英语必修课文完整版.doc

必修二课文完整版
Unit 1
I n search of t h e am ber room
Frederick William I , the king of Prussia, could never have imagined that this greatest gift to the Russia people would have such an am azi ng history. Th i s gift w as t h e Am ber Room , which w as given this name because several tons of am ber were u sed t o make it. The amber which w as selected h ad a beautiful yellow -brow n colour like honey. The design of the room w as i n t h e fancy style popular i n those days. 11 w as also a treasure decorated with gold and j ew els, which took t h e country's best artists about ten years t o make.
I n fact, t he room w as not made t o be a gift. 11 w as desig n ed for t h e palace of Frederick I . However, the next king of Prussia, Frederick William I , to whom the amber belonged, decided not t o keep it. I n 1716 he gave it t o Peter the Great. I n return, t h e Czar sent h i m a troop of h i s best soldiers. So the Am ber Room becam e part of the Czar's winter palace i n St Petersbu rg. About four m eters long, t he room served as a small reception hall for important visitors. Later, Catherine I I h ad the Am ber Room m oved t o a palace outside St Petersbu rg where she spent her summers. Sh e told her artists to add more details to it. I n 1 770 t h e room w as com pleted t he w ay she wanted. Al m ost six hundred candles lit t h e r oom , and its m irrors and pict u res shone like gold. Sadly, although t h e Am ber Room w as considered one of t h e wonders of t h e world, it is now missing.
I n Septem ber 1941, t h e Nazi army w as near St Petersburg. This w as a time when t he t w o cou nt ries were at w ar. Before t h e Nazi cold get to t h e summer palace, the Russians were able to remove some furniture and small art obj ects from t h e Am ber Room . However, some of t h e Nazi secret ly stole t h e room itself. I n less than t w o days 1 00,000 pieces were put inside t w enty-seven wooden boxes. There is n o doubt t h at the boxes were then put on a train for Konigsberg, which w as at t h at time a Germ an city on t h e Balti c Sea. After t hat, w h at happened to t he Am ber Room rem ai ns a m ystery. Recently, the Russians and Germ ans h ave built a new Am ber Room at t h e summer palace. By studying old photos of t h e former Am ber Room , they h ave m ade t h e new one look like t h e old one.
I n 20 03 it w as ready for the people of St Petersburg when they celebrated t he 300th birt hday of their city Unit 3
Who am I
Over time I have been changed quite a lot. I began as a calculating machine in France in 1 642. Although I was young I could simplify difficult sums. I developed very slowly and it took nearly two hundred years before I was built as an analytical machine by Charles Babbage. After I was programmed by an operator who used cards with holes, I could "think" logically and produce an answer quicker than any person. At that time it was considered a technological revolution and the start of my "artificial intelligence". I n 1 936 my real father, Alan Turing, wrote a book about how I could be made to work as a "universal machine" to solve any difficult mathematical problem. From then on, I grew rapidly both in size and in brainpower. By the 1940s I had grown as large as a room, and I wondered if I would grow any larger. However, this reality also worried my designers. As time went by, I was made smaller. First as a PC(personal computer) and then as a laptop, I have been used in offices and homes since the 1 970s.
These changes only became possible as my memory improved. First it was stored in tubes, then on transistors and later on very small chips. As a result I totally changed my shape. As I have grown older I have also grown smaller. Over time my memory has developed so much that, like an elephant, I never forget anything I have been told! And my memory became so large that even I couldn't believe it! But I was always so lonely standing there by myself, until in the early 1 960s they gave me a family connected by a network. I was able to share my knowledge with others through the World Wide Web.
Since the 1970s many new applications have been found for me. I have become very important in communication, finance and trade. I have also been put in robots and used to make mobile phones as well as help with medical operations. I have even been put into space rockets and sent to explore the Moon and Mars. Anyhow, my goal is to provide humans with a life of high quality. I am now truly filled with happiness that I am a devoted friend and helper of the human race!
