外研版初三上英语原文及译文.doc

Module 1When I arrived, it was early morning and it was raining. I got out of the car, went through a gate and walked along a path. In the east, the sky was becoming light, but beside the path, it was still very dark. I knew it was there, but there was nothing to see. After about a kilometer, a stranger appeared in front of me. “Am I going the right way?” I asked. He knew where I was going. “yes,” he replied, “youll get there in five minutes.” Finally, I came to some rock, and stopped. I looked carefully over them, but it was still too dark to see anything. Suddenly, the clouds cleared and the rain stopped. The sun rose behind me and beyond the rocks. I saw that the ground fell away and down to a river, far below me. I was on the edge of the Grand Canyon, one of the wonders of the natural world.I looked down to the Colorado River about 2,000 metres below me. If you put the three tallest buildings in the world at the bottom of the canyon, they still wont reach the top. Then I looked across to the other side of the canyon. How far is it? Its 20 kilometres, maybe more. Finally, I looked to my left and to my right, and on both sides the canyon disappeared into the distance.over 400 kilometres long. The Grand Canyon is not just big. Its huge! That morning on the edge of the canyon, I asked myself a question. Its not “how deep is it? ” or “how wide is it? ”or “how long is it? ” but “Is the Grand Canyon the greatest wonder anywhere in the natural world? ” I know the answer. But what do you think?Module 2My favourite great book is the adventures of tom sawyer by mark twain. Tom lives with his aunt Polly in the quiet streets of St Petersburg, Missouri. Hes a lively and clever young boy, and he finds himself in many exciting adventures. He runs away with his two friends, Huck Finn and Joe, to an island in the middle of the Mississippi River for days. With Huck he goes looking for treasure, with Becky he gets lost in a cave, and finally, they find a box of gold. My favourite scene in the book is when everyone thinks Tom is dead. He decides to go to his own funeral. He hides and watches for a time, and then suddenly he appears. Everyone is surprised to see him but theyre also pleased to see him alive. Tom is the hero of the story, but there are other important characters. Huck is an outsider and everyone is afraid of him. Becky is pretty with fair hair, Joe is Toms best friend, and Injun Joe is the bad man of the story. The themes of the story are to do with children growing up and becoming more serious. It describes how strangers are seen in small towns of America. Finally, it talks about freedom, social rules and how people are punished for bad behaviour. Why do I think Tom Sawyer is a great book? Mark Twain wrote the story in 1876, but its still read and loved by people all over the world today. And although its only a story, Twain wrote it in the everyday English of the southern states of America in the 19th century, so it sounds very real. Today its thought to be one of the greatest books in American literature. Go on-read it! I know youll enjoy it, too.Module 3For liu Xiang, life as a sporting hero has just begun. First of all, hell be invited to competitions around the world. Hell be chosen to represent China at the Olympic Games. Hes a symbol of Chinas international sporting success. And now that hes well known all over the world, liu Xiang will also be asked to appear in advertisements and films, and even to record music. But his coach Sun Haiping is making sure that he trains regularly. Liu Xiang will be advised by his coach how to be a great sportsman, and by his manager how to be a star. Liu Xiang is not an overnight success. He was born in Shanghai on July 13, 1983 and like many Olympic sports stars, he stared training when he was very young. In Grade Four, he went to the Junior Sports School of Putuo District of Shanghai. Liu was encouraged at first to train as a high jumper. Then, in 1998,his skill at hurdling was noticed by his coach Sun Haiping. Liu Xiang was helped by a special programme. It was set up in 2001 to help young sportsmen and sportswomen. Lius races were recorded, and his performance was compared with the worlds best sports stars. Sun Haiping used the information to change Lius training programme. In 2002 he won his first international 110m hurdles event in Switzerland, and in the same year, a gold medal at the Asia Games in Korea. In 2004, Liu won the first Olympic gold medal in the same event for China in Athens, Greece. So whats next for Liu Xiang? Has he found out that theres more to life than training? Will he be encouraged to spend more time away form sport? No, Liu Xiang will go for more medals for China because he was trained for gold!Module 4Every morning my father buys a newspaper on his way to work. Every day I open my books in class and start my lessons. Every evening my mother looks through magazines at home. And every night, I look at the posters with photos of David Beckham and Yao Ming on my bedroom wall before I go to sleep. Can we imagine life without paper or print? Paper was first created about 2,000 years ago, and has been made of silk, cotton, bamboo, and, since the 19th century, of wood. People learned to write words on paper to make a book. But in those days, books could only be produced one at a time by hand. As a result, they were expensive and rare. And because there werent many books, few people learned to read. Then printing was invented in China. The first printed books were made by putting ink against a wooden block and holding the paper against it. When printing was developed greatly at the beginning of the 11th century, books could be produced more quickly and cheaply. As a result, more people learned to read. After that, knowledge and ideas spread quickly, in a way that can be compared with the introduction of the