上海牛津英语高二上第一学期全部课文

S2A

Chapter1

eadingMyfavoritesport

kiingismyfavoritesport,eventhoughIhaveonlyskiedforfourdaysin

mywholelife.Lastyear,myfatherpromisedtotakemeonaholidayifI

didwellinmyexams.WhenIgotstraightA’s,Dadsaid’‘HowaboutaweekendattheBotanicalGardens?’

However,mymusaid,‘No,youpromisedaspecialholiday.Ithinkyououghttokeepyourword.’And,despitetheexpense,hedid,

Mydreamwastoseesomerealsnow,sointheChristmasvacationwe

flewtoSeoul,SouthKorea,andthentookashuttlebuswhichrunsback

andforthbetweenSeoulandMujuResort.Asthebusclimbedthrough

themountains,wesawthesnowinthetrees.Iwasdyingtogetoutofthebus.

Nooneinmyfamilyhadevertouchedsnowbefore.Wewerealllike

littlechildren---wepickeditup,madesnowballs,andthrewthemateachother!

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Thenwecheckedinatthehotel.Ourroomoverlookedoneoftheski

slopes.Theslopewasfloodlit,sowewatchedpeopleskiinguntil10p.m.Wecouldnotwaittotryitourselves.

Thenextdaywehadourfirstskiinglesson.Werentedourskisuits,boots

adskis,andwentoutsideontothesnow.Wearingskisforthefirsttime

makesyoufeelverystrange.Suddenlyyoufindyoucannotevenwalk.

Ourinstructortookusontoagentleslope,andshowedussomebasic

skills.Inordertodoupahill,youhavetostandsideways,andgoupstep

bystep.Youmustpointthetipsofyourskistogethersothatyoucanstop.

However,thetipsmustnotcross,oryouwillfall.Youshouldnotski

aloneincaseyoufallandgetinjured.Tobehonest,thatfirstlessonwasnotagreatsuccess,andIkeptfallingdown!

However,thenextdayIdefinitelyimproved.Ionlyfelloverafewtimes,

andImanagedtodoafewlongerruns.Ifeltpleasedwithmyself,andthe

instructorcongratulatedme,soIfeltgreat.Althoughitwasverycold,I

spentmostofthatholidayskiing.Itwasthemostwonderfultimeofmylife.

Nevertheless,itwasallovertoosoon.NowIhavedecidedtowork

part-timethissummer,soIcanearnenoughmoneyforanothersuperskiingholiday.

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MorereadingFaster,Higher,Stronger

TheOlympicGameshavealonghistory.ThefirstmodernGameswere

heldinAthens,Greecein1896.Everyfouryears,athleticsfromallover

theworldcompeteinvarioussportsattheGames.Thelargestgroupparticipatesinathletics.

‘Athletics’referstosportsinfourareas:track,field,roadandcombined

events.Trackevents,suchasrunningandhurdling,testaperson’sspeed.

Inordertowinatrackevent,apersonneedstogofasterthaneveryone

else.Fieldevents,however,testhowhighorfarsomeonecanjumpin

eventssuchasthelongjumporhighjump.Theyalsotesthowfar

someonecanthrowineventssuchastheshot-put,discusorjavelin.The

marathonandracewalksareroadevents.Theytestendurance.In

combinedevents,athletesarerequiredtocompeteinaseriesof

competitionfromeachcategory.Themostfamouscombinedeventisthe

decathlon.Thedecathloninvolvestendifferentathleticseventsthattake

placeovertwodays.Sincethedecathloninvolvestendifferentathletics

eventsthattakeplaceovertwodays.Sincethedecathlontestsall-around

physicalability,thewinnerofthedecathlonisoftencalled‘theworld‘sgreatestathlete.’

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AlthoughallOlympicsportsareequalinimportance,athleticsis,inmany

ways,thebestpictureoftheOlympicmotto‘Faster,Higher,Stronger”

Thedesireofhumanitytodobetter---torunfaster,tosoarhigherandtopushfarther---iswhattheOlympicsareallabout.

Chapter2

ReadingTutorialcentres

elpful

havebeenstudyingatatutorialcentrefortwoyears.Thefeesarevery

reasonable,andmycommandofEnglishhasimprovedgreatlysinceIstarted.

Mytutorsareallqualifiedteachers.Theyaresincereandkind.Ihavebeenhelpedalotbythem.

OneofmyteacherswasBritish.Atfirst,Icouldnotsayanythingtoher.

owever,laterIlearnthowtocommunicateinEnglishwithawesterner.

thinkthatthetutorialcentrehasgivenmealotofconfidenceinusingEnglish.

