高中英语选修模块八完整文稿(听力原文+书本课文)

选修八听力材料Unit1 A holiday in California A holiday in California George (G) is on holiday in the United States. He is touring around California. Listen to him phoning home to talk to his friend Christie (C). C: Hello. G: Hi, Christie. It’s me, George. C: Gosh, George! Where are you G: In Joshua Tree national Park. C: Wow, where is that G: It’s in southeastern California. C: Lucky you! What are you doing down there G: Well, I started in northern California and I’ve been traveling south. C: Cool. So how’s the trip been G: Jolly good. There is so much to see and it ’s nothing like what I imagined. C: Really G: Yeah. I expected everyone to live near the beach in big houses, and I thought everyone here would be rich. C: (laughing) Just as I thought. You’ve watched toomany American movies! G: I know, and they can give you the wrong idea! C: So, tell me, what’s it really like G: Well, some people live near the coast; but further east, in the central part, is a huge valley where they grow all sorts of things like cotton, vegetables, nuts and fruit, oh,lots of things. And lots of cattle.C: Mmm, sounds interesting. What other scenery is there ？G: Well, if you go further southeast, you come to mountains and desert. That land is really spectacular. C: Sounds fantastic! So you are in the desert at the momentG: Yes, that’s right. It’s very hot and very different from the rest of California.C: I wish I could see it for myself. What are the people like ？G: Well, I didn’t realize there were so many different races and cultures here.C: Such as ？G: Well, there black and white Americans of course, and lots of Asians. And about a quarter of all Californians are Hispanic.C: Hispanic ？G: People whose ancestors came from Spanish speaking countries in South America. C: Oh I see.G: So there is a huge difference in culture and the way people look. Lots of different art, different types of festival, music, food and anything else you can think of. C: Sounds great. And what about…Unit2 Is cloning cruelXiao Qing (XQ) and Rachel Brown (RB) are discussing whether cloning is cruel to animals or not. RB: Xiao Qing, do you think cloning is cruelXQ: What do you mean by that The scientists are doing a wonderful job.Soon they may be able to bring people’s favourite pets back to life!RB: Yes, I know. But doesn’t it seem cruel to you that it took 276 experiments before Dolly was successfully cloned Think of all those live cells and eggs that died in order to be born. I don’t approve of that.XQ: But, Rachel, be reasonable. Isn’t it alwa ys like that with a new science This is the way people learn to do thing better.RB: I suppose so--- but they also make the animals do such unnatural things. One poor cow was made to give birth to a bison. What was the poor creature to think when it saw its babyXQ: I don’t quite understand why so many people are against cloning. I think the scientists need a bit of encouragement. Think of the benefits. Cloning may help medical science to produce cures for serious illnesses.RB: Yes, I know and I agree with that. It is just that I don’t agree with the methods.XQ: Why notRB: Well, I think it’s a dead end. Dolly the sheep was “middle -aged 〞 when she was born because her DNAcame from a middle-aged “mother 〞. Cloning your grandmother would mean a new baby started life as an old lady!XQ: Really I never thought of that.RB: And it weakens the species. Cloning means that there’s less variety in the species. So the animals may not be able to resist a particular illness and they might die out.XQ: Oh dear! And that was just what you and I were trying to avoid. In spite of all these, don’t you think scientists would still be able to solve the problemUnit3 Good design is practicalZhou Rui (ZR) made a phone call to Dr Smith (S), an engineer who works for James Dyson, a famous British inventor. Now Dr Smith is ringing him back. S: Hello, can I speak to Zhou Rui please This is Dr Smith. ZR: Good morning, Dr Smith. How kind of you to ring me back! Would youmind if I asked you a few questions about James Dyson’s invention s. S: Not at all. I’d be happy to talk about ourcompany and our founder , James Dyson. He’s an inventor who takeseverydayproducts, like washing machines, and makes them work better. ZR: I see. Why did he improve the washing machine S: He found that clothes were not as clean from a washing machine as those washed by hand. ZR: Really Is that true S: Yes, because most machines have one large drum and the clothes go round and round in it. ZR: So what did he do to improve that S: This is the clever part. James Dyson invented a system with two drums in the same machine. Together they are the same size as the old drum, but theywork differently. One drum goes in one direction and the other goes in the other. So it’s more like hand -washing and theclothes come out cleaner.ZR: Was it easy to designS: No. It took many working models before Mr Dyson was satisfied.ZR: How long did it take himS: I’m not sure. But I do know that inventing a new carpet cleaner took five years before he was happy with it.ZR: Wow! I didn’t realize that it took that long! S: And of course he had to apply for patents for all of the new parts he’d designed. You must do that to protect your ideas. ZR: Has that been a problemS: Well, in the early years, James Dyson found that a large company making carpet cleaners in America was copying his ideas. He had to go to court toprotect his invention.ZR: Did he winS: Yes, in the end the company had to pay us a lot of money.ZR: What new ideas does James DysonhaveS: I’m sorry but you’ll just have to wait and see! ZR: Thank you very much and I’m afraidI shall have to ring off now. Goodbye.S: Goodbye.Unit4 Changing ElizaH = Higgins CP = Colonel Pickering E = Eliza H: Good morning, Eliza. My goodness, how pretty you are after a good bath! Readyfor your first lesson You see, Colonel Pickering and I are both here waiting. E: Than’ you sir! H: So let’s begin. Say your alphabet. E: I know my alphabet. Do yer thin’ I know noffink!H: Now, now! Let’s start again. Say this after me. (very slowly, loudly and carefully)Do you think I don’t know anythingE: Do yer think I don’t know anythink!CP: Do you know, Higgins, I think that was better!H: (far from satisfied) Once more, Eliza. (emphasizing each word) Do you think I don’t know anything! E: (very slowly and carefully too) Doo yoo think I don’t know anythingH: Now to the alphabet, my girl. Don’t argue — just say it. CP: Yes, say it, Eliza! You’ll understand soon. Do what he tells you and let him teach you in his own way. E: Oh, well! If you put it like that! Ahyee, Bayee, Sayee, Dayee… H: (bored) Stop at once. Now say A, B, C, and D. E: (in tears) But I am saying it. Ahee, Bayee, Sayee, Dayee… H: Stop! Say “a cup of tea 〞. E: I cap-o-tee. H: Put your tongue forward until it pushes against thetop of your lower teeth. Now say “cup 〞. E: C-c-c. I can’t. I can’t hear no difference’cept that itsounds more genteel — like when you say it. (begins to cry) H: (angrily) Well, if you can hear that, why are you crying Now try again, Eliza. E: C-cup. CP: Splendid, Miss Doolittle. Never mind a little crying, you are doing very well. The lessons won’t hurt. Ipromise not to let him pull you round by your hair. H: Now try the whole thing, Eliza. A cup of tea. E: (very slowly and with emphasis) A cu-up of tea. CP: Good, good!H: Better, better! Now try this sentence . “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain 〞.E: (again with emphasis) The rine in Spine falls minely on the pline.H: (excitedly) It’s coming! It’s coming! Now try again, Eliza. (slowly) The rain (ai, ai, ai) in Spain (ai, ai, ai) falls mainly on the plain.E: The rai-ain in Spai-ain falls mai-ainlyon the plain. P: Miss Doolittle, that’s so much better.H: Now, Eliza, go and practise by yourself.Keep your tongue well forward instead of trying to swallow it. E: (beginning to cry) Oah! Oah!H: (angrily) Now, Eliza, go and tell Mrs Pearce about this lesson. Think about it and practice by yourself. Away with you! (Eliza is still sobbing, rushes from the room)P: Now Henry, couldn ’t you have been kinder to that poor girl after all the effort she made Unit5 Dating methodsZhou Heping has come to ask the archaeologist, Richard Leakey, how he dates the bones he finds. Part 1ZH: How can you tell how old bones are when you find themRL: There are two main ways: the first uses layers in the ground and the second uses the radiocarbon dating. ZH: How does the layer method workRL: Well, Look at the diagram in your book. Think of your wastepaper basket. When you came into workyou threw the orange skin into it.T hat’s layer number 1. Later somebody threw yogurt pots into it. That’s layer number 2.ZH: Oh yes, and then I threw some paper into it. So that’s layer number 3.RL: Yes, and finally someone threw some used envelopes. So how many layers are there in this wastepaper basketZH: There are fourRL: Good. Now which layer is the first and therefore the oldestZH: The orange skin.RL: And which is the last and therefore themost recentZH: Of course -the used envelopes. I see how it works now. But how does it helpRL: Well, layers of soil are produced at different times like the layers in your wastepaper basket. Each time people live somewhere, they make a layer in the soil. If they live there for a long time, they make a lot of layers. Each layer has a different colour and texture which we use to find out how old it is.ZH: How splendid!Part 2ZH: Now what about radiocarbon datingRL: This is more scientific. It uses the radioactivity to measure the amount of carbon in living things. The carbon in a deadbody disappears at a fixed rate. We know how long that takes, so we can measure the amountof carbon and work out how old a bone is.ZH: That's very clever. Is it accurate tooRL: There are some problems with very old bones, so you are always given two dates.ZH: How does that workRL: Well, the date for a bone may be between 9,900 years and 10,100 years old.ZH: I see! How old are the bones from the ZhoukoudianCavesRL: They are between 250,000 and 400,000 years old.ZH: Perhaps we could visit the site together sometimeRL: Of course. Whenever you like!。

