This paper addresses the possibility of anxiety arousal in foreign language (FL) reading among Japanese university learners. In particular, using the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale called FLRAS, this paper investigated the following areas: 1)the degree to which Japanese university learners perceived anxiety specific to the domain of reading, 2)the relation between perception of reading anxiety and reading proficiency, and 3)identification of underlying characteristic factors behind FL Reading Anxiety by means of factor analysis. Results showed significant correlations between the FLCAS (Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale) and the FLRAS, and significant negative correlations between the FLRAS and reading proficiency measures. Furthermore, the low reading proficiency group exhibited a significantly higher degree of reading anxiety than the intermediate reading proficiency group. The low reading proficiency group also showed a significantly less positive attitude toward the motivational components of the FLRAS than the intermediate reading proficiency group did. Based on these findings, this paper concludes with possible suggestions for anxiety reduction techniques to be employed in the instructional setting.

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In Britain, history has proved to be a useful subject for future politicians and civil servants both at home and in the Empire. The traditional emphasis has been upon British history, and content has focused mainly on great Englishmen and events. After the Second World War, this ′great tradition′ came to face a number of social changes which led to a crisis of traditional morals and values. The old style of teaching history, therefore, was perceived to be inadequate. The aim of this essay is to illustrate how the English school history curriculum has responded to the challenges posed by a more ethnically diverse society since 1945. Although several attempts were made in order to adjust history teaching to the changing society, the National Curriculum, first introduced in 1991, returned to the traditional content and method. This ′authorised version′ of history highlighted the common heritage and culture into which all those living in Britain, irrespective of their ethnic origins, should be assimilated. The current Labour government has continued to emphasise the common values and tradition. The outcome of this can be seen in the new National Curriculum for 2000.

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'The Necessity of the Cultural Education in a Second Language Class' was written to prove the necessity and importance of introducing culture in a second language class. Why a second language? And why a cultural education in a second language class? The answers to these questions are, I believe, that the main goal of teaching a second language is to help each student (1)to have the clear recognition of the difference between his or her own culture and other cultures (2)to create a new value judgement by having that recognition (3)to love and respect other cultures as well as his or her own culture. Since we are very familiar with the language of English, I chose English as my target language for this paper. There are 6 chapters besides Introduction and Conclusion in 'The Necessity of the Cultural Education in a Second Language Class' Chap.1: The Propose of English Education Chap.2: The Definition of Culture Chap.3: The Meaning of Teaching Culture in a Second Language Class Chap.4: The Analysis of TOTAL Chap.5: The Necessity of Cooperation with Other Subjects Chap.6: The 8 Main Methods of Teaching English as a Second Language I will be very happy if this paper can be a help for the second language learners as well as the second language teachers.

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In Thomas Hobbes′s political theory, a family is very similar to a commonwealth. First, they are both artificially formed. Second, their political system is patriarchy. According to his social contract theory, a commonwealth is founded on a contract of every man with every man. Thus, the nature of the commonwealth is artificial. The political system which Hobbes believes to be that of an ideal commonwealth is a monarchy. And a monarchy is generally called a patriarchy, the primary nature of which is paternal dominion. Since paternal dominion is the very basis of his theory of the family, it might be said that Hobbes parallels a family with a commonwealth. Then, how do men and women make a family in Hobbes′s political theory? And what is the condition to form the family? He describes his opinions of the marriage and the family in The Elements of Law(1640), De Cive(1642)and Leviathan(1651). Hobbes stands by the theory that men and women are equal in the faculties of body and mind, because he thinks that in the state of nature there is no difference of strength or prudence between both sexes. A man and a woman do agree to marry and a family is formed. By a contract of the man with the woman, a husband or a father has power over the family. The power is called paternal power. A family, in theory, comes into existence when the husband or the father has acquired paternal power. Therefore, that a patriarch has paternal power is the absolute condition to form a family. In conclusion, Hobbes′s patriarchal family made by a contract between man and woman could be, like Hobbers′s commonwealth, regarded as artificial. In addition, Hobbes would be the first to have considered a family to be artificial.

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Lear's encounter with Edgar disguised as "Poor Tom" marks one of the climactic scenes in King Lear. On meeting Edgar, Lear loses his sanity and feels unreasonably close affinity to "Poor Tom." When he says, "Have his [Edgar's] daughters brought him to this pass?" Lear projects his own distressing predicament into Edgar. For him Edgar is not an autonomous individual but just the reflection of his self-image. Lear also sees in Edgar not wearing any clothes a genuine aspect of human condition and, imitating his nakedness, tries to take off his own clothes in the middle of the fierce storm. Throughout the scene Lear desperately tries to identify and assimilate himself with Edgar. This is also an earnest attempt to recover his lost identity. Disgraced and humiliated by his wicked daughters, King Lear is not only provoked to ungovernable rage but also begins a fundamental questioning about who he is. In this scene, Lear avoids confrontation with his own intolerable reality and tries to establish his new identity by assimilating himself with Edgar. King Lear is sometimes interpreted from the point of view of Lear's self-discovery. My focus is on Lear's escape from self-discovery through assimilation with Edgar and others.