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Igotosleep

Ihavebeenattendingatutorialcentrefortwomonths.Ihavebeenforcedtoattendbymyparents,butIdonotthinkitisusefulforme.

Iamalwaysverytiredafterschool.SometimesIevensleepduringtheclassesintheevening.

Furthermore,theteachersareveryboring.Theygiveusalotof

supplementaryexercisesbuttheyteachusnothing.Iusuallyreadcomics

duringclass.SometimesIgotoavideoarcadeinstead.Ithinktutorialcentresareuseless

Wasteofmoney

Ihavestudiedatatutorialcentreforoneyear.However,IthinkthatIhavebeencheated.

Thesetutorialcentresareonlyinterestedinmakingmoney,sotheyaccept

toomanystudentsforeachclass.However,theydonotwanttopayfor

goodteachers.MyEnglishteacherwasauniversitystudentwhostudiedphysics,notEnglish!

Veryoften,hecouldnotanswerourquestionsabouttheuseofthelanguage.

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Inmyopinion,itisbettertospendmoretimeonschoolworkthantowastemoneyata‘money-making’tutorialcentre.

Goodandbad

Ihaveexperiencedbothgoodandbadtutorialcentres.

Inmyfirstcentre,Iwasinaverybigclass.MyteacherwasanAustralian.

Hejusttalkedabouthistravels.Icouldlearnnothingfromhim.Ileftwithinamonth.

ThenIaskallmyfriendsfortheiradvice.Asaresultoftheirrecommendations,Ienrolledonacourseatanothercentre.

Theteachersareexcellenthereandtheclassesaresmall.Wehavebeen

taughtmanygoodtechniquesfordevelopingourlanguageandstudyingskills.

Therearebothgoodandbadtutorialcentres,soyoumustdosomedetectiveworkbeforeyouenroll.

However,themostimportantthingiswhetheryouarewillingtolearnandtoworkhard.Thekeyfactorisyourself.

MorereadingIndependentlearning

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Independentlearningisonesolutionforthosewhowanttocontinuetheir

education,nuthavenotimeforit.Itisoftendescribedas‘aclasso

becauseyouworkalone.Youstudyatyourownpace,atatimeandplace

convenientforyou.Thesecoursescanhelpyougetadegree,helpyourcareer,orhelpyoulearnwhatinterestsyou.

Onetypeofindependentlearningisthecorrespondencecourse,Ina

correspondencecourse,aschoolsendsyoutextbooks,studyguides,and

materialssuchasvideoandaudiodiscs.Youcommunicatewithyour

teacherbymail.Yourteacherreadsyourpapersandmakescomments,

Yourmarksarerecordedbytheschoolbeforetheyaremailedbacktoyou.

Anewerstyleofindependentlearningise-learning.Withe-learning,you

studyusingcomputersoftwareortheInternet.Youcanlearnonyourown,

oryoucanenrollonacourse.Usually,inane-learningcourse,students

communicatewiththeirteachersthroughe-mail.However,somestudents

havebeenusingvideorecently.Thisallowstheteacherandthestudentstoseeandcommunicatewitheachotheratthesametime.

Independentlearninggivesyouthefreedomtoadaptyourlearningto

yourlifestyle.However,itrequiresself-disciplineandhardwork,sonot

everyoneissuccessfulatit.Thosewhoaresuccessfulreceivearealsenseofachievementandsatisfaction.

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Chapter3

ReadingFashion

Mytopicis‘Fashion’.Fashionisimportanttoalmostallofus.Byfashion,

weusuallymeanpopulartrendsinstylesofdress.Whenwedooutortoa

party,weusuallyliketowearfashionableclothes.Toillustratemytalk,Ihavebroughtalongfiveobjects.

Myfirstobjectisthisblouse.Itlooksbeautiful,doesn’tit?It’smymost

expensivepieceofclothing,andIloveit.Itcostme$200.Itmayseem

veryextravagant,butIcouldafforditwithmyownsavings.Itwasn’t

easyformetoearnthemoney,butwhenbuyingclothes,Ithinkthemore

youspendthebetterthequality.Soyousee,fashionisquiteimportanttome.

However,I’mnotaskeenonfashionasmybrotherGary.Lastsummer,

hewonafreetriptoLondoninacontest.Theorganizerswantedtoshow

himsomefamoussights.Buthedidn’tappreciateoldbuildings.Hejust

spentallhistimesearchingforthecoolestpairoftrainers!Forhim,

fashionwasmoreimportantthanculture.Thesearethetrainershebought.

