上海新世纪英语高二全部课文

上海新世纪英语高二全部课文 包括上海新世纪英语高二全部课文 包括 Additional Reading 及重点词组 及重点词组 高二第一学期高二第一学期 1 Food in the United States Many changes are taking place in food styles in the United States The United States is traditionally famous for its very solid and unchanging diet chiefly made up of meat and potatoes Now people in America have many different choices ethnic food health food and fast food in addition to the traditional home cooked meal Ethnic restaurants and supermarkets are common in the United States Being a country of immigrants the United States enjoys a wide variety of ethnic food Most American cities and towns are filled with restaurants serving international cooking Many even have ethnic sections Chinatown Little Italy or Germantown Having vast ethnic choices Americans can enjoy food from all over the world Besides sections of cities there are ethnic regions which are well known for certain food because of the people who have settled there For example in southern California there are many Mexican restaurants Health food became popular when people began to think more seriously about their physical well being Health food is fresh natural and unprocessed food which does not contain preservatives to make it last longer or chemicals to make it taste or look better People who are keen on health food are usually vegetarians They don t eat meat but live on beans cheese and eggs Fast food restaurants are now expanding rapidly all over the country In the United States speed is a very important concept People usually have a short lunch break because they just do not want to waste their time eating Fast food restaurants are places that take care of hundreds of people in a short time There is usually very little waiting and the food is always cheap Burger and pizza places are just two examples Americans attitude toward food is changing too The traditional big breakfast is no longer popular However coming to rediscover the social importance of food Americans find that dinner with family and friends is a very special of enjoying time together Like so many people in other cultures many Americans are taking time to relax and enjoy a wider variety of tastes at dinner even if they still rush through lunch at a hamburger stand 2 The world s best ethnic food How can you travel the world without leaving your own country Visit an ethnic restaurant Trying foods from other countries is a great way to experience different cultures People around the world have unique and creative ways of preparing food The ingredients they use may surprise you So what are the world s best ethnic foods Everyone has his or her own personal favourites and so do we The following are the world s three best ethnic foods other than Chinese food of course ITALIAN When you visit an Italian restaurant order a pasta 意大利面食 dish The Italians have hundreds of ways of preparing this food Pastas usually come with flavourful tomato or cream sauces which give the dishes a powerful rich flavour There are also different kinds of cheese When ordering Italian food you choose one main dish for yourself You may however order an appetizer to share with everyone at the table MEXICAN What s great about Mexican food Most of it you can pick up and eat with your hands One major Mexican food is the tortilla 尤指墨西哥人食用的玉米薄饼 Mexican chefs mold this corn or flour based material into round flat shapes The tortilla then gets filled with ingredients such as cheese meat sour cream beans and other vegetables Tortilla dishes can be fried baked or toasted Don t forget to add hot sauce Mexican food is great with a bit of spice INDIAN India is the land of curries and strong flavours You can smell a good Indian restaurant even before you walk through the door The eating method of Indian food also takes a bit of getting used to Peal off some flat fried bread and use this spoon to get food from a shared dish You can finish the meal with Indian style milk tea While Chinese food is great try something new and expand your horizons After all variety is the spice of life 3 The global drink Tea the global drink is consumed around the world more than any other drink except water Originating in China tea has long established itself as the national drink of this country the nation with the biggest population on earth A century before the birth of Christ tea was described in Chinese texts as a health drink that made one live longer Tea is still being regarded as such Scientific studies have suggested that drinking five cups of tea a day can be compared to having two servings of vegetables Both green and black teas are claimed to be effective for preventing cancer heart disease and many other deadly disease There is only one point people need to be aware of when they drink tea it should not be drunk along with meals This is because an element contained in tea can interfere with the body s absorption of iron Tea a popular drink in China and many other countries is carefully prepared according to local customs The Chinese put loose tea in teapots add boiling water and serve it in teacups The strong tea from China s Fujian Province is drunk in tiny cups before dinner Lighter teas with jasmine rose or other flowers are special to China s Changjiang River regions These are usually served after dinner to help digestion In England people use teabags and mugs Many English people travelling away from home feel at a loss if their favourite teabags are not available Afternoon tea in England is still a time honoured tradition It s a good opportunity for people to socialize or discuss business matters though now more young people prefer a cola In Japan a tea ceremony is often held while people are drinking tea The ceremony usually held in a teahouse dates back to the sixteenth century Guests follow strict rules set up then and the tea used is a powdered green tea Though still practised today the tea ceremony may not be as popular as it used to be Young Japanese tend to favour other drinks 4 Coffee When coffee