1、 3 Reading, Project 課文牛津高中英語模塊3 Reading, Project 課文M3U1. Reading FogFog warningWhen Polly left home that morning, the city was already covered in a grey mist. At lunch, the radio forecast that the mist would become a thick fog in the afternoon. At four oclock, Polly left work and stepped out into th

2、e fog. She wondered if the buses would still be running.No buses to King StreetOnceout in the street, she walked quickly towards her usual bus stop. Howfar are you going? the bus conductor asked her before he took her fare. King Street, said Polly. Sorry, Miss, replied the man, the truth is that it

3、is too foggy for the bus to run that far. Take the Underground to Green Park. The weather might be better there and you might be able to get a taxi. A tall manAs Polly observed the passengers on the train, she had afeeling that she was being watched by a tall man in a dark overcoat. At last the trai

4、n arrived at Green Park station. While the rest of the passengers were getting out, she glanced at the faces around her. The tall man was nowhere to be seen.FootstepsWhen Polly got to the station entrance, it was empty.Outside, wherever she looked the fog lay like a thick, grey cloud. There was no o

5、ne in sight. Polly set off towards Park Street. As she walked along the narrow street, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching, but by the time she reached the corner of the street, the footsteps were gone. Suddenly Polly felt a rough hand brush her cheek, and she heard a man s voice in her ear

6、 saying Sorry. The manmovedaway. She could feel her heart beating with fear.The helpful strangerThen she heard the sound again - soft footsteps behind her.A minute before, she had wished for someoneto come along. Now she wanted to run, but fear held her still. The footsteps seemed close now. Then a

7、man s voice came out of the darkness. Is anybody there? Polly hesitated. At last she answered, Hello, I think I m lost.A few seconds later, a hand reached out and grasped her arm.Polly found herself staring up at the face of an old man with a beard. MaybeI can help you. Which road do you want? He as

8、ked. I live at 86 King Street, Poly replied. Just take my hand, said the man. Comewith me. Youll be all right. He took Polly s hand. Watch out for thestep here. In his other hand the man carried a stick. Polly heard ithit the step. I can remember some terrible fogs, but maybethat was before your tim

9、e. I can t see your face, but you sound young. How old are you? Just twenty, answered Polly. Ah, twenty! A nice age to be! I was young once. Now we re at the crossroads. Turn left here. I mquite lost now. Are you sure you knowthe way? Polly was beginning to feel frightened again. Of course. You real

10、ly shouldn t feel anxious. He held her hand more firmly.The grateful helper Here we are. King Street. He stopped.Thank you so much for coming to my aid, said Polly inrelief. Would you like to come in and rest for a while? It s very nice of you, said the man, but I ll be off. There maybe more people

11、lost today, and I d like to help them. You see, a fog this bad is rare. It gives me the chance to pay back the help that people give me when it s sunny. A blind person like me can t get across the road without help, except in a fog like this. M3U1. Project (1) Shark attacksThere are nearly 400 diffe

12、rent types of sharks, but onlyabout 30 types are known to have attacked human beings. Many people know that the most dangerous shark is the great white shark, mainly because they have seen the movie Jaws. However, two other sharks are also rather dangerous: the tiger shark and the bull shark.Contrar

13、y to what many people might assume, evidence shows that sharks seldom attack humans. There are three types of shark attacks. In the main type, the shark attacks you because it mistakes you for a fish, but when it tastes human flesh itdecides to give up and swim away. In the second type, the shark pu

14、shes you with its nose to find out if you are fit to be eaten, and then bites you if it thinks you are. In the third type, the shark waits for you to swim by, and then attacks you suddenly.The last two types of attack more often result in the death of humans.To reduce the risk of a shark attack, you

15、 should follow these suggestions.nDo not swim in the dark. Sharks can still see you but you cannot see them.nDo not go swimming in the oceanif you have a freshwound.Sharks can smell blood over a long distance.nDo not wear bright clothingor jewellery, because sharks are attracted to the flash of colo

16、rs and bright objects.nStay in groups, as sharks usually avoid large numbers of people.Recently, shark attacks have been increasing as water sports are becoming more popular. If a shark attacks you, follow the advice below.nKeep calm. Do not panic.nHit the shark on the nose with your fist.nStick you

17、r finger in the sharks eye.Dont be frightened by sharks: you are 30 times more likely to be hit by lightning than be attacked by a shark.M3U1. Project (2) The wonderful world of pigeonsIt is night. All is quiet. The soldiers are asleep whilea guard watches for the enemy. There is a flash, and the so

18、und of guns! They are being attacked! Hundreds of enemy soldiers rush towards them. They are all going to be killed unless they get help. What should they do?An officer writes a short messagequickly on a small piece of paper: Being attacked! Hurry!He rolls up the paper and puts it into a small case,

19、 and then reaches into a cage and gets a bird. Attaching the message to its leg, he sets the bird loose. It immediately flies into the air and disappears in the dark.Will the bird arrive in time? Will they be saved?Though it may seem hard to believe, the bird the officer uses is the same bird often

