1、Town and Country Life in EnglandThere is a big difference between town life and country life in England. In the country, everybody knows everybody else. They know what time you get up, what time you go to bed and what you have for dinner. If you want help, you will always get it and you will be glad
2、 to help others.In a large town like London, however, it can sometimes happen that you have never seen your next door neighbor and you do not know his name or anything about him. People in London are often very lonely. This is because people go to different places in the evenings and at weekends. If
3、 you walk through the streets in the centre of London on Sunday, it is like a town without people. One is sorry for old people living on their own. They could die in their homes and would not be discovered for weeks or even months. A Change in Womens LifeThe important change in womens life-pattern h
4、as only recently begun to have its full effect on womens economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity, and most of them took a full-time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school-leaving age i
5、s sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards return to full-time or part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marria
6、ge, with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfactions of family life and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money, and running the home, according to the abilities and interests of each of them.Useful Words and Expressions:1. life-pattern 生活方式2.
7、 shareA Popular Pastime of the English PeopleOne of the best means of understanding the people of any nation is watching what the do with their non-working time.Most English men, women and children love growing things, especially flowers. Visitors to England in spring, summer or autumn are likely to
8、 see gardens all they way along the railway lines. There are flowers at the airports and flowers in factory grounds, as well as in gardens along the roads. Each English town has at least one park with beautifully kept flower beds. Public buildings of every kind have brilliant window boxes and someti
9、mes baskets of flowers are hanging on them.But what the English enjoy most is growing things themselves. If it is impossible to have a garden, then a window box or something growing in a pot will do. Looking at each others gardens is a popular pastime with the English. Useful Words and Expressions:1
10、. window box:窗台上的花盆箱2.pastime 消遣，娱乐Swimming is my favorite pastime.British and American Police OfficersReal policemen, both in Britain and the U.S., hardly recognize any common points between their lives and what they se on TVif they ever get home in time. Some things are almost the same, of course,
11、 but the policemen do not think much of them much of them. The first difference is that a policemans real life deals with the law. Most of what he learns is the law. He has to know actually what actions are against the law and what facts can be used to prove them in court. He has to know nearly as m
12、uch law as a lawyer, and whats more, he has to put it into practice on his feet, in the dark and, running down a narrow street after someone he wants to talk to.Little of his time is spent in talking with beautiful girls or in bravely facing cruel criminals. He will spend most of his working life ar
13、ranging millions of words on thousands of forms about hundreds of sad, ordinary people who are guilty- or not of stupid, unimportant crimes.Useful Words and Expressions:1. think much of 重视，尊重2. in court 在法庭上3. criminal 罪犯，犯罪者4. guilty 犯罪的，有罪的Living SpaceHow much living space does a person need? What
14、 happens when his space needs are not met? Scientists are doing experiments on rats to try to determine the effects of overcrowded conditions on man. Recent studies have shown that the behavior of rats is greatly affected by space. If rats have enough living space, they eat well, sleep well and prod
15、uce their young well. But if their living conditions become too crowded, their behavior and even their health change obviously. They can not sleep and eat well, and signs of fear and worry become clear. The more crowded they are, and more they tend to bite each other and even kill each other. Thus,
16、for rats, populations and violence are directly related. Is this a natural law for human society as well? Is enough space not only satisfactory, but necessary for human survival? These are interesting questions.The United NationsIn 1945, representatives of 50 nations met to plan this organization. I
17、t was called the United Nations. After the war, many more nations joined.There are two major parts of the United Nations. One is called the General Assembly. In the General Assembly, every member nation is represented and has an equal vote.The second part is called the Security Council. It has repre
18、sentatives of just 15 nations. Five nations are permanent members: the United States, Russia, France, Britain, and China. The 10 other members are elected every two years by the General Assembly.The major job of the Security Council is to keep peace in the world. If necessary, it can send troops fro
19、m member nations to try to stop little wars before they turn into big ones.It is hard to get the nations of the Security Council to agree on when this is necessary. But they did vote to try to stop wars.Useful Words and Expressions:1. representative 代表2. General Assembly 联合国大会3. permanent 永久的，持久的4.
