《牛津高中英语》模块5-Reading-Project课文

31.M5U1.Reading(1)—Secretsandlies

DearAnnie,

IfeelbetrayedbymyfriendHannah.Wehavebeenbestfriendssinceprimaryschooland

spendalmosteverydaywitheachother.Sometimes,otherchildrensaywearenofunbecausewe

arebothveryacademicandliketostudy,butwelikeitthatway.Wearebothveryhard-working

andalwaysgetgoodgradesatschool.

OnMonday,wehadasuiprisemathquiz.Ithoughtitwasquiteeasyandwasnotworried

abouttheresults.Imusthavesoundedveryproudofmyselfafterthequiz,sayinghoweasyitwas

andhowIwassuretogetagoodgrade.Thenextdayafterclass,mymathteachertoldmethatI

hadthelowestgradeintheclass!Ifeltsoashamed;Imustbereallystupidtofailasimplemath

quiz!

Afterwards,Ipretendedtobecheerful,butHannahsensedsomethingwaswrong.Wewentto

washourhandsinthegirls'washroombeforelunchandIadmittedhowbadlyIhaddone.I

beggedhernottotellanyoneelse,andshesaidshewouldkeepmysecret.

However,thenextday,InoticedthatmyclassmateswerestaringatmeasIcameintomath

classand,whenIwenttositdown,Iwasshockedtofindapieceofpaperonmydeskthatsaid,

“StupidSarahgotaD!”IwassoupsetthatIfeltlikecrying.IthoughtthatHannahmusthavetold

myclassmatesaboutmygradeafterpromisingnotto.Everyonemusthavebeenlaughingbehind

myback!

IwassoangrythatIwentstraighttoHannahandtoldherweweren'tgoingtobefriendsany

morebecauseshecouldn'tkeepherword.Shewasreallyupsetandsworethatshehadn'ttold

anyone.However,theonlypeoplewhoseeourgradesaretheteacherandthestudentsthatthe

gradesbelongto.Shesaidthatsomeonemusthavebeenspyingonusinthewashroom,butI

didn*tbelieveherexplanation.Idon'tthinkIcanevertrulyforgiveher.NowI'velostmybest

friend.WhatshallIdo?

Yourssincerely

Sarah

32.M5U1.Reading(2)一Afriendshipintrouble

DearAnnie,

MynameisAndrew.Iam17yearsoldandIhaveaproblem.MybestfriendMatthewhas

stoppedtalkingtome.Wehavebeenbestfriendssincechildhoodandplaytogetherintheschool

footballteam.Lastweek,wehadanimportantmatchagainstanotherschool.Theotherteamwas

superbandwereallyhadtofocus.Iwasdeterminedtowin,butMatthewwasplayingbadly.He

couldnotkeeppacewiththegame,andasaresultofhiscarelessplayingwelost.

Afterwards,Igotreallyangrywithhim,andItoldhimIthoughthewasnottryinghard

enough.Hegotannoyed,sayingitwasn'thisfaultifhecouldn'tplayaswellasme,andthatI

shouldn'ttalktohiminthismanner.Thenwebothstartedshoutingateachotheranditturnedinto

ahorribleargument.Heaccusedmeofsomereallybadthingsjusttohurtme.Ifeelreallyguilty

becauseImadesomecruelremarkstoo,butIdislikeseeingourteamlose.Footballisvery

importanttome,butsoisourfriendship.

Sinceweargued,hehasn'tspokentomeeventhoughwesitnexttoeachotherinclass.It's

reallyawkward.Heisusuallycheerfulandoutgoing,buthehasbeenreallyquietandlookssad.

Thethingshesaidhurtmetoo,buthehasnotapologizedtome.

Yesterday,Isawhimtalkingtoanotherboy,Peter,andIcannothelpwonderingifhewants

Petertobehisbestfriendinsteadofme.Itoldmybrotheraboutthequarrel,buthesaidMatthew

isjusttoosensitiveandperhapsalittlebitterbecauseIamreallyathleticandgoodatfootball,and

thatIhadbetterfindanotherfriend.WhatshouldIdo?

