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最新外研版高中英语必修四课文文本
Module1Reading
TheCityoftheFuture
Whatwillthecity
ofthefuturelooklike?
Nooneknowsforsure,andmakingpredictionsisariskybusiness.Butonethingiscertain—theyaregoingtogetbiggerbeforetheygetsmaller.Inthefuture,carefortheenvironmentwillbecomeveryimportantasearth'snaturalresourcesrunout.Wewilluselotsofrecycledmaterials,suchasplastic,aluminium,steel,glass,woodandpaper,andwewillwastefewernaturalresources.Wewillalsohavetorelymoreonalternativeenergy,suchassolarandwindpower.Allthisseemscertain,butthereareplentyofthingsaboutcitylifeinthefuturewhicharenotcertain.
Tofindoutwhatyoungpeoplethinkaboutthefutureofurbanlife,ateacheratauniversityinTexasintheUnitedStatesaskedhisstudentstothinkhowtheywouldrunacityof50,000peopleintheyear2025.Herearesomeoftheideastheyhad:
GarbageshipsTogetridofgarbageproblems,thecitywillloadhugespaceshipswithwastematerialsandsendthemtowardsthesun,preventinglandfillandenvironmentalproblems.
BatmanNetsPolicewillarrestcriminalsbyfiringnetsinsteadofguns.
ForgetsmokingNosmokingwillbeallowedwithinafuturecity'slimits.Smokingwillbepossibleonlyoutsidecities,andoutdoors.
ForgetthemallsInthefutureallshoppingwillbedoneonline,andcatalogueswillhavevoicecommandstoplaceorders.
TelephonesforlifeEveryonewillbegivenatelephonenumberatbirththatwillneverchangenomatterwheretheylive.
RecreationAllformsofrecreation,suchascinemas,bowling,softball,concertsandothers,willbeprovidedfreeofchargebythecity.
CarsAllcarswillbepoweredbyelectricity,solarenergyorwind,anditwillbepossibletochangethecolourofcarsattheflickofaswitch.
TelesurgeryDistancesurgerywillbecomecommonasdoctorscarryoutoperationsfromthousandsofmilesaway,witheachcityhavingitsowntelesurgeryoutpatientclinic.
HolidaysathomeSeniorcitizensandpeoplewithdisabilitieswillbeabletogoanywhereintheworldusinghigh-techcamerasattachedtotheirhead.
SpacetravelTravellinginspacebyordinarycitizenswillbecommon.Eachcitywillhaveitsownspaceport.
CulturalCorner
FamousLastWords
Notallpredictionscometrue.Manyofthemarewrong,andsomeareverywrong.Herearejustafewofthebadpredictionspeoplemadeinthetwentiethcenturyaboutthetwenty-firstcentury:
AIRPLANES
"NoflyingmachinewilleverflyfromNewYorktoParis."
OrvilleWright,1908.
COMPUTERS
"Ithinkthereisaworldmarketformaybefivecomputers."
ThomasWaston,chairmanofIBM,1943.
CLOTHES
"Thirtyyearsfromnowpeoplewillbewearingclothesmadeofpaperwhichtheywillbeabletothrowawayafterwearingthemtwoorthreetimes."
ChangingTimesMagazine,1957.
MENONTHEMOON
"Withthefirstmooncoloniespredictedforthe1970's,workisnowinprogressonthetypesofbuildingrequiredformentostayinwhenthey'reonthemoon."
ArnoldB.BarachinTheChangestoCome,1962.
THEBEATLES
"Wedon'tliketheirsound,andguitarmusicisonthewayout."
DeccaRecordingCo.rejectingtheBeatles,1962.
ROBOTSINTHEHOUSE
"Bytheyear2000,housewiveswillprobablyhavearobotshapedlikeaboxwithonelargeeyeonthetop,severalarmsandhands,andlongnarrowpadsonthesideformovingabout."
NewYorkTimes,1966.
KEYS
"Bythemid-1980'snoonewilleverneedtohideakeyunderthedoormatagain,becausetherewon'tbeanykeys."
ComputerscientistChristopherEvans,
TheMicroMillennium,1979.
Module2Reading
GettingAroundinBeijing
Taxis
Taxisareonthestreets24hoursaday.Simplyraiseyourhand,andataxiappearsinnotime.Theyareusuallyred,andtheydisplaythepriceperkilometreonthewindow.Youshouldcheckthecabhasabusinesspermit,andmakesureyouaskforareceipt.
Busesandtrolleybuses
PublictransportprovidesacheapwaytogetaroundinBeijing.Thereare20,000busesandtrolleybusesinBeijing,buttheycangetverycrowded.It'sagoodideatoavoidpublictransportduringtherushhour(6:
30a.m.–8:
00a.m.and5:
00p.m.–6:
30p.m.).Faresarecheap,startingat1yuan.Air-conditionedbusescostmore.
Busesnumbered1to100arelimitedtotravelwithinthecitycentre.Highernumbershavedestinationsinthesuburbs.Touristsshouldn'tmissthe103buswhichoffersoneofthemostimpressiveroutes,pasttheForbiddenCityandtheWhitePagodainBeihaiPark.Ifyougetonadouble-deckerbus,makesureyousitupstairs.You'llhaveagoodviewoftherapidlychangingcity.
Mostbusesrunfromabout5:
00a.m.tomidnight.However,thereisalsoanightbusservice,providedbybuseswithanumberinthe200s.