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WasitworthatriptoLondontobuythese?Well,Idon’tthinkso.Itwasawasteoftimeandmoney.

Fashionisverybigbusiness.Changesinfashioncancreateorruinjobs.

Asanexample,Ihavebroughtthisblondewigtoshowyou.Itbelongsto

oneofmymum’sfriends.Inthe1960s,thesewereveryfashionable.But

afewyearslaterfashionschanged,andwomenworewigsmuchless

often.Manywigfactoriescloseddown,andhundredsofworkerslosttheirjobs,whichwasterrible!

Fashioncanaffectthenaturalworld,aswell.I’mholdinganoldhat

borrowedfromadramacompany.It’smadeofbeaverfur.Thesehats

wereveryfashionableabout200yearsago.Asaresult,beaversalmost

becameextinct.Luckily,inthe1850s,thesehatswentoutofstyleandthebeaversweresaved.

Finally,weshouldrememberthesaying,’neverjudgeabookbyits

cover.’Clotheswillnotmakeusmoreorlessclever,betterorworse,

moreorlesshonest.IoncesawamovieaboutMotherTeresa.Shespent

allherlifehelpingpoorpeopleinIndia,mostofwhomweredying.In

1979,shewasawardedtheNobelPrizeforPeace.Whensheflewtoget

theaward,sheworethesameoldclothesasusual,andcarriedallher

possessionsinalittlebaglikethis,whichIboughtinamarket.Thisremindsusthatfashionisnotthemostimportantthinginlife.

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Thankyou.

MorereadingUniformfashiongoodforyoungstudents

SchooluniformsarenotpartofthetraditionalwayoflifeintheUSA.In

1987,CherryHillElementary,whichisintheMaryland,wentagainst

traditionbybecomingthefirstpublicschoolintheUSAtomakestudents

wearuniforms.Theschooldidthistoreducetroublecausedbythe

students’loveoffashion.Sincethisnewprogrammehasprovedtobeagoodwaytopromotesafetyanddiscipline,otherschoolssoonfollowed.

By2000,12pertcentofAmericanpublicschoolsrequiredschool

uniforms.

Theintroductionofschooluniformshashelpedreduceschoolviolence.

Muchofschoolviolenceislinkedtothewearingofgangcolours,which

aretheclotheswornbydifferentyouthgangs.Inschoolswithyouth

gangs,thenumberoffightsdecreasedby40percentafteruniformswre

introduced.

Uniformsalsosendamessagethatstudentsareatschooltostudy,notto

play.Theyreducepeerpressureandcreateschoolpride.Thesethings

helpraisetheacademiclevelofthestudents.

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Althoughschooluniformsarepopularinsomeareas,thisnewtrenhas

metstrongresistancefrommanyparents,someofwhomangrily

complainthatuniformskeepstudentsfromshowingtheirindividuality.A

fewparentshaveevengonetoocurttostopschooluniformsfrombeing

introduced.Forthisreason,itisunlikelythatuniformswilleverbeadoptednationwade.

Chapter4

ReadingThehamburgerbusiness

In1954,anAmericanbusinessmancalledRayKrocwasselling

milkshakemachines.Onesmalldrive-inhamburgerstandinCalifornia

boughtnotonebuteightoftheseexpensivemachines.SurprisedbythisKrocdecidedtogoandvisitit.

Arrivingbeforethehamburgerstandopened,Krocsatinhiscarand

watched.Ateamofyoungpeopleinuniformsappearedandstarted

cleaningthestandanditscarpark,makingeverythingneatandtidy.

Whenopenedforbusiness,thehamburgerstandwasimmediatelyfilled

withcustomers.Thestaffwerecheerful,fastandpolite.Thefoodwas

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excellent.Impressedbythecleanliness,serviceandfood,Kroclookedup

atthenameoverthehamburgerstand.Itread,‘McDonald’sHamburgers’.

Althoughstartedsixyearsearlier,in1948,McDonald’swasstillasmall

businessownedbytwobrothers,MacandDickMcDonald.Kroc

suggestedthattheyshouldsetupmoreoutlets,butthebrotherswere

happywiththeirlifeanddidnotwanttoexpandfurther.However,they

didallowKroctolaunchotherbranchesofMcDonald’sforthem.Thatwasthestartofthebiggestfat-foodcompanyinhistory.