选修8 Unit 1 A land of diversity-ReadingCALIFORNIACalifornia is the third largest state in the USA but has the largest population. It also has the distinction of being the most multicultural state in the USA, having attracted people from all over the world. The customs and languages of the immigrants live on in their new home. This diversity of culture is not surprising when you know the history of California.NATIVE AMERCANSExactly when the first people arrived in what we now know as California, no one really knows. However, it is likely that Native Americans were living in California at least fifteen thousand years ago. Scientists believe that these settlers crossed the Bering Strait in the Arctic to America by means of a land bridge which existed in prehistoric times. In the 16th century, after the arrival of the Europeans, t he native people suffered greatly. Thousands were killed or forced into slavery. In addition, many died from the diseases b rought by the Europeans. However, some survived these terrible times, and today there are more Native Americans living in California than in any other state.THE SPANISHIn the 18th century California was ruled by Spain. Spanish soldiers first arrived in South America in the early 16th century, when they fought against the native people and took their land. Two centuries later, the Spanish had settled in most parts of South America and along the northwest coast of what we now call the United States. Of the first Spanish to go to California, the majority were religious men, whose ministry was to teach the Catholic religion to the natives. In 1821, the people of Mexico gained their independence from Spain. California then became part of Mexico. In 1846 the United States declared war on Mexico, and after the war won by the USA, Mexicohad to give California to the USA. However, there is still a strong Spanish influencein the state. That is why today over 40 of Californians speak Spanish as a first or second language.RUSSIANSIn the early 1800s, Russian hunters, who had originally gone to Alaska, began settling in California. Today there are about 25,000 Russian-Americans living in and around San Francisco.GOLD MINERSIn 1848, not long after the American-Mexican war, gold was discovered in California. The dream of becoming rich quickly attracted people from all over the world. The nearest, and therefore the first to arrive, were South Americans and people from the United States. Then adventurers from Europe and Asia soon followed. In fact, few achieved their dream of becoming rich. Some died or returned home, but most remained in California to make a life for themselves despite great hardship. They settled in the new towns or on farms. By the time California elected to become the thirty-first federal state of the USA in 1850, it was already a multicultural society.LATER A RRIVALSAlthough Chinese immigrants began to arrive during the Gold Rush Period, it was the building ofthe rail network from the west to the east coast that brought even larger numbers to California in the 1860s. Today, Chinese-Americans live in all parts of California, although a large percentage have chosen to stay in the "Chinatowns" of Los Angeles and San Francisco.Other immigrants such as Italians, mainly fishermen but also wine makers, arrived in California in the late 19th century. In 1911 immigrants from Denmark established a town of their own, which today still keeps up their Danish culture. By the 1920s the film industry was well established in Hollywood, California. The industry boom attracted Europeans including many Jewish people. Today California has the second largest Jewish population in the United States.Japanese farmers began arriving in California at the beginning of the 20th century, and since the 1980s a lot more have settled there. People from Africa have been living in California since the 1800s, when they moved north from Mexico. However, even more arrived between 1942 and 1945 to work in the ship and aircraft industries. MOST RECENT ARRIV ALSIn more recent decades, California has become home to more people from Asia, including Koreans, Cambodians, Vietnamese and Laotians. Since its beginning in the 1970s, the computer industry has attracted Indians and Pakistanis to California.THE FUTUREPeople from different parts of the world, attracted by the climate and the lifestyle, still immigrate to California. It is believed that before long the mix of nationalities will beso great that there will be no distinct major racial or cultural groups, but simply a mixture of many races and cultures.GEORGE’S DIARY 12TH—14TH JUNEMonday 12th, JuneArrived early this morning by bus. Went straight to hotel to drop my luggage, shower and shave. Then went exploring. First thing was a ride on a cable car. From top of the hill got a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay and the city. Built in 1873, the cable car system was invented by Andrew Hallidie, who wanted to find a better form of transport than horse-drawn trams. Apparently he'd been shocked when he saw a terrible accident in which a tram's brakes failed, the conductor could not control the situation and the tram slipped down the hill dragging the horses with it.Had a late lunch at Fisherman's What. This is the district where Italian fishermen first came to San Francisco in the late 19th century and began the fishing industry. Now it's a tourist area with lots of shops, sea food restaurants and bakeries. It's also the place to catch the ferry to Angel Island and other places in the Bay.Did so much exploring at Fisherman's What. Am exhausted and don't feel like doing anything else. Early bed tonight!Tuesday 13th, JuneTeamed up with a couple from my hotel (Peter and Terri) and hired a car. Spent all day driving around the city. There's a fascinating drive marked out for tourists. It has blue and white signs with seagulls on them to show the way to go. It's a 79km round-trip that takes in all the famous tourist spots. Stopped many times to admire the view of the city from different angles and take photographs. Now have a really good idea of what the city's like.In evening, went to Chinatown with Peter and Terri. Chinese immigrants settled in this area in the 1850s. The fronts of the buildings are decorated to look like old buildings in southern China. Saw some interesting temples here, a number of markets and a great many restaurants. Also art galleries and a museum containing documents, photographs and all sorts of objects about the history of Chinese immigration, but it is closed in the evening. Will go back during the day. Had a delicious meal and then walked down the hill to our hotel.Wednesday 14th, JuneIn morning, took ferry to Angel Island from the port in San Francisco Bay.On the way had a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge. From 1882 to 1940 Angel Island was a famous immigration station where many Chinese people applied for right to live in USA. The cells in the station were very small, cold and damp; some did not even have light but the immigrants had nowhere else to go. Their miserable stay seemed to be punishment rather than justice and freedom to them. They wrote poems on the walls about their loneliness and mourned their former life in China. In 1940 the civil authorities reformed the system so that many more Chinese people were able to grasp the opportunity of settling in the USA. Made me very thoughtful and thankfulfor my life today.选修8 Unit 2 Cloning-ReadingCLONING: WHERE IS IT LEADING US?Cloning has always been with us and is here to stay. It is a way of making an exact copy of another animal or plant. It happens in plants when gardeners take cuttings from growing plants to make new ones. It also happens in animals when twins identical in sex and appearance are produced from the same original egg. The fact is that these are both examples of natural clones.Cloning has two major uses. Firstly, gardeners use it all the time to produce commercial quantities of plants. Secondly, it is valuable for research o n new plant species and for medical research on animals. Cloning plants is straightforward while cloning animals is very complicated. It is a difficult task to undertake. Many attempts to clone mammals failed. But at last the determination and patience of the scientists paid off in 1996 with a breakthrough - the cloning of Dolly the sheep. The procedure works like this:On the one hand, the whole scientific world followed the progress of the first successful clone, Dolly the sheep. The fact that she seemed to develop normally was very encouraging. Then came the disturbing news that Dolly had become seriously ill. Cloning scientists were cast down to find that Dolly's illnesses were more appropriate to a much older animal. Altogether Dolly lived six and a half years, half the length of the life of the original sheep. Sadly the same arbitrary fate affected other species, such as cloned mice. The questions that concerned all scientists were: "Would this be a major difficulty for all cloned animals? Would it happen forever? Could it be solved if corrections were made in their research procedure?"On the other hand, Dolly's appearance raised a storm of objections and had a great impact on the media and public imagination. It became controversial. It suddenly opened everybody's eyes to the