1、Unit 1ReadingThe Amazon rainforest: a natural treasure亚马孙雨林：大自然的宝藏Welcome to the jungle, a huge sea of green alive with the sounds of animals. This is the Amazon rainforest. As the largest rainforest in the world, it plays a significant role in maintaining the fine balance of the Earths ecosystem.欢迎
2、来到丛林，这是一片绿色的海洋，处处可闻各种动物的声音。这里是亚马孙雨林。作为世界上最 大的雨林，它在维系地球生态系统的微妙平衡上扮演着举足轻重的角色。The Amazon rainforest crosses into eight countries, including Brazil and Peru, and one overseas region of France, all on the South American continent. With an area of around 6 million square kilometres , the Amazon rainforest
3、 is more than half the size of China. The Amazon River, from which the rainforest gets its name, is close to 6,400 kilometres in length-roughly 100 kilometres longer than the Yangtze River. On its journey from the mountains to the ocean, the river supports many different ecosystems. They give this a
4、rea the richest biodiversity on the Earth: one in ten known species in the world can be found here.亚马孙雨林穿过包括巴西、秘鲁在内的八个国家，以及一块法国的海外领地，都位于南美洲大陆。亚 马孙雨林的面积约为600万平方千米，比中国国土面积的一半还要大。亚马孙雨林得名于亚马孙河，亚马 孙河长约6,400千米，比长江还长大约100千米。这条河从高山流向海洋，沿途维系着多种不同的生态系统。 它们赋予这片区域地球上最丰富的生物多样性：全世界十分之一的己知物种，都可以在这里找到。Of the 390,00
5、0 plant species known to us, more than 40,000 can be found in the Amazon. This tall and ancient brazil nut tree produces nuts that we can eat; these water lilies are big enough to lie down on. The forests different levels support an unbelievable variety of wildlife. At the bottom, there is a system
6、of roots beneath the ground. Above that is the mass of leaf litter on the dark forest floor. The nextlevel is made up of shorter plants with large leaves. Then there are the towering ancient hardwoods, and finally the tops of the tallest trees many metres above the ground. Each level of the forest f
7、orms its own little world, home to different kinds of living things.在人类己知的390,000种植物物种中，在亚马孙可以找到40,000多种。这棵高大、古老的巴西坚果树 结出的坚果我们可以食用；这些睡莲（叶片）大到可以躺在上面。雨林的不同层次养活的野生动物种类多 到难以置信。最底层是地下的根系。往上是阴暗森林地表厚实的落叶层。再往上一层由低矮的阔叶植物组 成。然后是高耸、古老的阔叶树，最后是那些离地数米之高的大树的树冠。雨林的每一层都自成一个小世 界，成为各种生物的家园。More than 1,300 species of b
8、irds and over 400 species of mammals hide among the jungles plant life. This jaguar is one example. It has a yellowish-brown coat with black spots. While a significant number of jaguars survive here, they are only one on at least 87 species, including frogs. These frogs, in turn, feed on insects whi
9、ch eat leaves and fruit. When a jaguar dies, a tiny army of microorganisms helps break down its body and return the nutrients to the earth.1,300多种鸟和400多种哺乳动物藏身于这片丛林的植被中。这只美洲豹就是个例子。它黄棕色的皮毛 上遍布着黑点。尽管这里生存着数量可观的美洲豹，但它们仅仅是雨林食物链上的一环。它们捕食的物种 至少有87种，其中包括青蛙.相应地，这些青蛙的食物，是以树叶和水果为食的昆虫。美洲豹死后，一小支 微生物军队会助力其尸体的分解，让
10、营养素重回土壤之中。The Amazon rainforest breathes life into the planet by fixing carbon and producing over 20 per cent of all the Earths oxygen. Thus, it is often known as the lungs of the planet. Moreover; the Amazon rainforest is a treasure house of species that can be used for food or medicine. Yet there
