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Unit1 Festivals and celebrations
Festivals and celebrations of all kinds have been
held everywhere since ancient
times. Most
ancient festivals would celebrate the end of cold
weather, planting in spring
and harvest in
autumn. Sometimes celebrations would be held after
hunters had caught
animals. At that time
people would starve if food was difficult to find,
especially during
the cold winter months.
Today's festivals have many origins, some
religious, some
seasonal, and some for special
people or events.
Festivals of the Dead
Some festivals are held to honour the
dead or to satisfy the ancestors, who might
return either to help or to do harm. For the
Japanese festival Obon, people should go to
clean graves and light incense in memory of
their ancestors. They also light lamps and
play music because they think that this will
lead the ancestors back to earth. In Mexico,
people celebrate the Day of the Dead in early
November. On this important feast day,
people
eat food in the shape of skulls and cakes with
flowers and gifts to the dead. The Western
holiday Halloween also had its origin in old
beliefs about the return of the spirits of
dead people. It is now a children's festival, when
they can dress up and go to their neighbours'
homes to ask for sweets. If the neighbours
do
not give any sweets, the children might play a
trick on them.
Festivals to Honour
People
Festivals can also be held to
honour famous people. The Dragon Boat Festival in
China honours the famous ancient poet, Qu
Yuan. In the USA, Columbus Day is in
memory of
the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the New
World. India has a national
festival on
October 2 to honour Mohandas Gandhi, the leader
who
helped gain India's independence from
Britain.
Harvest Festivals
Harvest and Thanksgiving festivals can be very
happy events. People are grateful
because
their food is gathered for the winter and the
agricultural work is over. In
European
countries, people will usually decorate churches
and town halls with flowers
and fruit, and
will get together to have meals. Some people might
win awards for their
farm produce, like the
biggest watermelon or the most handsome rooster.
China and
Japan have mid-autumn festivals,
when people admire the moon and in China, enjoy
mooncakes.
Spring Festivals
The most energetic and important
festivals are the ones that look forward to the
end of winter and to the coming of spring. At
the Spring Festival in China, people eat
dumplings, fish and meat and may give children
lucky money in red paper. There are
dragon
dances and carnivals, and families celebrate the
Lunar New Year together. Some
Western
countries have very exciting carnivals, which take
place forty days before Easter,
usually in
February. These carnivals might include parades,
dancing in the streets day
and night, loud
music and colourful clothing of all kinds. Easter
is an important religious
and social festival
for Christians around the world. It celebrates the
return of Jesus from
the dead and the coming
of spring and new life. Japan's Cherry Blossom
Festival happens
a little later. The country,
covered with cherry tree flowers, looks as though
it is covered
with pink snow.
People love to get together to eat, drink and have
fun with each other. Festivals
let us enjoy
life, be proud of our customs and forget our work
for a little while.
A SAD LOVE STORY
Li Fang was heart-broken. It was Valentine's Day
and Hu Jin had said she would
meet him at the
coffee shop after work. But she didn't turn up.
She could be with her
friends right now
laughing at him. She said she would be there at
seven o'clock, and he
thought she would keep
her word. He had looked forward to meeting her all
day, and
now he was alone with his roses and
chocolates, like a fool. Well, he was not going
to hold his breath for her to apologize. He
would drown his sadness in coffee.
It was obvious that the manager of the coffee shop
was waiting for Li Fang to
leave - he wiped
the tables, then sat down and turned on the TV
-just what Li Fang
needed! A sad Chinese story
about lost love.
The granddaughter
of the Goddess of Heaven visited the earth. Her
name was
Zhinü, the weaving girl. While she
was on earth she met the herd boy Niulang and they
fell in love. (
they were very happy.
(
Heaven knew that her granddaughter was
married to a human, she became very angry
and
made the weaving girl return to Heaven. Niulang
tried to follow her, but the river of
stars,
the Milky Way, stopped him. Finding that Zhinii
was heart-broken, her
grandmother finally
decided to let the couple cross the Milky Way to
meet once a year.
Magpies make a bridge of
their wings so the couple can cross the river to
meet on the
seventh day of the seventh lunar
month. People in China hope that the weather will
be
fine on that day, because if it is raining,
it means that Zhinü is weeping and the couple
won't be able to meet.