20、Security Council 联合国安全理事会PlasticWe use plastic wrap to protect our foods. We put our garbage in plastic bags or plastic cans. We sit on plastic chairs, play with plastic toys, drink from plastic cups, and wash our hair with shampoo from plastic bottles!Plastic does not grow in nature. It is made by
21、mixing certain things together. We call it a produced or manufactured material. Plastic was first made in the 1860s from plants, such as wood and cotton. That plastic was soft and burned easily.The first modern plastics were made in the 1930s. Most clear plastic starts out as thick, black oil. That
22、plastic coating inside a pan begins as natural gas.Over the years, hundreds of different plastics have been developed. Some are hard and strong. Some are soft and bendable. Some are clear. Some are many-colored. There is a plastic for almost every need. Scientists continue to experiment with plastic
23、s. They hope to find even ways to use them!Display of GoodsAre supermarkets designed to persuade us to buy more?Fresh fruit and vegetables are displayed near supermarket entrances. This gives the impression that only healthy food is sold in the shop. Basic foods that everyone buys, like sugar and te
24、a, are not put near each other. They are kept in different aisles so customers are taken past other attractive foods before they find what they want. In this way, shoppers are encouraged to buy products that they do not really need. Sweets are often placed at childrens eye level at the checkout. Whi
25、le parents are waiting to pay, children reach for the sweets and put them in the trolley.More is bought from a fifteen-foot display of one type of product than from a ten-foot one. Customers also buy more when shelves are full than when they are half empty. They do not like to buy from shelves with
26、few products on them because they feel there is something wrong with those products that are there.Useful Words and Expressions:1. aisle 走廊，过道2. trolley 手推车3. checkout 收款台Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879, His father owned a factory that made electrical devices. His mother e
27、njoyed music and books. His parents were Jewish but they did not observe many of the religions rules. Albert was a quite child who spent much of his time alone. He was slow to talk and had difficulty learning to read. When Albert was five years old, his father gave him a compass. The child was fille
28、d with wonder when he discovered that the compass needle always pointed in the same directionto be north. He asked his father and his uncle what caused the needle to move. Their answers about magnetism and gravity were difficult for the boy to understand. Yet he spent a lot of time thinking about th
29、em. He said later that he felt something hidden had to be behind things.Useful expressions and words:1. device 装置，设备leave to ones own devices 听任某人自行其是，允许某人按自己的意愿做事She left the child to her own devices for an hour in the afternoon.她允许孩子在下午有一个小时的自由支配时间。2. compass 指南针beyond ones compass 某人力所不及catch/fet
30、ch/take a compass 兜圈子，绕道，拐弯抹角keep sth within compass 把某种事物限制在适当的范围内speak within compass 谨慎小心地说within sbs compass 某人力所能及的within the compass of 在范围内3.magnetism 磁力Private CarsWith the increase in the general standard of living, some ordinary Chinese families begin to afford a car. Yet opinions of the d
31、evelopment of a private car vary from person to person.It gives a much greater degree of comfort and mobility. The owner of a car is no longer forced to reply on public transport, and hence no irritation caused by waiting for buses or taxis. However, others strongly object to developing private cars
32、. They maintain that as more and more cars are produced and run in the street, a large volume of poisonous gas will be given off, polluting the atmosphere and causing actual harm to the health of people.Whether private cars should be developed in Chicago is a difficult question to answer, yet the de
33、sire for the comfort and independence a private car can bring will not be eliminated. A Henpecked Husband and His WifeThere was once a large, fat woman who had a small, thin husband. He had a job in a big company and was given his weekly wages every Friday evening. As soon as he got home on Fridays,
34、 his wife used to make him give her all his money, and then she used to give him back only enough to buy his lunch in his company every day.One day, the small man came home very excited. He hurried into the living-room. His wife was listening to the radio and eating chocolates there.“You will never
