人教版高中英語(yǔ)必修二閱讀課文

1、Unit1CulturalrelicsReadingAINSEARCHORTHEAMBERROOMFrederickWilliamI,theKingofPrussia,couldneverhaveimaginedthathisgreatestgifttotheRussianpeoplewouldhavesuchanamazinghistory.ThisgiftwastheAmberRoom,whichwasgiventhisnamebecauseseveraltonsofamberwereusedtomakeit.Theamberwhichwasselectedhadabeautifulyel

2、low-browncolourlikehoney.Thedesignoftheroomwasinthefancystylepopularinthosedays.Itwasalsoatreasuredecoratedwithgoldandjewels,whichtookthecountry'sbestartistsabouttenyearstomake.Infact,theroomwasnotmadetobeagift.ItwasdesignedforthepalaceofFrederickI.However,thenextKingofPrussia,FrederickWilliamI,

3、towhomtheamberroombelonged,decidednottokeepit.In1716hegaveittoPetertheGreat.Inreturn,theCzarsenthimatroopofhisbestsoldiers.SotheamberRoombecamepartoftheCzar'swinterpalaceinStPetersburg.Aboutfourmetreslong,theroomservedasasmallreceptionhallforimportantvisitors.Later,CatherineIIhadtheAmberRoommove

4、dtoapalaceoutsideStPetersburgwhereshespenthersummers.Shetoldherartiststoaddmoredetailstoit.In1770theroomwascompletedthewayshewanted.Almostsixhundredcandleslittheroom,anditsmirrorsandpicturesshonelikegold.Sadly,althoughtheAmberRoomwasconsideredoneofthewondersoftheworld,itisnowmissing.InSeptember1941,

5、theNaziarmywasnearStPetersburg.Thiswasatimewhenthetwocountrieswereatwar,.BeforetheNaziscouldgettothesummerpalace,theRussianswereabletoremovesomefurnitureandsmallartobjectsfromtheAmberRoom.However,someoftheNazissecretlystoletheroomitself.Inlessthantwodays100,000pieceswereputinsidetwenty-sevenwoodenbo

6、xes.ThereisnodoubtthattheboxeswerethenputonatrainforKonigsberg,whichwasatthattimeaGermancityontheBalticSea.Afterthat,whathappenedtotheAmberRoomremainsamystery.Recently,theRussiansandGermanshavebuiltanewAmberRoomatthesummerpalace.BystudyingoldphotosoftheformerAmberRoom,theyhavemadethenewonelookliketh

7、eoldone.In2003itwasreadyforthepeopleofStPetersburgwhentheycelebratedthe3th0b0irthdayoftheircity.ReadingBAFACTORANOPINION?Whatisafact?Isitsomethingthatpeoplebelieve?No.Afactisanythingthatcanbeproved.Forexample,itcanbeprovedthatChinahasmorepeoplethananyothercountryintheworld.Thisisafact.Thenwhatisanop

8、inion?Anopinioniswhatsomeonebelievesistruebuthasnotbeenproved.Soanopinionisnotgoodevidenceinatrial.Forexample,itisanopinionifyousay“Catsarebetterpetsthandogsmaybetrue,butitisdifficulttoprove.Somepeoplemaynotagreewiththisopinionbuttheyalsocannotprovethattheyareright.Inatrial,ajudgemustdecidewhicheyew

9、itnessestobelieveornottobelieve.Thejudgedoesnotconsiderwhateacheyewitnesslookslikeorwherethatpersonlivesorworks.He/Sheonlycaresaboutwhethertheeyewitnesshasgiventrueinformation,whichmustbefactsratherthanopinions.Thiskindofinformationiscalledevidence.Unit2TheOlympicGamesReadingAANINTERVIEWPausanias,wh