The announcer said,
about the story, they call
it a Chinese Valentine's story. It's a fine day
today, so I hope
you can all meet the one you
love.
As Li Fang set off for home,
he thought,
throw these flowers and chocolates
away. I don't want them to remind me of
her.
did.
As he sadly passed the
tea shop on the corner on his way home, he heard a
voice
calling him. There was Hu Jin waving at
him and calling,
been waiting for you for a
long time! And I have a gift for you!
What would he do? He had thrown away her Valentine
gifts! She would never
forgive him. This would
not be a happy Valentine's Day!
WINTER
CARNIVAL IN QUEBEC
A group of very cold
tourists are sitting in a café in old Quebec,
drinking hot coffee
to try to warm up. The
temperature is 32 degrees below freezing. The
windows are
covered with steam from the heat
inside. Outside, snow covers the streets and is
piled up
along the sidewalks. The music and
lights of the Carnival continue, but after a whole
day
of watching parades, riding in horse
carriages and listening to the music, their feet
are
freezing and their noses are red.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people come
to Quebec to take part in the
week-long winter
festival, the biggest in the world. Everyone who
comes must be
prepared to keep moving, as it
is too cold to stand and watch for long.
Early in the morning, you can watch the
snowboarding competitions on the hill
overlooking the river. Competitors speed down
the track and through the air as though
they
could fly.
The more brave of heart may
try the canoe races. Five or six men paddle each
canoe
across the partly-frozen St Lawrence
River. The fiver is full of big pieces of ice, and
if you were to fall in, you would freeze in
less than two minutes.
One of the
favourite events is the dog-sled race, in which
teams of about six husky
dogs pull long sleds
at great speeds along a snowy track. One person
runs behind the sled,
shouting to the dogs to
encourage them. The sound of the dogs barking, the
calls of the
drivers and the shouts of the
crowd make an exciting Northern experience. The
dogs are
beautiful strong animals, with long,
thick fur and many with blue eyes.
While
admiring the ice sculptures everywhere in the
city, much like those in Harbin
in China, you
can stop with other tourists in an igloo (圆顶冰屋 )
for hot tea or coffee. It
is amazing how warm
these ice houses can be!
Late in
the evening, you can go to the snow palace, where
Bonhomme the snowman
is king, and join the
crowd. You can dance outside to the music of a
band, who are all
dressed in heavy clothes -
even some of their instruments are dressed up for
winter.
Finally, you will probably want to sit
down in a cafe to warm up and to plan tomorrow.
You might join the snowmobile races - or maybe
you should just sleep in!
Unit 2 Come and
eat here (1)
Wang Peng sat in his empty
restaurant feeling very frustrated. It had been a
very
strange morning. Usually he got up early
and prepared his menu of barbecued mutton
kebabs, roast pork, stir-flied vegetables and
fried rice. Then by lunchtime they would all
be sold. By now his restaurant ought to be
full of people. But not today! Why was that?
What could have happened? He thought of his
mutton, beef and bacon cooked in the
hottest,
finest oil. His cola was sugary and cold, and his
ice cream was made of milk,
cream and
delicious fruit.
friend Li Chang hurrying by.
seemed not to hear. What was the matter?
Something terrible must have happened if Li
Chang was not coming to eat in his restaurant
as he always did.
Wang Peng followed Li
Chang into a new small restaurant. He saw a sign
in the
window.
Tired of all that
fat? Want to lose weight?
Come inside
Yong Hui’s slimming restaurant.
Only
slimming foods served here.
Make
yourself thin again!
Curiosity drove
Wang Peng inside. It was full of people. The
hostess, a very thin lady,
came forward.
and be fit in two weeks if you eat here every
day.
There were few choices of food and drink
on it: just rice, raw vegetables served in
vinegar, fruit and water. Wang Peng was amazed
at this and especially at the prices. It
cost
more than a good meal in his restaurant! He could
not believe his eyes. He threw
down the menu
and hurried outside. On his way home he thought
about his own menu.
Did it make people fat?
Perhaps he should go to the library and find out.
He could not
have Yong Hui getting away with
telling people lies! He had better do some
research!
At the library Wang Peng was
surprised to find that his restaurant served far
too
much fat and Yong Hui’s far too little.
