1、Book2 Unit1 Cultural relicsIN SEARCH OF THE AMBER ROOM寻找琥珀屋Frederick William I, the King of Prussia, could never have imagined that his greatest gift to the Russian people would have such an amazing history. This gift was the Amber Room, which was given this name because several tons of amber were u
2、sed to make it. The amber which was selected had a beautiful yellow-brown colour like honey. The design of the room was in the fancy style popular in those days. It was also a treasure decorated with gold and jewels, which took the countrys best artists about ten years to make.普鲁士国王腓特烈威廉一世绝不可能想到他送给俄
3、罗斯人民的厚礼会有一段令人惊讶的历史。这件礼物就是琥珀屋,它之所以有这个名字,是因为造这间房子用了近几吨琥珀,被选择的琥珀色彩艳丽,呈黄褐色,像蜜一样。屋子的设计当时流行的极富艺术表现力的建筑风格。琥珀屋这件珍品还镶嵌著黄金和珠宝,全国最优秀的艺术家用了是年的时间才完成它。In fact, the room was not made to be a gift. It was designed for the palace of Frederick I. However, the next King of Prussia, Frederick William I, to whom the amb
4、er room belonged, decided not to keep it. In 1716 he gave it to Peter the Great. In return, the Czar sent him a troop of his best soldiers. So the Amber Room became part of the Czars winter palace in St Petersburg. About four metres long, the room served as a small reception hall for important visit
5、ors.事实上,琥珀屋并不是作为礼物而建造的。它是作为腓烈特一世的宫殿而建造的。然而,下一位普鲁士国王,腓烈特威廉一世,这个琥珀屋的主人却决定不再要它了。1716年,他把它送给了彼得大帝。作为回馈,沙皇则送给他一队自己最好的士兵。所以,琥珀屋就成了沙皇在圣彼得堡东宫的一部分。琥珀屋长约4米,被用作接待重要来宾的小型会客室。Later, Catherine II had the Amber Room moved to a palace outside St Petersburg where she spent her summers. She told her artists to add mo
6、re details to it. In 1770 the room was completed the way she wanted. Almost six hundred candles lit the room, and its mirrors and pictures shone like gold. Sadly, although the Amber Room was considered one of the wonders of the world, it is now missing.后来、叶卡捷琳娜二世派人把琥珀屋搬到了圣彼得堡郊外避暑的宫殿中。她让艺术家们给它增添了更多的装
7、饰。1770年,这间琥珀屋按她要求的方式完工了。将近600支蜡烛照亮了这个房间,里面的镜子和图画就像金子一样闪闪发光。不幸的是,虽然琥珀屋被认为是世界奇迹之一,可是现在它却下落不明。In September 1941, the Nazi army was near St Petersburg. This was a time when the two countries were at war. Before the Nazis could get to the summer palace, the Russians were able to remove some furniture and
8、 small art objects from the Amber Room. However, some of the Nazis secretly stole the room itself. In less than two days 100,000 pieces were put inside twenty-seven wooden boxes. There is no doubt that the boxes were then put on a train for Konigsberg, which was at that time a German city on the Bal
9、tic Sea. After that, what happened to the Amber Room remains a mystery.1941年9月,纳粹德国的军队逼近了圣彼得堡。这是两国交战的时期。在纳粹分子能够到达夏宫之前,俄国人只来得及把琥珀屋里的一些家具和小型艺术饰品搬走。可是琥珀屋本身却被一些纳粹分子秘密地头运走了。在不到两天的时间里,琥珀屋被拆成10万块装进了27个木箱里。毫无疑问,这些箱子后来被装上火车运往哥尼斯堡,当时它是波罗的海的海边的一个城市。Recently, the Russians and Germans have built a new Amber Room
10、 at the summer palace. By studying old photos of the former Amber Room, they have made the new one look like the old one. In 2003 it was ready for the people of St Petersburg when they celebrated the 300th birthday of their city.从那以后,琥珀屋的最终归宿就成了一个谜。最近俄国人和德国人已经在夏宫建立起了一个新的琥珀屋,通过研究前琥珀屋的照片,他们使得新的琥珀屋的样子与