35、guess what happened to me to day, dear.” he said.He waited for a few seconds and then added, “I won ten thousand dollars on the lottery!”“That is wonderful! ” said his wife delightedly. But then she pulled a long face and added angrily, “But how could you afford to buy the ticket?”Useful Words and E
36、xpressions:1. henpecked 怕老婆的，妻管严的2. lottery 彩票a great lottery 虚无缥缈的事3. pull a long face 拉下脸来have a face to say that 脸皮厚得竟能讲出这种话A Young Mans PromiseOne day, a young man was writing a letter to his girlfriend who lived just a few miles away in a nearby town. He was telling her how much he loved her an
37、d how wonderful he thought she was. The more he wrote the more poetic he became. Finally he said that in order to be with her, he would suffer the greatest difficulties, he would face the greatest dangers that anyone couldnt imagine. In fact, to spend only one minute with her, he would swim across t
38、he widest river, he would enter the deepest forest, and he would fight against the fiercest animals with his bare hands.He finished the letter, signed his name and then suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to mention something quite important. So, in a postscript below his name, he added:“By th
39、e way, Ill be over to see you on Wednesday night, if it doesnt rain.”A Kind NeighborMr. and Mrs. Jones apartment was full of luggage, packages, furniture and boxes. Both of them were very busy when they heard the doorbell ring. Mrs. Jones went to open it and she saw a middle-aged lady outside. The l
40、ady said she lived next door. Mrs. Jones invited her to come in and apologized because there was no place for her to sit. “Oh, thats OK.” said the lady. “I just come to welcome to your new home. As you know, in some parts of this city, neighbors are not friendly at all. They are some apartment house
41、s where people dont know any of their neighbors, not even the ones next door. But in this building, everyone is very friendly with everyone else. We are a big happy family. I am sure you will be very happy here.” Mr. and Mrs. Jones said, “But madam, we are not new dwellers in this apartment. Weve li
42、ved here for two years. We are moving out tomorrow.”That Isnt Our FaultMr. and Mrs. Williams got married when he was twenty-three, and she was twenty. Twenty-five years later, they had a big party, and a photographer came and took some photographs of them.Then the photographer gave Mrs. Williams a c
43、ard and said, “Theyll be ready next Wednesday. You can get them from studio.”“No,” Mrs. Williams said, “please send them to us.”The photographs arrived a week later, but Mrs. Williams was not happy when she saw them. She got into her car and drove to the photographers studio. She went inside and sai
44、d angrily, “You took some photographs of me and my husband last week, but Im not going to pay for them.”“Oh, why not?” the photographer asked.“Because my husband looks like a monkey,” Mrs. Williams said.“Well,” the photographer answered, “that isnt our fault. Why didnt you think of that before you m
45、arried him?”A Guides AnswerIn 1861, the Civil War started in the United States between the Northern and the Southern states. The war continued with great bitterness until 1865, when the Northerners were victorious. However, even today, many Southerners have not forgotten their defeat, or forgiven th
46、e Northerners.A few years ago, a party of American tourists were going round one of the battlefields of the Civil War with a guide who came from one of the Southern states. At each place, the guide told the tourists stirring stories about how a few Southern soldiers had conquered powerful forces of
47、Northerners there.At last, one of the tourists, a lady who came from the North, stopped the guide and said to him, “ But surely that the Northern army must have won at least one victory in the Civil War?”“Not as long as Im the guide here, madam,” answered the Southern guide. A Qualified PilotThe cap
48、tain of a small ship had to go along a rocky coast, but he was unfamiliar with it, so he tried to find a qualified pilot to guide him. He went ashore in one of the small ports, and a local fisherman pretended that he was a pilot because he needed some money. The captain took him on board and asked h
49、im where to steer the ship.After half an hour, the captain began to suspect that the fisherman did not really know what he was doing and where he was going.“Are you sure you are a qualified pilot?” he asked.“Oh, yes,” answered the fisherman. “I know every rock on this part of the coast.”Suddenly there was a terrible crash from under the ship. At once the fisherman added, “And thats one of them.”Living Things ReactYou and all organisms live an environment. An environment is made up of everything that surrounds an organism. It can include the air, the water, t
