必修2
unit1
IN SEARCH OF THE AMBER ROOM
Frederick William Ⅰ，the King of Prussia , could never have imagined that his greatest gift to the Russian people would have such an amazing history . This gift was the Amber Room , which was given this name because several tons of amber were used to make it . The amber which was selected had a beautiful yellow-brown colour like honey . The design of the room was in the fancy style popular in those days . It was also a treasure decorated with gold and jewels , which took the country's best artists about ten years to make .
第一单元 文化遗产
普鲁士国王腓特烈·威廉一世从未想过他送个普鲁士人民伟大的礼物会有一点如此惊奇的历史。这个礼物是因为由几吨琥珀制成而命名的琥珀屋。这些被挑选的琥珀都有着像蜂蜜一样漂亮的黄棕色。这间屋的设计是当时最流行的奇特的风格。这同样是一件花了当时最好的艺术家大约十年用黄金和珠宝修饰制成的宝物。
In fact , the room was not made to be a gift . It was designed for the palace of Frederick Ⅰ. However, the next King of Prussia , Frederick William Ⅰ,to whom the amber room belonged, decided not to keep it. In 1716 he gave it to Peter the Great. In return , the Czar sent him a troop of his best soldiers. So the Amber Room because part of the Czar's winter palace in St Petersburg.About four metres long, the room served as a small reception hall for important visitors .
事实上，这间屋不是制来当礼物的。这是为腓特烈一世的领土而设计的。然而，普鲁士下一任国王同样是琥珀屋的拥有者，腓特烈威廉一世决定不保留琥珀屋。在1716年他把琥珀屋送给了彼得大帝。作为报答，沙皇给了腓特烈一队他最好的士兵。因此琥珀屋成为了沙皇避寒圣地圣彼得堡的一部分。琥珀屋作为一个大概四米长的只为重要访客的小接待处。
Later,Catherine Ⅱ had the Amber Room moved to a palace outside St Petersburg where she spent her summers. She told her artists to add more details to it .In 1770 the room was completed the way she wanted . Almost six hundred candles lit the room ,and its mirrors and pictures shone like gold. Sadly , although the Amber Room was considered one of the wonders of the world , it is now missing .
后来，叶卡捷琳娜二世把琥珀屋在圣彼得堡之外的一个她避暑的地方。她让她的艺术家加了跟多的细节在里面。在1770年琥珀屋完全成了她想要的样子。接近600只蜡烛在屋内燃烧着，把镜子和图画都照得像金子一样。令人伤心的，虽然被誉为是世界奇迹之一的琥珀屋现在丢失了。
In September 1941, the Nazi army was near St Petersburg . This was a time when the two countries were at war . Before the Nazis could get to the summer palace , the Russians were able to remove some furniture and small art objects from the Amber Room . However , some of the Nazis secretly stole the room itself . In less than two days 100,000 pieces were put inside twenty-seven woooden boxs . There is no doubt that the boxs were then put on a train for Konigsberg, which was at that time a German city on the Baltic Sea . After that, what happened to the Amber Room remains a mystery .
在1941年9月，纳粹军队在圣彼得堡附近。这正是两个国家在交战的时候。在纳粹去到避暑地方之前，俄国人民能够从琥珀屋里搬走一些家具和小的艺术品。然而，一些纳粹神秘的偷走了琥珀屋。至少两天内100000多片琥珀被放进27个木箱里。这些箱子无疑会被放进一艘去往当时德军驻扎的菠萝的海的哥尼斯堡的船上。之后，琥珀屋发生了神马仍然是个迷。
Recently , the Russians and Germans have built a new Amber Room at the summer palace . By studying old photos of the former Amber Room , they have made the new one look like the old one .In 2003 it was ready for the people of St Petersburg when they celebrated the 300th birthday of their city .
