北师大教材Book选修六 VI 主要文本材料

北师大教材Book VI 主要文本材料

北师大教材Book VI 主要文本材料

Unit 16 Stories

1. Stories from History

Around the end of the first century AD, a Roman writer called Pliny wrote about a terrible volcanic eruption that he had witnessed as a young man. The eruption had occurred on August 24th, 79 AD. The earth began to tremble and a volcano named Vesuvius, near Pompeii, Italy, erupted. Pliny described a cloud coming down the mountain, blocking out the sun and burying everything in its path, including whole villages and towns.

This particularly sad event left a deep impression on Pliny who had lost an uncle in the eruption. Yet, over the centuries, there was a greater loss. The people, towns and villages that had disappeared under the ashes were entirely forgotten by the world.

However, more than 1,600 years later, some scientists found the lost towns that had been buried under the ashes. By l 748, they had found an awesome historical site. They had started to dig out the ancient city of Pompeii.

In a way, Pompeii is like a “time capsule”preserving a frozen moment in history. Before the eruption occurred, it had been a booming Roman city with temples, markets, restaurants and theatres. NOW as you walk along the streets of the city, time rewinds. You can admire the ancient architecture, statues, decorated wails and authentic objects characteristic of the time. However, much more than buildings and objects, it is the forms of the people who were caught in the disaster that have made the city a monument to human history.

The bodies of people who had died in Pompeii left impressions in the ash that showed their exact shapes. As you walk, you will pass people gathered together for protection in their last hours of life. One person, sitting alone, looks like he is praying. Another man, lying on his side, looks as if he is trying to get up. One can only feel sorrow and deep sympathy for these once-living statues.

Today, more than 2 50 years after scientists found the city, thousands of tourists and hundreds of scientists visit Pompeii every year to learn more about the ancient world. In this way, the city, which the world had once forgotten, lives on nearly 2,000 years after its loss.

2. Name Stories

come across, how up, grow up r stand for, count on, figure out, look like, end up, put up with

I (1)______________an interesting name story when I visited my cousin in Henan Province. My cousin(2)_______ next door to a girl called Li Shichun. The “Chun”part of Li Shichun (3)_______ spring.

That’s when she was born. But that’s not all. She’s also named after a Ming Dynasty engineer, Li Chun．Her father thought he was admirable because he built bridges you can really (4)______. But her mother thought that sounded too much like a boy’s name. She was worried that her daughter would have to (5) ______ too much teasing with a man’s name. So they (6)______a way to change it They added “Shi”from her grandmother’s name. Well, that was lucky because she (7)______ her grandmother anyway. Li Shichun eventually went to university where she studied medicine. However, she didn’t like it so she changed her studies and (8)________ becoming an engineer! She became quite famous when she invented a new way of (9)_______ suspension bridges during the building process.

3 Life Stories

Helen Keller was a very special girl who needed a superb teacher. By the time she was seven years old, she still couldn't speak, read or write. This was because Helen couldn't see or hear. With these severe restrictions on her communication, Helen's behaviour was often unbearable. She was stubborn and angry, and often broke things when she wasn't understood.

Anne Sullivan was brought in to help Helen. Anne was a teacher and former student at a school for the blind in Boston. She had had eyesight problems early in life as well so she could relate to Helen's difficulties. Her first goal was to stop Helen's troublesome behaviour. Helen would need this valuable preparation in order to learn language. She would also need lots of love. When Anne and Helen first met, Anne gave Helen a big hug.

Helen would have to learn to understand words spelled on her hand. Anne's technique was simple and straightforward. She would put an object into one of Helen's hands and spell the word into her other hand. She started with dolls. She would let Helen play with the doll, and then spell the letters "D-O-L-L" into her hand. Helen thought this was a game. She had a precise description of her excitement in her book, The Story of My Life: 'Running downstairs to my mother, I held up my hand and mad~~ the letters for doll. I did not know that I was spelling a word or even that words existed; I was simply making my fingers go in monkey-like imitation."

Then one day, Anne took Helen out to the well. Ann put Helen's hand under the water. As the water flowed over one hand, Anne spelled "w-a-t-e-r" into the other hand. Then suddenly, Helen

had a burst of understanding; the movement of the fingers meant the cool water flowing over her hand. This precious knowledge gave her hope joy. Finally, the world of words was opening up to her.

Now that Helen understood the key to language, she was very eager to learn more and use it as much as she could. Children who can see and hear learn language easily but for Helen, it was a gradual and sometimes painful process. However, the results were amazing.

As Helen's knowledge and vocabulary expanded, she asked more and more questions. This soon led her to discover more complex words and changed her thinking processes. Trying to learn the word "love" was an experience that she remembered well. This is how she described it in her book, The Story of My Life:

"I remember the morning that I first asked the meaning of the word 'love'. This was before I knew many words. I had found a few early violets in the garden and brought them to my teacher ... Miss Sullivan put her arm gently round me and spelled into my hand, 'I love Helen.' 'What is love?' I asked. She drew me closer to her and said, 'It is here," pointing to my heart... Her words puzzled me very much because I did not then understand anything unless I touched it."

