1、Unit 1 Women of achievementReading 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
2、 helped people understand 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 being
3、s to wake up and move off. 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
4、it all worthwhile. We watch the mother chimp and her babies play in the tree. Them 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 long as in a human family. Nobody before Jane fully understood chimp behaviour. She spent
5、years observing and recording 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 th
6、e first few months was 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 hunt
7、ing a monkey and then eating it. She also discovered how chimps communicate with each other, and her study of their body language helped her work out their social system.Four forty years Jane Goodall has been outspoken about making the rest of the world understand and respect the life of these anima
8、ls. She has argued that 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 laborator
9、ies. Its terrible. It affects me when I watch the wild chimps. I say to myself, Arent they luck? 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
10、own environment, gaining a doctors degree and showing that women can live in the forest as men can. She inspires those who want to cheer the achievement of women. Using language WHY NOT CARRY ON HER GOOD WORD?I enjoyed English, biology, and chemistry at school, but which one should I choose to study
11、 at university? I did not know the answer until one evening when I sat down at the computer to do some research on great women of China.By chance I came across an article about a doctor called Lin Qiaozhi, a specialist in womens diseases. She lived from 1901 to 1983. It seemed that she had been very
12、 busy in her chosen career, traveling abroad to study as well as writing books and articles. One of them caught my eye. I was a small book explaining how to cut the death rate from having and caring for babies. She gave some simple rules to follow for keeping babies clean, healthy and free from sick
13、ness. Why did she write that? Who were the women that Lin Qiaozhi thought needed this advice？ I looked carefully at the text and realized that it was intended for women in the countryside. Perhaps if they had an emergency they could not reach a doctor.Suddenly it hit me how difficult it was for a wo
14、man to get medical training at that time. That was a generation when girls education was always placed second to boys. Was she so much cleverer than anyone else? Further reading made me realize that it was hard work and determination as well as her gentle nature that got her into medical school. Wha
15、t made her succeed later on was the kindness and consideration she showed to all her patients. There was story after story of how Lin Qiaozhi, tired after a days work, went late at night to deliver a baby for a poor family who could not pay her.By now I could not wait to find out more about her. I d
16、iscovered that Lin Qiaozhi had devoted her whold life to her patients and had chosen not to have a family of her own. Instead she made sure that about 50,000 babies were safely delivered. By this time I was very excited. Why not study at medical college like Lin Qiaozhi and carry on her good work? I
17、t was still not too late for me to improve my studies, prepare for the university entrance examinations, andUnit 2 Working the landA PILNEER FOR ALL PEOPLEAlthough he is one of Chinas most famous scientists, Yuan Longping considers himself a farmer, for he works the land to do his research. Indeed,
18、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 grow rich that has
19、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 in 1930, Dr Yuan graduated from Southwest Agricultural College in 1953. Since then, findin
20、g 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 without expanding the area of the fields. In 195
21、0, 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% fo the worlds people are fed from just 7% of the farmland in China. Dr Yuan is now circulating his knowledge in
22、 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 before.Dr Yuan is quite satisfied with his life. Ho
23、wever, 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 hobbies. He enjoys listening to violin music, playing mah-jong, swimming and reading. Spending money on himself or leading a comfortable life also means very little
24、 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 had a dream about rice plants as tall as a pea
25、nut. 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 export 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
26、people. Using Language CHEMICAL OR ORGANIC FARMING?Over the past half century, using chemical fertilizers has become very common in farming. Many farmers welcomed them as a great way to stop crop disease and increase production. Recently, however, scientists have been finding that long-term use of t
27、hese fertilizers can cause damage to the land and, even more dangerous, to peoples health.What are some of the problems caused by chemical fertilizers? First, they damage the land by killing the helpful bacteria and pests as well as the harmful ones. Chemicals also stay in the ground and underground
28、 water for a ling time. This affects crops and, therefore, animals and humans, since chemicals get inside the crops and cannot just be washed off. These chemicals in the food supply build up in peoples bodies over time. Many of these chemicals can lead to cancer or other illnesses. In addition, frui
29、t, vegetables and other food grown with chemical fertilizers usually grow too fast to be full of much nutrition. They may look beautiful, but inside there is usually more water than vitamins and minerals. With these discoveries, some farmers and many customers are beginning to turn to organic farmin
30、g. Organic farming is simply farming without using any chemicals. They focus on keeping their soil rich and free of disease. A healthy soil reduces disease and helps crops grow strong and healthy. Organic farmers, therefore, often prefer using natural waste from animals as fertilizer. They feel that
31、 this makes the soil in their fields richer in minerals and so more fertile. This also keeps the air, water and crops free from chemicals.Organic farmers also use many other methods to keep the soil fertile. They often change the kind of crop in each field every few years, for example, growing corn
32、or wheat and then the next year peas or soybeans. Crops such as peas or soybeans put important minerals back into the soil, making it ready for crops such as wheat or corn that need rich and fertile soil. Organic farmers also plant crops to use different levels of soil, for example, planting peanuts
33、 that use the grounds surface followed by vegetables that put down deep roots. Some organic farmers prefer planting grass between crops to prevent wind or water from carrying away the soil, and then leaving it in the ground to become a natural fertilizer for the next years crop. These many different
34、 organic farming methods have the same goal: to grown good food and avoid damaging the environment or peoples health. Unit 3 A state of English humourReadingA MSTER OF NONVERBAL HUMOURAs Victor Hugo once said, “Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face”, and up to now nobody has bee
35、n able 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
36、 born 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
37、often 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 English. He could mime and act the fool doin
38、g ordinary 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 mo
39、ustache, wore large trousers, worn-out shoes and a small round black hat. He walked around stiffly 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 unkin
40、d to 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
41、 of 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 h
42、e 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. I 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
43、 wrote, 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 English 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 wi
44、th great confidence. Using languageENGLISH JOKES1. There are thousands of jokes which use “play on words” to amuse us. One person asks a question which expects a particular reply. Instead, what he gets is another kind of answer which makes the situation funny. Now read some of these customer and wai
45、ter jokes. Can you match the joke with the explanation?1. C: Whats that fly doing in my soup? W: Swimming, I think!2. C: Whats that? W: Its bean soup. C: I dont want to know what its been. I want to know what it is now.3. C: Waiter, will the pancakes be long? W: No, sir. Round. ExplanationA The firs
46、t person is asking for information about time. The second person treats it as a question about shape.B The first person is angry about something and wants to say, “Why is this here?” The second person treats it as a request for information and gives an answer to the question. C The answer to the que
47、stion contains a word which, when spoken, can have two meanings.2. Some jokes are longer and tell a short, funny story. The following is one of those jokes about the famous detective Sherlock Homes and his friend Doctor Watson. Read it and decide which of these two kinds of jokes you like better. Gi
48、ve your reasons.Sherlock Homes and Doctor Watson went camping in an mountainous area. They ware lying in the open air under the stars. Sherlock Homes looked up at the stars and whispered, “Watson, when you look at that beautiful sky, what do you think of?” Watson replied, “I think of how short life
49、is and how long the universe has lasted.” “No, no, Watson!” Homes said. “what do you really think of?” Watson tried again. “I think of how small I am and how vast the sky is.” “Try again, Watson! ” Said Holmes. Watson tried a third time. “I think of how cold the universe is and how warm people can be in their