10、owasaGreekwriterabout2,000yearsago,hascomeonamagicaljourneyonMarch18th,2007tofindoutaboutthepresent-dayOlympicGames.HeisnowinterviewingLiYan,avolunteerforthe2008OlympicGames.P:MynameisPausanias.Ilivedinwhatyoucall“AncientGreece”andIusedtowriteabouttheOlympicGamesalongtimeago.I'vecometoyourtimeto

11、findoutaboutthepresent-dayOlympicGamesbecauseIknowthatin2004theywereheldinmyhomeland.MayIaskyousomequestionsaboutthemodernOlympics?L：Goodheavens!Haveyoureallycomefromsolongago?Butofcourseyoucanaskanyquestionsyoulike.Whatwouldyouliketoknow?P:HowoftendoyouholdyourGames?L:Everyfouryears.Therearetwomain

12、setsofGames-theWinterandtheSummerOlympics,andbothareheldeveryfouryearsonaregularbasis.TheWinterOlympicsareusuallyheldtwoyearsbeforetheSummerGames.Onlyathleteswhohavereachedtheagreedstandardfortheireventwillbeadmittedascompetitors.Theymaycomefromanywhereintheworld.P:WinterGames?Howcantherunnersenjoyc

13、ompetinginwinter?Andwhataboutthehorses?L:Ohno!Therearenorunningracesorhorseridingevents.Insteadtherearecompetitionslikeskiingandiceskatingwhichneedsnowandice.That'swhythey'recalledtheWinterOlympics.It'sintheSummerOlympicsthatyouhavetherunningraces,togetherwithswimming,sailingandallthetea

14、msports.P:Isee.Earlieryousaidthatathletesareinvitedfromallovertheworld.DoyoumeantheGreekworld?OurGreekcitiesusedtocompeteagainsteachotherjustforthehonourofwinning.Noothercountriescouldjoinin,norcouldslavesorwomen!L:Nowadaysanycountrycantakepartiftheirathletesaregoodenough.Thereareover250sportsandeac

15、honehasitsownstandard.Womenarenotonlyallowed,butpalyaveryimportantroleingymnastics,athletes,teamsportsand.P:Pleasewaitaminute!Allthoseevents,allthosecountriesandevenwomentakingpart!Wherearealltheathleteshoused?L:ForeachOlympics,aspecialvillageisbuiltforthemtolivein,amainreceptionbuilding,severalstad

16、iumsforcompetitions,andagymnasiumaswell.P:Thatsoundsveryexpensive.DoesanyonewanttohosttheOlympicGames?L:Asamatterofface,everycountrywantstheopportunity.It'sagreatresponsibilitybutalsoagreathonourtobechosen.There'sasmuchcompetitionamongcountriestohosttheOlympicsastowinOlympicmedals.The2008Oly

17、mpicswillbeheldinBeijing,China.Didyouknowthat?P:Ohyes!Youmustbeveryproud.L:Certainly.Andafterthatthe2012OlympicswillbeheldinLondon.Theyhavealreadystartedplanningforit.AnewvillagefortheathletesandallthestadiumswillbebuilttotheeastofLondon.Newmedalswillbedesignedofcourseand.P:Didyousaymedals?Soeventhe

18、olivewreathhasbeenreplaced!Ohdear!Doyoucompeteforprizemoneytoo?L:No,wedon't.It'sstillallaboutbeingabletorunfaster,jumphigherandfurther.That'sthemottooftheOlympics,youknow-“Swifter,HigherandStronger.”P:Well,that'sgoodnews.Howinteresting!Thankyousomuchforyourtime.ReadingBTHESTORYOFATLA

19、NTAAtlantawasaGreekprincess.ShewasverybeautifulandcouldrunfasterthananymaninGreece.ButshewasnotallowedtorunandwingloryforherselfintheOlympicGames.Shewassoangrythatshesaidtoherfatherthatshewouldnotmarryanyonewhocouldnotrunfasterthanher.Herfathersaidthatshemustmarry,soAtlantamadeabargainwithhim.Shesai

