《牛津高中英語》模塊3-Reading-Project課文

13.M3U1.Reading—Fog

Fogwarning

WhenPollylefthomethatmorning,thecitywasalreadycoveredinagreymist.Atlunch,the

radioforecastthatthemistwouldbecomeathickfogintheafternoon.Atfouro'clock,Pollyleft

workandsteppedoutintothefog.Shewonderedifthebuseswouldstillberunning.

NobusestoKingStreet

Onceoutinthestreet,shewalkedquicklytowardsherusualbusstop.

'Howfarareyougoing?'thebusconductoraskedherbeforehetookherfare.

'KingStreet/saidPolly.

'Sorry,Miss/repliedtheman,'thetruthisthatitistoofoggyforthebustorunthatfar.Take

theUndergroundtoGreenPark.Theweathermightbebetterthereandyoumightbeabletogeta

taxi/

Atallman

AsPollyobservedthepassengersonthetrain,shehadafeelingthatshewasbeingwatched

byatallmaninadarkovercoat.AtlastthetrainarrivedatGreenParkstation.Whiletherestof

thepassengersweregettingout,sheglancedatthefacesaroundher.Thetallmanwasnowhereto

beseen.

Footsteps

WhenPollygottothestationentrance,itwasempty.Outside,wherevershelookedthefog

laylikeathick,greycloud.Therewasnooneinsight.PollysetofftowardsParkStreet.Asshe

walkedalongthenarrowstreet,sheheardthesoundoffootstepsapproaching,butbythetimeshe

reachedthecornerofthestreet,thefootstepsweregone.SuddenlyPollyfeltaroughhandbrush

hercheek,andsheheardaman'svoiceinherearsaying'Sorry.'Themanmovedaway.Shecould

feelherheartbeatingwithfear.

Thehelpfulstranger

Thensheheardthesoundagain-softfootstepsbehindher.Aminutebefore,shehadwished

forsomeonetocomealong.Nowshewantedtorun,butfearheldherstill.Thefootstepsseemed

closenow.Thenaman'svoicecameoutofthedarkness.4Isanybodythere?'

Pollyhesitated.Atlastsheanswered,'Hello,IthinkI'mlost.9

Afewsecondslater,ahandreachedoutandgraspedherarm.Pollyfoundherselfstaringup

atthefaceofanoldmanwithabeard.

'MaybeIcanhelpyou.Whichroaddoyouwant?'Heasked.

4Iliveat86KingStreet/Polyreplied.

"Justtakemyhand/saidtheman.4Comewithme.You'llbeallright/HetookPolly'shand.

"Watchoutforthestephere/

Inhisotherhandthemancarriedastick.Pollyheardithitthestep.61canremembersome

terriblefogs,butmaybethatwasbeforeyourtime.Ican'tseeyourface,butyousoundyoung.

Howoldareyou?’

'Justtwenty/answeredPolly.

'Ah,twenty!Aniceagetobe!Iwasyoungonce.Nowwe'reatthecrossroads.Turnleft

here.5

Tmquitelostnow.Areyousureyouknowtheway?'Pollywasbeginningtofeelfrightened

again.

'Ofcourse.Youreallyshouldn'tfeelanxious/Heheldherhandmorefirmly.

Thegratefulhelper

"Hereweare.KingStreet/Hestopped.

"Thankyousomuchforcomingtomyaid/saidPollyinrelief.'Wouldyouliketocomein

andrestforawhile?'

‘It'sveryniceofyou,'saidtheman,4butFilbeoff.Theremaybemorepeoplelosttoday,

andI'dliketohelpthem.Yousee,afogthisbadisrare.Itgivesmethechancetopaybackthe

helpthatpeoplegivemewhenit'ssunny.Ablindpersonlikemecan'tgetacrosstheroadwithout

help,exceptinafoglikethis/

14.M3U1.Project(1)—Sharkattacks

Therearenearly400differenttypesofsharks,butonlyabout30typesareknowntohave

attackedhumanbeings.Manypeopleknowthatthemostdangeroussharkisthegreatwhiteshark,

mainlybecausetheyhaveseenthemovieJaws.However,twoothersharksarealsorather

dangerous:thetigersharkandthebullshark.