20、seen in public parks the pigeon. Pigeons have a wonderful sense of direction and can find their way home over long distances. Indeed, pigeons have been known to fly home from as far away as 1,800 kilometres. That is why pigeons have been used since ancient times to carry the news or even the mail. H

21、owever, it was in war that they found their greatest use. During both World War I and II, pigeons were employed by armies to carry messagesto and from the front lines, saving the lives of many soldiers and even helping win some important victories.How do pigeons find their way? Pigeons appear to hav

22、e a compassinside them that tells them which way is north. Howthis compass works remains a mystery. Of course, since a compass alone is not enough to find ones way, they also appear to use their sight and even their sense of smell to tell them which way they should go. Unlike humans, they never get

23、lost and can always find their way home.M3U2. Reading English and its historyAll through history, people from many different countries and cultures have lived together in Britain. The English language is madeup of the grammar and vocabulary these people brought to Britain. That is why English has so

24、 many difficult rules that confuse people.Old EnglishOld English is very different from the English we speak nowadays .In fact, we would not be able to understand it if we heard it today. Before the middle of the 5thcentury, people in Britain all spoke a language called Celtic. Then two Germanic gro

25、ups from the European mainland the angles and the Saxons occupied Britain. Old English consisted of a mixture of their languages. (Both the English language and the English people are namedafter the angles; the word Anglewas spelt Englein old English.) Aside from place namessuch as London, very few

26、Celtic words becamepart of old English. At the end of the 9thcentury, the Vikings, people from Northern European countries such as Denmarkand Norway, began to moveto Britain. They brought with them their languages, which also mixed with Old English. By the 10th century, Old English had become the of

27、ficial language of England.When we speak English today, we sometimes feel puzzled about which words or phrases to use. This is because English has many words and phrases from different languages, but with similar meanings. For example, the word sickcame from a word once used by the Angles and the Sa

28、xons, while illcame from a word once used by the Norwegians.Middle EnglishMiddle English is the name given to the English used from around the 12thto the 15thcenturies. Many things played a part in the development of this new type of English. The most important contribution was from the Normans, a F

29、rench-speaking people who defeated England and took control of the country in 1066. However, the Norman Conquest did not affect English as much as the Angles and the Saxons victory about 600 years earlier, which led to old English replacing Celtic. Even though the Normans spoke French for the entire

30、 250 years they ruledEnglish, French did not replace English as the first language. On the other hand, the English language did borrow many words from French. This resulted in even more words with similar meanings, such as answer(from Old English) and reply(from Old French). It is interesting to lea

31、rn how the words for animals and meat developed. After the Norman Conquest, many English people worked as servants who raised animals. Therefore, the words we use for most animals raised for food such as cow, sheepand pig, camefrom Old English. However, the words for the meat of these animals, which

32、 was served to the Normans, came from Old French: beef, mutton, porkand bacon.Old French made other contributions to Middle English as well. In Old English, the Germanic way of making words plural was used. For example, they said houseninstead of houses, and shoeninstead of shoes. After the Normans

33、took control they began using the French way of making plurals, adding an - sto houseand shoe. Only a few words kept their Germanic plural forms, such as man/menand child/children.After the NormanConquest, high-class people spoke French while commonpeople spoke English. However, by the latter half o

34、f the 14thcentury, English had comeinto widespread use among all classes in England. In 1399, Henry IV becameKing of England. His mother tongue was English, and he used English for all official events.Modern EnglishModern English appeared during the Renaissance in the 16thcentury. Because of this, m

35、odern English includes many Latin and Greek words. Pronunciation also went through huge changes during this period. Of course, this was not the end of the changes in the English language. The question of whether English will keep on changing in the future is easy to answer. It is certain that this p

36、rocess will continue, and people will keep inventing new words and new ways of saying things.M3U2. Project (1) The development of Chinese charactersThe Chinese language differs from Western languages in that instead of an alphabet, it uses characters which stand for ideas, objects or deeds. Chinese

37、words are formed by putting together different characters. In many cases, a single character can also make up a word. The history of the Chinese language can be examined by looking at how these characters developed.Chinese writing began thousands of years ago. According to an ancient story, a mannam

38、edCang Jie invented Chinese writing.Onewinter day while he was hunting, he saw the tracks of animals in the snow and observed that the appearance of each one was different. Then he had the idea that he could use differentshapes to represent different objects. The first Chinese characters were drawin

39、gs of physical objects. Some characters have been simplified and others have been made more difficult over time. However, as a whole, the characters have developed from drawings into standard forms. The character for a mountain was at first three mountaintops together. This became one mountaintop an

40、d three lines, and over time turned into the character used nowadays.Not all characters were developed from drawings of objects. Sometimes to express ideas, some characters were made by combining two or more characters together. For example, rest was madeup of the characters for a manand a tree. The

