外研版必修三Reading and Cultural Corner.docx

1、外研版必修三Reading and Cultural CornerModule 1 Reading Great European CitiesPARISParis is the capital and largest city of France, situated on the River Seine. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and is visited by more than eight million tourists every year. The most popular place for tour

2、ists is the Eiffel Tower, the famous symbol of Paris. One of the worlds largest art galleries, the Louvre, is also located in Paris. The city is also famous for its restaurants, cafs and theatres. About two-thirds of Frances artists and writers live in Paris.BARCELONABarcelona is the second largest

3、city of Spain and is situated on the northeast coast, about five hundred kilometres east of the Spanish capital, Madrid. One of Barcelonas most famous landmarks is the Church of the Sagrada Familia, which was designed by an architect called Antonio Gaudi. Gaudi worked on the project from 1882 until

4、his death in 1926. The church hasnt been finished yet!FLORENCEFlorence is an Italian city which became famous because of the Renaissance, a great artistic movement which began in the 1300s and lasted for three hundred years. During the Renaissance, some of the greatest painters of all time lived and

5、 worked in Florence. Many of Florences most beautiful paintings and sculptures were produced by great artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Florence is visited each year by about a million tourists who come to see the art galleries, churches and museums. The Uffizi Palace is the most f

6、amous art gallery in the city.ATHENSAthens, the capital of Greece, is known as the birthplace of western civilisation. Two thousand four hundred years ago, it was the worlds most powerful city. Buildings such as the Parthenon on the Acropolis Hill were built during this period. Greeces best writers

7、lived in ancient Athens. Their works has influenced other writers ever since.Cultural Corner The European UnionWhat Is the European Union?The European Union is an organisation of European countries. The countries are independent and are governed in different ways. In the United Kingdom, for example,

8、 the head of state is a king or queen. In France, on the other hand, the head of state is a president. But each of them sends representatives to the European Parliament, which has some control over what happens in each of the member countries.How Did It Start?The idea of the European Union began in

9、the 1950s. The first members were France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Italy. Little by little, the number increased during the second half of the twentieth century. By the year 2000, there were 15 member countries. The new countries were Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Irela

10、nd, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.How Many Countries Belong to It Now?In 2004, the European Union increased to 25 members. The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, plus the Mediterranean islands of Cyprus and Malta all became

11、 members. The expanded European Union has a population of more than half a billion people, twice as big as the population of the United States.Module 2 Reading The Human Development ReportIn the year 2000, 147 world leaders agreed to work together to reduce poverty by 2015 or earlier. From this agre

12、ement came the Human Development Report.One of the most important sections of this report is The Human Development Index. This examines the achievements of 175 countries. The index measures a countrys achievements in three ways: life expectancy (how long people usually live), education and income. T

13、he index has some surprises. Norway is at the top of the list, while the US is at number 7. The other top five countries are: Iceland (2), Sweden (3), Australia (4), the Netherlands (5). The UK is in the thirteenth position, while China is in the middle of the list. The bottom ten countries are all

14、African countries, with Sierra Leone (in West Africa) at the bottom of the list.The report describes eight development goals. The most important goals are to: reduce poverty and hunger; make sure that all children have education up to the age of 11; fight AIDS and other diseases; improve the environ

15、ment of poor people, e.g. make sure they have safe drinking water; encourage developed countries to give more help to other countries.The 2003 Human Development Report gives examples of successful development. For example, in nine years (19531962), China increased life expectancy by 13 years. In the

16、 last ten years in China, 150 million people moved out of poverty. However, the challenges are still great. Every day 799 million people in developing countries are hungry. Over half of these are in South Asia or Africa. Although more than 80% of children in developing countries go to primary school, about 115 million children are not being educated. More than 1 billion people in developing countries do not drink