11、原来的非常相像。2003年,在圣彼得堡人民庆祝他们的城市建立300周年的时候,它已经完工了。Book2 Unit 2 The Olympic GamesAN INTERVIEW一个采访Pausanias, who was a Greek writer about 2,000 years ago, has come on a magical journey on March 18th 2007 to find out about the present-day Olympic Games. He is now interviewing Li Yan, a volunteer for the 20
12、08 Olympic Games.大约2000年前的一个希腊作者帕萨尼亚斯(P),在2007年3月18日踏上了一段魔幻的旅程去查明关于现代的奥林匹克运动会。他正在采访一个2008年奥林匹克运动会志愿者李岩(L)P: My name is Pausanias. I lived in what you call “Ancient Greece” and I used to write about the Olympic Games a long time ago. Ive come to your time to find out about the present-day Olympic Gam
13、es because I know that in 2004 they were held in my homeland. May I ask you some questions about the modern Olympics?L: Good heavens! Have you really come from so long ago? But of course you can ask any questions you like. What would you like to know?P: How often do you hold your Games?L: Every four
14、 years. There are two main sets of Games-the Winter and Summer Olympics, and both are held every four years on a regular basis. The Winter Olympics are usually held two years before the Summer Games. Only athletes who have reached the agreed standard for their event will be admitted as competitors.
15、They may come from anywhere in the world. P:我是帕萨尼亚斯。我住在你们所说的“古希腊”而且在很久之前我常常写以一些关于奥林匹克运动会的事情。我来到你的时代是为了解关于现代奥林匹克运动会因为我知道2004年奥林匹克运动会会在我家乡举办。我可以问你一些关于现代奥林匹克运动会的问题么?L:真是极为愉快的事!你真的来自那么久远的时代么?不过当然你可以问你想问的问题。你想知道什么?P:你们多久会举办一次运动会?L:四年一次。有两种主要的运动会形式-冬季和夏季奥运会,并且在一个有规律的基础上他们都是四年举办一次的。冬季奥运会一般会在夏季奥运会前两年举办。只有达到
16、该项目既定的标准的运动员才会被容许成为竞争者。他们可以来自世界各地。P: Winter Games? How can the runners enjoy competing in winter? And what about the horses?L: Oh no! There are no running races or horse riding events. Instead there are competitions like skiing and ice skating which need snow and ice. Thats why theyre called the Win
17、ter Olympics. Its in the Summer Olympics that you have the running races, together with swimming, sailing and all the team sports. P: I see. Earlier you said that athletes are invited from all over the world. Do you mean the Greek world? Our Greek cities used to compete against each other just for t
18、he honour of winning. No other countries could join in, nor could slaves or women!L: Nowadays any country can take part if their athletes are good enough. There are over 250 sports and each on has its own standard. Women are not only allowed, but play a very important role in gymnastics, athletics,
19、team sports and P:冬季奥运会?田径运动员如何在冬季享受比赛?还有马术又怎样?L:哦不!冬季奥运会没有赛跑和骑马的项目。反而会有一些像滑雪和溜冰这些需要雪和冰的项目。这就是为什么他成为冬季奥运会。只有在夏季奥运会会有你说赛跑,同时还有游泳,帆船运动和所有团队运动。P:我懂了。之前你说那些运动员都被邀请来自世界各地。你了解希腊世界么?我们希腊城过去互相竞赛只为胜利的荣誉。没有其他的地区可以参加,奴隶和妇女也不可以。L:现在只要他们的运动员够好的话任何国家都可以参加。有超过250种项目并且每一种都有它自己的标准。妇女不仅允许参加比赛,并且她们在体操比赛,竞技比赛,团队比赛和其他各种
20、比赛中都扮演着重要的角色。P: Please wait a minute! All those events, all those countries and even women taking part! Where are all the athletes housed?L: For each Olympics, a special village is built for them to live in, a main reception building, several stadiums for competitions, and a gymnasium as well. P: Th
