人教版必修2课文及翻译.docx

1、人教版必修2课文及翻译必修二课文及翻译Unit 1In search of the amber roomFrederick William I, the king of Prussia, could never have imagined that this greatest gift to the Russia people would have such an amazing history. This gift was the Amber Room, which was given this name because several tons of amber were used to

2、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. In fact, the room was not ma

3、de 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 amber 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

4、of the Czars winter palace in St Petersburg. About four meters long, the room served as a small reception hall for important visitors. 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 more details to it. In 1770 t

5、he 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. In September 1941, the Nazi army was near St Petersburg. This was a time

6、when the two countries were at war. Before the Nazi cold get to the summer palace, the Russians were able to remove some furniture and small art objects from the Amber Room. However, some of the Nazi secretly stole the room itself. In less than two days 100,000 pieces were put inside twenty-seven wo

7、oden 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 Baltic Sea. After that, what happened to the Amber Room remains a mystery. Recently, the Russians and Germans have built a new Amber Room at the summer palace. By studyin

8、g 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.Unit 2An interview Pausanias, who was a Greek writer about 2000 years ago, has come on a magical journey

9、 on March 18th, 2007 to find out about the present-day Olympic Games. He is now interviewing Li Yan, a volunteer for the 2008 Olympic Games.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 ou

10、t about the present-day Olympic Games because I know that in 2004 they were held in my hometown. 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 d

11、o you hold your Games?L: Every four years. There are two main sets of Games- the Winter and the 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

12、 event will be admitted as competitors. They may come from anywhere in the world.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 ne

13、ed snow and ice. Thats why they are called the Winter Olympics. It is 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 the athletes are invited from all over the world. Do you mean the Greek world? Our Gre

14、ek cities used to compete against each other just for the honour of winning. No other countries could join in, nor could salves or women!L: Nowadays any countries can take part if their athletes are good enough. There are over 250 sports and each one has its own standard. Women are not only allowed,

15、 but play a very important role in gymnastics, athletics, team sports andP: 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, sever

16、al stadiums for competitions, and a gymnasium as well.P: That 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

17、host the Olympics as to win Olympic medals. The 2008 Olympics will be held in Beijing, China. Did you know that?P: Oh yes! You must be 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

18、the stadiums will be built to the east of London. New medals will be designed of course andP: Did you say medals? So even the olive wreath 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

19、 the motto of the Olympics, you know-“Swifter, Higher and Stronger.”P: Well, thats good news. How interesting! Thank you so much for your time.The story of Atlanta Atlanta was a Greek princess. She was very beautiful and could run faster than any man in Greece. But she was not allowed to run and win

20、 glory for herself in the Olympic Games. She was so angry that she said to her father that she would not marry anyone who could not run faster than her. Her father said that she must marry, so Atlanta mad a bargain with him. She said to him, “These are my rules. When a man says he wants to marry me,

21、 I will run against him. If he cannot run as fast as me, he will be killed. No one will be pardoned.” Many kings and princes wanted to marry Atlanta, but when they heard of her rules they knew it was hopeless. So many of them sadly went home, but others stayed to run the race. There was a man called

22、 Hippomenes who amazed when he heard of Atlantas rules, “Why are these men so foolish?” he thought. “Why will they let themselves be killed because they cannot run as fast as this princess?” However, when he saw Atlanta come out of her house to run, Hippomenes changed his mind. “I will marry Atlanta

23、or die!” he said. The race started and although the men ran very fast, Atlanta ran faster. As Hippomenes watched he thought, “How can I run as fast as Atlanta?” He went to ask the Greek Goddess of Love for help. She promised to help him and gave him three golden apples. She said, “Throw an apple in

24、front of Atlanta when she is running past. When she stops to pick it up, you will be able to run past her and win.” Hippomenes took the apples and went to the King. He said, “I want to marry Atlanta.” The King was sad to see another man die, but Hippomenes said, “I will marry heror die!” So the race

25、 began.Unit 3Who am I Over time I have been changed quite a lot. I began 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. Afte

26、r I was programmed by an operator who used cards with holes, I could “think” 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

27、 could be made to work as a “universal machine” to solve any difficult mathematical 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 w

28、ent by, I was made smaller. First as a PC(personal computer) and then as a laptop, I have been used in offices and homes since the 1970s. 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 c

29、hanged my shape. As I have grown 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 th

30、e early 1960s they gave me a family connected by a network. I was able to share my knowledge with others through the World Wide Web. Since 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 in robots and used

31、 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 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 rac

32、e!Andy- the android My first football competition was in Nagoya, Japan several years ago. Last year our team went to Seattle, Washington in the USA. We won second place. Personally, I think the team that won first place cheated. They had developed a new type of program just before the competition. S

33、o we need to encourage our programmer to improve our intelligence too. We are determined to create an even better system. In a way our programmer is like our coach. She programs us with all the possible moves she has seen while watching human games. Then she prepares reliable moves to use if a new sit