11、is one major danger to these irreplaceable plants and animals: us. Over the past 50 years, about 17 per cent of the rainforest has disappeared due to human activities such as agriculture and cattie farming. As the impact of human activities continues to grow and the list of species in danger of exti
12、nction becomes longer, we are left with a question: can we afford to damage the 41 lungs of the planetw ?亚马孙币林通过固定碳（二氧化碳一译者注），并生成占全球总量20%以上的氧气，来为地球注入活 力。因此，它也常常被称作“地球之肺”。此外，亚马孙雨林还是食用物种和药用物种的宝库。然而，这 些无可取代的动植物面临的一个主要威胁就是：我们。在过去的50年里，由于农耕和养牛等人类活动，17% 的雨林己经消失了随着人类活动影响的不断増加，濒危物种的名单越来越长，这留给我们一个问题：我 们能承担得起
13、损害“地球之肺”的后果吗？Extended readingNews that Matters:pollution in Norgate焦点新闻：诺盖特市的污染HOST: Good evening and welcome to News that Matters. Our topic today is pollution in Norgate. Joining us in the studio tonight are James Smith, a local resident; Vincent Brown, senior manager of a local factory; and Julie
14、 Archer, chief of the Norgate Environmental Protection Committee. Welcome.主持人：晚上好，欢迎收看焦点新闻。我们今天的话题是诺盖特市的污染。今晚来到我们演播室的有 本地居民詹姆斯史密斯、本地一家工厂的高管文森特布朗，还有诺盖特环境保护委员会的负责人朱莉阿 彻。欢迎你们。Norgate s rapid development has had significant environmental costs. Mr Smith, youve lived in this city for over 20 years. How w
15、ould you describe the effects of pollution over that time?诺盖特市的高速发展付出了高昂的环境代价。史密斯先生，您己经在这座城市生活了二十多年。您能说说 这二十年间污染造成的影响吗？SMITH: It s been awful, really. When I first moved here, the air was fresh, the grass green and the water clear. Then heavy industry factories moved in, and things became entirely d
16、ifferent. I don t enjoy outdoor activities any more. The river is dirty and smelly. The smog in the air has coloured the sky a smoky grey; it s also given me a cough that I can t get rid of. For health and safety reasons alone, heavy industry has to go. 史密斯：非常糟糕，真的。我刚搬来时，这里空气清新、草绿水清。后来重工业工厂迁来了，情况变得截
17、 然不同了。我再也不喜欢户外活动了。河水又脏又臭。空气中的烟雾把天空都染成了烟灰色；这还让我患 上了咳嗽，久治不愈。单是出于健康和安全的原因，重工业也必须迁走。HOST: Mr Smith protested against heavy industry. Mr Brown, would you like to respond?主持人：史密斯先生反对重工业。布朗先生，您想做出回应吗？BROWN: Well, I m sorry you feel that way, Mr Smith. People tend to connect factories with pictures of cloud
18、s of dirty smoke and irresponsible businessmen eager to make huge profits. In defence of the factories, however; I d like to point out that we also try to control the amount of pollution we produce. I think I speakfor all factory managers when I say we re deeply concerned about the environment.We ve
19、 been taking various measures, including the use of new technologies, to reduce pollution in the production process, even though these measures raise our production costs. I d also like to draw your attention to the economic benefits factories have brought to Norgate. We ve created many jobs for loc
20、al residents and helped the city* s economy grow.布朗：好吧，对于您那样的感受我很抱歉，史密斯先生。一提到工厂，人们总是将其与浓烟滚滚的画面和 急于牟取暴利、不负责任的商人形象联系在一起。不过，我要为工厂说句话，我想指出，我们也在努力控 制我们制造的污染。我们对环境问题深感担忧，我想，我是代表所有的工厂负责人说的这句话。我们一直 在采取各种各样的措施，包括新科技手段的运用，来减少生产过程中产生的污染，尽管这些措施会增加我 们的生产成本。我还希望您能注意到，这些工厂给诺盖特市带来的经济效益。我们为当地居民创造了许多 就业岗位，并对这座城市的经济增长
