上海中学生英语报SSP初中基础

Bringing Dinosaurs to Life 赵闯——一个“复活”恐龙的艺术家。

MANY young children admire powerful things. So did Zhao Chuang. One day when he was in primary school, he read a book about dinosaurs. A T. rex (霸王龙) picture caught his fancy.

Zhao lived in a small town. There weren’t many books to read. Almost all dinosaur books Zhao could find were in English. So the boy had a dream. “I wanted to draw more dinosaur books — in Chinese,” he said.

And he has done just that. Now, at the age of 34, Zhao is a famous “dinosaur artist.” His works combine science and art. Through these works, children can easily learn more about dinosaurs.

Every day, Zhao spends hours studying dinosaurs. Sometimes, the artist travels to places where fossils have been found. He wants to understand din osaurs’ living environment better.

In 2006, one of Zhao’s works appeared on the cover of the famous Nature magazine. Since then, his works have been sought after around the globe. Zhao has also held lots of exhibitions at home and abroad.

●admire v. 欣赏，羡慕

●artist n. 艺术家

●combine v. 使……结合起来

●fossil n. 化石

●seek after寻求，追求

●exhibition n. 展览，展出

→exhibit v. 展览，展出n. 展览品

●at home and abroad 在国内外

●confident adj. 有自信心的

⏹catch/take one’s fancy，吸引某人

e.g. Did you see anything that caught your fancy?

⏹put one’s he art into sth.，全身心地倾注于……中(花很多精力做某事)

e.g. She puts her heart into her work.

A Beach That Looks Good to Eat 新年假期，西班牙“爆米花”海滩成“网红打卡地”。

FUERTEVENTURA (富埃特文图拉岛) IN SPAIN is most famous for its fine white beaches. However, few people know that it also has o ne of the world’s most wonderful attractions: Popcorn Beach.

As its name suggests, Popcorn Beach is covered with millions of white “popcorn” pieces. But don’t put them in your mouth! They are actually pieces of white coral (珊瑚). Although they look like popcorn, the pieces are as hard as stones.

Popcorn Beach has been around for centuries. It has become popular in recent years. Walking on stones is not as comfortable as walking on sand. That’s why Popcorn Beach is not always people’s first choice for holid ays. But no one can deny that it is interesting to visit.

●attraction n. 吸引游客的事物(或地方)

●as its name suggests 顾名思义

●deny v. 否认

Hiding From the Vet

Children may cry when they are taken to the hospital. What about cats? This kitten hides his head in a trash hole at the vet’s office! It seems he doesn’t like seeing a doctor, either.

Delicious Art

Believe it or not, you can use food to create art! A Japanese food artist made pictures of famous people with melted (融化了的) chocolate.

Hello, Sally!

You might remember Sally in the movie Cars (《赛车总动员》). Look at the picture below. A blue car “makes a face” like Sally after a heavy snow. How cute!

●seem v. 似乎，仿佛

●create v. 创作

●make a face 做鬼脸