41、 character prisoner was formed with a man inside a square. Other characters were developed for directions and numbers. It is easy to distinguish their meanings by looking at them, for example, the characters for up and down , which areopposites of each other.Though these kinds of characters indicate

42、 meanings, one of their shortcomings is that they do not show how they should be pronounced. Therefore, a method was developed to have one part of a character indicate the meaning and the other suggest the pronunciation. Many Chinese characters used today were made this way.In the 1950s the Chinese

43、government introduced simplified Chinese characters and now they have widespread use in China s mainland.M3U2. Project (2) The story of BrailleUsually, when we talk about reading, we think of using our eyes to see letters written in ink on paper. However, this is not always true. For example, blind

44、people cannot see, but they can still read books.The man who introduced blind people to reading was LouisBraille (1809-1852). Braille lost his eyesight at the age of three as a result of an injury. When he was ten, he went to a school for the blind in Paris. In those days, books for blind people use

45、d paper pressed against metal wire to form letters.Since the metal wire was heavy, each book weighed as much as 100 pounds. The whole system wasnot convenient for use. Indeed, the school library only had fourteen such books in it.In 1821, a soldier visited the school and showed the students a system

46、 for passing messages at night during timesof battle. His system used paper with small, raised dots that could be felt with the fingers. Each letter of the alphabet was represented by a different pattern which consisted of twelvedots. The soldiers would drag their fingers over the raised dots to rea

47、d the message.While the students found the soldier s idea interesting, the system was too difficult to be of practical use. However, young Louis Braille took the idea and worked on it. At the age of fifteen, he created a system with patterns of six raised dots representing each letter. Braille , the

48、 system for reading used today by blind people around the world, was thus born.The blind can easily recognize Braille with the fingers.They can also easily write in Braille with a special typewriter. Today, it is the most common system used by blind people for reading and writing, and nearly every l

49、anguage, including Chinese, has its own version of Braille for its people to use.M3U3. Reading Lost civilizationsDay 1,15 JulyI feel lucky to have won a place on this trip. We are in Italy now, and tomorrow we are visiting Pompeii. Next week we are flying to China, and going Loulan, which is known a

50、s Chinas Pompeii in the desert. Both Pompeii and Loulan became lostcivilizations long ago.Day 2,16 JulyThis morning we attended a lecture about Pompeii. The city was founded in the 8th century BC. In 89 BC, the Romans took over Pompeii. It then becamea rich and busy city. Near the city was a volcano

51、. On24 August AD79,the volcano erupted and lava, ash and rocks poured out of it onto the surrounding countryside. It continued to erupt for the next two days. Many people were buried alive, and so was the city. How unfortunate!Day 3,17 JulyToday I sawthe ancient Romancity of Pompeii as it was 2,000

52、years ago. How amazing! The city was forgotten for many years until the 18th century when a farmer discovered a stone with writing on it. People started to dig in the area for treasure, which caused muchdamage. Thus, in 1860,the area was put under government protection so it could be preserved and s

53、tudied.When I walked around the city, I saw streets just as they had been, with stepping stones along the road so you did not have to step in the mudon rainy days! I saw several houses which were decorated with wall paintings. I also saw the people who had been buried alive. It turns out that after

54、the ash covered the people who failed to flee the city, their bodies nearlycompletely broke downand disappeared, leaving empty spaces in the ash. Years later, researchers were able to use these empty spaces to produce true-to-life figures of the people who haddied in the disaster. You can see them t

55、oday in Pompeii, in the sameplaces where the people fell. The volcano is still there, but looks very quiet now. Its hard to imagine howthis peaceful volcano destroyed the whole city!Day 10,24 JulyFinally, we arrived in Loulan after several days of travelling. This commercial city was busy and wealth

56、y about2,000 years ago. It was a stopping point on the famous Silk Road between the East and the West. It is believed to have beengradually covered over by sandstorms form AD 200 to AD 400. I am so excited to be here!Day 11,25 JulyA scholar from the local cultural institute, ProfessorZhang, told us

57、that around the year 1900 the European explorer Sven Hedin discovered the ruins of the Loulan Kingdom. Sven found the remains of buildings buried beneath the sand, together with a lot of treasures including coins, painted pots, material such as silk, documents and wall paintings. When we went to the

58、 city, we saw the city walls, palaces, temples,workshops and towers. We found the ruins most interesting.There was an ancient water system that ran through the middle of the city. The desert was once a green land with huge trees, but they were cut downand that resulted in the city being buried by sa

59、nd what a pity!M3U3. Project (1) Ancient Greek statue found in XinjiangResearchers announced the discovery of a small statue in northern Xinjiang, China, recently. The metal statue is of a Greek soldier. Whenasked howa statue from distant Greece could have appeared in China, researchers explained th

60、at no doubt this was a result of Alexander the Great s influence.Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) was the son of a Greek king who defeated manyGreek cities in battle. At the age of twenty, Alexander himself became king after his father died. However, manycities rose up against Alexander, so he led a