The meaning of love was still not apparent to Helen but she kept on trying to understand. "I smelt the violets in her hand and asked, half in words, half in signs, a question which meant, 'Is love the sweetness of flowers?' 'No,' said my teacher."

Helen then felt the warmth of the sun shining on them. She pointed up and asked if that was love. When her teacher said that it wasn't, she was confused and disappointed. 'I thought it strange that my teacher could not show me love."

The word "think" was also a difficult one for Helen but she had a breakthrough while working on a simple task. She was making necklaces with the help of Miss Sullivan when she noticed that she had made some mistakes. Uncertain about how to fix them, she stopped to think carefully. As she did this, Miss Sullivan touched Helen's head and spelled the word "think" into her hand. "In a flash I knew that the word was the name of the process that was going on in my head."

It was the first time Helen had understood such a complex word -- a word for something she couldn't touch. At that moment, her mind returned to the word "love". As she thought about its meaning again, the sun came out. She pointed to the sun and asked her teacher again if that was love. Anne answered Helen by explaining that love was like the sun and clouds in a way.

"You cannot touch the clouds, you know; but you feel the rain ... You cannot touch love either; but you feel the sweetness that it pours into everything. Without love you would not be happy or want to play." In that vivid moment, Helen finally understood the beautiful truth of the word "love".

Communication Workshop

Draft A

May 24 was a bad day because the school bus did not arrive and we had to walk to school. It was hot and tiresome. At school, Mr Fan, the English teacher, reminded me about the poetry reading competition. This surprised me because I had forgotten about the competition. I tried to practise at lunch time, but I did not have enough time. I felt awkward and had to look down at my book during the competition. There was only a little applause when I left the stage. I came last in the competition. When I got into bed that night, I spilled water on my pillow.

Draft B

The day everything went wrong was May 24. First, I had to wait 30 minutes for the school bus. When it did not arrive, I decided to walk to school. The day was lot and tiring. The next problem happened when I arrived at school. Mr Fan, the English teacher, a large but friendly man, saw me and gave me a nasty surprise He reminded me in his loud voice that the poetry reading competition, which I had forgotten, was that afternoon. There was no time to practise at lunch time, and I read from my book instead of reciting the poems. As I left the stage, there was only some quiet applause.

I was not surprised when I came last in tile competition. The last problem of this terrible day happened when I got into bed that night. I kept a glass of water near the bed, and as I got into bed it fell over onto my pillow.

Draft C

May 24, 2005 will live in my mind forever. The day started to go wrong the instant I left home. Normally, the school bus arrives at 7:30, but that day it didn't arrive at all! After waiting for ages, I decided to walk. This was a big mistake! The sun was already boiling hot and you can imagine how I felt by the time I arrived at school. But the trouble was only just beginning. As I climbed up the stairs to the classroom, I heard a booming voice behind me. It was Mr. Fan, the English teacher, calling out my name. "Good luck in the poetry reading competition this afternoon," said Mr. Fan as he quickly passed me. Of course, I had forgotten all about the competition. I tried - and failed - to practise during the lunch break. The result? I couldn't remember any of the poems and had to keep looking down at my book. The more I looked down, the redder my face became. I felt tense and dizzy. When I left the stage people didn't applaud very loudly and it came as no surprise that I was last in the competition. And so the day went on, until finally I climbed, tired and ashamed, into bed. Even then, my troubles were not over. As I got into bed, my hand knocked over the glass of water on the bedside table. Water spilled all over my pillow. What a clumsy end to an awful day!

Language Tactics

Shock Tactics

Although most advertisers use humour or fantasy to attract our attention, others try to shock us so that we remember their message.

Some adverts present us with a puzzle; they show an unusual image which at first doesn't make sense. For example, in the Micra advert, when we see a half-shaved head, we want to know why the man has had his hair cut like that. In the end, we discover that a woman has shaved the man's head because he borrowed her car! Because we have had to work out the solution, we will probably remember the product better.

Other adverts play with words rather than images. When we understand the joke, we feel very pleased with ourselves. Take the advert with the words: "Last year 400,000 women killed their husbands with a frying pan." At first, the words seem to refer to domestic violence, but then we realise the advert is a warning about eating high-fat food!

Charities have also started advertising in this way. There is so much suffering in the real world that it is often difficult to hold people's attention. Because of this, charity advertisers have developed ways of shocking the public. They use serious and frightening images. In this case, such hard-hitting tactics are surely justified.

On the other hand, some adverts go too far when they are deliberately offensive. Justified? The advertisers would say yes if the adverts sell the product.

Unit 17

Lesson 1

A

"Have you ever had trouble trying to spell a word?" I asked my husband one day. "Yes, sometimes. Why, what happened?" he asked. "This afternoon, I was in the town centre, where I had been doing some shopping. I suddenly realised I didn't have any money left so I quickly went to the bank to cash a cheque. I wanted to withdraw $40 from our bank account, but I'm so forgetful that I couldn't remember if 40 was spelled 'fourty' or 'forty'. What did you do?" my husband asked. "I took out fifty dollars instead." I said.