近来，俄罗斯人和德国人已经在夏宫建起了一个新的琥珀屋，通过研究琥珀屋原来的照片，他们建造的新琥珀屋样子和旧的看起来非常像。2003年春，圣彼得堡人民就用它来庆祝该市建成30周年。
阅读二
A FACT OR AN OPINION?
What is a fact? Is it something that people believe? No. A fact is anything that can be proved. For example, it can be proved that China has more people than any other country in the world. This is a fact.
一个事实还是一个观点
什么是事实呢？是不是人们所相信的就是事实呢？不是。事实是可以证实的信息。举例来说，中国人口比世界上任何其它国家的人口都多，这是可以得到证实的。
Then what is an opinion? An opinion is what someone believes is true but has not been proved. So an opinion is not good evidence in a trial. For example, it is an opinion if you say “Cats are better pets than dogs”. It may be true, but it is difficult to prove. Some people may not agree with this opinion but they also cannot prove that they are right.
那么，什么是看法呢？看法是人们相信是真实的但是未经证实。因此，在审判中，看法不是强有力的证据，举例来说，如果你说：“猫作为宠物比狗好。”这就是看法，这个看法可能是正确的，但是它难以被证实。有些人可能同意这种看法，但是他们也不能证明他们是正确的。
In a trial, a judge must decide which eyewitnesses to believe and which not to believe. The judge does not consider what each eyewitness looks like or where that person lives or works. He/she only cares about whether the eyewitness has given true information, which must be facts rather than opinions. This kind of information is called evidence.
在审判中，法官必须断定哪些证明人可以相信，哪些证人不能相信，法官并不考虑证人的长相如何，也不考虑这个人住在哪里，在哪儿工作，他们关心的是目击者是否提供了真实的信息，这些信息必须是事实而不是个人观点或看法，这种信息就叫做证据。
Unit 2
AN INTERVIEW
Pausanias, who was a Greek writer about 2,000 years ago, has come on a magical journey on March 18th 2007 to find out about the present-day Olympic Games. He is now interviewing Li Yan, a volunteer for the 2008 Olympic Games.
P: My name is Pausanias. I lived in what you call “Ancient Greece” and I used to write about the Olympic Games a long time ago. I’ve come to your time to find out about the present-day Olympic Games because I know that in 2004 they were held in my homeland. May I ask you some questions about the modern Olympics?
L: Good heavens! Have you really come from so long ago? But of course you can ask any questions you like. What would you like to know?
P: How often do you hold your Games?
L: Every four years. There are two main sets of Games-the Winter and Summer Olympics, and both are held every four years on a regular basis. The Winter Olympics are usually held two years before the Summer Games. Only athletes who have reached the agreed standard for their event will be admitted as competitors. They may come from anywhere in the world.
P: Winter Games? How can the runners enjoy competing in winter? And what about the horses?
L: Oh no! There are no running races or horse riding events. Instead there are competitions like skiing and ice skating which need snow and ice. That’s why they’re called the Winter Olympics. It’s in the Summer Olympics that you have the running races, together with swimming, sailing and all the team sports.
P: I see. Earlier you said that athletes are invited from all over the world. Do you mean the Greek world? Our Greek cities used to compete against each other just for the honour of winning. No other countries could join in, nor could slaves or women!
L: Nowadays any country can take part if their athletes are good enough. There are over 250 sports and each on has its own standard. Women are not only allowed, but play a very important role in gymnastics, athletics, team sports and …
P: Please wait a minute! All those events, all those countries and even women taking part! Where are all the athletes housed?
L: For each Olympics, a special village is built for them to live in, a main reception building, several stadiums for competitions, and a gymnasium as well.
P: That sounds very expensive. Does anyone want to host the Olympic Games?
L: As a matter of fact, every country wants the opportunity. It’s a great responsibility but also a great honour to be chosen. There’s as much competition among countries to host the Olympics as to win Olympic medals. The 2008 Olympics will be held in Beijing, China. Did you know that?
P: Oh yes! You must be very proud.