possibility of using cloning to cure serious illnesses and even to produce human beings.Although at present human egg cells and embryos needed for cloning research are difficult to obtain, newspapers wrote of evil leaders hoping to clone themselves to attain their ambitions. Religious leaders also raised moral questions. Governments became nervous and more conservative. Some began to reform their legal systems and forbade research into human cloning, but other countries like China and the UK, continued to accumulate evidence of the abundant medical aid that cloning could provide. However, scientists still wonder whether cloning will help or harm us and where it is leading us.THE RETURN OF THE DINOSAURS?The possibility of cloning fierce and extinct wild animals has always excited film makers. And they are not the only ones! The popularity of films such as Jurassic Park, in which a scientist clones several kinds of extinct dinosaurs, proves how the idea struck a mixture of fear and excitement into people's hearts. But in fact we are a long way from being able to clone extinct animals. Scientists are still experimenting with cloning mammals. This is because the cloning of mammals is still a new science and its story only began seriously in the 1950s as this list shows:1950s cloning of frogs 1996 first clone of a mammal: Dolly the sheep1970s research using the embryos of mice 2000 cow gave birth toa bison1979 work on embryos of sheep and mice 2001 China's first cloned twin calves1981 first experimental clones of mice 2002 first cloned cats1983 first experimental clones of cows 2005 first cloned dog…From time to time people suggest that extinct animals like dinosaurs, can possibly be brought back to life through cloning. Unfortunately, with what we know now, this is either impossible or unsuitable. There are many reasons.◎The initial requirement is that you need perfect DNA (which gives information for how cellsare to grow).◎All efforts of cloning an animal will be in vain if there is not enough diversity inthe group to overcome illnesses. Diversity in a group meanshaving animals with their genes arranged in different ways. The advantage is that if there is a new illness some of these animals may die,but others will survive and pass on the ability to resist that disease to the next generation. The great drawback to cloning a group ofanimals is that they would all have the same arrangement of genes and so might die of the same illness. Then none of them would be left tocontinue the species.◎It would be unfair to clone any extinct animals if they were to live in a zoo. A suitable habitat would be needed for them to lead a natural life.Based on what we know now, you cannot clone animals that have been extinct longer than 10,000 years. Actually, dinosaurs disappeared 65,000,000 years ago. So the chance of dinosaurs ever returning to the earth is merely a dream.选修8 Unit 3 Inventors and inventions-ReadingTHE PROBLEM OF THE SHRIKESWhen I called up my mother in the countryside on the telephone she was very upset. "There are some snakes in our courtyard," she told me. "Snakes come near the house now and then, and they seem to have made their home here, not far from the walnut tree. Can you get rid of them please?" I felt very proud. Here was a chancefor .me to distinguish myself by inventing something merciful that would catch snakes but not harm them. I knew my parents would not like me to hurt these living creatures!The first thing I did was to see if there were any products that might help me, but there only seemed to be powders designed to kill snakes. A new approach was clearly needed. I set about researching the habits of snakes to find the easiest way to trap them. Luckily these reptiles are small and that made the solution easier.Prepared with some research findings, I decided on three possible approaches: firstly, removing their habitat; secondly, attracting them into a trap using male or female perfume or food; and thirdly cooling them so that they would become-cream sleepy and could be easily caught. I decided to use the last one. I bought an icemaker which was made of stainless steel. Between the outside and the inside walls of the bowl there is some jelly, which freezes when cooled. I put the bowl into the fridge and waited for 24 hours. At the same time I prepared some ice-cubes.The next morning I got up early before the sun was hot. I placed the frozen bowl over the snakes' habitat and the ice-cubes on top of the bowl to keep it cool. Finally I covered the whole thing with a large bucket. Then I waited. After two hours I removed the bucket and the bowl. The snakes were less active but they were still too fast for me. They abruptly disappeared into a convenient hole in the wall. So I had to adjust my plan.For the second attempt I froze the bowl and the ice-cubes again but placed them over the snakes' habitat in the evening, as the temperature was starting to cool. Then as before, I covered the bowl with the bucket and left everything overnight. Early the next morning I returned to see the result. This time with great caution I bent down to examine the snakes and I found them very sleepy. But once picked up, they tried to bite me. As they were poisonous snakes, I clearly needed to improve my design again.My third attempt repeated the second procedure. The next morning I carried in my hand a small net used for catching fish. This was in the expectation that the snakes would bite again. But monitored carefully, the snakes proved to be no trouble and all went according to plan. I collected the passive snakes and the next day we merrily released them all back into the wild.Pressed by my friends and relations, I decided to seize the opportunity to get recognition formy successful idea by sending my invention to the patent office. Only after you havehad thatrecognition can you say that you are truly an inventor. The criteria are so strict that it is difficult to get new ideas accepted unless they are truly novel. In addition, no invention will get a patent if it is:◎a discovery◎a scientific idea or mathematical model◎literature or art◎a game or a business◎a computer programme◎a new animal or plant varietyNor will you receive a patent until a search has been made to find out that your product reallyis different from everyone else's. There are a large number of patent examiners, too, whose only job is to examine whether your claim is valid or not. If it passes all the tests, your application for a patent will be published 18 months from the date you apply. So I have filled in the form and filed my patent application with the Patent Office. Now it's a matter of waiting and hoping. You'll know if I succeed by the sizeof my bank balance! Wish me luck!ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELLAlexander Graham Bell was born in 1847 in Scotland, but when he was young his family moved to Boston, USA. His mother was almost entirely deaf, so Alexander became interested in helping deaf people communicate and in deaf education. This interest led him to invent the microphone. He found that by pressing his lips against his mother's forehead, he could make his mother understand what he was saying.He believed that one should always be curious and his most famous saying was:"Leave the beaten track occasionally and dive into the woods. Every time you do you will be certain to find something that you have never seen before. Follow it up, explore all around it, and before you know it, you will have something worth thinking about to occupy your mind. All really big discoveries are the result of thought."It was this exploring around problems and his dynamic spirit that led to his most famous invention - the telephone in 1876. Bell never set out to invent the telephone and what he was trying to design was a multiple telegraph. This original telegraphsent a message over distances using Morse code (a series of dots tapped out along a wire in a particular order). But only one message could go at a time. Bell wanted to improve it so that it could send several messages a t the same time. He designed a machine that would separate different sound waves and allow different conversations to be held at the same time. But he found the problem difficult to solve. One day as he was experimenting with one end of a straw joined to a deaf man's ear drum and the other to a piece of smoked glass, Bell noticed that when he spoke into the ear, the straw drew sound waves on the glass. Suddenly he had a flash of inspiration. If sound waves could be reproduced in a moving electrical current, they could be sent along a wire. In searching to improve the telegraph,Bell had invented the first telephone!Bell was fully aware of the importance of his invention and wrote to his father:"The day is coming when telegraph wires will be laid on to houses justlike water or gas – and friends will talk to each other without leaving home."The patent was given in 1876, but it was not until five days later that Bell sent his first telephone message t o his assistant Watson. The words have now become famous:"Mr Watson - come here - I want to see you."Alexander Graham Bell was not a man to rest and he interested himself in many other areas of invention. He experimented with helicopter designs and flying machines. While searching for a kite strong enough to carry a man into the air, Bell experimented putting triangles together and discovered the tetrahedron shape. Being very stable, it has proved invaluable in the design of bridges.Bell was an inventor all his life. He made his first invention at eleven and his last at seventy-five. Although he is most often associated with the invention of the telephone, he was indeed a continuing searcher after practical solutions to improve the quality of everybody's life.