Contrarytowhatmanypeoplemightassume,evidenceshowsthatsharksseldomattack

humans.Therearethreetypesofsharkattacks.Inthemaintype,thesharkattacksyoubecauseit

mistakesyouforafish,butwhenittasteshumanfleshitdecidestogiveupandswimaway.Inthe

secondtype,thesharkpushesyouwithitsnosetofindoutifyouarefittobeeaten,andthenbites

youifitthinksyouare.Inthethirdtype,thesharkwaitsforyoutoswimby,andthenattacksyou

suddenly.Thelasttwotypesofattackmoreoftenresultinthedeathofhumans.

Toreducetheriskofasharkattack,youshouldfollowthesesuggestions.

■Donotswiminthedark.Sharkscanstillseeyoubutyoucannotseethem.

■Donotgoswimmingintheoceanifyouhaveafreshwound.Sharkscansmellblood

overalongdistance.

■Donotwearbrightclothingorjewellery,becausesharksareattractedtotheflashof

colorsandbrightobjects.

■Stayingroups,assharksusuallyavoidlargenumbersofpeople.

Recently,sharkattackshavebeenincreasingaswatersportsarebecomingmorepopular.Ifa

sharkattacksyou,followtheadvicebelow.

■Keepcalm.Donotpanic.

■Hitthesharkonthenosewithyourfist.

■Stickyourfingerintheshark'seye.

Don'tbefrightenedbysharks:youare30timesmorelikelytobehitbylightningthanbe

attackedbyashark.

15.M3U1.Project(2)一Thewonderfulworldofpigeons

Itisnight.Allisquiet.Thesoldiersareasleepwhileaguardwatchesfortheenemy.Thereis

aflash,andthesoundofguns!Theyarebeingattacked!Hundredsofenemysoldiersrushtowards

them.Theyareallgoingtobekilledunlesstheygethelp.Whatshouldtheydo?

Anofficerwritesashortmessagequicklyonasmallpieceofpaper:'Beingattacked!Hurry!'

Herollsupthepaperandputsitintoasmallcase,andthenreachesintoacageandgelsabird.

Attachingthemessagetoitsleg,hesetsthebirdloose.Itimmediatelyfliesintotheairand

disappearsinthedark.

Willthebirdarriveintime?Willtheybesaved?

Thoughitmayseemhardtobelieve,thebirdtheofficerusesisthesamebirdoftenseenin

publicparks—thepigeon.Pigeonshaveawonderfulsenseofdirectionandcanfindtheirway

homeoverlongdistances.Indeed,pigeonshavebeenknowntoflyhomefromasfarawayas

1,800kilometres.Thatiswhypigeonshavebeenusedsinceancienttimestocarrythenewsor

eventhemail.However,itwasinwarthattheyfoundtheirgreatestuse.DuringbothWorldWarI

andII,pigeonswereemployedbyarmiestocarrymessagestoandfromthefrontlines,savingthe

livesofmanysoldiersandevenhelpingwinsomeimportantvictories.

Howdopigeonsfindtheirway?Pigeonsappeartohaveacompassinsidethemthattellsthem

whichwayisnorth.Howthiscompassworksremainsamystery.Ofcourse,sinceacompassalone

isnotenoughtofindone'sway,theyalsoappeartousetheirsightandeventheirsenseofsmellto

tellthemwhichwaytheyshouldgo.Unlikehumans,theynevergetlostandcanalwaysfindtheir

wayhome.

16.M3U2.Reading-Englishanditshistory

Allthroughhistory,peoplefrommanydifferentcountriesandcultureshavelivedtogetherin

Britain.TheEnglishlanguageismadeupofthegrammarandvocabularythesepeoplebroughtto

Britain.ThatiswhyEnglishhassomanydifficultrulesthatconfusepeople.

OldEnglish

OldEnglishisverydifferentfromtheEnglishwespeaknowadays.Infact,wewouldnotbe

abletounderstanditifweheardittoday.Beforethemiddleofthe5lhcentury,peopleinBritainall

spokealanguagecalledCeltic.ThentwoGermanicgroupsfromtheEuropeanmainland一the

anglesandtheSaxons-occupiedBritain.OldEnglishconsistedofamixtureoftheirlanguages.