In1955,KrocopenedhisfirstMcDonald’snearChicago,andmanymore

swiftlyfollowed.In1959,the100th

McDonald’swasopened.In1961,

KroctookovercompleteownershipofthebusinessfromthebrothersbypayingthemUS$2.7million.

By1972,anewMcDonald’swasbeingopenedeveryday,andby1974

therewereover3,000restaurants.McDonald’scametoHongKongin

1975,andwasintroducedintoShenzhenin1990.Twoyearslater,thefirst

McDonald’sinBeijingopenedwithmorethan40,000customersonitsfirstday.

WhyhasMcDonald’sbeensosuccessful?Backin1956,McDonald’s

adoptedthemotto‘Q.S.C.&V.’Theselettersstandfor’Quality,Service,

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CleanlinessandValue’.Inalloftheseareas,McDonald’spaygreatattentiontodetail.

Forexample,afteryearsofplanning,McDonald’sestablisheditslargest

everrestaurantinMoscowin1990.Toachievetherightquality,potatoes

areimportedintoRussia,andfarmersaretaughthowtofarmthemproperly,aswellashowtoharvestandpackthem.

Toachievegoodservice,McDonald’shasoneofthebesttraining

programmesintheworld.ItevenhassevenHamburgerUniversities(one

inHongKong)wheretoppersonnelcanlearnmanagementandcustomerserviceskills.

By2005,McDonald’shadover30,000outletsin119countriesand

regions.Itsellsmorethan100hamburgerseverysecondoftheday.

WhileitdoesnotyethavearestaurantontheMoon,nodoubtaplanisalreadybeingmadeforone.

MorereadingTheriseofchainstoresinChina

Duringthelastfewyears,thenumberofchainstoreshasgreatly

increasedinbigcitiesinChina.Nowadays,withinashortwalkalonga

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busystreet,youarelikelytofindachainstoreofsomekind---afastfoodrestaurant,abakeryoraconveniencestore.

Chainstoreshavebecomepartofpeople’sdailylives.Theymaypopinto

aBreadTalktobuyasweetrollforbreakfastontheirwaytowork.They

mayvisitaLianhuaSupermarketintheeveningtobuysomefoodfor

dinner,\Forabirthday,theymightcelebratewithfriendsataLittleSheep

HotpotRestaurant.AttheweekendtheymaygotoGoMeAppliancesto

buyaDVDorMP3player.Chainstoreshavebecomesopopularthat

somepeopleincludethemasafactorwhendecidingwheretolive.

Whyhavechainstoresgrownsofastinnumberandinfluence?Meeting

thecustomers’needsistheanswer.Openedinconvenientlocations,the

storesareusuallynextdoortopeople’shomesandclosetobusstopsor

undergroundstations.Theyofferawiderangeofproductsinaclean,

well-litandrelaxingenvironment.Everystoreinachainoperatesinthe

samewayastheothersdo.Thatway,everyoneknowswhattoexpectincasetheyshopthere.Thepricesarereasonabletoo.

ItseemsthatchainstoresareawelcomedevelopmentinChina.Theyarecertainlyanewforcechangingpeople’swayoflife.

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Chapter5

ReadingVirtualreality

Only50yearsago,computerswerebiggerthanpeople.Today,people

cancarrytheirlaptopswiththemanywheretheygo.Soon,wemaybe

abletostepinsideacomputerworldthankstothemagicofvirtualreality.

Whatisvirtualreality,orVR?Ifsomethingisvirtual,thenitiscreatedby

computertechnologyandappearsasifitwerereal.Virtualrealityisa

computersystemwithaspecialheadset.Whenyouputontheheadset,

youlookattwotinytelevisionscreens.Theyaresoclosetoyoureyes

thatyourmindwillseetheimageasonepicture,andyouwillbelievethat

youhaveenteredadifferentworld.Inmanysystems,youalsoweara

specialdataglove.Withthisgloveyoucanreachoutandtouchthingsintheartificialworld.

ThefirstVRgames,alreadysoldroundtheworld,enableyoutodrivea

sportscar,flyaplane,orfightanenemy.Inthefuture,itmaybedifficult

todistinguishthevirtualworldofthegamesfromtherealworldoutside.

However,VRisnotjustforentertainment.Oneday,delightedchildren

willbeabletolearngeographybyobservingexcitingforeigncountrieswithouthavingtoleavetheirclassroom.Theywillbethrilledtolearn

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historybyvisitingthepyramidsofEgypt,orbyhand-feedingfriendlydinosaurs.