Internet in the 20th century. But will books be needed in the future? Today information can be received online, downloaded from the Internet rather than found in books, and information can be kept on CD-ROMs or machines such as MP3 players. These machines are smaller and lighter than books so that they can be carried very easily. Computers are already used in classrooms, and newspapers and magazines can already be read online. So will books be replaced by computers one day? No, I dont think the Yao Ming poster on my bedroom wall will ever be replaced by a computer two metres high!Module 5The most unusual museum in London is the Science Museum. In most museums, theres no shouting and no running, and you arent allowed to touch the exhibits. But the Science Museum is different.because its noisy! People talk about what the can see and do there, and some of the machines are noisy as well. Visiting the Science Museum is fun and its a great way to learn about science because you can work things out and try out ideas. When I visit the Science Museum, I go to the Launch Pad. This is my favourite room because you can do physics experiments. For example, if you want to fill a bag with falling sand, you have to move a kind of truck on wheels into the correct position. You can also learn how to make explosions. I also go to the Rocket Show. You can learn how we travel into space and back again. Then I go upstairs to the Human and Nature room. You can compare your speed with animals there. You hear a noise and push a button. If you arent fast enough, the lion catches you! Im faster than all my friends, but the lion still catches me. There are also rooms on transport, the environment and space technology, as well as maths, physics and chemistry. You can do a lot of things in this museum, but you have to obey some rules as well. For example, you mustnt take photos of the exhibits in the museum. But you can buy postcards of them in the museum shops. Above all, the Science Museum is free. That means you can drop in for a few minutes or you can stay as long as you like- its open every day, from 10am to 6pm. So if you ever go to London, make sure you visit the Science Museum. Its my favourite museum in the whole world.Module 6Do you try to walk or ride a bike to school?Do you buy new clothes just because they are the latest fashions?Do you open a window instead of turning on air conditioning?Do you buy things produced locally instead of made abroad?Do you take you own clot bag when shopping instead of using plastic bags?Do you sort the waste before throwing it away?We all need a healthy environment, but we produce waste every day and it does harm to our environment. Though we are young, we can still do something to help. In fact, even the simplest everyday activities can make a real difference to the environment. Here are some ideas for you. Remember these three words: reduce, reuse and recycle.Reduce Reduce means “use less”. Dont waste things. This saves money and reduces pollution and waste going into the environment. Before we buy something new, think whether it is really necessary- or maybe the old one will be just as good! When we do buy things, choose local products if possible, and try not to buy too many things from abroad. It may cost a lot of money to bring them to us.Reuse Reuse means “use again”. Use things for as long as possible. When we buy things, make sure that they last a long time. We should look after them so that they will last, and we should repair them if we can instead of throwing them away and buying new ones. Dont use a paper cup or a paper bag. Its better to use a china cup and a lunch box because you can use them again.Recycle Recycle means “change things into something else”. Although it takes energy to change something into something else, its better than throwing things away or burning them. Find out what can be recycled in your neighbourhood and take part in recycling progremmes. We should also buy products made from recycled materials, such as recycled paper, to help save trees.Questions:p45Module 7Im writing this letter to you from the centre of Australia.At the moment were staying near Uluru- thats the Aboriginal name for Ayer Rock. On the first day, we took a helicopter tour over the rock, and I was surprised at how big it was: 3.6 kilometres long and 348 metres high. The colours of the rock are fantastic, and at different times of the day, people that have lived in Australia from the earliest times, and the ancient Aboriginal storied describe the spirits that created the world. Uluru is a centre of Aboriginal culture. The Australians have many British relatives and theyre like us in many ways. Their family life is similar to ours, and they enjoy the same food and hobbies. The food and drink that most Australians like are grapes, lamb, ham and especially wine that they make in the south of the country. They love all sports, but the games that they love the most are football, cricket and rugby. Because most Australians live near the coast, they love going to the beach, swimming and surfing. Although its December, its summer over here. The sunshine is very bright, and near the coast the countryside is very green. There are lots of sheep in the fields and on the hills, but the outback is more like a desert, full of rocks and sand. Most Australians speak English, although they have some special expressions such as “good day! ” And “ no worries, mate.” They mean “hello!” and “dont worry about it. its not a problem!” The next day after we arrived at Uluru, we went on a camel ride. The camel that I rode had a bad temper, and I got very tired. Everyone else thought it was very funny that my camel kept lying down. Finally, later this evening, were taking the plane back to Sydney and coming home. Its been a fantastic trip!Module 8We were very pleased with the photo competition. Compared