(BoththeEnglishlanguageandtheEnglishpeoplearenamedaftertheangles;thewordAnglewas

speltEngleinoldEnglish.)AsidefromplacenamessuchasLondon,veryfewCelticwords

becamepartofoldEnglish.Attheendofthe9thcentury,theVikings,peoplefromNorthern

EuropeancountriessuchasDenmarkandNorway,begantomovetoBritain.Theybroughtwith

themtheirlanguages,whichalsomixedwithOldEnglish.Bythe10thcentury,OldEnglishhad

becometheofficiallanguageofEngland.

WhenwespeakEnglishtoday,wesometimesfeelpuzzledaboutwhichwordsorphrasesto

use.ThisisbecauseEnglishhasmanywordsandphrasesfromdifferentlanguages,butwith

similarmeanings.Forexample,thewordsickcamefromawordonceusedbytheAnglesandthe

Saxons,whileillcamefromawordonceusedbytheNorwegians.

MiddleEnglish

,h

MiddleEnglishisthenamegiventotheEnglishusedfromaroundthe12由tothe15

centuries.ManythingsplayedapartinthedevelopmentofthisnewtypeofEnglish.Themost

importantcontributionwasfromtheNormans,aFrench-speakingpeoplewhodefeatedEngland

andtookcontrolofthecountryin1066.However,theNormanConquestdidnotaffectEnglishas

muchastheAnglesandtheSaxons'victoryabout600yearsearlier,whichledtooldEnglish

replacingCeltic.EventhoughtheNormansspokeFrenchfortheentire250yearstheyruled

English,FrenchdidnotreplaceEnglishasthefirstlanguage.Ontheotherhand,theEnglish

languagedidborrowmanywordsfromFrench.Thisresultedinevenmorewordswithsimilar

meanings,suchasanswer(fromOldEnglish)andreply(fromOldFrench).Itisinterestingto

learnhowthewordsforanimalsandmeatdeveloped.AftertheNormanConquest,manyEnglish

peopleworkedasservantswhoraisedanimals.Therefore,thewordsweuseformostanimals

raisedforfoodsuchascow,sheepandpig,camefromOldEnglish.However,thewordsforthe

meatoftheseanimals,whichwasservedtotheNormans,camefromOldFrench:beef,mutton,

porkandbacon.

OldFrenchmadeothercontributionstoMiddleEnglishaswell.InOldEnglish,the

Germanicwayofmakingwordspluralwasused.Forexample,theysaidhouseninsteadofhouses,

andshoeninsteadofshoes.AftertheNormanstookcontroltheybeganusingtheFrenchwayof

makingplurals,addingan-stohouseandshoe.OnlyafewwordskepttheirGermanicplural

forms,suchasman/menandchild/children.

AftertheNormanConquest,high-classpeoplespokeFrenchwhilecommonpeoplespoke

English.However,bythelatterhalfofthe14thcentury,Englishhadcomeintowidespreaduse

amongallclassesinEngland.In1399,HenryIVbecameKingofEngland.Hismothertonguewas

English,andheusedEnglishforallofficialevents.

ModernEnglish

ModemEnglishappearedduringtheRenaissanceinthe16lhcentury.Becauseofthis,modern

EnglishincludesmanyLatinandGreekwords.Pronunciationalsowentthroughhugechanges

duringthisperiod.Ofcourse,thiswasnottheendofthechangesintheEnglishlanguage.The

questionofwhetherEnglishwillkeeponchanginginthefutureiseasytoanswer.Itiscertainthat

thisprocesswillcontinue,andpeoplewillkeepinventingnewwordsandnewwaysofsaying

things.

17.M3U2.Project(1)一ThedevelopmentofChinesecharacters

TheChineselanguagediffersfromWesternlanguagesinthatinsteadofanalphabet,ituses

characterswhichstandforideas,objectsordeeds.Chinesewordsareformedbyputtingtogether

differentcharacters.Inmanycases,asinglecharactercanalsomakeupaword.Thehistoryofthe

Chineselanguagecanbeexaminedbylookingathowthesecharactersdeveloped.