Even though her customers might get thin after
eating Yong Hui’s food, they were not eating
enough energy-giving food to keep them fit.
They would become tired very quickly. Wang
Peng felt more hopeful as he drove back
home. Perhaps with a discount and a new
sign he could win his customers back. So he
wrote:
Want to feel fit and energetic?
Come and eat here! Discounts today!
Our food gives you energy all day!
The
competition between the two restaurants was on!
COME AND EAT HERE (2)
A week
later, Wang Peng's restaurant was nearly full and
he felt happier. Perhaps he
would be able to
earn his living after all and not have to close
his restaurant. He did not
look forward to
being in debt because his restaurant was no longer
popular. He smiled as
he welcomed some
customers warmly at the door but the smile left
his face when he saw
Yong Hui walking in. She
did not look happy but glared at him.
were
doing in my restaurant the other day? I thought
you were a new customer and now I
know that
you only came to spy on me and my menu,
he
calmly explained,
followed one of them and
found them in your restaurant.' I don't want to
upset you, but I
found your menu so limited
that I stopped worrying and started advertising
the benefits of my food. Why don't you sit
down and try a meal?
Yong Hui agreed to
stay and soon they were both enjoying dumplings
and breast of
chicken cooked with garlic. When
they were served the ice cream, Yong Hui began to
look ill.
fruit,
added,
quickly?
Well, I do have to rest a lot,
be better if you
were a bit thinner? I'm sure you'd feel much
healthier.
They began to talk about menus
and balanced diets.
neither your restaurant
nor mine offers a balanced diet,
offer enough
fibre and you don't offer enough body-building and
energy-giving food.
Perhaps we ought to
combine our ideas and provide a balanced menu with
food full of
energy and fibre.
hamburgers
and boiled the potatoes rather than frying them.
They served fresh fruit with
the ice cream. In
this way they cut down the fat and increased the
fibre in the meal.
Their balanced diets became
such a success that before long Wang Peng became
slimmer
and Yong Hui put on more weight. After
some time the two found that their business
cooperation had turned into a personal one.
Finally they got married and lived happily
ever after.
FOR BUILDING A
MCDONALD’S
I was excited when I heard
that our community was to have its own McDonald's
restaurant. I thought about all those young
people who would not have to go to the next
town to buy their favourite burgers and chips.
McDonald's cares about healthy eating too
and
works with scientists to provide food that is of
high quality, safe and healthy. It is
also
cheap. They often provide salads as well as
burgers and chips. You can also choose
between
cola and milk shakes (奶昔). Of course it also means
more work for our area
that needs jobs badly.
McDonald's says they are interested in doing what
is right for the
community and being a good
neighbour. So I think they will be concerned about
providing parking for the cars in our main
street. Many of our young people will be only
too happy to work for the company. McDonald's
makes a promise to the people who
work for
them. They say,
company.
town.
AGAINST BUILDINCI A MCDONALD’S
I am
very worried about McDonald's building a
restaurant in our hometown. We
are a small
community and we enjoy our local dishes. I am not
sure if McDonald's food
is as healthy as they
say in their advertisements. When scientists look
at it carefully, they
find high levels of fat,
sugar and salt. This is very worrying. Too many
young people are
getting fat through eating
too much fatty food. McDonald's is not giving
young people a
good idea of what a healthy
diet should be. Local Chinese food, on the other
hand, is full
of fresh vegetables and fresh
meat and fish. The food at a McDonald's restaurant
is
always the same, so I wonder if it is made
or brought in from elsewhere. Although it is
freshly cooked, it must be less healthy than
our own locally grown and cooked Chinese
food.
I also worry about all those cars
bringing people to buy food at McDonald's. First,
there will be petrol fumes (气体), which will
make our clean air dirty. Second, there is
the
problem of all those cars that try to park and
prevent other cars from moving quickly
through
our town.
I am sure many young people
will be happy to work for McDonald's but will they
be treated fairly? In America, McDonald's does
not allow workers' unions to operate in
its
restaurants and these are people who speak up for
the workers. If, as they say, the
workers are
happy with them, why should they fear some workers
joining a union?