Yourstruly

Andrew

33.M5U1.Project(1)—Teenagers9friendships

Myfriend,Robert,hasatwinsisternamedAmanda.Thoughtheygetalongwell,thereare

somethingsaboutAmandaandherfriendsthatpuzzleRobert.Hecan*tunderstandhowgirlscan

talkforsolong.Forexample,sometimeswhenheleavestheapartmenttoplayfootball,Amanda

andherfriend,Sharon,aresittingonthesofa,talking.Whenhecomesbackthreeandahalfhours

later,they'restillsittingonthesofa,continuingthesameconversationonthesametopic.Oneday

RobertwassocuriousthatheaskedAmandawhattheytalkedabout,butshereplied,"We'rebest

friends.Wetalkaboutalmosteverything-filmstars,popsongs,recipes,everything!5

Boysandgirlshavedifferentattitudestowardsfriendship.Friendshipsbetweengirlsare

usuallyanchoredinsharedfeelingsandsupport,butfriendshipsbetweenboysarebasedonshared

activitiesorinterests.Aboyislikelytobecautiousaboutsharinghisfeelingswithhisclose

friends.AgirPsclosestfriend,however,mightbeeagertotellheraboutsomethingthathas

happenedinherlife.

Manystudiesworldwideshowthatgirlshavemorefriendshipsthanboys.Infact,many

adolescentmalescannotnameasinglebestfriend.Whenasked,theyusuallyhesitatebefore

responding,4Mybestfriend?Ican'tthinkaboutthat.Iambusywithmyhomework,andIhaveso

manydifferentfriendsthatitishardtochoosejustonebestfriend/

Femaleswhohavebeenaskedcanusuallyanswerthequestionwithoutpausing,CAbest

friend?Ofcourse.Wehavealottosharewitheachother.Wedoalotofthingstogethersuchas

talkingandshopping/

Wehavetorealize:boysshareactivities,whilegirlssharefeelings.Thequalitiesthatboys

andgirlsconsiderimportantinafriendseemtobethesame,regardlessofthebasisofthese

friendships.Theimportantthingtorememberisthatbothofthemarefriendships.Weallneed

friendsinourlives.

34.M5U1.Project(2)—Whatfriendshipmeanstome

Whendecidingwhatismostimportantinlife,somepeoplechoosemoney,whileothers

choosethingslikesecurityandcomfort.However,forme,themostimportantthinginlifeis

friendship.Icannotimaginebeingwithoutit.

Friendshipmeansnotbeingalone.OnceIwastravellingbymyselfthroughBeijingonthe

waytomygrandparents5house.Sincemynexttrainleftintheevening,Ihadadayforsightseeing.

Atfirst,Ididn'tmindbeingalone,butthenIsawallthetouristshavingtheirpicturestaken

together,andIbeganfeelingsad.Iendedupreturningtothetrainstationandspendingtherestof

thedayinthewaitingroom.Lifeisnofunwithoutacompaniontoshareitwith.

FriendshipmeanshavingsomeoneIcanrelyon.Lastyear,Ileftmyschoolbagona

trolleybus,andIlostallofmynotesforthefinalexam.YoucanimaginehowIpanicked.Luckily

forme,mybestfriendJennyletmecopyhernotes,andIusedtheminmyrevision.Thankstoher

help,Iwasabletopasstheexam.

Friendshipmeansbeingcommittedtoothers.Thebestwaytohaveafriendistobeafriend.

BecauseIamafriend,Ihavehadtolearnpatienceandmercy.OnceIhadaquarrelwithJenny,

andshemadesomecruelcommentsaboutme.EventhoughIwashurt,Iforgaveherandshelater

madeanapology.Throughthisincident,bothofushavebecomebetterpeople.However,ifIhad

endedourfriendship,wewouldhavebothlearntnothing.

Inconclusion,whenweareoldandlookbackonourlives,whatwillweremember?Willwe

rememberthethingsweboughtortheplaceswehavebeento?No,wewillrememberthosewhom

welovedandthosewholovedus.Wewillrememberourfriends.

35.M5U2.Reading-Theeconomyortheenvironment-mustwechoose?

TVhost:JamesLong

Speakers:LinShuiqing,aspokeswomanfromtheGreenSociety

QianLiwei,abusinessdevelopmentconsultant

JamesLong:Goodmorning.Today'sdebatequestionis,“Theeconomyorthe

environment—mustwechoose?9WithmeareMsLinShuiqing,fromtheGreenSociety,andMr

QianLiwei,abusinessdevelopmentconsultant.Wearefollowingourusualschedulefordebates.

MsLinShuiqingwillspeakfirstforthreeminutes.MrQianLiweiwillfollow,alsoforthree

minutes.Thenwewillopenthefloorfordiscussion.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsorcomments,you

canusethistimetoexpressthem.