选修8 Unit 4 Pygmalion-ReadingPYGMALIONMAIN CHARACTERS:Eliza Doolittle (E): a poor flower girl who is ambitious to improve herself Professor Higgins (H): an expert in phonetics, convinced that the quality of a person's English decides his/her position in societyColonel Pickering (CP): an officer in the army and later a friend of Higgins' who sets him a taskAct One FATEFUL MEETINGS11 :15 pm in London, England in 1914 outside a theatre. It is pouring with rain and cab whistles are blowing in all directions. A man is hiding from the rainlistening to people's language and watching their reactions. While watching, he makesnotes. Nearby a flower girl wearing dark garments and a woollen scarf is alsosheltering from the rain. A gentleman (G) passes and hesitates for a moment.E: Come over’ere, cap’in, and buy me flowers off a poor girl.G: I'm sorry but I haven't any change.E: I can giv’ou change, cap’in.G: (surprised) For a pound? I'm afraid I've got nothing less.E: (hopefully) Oah! Oh, do buy a flower off me, Captain. Take this for three pence.(holds up some dead flowers)G: (uncomfortably) Now don't be troublesome, there's a good girl. (looks in his walletand sounds more friendly) But, wait, here's some small change. Will that be of anyuse to you? It's raining heavily now, isn't it? (leaves)E: (disappointed at the outcome, but thinking it is better than nothing) Thank you, sir.(sees a man taking notes and feels worried) Hey! I ain’t done nothing wrong byspeaking to that gentleman. I've a right to sell flowers, I have. I ain’t no thief honest girl I am! (begins to cry)H: (kindly) There! There! Who's hurting you, you silly girl? What do you take me for?(gives her a handkerchief)E: I thought maybe you was a policeman in disguise.H: Do I look like a policeman?E: (still worried) Then why did 'ou take down my words for? How do I know whether'ou took me down right? 'ou just show me what 'ou've wrote about me!H: Here you are. (hands over the paper covered in writing)E: What's that? That ain't proper writing. I can't read that. (pushes it back at him)H: I can. (reads imitating Eliza) "Come over' ere, cap'in, and buy me flowers off apoor girl." (in his own voice) There you are and you were bornin Lisson Grove if I'm not mistaken.E: (looking confused) What if I was? What's it to you?CP: (has been watching the girl and now speaks to Higgins) That's quite brilliant!How did you do that, may I ask?H: Simply phonetics studied and classified from people's own speech. That's myprofession and also my hobby. You can place a man by just a few remarks. I canplace any spoken conversation within six miles, and even within two streets inLondon sometimes.CP: Let me congratulate you! But is there an income to be made in that?H: Yes, indeed. Quite a good one. This is the age of the newly rich. People begin theirworking life in a poor neighbourhood of London with 80 pounds a year and end in arich one with 100 thousand. But they betray themselves every time they open theirmouths. Now once taught by me, she'd become an upper class lady ...CP: Is that so? Extraordinary!H: (rudely) Look at this girl with her terrible English: the English that will condemnher to the gutter to the end of her days. But, sir, (proudly) once educated to speakproperly, that girl could pass herself off in three months as a duchess at anambassador's garden party. Perhaps I could even find her a place as a lady's maid or ashop assistant, which requires better English.E: What's that you say? A shop assistant? Now that's sommat I want, that is!H: (ignores her) Can you believe that?CP: Of course! I study many Indian dialects myself and ...H: Do you indeed? Do you know Colonel Pickering?CP: Indeed I do, for that is me. Who are you?H: I'm Henry Higgins and I was going to India to meet you.CP: And I came to England to make your acquaintance!E: What about me? How'll you help me?H: Oh, take that. (carelessly throws a handful of money into her basket) We must have a celebration, my dear man. (leave together)E: (looking at the collected money in amazement) Well, I never. A whole pound! A fortune! That'll help me, indeed it will. Tomorrow I'll find you, Henry Higgins. Justyou wait and see! All that talk of (imitates him) "authentic English" ... (in her own voice) I'll see whether you can get that for me ... (goes out)Act Two, Scene 1 MAKING THE BETIt is 11am in Henry Higgins' house the next day. Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering are sitting deep in conversation.H: Do you want to hear any more sounds?CP: No, thank you. I rather fancied myself because I can pronounce twenty-four distinct vowel sounds; but your one hundred and thirty beat me. I can't distinguish most of them.H: (laughing) Well, that comes with practice.There is a knock and Mrs Pearce (MP), the housekeeper, c omes in with cookies, a teapot, some cream and two cups.MP: (hesitating) A young girl is asking to see you.H: A young girl! What does she want?MP: Well, she's quite a common kind of girl with dirty nails.I thought perhaps you wanted her to talk into your machines.H: Why? Has she got an interesting accent? We'll see.Show her in, Mrs Pearce. MP: (only half resigned to it) Very well, sir. (goes downstairs)H: This is a bit of luck. I'll show you how I make records on wax disks ...MP: (returning) This is the young girl, sir. (Eliza comes into the room shyly following Mrs Pearce. She is dirty and wearing a shabby dress. She curtsies to the two men.) H: (disappointed) Why! I've got this girl in my records. She's the one we saw theother day. She's no use at all. Take her away.CP: (gently to Eliza) What do you-want, young lady?E: (upset) I wanna be a lady in a flower shop 'stead o' selling flowers in the street. But they won't take me 'less I speak better. So here I am, ready to pay him. I'm not asking for any favours - and he treats me like dirt.H: How much?E: (happier) Now yer talking. A lady friend of mine gets French lessons for two shillings an hour from a real Frenchman. You wouldn't have the face to ask me for the same for teaching me as yer would for French. So I won't give yer more than a shilling.H: (ignoring Eliza and speaking to Pickering) If you think of how much money thisgirl has - why, it's the best offer I've had! (to Eliza) But if I teach you, I'll be worsethan a father.CP: I say, Higgins. Do you remember what you said last night? I'll say you're the greatest teacher alive if you can pass her off as a lady. I'll be the referee for this little bet and pay for the lessons too ...E: (gratefully) Oh, yer real good, yer are. Thank you, Colonel.H: Oh, she is so deliciously low. (compromises) OK, I'll teach you. (to Mrs Pearce)But she'll need to be cleaned first. Take her away, Mrs Pearce. Wash her and burn her horrible clothes. We'll buy her new ones. What's your name, girl?E: I'm Eliza Doolittle and I'm clean. My clothes went to the laundry when I washedlast week.MP: Well, Mr Higgins has a bathtub of his own and he has a bath every morning. If these two gentlemen teach you, you'll have to do the same. They won't like the smell of you otherwise.E: (sobbing) I can't. I dursn't. It ain't natural and it'd kill me. I've never had a bath inmy life; not over my whole body, neither below my waist nor taking my vest off. I'd never have come if I'd known about this disgusting thing you want me to do ...H: Once more, take her away, Mrs Pearce, immediately. (Outside Eliza is still weeping with Mrs Pearce) You see the problem, Pickering. It'll be how to teach her grammar, not just pronunciation. She's in need of both.CP: And there's another problem, Higgins. What are we going to do once the experiment is over?H: (heartily) Throw her back.CP: But you cannot overlook that! She'll be changed and she has feelings too. We must be practical, mustn't we?H: Well, we'll deal with that later. First, we must plan the best way to teach her. CP: How about beginning with the alphabet. That's usually considered very effective ... (fades out as they go offstage together)。

选修八听力材料Unit1 A holiday in California A holiday in California George (G) is on holiday in the United States. He is touring around California. Listen to him phoning home to talk to his friend Christie (C). C: Hello. G: Hi, Christie. It’s me, George. C: Gosh, George! Where are you? G: In Joshua Tree national Park. C: Wow, where is that? G: It’s in southeastern California. C: Lucky you! What are you doing down there? G: Well, I started in northern California and I’ve been traveling south. C: Cool. So how’s t he trip been? G: Jolly good. There is so much to see and it ’s nothing like what I imagined. C: Really? G: Yeah. I expected everyone to live near the beach inbig houses, and I thought everyone here would be rich. C: (laughing) Just as I thought. You’ve wa tched toomany American movies! G: I know, and they can give you the wrong idea! C: So, tell me, what’s it really like? G: Well, some people live near the coast; but further east, in the central part, is a huge valley where they grow allsorts of things like cotton, vegetables, nuts and fruit, oh,lots of things. And lots of cattle.C: Mmm, sounds interesting. What other scenery isthere ？G: Well, if you go further southeast, you come to mountains and desert. That land is really spectacular. C: Sounds fantastic! So you are in the desert at the moment?G: Yes, that’s right. It’s very hot and very different from the rest of California.C: I wish I could see it for myself. What are the people like ？G: Well, I didn’t realize there were so many different races and cultures here.C: Such as ？G: Well, there black and white Americans of course, and lots of Asians. And about a quarter of all Californians are Hispanic.C: Hispanic ？