was first introduced in Europe in the 1600s there was a great deal of controversy about it Many doctors said that coffee was a strong poison and should be forbidden Others however insisted it was good to drink coffee Then coffee houses sprang up everywhere Today coffee has become a global drink and it is consumed by one third of the world s population Tests show that when coffee is given in large doses to animals it can actually act as a poison Coffee can also produce negative or even poisonous effects on small children But for adults who drink it moderately it is by no means a poison Coffee contains caffeine Most people believed that it is the caffeine that produces all the effects that coffee has on the body Of course the other elements in coffee have a role to play Here are some of the things that happen when people drink coffee The smell of coffee itself produces stimulating effects in various parts of the body The blood vessels 血管 in the brain open wider so that the flow is improved and this removes some of the poisonous substances from the brain Coffee increases the pulse rate 脉搏 which means it stimulates the heart and the muscles can thus work harder Coffee makes the stomach work more actively which is worthwhile for healthy people especially when drunk after a heavy meal Coffee actually produces different effects on the body at different times of the day The morning coffee for instance helps the body get rid of waste products produced during the night Coffee after lunch helps digestion Afternoon coffee acts on the muscles and helps us feel less tired And coffee taken in the evening seems to stimulate the mind and the imagination However there always two sides to everything Caffeine is stimulating so a lot of people avoid drinking coffee at night which is the time when people want to go to bed instead of feeling stimulated Furthermore some people get hooked on coffee because of the caffeine and that has always been considered negative 5 The Mexican Adapted from The Mexican Jack London Rivera was determined to help his people at the cost of his life he fought against stronger and tougher boxers in the ring to make money for his people He often lost at the beginning but he grew more experienced One day he was engaged in a very tough fight against a champion boxer Danny Rivera didn t match Danny in height weight or skills And he was not half as popular However The winner takes all And Rivera stubbornly asked for all all he had on his mind was making the money for his people The fight was going on and on The whole stadium was cheering for Danny there were few on Rivera s side However Rivera survived on blow after another his excellent defence was frightening Danny rushed forcing Rivera to give him a clinch Was it a trick Rivera thought to himself Yes it was But Rivera was smart enough to avoid it He backed and circled away He pretended to clinch with Danny s next rush Instead at the last instant just as their bodies should have come together Rivera went quickly back He had fooled him While Rivera was dancing away Danny kept challenging him openly Having run after him for two rounds Danny found the boy not even daring to come near him He started to throw all caution to the winds Rivera was struck again and again He took blows by the dozen just to avoid the deadly clinch In the seventeenth round Rivera blown heavily bent down His hands dropped helplessly Danny thought it was his chance the boy was at his mercy He decided to strike the deadly blow But before he could do that Rivera caught him off his guard and hit him in the mouth Danny went down When he rose Rivera gave him another blow on the neck and jaw He repeated this three times Danny did not rise again The audience shouted for him to stand up But the miracle did not happen Count Rivera cried to the referee When the count was finished Danny gathered up by his assistants was carried to his corner Who wins Rivera demanded Unwillingly the referee caught his gloved hand and held it high up Rivera unattended walked to his corner where his assistants had not yet placed his stool He didn t care All he could remember was that he had got the 5000 he needed The winner takes all What mattered to him was that his people could use the money to buy guns 6 Pele Pele was born in Brazil in 1940 Like many other Brazilian kids Pele loved football and often played the game in the streets He also went to school and did odd jobs to help bring in money for the family However what he loved best was to play football in the streets or practise kicking the ball with his father also a great football player Pele gained the attention of some coaches first in the neighbourhood contests and later as he led his team to win the junior league tournament two years in a row At the age of fourteen Pele was playing for one of the first professional football teams in Brazil As Pele became the most popular game everywhere in the world except for North America What had begun as a British sport became the favourite sport of people all around the world Football became a truly international sport Pele was in the Brazilian team in the World Cup matches of 1958 Before 1958 the Brazilian ream had failed in the finals three times in a row Some sports writers said the Brazilians though gifted had no discipline In the 1958 finals against Sweden Pele kicked the winning goal and he returned home a hero However he never forgot his poor fellow men Pele owned dozens of apartment houses in which he often allowed poor families to live without paying rent He bought his mother the home he had promised her when he signed his first professional contract But the most exciting moment of all was in 1969 when Pele scored his thousandth goal As football fans stormed onto the field and reporters begged for a speech all he said was Remember the poor children Today Pele is one of the most famous athletes in the world He retired in 1975 however soon after that he decided to play for three years with the New York