B

The Wang family was planning to go on a holiday soon. Mr Wang wanted to know which place would be the most enjoyable for the whole family. He felt his daughter was mature enough and he

didn't want to overlook her opinion so he asked her, "If I was going to Hainan Island and your mum was going to Thailand, where would you like to go?" She replied, "Hmm …I'd like to go to Thailand." He wondered about her response, and just to clarify, he asked her another question. "Well, if I was going to Thailand and your mum was going to Hainan Island, where would you like to go then?”This time she didn't hesitate, "Then I'd like to go to Hainan Island." Now Mr Wang was puzzled. "But why?" he asked. "Because I went to Thailand on the last trip," she said.

C

Heavy snow last winter caused long delays at Heathrow airport. One afternoon, hundreds of unlucky passengers who had been expecting to board a flight to New York were told it had been cancelled. One unfortunate counter agent was dealing with all the passengers when an angry man, who had been queuing for some time, pushed his way to the front. "I want a first class seat on this flight, now!" demanded the man angrily. The young agent replied politely, "I'm sorry sir, but I can't ignore these people. They were here first. If you could wait your turn, I'll see what I can do." This did not please the man. He yelled at the young girl, so that the passengers waiting in line behind him could hear, "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" The girl smiled, stood up and spoke loudly, "Attention please! We have a passenger here WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identification, please come to the gate."

2 Laughter Is the Best Medicine

caution, scold, profession, forbid, authority, figures, scratched

I love being a clown. I get to make people Laugh but it's not an easy (1)______. I can do things that most people don't get to do. For example, when I perform at company parties, I can (2)______ the managers. I can (3)_____ them from giving people too much work, ask for Longer Lunch breaks or even advise them on their fashion sense -- I usually give them my big pink wig. Of course I do it in a silly way and we all get to have a good Laugh. After all, who gets to say these kinds of things to an (4)_____ (5)_____? -- Only a clown. But I still have to remember to use (6)_____ sometimes. One time, I (7)_____ a man's head as I talked about his wonderful hair. Well, it was a wig and it fell off his head. Everyone was laughing except him and that's no good.

3 My Favourite Comely

Text 1

Mr. Bean is an internationally recognised comedy character on TV and in films. He constantly gets into awkward and absurd situations, which greatly amuses audiences regardless of their nationality or culture. The humour is always made clear through a series of simple and funny

acts that rely purely on body language, which is universal.

One of my favourite shows has Mr Bean in a fancy restaurant. After being seated at his table, Mr Bean takes out a card, writes a few words on it, seals it in an envelope and places it on the table. After a moment, he looks back at the envelope but this time he looks surprised, as if he did not know it was there. He opens it to find a birthday card and delightedly puts it on the table for everyone to see.

When he looks at the menu, an astonished look swiftly appears on his face. He takes all the money out of his wallet, counts it and puts it in a saucer. He then looks from the menu to the money with concern until he finds one thing that makes him smile. Then he orders a dish called "steak tartare". When the dish arrives, he is shocked to discover that "steak tartare" is actually raw hamburger. He makes an attempt to eat it, but it is clear from the look on his face that he finds the taste truly disgusting. He cannot hide his feelings, except when the waiters ask if everything is all right. When this happens, he smiles and nods, indicating that everything it fine. When the waiters are not looking, however, he busies himself hiding the raw meat anywhere he can reach –the sugar bowl, the tiny flower vase, inside a bun and under a plate. He becomes so desperate in the end that he even hides some inside the purse of a woman sitting near him and throws some down the trousers of the restaurant's violinist!

I like to watch Mr Bean on TV but I wouldn't want to meet someone like him in real life and I certainly wouldn't want to have dinner with him!

Text 2

Rowan Atkinson is the actor who plays Mr Bean. In Britain, Mr Atkinson is quite famous for many other wonderful characters that he has created but internationally, he is best known for the dizzy, awkward, clumsy, but always amusing Mr Bean. If you think that Rowan Atkinson is anything like his famous creation, then you are in for a surprise.

Rowan was born on January 6, 1955, and spent his early years on the family farm with his mother, three older brothers and his strict father, who did not believe in the value of television. For a time, he attended the same school as Tony Blair, who was two years older than him. At 13, Rowan earned a scholarship to a boarding school. Later, he studied at Newcastle University where he had the highest marks in his year. At Oxford, he obtained his Master's degree in electrical engineering. This might explain his interest in fast cars, of which he has a vast collection.

Rowan's career change from an electrical engineer to a famous comedian was partly due to some speaking problems he had in his childhood. He compensated for this by talking very deliberately. This may have inspired the abnormal speech patterns of many of his characters.

