新概念Flying cats.docx

Flying catsCats never fail to fascinate human beings. They can be friendly and affectionate towards humans, but they lead mysterious lives of their own as well. They never become submissive like dogs and horses. As a result, humans have learned to respect feline independence. Most cats remain suspicious of humans all their lives. One of the things that fascinates us most about cats is the popular belief that they have nine lives. Apparently, there is a good deal of truth in this idea. A cats ability to survive falls is based on fact.Recently the New York Animal Medical Centre made a study of 132 cats over a period of five months. All these cats had one experience in common: they had fallen off high buildings, yet only eight of them died from shock or injuries. Of course, New Yorkis the ideal place for such an interesting study, because there is no shortage of tall buildings. There are plenty of high-rise windowsills to fall, from! One cat, Sabrina, fell 32 storeys, yet only suffered from a broken tooth. Cats behave like well-trained paratroopers, a doctor said. It seems that the further cats fall, the less they are likely to injure themselves. In a long drop, they reach speeds of 60 miles an hour and more. At high speeds, falling cats have time to relax. They stretch out their legs like flying squirrels. This increases their air-resistance and reduces the shock of impact when they hit the ground. New words and expressions生词和短语fascinate（1. 1）/$fisneit/v迷住，吸引住independence（1. 4）/?indipend+ns/n独立，独立性affectionate（1. 2）/+fekM+int/adj充满深情的，柔情的high-rise（1. 12）/hairaiz/adj高层的windowsill（1. 12）/wind+(?sil/n窗槛mysterious（1. 2）/misti+ri+s/adj神秘的难以理解的paratrooper（1. 13）/p$r+?tru:p+/n伞兵squirrel（1. 16）/skwir+l/n松鼠submissive（1. 3）/s+bmisiv/adj服从的，顺从的air-resistance（1. 16）/e+-rizist+ns/n空气阻力feline（1. 4）/fi:lain/adj猫的impact（1. 16）/imp$kt/n冲击力Notes on the text课文注释1 Cats never fail to fascinate human beings. 在这句话中有一个否定词 never和一个含有否定意义的动词 fail，这两个否定词就组成了双重否定，而双重否定往往用来表示肯定。这句话可以译成：“猫总能引起人们的极大兴趣。”2 be based on，在基础之上。3 have in common，有共同之处。4 the further cats fall, the less they are likely to injure themselves，猫跌落的距离越长，它们就越不会伤害自己。“the +形容词或副词比较级the +形容词或副词比较级”的结构常用来表示比较关系，往往可以译成“越越”。 be likely to是“很可能会”的意思。Summary writing摘要写作In not more than 80 words describe the study of cats made by the New York Animal Medical Centre. Do not include anything that is not in the last paragraph. Answer these questions in note form to get your points:1 How many cats did the New York Animal Medical Centre make a study of?2 What had all these cats done? 3 How many of these cats had been killed?4 What happened to a cat called Sabrina? 5 What do cats do when falling at speeds of 60 miles an hour or more?6 What effect does this have? Vocabulary词汇Give another word or phrase to replace the following words as they are used in the passage: affectionate (1. 2); as a result (1. 4); remain (1. 5); there is no shortage of (11. 11-12); behave (1. 13); injure (1. 14); increases (1. 16); reduces (1. 16).Key structures关键句型What always happens？一般现在时用于表示习惯性动作（IKS 74）（参见第2册第74课关键句型）Exercises练习A Underline all the verbs in the text that describe general truths（simple present tense）. B Give the correct form of the verbs in parentheses. Do not refer to the passage until you finish the exercise: Most cats _ _(remain)suspicious of humans all their lives. One of the things that _ (fascinate)us most about cats is the popular belief that they _ _(have) nine lives. Apparently, there _ (be) a good deal of truth in this idea. A cats ability to survive falls _ (base) on fact. Special difficulties难点 New York is the ideal place for such an interesting study, (I. 11) 形容词的位置Read these sentences:This study of cats is so interesting. Its such an interesting study. These studies of cats are so interesting. Theyre such interesting studies. They found it so difficult to study the behaviour of cats. They had such difficulty studying the behaviour of cats. Supply so, such, such a, or such an:1 The film was _ funny, we laughed all the way through it. 2 We all had _ fun at the seaside. Its a pity you werent there.3 Its _ unusual exhibition, Im sure youll enjoy it. 4 The twins are _ alike, you cant tell the difference between them.5 There was _ loud noise, everyone jumped. Multiple choice questions多项选择题 Choose the correct answers to the following questions. Comprehension理解1 We find cats endlessly fascinating because _ . awe feel there is a good deal we do not know about their lives bwe believe that cats have nine lives cthey are different from dogs and horses dthey can reach a speed of 60 miles an hour while falling2 A recent study of 132 cats in New York proved _ . athat it is true that cats have nine lives bthat cats are related to flying squirrels cthey are different from dogs and horses dthat cats falling from great heights are seldom killed3 Cats can survive great falls mainly because _ . athe further they fall, the less likely they are to injure themselves ba cats ability to survive is based on fact ca falling cat relaxes its legs and so increases its air-resistance dthey are unlikely to exceed a speed of about 60 miles an hour Structure结构4 Cats have an unfailing fascination _ most people. (1. 1)awith btocfordat 5 Cats never become submissive _ . (1. 3)aas dogs and horses bin the way that dogs and horses do cas far as dogs and horses das for dogs and horses6 _ _popularly believed that cats have nine lives. (1. 7)aThere is bIscThis isdIt is7 New York is ideal for this study because _ high-rise buildings. (11. 11-12)athere is plenty of bof the numb