Unit 4
How Daisy learned to help wildlife
Daisy had always longed to help endangered species of wildlife. One day she woke u p and found a flying carpet by her bed. "Where do you want to go?" it asked. Daisy responded immediately. "I'd like to see some endangered wildlife." she said. " Please t ake m e to a d i st ant land where I can find the animal t h at gave fur t o make this sweater." At once the carpet flew aw ay and took her t o Ti bet. There Daisy saw an antelope looking sad. 11 said, "We're being killed for t he wool beneat h our stom achs. Our fur is being used to make sw eaters for people like you. As a result, w e are n ow an endangered species." At t h at Daisy cried, "I'm sorry I didn't know that. I wonder what is being done to help you. Flying carpet, please show m e a place where there's some w ildlife protection
Th e flying carpet travelled so fast t h at next minute t hey were i n Zi m babw e. Daisy turned around and found t h at she w as being w atched by an elephant. "Have you come t o take m y photo?" it asked. I n relief Daisy bu r st into laughter. "Don't laugh," said t h e elephant, "We used to be an endangered species. Far m ers hunted us without m ercy. They said w e dest r oyed their farms, and money from tourists only went to t he large tour com panies. So the government decided to help. They allow ed tourists to hunt only a certain number of animals if t hey paid t h e farmers. Now t h e farmers are happy and our numbers are increasing. So good things are being done here to save local wildlife."
Daisy smiled. "That's good news. 11 shows t h e importance of wildlife protection, but I 'd like t o help as t he WWF suggests." The carpet rose agai n and almost at once t hey were i n a thick rai nf orest. A monkey w atched them as it rubbed itself. "What are you doing?"asked Daisy. "I'm protecting myself from mosquitoes," it replied. "When I find a millipede i n sect, I r u b it over m y body. 11 contai ns a powerful drug which affects mosquitoes. You should pay more attention t o t h e rai nf orest where I live and appreci at e how the animals live together. No rai nf orest, no animals, n o drugs."
Daisy w as amazed. "Flying carpet, please take m e home so I can tell W WF and w e can begin producing this new drug. Monkey, please come and help." Th e monkey agreed. The carpet flew home. As t hey landed, things began t o disappear. Two minutes later everything h ad gone-the m onkey, too. So Dai sy w as n ot able t o make her new drug. But what an experience! Sh e h ad learned so much! And there w as always W WF
Unit 5
The band that wasn't
Have you ever wanted to be part of a band as a famous singer or musician? Have you ever dreamed of playing in front of thousands of people at a concert, at which everyone is clapping and appreciating your music? Do you sing karaoke and pretend you are a famous singer like Song Zuying or Liu Huan? To be honest, a lot of people attach great importance to becoming rich and famous. But just how do people form a band?
Many musicians meet and form a band because they like to write and play their own music. They may start as a group of high-school students, for whom practising their music in someone's house is the first step to fame. Sometimes they may play to passers-by in the street or subway so that they can earn some extra money for themselves or to pay for their instruments. Later they may give performances in pubs or clubs, for which they are paid in cash. Of course they hope to make records in a studio and sell millions of
copies to become millionaires!
However, there was one band that started in a different way. It was called the Monkees and began as a TV show. The musicians were to play jokes on each other as well as play music, most of which was based loosely on the Beatles. The TV organizers had planned to find four musicians who could act as well as sing. They put an advertisement in a newspaper looking for rock musicians, but they could only find one who was good enough. They had to use actors for the other three members of the band.
As some of these actors could not sing well enough, they had to rely on other musicians to help them. So during the broadcasts they just pretended to sing. Anyhow their performances were humourous enough to be copied by other groups. They were so popular that their fans formed clubs in order to get more familiar with them. Each week on TV, the Monkees would play and sing songs written by other musicians. However, after a year or so in which they became more serious about their work, the Monkees started to play and sing their own songs like a real band. Then they produced their own records and started touring and playing their own music. I n the USA they became even more popular than the Beatles and sold even more records. The band broke up about 1970, but happily they reunited in the mid-1 980s. They produced a new record in 1 996, with which they celebrated their former time as a real band.
必修三Unitl
FESTIVALSANDCELEBRATIONS 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 ''bones'' on them. They offer food, 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 ountries, 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
Unit2 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. "Nothing could be better;** he thought. Suddenly he saw his friend Li Chang hurrying by. "Hello, Lao Li," he called. "Your usual?** But Li Chang 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
Tired of all that fat? Want to lose weight? Come inside Yong Hui's slimming
wind
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. "Welcome," she said. "My name is Yong Hui. 1*11 help you lose weight and be fit in two weeks if you eat here every day." Then she gave a menu to Wang Peng. 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!
Unit4
No one knows exactly how the earth began, as it happened so long ago. Howevei; according to a widely accepted theory, the universe began with a "Big Bang" that threw matter in all directions.After that, atoms began to form and combine to create stars and other bodies. For several billion years after the "Big Bang", the earth was still just a cloud of 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 enerally 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.
Unit5
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 "The True North", the cross-Canada train. On the way to the station, he chatted about their trip. "You're going to see some great scenery. Going 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.。