So when I consider the
food, the cars and the jobs, I think we should not
allow
McDonald's to build their restaurant in
our town.
Unit 3 The million
pound bank note
Act I, Scene 3
NARRATOR:
It is the summer of 1903. Two old and wealthy
brothers, Roderick and
Oliver, have made a
bet. Oliver believes that with a million pound
bank note a man could
survive a month in
London. His brother Roderick doubts it. At this
moment, they see a
penniless young man
wandering on the pavement outside their house. It
is Henry Adams,
an American businessman, who
is lost in London and does not know what he should
do.
RODERICK: Young man, would you step
inside a moment, please?
HENRY: Who?
Me, sir?
RODERICK: Yes, you.
OLIVER:
Through the front door on your left.
HENRY:
(A servant opens a door) Thanks.
SERVANT:
Good morning, sir. Would you please come in?
Permit me to lead the
way, sir.
OLIVER:
(Henry enters) Thank you, James. That will be all.
RODERICK: How do you do, Mr ... er ...?
HENRY: Adams. Henry Adams.
OLIVER: Come and sit down, Mr Adams.
HENRY: Thank you.
RODERICK:
You're an American?
HENRY: That's
right, from San Francisco.
RODERICK: How
well do you know London?
HENRY: Not
at all, it's my first trip here.
RODERICK: I
wonder, Mr Adams, if you'd mind us asking a few
questions.
HENRY: Not at all. Go
right ahead.
RODERICK: May we ask what
you're doing in this country and what your plans
are?
HENRY: Well, I can't say that I
have any plans. I'm hoping to find work. As a
matter of fact, I landed in Britain by
accident.
OLIVER: How is that
possible?
HENRY: Well, you
see, back home I had my own boat. About a month
ago, I was
sailing out of the bay ... (his
eyes stare at what is left of the brother's dinner
on table)
OLIVER: Well, go on.
HENRY: Oh, yes. Well, towards
nightfall I found myself carried out to sea by a
strong wind. It was all my fault. I didn't
know whether I could survive until morning. The
next morning I'd just about given myself up
for lost when I was spotted by a ship.
OLIVER:
And it was the ship that brought you to England.
HENRY: Yes. The fact is that I earned
my passage by working as an unpaid hand,
which
accounts for my appearance. I went to the American
embassy to seek help, but ...
(The brothers
smile at each other.)
RODERICK: Well, you
mustn't worry about that. It's an advantage.
HENRY: I'm afraid I don't quite
follow you, sir.
RODERICK: Tell us, Mr
Adams, what sort of work did you do in America?
HENRY: I worked for a mining company.
Could you offer me some kind of work
here?
RODERICK: Patience, Mr Adams. If you don't
mind, may I ask you how much money
you have?
HENRY: Well, to be honest, I have
none.
OLIVER: (happily) What luck!
Brother, what luck! (claps his hands together)
HENRY: Well, it may seem lucky to you
but not to me! On the contrary, in fact. If
this is your idea of some kind of joke, I
don't think it's very funny. (Henry stands up to
leave) Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll
be on my way.
RODERICK: Please don't go, Mr
Adams~ You mustn't think we don't care about you.
Oliver, give him the letter.
OLIVER:
Yes, the letter. (gets it from a desk and gives it
to Henry like a gift) The
letter.
HENRY:
(taking it carefully) For me?
RODERICK: For
you. (Henry starts to open it) Oh, no, you mustn't
open it. Not yet.
You can't open it until two
o'clock.
HENRY: Oh, this is silly.
RODERICK: Not silly. There's money in it.
(calls to the servant) James?
HENRY:
Oh, no. I don't want your charity. I just want an
honest job.
RODERICK: We know you're hard-
working. That's why we've given you the letter.
James, show Mr Adams out.
OLIVER:
Good luck, Mr Adams.
HENRY: Well, why
don't you explain what this is all about?
RODERICK: You'll soon know. (looks at the
clock) In exactly an hour and a half.
SERVANT:
This way, sir.
RODERICK: Mr Adams, not until
2 o'clock. Promise?
HENRY: Promise.
Goodbye.
Act I, Scene 4
(Outside a
restaurant Henry looks at the envelope without
opening it and decides to go in.
He sits down
at a table next to the front window.)