21、at sounds very expensive. Does anyone want to host the Olympic Games?L: As a matter of fact, every country wants the opportunity. Its a great responsibility but also a great honour to be chosen. Theres as much competition among countries to host the Olympics as to win Olympic medals. The 2008 Olympi
22、cs will be held in Beijing, China. Did you know that?P:麻烦稍等一下!所有的这些项目,所有的国民甚至妇女都可以参加!那么这些运动员们居住在哪里?L:在每一场奥运会前,一座特别的村庄会被建来给他们居住,还有一座主要的接待建筑,几个用来比赛的体育场和一座体育馆等P:那听起来很贵。有哪个国家会想要举办奥运会么?L:事实上,每个国家都想要这个机会。这是一个很大的责任同样是一个很大的荣誉如果被挑选到。在国家之间有很多竞争去为举办奥运会就像去赢得奥林匹克奖牌一样。2008年的奥运会将会在北京举行。这你知道么?P: Oh yes! You must be
23、 very proud. L: Certainly. And after that the 2012 Olympics will be held in London. They have already started planning for it. A new village for the athletes and all the stadiums will be built to the east of London. New medals will be designed of course and P: Did you say medals? So even the olive w
24、reath has been replaced! Oh dear! Do you compete for prize money too?L: No, we dont. its still all about being able to run faster, jump higher and throw further. Thats the motto of the Olympics, you know-“Swifter, Higher and Stronger.”P: Well, thats good news. How interesting! Thank you so much for
25、your time.P:哦是的!你一定非常自豪。L:当然。之后的2012年奥运会将在伦敦举行。他们早就开始为这个做准备了。一座让运动员居住的村庄和所有的运动场将会被建在东伦敦。当然新的奖牌会被设计.P:你是说奖牌么?所以甚至是橄榄花圈也已经被取代了!哦亲爱的!你们比赛也为了奖金么?L:不我们不。现在仍然想要跑得更快跳的更高扔得更远。正如你知道的奥运会的格言-“更快更高更强”。P:好吧,那是个好消息。多么有趣啊!耽搁你的时间,谢谢了。Book2 Unit 3 ComputersWHO AM I?我是谁Over time I have been changed quite a lot. I beg
26、an as a calculating machine in France in 1642. Although I was young I could simplify difficult sums. I developed very slowly and it took nearly two hundred years before I was built as an analytical machine by Charles Babbage. After I was programmed by an operator who used cards with holes, I could t
27、hink logically and produce an answer quicker than any person. At that time it was considered a technological revolution and the start of my artificial intelligence. In 1936 my real father, Alan Turing, wrote a book about how I could be made to work as a universal machine to solve any difficult mathe
28、matical problem. From then on, I grew rapidly both in size and in brainpower. By the 1940s I had grown as large as a room, and I wondered if I would grow any larger. However, this reality also worried my designers. As time went by, I was made smaller. First as a PC (personal computer) and then as a
29、laptop, I have been used in offices and homes since the 1970s.随着时间的推移我被改变了很多。在1642年的法国,我是作为一个计算机器而开始的。虽然我很年轻我可以简化一些计算题。在我被Charles Babbage改造成分析机器之前我很慢的发展了接近两百年。之后我被一个操作员用带洞的卡调制成了可以合逻辑地思考并且比任何人都快地得出一些问题的答案。那是一个被成为技术改革的时候并且开始了我的人造智能。在1936年我真正的父亲Alan Turing写了一本关于我如何像普遍的机器一样去解决任何困难的数学问题的书。从那起,我在体积和智能方面快速