L: Certainly. And after that the 2012 Olympics will be held in London. They have already started planning for it. A new village for the athletes and all the stadiums will be built to the east of London. New medals will be designed of course and …
P: Did you say medals? So even the olive wreath has been replaced! Oh dear! Do you compete for prize money too?
L: No, we don’t. it’s still all about being able to run faster, jump higher and throw further. That’s the motto of the Olympics, you know-“Swifter, Higher and Stronger.”
P: Well, that’s good news. How interesting! Thank you so much for your time.
第二单元 奥林匹克运动会
阅读一
一个采访
大约2000年前的一个希腊作者帕萨尼亚斯(P)，在2007年3月18日踏上了一段魔幻的旅程去查明关于现代的奥林匹克运动会。他正在采访一个2008年奥林匹克运动会志愿者李岩(L)。
P:我是帕萨尼亚斯。我住在你们所说的“古希腊”而且在很久之前我常常写以一些关于奥林匹克运动会的事情。我来到你的时代是为了解关于现代奥林匹克运动会因为我知道2004年奥林匹克运动会会在我家乡举办。我可以问你一些关于现代奥林匹克运动会的问题么？
L:真是极为愉快的事!你真的来自那么久远的时代么？不过当然你可以问你想问的问题。你想知道神马？
P:你们多久会举办一次运动会？
L:四年一次。有两种主要的运动会形式--冬季和夏季奥运会，并且在一个有规律的基础上他们都是四年举办一次的。冬季奥运会一般会在夏季奥运会前两年举办。只有达到该项目既定的标准的运动员才会被容许成为竞争者。他们可以来自世界各地。
P:冬季奥运会？田径运动员如何在冬季享受比赛？还有马术又怎样？
L:哦不!冬季奥运会没有赛跑和骑马的项目。反而会有一些像滑雪和溜冰这些需要雪和冰的项目。这就是为神马他成为冬季奥运会。只有在夏季奥运会会有你说赛跑，同时还有游泳，帆船运动和所有团队运动。
P:我懂了。之前你说那些运动员都被邀请来自世界各地。你了解希腊世界么？我们希腊城过去互相竞赛只为胜利的荣誉。没有其他的地区可以参加，奴隶和妇女也不可以。
L:现在只要他们的运动员够好的话任何国家都可以参加。有超过250种项目并且每一种都有它自己的标准。妇女不仅允许参加比赛，并且她们在体操比赛，竞技比赛，团队比赛和其他各种比赛中都扮演着重要的角色。
P:麻烦稍等一下！所有的这些项目，所有的国民甚至妇女都可以参加！那么这些运动员们居住在哪里？
L:在每一场奥运会前，一座特别的村庄会被建来给他们居住，还有一座主要的接待建筑，几个用来比赛的体育场和一座体育馆等
P:那听起来很贵。有哪个国家会想要举办奥运会么？
L:事实上，每个国家都想要这个机会。这是一个很大的责任同样是一个很大的荣誉如果被挑选到。在国家之间有很多竞争去为举办奥运会就像去赢得奥林匹克奖牌一样。2008年的奥运会将会在北京举行。这你知道么？
P:哦是的！你一定非常自豪。
L:当然。之后的2012年奥运会将在伦敦举行。他们早就开始为这个做准备了。一座让运动员居住的村庄和所有的运动场将会被建在东伦敦。当然新的奖牌会被设计......
P:你是说奖牌么？所以甚至是橄榄花圈也已经被取代了！哦亲爱的！你们比赛也为了奖金么？
L:不我们不。现在仍然想要跑得更快跳的更高扔得更远。正如你知道的奥运会的格言-“更快更高更强”。
P:好吧，那是个好消息。多么有趣啊！耽搁你的时间，谢谢了。
THE STORY OF ATLANTA
Atlanta was a Greek princess. She was very beautiful and could run faster than any man in Greece. But she was not allowed to run and win glory for herself in the Olympic Games. She was so angry that she said to her father that she would not marry anyone who could not run faster than her. Her father said that she must marry, so Atlanta made a bargain with him. She said to him,"These are my rules. When a man says he wants to marry me, I will run against him. If he cannot run as fast as me, he will be killed. No one will be pardoned."