OWNER:
(seeing Henry's poor appearance) That one's
reserved. This way, please. (to
the waiter)
Take this gentleman's order, Horace.
HENRY:
(after sitting down and putting the letter on the
table) I'd like some ham and
eggs and a nice
big steak. Make it extra thick. I'd also like a
cup of coffee and a
pineapple dessert.
WAITER: Right, sir. I'm afraid it'll cost a
large amount of money.
HENRY: I understand.
And I'll have a large glass of beer.
WAITER:
OK. (The waiter leaves and soon returns with all
the food.)
HOSTESS: My goodness! Why, look at
him. He eats like a wolf.
OWNER: We'll see
if he's clever as a wolf, eh?
HENRY: (having
just finished every bit of food) Ah, waiter.
(waiter returns) Same
thing again, please. Oh,
and another beer.
WAITER: Again? Everything?
HENRY: Yes, that's right. (sees the look on
the waiter's face) Anything wrong?
WAITER:
No, not at all. (to the owner) He's asked for more
of the same.
OWNER: Well, it is well-
known that Americans like to eat a lot. Well,
we'll have
to take a chance. Go ahead and let
him have it.
WAITER: (reading the bill after
the meal) All right. That's two orders of ham and
eggs,
two extra thick steaks, two large
glasses of beer, two cups of coffee and two
desserts.
HENRY: (looking at the clock on
the wall) Would you mind waiting just a few
minutes?
WAITER: (in a rude manner)
What's there to wait for?
OWNER: All right,
Horace. I'll take care of this.
HENRY: (to
owner) That was a wonderful meal. It's amazing how
much pleasure you
get out of tile simple
things in life, especially if you can't have them
for a while.
OWNER: Yes, very interesting.
Now perhaps, sir, if you pay your bill I can help
the
other customers.
HENRY: (looking at
the clock on the wall again) Well, I see it's two
o'clock. (he opens
the envelope and holds a
million pound bank note in his hands. Henry is
surprised but the
owner and waiter are
shocked) I'm very sorry. But ... I ... I don't
have anything smaller.
OWNER: (still shocked
and nervous) Well .. er ... just one moment.
Maggie, look! (the
hostess screams, the other
customers look at her and she puts a hand to her
mouth) Do
you think it's genuine?
HOSTESS:
Oh, dear, I don't know. I simply don't know.
OWNER: Well, I did hear that the Bank of
England had issued two notes in this
amount
... Anyway, I don't think it can be a fake. People
would pay too much attention to
a bank note of
this amount. No thief would want that to happen.
HOSTESS: But he's in rags!
OWNER:
Perhaps he's a very strange, rich man. (as if he
has discovered something for
the first time)
Why, yes! That must be it!
HOSTESS: (hits her
husband's arm) And you put him in the back of the
restaurant! Go
and see him at once.
OWNER:
(to Henry) I'm so sorry, sir, so sorry, but I
cannot change this bank note.
HENRY: But
it's all I have on me.
OWNER: Oh, please,
don't worry, sir. Doesn't matter at all. We're so
very glad that you
even entered our little
eating place. Indeed, sir, I hope you'll come here
whenever you
like.
HENRY: Well,
that's very kind of you.
OWNER: Kind, sir?
No, it's kind of you. You must come whenever you
want and have
whatever you like. Just having
you sit here is a great honour! As for the bill,
sir, please
forget it.
HENRY: Forget
it? Well ... thank you very much. That's very nice
of you.
OWNER: Oh, it's for us to thank you,
sir and I do, sir, from the bottom of my heart.
(The owner, hostess and waiter all bow as
Henry leaves.)
THE MILLION POUND BANK NOTE
Act II, Scene 4
NARRATOR: At the end of
the month, Henry was very rich and didn't fear
jail. Dressed
in the finest clothes, he drove
by the brothers' house in Portland Place and,
seeing
they were back, went to get Portia at
her friend's home.
HENRY: My dear, the
way you look today, it would be a crime not to ask
for a
good salary for the job they'll give to
me.
PORTIA: Oh, please remember that
if we ask for too much we may get no salary at
all; and then what'll happen to us, with no
way in the world to earn a living?
(At the
brothers' home, the servant lets them in. The two
brothers are seated, waiting.)