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This paper treats Oliver Goldsmith′s image of China, especially in The Citizen of The World(1762)which is the pseudo-correspondence between Lien Chi Altangi, a disciple of Confucius, in London and his teacher in Peking. In the work, Goldsmith never admires England nor China depicting every nation has both merits and demerits. He expresses sharp criticism to European and English expansionism and considers Chinese society as not stagnant but stable. Like William Temple who published "An Essay upon the Ancient and Modern Learning"(1690)maintaining the superiority of the ancients and the Chinese in all fields, he takes a pessimistic view of the English future improving Nature without cultivating inner nature. But he has the same view of China losing slowly the ancient power and glory. He never aspires to ancient civilization and the East, but depicts contemporary English society humorously or sarcastically in comparison with Chinese society. In the current trend of thought, Goldsmith′s attitude toward China in The Citizen of The World is very exceptional. In the long run, controversy between the ancients and the moderns provoked by William Temple engendered the idea of progress, at least among the supporters of the moderns. With the spread of the idea of progress, considering China as stagnant became dominant in the latter half of the eighteenth century. The pessimistic view of the contemporary English expansionism turned to nostalgic return to the home and family, and further to the English soil in retreat from the world. After the Chinese, "noble savage" from South Pacific became popular by criticising European civilisation.

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The purpose of this paper is to show an example of Nostromo's artistry with Monygham, who seems a kind of deformed figure in the novel. Nostromo is impartial. The impartiality of Nostromo, a sort of perfection, is similar to one of the Baroque art. You could see the Baroque muddle in Nostromo's impartiality; for Nostromo has a sense of incongruity with all its perfectivity. In Nostromo Monygham's distorted nature is a counter-impartial image. It provides a key to solve the incongruous sense permeating through Nostromo. The manneristic incongruity of Monygham is a manifestation of twisted perfection. Incongruous Monygham has a fictional role and the manneristic role reflects the Baroque perfectivity of impartial Nostromo. The deformation of Monygham signifies 'discordia concors' as a perfect artistry of Nostromo.

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W.B.Yeats declared in one of his later essays, "I was born into this faith, have lived in it, and shall die in it;my Christ...is that Unity of Being...." If this declaration is true, "Unity of Being" should be one of the most important ideas in studying Yeats and his works. Many critics, however, are not very interested in identifying its meaning;some tend to change their interpretation of its meaning in the process of developing their theories without referring to why they do so, and others tend to jump to the conclusion that "Unity of Being" means complete beauty which is symbolized by a full moon in the fifteenth night. Thus the purpose of this paper is to identify the meaning of "Unity of Beauty" as exactly as possible. Yeats changed his interpretation of its meaning twice in the course of its pursuit himself, so "Unity of Being" has at least three meanings. In the first phase of its pursuit(around 1922), Yeats regarded it as a kind of mental condition in which a man can bring his whole character to anything such as general converse and business. In the second phase(around 1925), however, he regarded it as another kind of mental condition in which a man can bring all that happens, as well as all he desires, into an emotional or intellectual synthesis. Furthermore in the third phase(around 1935), he identified it with what is called "梵我一如" in Upanishads, that is, unity of Brahma and Self.

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Both H.D.Thoreau(1817-62)and Kenji Miyazawa(1896-1933)were devotedly pursuing philosophical idealism---a harmonious coexistence of human beings with wildlife in Nature. The two writers shared a sensitivity to and a close observation of Nature. Of particular note from an ecological perspective are three sets of beliefs they entertained toward nature. The first is biocentricism: Human beings are not the predominant rulers of Nature but as part of Nature where all living things are equal. The second is an organic view of nature: All living creatures are organically interrelated with each other in Nature. The third is their advocacy of nature conservation as a caveat against environmental disruption. Underlying their strong empathy with Nature is the natural landscape of their respective homelands. Both Concord and Iwate Prefecture abound in deciduous broad-leaved forests, which ensure the repetition of ecological cycles. Both writers evoke "a sense of place" toward their birthplaces, a practice much in accord with recent Nature Writing. However, their philosophical foundations differed. Thoreau was influenced by Romanticism, Emerson′s Transcendentalism, Oriental Classics and close contact with Native Americans. Miyazawa was strongly influenced by Buddhist teachings---the transmigration of souls, the abhorrence of merciless killing of animals, and vegetarianism. However, he, too, was inspired by the philosophy of Emerson. As a warning against unrestrained environmental degradation, it is high time that we appraised the pioneering works of these two foresighted literary figures, who helped shape the thoughts of current environmentalism.

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