20、dtohim,"Thesearemyrules.Whenamansayshewantstomarryme,Iwillrunagainsthim.Ifhecannotrunasfastasme.hewillbekilled.Noonewillbepardoned."ManykingsandprinceswantedtomarryAtlanta,butwhentheyheardofherrulestheyknewitwashopeless.Somanyofthemsadlywenthome,butothersstayedtoruntherace.Therewasamancall

21、edHippomeneswhowasamazedwhenheheardofAtlanta'srules,"Whyarethesemensofoolish?"hethought."Whywilltheyletthemselvesbekilledbecausetheycannotrunasfastasthisprincess?"However,whenhesawAtlantacomeoutofherhousetorun,Hippomeneschangedhismind."IwillmarryAtlanta-ordie!"hesai

22、d.Theracestartedandalthoughthemenranveryfast,Atlantaranfaster.AsHippomeneswatchedhethought,"HowcanIrunasfastasAtlanta?"HewenttoasktheGreekGoddessofLoveforhelp.Shepromisedtohelphimandgavehimthreegoldenapples.Shesaid,"ThrowanappleinfrontofAtlantawhensheisrunningpast.Whenshestopstopickit

23、up,youwillbeabletorunpastherandwin."HippomenestooktheapplesandwenttotheKing.Hesaid,"IwanttomarryAtlanta."TheKingwassadtoseeanothermandie,butHippomenessaid,"Iwillmarryher-ordie!"Sotheracebegan.Unit3ComputersReadingAWHOAMIOvertimeIhavebeenchangedquitealot.Ibeganasacalculatingm

24、achineinFrancein1642.AlthoughIwasyoungIcouldsimplifydifficultsums.IdevelopedveryslowlyandittooknearlytwohundredyearsbeforeIwasbuiltasananalyticalmachinebyCharlesBabbage.AfterIwasprogrammedbyanoperatorwhousedcardswithholes,Icould"think"logicallyandproduceananswerquickerthananyperson.Atthatt

25、imeitwasconsideredatechnologicalrevolutionandthestartofmy"artificialintelligence".In1936myrealfather,AlanTuring,wroteabookabouthowIcouldbemadetoworkasa"universalmachine"tosolveanydifficultmathematicalproblem.Fromthenon,Igrewrapidlybothinsizeandinbrainpower.Bythe1940sIhadgrownasla

26、rgeasaroom,andIwonderedifIwouldgrowanylarger.However,thisrealityalsoworriedmydesigners.Astimewentby,Iwasmadesmaller.FirstasaPC(personalcomputer)andthenasalaptop,Ihavebeenusedinofficesandhomessincethe1970s.Thesechangesonlybecamepossibleasmymemoryimproved.Firstitwasstoredintubes,thenontransistorsandla

27、teronverysmallchips.AsaresultItotallychangedmyshape.AsIhavegrownolderIhavealsogrownsmaller.Overtimemymemoryhasdevelopedsomuchthat,likeanelephant,IneverforgetanythingIhavebeentold!AndmymemorybecamesolargethatevenIcouldn'tbelieveit!ButIwasalwayssolonelystandingtherebymyself,untilintheearly1960sthe

28、ygavemeafamilyconnectedbyanetwork.IwasabletosharemyknowledgewithothersthroughtheWorldWideWeb.Sincethe1970smanynewapplicationshavebeenfoundforme.Ihavebecomeveryimportantincommunication,financeandtrade.Ihavealsobeenputintorobotsandusedtomakemobilephonesaswellashelpwithmedicaloperations.Ihaveevenbeenpu

29、tintospacerocketsandsenttoexploretheMoonandMars.Anyhow,mygoalistoprovidehumanswithalifeofhighquality.IamnowtrulyfilledwithhappinessthatIamadevotedfriendandhelperofthehumanrace!ReadingBANDY-THEANDROIDI'mpartofanandroidfootballteam.Aboutonceayearweareallowedtogettogethertoplayagameoffootball.I'