Many kings and princes wanted to marry Atlanta, but when they heard of rules they knew it was hopeless. So many of them sadly went home, but others stayed to run the race. There was a man called Hippomenes who was amazed when he heard of Atlanta's rules,"Why are these men so foolish?" he thought. "Why will they let themselves be killed because they cannot run as fast as this princess?" However, when she saw Atlanta come out of her house to run, Hippomenes changed his mind."I will marry Atlanta--or die!" he said.
The race started and although the man ran very fast, Atlanta ran faster. As Hippomenes watched he thought, "How can I run as fast as Atlanta?" He went to ask the Greek Godness of Love for help. She promised to help him and gave him three golden apples. She said," Throw an apple in front of Atlanta when she is running past. When she stops to pick it up, you will be able to run past her and win."
Hippomenes took the apples and went to the King. He said," I want to marry Atlanta ." The King was sad to see another man die, but Hippomenes said," I will marry her------or die!" So the race began.
阅读二
亚特兰大的故事
亚特兰大是一个希腊公主。她很漂亮并且可以跑得比希腊的任何一个男人都快。不过她不被允许在奥运会上跑步去为她自己赢得荣誉。她很生气因此她跟她父亲说她不会嫁任何跑不过她的男人。她父亲说她必须要嫁，所以亚特兰大与她父亲定下一个条件。她对她父亲说，“这是我的原则。如果有男人说想要嫁我，我会跟她赛跑。如果他跑不赢我，他会被杀。没有人能被例外。”
很多国王和王子想要娶亚特兰大，不过当他们听到这个规定的时候他们就知道自己没希望了。所以他们当中的很多人都伤心地回家了，不过其他的人都留着去赛跑。一个叫做希波墨涅斯的男人听到亚特兰大的消息后感到非常惊奇，他想“为神马这些男的都这么愚蠢呢？”“为神马他们会因为跑不过这个公主而让自己被杀呢？”然而，当他看到亚特兰大从她的房子出来跑步的时候，希波墨涅斯改变了他的心意。他说，“我会娶亚特兰大或者死！”
赛跑开始的时候虽然男人们都跑得很快，但是亚特兰大总是会更快。希波墨涅斯边看边想，“我要怎样才能赢过亚特兰大呢？”他去向希腊的爱神求助。爱神答应帮他并给了他三个金苹果。她说，“在亚特兰大跑过你的时候扔一个在亚特兰大面前。当亚特兰大停下来去捡苹果的时候，你就可以跑过她并赢得比赛。”希波墨涅斯拿着苹果并跑去找国王。他说，“我想娶亚特兰大。”国王伤心地看着又一个男人要死，不过希波墨涅斯说，“我会娶她或者死！”然后赛跑开始了。
Unit 3
WHO AM I?
Over time I have been changed quite a lot. I began as a calculating machine in France in 1642. 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”. In 1936 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 1949s 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, as was make smaller. First as a PC(personal computer) and then as a laptop, I have been used in offices and homes since the 1970s.
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 early 1960s 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 my. I have become very important in communication, finance and trade. I have also been put into 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!
