高级中学课本学习知识高级中学英语必修5.doc

.* Unit 1 Great scientists Reading JOHN SNOW DEFEATS “KING CHOLERA” John Snow was a well-known doctor in London-so famous,indeed,that he attended Queen Victoria to ease the birth of her babies.But he became inspired when he thought about helping ordinary people exposed to cholera.This was the most deadly disease of its day.Neither its cause,nor its cure was understood.So many thousands of terrified people died every time there was an outbreak.John Snow wanted to use his knowledge to help solve this problem.He knew it would hever be controlled until its cause was found. He got interested in two theories explaining how cholera killed people.The first suggested that cholera multiplied in the air without reason.A cloud of dangerous gas would float around until it found its victims.The second suggested that people absorbed this disease into their bodies with their meals.From the stomach the disease attacked the body quickly and soon the affected person was dead. He believed in the second theory but needed to prove he was correct.So when another outbreak hit London in 1854,John Snow was ready to test these two theories.As the disease spread quickly through the poor neighbourhoods,John Snow began to gather the information.He found that in two particular streets,the cholera outbreak was so severe that more than 500 people had died in 10 days.He determined to find out why.He marked on a map where all the dead people had lived.Here it is:The map gave a valuable clue about the cause of the disease.Many of the deaths were near the water pump in Broad Street(especially numbers 16,37,38 and 40 Broad Street).John Snow also saw that some houses(such as 20 and 21 Broad Street and 8 and 9 Cambridge Street)had had no deaths.He discovered that these families worked in the pub at 7 Cambridge Street.They were given free beer and so had not drunk the water from the Broad Street pump.It seemed the water was to blame. Next,John Snow looked into the source of the water for these two streets.He found that it came from the river,which had been polluted by the dirty water from London.Immediately John Snow told the astonished people in Broad Street to remove the handle from the water pump so it could not be used.Soon the disease began to slow down. John Snow had shown that cholera was spread by germs and not in a cloud of gas.In addition,he found two other deaths in another part of London that were linked to the Broad Street outbreak.A woman,who had moved away from Broad Street,liked the water so much that she had had it delivered from the pump to her house every day,Both she and her daughter,who often visited her,died of cholera after drinking the water.With this extra evidence,John Snow was able to announce with certainty that polluted water carried the disease. To prevent this from happening again,John Snow suggested that the source of all water supplies be examined and new methods of dealing with polluted water be found.The water companies were also instructed not to expose people to polluted water anymore,Finally“King Cholera”was defeated. Unit 1 Great scientists Reading and writing COPERNICUS’REVOLUTIONARY THEORY Nicolaus Copernicus was frightened and his mind was confused.AIthough he had tried to ignore them,all his mathematical calculations led to the same conclusion:that the earth was not the centre of the solar system.Only if you put the sun there did the movements of the other planets in the sky make sense.Yet he could not tell anyone about his theory as the powerful Christian Church would have punished him for even suggesting such an idea.They believed God had made the world and for that reason the earth was special and must be the centre of the solar system. The problem arose because astronomers had noticed that some planets in the sky seemed to stop,move backward and then go forward in a loop.Others appeared brighter at times and less bright at others.This was very strange if the earth was the centre of the solar system and all planets went round it. Copernicus had thought long and hard about these problems and tried to find an answer.He had collected observations of the stars and used all his mathematical knowledge to explain them.But only his new theory could do that.So between 1510 and 1514 he worked on it,gradually improving his theory until he felt it was complete. In 1514 he showed it privately to his friends.The changes he made to the old theory were revolutionary.He placed a fixed sun at the centre of the solar system with the planets going round it and only the moon still going round the earth.He also suggested that the earth was spinning as it went round the sun and this explained changes in the movement of the planets and in the brightness of the stars.His friends were enthusiastic and encouraged him to publish his ideas,but Copernicus was cautious.He did not want to be attacked by Christian Church,so he only published it as he lay dying in 1543. Certainly he was right to be