While still at primary school, Rowan had already shown admirable acting talent. Although his teachers predicted a career in acting, Rowan was not convinced himself, until he met a group of talented people at university, who were involved in theatre, and he realized this could be a career

for him. Another key event occurred when, one day in 1976, he was playing around and pulling faces in the mirror. He realized something. "I discovered my face," he said later. John Lloyd, who worked for the BBC, says, "It was one of those things which happen very rarely in your life, when you realize you are in the presence of genius. I was convinced he would be more famous than Chaplin."

Communication Workshop

A. We set sail on May 4th. 1699. (1) ________ our voyage went well but in November. We were driven by a storm onto a rock Six of us manacled to escape the sinking ship in a life boat, but it was soon upset by the waves. I swam, pushed forward by the wind and the water. Just when I was able to struggle no longer, I found myself within my depth. (2) ______ I reached land and dropped to the ground. (3)_____ my head hit the sand. I fell asleep.

B. (4)______ I awoke, the sun had just come up. I tried to rise. But found that my arms and legs were strongly tied to the ground. My lair was tied down in the same manner. I heard a confused noise around me, but could see nothing except the sky.

C. (5)________. I felt something alive moving on my left leg. It advanced over my body and came almost up to my face. I looked down as much as I could and saw a human creature just six inches high, with a bow and arrow in his hands. (6)_____ I felt at least forty more of the same kind following the first. I was completely surprised and shouted so loudly that they all ran back in fear.

D Having scared the little beings, I began struggling to get loose and managed to break the strings that tied my left arm and slightly moved the strings that tied down my hair. But (7)______ I could catch my of the creatures. I felt a hundred needles stick into my hand. Another flight of arrows fell on my face, which I (8)_______ covered with my left hand. I shouted with pain and decided to wait till night, when I could easily free myself.

E (9)______ not moving for a minute, the arrows stopped. For the next hour, I heard a knocking noise by my right ear. Turning my head as far as I could, I saw a stage built about a foot and a half above the ground. One of the creatures climbed onto .the stage and made me a long speech. I didn't understand a single word but answered in English in a very quiet manner.

F (10)______ being almost starved with hunger, I showed that I wanted food. They understood and hundreds of the tiny people climbed onto my body bringing baskets of meat and tiny loaves of bread. They fed me as fast as they could, showing surprise at my size and appetite. I (11)_____ showed that I wanted drink and they brought me two of their largest bottles of wine.

G It is true that I often wanted to catch forty or fifty of them, and throw them against the ground, but having eaten their food and drunk their wine, I now felt that to do so would be rude.

(12)______, I started to yawn and quickly fell asleep. And it was no wonder, for their doctors, by the Emperor's order, had put a sleeping drug in with the wine.

Language Awareness

This story is about a middle-aged man who was feeling very down. Everything had been going wrong for him. He had had problems at work and his wife had left him to go off with a lion tamer. So, after he had been feeling depressed for over a month, he decided to go to the doctor. He had to wait for what seemed like ages in the doctor's surgery. The man next to him was looking at his watch nervously, a woman was coughing badly and a baby was screaming. Finally, after he had been waiting for about half an hour, he was called in.

The doctor was writing a note at her desk when he came in. "Sorry, I'm just finishing something. I'm afraid we've been very busy this morning."

She then turned to the man. “So, what's the problem?" she asked.

"Well, I've been having a bit of a crisis. You know, lots of problems," replied the man. "And I've been doing a lot of work."

"Mmm, you're looking very pale." The doctor started to examine him. "Well, everything is working OK," she announced afterwards. "You have slightly high blood pressure and you're breathing quite heavily, but otherwise everything’s fine."

"So what can I do?" asked the man. "I'm going on a trip soon. I'm working in the States for three months. This time next week, I'll be arriving in New York."

The doctor thought for a while. "I think what you need is a good laugh. That would do you a lot of good. A circus is performing in town. Why don't you go to see it?

I hear there's an amazing clown who'll really make you laugh. His name's Grock."

"I am Grock," replied the man sadly.

18 Beauty

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

In 1878, when Margaret Wolfe Hungerford wrote "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder", she was stating that there was no consistent view on beauty. Standards of beauty change across time and cultural groups.

Traditions and fashions, like society itself, change and adapt with time, so it is reasonable that our ideas of beauty change as well. In 19th-century Europe, women used to wear corsets to achieve a body shape that is no longer considered healthy. Men would wear woollen shawls across their shoulders. It is hard to imagine that they would be seen as attractive in the 21st century.

Nowadays, in the Western world, one in every ten people has a tattoo or a form of body art. In the past, some cultures used tattoos as an addition to costumes, to show family associations or to mark criminals so that they could easily be recognized. In contemporary society, culture remains a major part in determining our ideas of beauty. In some countries, young women follow slimming diets to lose extra kilos in preparation for their wedding day. In other cultures, looking thin for a husband-to-be is not what a woman desires at all -- rather, looking a little overweight is considered more attractive.