第三单元 电脑
阅读一
我是谁
随着时间的推移我被改变了很多。在1642年的法国，我是作为一个计算机器而开始的。虽然我很年轻我可以简化一些计算题。在我被Charles Babbage改造成分析机器之前我很慢的发展了接近两百年。之后我被一个操作员用带洞的卡调制成了可以合逻辑地思考并且比任何人都快地得出一些问题的答案。那是一个被成为技术改革的时候并且开始了我的人造智能。在1936年我真正的父亲Alan Turing写了一本关于我如何像普遍的机器一样去解决任何困难的数学问题的书。从那起，我在体积和智能方面快速的发展。在1940年我变得像一个房间一样大，并且我想知道我是否还能变得更大。然而，事实也在困扰着我的设计者。随着时间的推移，我被制的更小。首先是个人电脑再到后来的手提电脑，在1970年我已经开始被用在办公室和家里。
这些变化只因为我记忆力的增强。开始记忆被存放于电子管里，然后是晶体管和后来更小的晶片。因此我改变了我的整个外型。随着我慢慢变老我也慢慢的变小。随着时间推移我的记忆力发展的那么快，像头大象，我不会忘记任何我曾被告知的东西！而且我的记忆力变得如此的大以至于我都不敢相信!不过我总是自己那么孤单的站在那里，直到1960年他们通过网络给了我一个家庭关系。我能够通过万维网和其他的电脑分享我的知识。
从1970年起很多新的应用为我而被发明。我在交流，金融和贸易方面变得重要。我同样被放进遥控装置中被用来制造移动电话也帮助医学手术。我已经被放进太空火箭并被送去探测月亮和火星。即使如此，我的目的是为人们提供高质量的生活。我现在充满快乐应为我成为了人类种族中的一个忠心的朋友和帮助者。
ANDY – THE ANDROID
I’m part of an android football team. About once a year we are allowed to get together to play a game of football. I’m as big as a human. It fact, I look like one too. On the football team I’m a striker so I have to be able to run very fast. My computer ships help me to move and think like a human. For example, I have learned to signal to my teammates in computer language to give me the ball when I am open and have a good for a goal.
My first football competition was in Nagoya, Japan several years ago. Last year our team went to Seattle, Washington in the USA. We won second place. Personally, I think the team that won first place cheated. They had developed a new type of program just before the competition. So we need to encourage our programmer to improve our intelligence too. We are determined to create an even better system. In a way our programmer is like our coach. She programs us with all the possible moves she has seen while watching human games. Then she prepares reliable moves to use if a new situation arises. In this way I can make up new moves using my “artificial intelligence”. I could like to play against a human team, for I have been programmed to act just like them. After all, with the help of my electronic brain which never forgets anything, using my intelligence is what I’m all about!
阅读二
机器人-Andy
我是一个机器人球队的一份子。我们被允许在一齐踢足球大约一年了。我像一个人类一样高大。事实上，我长得也像人类。在球队里我是前锋因此我要跑得非常快。我的电脑芯片帮助我移动并且像人类一样思考。例如，我已经学会了当我要开动去射一个好球的时候用电脑语言向我的队友发信号让他们把球传给我。
我的第一场足球比赛是在几年前在日本的名古屋。去年我们球队去了美国华盛顿和西雅图。我们胜利的第二个地方。就我个人观点，我认为我们球队第一次赢的地方是作弊的。他们已经在比赛之前一种新的程序类型。所以我们也要促进我们的程序去提高我们的智能。我们决心要去一种甚至更好的标志。一定程度上说我们的程序就像我们的教练。她训练我们所有在人类比赛中她能看到的所有可能的动作。如果一种新情况出现她会准备可靠的动作去运用。用这种方式我可以用我的“人造只能”去制造新的动作。我能够被编程成像人类一样的表现我就可以真的与一队人类球队去比赛。毕竟，在我不会忘掉任何东西的电子脑袋的帮助下，我的所有就是用我的智能！
Unit 4
HOW DAISY LEARNED TO HELP WILDLIFE
Daisy had always longed to help endangered species of wildlife. One day she woke up 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 take me to a distant land where I can find the animal that gave fur to make this sweater.” At once the carpet flew away and took her to Tibet. There Daisy saw and antelope looking sad. It said, “We’re being killed for the wool beneath our stomachs. Our fur is being used to make sweaters for people like you. As a result, we are now an endangered species.” At that Daisy cried, “I’m sorry I didn’t know that. I wonder what is being done to help you. Flying carpet, please show me a place where there’s some wildlife protection.”