21、起到了助推作用。HOST: Thank you, Mr Brown. With pollution levels on the rise, the Norgate Environmental Protection Committee is searching for ways to fight the problem.Mrs Archer; what are your thoughts on how to deal with pollution?主持人：谢谢您，布朗先生。鉴于污染程度不断加重，诺盖特环境保护委员会正在设法应对这个问题。阿 彻女士，您对如何处理污染问题有何见解？ARCHER: W
22、ell, our committee has a major role to play in maintaining air and water quality. We have to achieve a balance between environmental protection and economic development. We* ve made environmental policies for businesses to observe, like strict clean-up requirements. We also work hand in hand with ot
23、her branches of government to ensure that development strategies are followed in an environmentally friendly way. However, fighting pollution isn t just a task for factories and the government.lt has to be a community-wide effort, and everyone can help by following the golden rule: reduce, reuse and
24、 recycle. For example, you can save energy by taking the bus or the subway, or using the bike-sharing system.阿彻：是的，我们委员会在维护空气质量和水质量方面发挥着重要作用。我们必须在环境保护与经济发展 之间求得平衡。我们己经制定了供各行业遵守的环境政策，比如严格的净化要求。我们也与其他政府部门 携手，确保以一种环境友好的方式贯彻发展战略。然而，与污染作斗争不仅仅是工厂与政府的任务，应该 全社会通力协作，人人都可以通过遵守“减少使用、重复使用、回收利用”这一黄金法则来助力。打个比 方，您
25、可以乘坐公交车、地铁，或者使用共享单车来节约能源。HOST: Thank you, Mrs Archer, and thanks again to all of our guests. A former UN official once said, Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing economic growth . these are one and the same fight. The fortunes of our environment and our economy are inseparable
26、. It s our duty to protect the environment while we aim for economic development. It s our duty to leave a better; cleaner and healthier planet to our children. It s our duty to build a human community with a shared future.主持人：谢谢您，阿彻女士，再次感谢我们所有的嘉宾。一位联合国前官员曾经说过：“拯救我们的地球， 让人们摆脱贫困，实现经济増长,，”这是同一场战斗。”我们的
27、环境与经济的命运休戚与共。在追求经济发 展的同时保护环境，这是我们的责任。将一个更美好、更清洁、更健康的星球留给我们的后人，这是我们 的责任。构建人类命运共同体，这是我们的责任。Unit 2 ReadingPupils lives spared during Falmont earthquake弗尔蒙特发生地震小学生成功逃生By Raymond Tran18 MarchFALMONT-On 17 March, 476 students and 36 teachers at Falmont Primary School escaped an earthquake that hit the cou
28、nty at 2:27 p.m. Only 5 students suffered slight injuries,despite the current figures 200 injured in the disaster area at large.弗尔蒙特一一3月17日下午2： 27, 一场地震袭击了弗尔蒙特县，弗尔蒙特小学476名学生和36名教 师成功逃生。尽管目前整个灾区伤亡数据为7人死亡，200多人受伤，（弗尔蒙特小学）却仅有5名学生 受轻伤。Alice Brown,head teacher at Falmont Primary School, was teaching when
29、 the floor began to shake. Her students reaction was quick and correct-they moved under their desks,head first, and held on to the legs of the desks. At the same time, Miss Brown quickly opened the classroom door, in case it became damaged during the shaking and could not open. There were loud crash
30、es of glass breaking and things falling to the ground, but the students remained still and waited calmly and quietly.弗尔蒙特小学校长艾丽斯布朗当时正在授课，突然地面开始晃动。她的学生们反应迅速正确一一他 们头朝里，钻到桌子下面，并紧紧抓住桌腿。与此同时，布朗女士立刻打开教室门，以防门在震动中损坏 打不开。尽管玻璃破碎、东西倒地发出阵阵巨响，但是学生们仍然一动不动，沉着安静地等待着。The moment the shaking stopped, Miss Brown sensed