With the influence of history, society and culture, there are no precise criteria which can be used to judge what is beautiful. Life-long commitment and, indeed, the survival of society itself rely on people seeing beauty in difference and depth. The human race would soon die out if we could only see beauty within a set of limited criteria. Physical beauty must also be accompanied by an attraction to something deeper within a person. This particular kind of attraction is found in a wide range of personal qualities, e.g. kindness, warmth, a healthy conscience, etc. Judging the appeal of a person's inner beauty is much more subjective. It takes more than a casual glance to appreciate and it is much more important than physical beauty.

Beauty, therefore, has more than one dimension. We are influenced by our culture, our biology and our time in history to notice physical beauty quickly and easily, but it is inner beauty that requires us to truly see. Beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder.

3 Poetry

The Night Before Christmas

Adapted and abridged

Original by Major Henry Livingstone Jr. or Clement Clarke Moore

It was the night before Christmas,

And all through the house Nothing was moving,

Not even a mouse.

The stockings had been hung With attention and care

In the hope that Santa

Soon would be there.

The children were sleeping Safe in their beds,

While vague dreams of presents Danced in their heads.

My wife, wearing a scarf,

And I, wearing a cap,

Had just settled ourselves

For a long winter nap.

And then, in an instant,

I heard on the roof

The stepping and scratching

Of each little hoof.

As I pulled in my head,

And was turning around, Down came stout Santa

In a single bound.

His oval eyes shined

And his face looked so merry! His cheeks were like roses -- His nose like a cherry!

His cute little mouth

Turned up like a bow,

And the beard and moustache Were as white as the snow; He didn't speak a word

And went straight to work. He filled all the stockings And then turned with a jerk After looking around

And scratching his nose,

He gave a nod

And up the chimney he rose He jumped into his sleigh And gave a loud whistle, And away he flew

Like the seeds of a thistle. But I heard him shout,

Before he drove out of sight,

"Merry Christmas to all,

And to all a good night."

Communication Workshop

Beauty and the Beast (1946)

A "Beauty and the Beast" was directed by Jean Cocteau. It is based on the version of the fairy tale by Madame Le Prince de Beaumont. Jean Marais is the Beast and Josette Day is Beauty.

B Beauty is one of the three daughters of a French merchant. Her sisters, Felicie and Adelaide, are nasty and treat Beauty as a servant. (1)_______, Beauty's father gets lost in the forest, but finds a strange castle, (2)_______ he enters, looking for help. The owner of the castle is an abnormal creature, half-man, half-beast, (3)______ tells the merchant-either one of his daughters replaces him as a prisoner in the castle, or he will die. Beauty offers to replace her father and be trapped in the castle. (4)_____, she discovers the Beast is not as disgusting and cruel as he seems. In fact, he is a handsome prince.

C The film deals with the theme of appearances in a very interesting and clever manner. In one vivid scene, Beauty looks in the mirror and her face is transformed into the Beast's. The film also uses some other clever special effects. (5)_____, when Beauty is walking back and forth while waiting for the Beast to visit her room, you can see a statue's head following her movements! (6) _______, the whispering furniture is as frightening as anything in modern films. The film does, (7)_______, have its drawbacks. The Beast's voice is rather strange, and the lovers flying at the end is a bit silly. (8)______, though, it must be one of the most beautiful films ever made.

(9)______ it is in black and white, the striking use of light makes it seem at times like a moving painting.

D "Beauty and the Beast" conveys a message that should be evident to all of us --- you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. (10)_____ it has neither the cute characters nor the wonderful songs of the Disney version, it speaks to people of all ages. I recommend it for the whole family.

Language Awareness 3

The Diamond

When I called on Sherlock Holmes on the second morning after Christmas, he was lying on

the sofa next to some newspapers. On a chair, there was a very dirty old hat and a magnifying glass.

"I suppose," I said, "that there is a story about that hat which will help you solve another mysterious crime."

"There's no crime," said Sherlock Holmes laughing. "Just a strange little incident. Peterson, the door attendant, found the hat. At about four o’clock in the morning, he was coming back from a party when ne saw a tau man carrying a goose. Suddenly, two thugs appeared. One pushed the man and the other thug tried to take the goose. Peterson went to protect the man, but seeing someone in uniform, he dropped the goose and ran away. All the attackers disappeared so Peterson was left with both the goose and the old hat. There was a card with the goose saying "For Mrs. Henry Baker" and the initials "H.B." inside the hat, but there are a lot of Henry Bakers in London. Peterson did not know what to do with either the hat or the goose so he brought both to, me on Christmas morning. I kept the hat and Peterson had the goose for his Christmas dinner."

"So can you find any clues about the man from this old hat?"

"What can you see, Watson?"

"Well, it is an ordinary black hat. The lining is made of red silk and there is no elastic. There is some dust on it and several spots. Someone has tried to cover all of the spots with ink. But I can't see any clues."

"Well, Watson, the hat tells us a lot about the hat's owner. He used to be quite rich but something must have happened to him, probably problems with drink. His wife no longer loves him. He is middle-aged with grey hair--- which he has had cut recently. He doesn't do much exercise and he hasn't got gas in his house."