The flying carpet traveled so fast that next minute they were in Zimbabwe. Daisy turned around and found that she was being watched by and elephant. “Have you come to take my photo?” it asked. In relief Daisy burst into laughter. “Don’t laugh,” said the elephant, “We used to be an endangered species. Farmers hunted us without mercy. They said we destroyed their farms, and money from tourists only went to the large tour companies. So the government decided to help. They allowed tourists to hunt only a certain number of animals if they paid the farmers. Now the 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. It shows the importance of wildlife protection, but I’d like to help as the WWF suggests.” The carpet rose again and almost at once they were in a thick rainforest. A monkey watched them as it rubbed itself. “What are you doing?” asked Daisy. “I’m protecting myself from mosquitoes,” it replied. When I find a millipede insect, I rub it over my body. It contains a powerful drug which affects mosquitoes. You should pay more attention to the rainforest where I live the appreciate how the animals live together. No rainforest, no animals, no drugs.”
Daisy was amazed. “Flying carpet, please take me home so I can tell WWF and we can begin producing this new drug. Monkey, please come and help.” The monkey agreed. The carpet flew home. As they landed, things began to disappear. Two minutes later everything had gone-the monkey, too. So Daisy was not able to make her new drug. But what an experience! She had learned so much! And there was always WWF…
第四单元
阅读一
Daisy如何学习去帮助野生动物
Daisy常常渴望去帮助濒临灭绝的种类的野生动物。一天她醒来发现一个正在飞行的飞毯在她包里。“你想去哪里？”它问。Daisy立刻回答它。“我想去看那些濒临灭绝的动物，”她说。“请带我去那个我可以找到供给皮毛去制造这件毛衣的动物的一个遥远的地方。”飞毯立刻带她飞去了西藏。在那里Daisy看到了一支看起来很伤心的羚羊。它说，“我们被杀是为了我们肚子下的毛。我们的皮毛被人类用来制造像你这样的毛衣。因此，现在我们是一种濒临灭绝的种类。”然后Daisy哭喊着，“我很抱歉我不知道那些。我想知道神马可以被做来帮助你们。飞毯，请带我去一个有一些野生动物保护区的地方。”
飞毯飞得如此的快以至于他们下一分钟就在Zimbabwe。Daisy转来转去然后发现她被一头大象盯着。“你过来跟我照相了么？”它问。Daisy松了口气突然笑起来。“不要笑，”大象说，“我们曾经是濒临灭绝的品种。农民好不仁慈地猎杀我们。他们说我们破坏了他们的天地，和来自那些只游览大工厂的游客的钱。所以政府决定去帮助。他们允许游客给钱农民然后可以去猎杀确定数量的动物。现在农民很高兴而且我们的数量在增加。所以好事情正被做于营救当地的野生动物。”
Daisy微笑了。“那是个好消息。它展示了野生动物保护的重要性，不过我喜欢去帮助像WWF这样的建议。”飞毯再次升起然后几乎同一时间他们在一个阴霾的热带雨林。一支猴子看着他们就像它摩擦它自己。“你在干神马？”Daisy问。“我在保护自己不受蚊子的伤害，”它回答。“当我找到一只千足虫昆虫，我会在我身上摩擦它。它包涵了一种强大的可以影响蚊子的药物。你应该更加注意那些我居住的热带雨林并好好鉴赏动物们如何居住在一齐。没有雨林，没有动物，没有药物。”
Daisy很惊讶。“飞毯，请带我回家这样我可以联系WWF并开始保护这种新的药物。猴子，请过来帮忙。”那猴子同意了。飞毯飞回家了。当他们降落时，事物开始消失了。两分钟后所有东西都消失了-那只猴子也是。所以Daisy不能去制造她的新药物。不过如此的一段经历！她已经学习了那么多！还有那里的WWF......