Inaddition,businesswillbeabletouseVRformanytasks.Cars

designedusingcomputerscanbetestedasvirtualmachinesfirst,before

theyaremanufacturesinmetal.Architectswillbeabletomakevirtual

buildings,whichtheycanwalkaroundandinspectbeforeconstructing.VRcanhelpusinhundredsofways.

Despitethis,concernedcriticshavewarnedthattherecouldbedangersin

thispowerfulnewmedium.WillwehaveVRgamesinwhichpeoplecan

commitvirtualcrimes?AfterpeoplegetusedtoVR,willtheywantto

returntoreality?Willweforgethowtoliveandworkwithrealpeople?

Ontheotherhand,somepeoplethinkthatVRwillhelpusimprovethe

world.ByexperimentingharmlesslyinsideaVRworld,wewillbeable

toseethedangerswemayfaceinthefuture.Thenwewillbeabletoavoidtheminreallife.

NodoubttherewillbesomeproblemswithVR,astherearewithallnew

inventions.However,onethingisforsure:VRisheretostay.Getreadytostepintoanotherworld!

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MorereadingWearabletechnology

Didyouknowthatsometechnologycanbeworn?

Infact,wearabletechnologyhasbeenaroundforsometime.Thefirst

peopletoexperimentwiththeideaweremanagersofsportsteams.They

wantedtoknowhowathletescouldusetechnologytoimprovetheir

performance.Specialvests,createdtomonitoranathlete’sbody,canmeasurehowfasttheheartisbeatingandhowhardtheathleteis

breathing.Scientistshavealsodeveloped‘cooling’veststohelpathletes

performbetterindifficultconditions,suchashotweather.Furthermore,

anAmericancompanyiscurrentlyresearchingclothesforsoldierstohelpthemrunfaster,jumphigherandliftheavierequipment.

Beforelong,wewillhavetechnologyinoureverydayclothing.A

computerhiddeninacoatcouldbeoperatedbyakeyboardononeofthesleeves.

Electronicsunglassescouldshowusmapsofwherewearestandingand

pointusinthedirectionthatwewanttogo.Ourclothescouldalso

monitorourbodies.Theycouldtelluswhenweneedtoeatcertainfoods,takemedicineorrestinordertostayhealthy.

Thereisonlyoneproblemwithclotheslikethese:Theymaybedifficulttowash.Electricityandwaterdonotmix!Youcouldremovethe

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electronicpartsbeforewashing,butputtingthembackinagaincouldtake

hours.Designersarenowbuildingsmallwiresintothefabricoftheclothingtosolvethisproblem.

Theseclothescouldappearinshopsanydaynow.Soon,wecouldallbewearingelectronicclothes.

Chapter6

ReadingTransformingMars

Eversincethebeginningofhistory,peoplehavedreamtofinterplanetary

travel.Forcenturies,thesedreamshavealwaysremaineddreams.

However,scientistsnowwanttomakethesedreamscometrue.Theyare

planningtotransformMarssothathumanscanlivethere.Within30

years,thefirstpeoplewilllandonMarsand,bytheyear2185,wewillhaveestablishedcities.

Inmanyways,MarsistheplanetmostsimilartoEarth.AMartianday

lastsabout241/2hours(althoughayearhas687days).Whilethereisno

water,thereisalotoficeinthetwopolaricecaps.Theaveragetemperatureis-60℃.

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TheplaninvolveschangingMarssothatitbecomesmorelikeEarth.This

meansusingthe‘greenhouseeffect’(whichwearetryingtostoponEarth).Thesuggestedprogrammewouldhavefivemainstages.

tage1(AD2030-2045).

hefirstexpeditionarrivesonMars,afterajourneybyspacecraftof

aboutsixmonths.Themembersconstructundergroundbuildings,

conductexperiments,lookforgoodsitesforfuturelandings,andalso

checkforsignsoflife.Theycansurviveonlyaslongastheywear

spacesuits,because95percentoftheatmosphereiscarbondioxide.

Nonetheless,thelowgravity(one-thirdofEarth’s)meanstheycanmovearoundeasily.

Stage2(AD2045-2095)

Moreexpeditionsarrive.HugemirrorsareputinorbitroundMarstoheat

thepolaricecaps.Theicecapsaresprayedblack,sothattheydonot

reflecttheheataway.Chemicalsarereleasedintotheair.Asaresult,the

atmospherebecomesthickerandretainsmoreoftheSun’sheat.Ifthe

greenhouseeffectcanbestarted,theicecapswillmelt,releasingwatervapour,andthetemperaturewillrise