"You must be joking Holmes. How do you know all that information?"

"Elementary, my dear Watson..."

北师大高中英语VI磁带文本材料Unit 16

Typescript

Unit 16

Warm up

1 It was a dark and foggy night. We drove and drove. At mid-night, just as we thought we were lost, we saw a light behind some trees. As we got nearer, we could see a house. It looked abandoned. We knocked on the heavy door. It opened slowly. A tall man dressed entirely in black stood there. "Good evening," he said in a slow, deep voice. "I've been expecting you."

2 We were travelling through deep space at the speed of light. Suddenly, the spaceship slowed down and immediately the system came into view- a bright star with twenty or more planets. One of these would be our new home, five light years from our own planet.

3 One of my earliest memories is of my father running along the beach with our dog, Tess. I must have been about three years old. I remember the dog jumping up on me end knocking me over into the water.

4 The man lay on the ground next to a white truck. There was no doubt. He was dead. I quickly looked in the pockets of his jacket - some money, a handkerchief and a theatre ticket with a Chicago phone number written on it. Three murders in three weeks and the victims all killed in the same way.

5 Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess. She was an only child and her father and mother, the king and queen, loved her very much. One day, an old woman came to the castle. When she saw the princess, she smiled and laughed in a strange and horrible way.

Lesson 2 Name Stories

Tapescript

Wang Jiannan: My name is Wang Jiannan and like many Chinese names, Jiannan doesn't have just one specific meaning. When my parents were looking for a name for me, they came across the character "Nan". "Nan" is a type of wood that is used to hold up the roof in the construction of traditional Chinese houses. Therefore my parents chose this character for me because they wanted me to grow up to be a "pillar of society" - someone who helps to build a better future. But, as well as having meaning from the characters that are used for writing, Chinese names can also have significance according to their sounds. In my case, Jiannan sounds like "healthy boy". Some people think it's abnormal to name a girl "healthy boy", but I don't. My parents gave me this name because they wanted me to be as strong as any boys. I guess you think that's enough significance for one name but there's more. "Jiannan" sounds like another set of characters that stand for "built in the south" and we come from the southern part of our province. So my name tells me where I am from and it tells me what to aim for!

Heather Smith: My name is Heather Smith. "Smith" is one of the most common names in Britain.

A smith is somebody who works with metal. Other family names with the same origin include Smithers and Smythe. I guess there were lots of smiths in Europe in the days when horses were the fastest form of land transport and riders counted on the services of smiths for metal horse shoes. Well there are very few of them these days and no one in my family can figure out which ancestor was a smith but I suppose we must have had one sometime in the past. My first name is easier to explain. "Heather" is a purple flower that grows a lot in certain parts of the country. My mother comes from a place in northern England where heather turns whole hills a vivid purple every July. But when she had me, she was living in London and although she was delighted to

have a new baby girl, she was also discouraged because she missed her home in northern England, and because her mother, my grandmother, was ill at that time and couldn't come to London to see us. So my mother named me Heather to remind her of home and so my grandmother would think of me every time she saw the beautiful heather covering all the hills surrounding her home. Now my mother says I look like my grandma.

Isaac Evans: My name is Isaac Evans. It's a very conventional name that doesn't stand out anywhere and you wouldn't think it had a story to it, but I believe that when you dig deep enough, every name has a story to it. "Evans" is a very common Welsh name and I'm not sure exactly what it means, only that there are many "Evans" in Wales and all around Britain. My grandfather left his farm in northern Wales to look for work when he was seventeen and he ended up in Manchester. There's a lot of industry there. He put up with a lot of hardship and suffering all his life to provide a good future for his family and I'm grateful for that. "Isaac" is a fairly common boy's name. You might think that I got called "Isaac" because my parents couldn't think of anything else to call me! But you'd be wrong. My parents are classical musicians and they named me after a famous he was a great musician and he wasn't afraid to try out new ideas in his music. I don't play a musical instrument, but I am a painter and I often listen to classical music when I paint. When I listen to Itzhak Perlman's music, it inspires me.

Tapescript

1 I guess you think that's enough significance for one name but there's more.

2 Well, there are very few of them these days and no one in my family can figure out which ancestor was a smith but I suppose we must have had one sometime in the past.

3 I believe that when you dig deep enough, every name has a story to it.

Typescript

Guo Jiangsheng: My name is Guo Jiangsheng. Jiangsheng means "born on the river", and guess what? I was born on a boat! My family lives in a small mountain village. My parents needed to travel by boat to Chongqing where my mother was going to stay in a hospital for my birth. They were still on the boat outside Chongqing when suddenly my mother started to feel some pain. Then I was born. My parents got off the boat with their new baby and then went to the hospital to see if everything was OK. The doctors and nurses were very surprised and said my mother and I were both very healthy. After that my parents decided I should be called Jiangsheng!

Tape script

Amazing But True!