LinShuiqing:Goodmorning,everyone.FirstIamtalkingtoyoutodayaboutthewayvast

areasoftheworldaredamagedbychemicalwaste.Manyplaceshavebeendestroyedandmany

plantsandanimalshavedied.Thisisawful.Factoriesproducelargenumbersofharmful

chemicals.Thewastetheycreategoesintotheatmosphereandmakesussick.Othertypesof

wasteflowintoourwater,killingriverandsealife.

Muchsealifeisbeingdestroyedbyfishingboatsaswell.Theseboatscatchlargenumbersof

fishwithoutgivingthemtimetolayeggs.Thiswillresultinasmallernumberoffishleftforusto

eatinthefuture.

Whilewedamageourenvironment,wekeepproducingmoreandmorepeoplewhoneed

morelandtoliveonandmorefoodtoeat!Theworld'spopulationhasgrownbysixtimeswhatit

wasin1800.Thefigureisnowabout7billionpeople!

Itisourdutytotrytocutbackonproductionandreducethenumberofthingswemakeand

buy.Theamountofrubbishweproduceisturningintoabigproblem;weneedtothinkmore

aboutrecyclingourwaste.Itwouldbegoodtoincreasetheamountofwastewerecycle,andteach

peoplewaysoflivingthatdonotharmtheenvironment.Wemayevencreatemorejobsandhelp

ourcountrybecomemoredevelopedatthesametime.

Thankyou.

QianLiwei:Goodmorning,ladiesandgentlemen.Thankyou,MsLin.Thatwasan

interestingspeech.Itisclearthatyouareveryconcernedaboutthepresentsituationofour

environment.Asabusinessdevelopmentconsultant,I'moftenseenasbeingagainstthe

environment.Whenpeoplethinkoffactories,theythinkofcloudsofdirtysmokeorofpipes

pouringchemicalwasteintorivers.Theythinkofgreedybusinessmenhidingfromtheir

responsibilitiesandonlyworryingaboutmoney.Peopleoftenhavethisbeliefthatdevelopmentis

badfortheenvironment,butthisdoesnothavetobetrue.

WhatI'mheretosayisthathavingworkedwithmanyenvironmentalconsultants,Iknow

thatahealthyenvironmentanddevelopmentshouldbepossibleatthesametime.

Therearemanyfactoriesandindustrieswhichcontroltheamountofpollutiontheyproduce,

andareverycarefultospendmoneyrepairinganydamagetheycause.Thepeopleoperatingthese

factoriesaredeeplyconcernedabouttheenvironment.Weneedtostopthinkingofcompaniesand

businessmenastheenemy,andgivethemmorecredit!

MsLinsuggestedweshouldcutbackonthequantityofthingsweproduceinordertosave

theenvironment.Idon'tagreewithherbecausethenjobswillbelost.Ibelievethatpeopleare

moreimportantthanfishandtrees.

However,Idoagreethatweshouldproducemorethingsfrommaterialsthathavebeen

recycled,andlessfromrawmaterials,thesupplyofwhichisgrowingsmallerandsmaller.

Whatweneedarebetterlawstopreservetheenvironmentandstillallowourcountrytogrow.

Thisincludescontrolsonhowmanytreesarecutdownandhowmanyfisharecaught.Thismight

makewoodandseafoodmoreexpensive,butpayingahigherpriceforsomethingsisnotalways

bad.Askingaround,Ifindmanypeoplewillingtopayalittlehigherpriceforthingsthatare

friendlytotheenvironment.

Finally,thosefactorieswhichpollutetheenvironmentshouldhavetopayhighertaxes.Ifyou

harmtheenvironment,youshouldhavetopayforittoberepaired.

Thankyouforlistening.

JamesLong:Nowwewillopenthefloorfordiscussion...

36.M5U2.Project(1)一ProtectingtheYangtzeRiver

Asthethirdlongestriverintheworld,thehealthoftheYangtzeRiverhasraisedconcern

bothinChinaandabroad.Rapiddevelopmentandanincreaseinpopulationhavemeantthatthe

amountofthewatertakenfromtheriverisrising,andthatthewastebeingputbackintotheriver

hasbeenincreasing.ThisisnotgoodnewsforthepeoplewhorelyontheYangtzeRiverforwater.

Norisitgoodnewsforthewiderangeoffishandwildlifethatliveinoralongtheriver.