30、;masbigasahuman.Infact,Ilooklikeonetoo.OnthefootballteamI'mastrikersoIhavetobeabletorunveryfast.Mycomputerchipshelpmetomoveandthinklikeahuman.Forexample,IhavelearnedtosignaltomyteammatesincomputerlanguagetogivemetheballwhenIamopenandhaveagoodshotforagoal.MyfirstfootballcompetitionwasinNagoya,Jap

31、amseveralyearsago.LastyearsourteamwenttoSeattle,WashingtonintheUSA.Wewonsecondplace.Personally,Ithinktheteamthatwonfirstplacecheated.Theyhaddevelopedanewtypeofprogramjustbeforethecompetition.Soweneedtoencourageourprogrammertoimproveourintelligencetoo.Wearedeterminedtocreateanevenbettersystem.Inawayo

32、urprogrammerislikeourcoach.Sheprogramsuswithallthepossiblemovesshehasseenwhilewatchinghumangames.Thenshepreparesreliablemovestouseifanewsituationarises.InthiswayIcanmakeupnewmovesusingm“yartificialintelligence.Iwouldreallyliketoplayagainstahumanteam,forIhavebeenprogrammedtoactjustlikethem.Afterall,w

33、iththehelpofmyelectronicbrainwhichneverforgetsanything,usingmyintelligenceiswhatI'mallabout!Unit4WildlifeprotectionReadingAHOWDAISYLEARNEDTOHELPWILDLIFEDaisyhadalwayslongedtohelpendangeredspeciesofwildlife.Onedayshewokeupandfoundaflyingcarpetbyherbed."Wheredoyouwanttogo?"itasked.Daisyr

34、espondedimmediately."I'dliketoseesomeendangeredwildlife,"shesaid."PleasetakemetoadistantlandwhereIcanfindtheanimalthatgavefurtomakethissweater."AtoncethecarpetflewawayandtookhertoTibet.ThereDaisysawanantelopelookingsad.Itsaid,"We'rebeingkilledforthewoolbeneathourstom

35、achs.Ourfurisbeingusedtomakesweatersforpeoplelikeyou.Asaresult,wearenowanendangeredspecies."AtthatDaisycried,"I'msorryIdidn'tknowthat.Iwonderwhatisbeingdonetohelpyou.Flyingcarpet,pleaseshowmeaplacewherethere'ssomewildlifeprotection."Theflyingcarpettravelledsofastthatnextmi

36、nutetheywereinZimbabwe.Daisyturnedaroundandfoundthatshewasbeingwatchedbyanelephant."Haveyoucometotakemyphoto?"itasked.InreliefDaisyburstintolaughter."Don'tlaugh,"saidtheelephant,"Weusedtobeanendangeredspecies.Farmershunteduswithoutmercy.Theysaidwedestroyedtheirfarms,andm

37、oneyfromtouristsonlywenttothelargetourcompanies.Sothegovernmentdecidedtohelp.Theyallowedtouriststohuntonlyacertainnumberofanimalsiftheypaidthefarmers.Nowthefarmersarehappyandournumbersareincreasing.Sogoodthingsarebeingdoneheretosavelocalwildlife."Daisysmiled."That'sgoodnews.Itshowsthei

38、mportanceofwildlifeprotection,butI'dliketohelpastheWWFsuggests."Thecarpetroseagainandalmostatoncetheywereinathickrainforest.Amonkeywatchedthemasitrubbeditself."Whatareyoudoing?"asekdDaisy.”Ipromtectingmyselffrommosquitoes,"itreplied."WhenIfindamillipedeinsect,Irubitoverm

39、ybody.Itcontainsapowerfuldrugwhichaffectsmosquitoes.YoushouldpaymoreattentiontotherainforestwhereIliveandappreciatehowtheanimalslivetogether.Norainforest,noanimals,nodrugs."Daisywasamazed."Flyingcarpet,pleasetakemehomesoIcantellWWFandwecanbeginproducingthisnewdrug.Monkey,pleasecomeandhelp.