One day, a fisherman on the Arral Sea was sailing home after a day's work. It was raining and he didn't feel very happy. He hadn't had a very good day and hadn't caught very many fish. Suddenly, he heard a strange noise. A cow was flying towards his boat! The cow hit the boat and nearly destroyed it. When the fisherman got back home, people didn't believe his story. Then, some time later, the US Air Force showed that the fisherman had told the truth. While one of their transport planes was flying over the Arral Sea, a cow on the plane had gone mad and the pilot had thrown it out into the sea!

Tapescript

1 When I was young I'd walk to school with my older brother.

2 I went swimming after I'd finished my homework.

3 What'd you do if you saw a cow flying down from the sky?

4 She'd never been there before and she got lost.

5 When I came to this town years ago, I'd never lived near the coast.

6 She'd always look at you strangely when you asked her a question.

Communication Workshop

Tapescript

Once upon a time, hundreds of years ago, there was a king called Orpheus and his queen, Eurydice. They loved each other very much. King Orpheus loved playing the harp and he played it beautifully.

Queen Eurydice loved nature and used to go out into the country every day. One day in spring, she went walking in the fields. After a while she felt tired. She sat down under an apple tree and soon fell asleep. While she was sleeping, the king of the fairies came past and saw her.

The king thought she was beautiful and decided to take her away with him. He took her on his horse to his palace in a beautiful green valley. When King Orpheus heard that his wife had gone, he was very sad. He had loved Eurydice so much. He didn't want to live in the place which reminded him of his queen. He left it and went to look for Eurydice. Orpheus went to live in the woods. He took only his harp with him. For months and months he searched for Eurydice. His only pleasure was his harp. When he played it, all the birds and animals in the forest would come and listen to the music.

One day, when he was in the woods, he saw a group of people. It was the king of the fairies! He followed them until they came to the palace of the king of the fairies.

Orpheus knocked on the door. He said he was a musician and he had come to play for the king of the fairies. He went into the palace and saw lots of people - among them was his wife Eurydice! He tried to speak to her, but she couldn't speak to him and she couldn't go away with him. She needed permission from the king of the fairies.

Orpheus started playing his harp. Everybody in the palace listened. "Your music is so beautiful that I will give you anything you wish," said the fairy king to Orpheus. "Thank you, my lord. I will take my wife Eurydice away with me." The fairy king gave him permission to leave the fairy palace. Then, Orpheus took Eurydice back to his kingdom and they both lived happily ever after

北师大高中英语VI磁带文本材料Unit 17

2009-08-10 20:19:34| 分类：高中英语教学资源|举报|字号订阅

Unit 17

Warm up

Tapescript

1

Man: An American politician, who is known for his awkward responses to questions, was in Britain for a meeting with other politicians. Part of the trip involved reading to children at the

British Museum. The children knew of the White House but had never had a chance to see the inside of it and were curious. Since they knew the politician had seen the inside of it, one child asked him "What's the White House like?" He responded simply, "It is white."

2

Woman: This is unbelievable!

Man: What?

Woman: I went to buy my air ticket yesterday and the people at the travel agency told me that I couldn't buy my ticket until t got my visa.

Man: What's so strange about that?

Woman: Nothing but listen to what happened next. Today, I went to the embassy and they told me that I couldn't get a visa until I showed them my air ticket.

Man: Oh my goodness!

3

Woman: I was walking down the street the other day and this man came up to me and asked me for money. He said he hadn't eaten for three days. I told him, "I wish I was as strong as you. I can never keep to a diet."

4

Woman: Well? Did you pass your driving test?

Man: No, I failed again.

Woman: You did? Oh my goodness. We'll have to get grandma to teach you.

Man: Grandma? But she's 80!

Woman: Maybe, but she passed her test the first time. I think she might also be better at parking than you, even with her thick glasses.

Man: OK, OK. I'll study harder next time.

Lesson 2

Tapescript

Interviewer: Good morning, listeners. We have with us today Dr William Fry, a psychology professor and humour researcher who has been studying the beneficial effects of humour.

Dr Fry: Good morning. The scientific world has examined humour and has found that laughter associated with happiness has an effect on most of the major body systems and functions. These effects have been acknowledged by scientists. It’s my personal belief that laughter associated with happiness is a total body activity.

Interviewer: Are the benefits of laughter any different for people of different ages?

Dr Fry: The benefits don't seem to be significantly different among adults of various ages, but studies have not been done on children.

Interviewer: Could you explain the effect of humour on stress?

Dr Fry: The relation between humour and stress is complex because stress itself is complex. Some stress is beneficial in human beings to promote their health--- even their survival. We cannot live without some environmental demands on our physical beings. If humour were to get rid of those demands, the human race would die.

Interviewer: Do they teach courses in humour for those in the medical health profession?

Dr Dry: Doctors have a difficult time using humour with patients because they don't want the patients to think they're fooling around. A doctor is a serious person in the patient's life but it is

very valuable for a doctor to be friendly and light-hearted and to show humour from time to time. In other words, doctors need to achieve a balance between being an authority figure and being a friendly human being.