G: People whose ancestors came from Spanish speaking countries in South America. C: Oh I see.G: So there is a huge difference in culture and the way people look. Lots of different art, different types of festival, music, food and anything else you can think of. C: Sounds great. And what about…?Unit2 Is cloning cruel?Xiao Qing (XQ) and Rachel Brown (RB) are discussing whether cloning is cruel to animals or not. RB: Xiao Qing, do you think cloning is cruel?XQ: What do you mean by that? The scientists are doing a wonderful job.Soon they may be able to bring people’s favourite pe ts back to life!RB: Yes, I know. But doesn’t it seem cruel to you that it took 276 experiments before Dolly was successfully cloned? Think of all those live cells and eggs that died in order to be born. I don’t approve of that.XQ: But, Rachel, be reasona ble. Isn’t it always like that with a new science? This is the way people learn to do thing better.RB: I suppose so--- but they also make the animals do such unnatural things. One poor cow was made to give birth to a bison. What was the poor creature to think when it saw its baby?XQ: I don’t quite understand why so many people are against cloning. I think the scientists need a bit of encouragement. Think of the benefits. Cloning may help medical science to produce cures for serious illnesses.RB: Yes, I k now and I agree with that. It is just that I don’t agree with the methods.XQ: Why not?RB: Well, I think it’s a dead end. Dolly the sheep was “middle -aged” when she was born because her DNA came from a middle-aged “mother”. Cloning your grandmother would mean a new baby started life as an old lady!XQ: Really? I never thought of that.RB: And it weakens the species. Cloning means that there’s less variety in the species. So the animals may not be able to resist a particular illness and they might die out.XQ: Oh dear! And that was just what you and I were trying to avoid. In spite of all these, don’t you think scientists would still be able to solve the problem?Unit3 Good design is practicalZhou Rui (ZR) made a phone call to Dr Smith (S), an engineer who works for James Dyson, a famous British inventor. Now Dr Smith is ringing him back. S: Hello, can I speak to Zhou Rui please? This is Dr Smith. ZR: Good morning, Dr Smith. How kind of you to ring me back! Would you mind if I asked you a few questions abou t James Dyson’s inventions. S: Not at all. I’d be happy to talk about our company and our founder , James Dyson. He’s an inventor who takeseveryday products, like washing machines, and makes them work better. ZR: I see. Why did he improve the washing machine? S: He found that clothes were not as clean from a washing machine as those washed by hand. ZR: Really? Is that true? S: Yes, because most machines have one large drum and the clothes go round and round in it. ZR: So what did he do to improve that? S: This is the clever part. James Dyson invented a system with two drums in the same machine. Together they are the same size as the old drum, but they workdifferently. One drum goes in one direction and the other goes in the other. So it’s more like hand -washing and theclothes come out cleaner.ZR: Was it easy to design?S: No. It took many working models before Mr Dyson was satisfied.ZR: How long did it take him?S: I’m not sure. But I do know that inventing a new carpet cleaner took five years before he was happy with it.ZR: Wow! I didn’t realize that it took that long! S: And of course he had to apply for patents for all of the new parts he’d designed. You must do that to protect your ideas. ZR: Has that been a problem?S: Well, in the early years, James Dyson found that a large company making carpet cleaners in America was copying his ideas. He had to go to court to protect his invention.ZR: Did he win?S: Yes, in the end the company had to pay us a lot of money.ZR: What new ideas does James Dyson have? S: I’m sorry but you’ll just have to wait and see! ZR: Thank you very much and I’m afraid I shall have to ring off now. Goodbye. S: Goodbye.Unit4 Changing ElizaH = Higgins CP = Colonel Pickering E = Eliza H: Good morning, Eliza. My goodness, how pretty you are after a good bath! Ready for your first lesson? You see, Colonel Pickering and I are both here waiting. E: Than’ you sir! H: So let’s begin. Say your alphabet.E: I know my alphabet. Do yer thin’ I know noffink! H: Now, now! Let’s start again. Say this after me. (very slowly, loudly and carefully)Do you think I don’t know anything?E: Do yer think I don’t know any think!CP: Do you know, Higgins, I think that was better!H: (far from satisfied) Once more, Eliza. (emphasizing each word) D o you think I don’t know anything! E: (very slowly and carefully too) Doo yoo think I don’t know anything? H: Now to the alphabet, my girl. Don’t argue — just say it. CP: Yes, say it, Eliza! You’ll understand soon. Do what he tells you and let him teach you in his own way. E: Oh, well! If you put it like that! Ahyee, Bayee, Sayee, Dayee… H: (bored) Stop at once. Now say A, B, C, and D. E: (in tears) But I am saying it. Ahee, Bayee, Sayee, Dayee… H: Stop! Say “a cup of tea ”. E: I cap-o-tee. H: Put your tongue forward until it pushes against the top of your lower teeth. Now say “cup”. E: C-c-c. I can’t. I can’t hear no difference’cept that it sounds more genteel — like when you say it. (begins to cry) H: (angrily) Well, if you can hear that, why are you crying? Now try again, Eliza. E: C-cup. CP: Splendid, Miss Doolittle. Never mind a little crying, you are doing very well. The lessons won’t hurt. I promise not to let him pull you round by your hair. H: Now try the whole thing, Eliza. A cup of tea. E: (very slowly and with emphasis) A cu-up of tea. CP: Good, good!H: Better, better! Now try this sentence . “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain”.E: (again with emphasis) The rine in Spine falls minely on the pline.H: (excitedly) It’s coming! It’s coming! Now try again, Eliza. (slowly) The rain (ai, ai, ai) in Spain (ai, ai, ai) falls mainly on the plain.E: The rai-ain in Spai-ain falls mai-ainly on the plain. P: Miss Doolittle, that’s so much better.H: Now, Eliza, go and practise by yourself. Keep your tongue well forward instead of trying to swallow it. E: (beginning to cry) Oah! Oah!H: (angrily) Now, Eliza, go and tell Mrs Pearce about this lesson. Think about it and practice by yourself. Away with you! (Eliza is still sobbing, rushes from the room)P: Now Henry, couldn ’t you have been kinder to that poor girl after all the effort she made?Unit5 Dating methodsZhou Heping has come to ask the archaeologist, Richard Leakey, how he dates the bones he finds. Part 1ZH: How can you tell how old bones are when you find them?RL: There are two main ways: the first uses layers in the ground and the second uses the radiocarbon dating. ZH: How does the layer method work?RL: Well, Look at the diagram in your book. Think of your wastepaper basket. When you came into work you threw the orange skin into it. That’s layer number 1. Later somebody threw yogurt pots into it. That’s layer number 2.ZH: Oh yes, and then I threw some paper into it. So that’s layer number 3.RL: Yes, and finally someone threw some used envelopes. So how many layers are there in this wastepaper basket?ZH: There are fourRL: Good. Now which layer is the first and therefore the oldest?ZH: The orange skin.RL: And which is the last and therefore the most recent?ZH: Of course -the used envelopes. I see how it works now. But how does it help?RL: Well, layers of soil are produced at different times like the layers in your wastepaper basket. Each time people live somewhere, they make a layer in the soil. If they live there for a long time, they make a lot of layers. Each layer has a different colour and texture which we use to find out how old it is.ZH: How splendid!Part 2ZH: Now what about radiocarbon dating?RL: This is more scientific. It uses the radioactivity to measure the amount of carbon in living things. The carbon in a dead body disappears at a fixed rate. We know how long that takes, so we can measure the amount of carbon and work out how old a bone is.ZH: That's very clever. Is it accurate too?RL: There are some problems with very old bones, so you are always given two dates.ZH: How does that work?RL: Well, the date for a bone may be between 9,900 years and 10,100 years old.ZH: I see! How old are the bones from the Zhoukoudian Caves?RL: They are between 250,000 and 400,000 years old.ZH: Perhaps we could visit the site together sometime?RL: Of course. Whenever you like!。