ANIMAL EXTINCTION
Many animals have disappeared during the long history of the earth.The most famous of these animals are dinosaurs.They lived on the earth tens of millions of years ago, long before humans came into being and their future seemed secure at that time.
There were many different kinds of dinosaur and a number of them used to live in China.The eggs of twenty-five species have been found in Xixia,County,Nanyang, Henan Province.Not long ago a rare new species of bird-like dinosaur was discovered in Chaoyang County,Liaoning Province.When scientists inspeacted the bones,they were surprised to find that these dinosaurs could not only run like the others but also climb trees.They learned this from the way the bones were joined together.
Dinosaurs died out suddenly about 65 million years ago. Some scientists think it came after an unexpected incident when a huge rock from space hit the earth and put too much dust into the air.Others think the earth got too hot for the dinosaurs
to live on any more.Nobody knows for sure why and how dinosaurs disappeared from the earth in such a short time.
We know many other wild plants, animals,insects and birds have died out more recently.According to a UN report,some 844 animals and plants have disappeared in the last 500 years.The dodo is one of them.It lived on the Island of Mauritius and was a very friendly animal.Please listen to a story of the dodo and how it disappeared frome the earth.
动物天地
从地球有史以来的这段漫长时期，许多动物都消失了。这些动物中最有名的是恐龙。千百万年前，恐龙就在地球上生活，比人类的出现要早得多，当时他们的前景好像也很安全。当时有许多不同种类的恐龙，其中有很多种类曾经生活在中国。25个种类的恐龙蛋在河南省南阳西峡县发现的。不久前，在辽宁省的朝阳县新发现了一种罕见的、形状象鸟一样的恐龙。科学家们观察他们的骨头时惊奇地发现他们不仅跟其它恐龙一样可以跑，而且还可以爬树。科学家们是根据恐龙骨骼的连接方式得知的这些。
恐龙大约在6500万年前就突然灭绝了。有些科学家认为恐龙灭绝是发生在一件意外事故之后，当时宇宙间一块巨石击中地球，因而在空气中扬起太多的尘土。另外的一些科学家则认为，地球变得太热，因此恐龙无法在地球上生活了。没有人确切地知道恐龙是由于什么原因，又是怎样在这么短的时间内从地球上消失的。
我们知道，近来许多其它的野生动植物、昆虫和鸟类也灭绝了。根据联和国的一份报告，在过去500年里，有844种动物消失，渡渡鸟就是其中的一种。它生活在毛里求斯岛上，是一种非常友好的动物。请听一个关于渡渡鸟的故事，看看它是如何从地球上消失的。
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 Lin Huan? To be honest, a lot of people attach great importance to becoming rich and famous. But just how do people form a band?
第五单元
并非乐队的乐队
你曾经想过要成为一个乐队里有名的歌手或音乐家吗？你是否曾梦想过在音乐会上面对成千上万的观众演唱，观众欣赏你的歌唱为你鼓掌吗？你唱卡拉OK时是否假装自己就是像宋祖英或刘欢一样著名的歌星吗？说实在的，很多人把名和利看得很重。那么，人们又是怎样一起组成乐队的呢？
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 whbacom practicing their music in someone’s hours 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!
许多音乐家聚在一起组成乐队，是因为他们喜欢自己作曲，演奏自己的音乐。他们开始可能是一组中学生，在某个人家里排练音乐是成名的第一步。有时他们可能在街上或地铁里为过路人演奏，这样他们可以为自己或自己要买的乐器多挣一些钱。后来，他们可能在酒吧或者俱乐部里演出，这样他们可以得到现金。当然，他们希望在录音棚里录音，然后卖掉上百万张碟，从而成为百万富翁。
However, there was one band hat 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.
