模塊四英語(yǔ)課文(北師大).doc

模塊4U10 L11 A Material World“Who wants to be a Millionaire? I dont,” says Charles GrayAngus Deayton interviews ex-millionaire Charles Gray A lot of people are determined to become a millionaire. They spend half their time dreaming up ways of getting rich, and the rest of their time thinking about all the enjoyable things they would do once they got rich. But do all millionaires find the happiness that they thought they would get when they achieve their goals? Some millionaires continue to be concerned about money when they become millionaires. They are hardworking to get all that money. Then they are hardworking to make sure they never lose it!But there are people who have turned their backs on their millions and found different ways to be happy in their lives. Charles Gray is one example. Sixteen years ago, Charles was a college professor with a huge six-bedroom house and $2 million.Today he lives in a small dormitory room where there is only second-hand furniture. There are certainly no signs that Charles was a rich man! There is a small garden outside with a few fruit trees. Charles grows some vegetables and a few flowers. He gets his clothes and a lot of other things from charity shops.But Charles appreciates this change. He was pleased to give up the lifestyle of a rich man. He was tired of being a person who had everything in a world where many people had nothing. He made the choice to give all his money away. And this, he said, brought him happiness. “A few years ago,” says Charles, “I was a millionaire, but was aware there were a lot of hungry people in the world.” Therefore he gave away all his money to charities. When he had two thousand dollars left, he gave away small bank notes in the streets of local poor areas. Did he feel like Father Christmas? “It was a lot of fun,” says Charles.Charles believes that many people want to earn a lot of money so that they will not have any worries. However, most people never make much money. Charles Gray decided to drop out and has discovered that having only a little money makes you free. Are there any things he misses? “No, Im much happier now. I wouldnt go back to being rich for anything no way.”U10 L33 Your MoneyWhen less is moreWhat can you do with 5 yuan? Not a lot, you may think. Well, if buying a bag of candies or cookies doesnt appeal to you, how about buying a tree instead? Yes, a tree along the banks of the Yellow River to be exact.Every year, approximately 1.6 billion tons of soil flows into the Yellow River, Chinas second longest river. The soil contains materials to keep the natural balance of the area. Over time, a lot of soil has been removed, which has caused serious erosion of the land along the River. In some areas in Shanxi Province, this has destroyed almost all the land, and has forced many local farmers to move to other areas.It is a huge job to control Yellow River erosion. Many people believe this kind of work is best done by government or international organisations. You may agree with this point of view. If so, it is time for you to think again.In fact, it is you who have the most important role to play in stopping Yellow River erosion. Did you know the importance of your 5 yuan? For a start, it can buy you a tree, which will help make soil stay on the land. On land with rich soil, local farmers can grow crops to make a living. With the money they earn from their crops, farmers buy goods or services. This helps to develop local economies.Still puzzled how your 5 yuan can have so much effect? Well, just take a look at the fact below. Since 1997, a tree-planting programme has changed the Jiuchengong Valley in Inner Mongolia into a green homeland. Visitors from all over the world now come to admire this great achievement. What is more, the success of the programme has greatly improved the lives of the local people. Just think: all this started with 5 yuan!So when you have 5 yuan in your pocket next time, think twice about how to use the money. Remember you can use it to buy a tree and create a green future for our motherland, our people and yourself.U11 L11 World NewsAfrica on G8 AgendaScotlandJuly 5, 2005The Group of Eight, or G8, was formed by eight of the worlds wealthiest nations in 1998. The G8 is made up of political leaders from France, the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada and Russia. They meet every summer to discuss major problems that concern the whole world.It is going to be remembered as a historical meeting this year, as the topic of Africa will be discussed in detail. Widespread poverty in Africa means that many people there cannot get the water, clothing, housing, electricity or education they need. AIDS is another problem of great concern so sex education and health care administration are extremely important.Reforms have been demanded by people from all over the world. They want the leaders to cancel the debt of Africas poorest countries so that the problems there can be prevented from getting any worse. Their belief is that this is the only way for many of these nations to escape their painful pasts.LONDON WINSJuly 6, 2005 LondonAt 12:45 UK time today, the name of the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games was being announced by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) in Singapore. It was London. Londons name had been announced twice before, in1908 and 1948, so it now has the distinction of being the first city to host the event three times.Applications to host the games had also been made by Moscow, Madrid, New York and Paris. In the end, it came down to a choice between Paris and London.The news is being celebrated by crowds in the streets.Cheering people can also be seen everywhere: in pubs, homes and offices all over London. Prince William, who is now in New Zealand, said he was delighted that the 2012 Olympic Games would be held in