careful.The Christian Church rejected his theory,saying it was against God’s idea and people who supported if would be attacked.Yet Copernicu’s theory is now the base on which all our ideas of the universe are built.His theory replaced the Christian idea of gravity,which said things fell to earth because Good created the earth as the centre of the universe.Copernicus showed this was obviously wrong.Now people can see that there is a direct link between his theory and the work of Isaac Newton,Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. Unit 2 The United Kingdom Reading PUZZLES IN GEOGRAPHY There is no need to debate any more why different words are used to describe the four countries:England,Wales,Scotland and Northern Ireland.You can easily clarify and problems if you study British history. First there was England.Wales was linked to England in the 13th century AD.Now when people refer to England you find Wales included as well. Great Britain was the name given when England and Wales were joined to Scotland.It happened in 1603 when King James of Scotland became King of England and Wales as well,To their surprise,the three countries found themselves united peacefully instead of by war.However,just as they were going to get Ireland connected to form the United Kingdom,the southern part of that country broke away to form its own government.So only Northern Ireland joined with England,Wales and Scotland to become the United Kingdom and this was shown to the world in a new flag called the Union Jack. Although the four countries do work together in some areas (for example,in international relations)they are still very different.For example,Northern Ireland,England and Scotland have developed different educational and legal systems as well as different football teams for competitions like the World Cup! England is the largest of the four countries and for convenience it is divided roughly into three ones.The zone nearest France is called the South of England,the middle zone is called the Midlands,and the one nearest to Scotland is known as the North.You find most of the population settled in the South,but most of the large industrial cities in the Midlands and North of Englan.Aithough many of the cities are not as large as those in China,they have famous football teams and some even have two.However,these industrial cities built in the 19th century do not have the historical attractions of other places.For those you have to go to older but smaller towns first built by the Romans.There you will find out more about British history and culture. The greatest historical treasure of all is London with its museums,art collections,theatres,parks and buildings.It has the oldest port built by the Romans in the lst century AD,the oldest building begun by the Anglo-Saxons in the 1060s and the oldest castle constructed by later Norman rulers in 1066.But London has been influenced only by some invaders of England.The first invaders,the Romans ,left their towns and roads.The second,the Anglo-Saxons,left their language and their government.The thid,the Vikings,influenced the vocabulary and place-names of the North,and the fourh,the Normans,left castles and words for food.If you look around the British countryside,you will find evidence of all these invaders.You must keep your eyes open if you are going to make your trip to the United Kingdom worthwhile! Unit 2 The United Kingdom Reading SIGHTSEEING IN LONDON Worried about the time available,Zhang Pingyu had made a list of the sites she wanted to see in London.Her first delight was going to the Tower,It was built long ago by the Norman invaders of AD1066 .Fancy!This solid stone,square tower had remained standing for one thousand years.Although the buildings had expanded around it,it remained part of a royal palace and prison combined.To her great surprise.Zhang Pingyu found the Queen’s jewels guarded rby special royal soldiers who,on special occasions,still wore the four hundred-year-old uniform of the time of Queen Elizabeth I. There followed St Paul’s Cathedral built after the terrible fire of London in 1666.It looked splendid when first built!Westminster Abbey,too,was very interesting.It contained statues in memory of dead poets and writers,such as Shakespeare.Then just as she came out of the abbey,Pingyu heard the famous sound of the clock,Big Ben, ringing out the hour.She finished the day by looking at the outside of Buckingham palace,the Queen’s house in London.Oh,she had so much to tell her friends! The second day the girl visited Greenwich and saw its old ships and famous clock that sets the world time.What interested her most was the longitude line.It is an imaginary line dividing the eastern and western havles of the world and is very useful for navigation.It passes through Greenwich,so Pingyu had a photo taken standing on either side of the line. The last day she visited Karl Marx’s statue in Highgate Cemetery.It seemed strange that the man who had developed communism should have lived and died in London Not only that,but he had worked in the famous reading room of the Library of the British Museum.Sadly the library had moved from its original place into another building and the old reading room was gone.But she was thrilled by so many wonderful treasures from different cultures displayed in the museum.When she saw many visitors enjoying looking at the beautiful old Chinese pots and other objects on show,she felt very proud of her country. The next day pingyu was leaving London for Windsor Castle.