Text 1 An embarrassing experience It was the small hours of the morning when we reached London Airport. 1 had cabled London from Amsterdam, and there was a hired car to meet, but there was one more unfortunate happening before I reached my flat. In all my travels 1 have never, but for that once, been required by the British customs to open a single bag or to do more than state that I carried no goods liable to duty. It was, of course, my fault; the extreme tiredness and nervous tension of the journey had destroyed my diplomacy. I was, for whichever reason, so tired that 1 could hardly stand, and to the question, ' have you read this?' I replied with extreme foolishness, ' yes, hundreds of dines. ' ‘And you have nothing to declare?' ‘Nothing. ' ‘ How long have you been out of this country?' ‘About three months. ' ‘ And during that time you have acquired nothing?' ‘Nothing but what is on the list I have given you. ' He seemed momentarily at a loss, but then he attacked. The attack, when it came, was utterly unexpected. 'Where did you get that watch?' I could have kicked myself. Two days before, when playing water s with a friend in the bath. I had forgotten to take off my ROLEX OYSTER, and it had, not unnaturally, stopped. I had gone into the market and bought, for twelve shillings and six pence, an ugly time piece that made a strange noise. It had stopped twice, without any reason, during the journey. I explained, but I had already lost face. I produced my own watch from a pocket, and added that I should be grateful if he would confiscate the replacement. ‘ It is not a question of confiscation, ' he said, ' there is a fine for failing to declare dutiable goods. And now may I please examine that Rolex?' It took another quarter of an hour to persuade him that the Rolex was not contraband; then he began to search my luggage. Text 2 Nowadays, a standard for measuring power has changed. These changes foretell a new standard for measuring power. No longer will a nation' s political influence be based solely on the strength of its military forces. Of course, military effectiveness will remain a primary measure of power. But political influence is also closely tied to industrial competitiveness. It' s often said that without its military the Soviet Union would really be a third-world nation. The new standard of power and influence that is evolving now places more emphasis on the ability of a country to compete effectively in the economic markets of the world. America must recognize this new course of s. Our success in shaping world s over the past 40 years has been the direct result of our ability to adapt technology and to take advantage of the capabilities of our people for the purpose of maintaining peace. Our industrial prowess ( 威力 ) over most of this period was unchallenged. It is ironic that it is just this prowess that has enabled other countries to prosper and in turn to threaten our industrial leadership. The competitiveness of America' s industrial base is an issue bigger than the department of defense and is going to require the efforts of the major institutional forces in our society government, industry, and education. That is not to say that the defense department will not be a strong force in the process. But we simply cannot be, nor should we be, looked upon by others as the savior( 救星 ) of American industry. Text 3 Greek mythology is largely made up of stories about gods and goddesses, but it must not be read as a kind of Greek Bible, an account of the Greek religion. According to the most modern idea, a real myth has nothing to do with religion. It is an explanation of something in nature; how, for instance, any and everything in the universe came into existence: men, animals, this or that tree or flower, the sun, the moon, the stars, storms, eruptions, earthquakes, all that is and all that happens. Thunder and lightning are caused when Zeus hurls his thunderbolt. A volcano erupts because a terrible creature is imprisoned in the mountain and every now and then struggles to get free. The Dipper, the constellation called also the Great Bear, does not set below the horizon because a goddess once was angry at it and decreed that it should never sink into the sea. Myths are early science, the result of men ' s first trying to explain what they saw around them. But there are many so-called myths which explain nothing at all. These tales are pure entertainment, the sort of thing people would tell each other on a long winter' s evening. The story of Pygmalion and Galatea is an example; it has no conceivable connection with any in nature. Neither has the Quest of the Golden Fleece, nor Orpheus and Eurydice, nor many another. This fact is now generally accepted; and we do not have to try to find in every mythological heroine the moon or the dawn and in every hero' s life a sun myth. The stories are early literature as well as early science. But religion is there, too. In the background, to be sure, but nevertheless plain to see. From Homer through the tragedians and even later, there is a deepening realization of what human beings need and what they must have in their gods.