40、"Themonkeyagreed.Thecarpetflewhome.Astheylanded,thingsbegantodisappear.Twominuteslatereverythinghadgone-themonkey,too.SoDaisywasnotabletomakehernewdrug.Butwhatanexperience!Shehadlearnedsomuch!AndtherewasalwaysWWF.ReadingBANIMALEXTINCTIONManyanimalshavedisappearedduringthelonghistoryoftheearth.T

41、hemostfamousoftheseanimalsaredinosaurs.Theylivedontheearthtensofmillionsofyearsago,longbeforehumanscameintobeingandtheirfutureseemedsecureatthattime.ThereweremanydifferentkindsofdinosaurandanumberofthemusedtoliveinChina.Theeggsoftwenty-fivespecieshavebeenfoundinXixiaCounty,Nanyang,HenanProvince.Notl

42、ongagoararenewspeciesofbird-likedinosaurwasdiscoveredinChaoyangCounty,LiaoningProvince.Whenscientistsinspectedthebones,theyweresurprisedtofindthatthesedinosaurscouldnotonlyrunliketheothersbutalsoclimbtrees.Theylearnedthisfromthewaytheboneswerejoinedtogether.Dinosaursdiedoutsuddenlyabout65millionyear

43、sago.Somescientiststhinkitcameafteranunexpectedincidentwhenahugerockfromspacehittheearthandputtoomuchdustintotheair.Otherthinktheearthgottoohotforthedinosaurstoliveonanymore.Nobodyknowsforsurewhyandhowdinosaursdisappearedfromtheearthinsuchashorttime.Weknowmanyotherwildplants,animals,insectsandbirdsh

44、avediedoutmorerecently.AccordingtoaUNreport,some844animalsandplantshavedisappearedinthelast500years.Thedodoisoneofthem.ItlivedontheIslandofMauritiusandwasaveryfriendlyanimal.Pleaselistentoastoryofthedodoandhowitdisappearedfromtheearth.Unit5MusicReadingATHEBANDTHATWASN'THaveyoueverwantedtobeparto

45、fabandasafamoussingerormusician?Haveyoueverdreamedofplayinginfrontofthousandsofpeopleataconcert,atwhicheveryoneisclappingandappreciatingyourmusic?DoyousingkaraokeandpretendyouareafamoussingerlikeSongZuyingorLiuHuan?Tobehonest,alotofpeopleattachgreatimportancetobecomingrichandfamous.Butjusthowdopeopl

46、eformaband?Manymusiciansmeetandformabandbecausetheyliketowriteandplaytheirownmusic.Theymaystartasagroupofhigh-schoolstudents,forwhompracticingtheirmusicinsomeone'shouseisthefirststeptofame.Sometimestheymayplaytopassers-byinthestreetorsubwaysothattheycanearnsomeextramoneyforthemselvesortopayforth

47、eirinstruments.Latertheymaygiveperformancesinpubsorclubs,forwhichtheyarepaidincash.Ofcoursetheyhopetomakerecordsinastudioandsellmillionsofcopiestobecomemillionaires!However,therewasonebandthatstartedinadifferentway.ItwascalledtheMonkeesandbeganasaTVshow.Themusiciansweretoplayjokesoneachotheraswellas

48、playmusic,mostofwhichwasbasedlooselyontheBeatles.TheTVorganizershadplannedtofindfourmusicianswhocouldactaswellassing.Theyputanadvertisementinanewspaperlookingforrockmusicians,buttheycouldonlyfindonewhowasgoodenough.Theyhadtouseactorsfortheotherthreemembersoftheband.Assomeoftheseactorscouldnotsingwellenough,theyhadtorelyonothermusicianstohelpthem.Soduringthebroadcaststheyjustpretendedtosing.Anyhowtheirperformanceswerehumorousenoughtobecopiedbyothergroups.Theyweresopopularthattheirfansformedclubsinordert