Interviewer: What is a "humour campaign"? How can you start one in a hospital?

Dr Fry: There are many humour campaigns in hospitals in the US, Canada, Britain and in other countries. In the US, they can include humour rooms, humour TV channels, clowns ---some are actually hospital staff, and visitors who provide programmes to patients on a scheduled basis. Interviewer: That sounds interesting. What about other situations? How can humour help, for example, when you're stuck in a traffic jam?

Dr Fry: Here's an idea: with your doors locked, put a red nose on and look around at the people stuck alongside you. Someday, everyone will have a red nose on and a traffic jam will result in the instant appearance of 10,000 clowns!

Interviewer: How about while studying for exams? It's so easy to get stressed then.

Dr Fry: Having a laugh while you're studying is a good idea because it increases the brain's attention and you're less likely to fall asleep while studying.

Interviewer: Dr Fry, thank you again for being with us here today.

Tapescript

Girl: Hey, Nigel?

Boy: Yeah?

Girl: Have you heard the one about the two brothers and their dad's car?

Boy: Er, no, I don't think so.

Girl: Well, there are these two brothers. One's just passed his driving test and the other's a bit younger, right?

Boy: Mmm

Girl: And one weekend their parents decide to go away, to London, or somewhere like that. They make their two sons promise to look after the house, use caution and not get into trouble.

Boy: Mmm.

Girl: So, the parents go off to the airport and leave the two sons at home. The first night, the younger brother persuades the older one to go out in their dad's car. Well, they meet some friends and go out to a club. When they get back home it's about five in the morning. And then ...

Boy: Then what?

Girl: The next morning, they get up and go to the garage, and guess what.

Boy: What?

Girl: They see this enormous scratch on the back of the car. They panic. They know their dad's going to scold them and forbid them to ever use the car again, so they decide to try and get it repaired.

Boy: Yeah?

Girl: Luckily, one of their friends works in a garage, but he's busy. They promise him all kinds of things if he'll repair the car for them that afternoon. He eventually comes and does the car, just before their parents come back home. The car looks great again.

Boy: Mmm.

Girl: When their dad sees his car, he's amazed. The two brothers ask him what the matter is. "Well," he says, "the day before we went away, another car just ran straight into me. And there

was a terrible scratch, but now it's gone. I just can't believe it!"

Boy: Oh, that's awful!

Communication Workshop

Tapescript

Presenter: Tang Yuankai is a famous art critic and today we've invited him to share with us his views on one of China's most famous comedians, Hou Baolin. Known as the founder of Xiangsheng (or Chinese cross-talk), Hou Baolin had a career that lasted 60 years! Mr Tang, first, could you tell us a bit about Hou Baolin's early life?

Mr Tang: Well, Hou Baolin actually had quite a tough start in life as he was born into a very poor family. When he was 11 years old, he started learning Beijing Opera. Every day he went to the Temple of Heaven to practise singing and the other elements of Beijing Opera.

Presenter: I see. Now do you mind explaining why Hou Baolin is known as the founder of Xiangsheng? Wasn't Xiangsheng already a form of entertainment before Hou Baolin came along? Mr Tang: You're right. Xiangsheng was already a form of entertainment but it played a very minor role. After several years of hard work, Hou Baolin's Xiangsheng became incredibly popular and broke this tradition. Thanks to Hou Baolin's brilliant performances, Xiangsheng gained a great reputation and much glory, so this is why he is known as the founder of Xiangsheng. Presenter: Thank you for clearing that up. Can you tell us a little more about Hou Baolin's career? Mr Tang: Certainly! There is actually so much to tell. Hou Baolin devoted his life to Xiangsheng and to bringing laughter and happiness to audiences all over China. Besides composing and performing hundreds of well-known Xiangsheng dialogues, he also made a huge effort to train the younger generation.

Presenter: Isn't it true that many famous comedians on stage today were his students?

Mr Tang: That's correct, and he was also the Art Director of China Broadcasting Art Group and a part-time professor of Beijing University!

Presenter: Wow, he certainly led a busy life.

Mr Tang: Yes, he did. But he always made time for other people. He really loved his audience and he expressed his gratitude to them for their support many times before he died in 1993. Presenter: Well, his audience certainly loved him too, and Hou Baolin's achievements in the field of Xiangsheng will never be forgotten.

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Mary: James, please can you switch the air-conditioning off- it's freezing in here! It's colder in this room than an igloo in the Arctic!

James: Really? I hadn't noticed. When I'm reading a book, absolutely nothing can get my attention. If the house was on fire, I'd still be on my bed, reading my book!

Mary: Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm like that when I'm playing the piano. I get so into the music that my mum has to call my name a million times before I realise that she's talking to me. What are you reading?

James: A book about Napoleon. It's taking me ages to finish.

Mary: Are you enjoying it?

James: Oh, yes! Napoleon was an astonishing man. He knew everything there is to know about