London and he was looking forward to the Games.Tapescript: Communication Workshop, Exercise 1Phil: Hey, Liz. Have a look at this.Liz: Mm?Phil: Its a really sweet ad for Mothers Day.Liz: Dont you see this is an ad for selling flowers?Phil: Really? Oh, I see. Very smart. But I still like .Liz: (interrupts) I cant stand ads like that. Honestly, no child of that age is going to go and buy her mum flowers Im sure the person who.Phil: (interrupts politely) Can I say something?Liz: All right.Phil: I think youre over-reacting although you have a point.Many ads try to create a picture of a perfect world or life but.Liz: (interrupts) Of course they do! They think that were all stupid and are going to believe that if we buy flowers from their shop then well have perfect relationships within our families!Phil: (interrupts politely) Can I interrupt a moment?Companies have to sell their products. They do try to make their products attractive but its up to us whether well buy their products or not. If you .Liz: (interrupts) Rubbish! Thats not true. Just think of all the people who are encouraged to smoke more by ads made by tobacco companies!Phil: Well, I have to disagree with you there. People cant blame ads for what they buy. Its their decision and .Liz: (interrupts) Youre wrong. Somehow Im against all ads because they use false promises to get people to buy things.Phil: (interrupts politely) Id just like to show you this advertisement,Liz. Its for environmental protection. Surely you agree that .Liz: (interrupts) No way! All ads are trying to get your money somehow!U11 L33 The Advertising GameThe classic advertisement is one that gives information about finding certain products. It is likely to be just the name of a company, part of which may be a general location. For example, it could be “Shanghai Sewing Machine”, or “Tsing Tao Beer Corporation”, and you would know what the companies sell, where they are located, and the brand names.However, this kind of advertising might not be suitable when there areproducts and services in direct competition with each other in the market place. In such situations, advertisements need to attract, and hold the attention of the public. Some advertisements consist of pictures or the words of experts to show people how good the products are. Others try to create advertisements that people simply enjoy looking at. As present-day advertisers often have large budgets, a lot of money is spent on applying modern techniques of design to make these advertisements as visually attractive as possible. However, even this is often not enough to be noticed in a modern city.Because of the advertising boom, people are used to seeing high standards of visual design. Modern advertisements must stand out in a world full of competition by combining the highest standards of design with ideas linked to the products to make them more attractive. For example, some advertisements may suggest that buying a car can make you free. That is, they use the concept of freedom to sell the car. Other common ideas include happiness, wealth and success. In fact, in the world of advertisements, such content is as old as advertising itself.For many of todays advertisers, repeating old ideas is not a successful approach. They realise that it does not matter how attractive the idea linked with the product is most people know that the main purpose of the advertisement is making customers spend money. Instead, these advertisers look for other ways to make people notice their products.The top advertisers of today believe that using humour as well as new and unusual ideas to surprise people is important in modern advertisements. Their aim is to create something that has never been seen before and is fascinating for people to look at. By doing this, the hope to make people forget that someone is trying to sell them something!However, not all advertising is about selling products and services for a profit. Some contemporary advertisements mainly aim to make contributions to society. There are public advertisements which encourage citizens to participate in improving their neighbourhood, protecting the environment, and helping other people. Over the last decade, the government has worked hard at using advertisements to educate the public on fighting AIDS, saving water, helping the poor, giving up smoking, etc. These advertisements have helped to increase public knowledge, which has made our society a better place for everyone.U11 L44 Whats in the Papers?According to a research published by Leeds University yesterday, people dont mind bad language on television as long as it is not used in programmes watched by children.The study found there was “amazing agreement” about when bad language was serious and when it was not. Even a group of mothers agreed that a certain amount of bad language in the well-known film Pulp Fictionwas “OK” because the dialogue and situation made it “funny”. Some people said they found the use of drugs in the film more worrying than the bad language.People were asked to comment on scenes from films like Pulp Fiction, TV series like Channel 4s Brooksideand cartoons like South Park. Leeds University concluded that people made a distinction between bad language used in programmes for adults, and those meant for children.Peter Moore, a writer at the BBC, said, “The result does not surprise us at all. We have always tried to keep bad language away from innocent ears and this is a very important consideration when deciding at what times of day certain programmes are shown.” Susan Bold, director of programmes at ITV, said, “The report gives interesting information about attitudes to bad language on screen. But it doesnt mean that we can increase the amount of bad language used on television.”More than 30 astronomers on a sightseeing trip to the museum of science had an amazing escape, after their trolleybus