HENRY:
Good morning, gentlemen. ( Roderick seems very
surprised to see Portia )
Portia, these are
the men who helped me.
PORTIA: So very
nice to meet you, kind sirs. (She gives Oliver a
wink with one
eye.)
HENRY:
Gentlemen, I'm ready to report.
RODERICK: Er
... Portia, I ...
OLIVER: We're both
glad to hear it, for now we can decide the bet
which Roderick
and I made. If you've won for
me, you shall have any job as my gift. Have you
got
the million pound bank note?
HENRY:
Here it is, sir.
OLIVER: I've won! Now
what do you say, Roderick?
RODERICK: I say
that I've lost twenty thousand pounds. I never
would have believed it.
Why, that is amazing,
man!
HENRY: Come, let's be going now,
Portia.
OLIVER: But wait, wait!
The job, you know. I must give you a job, as I
promised.
HENRY: Well, thank you very
much, but I really don't want one now.
PORTIA:
Henry, I'm disappointed (失望的) in you. You didn't
thank the gentlemen
properly. May I do it for
you?
HENRY: Let me see you try.
(Portia walks over to Roderick and gives him a
hug. Then she sits in Oliver's lap, puts her
arms around his neck and kisses him on the
cheek. Oliver begins laughing.)
PORTIA:
Papa, he says he doesn't want anything else from
you.
HENRY: (shocked) My dear, is that
your papa?!
PORTIA: He's my
stepfather, and the dearest one that ever was.
HENRY: Oh, my dearest dear sir, I
regret what I said. You have got a job open that
I want.
OLIVER: Name it.
HENRY: Son-in-law.
OLIVER:
Well, well, well! But you've never had such a job
before. How can I be
sure you can do it
successfully?
HENRY: Try me ... oh,
do, I beg of you! Give me 30 or 40 years, and ...
OLIVER: Oh, well, all right.
NARRATOR: Are Portia and Henry happy? There
are not enough words in the biggest
dictionary
to describe it. Did the people of London have a
good time with this bit of news?
Yes. Portia's
stepfather took that bank note. back to the Bank
of England and cashed it.
The bank note was
then useless for money but was his wedding gift to
the young couple.
Yes, the bank note was worth
millions of dollars, but not worth one tenth as
much as how
Henry felt about Portia.
Unit 4 Astronomy: the science of the stars
HOW LIFE BEGAN ON THE EARTH
No one knows exactly how the earth began, as it
happened so long ago. However,
according to a
widely accepted theory, the universe began with a
matter in all directions. After that, atoms
began to form and combine to create stars and
other bodies.
For several
billion years after the
dust. What it was to
become was uncertain until between 4.5 and 3.8
billion years ago
when the dust settled into a
solid globe. The earth became so violent that it
was not clear
whether the shape would last or
not. It exploded loudly with fire and rock. They
were in
time to produce carbon, nitrogen,
water vapour and other gases, which were to make
the
earth's atmosphere. What is even more
important is that as the earth cooled down, water
began to appear on its surface.
Water had also appeared on other planets like Mars
but, unlike the earth, it had
disappeared
later. It was not immediately obvious that water
was to be fundamental to
the development of
life. What many scientists believe is that the
continued presence of
water allowed the earth
to dissolve harmful gases and acids into the
oceans and seas. This
produced a chain
reaction, which made it possible for life to
develop.
Many millions of years
later, the first extremely small plants began to
appear on
the surface of the water. They
multiplied and filled the oceans and seas with
oxygen,
which encouraged the later development
of early shellfish and all sorts of fish. Next,
green plants began to grow on land. They were
followed in time by land animals.
Some were
insects. Others, called amphibians, were able to
live on land as well as in the
water. Later
when the plants grew into forests, reptiles
appeared for the first time.
They produced
young generally by laying eggs. After that, some
huge animals, called
dinosaurs, developed.
They laid eggs too and existed on the earth for
more than 140
million years. However, 65
million years ago the age of the dinosaurs ended.
Why they
suddenly disappeared still remains a
mystery. This disappearance made possible the rise
of mammals on the earth. These animals were
different from all life forms in the past,
because they gave birth to young baby animals
and produced milk to feed them.
