upon literary tastes in the United States more than any other book, excluding the Bible.

It is estimated that at least 120 million copies of McGuffey's Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960, placing its sales in a category with the Bible and Webster's Dictionary. Since 1961 they have continued to sell at a rate of some 30,000 copies a year. No other textbook bearing a single person's name has come close to that mark. McGuffey's Readers are still in use today in some school systems, and by parents for home schooling purposes.

作者簡介

威廉·H·麥加菲，美國著名教育家。1800年出生於賓夕法尼亞州，1826年畢業於華盛頓大學傑斐遜學院。在數十年教育生涯中，他曾擔任過邁阿密大學語言學教授，俄亥俄大學校長。自1845年開始任維吉尼亞大學道德哲學教授。他還幫助組建了俄亥俄州公立學校體系。

早在19世紀初期，麥加菲就意識到，應該給那些孤獨的墾荒者和歐洲移民的後代提供普遍的教育，於是他利用自己作為演講家與教育工作者的天賦，開始為孩子們編寫系列教材。這套教材共7冊，從學齡前至第6年級。他前後花費了20多年的時間才完成全套教材的編寫。這套教材面世後就被美國很多學校選為課本。在75年間銷量高達1.22億，直到今天仍以各種版本流行於西方，被美國《出版周刊》評為“人類出版史上第三大暢銷書”，對美國青年的心靈塑造與道德培養產生了史無前例的影響。

William Holmes McGuffey (September 23, 1800 – May 4, 1873) was an American professor and college president who is best known for writing the McGuffey Readers, one of the nation's first and most widely used series of textbooks. It is estimated that at least 122 million copies of McGuffey Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960, placing its sales in a category with the Bible and Webster's Dictionary.

He was born the son of Alexander and Anna (Holmes) McGuffey near Claysville in Washington County, Pennsylvania, which is 45 miles southwest of Pittsburgh. In 1802 the McGuffey family moved further out into the frontier at Tuscarawas County, Ohio. He attended country school, and after receiving special instruction at Youngstown, he attended Greersburg Academy in Darlington, Pennsylvania. Afterwards, he attended and graduated from Pennsylvania's Washington College, where he became an instructor.

He was close friends with Washington College's President Andrew Wylie and lived in Wylie's house for a time; they often would walk the 3 miles to Washington College together.

McGuffey's house in OxfordMcGuffey left Washington College in 1826 to become a professor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. A year later in 1827, he was married to Harriet Spinning of Dayton, Ohio, with whom he had five children. In 1829, he was ordained at Bethel Chapel as a minister in the Presbyterian Church. It was in Oxford that he created the most important contribution of his life: The McGuffey Readers. His books sold over 122 million copies. He was very fond of teaching and children as he geared the books toward a younger audience.

In 1836, he left Miami to become president of Cincinnati College, where he also served as a distinguished teacher and lecturer. He left Cincinnati in 1839 to become the 4th president of Ohio University, which he left in 1843 to become president of Woodward College (really a secondary school) in Cincinnati.

In 1845, McGuffey moved to Charlottesville, Virginia where he became Professor of Philosophy at the University of Virginia. A year after his first wife Harriet died in 1850, he married Miss Laura Howard, daughter of Dean Howard of the University of Virginia, in 1851. McGuffey is buried in the university burial ground, in Charlottesville, Virginia. The School of Education at Miami University is housed in McGuffey Hall which is named for him and his home in Oxford is a National Historic Landmark offering tours on weekdays.

中文版序

呈現於讀者面前的這套《美國語文讀本》，亦名《麥加菲讀本》，其編者威廉·H·麥加菲曾先後任美國邁阿密大學語言學教授和俄亥俄大學校長。考慮到“麥加菲”的英文名稱在美國已被註冊為商標，加之它是一套影響深遠而廣泛的語文課本，我們在中國首次原版出版這套著名教材時，便將書名定為《美國語文讀本》。這套書既有教材功能，又可當作提高英語水平的有效讀物。

《美國語文讀本》從19世紀中期至20世紀中葉，一直被廣泛用作美國學校的語文教材，據稱有10000多所美國學校拿它當作教材。美國著名汽車製造商亨利·福特稱讚這套書是他兒童時代最有興趣的讀物，後來他自費大量印刷這套書，分發給很多學校。到了21世紀，西方一些私立學校(Private School)和家庭學校（Homeschool）仍用它作為教材，足見這套書的價值與影響力。據估計，這套書從問世至1960年，至少發行了1.22億冊；1961年後，在西方每年銷量仍達30000冊以上。應該說，沒有哪一套個人主編的教材能超過此發行量了！

人類文化的瑰寶不僅源遠流長，而且具有很大共通性，在全社會不斷呼籲教育改革的今天，我們將這套優秀的美國讀本引進到國內，應該具有一定的借鑑意義。它也有益於中國孩子在學習英語的同時，了解西方的文學與文化歷史，通過英語這門語言工具，開闊自己的視野，打開通往世界的心靈之窗。