30、的发展。在1940年我变得像一个房间一样大,并且我想知道我是否还能变得更大。然而,事实也在困扰着我的设计者。随着时间的推移,我被制的更小。首先是个人电脑再到后来的手提电脑,在1970年我已经开始被用在办公室和家里。These changes only became possible as my memory improved. First it was stored in tubes, then on transistors and later on very small chips. As a result I totally changed my shape. As I have grow
31、n older I have also grown smaller. Over time my memory has developed so much that, like an elephant, I never forget anything I have been told! And my memory became so large that even I couldnt believe it! But I was always so lonely standing there by myself, until in the early 1960s they gave me a fa
32、mily connected by a network. I was able to share my knowledge with others through the World Wide Web.这些变化只因为我记忆力的增强。开始记忆被存放于电子管里,然后是晶体管和后来更小的晶片。因此我改变了我的整个外型。随着我慢慢变老我也慢慢的变小。随着时间推移我的记忆力发展的那么快,像头大象,我不会忘记任何我曾被告知的东西!而且我的记忆力变得如此的大以至于我都不敢相信!不过我总是自己那么孤单的站在那里,直到1960年他们通过网络给了我一个家庭关系。我能够通过万维网和其他的电脑分享我的知识。Since
33、 the 1970s many new applications have been found for me. I have become very important in communication, finance and trade. I have also been put into robots and used to make mobile phones as well as help with medical operations. I have even been put into space rockets and sent to explore the Moon and
34、 Mars. Anyhow, my goal is to provide humans with a life of high quality. I am now truly filled with happiness that I am a devoted friend and helper of the human race!从1970年起很多新的应用为我而被发明。我在交流,金融和贸易方面变得重要。我同样被放进遥控装置中被用来制造移动电话也帮助医学手术。我已经被放进太空火箭并被送去探测月亮和火星。即使如此,我的目的是为人们提供高质量的生活。我现在充满快乐应为我成为了人类种族中的一个忠心的朋
35、友和帮助者。Book2 Unit 4 Wildlife protectionHOW DAISY LEARNED TOHELP WLDLIFE如何学习去帮助野生动物Daisy had always longed to help endangered species of wildlife. One day she woke up and found a flying carpet by her bed. Where do you want to go? it asked. Daisy responded immediately. Id like to see some endangered wi
36、ldlife, she said. Please take me to a distant land where I can find the animal that gave fur to make this sweater. At once the carpet flew away and took her to Tibet. There Daisy saw an antelope looking sad. It said, Were being killed for the wool beneath our stomachs. Our fur is being used to make
37、sweaters for people like you. As a result, we are now an endangered species. At that Daisy cried, Im sorry I didnt know that. I wonder what is being done to help you. Flying carpet, please show me a place where theres some wildlife protection.Daisy常常渴望去帮助濒临灭绝的种类的野生动物。一天她醒来发现一个正在飞行的飞毯在她包里。“你想去哪里?”它问。
38、Daisy立刻回答它。“我想去看那些濒临灭绝的动物,”她说。“请带我去那个我可以找到供给皮毛去制造这件毛衣的动物的一个遥远的地方。”飞毯立刻带她飞去了西藏。在那里Daisy看到了一支看起来很伤心的羚羊。它说,“我们被杀是为了我们肚子下的毛。我们的皮毛被人类用来制造像你这样的毛衣。因此,现在我们是一种濒临灭绝的种类。”然后Daisy哭喊着,“我很抱歉我不知道那些。我想知道什么可以被做来帮助你们。飞毯,请带我去一个有一些野生动物保护区的地方。”The flying carpet travelled so fast that next minute they were in Zimbabwe. Da
39、isy turned around and found that she was being watched by an elephant. Have you come to take my photo? it asked. In relief Daisy burst into laughter. Dont laugh,” said the elephant, We used to be an endangered species. Farmers hunted us without mercy. They said we destroyed their farms, and money fr
