初中基础英语新闻文章

Science
海豚或将成为第一个与人类实现交流的动物。

Dolphin Translator under study
American scientists are trying to look for ways to communicate with dolphins. With a computer that can record, translate and respond to dolphin sounds, they carry out experiments underwater off the coast of Florida (佛罗里达，美国州名). If their experiments are successful, it will be a big step towards two-way communication between humans and dolphins.
Dolphins are one of the most intelligent animals in the ocean. They can understand over 100 different words and tell the difference between two similar sentences, for example, “bring the surfboard (冲浪板) to the man”and “bring the man to the surfboard.” Since the 1960s, many scientists have tried to communicate with dolphins by pictures and sounds. But communication in these experiments was mostly one-way.
Since 1998, scientists have been working on two-way communication with dolphins. They first taught dolphins some different sounds, and then made them connect the sounds with the pictures on an underwater “keyboard.” When the dolphins want to ask for something, to play with a piece of seaweed (海藻) or ride the bow wave (船首浪) of a boat, for example, they can point their bodies at different pictures. Now, scientists just need to make the experiment “dolphin-friendly” enough to be successful. Word count: 203 ****
Did you know?
Duck: Why do people consider dolphins as the most intelligent and friendly animals?
Chicken: Because dolphins have helped many people in the ocean. Some protected people from the attack of sharks (鲨鱼), others showed people the way out of dangerous waters during thick fog.
Culture
美课堂互动秘笈：社交网。

Social media enters classroom
Some teachers may think that social networks make students absent-
minded in class, but others are now using them to encourage classroom discussion.
With Facebook, Twitter and many other social media sites, teachers from elementary schools to universities in the U.S. are working on a project called “backchannel.” It allows students to comment and asked questions freely.
“When we have class discussions, I don’t really feel the need to speak up,” said Justin Lansink, 17. “But when you type something down, it’s a lot easier to say what I feel.”
Some universities are even creating their own backchannel media. Purdue University (普度大学) has one called “Hot Seat.” It enables students to read questions from each other through laptops or smartphones. When teachers at Purdue give lectures, they will stop the lecture to answer the frequently asked questions from students.
“This kind of social media communication makes it clear to me that students are thinking about questions in class. They just need a better chance to speak them out,” said a teacher.
Word count: 171 ***
Story
虽说“会咬人的狗不叫”，可是邮递员彼得却不这么觉得。

A postman’s problem
Peter was a postman. Every day he rode his bicycle from village to village delivering letters. He knew everybody and everybody liked him, and of course everyone especially liked getting letters. “Something for you today,”Peter would call and he would get off his bicycle and deliver the letter.
Even the dogs knew and liked Peter. They never barked at him. Except for one dog. Its owner, Mrs. Smith, hadn’t lived in the village for many weeks. Every time the dog saw Peter, it started barking.
One day, there was a letter for Mrs. Smith. Peter stopped his bicycle some way from Mrs. Smith’s house. The dog started barking. Mrs. Smith came to the door.
“A letter for you!” Peter shouted.
“Why can’t you bring it to me?” Mrs. Smith shouted back.
“What about your dog?” Peter said. “I don’t want it to bite me.”
Mrs. Smith laughed, “Don’t be afraid. Everyone knows the old saying, ‘A barking dog never bites.’”
“You know the old saying, and I know it,” Peter said. “But how do you know that your dog knows it?”
Word count: 182 **
Word bank
① under study 在研究中
② respond /rI'sp^nd/ v. 回应，回答
③ similar /'sIm=l=/ adj. 相像的，类似的
④ social media 社交媒体
⑤ absent-minded /'7bs=n 'maIndId/ adj. 心不在焉的
⑥ comment /'k^men/ v. 表达意见
⑦ bark /b1:k/ v. (狗) 吠。