31、 it was the best time for the class to make their escape. She signalled to her students to exit the classroom in an orderly line covering their heads with their hands. Within one minute and twenty seconds, the whole class went down the stairs and rushed to the playground. Soon students from other cl
32、asses arrived too.After a roll call confirmed that all were safe and sound, they relaxed, laughing, crying and hugging each other.晃动一停止，布朗女士立即意识到这是全班逃生的最好时机。她示意学生们用双手护着头，排好队， 有序离开教室。1分20秒内，全班下楼梯，跑到了操场上很快，其他班的学生也赶到了。点名确认所有 人都安然无恙后，大家才松了一口气，笑啊，哭啊，互相拥抱着。“ We practise earthquake safety procedures twice
33、a yeai; said Miss Brown, so the kids were calm enoug h to protect themselves during the earthquake. ”“我们每年进行两次地震安全规程演练，”布朗女士说，“因此在地震时，孩子们都十分镇定，能够 保护好自己。”NEWDALE-On 20 December* series of huge waves caused by an undersea Earthquake raced across the ocean near Goldshore and left thousands dead. Goldsh
34、ore Beach was the only local beach to survive the disaster without any loss of life. AlO-year-old girl,Sabrina Andron,helped around 100 people escape danger with her knowledge of tsunamis.纽代尔一一12月20日，由海底地震引发的巨浪接连席卷了金海岸附近海域，造成数千人死亡。金海岸 海滩是当地唯一一个在此次灾难中没有任何人员损失的海滩。一个10岁的女孩，萨布丽娜安德龙，利用 自己掌握的海啸知识帮助大约100人脱
35、险。The day began like any other on Goldshore Beach.People were walking,running or simply sitting on the sandy beach, enjoying the warm sea air and the soft wind that brushed their hair. Sabrina was one of the happy tourists until she noticed something odd. The water was like the bubbles on the top of
36、 a beer; she later explained. It wasnt calm and it wasn t going in and then out. It was just coming in and in and in.Sabrina had just learnt about tsunamis in a Geography lesson. It immediately occurred to her that these were signs of an approaching tsunami. Sabrina was frightened,but she soon kept
37、her head. She warned her parents of the danger; though at first they just thought she was joking. However, Sabrina was certain that a terrible disaster was on its way and kept asking her parents to talk to a safety officer. To her great relief, the officer immediately realized the coming danger. The
38、 beach was rapidly cleared of people, just before the huge waves crashed into the coast.那天刚开始，金海岸海滩上与往常一样。人们在散步、晨跑，或者就是坐在沙滩上，享受着温暖的海边 空气和拂过发际的微风。萨布丽娜是这群快乐游客中的一位，直到她察觉到一丝异样。“海水像啤酒表面 的泡沫一样，她后来解释说，“不平静，也没有潮来潮去。海水只是一个劲儿地涌过来，涌过来，再涌 过来。萨布丽娜刚在一节地理课上学习了有关海啸的知识。她立刻意识到这是海啸来临的前兆。萨布丽 娜吓坏了，不过她很快冷静下来。她提醒父母有危险，但一开
39、始他们只当她是在开玩笑不过，萨布丽娜 确信，一场可怕的灾难正在逼近，于是便不停地让父母去和安全员谈一谈。使她大为宽慰的是，安全员立 即意识到危险即将来临。就在巨浪拍岸的前一刻，海滩上的人迅速疏散一空。U2 Extended readingThe Last Days of Pompeii (Excerpt)庞贝城的末日(节选)Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873) was a talented British writer who left his mark on the English language. His classic novel The Last Days
40、 of Pompeii imagines life in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii in the year 79, when Mount Vesuvius erupted. This terrible natural disaster destroyed Pompeii completely, but it also kept the ancient city as it was for future ages. Since 1748,Pompeii has been systematically unearthed.Idday it is an in