40、om tourists only went to the large tour companies. So the government decided to help. They allowed tourists to hunt only a certain number of animals if they paid the farmers. Now the farmers are happy and our numbers are increasing. So good things are being done here to save local wildlife.飞毯飞得如此的快以
41、至于他们下一分钟就在Zimbabwe。Daisy转来转去然后发现她被一头大象盯着。“你过来跟我照相了么?”它问。Daisy松了口气突然笑起来。“不要笑,”大象说,“我们曾经是濒临灭绝的品种。农民好不仁慈地猎杀我们。他们说我们破坏了他们的天地,和来自那些只游览大工厂的游客的钱。所以政府决定去帮助。他们允许游客给钱农民然后可以去猎杀确定数量的动物。现在农民很高兴而且我们的数量在增加。所以好事情正被做于营救当地的野生动物。Daisy smiled. Thats good news. It shows the importance of wildlife protection, but Id like
42、 to help as the WWF suggests. The carpet rose again and almost at once they were in a thick rainforest. A monkey watched them as it rubbed itself. What are you doing? asked Daisy. ” Im protecting myself from mosquitoes, it replied. When I find a millipede insect, I rub it over my body. It contains a
43、 powerful drug which affects mosquitoes. You should pay more attention to the rainforest where I live and appreciate how the animals live together. No rainforest, no animals, no drugs.Daisy微笑了。“那是个好消息。它展示了野生动物保护的重要性,不过我喜欢去帮助像WWF这样的建议。”飞毯再次升起然后几乎同一时间他们在一个阴霾的热带雨林。一支猴子看着他们就像它摩擦它自己。“你在干什么?”Daisy问。“我在保护自
44、己不受蚊子的伤害,”它回答。“当我找到一只千足虫昆虫,我会在我身上摩擦它。它包涵了一种强大的可以影响蚊子的药物。你应该更加注意那些我居住的热带雨林并好好鉴赏动物们如何居住在一齐。没有雨林,没有动物,没有药物。”Daisy was amazed. Flying carpet, please take me home so I can tell WWF and we can begin producing this new drug. Monkey, please come and help. The monkey agreed. The carpet flew home. As they lan
45、ded, things began to disappear. Two minutes later everything had gone - the monkey, too. So Daisy was not able to make her new drug. But what an experience! She had learned so much! And there was always WWFDaisy很惊讶。“飞毯,请带我回家这样我可以联系WWF并开始保护这种新的药物。猴子,请过来帮忙。”那猴子同意了。飞毯飞回家了。当他们降落时,事物开始消失了。两分钟后所有东西都消失了-那只
46、猴子也是。所以Daisy不能去制造她的新药物。不过如此的一段经历!她已经学习了那么多东西!而且还有WWF. Book2 Unit 5 MusicTHE BAND THAT WASNT并非乐队的乐队Have you ever wanted to be part of a band as a famous singer or musician? Have you ever dreamed of playing in front of thousands of people at a concert, at which everyone is clapping and appreciating yo
47、ur music? Do you sing karaoke and pretend you are a famous singer like Song Zuying or Liu Huan? To be honest, a lot of people attach great importance to becoming rich and famous. But just how do people form a band?你曾经想过要成为一个乐队里有名的歌手或音乐家吗?你是否曾梦想过在音乐会上面对成千上万的观众演唱,观众欣赏你的歌唱为你鼓掌吗?你唱卡拉OK时是否假装自己就是像宋祖英或刘欢一样
48、著名的歌星吗?说实在的,很多人把名和利看得很重。那么,人们又是怎样一起组成乐队的呢?Many musicians meet and form a band because they like to write and play their own music. They may start as a group of high-school students, for whom practicing their music in someones house is the first step to fame. Sometimes they may play to passers-by in
49、the street or subway so that they can earn some extra money for themselves or to pay for their instruments. Later they may give performances in pubs or clubs, for which they are paid in cash. Of course they hope to make records in a studio and sell millions of copies to become millionaires!许多音乐家聚在一起组成乐队,是因为他们喜欢自己作曲,演奏自己的音