Finally
about 2.6 million years ago some small clever
animals, now with hands and
feet, appeared and
spread all over the earth. Thus they have, in
their turn, become the
most important animals
on the planet. But they are not looking after the
earth very well.
They are putting too much
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which prevents
heat
from escaping from the earth into space.
As a result of this, many scientists believe the
earth may become too hot to live on. So
whether life will continue on the earth for
millions of years to come will depend on
whether this problem can be solved.
A
VISIT TO THE MOON
Last month I
was lucky enough to have a chance to make a trip
into space with my
friend Li Yanping, an
astronomer. We visited the moon in our spaceship!
Before we left, Li Yanping explained to
me that the force of gravity would change
three times on our journey and that the first
change would be the most powerful. Then we
were off. As the rocket rose into the air, we
were pushed back into our seats because we
were trying to escape the pull of the earth's
gravity. It was so hard that we could not say
anything to each other. Gradually the weight
lessened and I was able to talk to him.
fall to the ground.
explained,
we
shall feel its gravity pulling us, but it will not
be as strong a pull as the earth's.
I cheered
up immediately and floated weightlessly around in
our spaceship cabin
watching the earth become
smaller and the moon larger.
When we got
there, I wanted to explore immediately.
right,
my mass will be less than on the earth because the
moon is smaller and I will be
able to move
more freely. I might even grow taller if I stay
here long enough. I shall
certainly weigh
less!
when I tried to step forward, I found I
was carried twice as far as on the earth and fell
over.
changed.
Leaving the moon's
gravity was not as painful as leaving the earth's.
But returning to
the earth was very
frightening. We watched, amazed as fire broke out
on the outside of
the spaceship as the earth's
gravity increased. Again we were pushed hard into
our seats
as we came back to land.
I know
much more about gravity! Do you think we could
visit some stars next time?
course,
CAUGHT
BY A BLACK HOLE
The spaceship warned Li
Yanping and me to be ready as we were approaching
(靠近)
the
Li Yanping said,
are things
that are being pulled into it by the gravity of
the hole.
interest and amazement at the lights
which seemed to be going fainter and fainter round
the edge of the black hole. Just then the
lights on our spaceship went out and the
computer stopped working. What was happening?
I tried to turn the spaceship away from
the
hole but it would not move. Would it eat us too?
Suddenly the spaceship jumped and began
to move round the edge of the hole too.
The
gravity of the
round the black hole, I felt
rather sick. My mouth went dry and I closed my
eyes. All the
stories about what
happened when you were caught by the gravity of a
seemed to be true.
But then the
spaceship jumped again. This time it moved
sideways and away from
the edge of the
flying like a bird away from the
look
around us. Luckily the computer had started
working again. We realized that we had
discovered something new about
hole
opportunity to escape. How exciting!
Unit 5 Canada - The True North
A
TRIP ON
Li Daiyu and her cousin Liu Qian were
on a trip to Canada to visit their cousins in
Montreal on the Atlantic coast. Rather than
take the aeroplane all the way, they decided
to fly to Vancouver and then take the train
west to east across Canada. The thought that
they could cross the whole continent was
exciting.
Their friend, Danny Lin, was
waiting at the airport. He was going to take them
and
their baggage to catch
station, he
chatted about their trip.
eastward, you'll
pass mountains and thousands of lakes and forests,
as well as wide rivers
and large cities. Some
people have the idea that you can cross Canada in
less than five
days, but they forget the fact
that Canada is 5,500 kilometres from coast to
coast. Here in
Vancouver, you're in Canada's
warmest part. People say it is Canada's most
beautiful city,
surrounded by mountains and
the Pacific Ocean. Skiing in the Rocky Mountains
and
sailing in the harbour make Vancouver one
of Canada's most popular cities to live in. Its
population is increasing rapidly. The coast
north of Vancouver has some of the oldest
and
most beautiful forests in the world. It is so wet
there that the trees are extremely tall,
some
measuring over 90 metres.
That afternoon
aboard the train, the cousins settled down in
their seats. Earlier that
day, when they
crossed the Rocky Mountains, they managed to catch
sight of some
mountain goats and even a
grizzly bear and an eagle. Their next stop was
Calgary, which
is famous for the Calgary
Stampede. Cowboys from all over the world come to
compete
in the Stampede. Many of them have a
gift for riding wild horses and can win thousands
of dollars in prizes.