“Perhaps I will see the Queen?”she wondered as she fell asleep. Unit 3 Life in the future Reading FIRST IMPRESSIONS Sept 15 2005 Dear Mum and Dad, I still cannot believe that I am taking up my prize that was won last year.I have to constantly rub my eyes to remind myself that I have travelled to the year AD3005.Worried about the journey,I was unsettled for the first few days,As a result,I suffered from“time lag”.This is similar to the“jet lag”you get when flying,but instead it means you keep getting flashbacks from your previous time period.So I felt very nervous and uncertam at first.My friend and guide,Wang ping,was very understanding and gave me some green,tablets,which helped a lot.well-known for their expertise,his parents’company named“Future Tours”transported me safely into the future in a time capsule. The six of us were called to the capsule together and climbed in through the round opening.The seats were comfortable and after a calming drink which made us sleepy,our eyes closed.The capsule shook as we lay relaxed by our dreams.Sounds came from below our feet as we rose slowly from the ground,swinging gently.A few minutes later the journey was completed and we had arrived.I was still on the earth but one thousand years in the future.What would I find? Confused by the new surroundings,I was hit by the lack of fresh air.My head ached.The air seemed thin as though its combination of gases had little oxygen left.Just then Wang Ping appeared and solved the problem,“put on this mask,”he advised.“It will make you feel much better.”He handed it to me and immediately hurried me through to a small room nearby for me to rest.I felt better in no time.Soon I was back on my feet again and followed him to collect a hovering carriage driven by computer.These hovering carriages float above the ground and by bending and pressing down on the driving stick strongly one can move swiftly.It took me only a few minutes to master the idea and soon I could fly as fast as wang ping.I got lost when we reached what looked like a large market because of the people flying by in all directions.There were so many carriages that I lost sight of Wang Ping.He was swept up into the centre of them and my link with him was broken as I was carried up to the top of a high building nearby.Just at that moment I had a“time lag”flashback.I saw the area again as it had been in the year AD 2005.I realized I had been transported into the future but was still in my own hometown.Just then I caught sight of Wang Ping and flew after him. Arriving home,he showed me into a large bright,clean room.It had a green wall,a brown floor and soft lighting.Then the wall moved-there were trees!I found later that their leaves provided the house with much-needed oxygen.Wang Ping’s mother appeared,flashed a switch on a computer screen,and a table and chairs rose from under the floor as if by magic.“Why not sit down and rest?”she said.“My name is Li Mengxi,Wang Ping’s mother.You may find it difficult as this is your first time travel trip.Just relax as there is plenty of oxygen heer.Tomorrow you will be feady for some visits organized by the company.”Spreading some food on the table,she produced a bed from the floor.Exhausted,I slid into bed and fell fast asleep.More news soon from your loving son,Li Qiang Unit 3 Life in the future I HAVE SEEN AMAZING THINGS My first visit was to a space station considered the most modern in this part of space.Described as an enormous round plate.it spins slowly in space to imitate the pull of the earth’s gravity.Inside,it is divided into zones with extraordinarily different atmospheres and gravities.Here the alien creatures live while they work with human space scientists searching for new worlds.So you can imagine how exciting that is! The friendliest creatures are the mu-mu,a family from the Pleiades group of stars.They see in the dark so they live in an area without light of any kind.If you go here,you must wear red nightlinghts on your helmets so that you can see,but the mu-mu won’t be disturbed.They have assisted in the discovery of planets round the fourth star in the Pleiades system.Next yeat the World Space Agency will send a spaceship to examine this star and its planets. The most interesting creatures are the ting dimpods from a galaxy near NGC6240.They skip around the pipes and between the wooden walls of the space station.They require the same atmosphere as humans and ar