Minibuses
Minibuseswithseatsfor12passengersofferanalternativetoexpensivetaxisandcrowdedpublictransportinsomeareas.Theyrunregularservicesandfollowthesameroutesaslargepublicbuses.Andinaminibusyoualwaysgetaseateveninrushhours.
Underground
TherearefourundergroundlinesinBeijing,andseverallinesareunderconstruction.Trainsarefastandconvenient,butrushhourscanbeterrible.Aone-waytripcosts3yuan.Stationnamesaremarkedinpinyin.Theundergroundisopenfrom5:
00a.m.to11:
00p.m.
Pedicabs
Touristslikethesehuman-pedalled"tricycletaxis",buttheycanbeexpensive.Youshouldtalktothedriver,andmakesureyouknowthepricebeforeyoubeginthejourney,forexample,ifitisperperson,singleorreturn.Tricyclesareworthusingifyouwanttoexplorethenarrowalleys(hutong)ofoldBeijing.
CulturalCorner
TheLondonCongestionCharge
Beijingisn'ttheonlycitywithtrafficproblems.Youcangetstuckinatrafficjamanywhereintheworld.Theworstproblemsoccurincitieswhicharegrowingfast,suchasSaoPaoloinBrazilandLagosinNigeria.ButevencitiesindevelopedcountriessuchastheUSsuffer.LosAngeles,whichwasbuiltwiththemotorcarinmind,andisfamousforitssix-lanehighways,isnowtheUSA'smostcongestedcity.
InEuropemostcapitalcitieswereplannedandbuiltbeforecars,andcitycentretrafficjamshavebeenpartofdailylifeforalongtime.ThesituationincentralLondon,wheredriversspentfiftypercentoftheirtimeinqueues,becamesobadthatthelocalgovernmentdecidedtodosomethingaboutit.InFebruary2003theMayorofLondon,KenLivingstone,introduceda"congestioncharge"—ataxforcarsenteringthecentreofthecity.
Theideaissimple:
everycarcomingintothecentrehastopay£5aday.Driverscanpaythechargeatanyof10,000paypointsinthecapitalbefore10p.m.Asthecarscomeintothecentre,videocamerasrecordtheirregistrationnumbers,andthesearecheckedwithalistofdriverswhohavepaidthechargeforthatday.Peoplewhodonotpaythechargewillfaceafineof£80.
MostLondonersarenothappywiththeidea.TheyagreethatLondonhasatrafficproblem,butthecongestionchargeisexpensive,andlimitstheirfreedom...
Butdoesthecongestionchargework?
Asurveycarriedoutattheendof2003suggestsitdoes.Afteronlysixmonths,trafficcomingintocentralLondonwasreducedbyabout30percent,andjourneytimesby15percent.Morepeopleusedpublictransporttogettowork,andbicyclesweresuddenlyverypopular.What'smore,centralLondonshopsdidnotlosebusinesseventhoughtherewerefewercars.
Butthereareafewpeoplewhothinkthechargeshouldbemuchhigher,forexamplerichbusinessmenwhoworkinthecitycentreandcaneasilyaffordit.ThiswouldkeepevenmorecarsoutofcentralLondon,andtheroadswouldbenearlyempty.However,therearenoplanstoincreasethecharge.
Module3Reading
GreetingsAroundtheWorld
Ifyousaytheword"communication",mostpeoplethinkofwordsandsentences.Althoughtheseareveryimportant,wecommunicatewithmorethanjustspokenandwrittenwords.Indeed,bodypositionsarepartofwhatwecall"bodylanguage".Weseeexamplesofunconsciousbodylanguageveryoften,yetthereisalso"learned"bodylanguage,whichvariesfromculturetoculture.
Weuse"learned"bodylanguagewhenweareintroducedtostrangers.Likeotheranimals,weareonguarduntilweknowitissafetorelax.Soeveryculturehasdevelopedaformalwaytogreetstrangers,toshowthemwearenotaggressive.Traditionally,EuropeansandAmericansshakehands.Theydothiswiththerighthand—thestrongesthandformostpeople.Ifourrighthandisbusygreetingsomeone,itcannotbeholdingaweapon.Sothegestureissaying,"Itrustyou.Look,I'mnotcarryingathreateningweapon."Ifyoushakehandswithsomeone,youshowyoutrustthem.Weshakehandswhenwemakeadeal.Itmeans,"Weagreeandwetrusteachother."
GreetingsinAsiancountriesdonotinvolvetouchingtheotherperson,buttheyalwaysinvolvethehands.TraditionallyinChina,whenwegreetsomeone,weputtherighthandovertheleftandbowslightly.Muslimsgivea"salaam",wheretheytouchtheirheart,mouthandforehead.Hindusjointheirhandsandbowtheirheadsinrespect.Inalloftheseexamples,thehandsarebusywiththegreetingandcannotholdaweapon.
Eventoday,whensomepeoplehaveveryinformalstylesofgreeting,theystillusetheirhandsasagestureoftrust.Americanyouthsoftengreeteachotherwiththeexpression,"Givemefive!
"Onepersonthenholdsuphishand,palmoutwardsandfivefingersspread.Theotherpersonraiseshishandandslapstheother'sopenhandabovetheheadina"highfive".Nowadays,itisquiteacommongreeting.
Bodylanguageisfascinatingforanyonetostudy.Peoplegiveawaymuchmorebytheirgesturesthanbytheirwords.Lookatyourfriendsandfamilya