课外阅读五.doc

难较难易 高三外语课外阅读系列（五） 制卷人：施浩杰 2013/10/13Part1. Enjoy some entertainment news. (1)8-year romance ends Drop a bombFaye Wong, 44, China Li Yapeng, 41, ChinaThe singer and the actor dropped a bomb when they announced on Friday that they had ended their eight-year marriage. “Our affinity and connection as husband and wife in this life has come to an end,” Wong wrote on her micro blog at around 7:30 pm, Sept 13. Li soon released a statement on his weibo page saying that all he wants is a family, but Wong is destined to be a legend. He also mentioned that their 7-year-pld daughter will live with him. (2)Li QI is new Voice of Chinapush the envelopeLi Qi, 23, China The young contestant pushed the envelope on the evening of Oct 7 and earned himself the crown of the second season of The Voice of China. After three rounds of battling, Lis excellent performance of Truth (真实) - a song by his mentor A-mei Chang - narrowly beat Zhang Hengyuan from Wang Fengs team. Besides the top four contestants, star participants from season one also showed up as special guests. Notes: 1. drop a bomb 扔下一颗炸弹，引申为公布了令人震惊的重磅消息。2. affinity fnt 姻亲关系3. be destined to do注定做某事4, legend led()nd 传奇4. push the envelope 机械或其它设备的功用极限，所以该词组引申为“突破，挑战极限”。Questions:1. Translate the underlined sentence in the first piece of news._2. Guess the meaning of the underlined words in the second piece of news.contestant _ crown _ mentor _Part2 Read the following passages within the required time and answer the corresponding questions.A (428字6 mins)“No air conditioning? How can you sleep?” my friend asks, horrified. Ive just revealed that my family has decided to turn the air conditioner off to lower our electric bill. “Nobody opens a window, day or night,” warns another friend, whose windows have been shut for a decade. “Its just not safe.” On this first night of our cost cutting adventure, its 30 degrees. Were not going to suffer, but the three kids grumble anyway. Theyve grown up in 22-degree comfort, separated from the world outside. “How do you open these windows?” my husband asks. Jiggling the metal tabs, he finally releases one. The night noises howl outside and in. “Its just too hot to sleep,” my 13-year-old daughter complains. “Im about to die from this heat,” her brother yells. “Just give it one night,” I tell them.In truth Im too tired to argue for long. My face is sweaty, but I lie quietly listening to the cricket choirs outside that remind me of childhood. The neighbors dog howls. Its been years since Ive taken the time to really listen to the night. I think about Grandma, who lived to 92 and still supervised Moms gardening until just a few weeks before she died. And then, Im back there at her house in the summer heat of my childhood. I move my pillow to the foot of Grandmas bed and angle my face towards the open window. I turn the pillow over, hunting for the cooler side. Grandma sees me thrashing. “If youll just watch for the breeze,” she says, “youll cool off and fall asleep.” Lying still, waiting, I suddenly notice the life outside the window. The bug chorus shouts, “Ajooga! Ajooga!” Neighbors outside speak in hazy words. “Keep watching for the breeze,” Grandma says softly. Three blocks away a train rumbles by. Then I hear something perhaps the rustling of leaves in the trees. Sleepy-eyed now, I focus on the curtain. It flutters “Mom, did you hear that?” my 7-year-old son suddenly said. “I think it was an owl family.” “Probably,” I tell him. “Just keep listening.” Without the air conditioner, the house is oddly peaceful, and the nights noises seem close enough to touch.I hope Im awake tonight when the first breeze sneaks in.Notes:1. horrified 惊骇的2. reveal 透露3. grumble发牢骚4. jiggling 轻摇5. tabs 插销6. choirs 合唱队7. yell 大喊，大叫8. in truth 事实上9. sweaty 出汗的 10. thrashing 翻来覆去 11. oddly 古怪地；其妙地12. flutters 飘动13. owl 猫头鹰14. rustling 叶子的瑟瑟声15. breeze 微风16. chorus 合唱团Questions: 1. 作者用词十分考究，仅表达“说”或相近意思就用了至少8个词：_、_、_、_、_、_、_、_、并且形容外界的声音时用到了动词_、_、_、和_以及名词_、_。