外研版高中英语必修四课文文本.docx

外研版高中英语必修四课文文本.docx

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外研版高中英语必修四课文文本

Module1Reading

TheCityoftheFuture

Whatwillthecityofthefuturelooklike?

Nooneknows

forsure,andmakingpredictionsisariskybusiness.Butonethingiscertain—theyaregoingtogetbiggerbeforetheygetsmaller.Inthefuture,carefortheenvironmentwillbecomeveryimportantasearth'snaturalresourcesrunout.Wewilluselotsofrecycledmaterials,suchasplastic,aluminium,steel,glass,woodandpaper,andwewillwastefewernaturalresources.Wewillalsohavetorelymoreonalternativeenergy,suchassolarandwindpower.Allthisseemscertain,butthereareplentyofthingsaboutcitylifeinthefuturewhicharenotcertain.

Tofindoutwhatyoungpeoplethinkaboutthefutureofurbanlife,ateacheratauniversityinTexasintheUnitedStatesaskedhisstudentstothinkhowtheywouldrun

acityof50,000peopleintheyear2025.Herearesomeoftheideastheyhad:

GarbageshipsTogetridofgarbageproblems,thecitywillloadhugespaceshipswithwastematerialsandsendthemtowardsthesun,preventingIandfillandenvironmentalproblems.

BatmanNetsPolicewillarrestcriminalsbyfiringnetsinsteadofguns.

ForgetsmokingNosmokingwillbeallowedwithinafuturecity'slimits.Smokingwillbepossibleonlyoutsidecities,andoutdoors.

ForgetthemallsInthefutureallshoppingwillbedoneonline,andcatalogueswillhavevoicecommandstoplaceorders.

TelephonesforlifeEveryonewillbegivenatelephonenumberatbirththatwillneverchangenomatterwheretheylive.

RecreationAllformsofrecreation,suchascinemas,bowling,softball,concertsandothers,willbeprovidedfreeofchargebythecity.

CarsAllcarswillbepoweredbyelectricity,solarenergyorwind,anditwillbepossibletochangethecolourofcarsattheflickofaswitch.

TelesurgeryDistaneesurgerywillbecomecommonasdoctorscarryoutoperationsfromthousandsofmilesaway,witheachcityhavingitsowntelesurgeryoutpatientclinic.

HolidaysathomeSeniorcitizensandpeoplewithdisabilitieswillbeabletogoanywhereintheworldusinghigh-techcamerasattachedtotheirhead.

SpacetravelTravellinginspacebyordinarycitizenswillbecommon.Eachcitywillhaveitsownspaceport

CulturalCorner

FamousLastWords

Notallpredictionscometrue.Manyofthemarewrong,andsomeareverywrong.Herearejustafewofthebadpredictionspeoplemadeinthetwentiethcenturyaboutthetwenty-firstcentury:

AIRPLANES

"NoflyingmachinewilleverflyfromNewYorktoParis."

OrvilleWright,1908.

COMPUTERS

"Ithinkthereisaworldmarketformaybefivecomputers."

ThomasWaston,chairmanofIBM,1943.

CLOTHES

"Thirtyyearsfromnowpeoplewillbewearingclothesmadeofpaperwhich

theywillbeabletothrowawayafterwearingthemtwoorthreetimes."

ChangingTimesMagazine,1957.

MENONTHEMOON

"Withthefirstmooncoloniespredictedforthe1970's,workisnowin

progressonthetypesofbuildingrequiredformentostayinwhenthey'reonthemoon."

ArnoldB.BarachinTheChangestoCome,1962.

THEBEATLES

"Wedon'tliketheirsound,andguitarmusicisonthewayout."

DeccaRecordingCo.rejectingtheBeatles,1962.

ROBOTSINTHEHOUSE

"Bytheyear2000,housewiveswillprobablyhavearobotshapedlikeabox

NewYorkTimes,1966.

withonelargeeyeonthetop,severalarmsandhands,andlongnarrowpadsonthesideformovingabout."

KEYS

"Bythemid-1980'snoonewilleverneedtohideakey

underthedoormatagain,becausetherewon'tbeany

keys."

ComputerscientistChristopherEvans,

TheMicroMillennium,1979.

Module2Reading

GettingAroundinBeijing

youaskforareceipt.

Taxis

Taxisareonthestreets24hoursaday.Simplyraiseyour

andataxiappearsinnotime.Theyareusuallyred,and

displaythepriceperkilometreonthewindow.You

checkthecabhasabusinesspermit,andmakesure

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,isnowthe

USA'smostcongestedcity.

InEuropemostcapitalcitieswereplannedandbuiltbeforecars,andcitycentretrafficjamshavebeenpartofdailylifeforalongtime.ThesituationincentralLondon,

wheredriversspentfiftypercentoftheirtimeinqueues,becamesobadthatthelocalgovernmentdecidedtodosomethingaboutit.InFebruary2003theMayorofLondon,KenLivingstone,introduceda"congestioncharge"—ataxforcarsenteringthecentreofthecity.

Theideaissimple:

everycarcomingintothecentrehastopay5aday.Drivers£canpaythechargeatanyof10,000paypointsinthecapitalbefore10p.m.Asthecarscomeintothecentre,videocamerasrecordtheirregistrationnumbers,andthesearecheckedwithalistofdriverswhohavepaidthechargeforthatday.Peoplewhodonotpaythechargewillfaceafineof80.£

MostLondonersarenothappywiththeidea.TheyagreethatLondonhasatrafficproblem,butthecongestionchargeisexpensive,andlimitstheirfreedom...

Butdoesthecongestionchargework?

Asurveycarriedoutattheendof2003suggestsitdoes.Afteronlysixmonths,trafficcomingintocentralLondonwasreducedbyabout30percent,andjourneytimesby15percent.Morepeopleusedpublictransporttogettowork,andbicyclesweresuddenlyverypopular.What'smore,centralLondonshopsdidnotlosebusinesseventhoughtherewerefewercars.

Butthereareafewpeoplewhothinkthechargeshouldbemuchhigher,forexamplerichbusinessmenwhoworkinthecitycentreandcaneasilyaffordit.ThiswouldkeepevenmorecarsoutofcentralLondon,andtheroadswouldbenearlyempty.However,therearenoplanstoincreasethecharge.

Module3Reading

GreetingsAroundtheWorld

Ifyousaytheword"communication",mostpeoplethink

of

wordsandsentences.Althoughtheseareveryimportant,wecommunicatewithmorethanjustspokenandwrittenwords.Indeed,bodypositionsarepartofwhatwecall"bodyIanguage".WeseeexamplesofunconsciousbodyIanguageveryoften,yetthereisalso"learned"bodyIanguage,whichvariesfromculturetoculture.

Weuse"learned"bodyIanguagewhenweareintroducedtostrangers.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,itisqu