team He could not resist the challenge of trying to make football popular in the United States one of the few countries in the world where football had not become the national sport In 1977 Pele retired for good at the age of thirteen seven 7 The Olympics The Olympics are the most important international competition in terms of scale skills and number of athletes The games are divided into two parts the Summer Games and the Winter Games The two parts are held in such a way that there are two years in between but four years before one is repeated The Olympics were first celebrated in 776 BC in Olympia Greece and were held every four years until 393 AD Then they were brought to an end by the Roman emperor It was not until the 1890s that the world saw the modern summer games In 1896 the first modern Summer Olympics were held in Greece because that was where the tradition started After that the Olympics would move to a different city every four years In 1924 the Winter Olympics were added to the schedule The Games were to take place in a separate colder place The event was cancelled during World War and World War for reasons known to all Examples of modern Summer Olympic events are track and field events ball games diving gymnastics swimming Typical Winter Olympic events are skating and skiing The Olympic records are the world ones An Olympic gold medal carries as much weight as or even more than any other gold medal won at other international competitions The skills and determination demonstrated at the Olympics have come to stand for the peak of human physical strength and will power It was not until the late twentieth century that Chinese athletes began to amaze the world with their excellent performance at the Olympics Coming out number one many times in the Olympic events Chinese athletes have brought home one gold medal after another in swimming diving gymnastics weight lifting and a number of ball games At the turn of the twenty first century the world witnesses Beijing being selected by the International Olympic Committee IOC as the host city for the 2008 Olympics This has added a brilliant touch to the picture of modern Chinese sport history Though once marked as the Weaklings of East Asia the Chinese have always been looking forward to achieving the dream of becoming a sports giant After continuous efforts for years the dream is gradually coming true and it is understandable why the Chinese let out cries of joy the night Beijing s bid to host the 2008 Olympics was approved 8 Stars from the south The summer of 2001 saw Australians win the Cycling Tour de France beat the world at cricket 板球 and rugby and have a player in the final of the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament for the eighteenth time Many countries would be amazed at that kind of success For Australia it was just a typical sporting summer At the 2000 Olympics Australia came fourth in the medals table That does not sound so great yet Australia has a population of only 19 million There are more Olympic medal winners per head of population in Australia than in any other country What is it that makes Australians a sporting people This is a question that many people involved in sports have asked themselves over the years Some of the answers are simple Sport needs space Australians have 7 4 million square kilometres of space to play sports in many other countries are either too crowded or too small to encourage everybody to take part Besides that Australia is a warm dry country This encourages people to go outdoors to enjoy themselves Furthermore since 85 per cent of Australians live near the sea they learn water sports early and since sharks swim off the coasts of Australia they also learn to swim very fast However it is not just the environment The Australian government invests heavily in sports Instead of just looking for the gifted people and training them the emphasis is on trying to get everyone to join in So Australia has a small population but a large number of sports loving people to choose from Other reasons go deep into the history and culture of the country When the British first found Australia they decided that it would be a great place to send criminals to Life for the first Australians was very tough so they had to be independent and develop a will to win just to survive Yet they also had to be able to trust each other and be willing to help each other out In order countries coaches train people in mental toughness and team building In Australia these qualities are part of the general social environment Being far away from Europe also meant that Australians were far away from the centres of Western arts and cultures As a result sport itself has become a way of cultural expression and part of the Australian nationality An English football fan wants to see the national team do well but really cares more about his local club For an Australian representing the nation is the most important thing of all Everything else is just good practice Being good at sports is part of what it means to be an Australian 9 Why did I quit hunting Why did I quit hunting Well it isn t a long story but I wonder if you will really understand I used to be crazy about the hunting season I could hardly wait for those dry cold mornings that cup of hot coffee and then the walk over fresh fallen snow a fine rifle 步枪 in my hand There s a thrill in hunting an excitement that comes over you when a deer crashes out of the bush You are waiting for him with death After hunting you also feel great There s the bit of showing off with the boys the fine head of the deer hung high up on the wall sure there s a thrill in all of it There s beauty in the woods too especially late in the fall Sometimes you walk among the huge trees where the sunlight filters through It s quiet and big with touches of white and green and gold And the silence is like that of a church It was like that the last time I was in the woods I was alone packing a rifle a thermos