2. Translate the following two sentences:(1) “Just give it one night,” I tell them._(2) Without the air conditioner, the house is oddly peaceful, and the nights noises seem close enough to touch._3. Why did the writer decide to turn off the air conditioner according to the passage?_ B (389字5mins)Harry was all dressed up, and I knew he was meeting his girl at the station and that they would be married 20 minutes after she arrived. Well, after two hours of waiting, he was looking pretty desperate. He showed me the telegram hed received: ARRIVE THURSDAY. MEET ME STATION. LOVE LOVE LOVE. MAY. “Well,” I asked, “why dont you phone to your home? Shes probably called.” He said: “Ive only been in town two days. We were going to meet and then drive down south where Ive got a job. She hasnt any address for me. I telegraphed her former boss. All they know is that she left her job to get married.” Harry met every train for the next few days. Of course, the railroad lines made a routine checkup and the police looked into the case. But nobody was any real help. I could see that they all figured that May had simply played a trick on him. About a week later Harry was behind the counter of Tonys magazine stand. He said: “I have to get a job somewhere, dont I?” Harry bought the stand that year and it did well for three years. Then yesterday I heard Harry shout and jump over his counter. He ran across and grabbed a girl. They kissed and hugged for a while, and then they talked. Apparently in her telegram May meant “bus station”, not “railroad station”. She had waited at the bus station for days and had spent all her money trying to find Harry. Finally she got a job typing. “What?” said Harry. “Have you been working in town all this time?” She nodded. “Well, didnt you ever come down here to the station?” He pointed across to his magazine stand. “Ive been there all the time. I own that stand. Ive watched everybody that came up the stairs.” She looked a little pale and said in a weak voice: “I never came up the stairs before. Oh, Harry!” Then she threw her arms around his neck and really began to cry. After a minute she backed away and pointed toward the north end of the station. “Harry, for three years, for three solid years, Ive been right over there working right in this very station, typing, in the office of the stationmaster(站长).”Questions:1. Why did Harry miss meeting his girlfriend at the station?_2. Translate the underlined sentence in the last paragraph but one._3. Where has the girl been working in the last three years?_Part3 Enjoy the video named BBC Wild China .(SQUAWKING呱呱地叫声) NARRATOR(解说员): The last hidden world, China. For centuries, travellers to China have told tales of magical landscapes and surprising creatures. Chinese civilization is the worlds oldest and today, its largest, with well over(大大超过) a billion people. Its home to more than 50 distinct ethnic groups and a wide range of traditional lifestyles, often in close partnership with nature. We know that China faces immense social and environmental problems. But there is great beauty here, too. China is home to the worlds highest mountains, vast deserts ranging from searing (灼热的) hot to mind-numbing (令人麻痹的) cold. Steaming forests harbouring (庇护) rare creatures. Grassy plains beneath vast horizons and rich tropical seas. Now for the first time ever, we can explore the whole of this great country, meet some of the surprising and exotic(异国的) creatures that live here and consider the relationship of the people and wildlife of China to the remarkable landscape in which they live. This is Wild China. Our exploration of China begins in the warm, subtropical (亚热带的) south. On the Li River, fishermen and birds perch(栖息) on bamboo rafts, a partnership that goes back more than a thousand years. This scenery is known throughout the world, a recurring(循环的) motif(主题) in Chinese paintings. And a major tourist attraction. The south of China is a vast area, eight times larger than the UK. Its a landscape of hills but also of water. It rains here for up to 250 days a year, and standing water (积水) is everywhere. In the floodplain(泛滥平原) of the Yangtze River, black-tailed godwits(黑尾鸡) probe（探查） the mud in search of worms. But isnt ju