选修8 Unit 1 A land of diversity-ReadingCALIFORNIACalifornia is the third largest state in the USA but has the largest population. It also has the distinction of being the most multicultural state in the USA, having attracted people from all over the world. The customs and languages of the immigrants live on in their new home. This diversity of culture is not surprising when you know the history of California. NATIVE AMERCANSExactly when the first people arrived in what we now know as California, no one really knows. However, it is likely that Native Americans were living in California at least fifteen thousand years ago. Scientists believe that these settlers crossed the Bering Strait in the Arctic to America by means of a land bridge which existed in prehistoric times. In the 16th century, after the arrival of the Europeans, the native people suffered greatly. Thousands were killed or forced into slavery. In addition, many died from the diseases brought by the Europeans. However, some survived these terrible times, and today there are more Native Americans living in California thanin any other state.THE SPANISHIn the 18th century California was ruled by Spain. Spanish soldiers first arrived in South America in the early 16th century, when they fought against the native people and took their land. Two centuries later, the Spanish had settled in most parts of South America and along the northwest coast of what we now call the United States. Of the first Spanish to go to California, the majority were religious men, whose ministry was to teach the Catholic religion to the natives. In 1821, the people of Mexico gained their independence from Spain. California then became part of Mexico. In 1846 the United States declared war on Mexico, and after the war won by the USA, Mexico had to give California to the USA. However, there is still a strong Spanish influence in the state. That is why today over 40 of Californians speak Spanish as a first or second language. RUSSIANSIn the early 1800s, Russian hunters, who had originally gone to Alaska, began settling in California. Today there are about 25,000 Russian-Americans living in and around San Francisco.GOLD MINERSIn 1848, not long after the American-Mexican war, gold was discovered in California. The dream of becoming rich quickly attracted people from all over the world. The nearest, and therefore the first to arrive, were South Americans and people from the United States. Then adventurers from Europe and Asia soon followed. In fact, few achieved their dream of becoming rich. Some died or returned home, but most remained in California to make a life for themselves despite great hardship. They settled in the new towns or on farms. By the time California elected to become the thirty-first federal state of the USA in 1850, it was already a multicultural society.LATER A RRIVALSAlthough Chinese immigrants began to arrive during the Gold Rush Period, it was the building ofthe rail network from the west to the east coast that brought even larger numbers to California in the 1860s. Today, Chinese-Americans live in all parts of California, although a large percentage have chosen to stay in the "Chinatowns" of Los Angeles and San Francisco.Other immigrants such as Italians, mainly fishermen but also wine makers, arrived in California in the late 19th century. In 1911 immigrants from Denmark established a town of their own, which today still keeps up their Danish culture. By the 1920s the film industry was well established in Hollywood, California. The industry boom attracted Europeans including many Jewish people. Today California has the second largest Jewish population in the United States.Japanese farmers began arriving in California at the beginning of the 20th century, and since the 1980s a lot more have settled there. People from Africa have been living in California since the 1800s, when they moved north from Mexico. However, even more arrived between 1942 and 1945 to work in the ship and aircraft industries.MOST RECENT ARRIVALSIn more recent decades, California has become home to more people from Asia, including Koreans, Cambodians, Vietnamese and Laotians. Since its beginning in the 1970s, the computer industry has attracted Indians and Pakistanis to California. THE FUTUREPeople from different parts of the world, attracted by the climate and the lifestyle, still immigrate to California. It is believed that before long the mix of nationalities will be so great that there will be no distinct major racial or cultural groups, but simply a mixture of many races and cultures.GEORGE’S DIARY 12TH—14TH JUNEMonday 12th, JuneArrived early this morning by bus. Went straight to hotel to drop my luggage, shower and shave. Then went exploring. First thing was a ride on a cable car. From top of the hill got a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay and the city. Built in 1873, the cable car system was invented by Andrew Hallidie, who wanted to find a better form of transport than horse-drawn trams. Apparently he'd been shocked when he saw a terrible accident in which a tram's brakes failed, the conductor could not controlthe situation and the tram slipped down the hill dragging the horses with it.Had a late lunch at Fisherman's What. This is the district where Italian fishermen first came to San Francisco in the late 19th century and began the fishing industry. Now it's a tourist area with lots of shops, sea food restaurants and bakeries. It's also the place to catch the ferry to Angel Island and other places in the Bay.Did so much exploring at Fisherman's What. Am exhausted and don't feel like doing anything else. Early bed tonight!Tuesday 13th, JuneTeamed up with a couple from my hotel (Peter and Terri) and hired a car. Spent all day driving around the city. There's a fascinating drive marked out for tourists. It has blue and white signs with seagulls on them to show the way to go. It's a 79km round-trip that takes in all the famous tourist spots. Stopped many times to admire the view of the city from different angles and take photographs. Now have a really good idea of what the city's like.In evening, went to Chinatown with Peter and Terri. Chinese immigrants settled in this area in the 1850s. The fronts of the buildings are decorated to look like old buildings in southern China. Saw some interesting temples here, a number of markets and a great many restaurants. Also art galleries and a museum containing documents, photographs and all sorts of objects about the history of Chinese immigration, but it is closed in the evening. Will go back during the day. Had a delicious meal and then walked down the hill to our hotel.Wednesday 14th, JuneIn morning, took ferry to Angel Island from the port in San Francisco Bay. On the way had a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge. From 1882 to 1940 Angel Island was a famous immigration station where many Chinese people applied for right to live in USA. The cells in the station were very small, cold and damp; some did not even have light but the immigrants had nowhere else to go. Their miserable stay seemed to be punishment rather than justice and freedom to them. They wrote poems on the walls about their loneliness and mourned their former life in China. In 1940 the civil authorities reformed the system so that many moreChinese people were able to grasp the opportunity of settling in the USA. Made me very thoughtful and thankful for my life today.选修8 Unit 2 Cloning-ReadingCLONING: WHERE IS IT LEADING USCloning has always been with us and is here to stay. It is a way of making an exact copy of another animal or plant. It happens in plants when gardeners take cuttings from growing plants to make new ones. It also happens in animals when twins identical in sex and appearance are produced from the same original egg. The fact is that these are both examples of natural clones.Cloning has two major uses. Firstly, gardeners use itall the time to produce commercial quantities of plants. Secondly, it is valuable for research on new plant species and for medical research on animals. Cloning plants is straightforward while cloning animals is very complicated. It is a difficult task to undertake. Many attempts to clone mammals failed. But at last the determination and patience of the scientists paid off in 1996 with a breakthrough - the cloning of Dolly the sheep. The procedure works like this:On the one hand, the whole scientific world followed the progress of the first successful clone, Dolly the sheep. The fact that she seemed to develop normally was very encouraging. Then came the disturbing news that Dolly had become seriously ill. Cloning scientists were cast down to find that Dolly's illnesses were more appropriate to a much older animal. Altogether Dolly lived six and a half years, half the length of the life of the original sheep. Sadly the same arbitrary fate affected other species, such as cloned mice. The questions that concerned all scientists were: "Would this be a major difficulty for all cloned animals Would it happen forever Could it be solved if corrections were made in theirresearch procedure"On the other hand, Dolly's appearance raised a storm of objections and had a great impact on the media and public imagination. It became controversial. It suddenly opened everybody's eyes to the possibility of using cloning to cure serious illnesses and even to produce human beings.Although at present human egg cells and embryos needed for cloning research are difficult to obtain, newspapers wrote of evil leaders hoping to clone themselves to attain their ambitions. Religious leaders also raised moral questions. Governments became nervous and more conservative. Some began to reform their legal systems and forbade research into human cloning, but other countries like China and the UK, continued to accumulate evidence of the abundant medical aid that cloning could provide. However, scientists still wonder whether cloning will help or harm us and where it is leading us.THE RETURN OF THE DINOSAURSThe possibility of cloning fierce and extinct wildanimals has always excited film makers. And they are not theonly ones! The popularity of films such as Jurassic Park, inwhich a scientist clones several kinds of extinct dinosaurs,proves how the idea struck a mixture of fear and excitement intopeople's hearts. But in fact we are a long way from being ableto clone extinct animals. Scientists are still experimentingwith cloning mammals. This is because the cloning of mammalsis still a new science and its story only began seriously inthe 1950s as this list shows:1950s cloning of frogs 1996 first clone of a mammal: Dolly the sheep1970s research using the embryos of mice 2000cow gave birth to a bison1979 work on embryos of sheep and mice 2001China's first cloned twin calves1981 first experimental clones of mice 2002 first cloned cats1983 first experimental clones of cows 2005 first cloned dog…From time to time people suggest that extinct animalslike dinosaurs, can possibly be brought back to life throughcloning. Unfortunately, with what we know now, this is eitherimpossible or unsuitable. There are many reasons.