ManypeoplehaverecognizedtheimportanceofprotectingtheYangtzeRiver,and

organizationsandprojectshavebeensetuptodealwiththeproblem.TheGreenRiver

Organization,forexample,educatespeopleontheimportanceofprotectingthisgreatriver.Italso

watchestheriverandstopstheillegalhuntingofanimals,whichhasputthewildanimal

populationindanger.

Twospecialgovernmentprojectsarealsounderway.Thefirstproject,awaterandsoil

conservationproject,wassetupin1989.Thisprojectresultedinfarmersreplacingtheircrops

withtreesorgrass.Ithasalreadybeenasuccessbecauseithashelpedimprovethelocal

environmentandthelandaroundtheriver.

Thesecondprojectincludesnaturereservesforwhite-flagdolphins,oneoftherarestanimals

intheworld.Thenumberofwhite-flagdolphinsinChinahasdroppedbecauseofpollutioninthe

YangtzeRiver.Thewhite-flagdolphinwaslastseenseveralyearsago,thoughscientistsarestill

hopefulthattheanimalhassurvived.

WestillhavealongwaytogotosolvealltheproblemsinregardtotheYangtzeRiver.

However,peoplehavefinallyrealizedthatitistheirresponsibilitytoprotectthisgreatriver.

Becauseofthis,thesituationontheYangtzeRiverisimproving.TheeffortsoftheChinese

governmentandpeopletoprotectthismuch-lovedriverwillbeappreciatedforyearstocome.

37.M5U2.Project(2)—Climatechangeandalow-carbonlife

Thereisnodoubtthattheworldclimatehasbeenchanginginrecentyears.Manypeople

blamethischangeongasessuchascarbondioxide.Animalsandhumansproducecarbondioxide

whentheybreathe.However,manyotherhumanactivitiesalsoletoffcarbongases.Anytime

somethingisburnt,carbonisputintotheatmosphere.Carsandothervehiclesburnpetrolintheir

engines,andelectricalpowerplantsmostoftenburnfuelssuchascoalandoilinordertoproduce

electricity.Therefore,themorepetrolandelectricityweconsume,themorecarbonweareletting

off.

Onethingwecanalldotohelpsolvethisproblemistowalkoruseabicyclewhenpossible.

Althoughweproducecarbonwhenwebreathe,thecarbonweproduceismuchlessthanthat

producedbyacar.Ofcourse,therearetimeswhenweneedtotravellongdistances.Inthiscase,

publictransportsuchasbusesandtheundergroundisalwaysamuchbetterchoicethanaprivate

carorataxi.Ifyoumustdriveacar,itisnevergoodtotravelalone—youshouldtrytofindother

peopletotravelwithyou.

Athome,youshoulduseaslittleenergyaspossible.Turnoffthelightsandanythingelse

electricalwhennotinuse.Sincefactoriesusealotofenergyandalsoletoffcarbongases,itis

importanttorecycleasmuchaspossible.Inparticular,metalproductsandpaperproductsrequire

alotofenergytoproduce,soyoushouldfindwaystousetheseagainwithoutthrowingthem

away.

Lastbutnotleast,youcanplantatree,becausetreesabsorbthecarbondioxideintheairto

produceoxygen.Plantingasmalltreeischeapandeasy,andtwodecadesfromnow,whenyou

lookatwhatwillhavebecomealargetree,youwillfindasenseofsatisfactionknowingthatyou

didyourparttohelpsolvetheproblemofclimatechange.

38.M5U3.Reading-Theperfectcopy

Scientistshaveannouncedthattheyhaveclonedthefirsthumanembryo.Thishascaused

muchdebateroundtheworld.Ontheonehand,somescientistspointoutthatifyouclonean

embryo,youcanproducevaluablehumantissues—suchasboneorlungtissue—thatcouldbe

usedtosavehumanlives.Ontheotherhand,manypeople,includingsomescientists,disagreeand

areafraidthat,ifmankindtoyswithnatureinthisway,wemaybeonourwaytoproducinga

real-lifeFrankenstein'smonster.

Cloningisproducinganexactcopyofaplantorananimalusingitscells.Thefirstmammal

tobeclonedsuccessfullyfromanadultcellwasDollythesheep.Shewasbornin1996anddiedin

early2003,atamuchyoungeragethannormal.Whenshewasbom,manypeoplewereworried

thatcloningwouldleadtomorediseasesintheanimalworld.However,ingeneralthescientists

werepraisedfortheirwonderfulscientificadvance.

