1、必修四 Unit1 A STUDENT OF AFRICAN WILDLIFE It is 5:45 am and the sun is just rising over Gombe National Park in East Africa. Following Janes way of studying chimps, our group are all going to visit them in the forest. Jane has studied these families of chimps for many years and helped people understand
2、 how much they behave like humans. Watching a family of chimps wake up is our first activity of the day. This means going back to the place where we left the family sleeping in a tree the night before. Everybody sits and waits in the shade of the trees while the family begins to wake up and move off
3、. Then we follow as they wander into the forest. Most of the time, chimps either feed or clean each other as a way of showing love in their family. Jane warns us that our group is going to be very tired and dirty by the afternoon and she is right. However, the evening makes it all worthwhile. We wat
4、ch the mother chimp and her babies play in the tree. Then we see them go to sleep together in their nest for the night. We realize that the bond between members of a chimp family is as strong as in a human family. Nobody before Jane fully understood chimp behaviour. She spent years observing and rec
5、ording their daily activities. Since her childhood she had wanted to work with animals in their own environment. However, this was not easy. When she first arrived in Gombe in 1960, it was unusual for a woman to live in the forest. Only after her mother came to help her for the first few months was
6、she allowed to begin her project. Her work changed the way people think about chimps. For example, one important thing she discovered was that chimps hunt and eat meat. Until then everyone had thought chimps ate only fruit and nuts. She actually observed chimps as a group hunting a monkey and then e
7、ating it. She also discovered how chimps communicate with each other, and her study of their body language helped her work out their social system. For forty years Jane Goodall has been outspoken about making the rest of the world understand and respect the life of these animals. She has argued that
8、 wild animals should be left in the wild and not used for entertainment or advertisements. She has helped to set up special places where they can live safely. She is leading a busy life but she says: Once I stop, it all comes crowding in and I remember the chimps in laboratories. Its terrible. It af
9、fects me when I watch the wild chimps. I say to myself, Arent they lucky? And then I think about small chimps in cages though they have done nothing wrong. Once you have seen that you can never forget . She has achieved everything she wanted to do: working with animals in their own environment, gain
10、ing a doctors degree and showing that women can live in the forest as men can. She inspires those who want to cheer the achievements of women. Unit2 A PIONEER FOR ALL PEOPLE Although he is one of Chinas most famous scientists, Yuan Longping considers himself a farmer, for he works the land to do his
11、 research. Indeed, his sunburnt face and arms and his slim, strong body are just like those of millions of Chinese farmers, for whom he has struggled for the past five decades. Dr Yuan Longping grows what is called super hybrid rice. In 1974, he became the first agricultural pioneer in the world to
12、grow rice that has a high output. This special strain of rice makes it possible to produce one-third more of the crop in the same fields. Now more than 60% of the rice produced in China each year is from this hybrid strain. Born into a poor farmers family in 1930, Dr Yuan graduated from Southwest Ag
13、ricultural College in 1953. Since then, finding ways to grow more rice has been his life goal. As a young man, he saw the great need for increasing the rice output. At that time, hunger was a disturbing problem in many parts of the countryside. Dr Yuan searched for a way to increase rice harvests wi
14、thout expanding the area of the fields. In 1950, Chinese farmers could produce only fifty million tons of rice. In a recent harvest, however, nearly two hundred million tons of rice was produced. These increased harvests mean that 22% of the worlds people are fed from just 7% of the farmland in Chin
15、a. Dr Yuan is now circulating his knowledge in India, Vietnam and many other less developed countries to increase their rice harvests. Thanks to his research, the UN has more tools in the battle to rid the world of hunger. Using his hybrid rice, farmers are producing harvests twice as large as befor
16、e. Dr Yuan is quite satisfied with his life. However, he doesnt care about being famous. He feels it gives him less freedom to do his research. He would much rather keep time for his hobbles. He enjoys listening to violin music, playing mah-jong, swimming and reading. Spending money on himself or le
17、ading a comfortable life also means very little to him. Indeed, he believes that a person with too much money has more rather than fewer troubles. He therefore gives millions of yuan to equip others for their research in agriculture. Just dreaming for things, however, costs nothing. Long ago Dr yuan
18、 had a dream about rice plants as tall as sorghum. Each ear of rice was as big as an ear of corn and each grain of rice was as huge as a peanut. Dr Yuan awoke from his dream with the hope of producing a kind of rice that could feed more people. Now, many years later, Dr Yuan has another dream: to ex
19、port his rice so that it can be grown around the globe. One dream is not always enough, especially for a person who loves and cares for his people. Unit3 A MASTER OF NONVERBAL HUMOUR As Victor Hugo once said, Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face, and up to now nobody has been a
20、ble to do this better than Charlie Chaplin. He brightened the lives of Americans and British through two world wars and the hard years in between. He made people laugh at a time when they felt depressed, so they could feel more content with their lives. Not that Charlies own life was easy! He was bo
21、rn in a poor family in 1889. His parents were both poor music hall performers. You may find it astonishing that Charlie was taught to sing as soon as he could speak and dance as soon as he could walk. Such training was common in acting families at this time, especially when the family income was oft
22、en uncertain. Unfortunately his father died, leaving the family even worse off, so Charlie spent his childhood looking after his sick mother and his brother. By his teens, Charlie had, through his humour, become one of the most popular child actors in England. He could mime and act the fool doing or
23、dinary everyday tasks. No one was ever bored watching him -his subtle acting made everything entertaining. As time went by, he began making films. He grew more and more popular as his charming character, the little tramp, became known throughout the world. The tramp, a poor, homeless man with a mous
24、tache, wore large trousers, worn-out shoes and a small round black hat. He walked around stilly carrying a walking stick. This character was a social failure but was loved for his optimism and determination to overcome all difficulties. He was the underdog who was kind even when others were unkind t