◎ The initial requirement is that you need perfect DNA (whichgives information for how cellsare to grow).◎ All efforts of cloning an animal will be in vain if thereis not enough diversity in the group to overcome illnesses.Diversity in a group meanshaving animals with their genes arranged in different ways.The advantage is that if there is a new illness some of theseanimals may die,but others will survive and pass on the ability to resistthat disease to the next generation. The great drawback to cloning a group ofanimals is that they would all have the same arrangement of genes and so might die of the same illness. Then none of them would be left tocontinue the species.◎ It would be unfair to clone any extinct animals if they were to live in a zoo. A suitable habitat would be needed for them to lead a natural life.Based on what we know now, you cannot clone animals that have been extinct longer than 10,000 years. Actually, dinosaurs disappeared 65,000,000 years ago. So the chance of dinosaurs ever returning to the earth is merely a dream.选修8 Unit 3 Inventors and inventions-ReadingTHE PROBLEM OF THE SHRIKESWhen I called up my mother in the countryside on thetelephone she was very upset. "There are some snakes in our courtyard," she told me. "Snakes come near the house now and then, and they seem to have made their home here, not far from the walnut tree. Can you get rid of them please" I felt very proud. Here was a chance for .me to distinguish myself by inventing something merciful that would catch snakes but not harm them. I knew my parents would not like me to hurt these living creatures!The first thing I did was to see if there were any products that might help me, but there only seemed to be powders designed to kill snakes. A new approach was clearly needed. I set about researching the habits of snakes to find the easiest way to trap them. Luckily these reptiles are small and that made the solution easier.Prepared with some research findings, I decided on three possible approaches: firstly, removing their habitat; secondly, attracting them into a trap using male or female perfume or food; and thirdly cooling them so that they would become sleepy and could be easily caught. I decided to use the last one. I bought an ice-cream maker which was made of stainless steel. Between the outside and the inside walls ofthe bowl there is some jelly, which freezes when cooled. I put the bowl into the fridge and waited for 24 hours. At the same time I prepared some ice-cubes.The next morning I got up early before the sun was hot.I placed the frozen bowl over the snakes' habitat and the ice-cubes on top of the bowl to keep it cool. Finally I covered the whole thing with a large bucket. Then I waited. After two hours I removed the bucket and the bowl. The snakes were less active but they were still too fast for me. They abruptly disappeared into a convenient hole in the wall. So I had to adjust my plan.For the second attempt I froze the bowl and the ice-cubes again but placed them over the snakes' habitat in the evening, as the temperature was starting to cool. Then as before, I covered the bowl with the bucket and left everything overnight. Early the next morning I returned to see the result. This time with great caution I bent down to examine the snakes and I found them very sleepy. But once picked up, they tried to bite me. As they were poisonous snakes, I clearly needed to improve my design again.My third attempt repeated the second procedure. The nextmorning I carried in my hand a small net used for catching fish. This was in the expectation that the snakes would bite again. But monitored carefully, the snakes proved to be no trouble and all went according to plan. I collected the passive snakes and the next day we merrily released them all back into the wild. Pressed by my friends and relations, I decided to seize the opportunity to get recognition formy successful idea by sending my invention to the patent office. Only after you have had thatrecognition can you say that you are truly an inventor. The criteria are so strict that it is difficult to get new ideas accepted unless they are truly novel. In addition, no invention will get a patent if it is:◎a discovery◎a scientific idea or mathematical model◎literature or art◎a game or a business◎a computer programme◎a new animal or plant varietyNor will you receive a patent until a search has been made to find out that your product reallyis different from everyone else's. There are a large number of patent examiners, too, whose only job is to examine whether your claim is valid or not. If it passes all the tests, your application for a patent will be published 18 months from the date you apply. So I have filled in the form and filed my patent application with the Patent Office. Now it's a matter of waiting and hoping. You'll know if I succeed by the size of my bank balance! Wish me luck!ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELLAlexander Graham Bell was born in 1847 in Scotland, but when he was young his family moved to Boston, USA. His motherwas almost entirely deaf, so Alexander became interested in helping deaf people communicate and in deaf education. This interest led him to invent the microphone. He found that by pressing his lips against his mother's forehead, he could make his mother understand what he was saying.He believed that one should always be curious and his most famous saying was:"Leave the beaten track occasionally and dive into the woods. Every time you do you will be certain to find something that you have never seen before. Follow it up, explore all around it, and before you know it, you will have something worth thinking about to occupy your mind. All really big discoveries are the result of thought."It was this exploring around problems and his dynamic spirit that led to his most famous invention - the telephone in 1876. Bell never set out to invent the telephone and what he was trying to design was a multiple telegraph. This original telegraph sent a message over distances using Morse code (a series of dots tapped out along a wire in a particular order). But only one message could go at a time. Bell wanted to improve it so that it could send several messages at the same time. He designeda machine that would separate different sound waves and allow different conversations to be held at the same time. But he found the problem difficult to solve. One day as he was experimenting with one end of a straw joined to a deaf man's ear drum and the other to a piece of smoked glass, Bell noticed that when he spoke into the ear, the straw drew sound waves on the glass. Suddenly he had a flash of inspiration. If sound waves could be reproduced in a moving electrical current, they could be sent along a wire. In searching to improve the telegraph,Bell had invented the first telephone!Bell was fully aware of the importance of his invention and wrote to his father:"The day is coming when telegraph wires will be laid on to houses just like water or gas – and friends will talk to each other without leaving home."The patent was given in 1876, but it was not until five days later that Bell sent his first telephone message to his assistant Watson. The words have now become famous:"Mr Watson - come here - I want to see you."Alexander Graham Bell was not a man to rest and he interested himself in many other areas of invention. He experimented with helicopter designs and flying machines. While searching for a kite strong enough to carry a man into the air, Bell experimented putting triangles together and discovered the tetrahedron shape. Being very stable, it has proved invaluable in the design of bridges.Bell was an inventor all his life. He made his first invention at eleven and his last at seventy- five. Although he is most often associated with the invention of the telephone, he was indeed a continuing searcher after practical solutions to improve the quality of everybody's life.选修8 Unit 4 Pygmalion-ReadingPYGMALIONMAIN CHARACTERS:Eliza Doolittle (E): a poor flower girl who is ambitious to improve herselfProfessor Higgins (H): an expert in phonetics, convinced thatthe quality of a person's English decides his/her position insocietyColonel Pickering (CP): an officer in the army and later afriend of Higgins' who sets him a taskAct One FATEFUL MEETINGS11 :15 pm in London, England in 1914 outside a theatre.It is pouring with rain and cab whistles are blowing in alldirections. A man is hiding from the rain listening to people'slanguage and watching their reactions. While watching, he makesnotes. Nearby a flower girl wearing dark garments and a woollenscarf is also sheltering from the rain. A gentleman (G) passesand hesitates for a moment.E: Come over’ere, cap’in, and buy me flowers off a poor girl.G: I'm sorry but I haven't any change.E: I can giv’ou change, cap’in.G: (surprised) For a pound I'm afraid I've got nothing less.E: (hopefully) Oah! Oh, do buy a flower off me, Captain. Take this for three pence. (holds up some dead flowers)G: (uncomfortably) Now don't be troublesome, there's a good girl. (looks in his wallet and sounds more friendly) But, wait, here's some small change. Will that be of any use to you It's raining heavily now, isn't it (leaves)E: (disappointed at the outcome, but thinking it is better than nothing) Thank you, sir. (sees a man taking notes and feels worried) Hey! I ain’t done nothing wrong by speaking to that gentleman. I've a right to sell flowers, I have. I ain’t no thief. I'm an honest girl I am! (begins to cry)H: (kindly) There! There! Who's hurting you, you silly girl What do you take me for (gives her a