with other years, we received many more photos. Even though all of the photos are excellent, we cant give prizes to everyone. There are four prizes, so read on to find out who the winners are. The person who won the prize for the “Most Beautiful Nature” photography is fifteen-year-old Li Wei. Li took photos of the mountains in Xiangshang Park. The park isnt far from his home, about 500 metres, and he knows it very well. The photo which we liked best in the “Historic China” group was taken by Zhao Min. Zhao is only 12 years old. Her photo is of Tiananmen Square, the largest public square in the world. Its 880 metres from north to south and 500 metres wide at the northern end. Her photo shows the size and beauty of the square perfectly. The best photo in the “Music” category was taken by He Zhong. His photo of his this years best band Crazy Feet shows the singer, Becky Wang, and the band playing at a concert in Shenzhen. He Zhong manages to show the movement and the sounds of this great new band, and the fun which their fans are having. A collection of photos called the “Many Faces of Our City” which features Beijing won the prize for the “Most Unusual” category. Three pupils at the same school worked on this entry. It includes photos of different parts of the city, old and new. It successfully shows the rich culture which makes Beijing so famous. Congratulations to our winners and thanks to everyone who entered the competition. We are very luck that the famous photographer John William is in China to talk about his new book. Ha has agreed to present the prizes at the prize giving ceremony at the end of this month.Module 9 cartoon heroesNemo, a cute orange-and white fish, and Sherk, a huge green monster have won the hearts of young people in China and all over the world. The heroes of popular cartoons are everywhere, on office desks, handbags, and computer screens. But there are some cartoon favourites which are older. The cartoon of the Monkey King has just had its 40th birthday. Called Havoc in Heaven, it tells the story of a monkey who leads a group of monkeys against the rule of the Emperor in heaven. But it is above all the jokes played by the monkey that people remember. “Havoc in Heaven” has become a common expression used by a parent or a boss when they return to the house or office and see a mess. Another favourite who has celebrated an important birthday in China is a reporter with red hair and a small white dog. Tintin has been popular for 75 years, ever since Belgian cartoonist Herge invented the character in 1929. His books have been translated into more than 50 languages, and about 200 million copies have been sold. In December 1984 the whole series of Tintin began to be published in china. Many Chinese still keep collections of these black-and-white Tintin books. There are several fan clubs in China which have held birthday parties for Tintin in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Wuhan.Finally, Snoopy, Charlie Browns lovable dog who lives in his own private dream world, also had his 50th birthday celebrated by Chinas Snoopy fans in 2000. I didnt draw the cartoons only for children. Adults who have experienced life understand them better, said the late Charles Schultz, creator of Snoopy and the Peanuts cartoons.Module 10Jamie Oliver is a young cook who wants to improve school dinners. In 2005 he went back to see what the children were eating.1.-Jamie asked the children what their meals were like. “we have hamburgers and chips, or pizza,” they told him, “and sometimes there is fruit, but we prefer ice cream.” Jamie thought the menu was terrible. The children were eating junk food, and it was a problem. Junk food isnt just bad for the body. Children whose midday meals were unhealthy were difficult to teach in the afternoon. Teachers said that children behaved very badly after lunch.2.-When Jamie took vegetables into class, the children didnt know what they were. Jamie realized that the children didnt know about healthy food. Then he talked to the people who worked in the kitchens. He found out that they didnt know enough about food and health, and they didnt have very much money to spend.3.-He decided to teach the cooks and the children about healthy food. It was hard work! He cooked healthy meals for them including meat, rice, pasta and vegetables, but a lot of the teenagers refused to eat the new food. Jamie showed them why the junk food wasnt healthy. In the end, when Jamie persuaded them to try his cooking, they liked it!4.-Jamie talked to the government. He told them they needed to ban junk food form schools, train the cooks, educate the children and spend more money on school dinners. A lot of parents, teachers and children agreed with him, and a TV programme showed his visits to the school. Jamie is a cook whose ideas are changing school dinners all over Britain.Module 11 Visions of the cityJo is 15 and lives in Parkville. When Jos grandparents first came to Parkville 50 years ago, it was a quiet country village in the centre of the country. At that time, they had a small house on the edge of town, with some fields and the hills in the distance.But Parkville was close to a big city, Arnwick, with about 200,000 people. People from the countryside began to arrive in Arnwick to find jobs and have a better life. And of course they needed somewhere to live. However, it was expensive to live in the centre of Arnwick, so the city government decided to build flats around the edge of the city. And soon Parkville became a suburb of Arnwick. It now has over a million people. Jos family live in one of those new flats theres no room for small houses any more. The small local school in Parkville closed down five years ago. Jo goes to a school close to the centre of Arnwick, with 2000 pupils. No one knows all their names.Jo takes an hour to get to school, and