41、ternational tourist destination.爱德华布尔沃利顿(18031873)是一位才华横溢的英国作家，对英语语言产生了深远的影响。在 其经典小说庞贝城的末日中，他对公元79年维苏威火山爆发时，古罗马城市庞贝的生活场景展开了想 象。这场骇人天灾将庞贝城彻底摧毁，却又为后世保存了这座古城的原貌。从1748年起，庞贝城开始得到 系统发掘。如今这里己成为国际旅游胜地。Pompeii was a typical Roman city. In its little shops, its tiny palaces, its forum, its wine bars, its thea
42、tre-in the energy and skill of its people, you saw a model of the whole Roman Empire. Trading ships bringing imports to the city or carrying exports overseas, along with golden pleasure boats for the rich,were crowded together in the glassy water of the port. The boats of the fishermen moved rapidly
43、 in all directions. Above all, the cloud-capped top of Mount Vesuvius appeared. Its ashy rocks, now dark, now light, told a story of past eruptions that might have warned the city what was to come!庞贝是一座典型的罗马城市。从它的一个个小商铺、一座座小殿宇、广场、酒馆、剧场中一一从庞贝 人的活力和技艺中，你能看到整个古罗马帝国的缩影。进口货物到城内，出口货物到海外的商船，以及富 贵人家金灿灿的游船，齐
44、聚在港口波光粼粼的水面上。条条渔船向着四面八方疾行。在这一切的上方，云 雾笼罩的维苏威火山山顶若隐若现。火山岩忽明忽暗，讲述着几度喷发的往事，这原本可以警告这座城市 里的人们，即将到来的是什么！The awful night rolled slowly a way,a nd the dawn greyly broke on THE LAST DAY OF POMPEII! The crowd looked upwards, and saw, with unspeakable fear, a huge cloud shooting from the top of the volcano. It
45、took the form of a huge tree: the trunk, blackness, the branches, firelThis fire moved and changed in colour with every moment: now it was wildly bright, now of a pale and dying red,and now again it burnt with an unbearable light!可怕的夜晚缓缓退去，晦暗的晨光开启了庞贝城的末日！人们抬头仰望，眼前景象让他们感到莫名恐 惧，只见一团庞大的云正从火山口喷薄而出.它形似一株
46、巨树：树干，黑魅魅的；枝叶，那是火！火焰翻 腾着，颜色变幻不定，时而极明亮，时而又变得微弱，呈现熄灭之前的暗红，时而又烧起来，放出刺眼的 强光！The cries of women broke out; the men looked at each other, but were silent. At that moment, they felt the earth shaking beneath their feet; beyond in the distance, they heard the crash of falling roofs. A moment later; the moun
47、tain-cloud seemed to roll towards them, dark and rapid, like a river, at the same time, it threw out a shower of ashes and huge pieces of burning stone! Over the empty streets-over the forum-far and wide-with many a noisy crash in the stormy sea-fell that awful shower!女人们开始尖叫；男人们面面相觑，却都一言不发。那一刻，他们感到
48、脚下的大地正在颤抖；他们听 到远处有屋顶坍塌的巨响。过了片刻，山上的云团似乎正向他们滚滚而来，阴沉迅猛，如汹涌的江水；与 此同时，云团中抛洒下阵雨似的火山灰和大块大块燃烧着的石头，落在空荡荡的街道，落在广场上，四面 八方，还有许多掉在波涛汹涌的大海里，发出阵阵巨响一一下了一场可怕的大雨！Each turned to fly-each running, pressing, pushing against the other. If, in the darkness, wife was separated from husband, or parent from child,there was n
49、o hope of their meeting again. Each hurried blindly and fearfully on.So came the earthquake.and so ended life in Pompeii.所有人都赶忙飞奔一一他们奔跑拥挤，你推我操。黑暗中，一旦妻离子散，就绝不可能重逢了。每个 人都惊慌失措地盲目奔逃。这时，地震来了庞贝城的生活就此终结。Nearly seventeen centuries had rolled away before the city of Pompeii was dug from its silent resting place. Its walls were fresh as if painted yesterday; not a single colour changed on the rich pattern of its floors.