然而，也有一个用不同方式组建起来的乐队。这支乐队叫“门基乐队”，它开始时是以电视节目表演的形式出现的。组成乐队的音乐人演奏音乐，还彼此打趣都笑。这些玩笑和音乐大多都在模仿“甲壳虫”乐队。电视制作人原计划想寻找四位会唱又会表演的乐手。他们在报纸上登了一则广告，想招摇滚乐手，但他们只招到一个满意的。乐队的其他三人只能用演员来代替。
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 humorous enough to be copied by clubs in order to get more familiar with them. Each week on TV, the Mondees 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 play their own music. In the USA they became even more popular than the Beatles and sold even more records. The band broke up about 1970, but happily the reunited in the mid-1980s. they produced a new record in 1996, with which they celebrated their former time as a real band.
因为这些演员中有些人唱得不是很好，他们不得不依靠队里的其他人帮助。所以在演出的时候他们只是假唱。不管怎样，他们的表演非常幽默以至于其他的乐队也开始模仿。他们非常走红使得歌迷们为了更加熟悉他们而成立了俱乐部。门基乐队每个星期都要在电视上演唱由别的音乐家创作的歌曲。然而，经过大约一年以后，门基乐队逐渐对自己的工作认真起来，他们开始像一支真正的乐队那样演唱自己创作的歌曲。然后他们录制自己的唱片，并且开始巡回表演他们自己的音乐。在美国，他们甚至比“甲壳虫”乐队还要受欢迎，出售的录音专辑还要多。“门基乐队”大约在1970年左右解散，但是令人高兴的是，到80年代中期他们再次聚首。在1996年，他们推出了一张新的专辑，像真正的乐队一样以此来庆祝他们以往的时光。
FREDDY THE FROG(II)
Not long after Freddy and the band became famous,they visited Britain on a brief tour.Fans showed their devotion by waiting for hours to get tichkets for their concerts.Freddy was now quite confident when he went into a concert hall.He enjoyed singing and all the congratulations afterwards!His most exciting invitation was to perform on a programme called "Top of the Pops."He had to go to London,wear an expensive suit and give a performance to a TV camera.It felt very strange.But as soon as the programme was over,the telephones which were in the same room started ringing.Everybody was asking when they could see Freddy and his band again. They were truly stars.
Then things went wrong.Freddy and his band could not go out anywhere without being followed.Even when they wore sunglasses or beards people recognized them. Fans found them even when they went into the toilet.They tried to hide in the reading rooms of libraries,but it was useless.Someone was always there!Their personal life was regularly discussed by people who did not know them but talked as if they were close friends. At last feeling very upset and sensitive,Freddy and his band to which they were never to return,and went back to the lak
弗雷迪和他的乐队
弗雷迪和他的乐队成名后不久，就到英国做短暂的巡回演出去了。歌迷们表现出了极大的忠心。他们等几个小时来购买音乐会的门票。弗雷迪现在步入演出厅会感到非常自信。他很喜欢演唱，喜欢演出后的祝贺声！最令他感到激动的是受邀请参加叫做“顶级流行歌声”的电视节目中的那场表演。他得去伦敦，穿着昂贵的服装，对着电视摄像机演唱。那种感觉真是不一般。而节目一完，这个房间里的电话铃声就开始响应起来了。大家都问他们什么时候可以再次看到弗雷迪和他的乐队。他们真正的成了歌星了。
后来情况可就不妙了。弗雷迪和他的乐队无论走到那儿都有人跟踪。甚至他们戴着太阳镜留着胡子时，人们也会认出他们来。即使他们上厕所，也会被歌迷发现。他们试图在图书馆的阅览室里躲藏起来，但这些都不管用。总有人在那儿等着！一些不认识他们的人也在不断地讨论他们的私生活，而且就像是他们的密友一样谈论他们。终于由于深感苦恼，神经高度紧张，弗雷迪和他的乐队意识到他们必须在自己感到太痛苦之前离开这个国家。因此，他们离开了英国，从此再也没有回去，又重新回到了湖里去了。
本文来源：https://www.2haoxitong.net/k/doc/2d11eb70487302768e9951e79b89680202d86b32.html
文档为doc格式