25、o him. How did the little tramp make a sad situation entertaining? Here is an example from one of his most famous films, The Gold Rush. It is the mid-nineteenth century and gold has just been discovered in California. Like so many others, the little tramp and his friend have rushed there in search o
26、f gold, but without success. Instead they are hiding in a small hut on the edge of a mountain during a snowstorm with nothing to eat. They are so hungry that they try boiling a pair of leather shoes for their dinner. Charlie first picks out the laces and eats them as if they were spaghetti. Then he
27、cuts off the leather top of the shoe as if it were the finest steak. Finally he tries cutting and chewing the bottom of the shoe. He eats each mouthful with great enjoyment. The acting is so convincing that it makes you believe that it is one of the best meals he has ever tasted! Charlie Chaplin wro
28、te, directed and produced the films he starred in. In 1972 he was given a special Oscar for his outstanding work in films. He lived in England and the USA but spent his last years in Switzerland, where he was buried in 1977. He is loved and remembered as a great actor who could inspire people with g
29、reat confidence. Unit4 COMMUNICATION: NO PROBLEM? Yesterday, another student and I, representing our universitys student association, went to the Capital International Airport to meet this years international students. They were coming to study at Beijing University. We would take them first to thei
30、r dormitories and then to the student canteen. After half an hour of waiting for their flight to arrive, I saw several young people enter the waiting area looking around curiously. I stood for a minute watching them and then went to greet them. The first person to arrive was Tony Garcia from Colombi
31、a, closely followed by Julia Smith from Britain. After I met them and then introduced them to each other, I was very surprised. Tony approached Julia, touched her shoulder and kissed her on the cheek! She stepped back appearing surprised and put up her hands, as if in defence. I guessed that there w
32、as probably a major misunderstanding. Then Akira Nagata from Japan came in smiling, together with George Cook from Canada. As they were introduced, George reached his hand out to the Japanese student. Just at that moment, however, Akira bowed so his nose touched Georges moving hand. They both apolog
33、ized - another cultural mistake! Ahmed Aziz, another international student, was from Jordan. When we met yesterday, he moved very close to me as I introduced myself. I moved back a bit, but he came closer to ask a question and then shook my hand. When Darlene Coulon from France came dashing through
34、the door, she recognized Tony Garcias smiling face. They shook hands and then kissed each other twice on each cheek, since that is the French custom when adults meet people they know. Ahmed Aziz., on the contrary, simply nodded at the girls. Men from Middle Eastern and other Muslim countries will of
35、ten stand quite close to other men to talk but will usually not touch women. As I get to know more international friends, I learn more about this cultural body language. Not all cultures greet each other the same way, nor are they comfortable in the same way with touching or distance between people.
36、 In the same way that people communicate with spoken language, they also express their feelings using unspoken language through physical distance, actions or posture. English people, for example, do not usually stand very close to others or touch strangers as soon as they meet. However, people from
37、places like Spain, Italy or South American countries approach others closely and are more likely to touch them. Most people around the world now greet each other by shaking hands, but some cultures use other greetings as well, such as the Japanese, who prefer to bow. These actions are not good or ba
38、d, but are simply ways in which cultures have developed. I have seen, however, that cultural customs for body language are very general - not all members of a culture behave in the same way. In general, though, studying international customs can certainly help avoid difficulties in todays world of c
39、ultural crossroads! Unit5 THEME PARKSFUN AND MORE THAN FUN Which theme park would you like to visit? There are various kinds of theme parks, with a different park for almost everything: food, culture, science, cartoons, movies or history. Some parks are famous for having the biggest or longest rolle
40、r coasters, others for showing the famous sights and sounds of a culture. Whichever and whatever you like, there is a theme park for you! The theme park you are probably most familiar with is Disneyland. It can be found in several parts of the world. It will bring you into a magical world and make y
41、our dreams come true, whether traveling through space, visiting a pirate ship or meeting your favourite fairy tale or Disney cartoon character. As you wander around the fantasy amusement park, you may see Snow White or Mickey Mouse in a parade or on the street. Of course Disneyland also has many exc
42、iting rides, from giant swinging ships to terrifying free-fall drops. With all these attractions, no wonder tourism is increasing wherever there is a Disneyland. If you want to have fun and more than fun, come to Disneyland! Dollywood, in the beautiful Smoky Mountains in the southeastern USA, is one
43、 of the most unique theme parks in the world. Dollywood shows and celebrates Americas traditional southeastern culture. Although Dollywood has rides, the parks main attraction is its culture. Famous country music groups perform there all year in indoor and outdoor theatres. People come from all over
44、 America to see carpenters and other craftsmen make wood, glass and iron objects in the old-fashioned way. Visit the candy shop to try the same kind of candy that American southerners made 150 years ago, or take a ride on the only steam- engine train still working in the southeast USA. You can even
45、see beautiful bald eagles in the worlds largest bald eagle preserve. And for those who like rides, Dollywood has one of the best old wooden roller coasters, Thunderhead. It is world-famous for having the most length in the smallest space. Come to Dollywood to have fun learning all about Americas his
46、torical southeastern culture! If you want to experience the ancient days and great deeds of English knights and ladies, princes and queens, then Englands Camelot Park is the place for you. Every area of the park is modelled after life in the days of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. In
47、 one place, you can watch magic shows with Merlin the Wizard. If you want to see fighting with swords or on horseback, then the jousting area is a good place to visit. If you do well there, King Arthur may choose you to fight in the big jousting tournament. Do you like animals? Then visit the farm area, and learn how people in ancient England ran their farms and took care of their animals. To enter a world of fantasy about ancient England, come to Camelot Park!