crashed into a greengrocers truck on Park Avenue.The accident, which took place in Kingston, a town southwest of London, happened because of the fog. The 60-year-old driver of the truck did not know that he was parked in the way of the trolleybus. When the driver finally discovered the trolleybus coming towards him through the fog, he tried to move but his tyres got stuck in the muddy ground. At the last minute, he jumped out of the truck, hurting his ankle, before the trolleybus crashed into the truck, pushing it 20 yards. “I would have been killed if Id stayed in the truck,” he said afterwards.A spokesman for the police said, “Its amazing that no one was badly hurt. When we arrived at the scene, we called an ambulance as we saw blood everywhere. We soon realised, however, that the blood was really strawberry juice! The greengrocers truck had been carrying a load of fresh strawberries.” He praised the bravery of the astronomers who were helped out of the windows of the trolleybus by firemen.Mum Lillian Derbyshire is going to see her four daughters again after a 31-year holiday! Shonda (now 38), Shelley (37), Sherri (36) and Shirin (34) went on holiday to America with Lillians ex-husband and never came back. Sherri wrote a letter to a local paper asking her mother to contact her. Now Lillian, of West Gorton, Manchester, is making the 3,000-mile journey to California to see her daughters. I cant stop crying with happiness, she said.U12 L11 Visiting BritainDear Aunt Mei,I cant believe Ive been in London for 6 months already! I certainly owe you an apology for not writing more often. Ive just been so busy studying and trying to absorb all the new things around me I think Im still experiencing culture shock. There is so much here that is different from home. But youll soon experience it all yourself! I wish your visit wasnt going to be so brief but theres a lot we can do and see in a week. Im just so glad you can afford to visit me and I refuse to let you pay for anything while youre here!I dont know what your expectations are of London, but knowing that youve never travelled outside of Asia, I thought Id tell you a bit about what you can expect to find.First of all, the food. When I first got here, I was amazed to find that London is such an international city. There are people from all over the world living here and as a result, there are many international restaurants. Do you know that almost every town in Britain has at least one Chinese restaurant? But British people hardly ever eat Chinese food for breakfast. Youre going to have to get used to bacon and eggs with a few slices of toast for breakfast over here, Aunt Mei!And a word of advice. To avoid getting confused about the British tipping system, you need to check your bill to see if a tip is included or not. If it isnt, I suggest leaving 10% of the bill for the waiter or waitress even a bit more if the service is good. Talking of money its really easy to exchange travellers cheques at banks or hotels so I advise you to get some of those before you come.I think we should consider staying in the English countryside for a few nights as I know you enjoy hiking. We can wander through the fields and even pick a few mushrooms to have with our breakfast! I have learnt which ones are tasty and safe to eat so we wont risk getting sick! And dont forget a warm coat! It can get pretty cold and foggy in this country.One last thing, I didnt understand British humour at all when I first got here. The British find the strangest things funny! Were certainly more used to Chinese humour so dont be surprised if you hear laughter when you dont think anythings funny. Theyre not laughing at you! But even though some British people are quite strange, the majority of them are really friendly and Ive made some good friends.Anyhow, Id better get back to work. I am so looking forward to your visit, Aunt Mei!Love XiaojinU12 L33 Living AbroadWhat did I learn about Chinese customs from my exciting exchange to China? Well, the Chinese are extremely welcoming.One evening, I was invited to a Chinese family dinner. I had a good appetite and the food was yummy. But my host kept on putting more food in my rice bowl.They didnt seem to hear me saying “No, thank you” in my poor spoken Chinese.This was a very special experience I had in China. In my culture, you dont get more food if you dont ask for more.MartinWhen I first arrived in San Francisco, I had a difficult time understanding certain aspects of the American way of doing things. Once I went to visit an American friend. After a splendid evening, I finished my cocoa and got ready to leave. As soon as we said goodbye, my friend went back to his room closing the door behind him. It made me feel that I was not really welcome.Jin LiIve always been outgoing but since an embarrassing experience in a New York restaurant Ive been much more cautious. I was enjoying my dessert and talking to my American friend Janice at the table when I noticed people staring at us. I asked Janice what was wrong and she told me that I was talking too loudly. She said that to some American people, it sounded like I wasshouting. I whispered for the rest of the evening.Wang LeiI had a similar experience the last time I visited China. The Chinese are the friendliest people I have ever met. After my visit to a Chinese family, my friends grandfather wouldnt let me go to the bus station alone. He insisted on walking me to the station to see me off. I kept saying that I knew the way myself, but it just did not work. What he did was amazing. This will not happen in many other cultures,、I guess.TomChinese people are very modest too. Last time, when I visited China, we saw the tour guide wearing a very pretty fur coat on the day we left. I told her the coat suited her, but she looked very embarrassed, saying that it was a cheap one she had bought a long time ago. I