After two
days' travel, the girls began to realize that
Canada is quite empty. At
school, they had
learned that most Canadians live within a few
hundred kilometres of the
USA border, and
Canada's population is only slightly over thirty
million, but now they
were amazed to
see such an empty country. They went through a
wheat-growing
province and saw farms that
covered thousands of acres. After dinner, they
were back in
an urban area, the busy port city
of Thunder Bay at the top of the Great Lakes. The
girls
were surprised at the fact that ocean
ships can sail up the Great Lakes. Because of the
Great Lakes, they learned, Canada has more
fresh water than any other country in the
world. In fact, it has one-third of the
world's total fresh water, and much of it is in
the
Great Lakes.
That night as they
slept, the train rushed across the top of Lake
Superior, through
the great forests and
southward towards Toronto.
“THE TURE
NORTH” FROM TORONTO TO MONTREAL
The next
morning the bushes and maple trees outside their
windows were red, gold
and orange, and there
was frost on the ground, confirming that fall had
arrived in Canada.
Around noon they
arrived in Toronto, the biggest and most wealthy
city in Canada.
They were not leaving for
Montreal until later, so they went on a tour of
the city. They
went up the tall CN Tower and
looked across the lake. In the distance, they
could see
the misty cloud that rose from the
great Niagara Falls, which is on the south side of
the
lake. The water flows into the Niagara
River and over the falls on its way to the sea.
They saw the covered stadium, home of
several famous basketball teams. As they
walked north from the harbour area, Li Daiyu
said,
schoolmates, lives here. I should phone
her from a telephone booth.
They met Lin
Fei around dusk in downtown Chinatown, one of the
three in Toronto.
Over dinner at a restaurant
called The Pink Pearl, the cousins chatted with
Lin Fei, who
had moved to Canada many years
earlier.
Fei told them,
especially Hong
Kong. It's too bad you can't go as far as Ottawa,
Canada's capital. It's
approximately four
hundred kilometres northeast of Toronto, so it
would take too long.
The train left late
that night and arrived in Montreal at dawn the
next morning. At
the station, people
everywhere were speaking French. There were signs
and ads in
French, but some of them had
English words in smaller letters.
evening,
spent the afternoon in lovely
shops and visiting artists in their workplaces
beside the
water. As they sat in a buffet
restaurant looking over the broad St Lawrence
River, a
young man sat down with them.
wondering where you are from.
Canada and
that they had only one day in Montreal.
is a city with wonderful restaurants
and clubs. Most of us speak both English and
French,
but the city has French culture and
traditions. We love good coffee, good bread and
good
music.
That night as the train was
speeding along the St Lawrence River toward the
Gulf of St
Lawrence and down to the distant
east coast, the cousins dreamed of French
restaurants
and red maple leaves
IQALUIT-- THE FROZEN TOWN
The reporter,
Beth Allen, arrived in a northern community called
Iqalui in
Nunavut Nunavut was created in 1999
as a special area for Inuit people. Its name means
the Arctic Circle (北极圈), and is very cold
- the average winter temperature in Nunavut
is
35 degrees below zero.
Beth said,
sled
(雪橇) that can take me into town.
The quiet man
who had been on the plane with her said,
don't
have a dog sled. Most people only use the dogs for
competitions. Why are you
visiting
Iqaluit?
Beth answered,
advertise it as a
holiday place, but I think it's too cold.
The
man laughed.
here for holidays but more and
more tourists are coming. They like ice fishing
and
photographing polar bears. I stay as far
away from polar bears as possible. I like my
warm office and my warm house.
Beth asked,
you lived in ice houses.
but not so
many people do that now. The old men used to make
one in a few hours.
They used to live in skin
tents in summer - the tents were easy to move so
the people
could follow the animals.
A few
minutes later they arrived in Iqaluit, a town with
a population of 6,000, on Simon's
snowmobile.
It was two o'clock in the afternoon, but it was
already dark, and all the
houses shone with
bright lights. Beth said,
Simon replied,
The sun shines all night in the north then.
That's why it's called 'The Land of the
Midnight Sun'.
were even a few dog
teams.