Chinesewritingbeganthousandsofyearsago.Accordingtoanancientstory,amannamed

CangJieinventedChinesewriting.Onewinterdaywhilehewashunting,hesawthetracksof

animalsinthesnowandobservedthattheappearanceofeachonewasdifferent.Thenhehadthe

ideathathecouldusedifferentshapestorepresentdifferentobjects.ThefirstChinesecharacters

weredrawingsofphysicalobjects.Somecharactershavebeensimplifiedandothershavebeen

mademoredifficultovertime.However,asawhole,thecharactershavedevelopedfromdrawings

intostandardforms.Thecharacterforamountainwasatfirstthreemountaintopstogether.This

becameonemountaintopandthreelines,andovertimeturnedintothecharacterusednowadays.

Notallcharactersweredevelopedfromdrawingsofobjects.Sometimestoexpressideas,

somecharactersweremadebycombiningtwoormorecharacterstogether.Forexample,'rest'

wasmadeupofthecharactersforamanandatree.Thecharacter'prisoner9wasformedwitha

‘man'insideasquare.Othercharactersweredevelopedfordirectionsandnumbers.Itiseasyto

distinguishtheirmeaningsbylookingatthem,forexample,thecharactersfbr'up'and'down',

whichareoppositesofeachother.

Thoughthesekindsofcharactersindicatemeanings,oneoftheirshortcomingsisthattheydo

notshowhowtheyshouldbepronounced.Therefore,amethodwasdevelopedtohaveonepartof

acharacterindicatethemeaningandtheothersuggestthepronunciation.ManyChinesecharacters

usedtodayweremadethisway.

Inthe1950stheChinesegovernmentintroducedsimplifiedChinesecharactersandnowthey

havewidespreaduseinChina'smainland.

18.M3U2.Project(2)—ThestoryofBraille

Usually,whenwetalkaboutreading,wethinkofusingoureyestoseeletterswritteninink

onpaper.However,thisisnotalwaystrue.Forexample,blindpeoplecannotsee,buttheycanstill

readbooks.

ThemanwhointroducedblindpeopletoreadingwasLouisBraille(1809-1852).Braillelost

hiseyesightattheageofthreeasaresultofaninjury.Whenhewasten,hewenttoaschoolfor

theblindinParis.Inthosedays,booksforblindpeopleusedpaperpressedagainstmetalwireto

formletters.Sincethemetalwirewasheavy,eachbookweighedasmuchas100pounds.The

wholesystemwasnotconvenientforuse.Indeed,theschoollibraiyonlyhadfourteensuchbooks

init.

In1821,asoldiervisitedtheschoolandshowedthestudentsasystemforpassingmessages

atnightduringtimesofbattle.Hissystemusedpaperwithsmall,raiseddotsthatcouldbefelt

withthefingers.Eachletterofthealphabetwasrepresentedbyadifferentpatternwhichconsisted

oftwelvedots.Thesoldierswoulddragtheirfingersovertheraiseddotstoreadthemessage.

Whilethestudentsfoundthesoldier'sideainteresting,thesystemwastoodifficulttobeof

practicaluse.However,youngLouisBrailletooktheideaandworkedonit.Attheageoffifteen,

hecreatedasystemwithpatternsofsixraiseddotsrepresentingeachletter.'Braille',thesystem

forreadingusedtodaybyblindpeoplearoundtheworld,wasthusborn.

TheblindcaneasilyrecognizeBraillewiththefingers.TheycanalsoeasilywriteinBraille

withaspecialtypewriter.Today,itisthemostcommonsystemusedbyblindpeopleforreading

andwriting,andnearlyeverylanguage,includingChinese,hasitsownversionofBrailleforits

peopletouse.

19.M3U3.Reading—Lostcivilizations

Day1,15July

Ifeelluckytohavewonaplaceonthistrip.WeareinItalynow,andtomorrowweare

visitingPompeii.NextweekweareflyingtoChina,andgoingLoulan,whichisknownasChina's

Pompeiiinthedesert.BothPompeiiandLoulanbecamelostcivilizationslongago.

Day2,16July

ThismorningweattendedalectureaboutPompeii.Thecitywasfoundedinthe8thcentury

BC.In89BC,theRomanstookoverPompeii.Itthenbecamearichandbusycity.Nearthecity

wasavolcano.On24AugustAD79,thevolcanoeruptedandlava,ashandrockspouredoutofit

ontothesurroundingcountryside.Itcontinuedtoeruptforthenexttwodays.Manypeoplewere

buriedalive,andsowasthecity.Howunfortunate!