IanWilmut,theScottishscientistwhocreatedDolly,isshockedthatsomescientistsarenow

consideringcloninghumanbeings.Althoughheresearchescloning,hisintentionhasneverbeen

tocreatecopiesofhuman.Instead,hethinksresearcheffortsshouldconcentrateoncreatingnew

tissuesandorgansthatcanbeusedtocurediseaseslikecancer.However,somepeoplebelieve

thatcloninghumanembryoswiththeintentionofdestroyingthemshowsnorespectforhuman

life.

Eventhoughhumancloningiscausingalotofanxiety,itisgoodnewsforFayeWilson,a

41-year-oldsaleswomanwhocannothaveababy.€Iamanxioustohaveachildofmyown,'she

says.41don'twanttoadoptsomeoneelse'schild-IfIhadthechance,Iwouldhaveaclonedbaby

rightnow.

Whilecloninghumanembryosisnotlegalinmanycountries,somescientistsarealready

pushingaheadwithresearchinordertoproduceaclonedhumanbaby.SeverinoAntinori,an

Italianphysician,hasdeclaredthathewantstobethefirsttocloneahumanbeing.

InChina,scientistshavefocusedtheireffortsoncloninganimals,aswellasclonedtissuesto

beusedinmedicaltreatment.Chinahassucceededinproducingclonesofcowsandgoats,and

continuestoresearchwaysinwhichcloningcanbenefitmankind.

(Letter1)DearEditor

Ibelievethathumancloningiswrong.Ifwetoywithnature,wewillhavetodealwiththe

consequences.Whoknowswhatcouldhappen?Humanlifewouldjustbecomeacroptobe

harvestedoraproductforsale.

ThehumanraceisusinguptheEarth'snaturalwealth.Weshouldbehavingfewerbabiesin

ordertoreducetheEarth'spopulation,notcloningmore.

Ifeelsorryfortheladywhocannothaveababy,butIwouldliketopointoutthatthereare

manychildrenintheworldwithnoparentswhowouldbedelightedtohaveamother.

PaulineCarter

(Letter2)DearEditor

Iwouldliketocommentonyourarticle,4Theperfectcopy'.Ithinkthescientificadvances

mentionedinyourarticlearefantastic!Iamincompleteagreementwithhumancloning.Afterall,

scientistshavebeenchallengingmoralideasforcenturies.Whyshouldwestopthemnow?

Onapersonalnote,cloningwouldtotallytransformmylife.Sevenyearsago,my1O-year-old

daughterdiedofheartfailure.Shewasbeautiful,cheerfulandbright.Imisshereverysingleday.

IfIhadthechance,IwouldcloneherimmediatelysoIthatIcouldbewithheragain.

ColinJake

39.M5U3.Project(X)—ManandNature

Foralongtime,ourenvironmenthasbeendamagedbecausehumanshavebeencareless.

Peoplehaveharmednaturethroughagriculture,fishing,huntingandtourism.Wefurtherdamage

theEarthbybuildingnewchannelsintheseaandfactoriesontheland,andbycreatingpollution

withchemicalwaste.Wewillsomedaydestroytheplanetweliveonifwecontinueinthisway.

However,ifwefocusonlyonconservation,thenpeoplemaysuffer.Noteverythingthatis

bestfornatureisgoodforpeople.Wouldanyonesaythatdevelopmentshouldbestoppedinfavor

ofnature.Fromthepointofviewofsomepeople,weareonlydoingwhathumanshavealways

done,usingnaturetomeetourownneeds.Otherpeoplearguethatsuchthinkingmaycausea

catastrophe,unlesswestarttolookaroundandunderstandhowacleanenvironmentbenefitsus

all.

Afterdecadesofdestroyingnatureandusingupnaturalresources,manydevelopednations

arenowconcernedaboutsavingnatureratherthandevelopingordestroyingit.However,many

poorernationsmustfocusonmeetingtheeverydayneedsoftheirpeople.Indoingso,theyare

usingupnaturalresourcesatafastpace.Theyhavenotyetseentheeffectsofthecarelessuseof

theenvironmentlikemanywealthynationshave.Oftentheydonotrealizethatthechoicesthey

makearebadfortheenvironment.Shouldtheybeblamedfordestroyinghundredsofthousandsof

acresofrainforestifitmeansabetterincomefortheirpeople?Thedevelopedanddeveloping

countriesoftheworldneedtoworktogethertomakesurethatpeopleenjoyhealthyandhappy

lives,withouttheenvironmentaroundthemsuffering