Day3,17July

TodayIsawtheancientRomancityofPompeiiasitwas2,000yearsago.Howamazing!The

citywasforgottenformanyyearsuntilthe18thcenturywhenafarmerdiscoveredastonewith

writingonit.Peoplestartedtodigintheareafortreasure,whichcausedmuchdamage.Thus,in

1860,theareawasputundergovernmentprotectionsoitcouldbepreservedandstudied.

WhenIwalkedaroundthecity,Isawstreetsjustastheyhadbeen,withsteppingstonesalong

theroadsoyoudidnothavetostepinthemudonrainydays!Isawseveralhouseswhichwere

decoratedwithwallpaintings.Ialsosawthepeoplewhohadbeenburiedalive.Itturnsoutthat

aftertheashcoveredthepeoplewhofailedtofleethecity,theirbodiesnearlycompletelybroke

downanddisappeared,leavingemptyspacesintheash.Yearslater,researcherswereabletouse

theseemptyspacestoproducetrue-to-lifefiguresofthepeoplewhohaddiedinthedisaster.You

canseethemtodayinPompeii,inthesameplaceswherethepeoplefell.Thevolcanoisstillthere,

butlooksveryquietnow.It'shardtoimaginehowthispeacefulvolcanodestroyedthewholecity!

Day10,24July

Finally,wearrivedinLoulanafterseveraldaysoftravelling.Thiscommercialcitywasbusy

andwealthyabout2,000yearsago.ItwasastoppingpointonthefamousSilkRoadbetweenthe

EastandtheWest.ItisbelievedtohavebeengraduallycoveredoverbysandstormsformAD200

toAD400.1amsoexcitedtobehere!

Day11,25July

Ascholarfromthelocalculturalinstitute,ProfessorZhang,toldusthataroundtheyear1900

theEuropeanexplorerSvenHedindiscoveredtheruinsoftheLoulanKingdom.Svenfoundthe

remainsofbuildingsburiedbeneaththesand,togetherwithalotoftreasuresincludingcoins,

paintedpots,materialsuchassilk,documentsandwallpaintings.Whenwewenttothecity,we

sawthecitywalls,palaces,temples,workshopsandtowers.Wefoundtheruinsmostinteresting.

Therewasanancientwatersystemthatranthroughthemiddleofthecity.Thedesertwasoncea

greenlandwithhugetrees,buttheywerecutdownandthatresultedinthecitybeingburiedby

sand------whatapity!

20.M3U3.Project(1)—AncientGreekstatuefoundinXinjiang

ResearchersannouncedthediscoveryofasmallstatueinnorthernXinjiang,China,recently.

ThemetalstatueisofaGreeksoldier.WhenaskedhowastatuefromdistantGreececouldhave

appearedinChina,researchersexplainedthatnodoubtthiswasaresultofAlexandertheGreat's

influence.

AlexandertheGreat(356-323BC)wasthesonofaGreekkingwhodefeatedmanyGreek

citiesinbattle.Attheageoftwenty,Alexanderhimselfbecamekingafterhisfatherdied.However,

manycitiesroseupagainstAlexander,soheledanarmytotakethemback.Thoughhisarmyhad

only3,000troops,hewoneverybattleandmanyenemysoldiersjoinedhim.

In334BC,hetookhisarmy,nowwith42,000men,intotheMiddleEastandthenEgypt,

defeatingeveryarmythatstoodinhispath.Thenheturnedhiseyeseast,andmarchedalltheway

toIndia,findingvictorywhereverhewent.Itseemedthatnothingcouldstophimfromtaking

controloftheentireworld.However,hisownarmygrewtiredofendlessbattlesandrefusedtogo

anyfurther,sohehadtoturnback.Bytheageofthirty,hehadalreadyoccupiedmorelandthan

anyonebefore,anditseemedthatmoreglorywaswaitingaheadofhim.Yet,in323BC,hecame

downwithafeveranddied.Sincehehadnoson,hisgeneralsdividedhisvastkingdomamong

themselves.

AlexandertheGreat