handkerchief)E: I thought maybe you was a policeman in disguise.H: Do I look like a policemanE: (still worried) Then why did 'ou take down my words for How do I know whether 'ou took me down right 'ou just show me what 'ou've wrote about me!H: Here you are. (hands over the paper covered in writing)E: What's that That ain't proper writing. I can't read that. (pushes it back at him)H: I can. (reads imitating Eliza) "Come over' ere, cap'in, and buy me flowers off a poor girl." (in his own voice) There you are and you were bornin Lisson Grove if I'm not mistaken.E: (looking confused) What if I was What's it to youCP: (has been watching the girl and now speaks to Higgins) That's quite brilliant! How did you do that, may I askH: Simply phonetics studied and classified from people's own speech. That's my profession and also my hobby. You can place a man by just a few remarks. I can place any spoken conversation within six miles, and even within two streets in London sometimes.CP: Let me congratulate you! But is there an income to be made in thatH: Yes, indeed. Quite a good one. This is the age of the newly rich. People begin their working life in a poor neighbourhood of London with 80 pounds a year and end in a rich one with 100thousand. But they betray themselves every time they open their mouths. Now once taught by me, she'd become an upper class lady ...CP: Is that so Extraordinary!H: (rudely) Look at this girl with her terrible English: the English that will condemn her to the gutter to the end of her days. But, sir, (proudly) once educated to speak properly, that girl could pass herself off in three months as a duchess at an ambassador's garden party. Perhaps I could even find her a place as a lady's maid or a shop assistant, which requires better English.E: What's that you say A shop assistant Now that's sommat I want, that is!H: (ignores her) Can you believe thatCP: Of course! I study many Indian dialects myself and ... H: Do you indeed Do you know Colonel PickeringCP: Indeed I do, for that is me. Who are youH: I'm Henry Higgins and I was going to India to meet you.CP: And I came to England to make your acquaintance!E: What about me How'll you help meH: Oh, take that. (carelessly throws a handful of money into her basket) We must have a celebration, my dear man. (leave together)E: (looking at the collected money in amazement) Well, I never.A whole pound! A fortune! That'll help me, indeed it will. Tomorrow I'll find you, Henry Higgins. Just you wait and see! All that talk of (imitates him) "authentic English" ... (in her own voice) I'll see whether you can get that for me ... (goes out)Act Two, Scene 1 MAKING THE BETIt is 11am in Henry Higgins' house the next day. Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering are sitting deep in conversation.H: Do you want to hear any more soundsCP: No, thank you. I rather fancied myself because I can pronounce twenty-four distinct vowel sounds; but your one hundred and thirty beat me. I can't distinguish most of them. H: (laughing) Well, that comes with practice.There is a knock and Mrs Pearce (MP), the housekeeper, comes in with cookies, a teapot, some cream and two cups. MP: (hesitating) A young girl is asking to see you.H: A young girl! What does she wantMP: Well, she's quite a common kind of girl with dirty thought perhaps you wanted her to talk into your machines.H: Why Has she got an interesting accent We'll her in, Mrs Pearce.MP: (only half resigned to it) Very well, sir. (goes downstairs) H: This is a bit of luck. I'll show you how I make records on wax disks ...MP: (returning) This is the young girl, sir. (Eliza comes intothe room shyly following Mrs Pearce. She is dirty and wearing a shabby dress. She curtsies to the two men.)H: (disappointed) Why! I've got this girl in my records. She's the one we saw the other day. She's no use at all. Take her away.CP: (gently to Eliza) What do you-want, young ladyE: (upset) I wanna be a lady in a flower shop 'stead o' selling flowers in the street. But they won't take me 'less I speak better. So here I am, ready to pay him. I'm not asking for any favours - and he treats me like dirt.H: How muchE: (happier) Now yer talking. A lady friend of mine gets French lessons for two shillings an hour from a real Frenchman. You wouldn't have the face to ask me for the same for teaching me as yer would for French. So I won't give yer more than a shilling.H: (ignoring Eliza and speaking to Pickering) If you think of how much money this girl has - why, it's the best offer I've had! (to Eliza) But if I teach you, I'll be worse than a father.CP: I say, Higgins. Do you remember what you said last night I'll say you're the greatest teacher alive if you can pass her off as a lady. I'll be the referee for this little bet and pay for the lessons too ...E: (gratefully) Oh, yer real good, yer are. Thank you, Colonel.H: Oh, she is so deliciously low. (compromises) OK, I'll teach you. (to Mrs Pearce) But she'll need to be cleaned first. Take her away, Mrs Pearce. Wash her and burn her horrible clothes. We'll buy her new ones. What's your name, girlE: I'm Eliza Doolittle and I'm clean. My clothes went to the laundry when I washed last week.MP: Well, Mr Higgins has a bathtub of his own and he has a bath every morning. If these two gentlemen teach you, you'll have to do the same. They won't like the smell of you otherwise. E: (sobbing) I can't. I dursn't. It ain't natural and it'd kill me. I've never had a bath in my life; not over my whole body, neither below my waist nor taking my vest off. I'd never have come if I'd known about this disgusting thing you want me to do ...H: Once more, take her away, Mrs Pearce, immediately. (Outside Eliza is still weeping with Mrs Pearce) You see the problem, Pickering. It'll be how to teach her grammar, not just pronunciation. She's in need of both.CP: And there's another problem, Higgins. What are we going to do once the experiment is overH: (heartily) Throw her back.CP: But you cannot overlook that! She'll be changed and she has feelings too. We must be practical, mustn't weH: Well, we'll deal with that later. First, we must plan the best way to teach her.CP: How about beginning with the alphabet. That's usually considered very effective ... (fades out as they go offstage together)选修8 Unit 5 Meeting your ancestors-Reading。

选修8 Unit 1 A land of diversity-ReadingCALIFORNIACalifornia is the third largest state in the USA but has the largest population. It also has the distinction of being the most multicultural state in the USA, having attracted people from all over the world. The customs and languages of the immigrants live on in their new home. This diversity of culture is not surprising when you know the history of California.NATIVE AMERCANSExactly when the first people arrived in what we now know as California, no one really knows. However, it is likely that Native Americans were living in California at least fifteen thousand years ago. Scientists believe that these settlers crossed the Bering Strait in the Arctic to America by means of a land bridge which existed in prehistoric times. In the 16th century, after the arrival of the Europeans, t he native people suffered greatly. Thousands were killed or forced into slavery. In addition, many died from the diseases b rought by the Europeans. However, some survived these terrible times, and today there are more Native Americans living in California than in any other state.THE SPANISHIn the 18th century California was ruled by Spain. Spanish soldiers first arrived in South America in the early 16th century, when they fought against the native people and took their land. Two centuries later, the Spanish had settled in most parts of South America and along the northwest coast of what we now call the United States. Of the first Spanish to go to California, the majority were religious men, whose ministry was to teach the Catholic religion to the natives. In 1821, the people of Mexico gained their independence from Spain. California then became part of Mexico. In 1846 the United States declared war on Mexico, and after the war won by the USA, Mexicohad to give California to the USA. However, there is still a strong Spanish influencein the state. That is why today over 40 of Californians speak Spanish as a first or second language.RUSSIANSIn the early 1800s, Russian hunters, who had originally gone to Alaska, began settling in California. Today there are about 25,000 Russian-Americans living in and around San Francisco.GOLD MINERSIn 1848, not long after the American-Mexican war, gold was discovered in California. The dream of becoming rich quickly attracted people from all over the world. The nearest, and therefore the first to arrive, were South Americans and people from the United States. Then adventurers from Europe and Asia soon followed. In fact, few achieved their dream of becoming rich. Some died or returned home, but most remained in California to make a life for themselves despite great hardship. They settled in the new towns or on farms. By the time California elected to become the thirty-first federal state of the USA in 1850, it was already a multicultural society.LATER A RRIVALSAlthough Chinese immigrants began to arrive during the Gold Rush Period, it was the building ofthe rail network from the west to the east coast that brought even larger numbers to California in the 1860s. Today, Chinese-Americans live in all parts of California, although a large percentage have chosen to stay in the "Chinatowns" of Los Angeles and San Francisco.Other immigrants such as Italians, mainly fishermen but also wine makers, arrived in California in the late 19th century. In 1911 immigrants from Denmark established a town of their own, which today still keeps up their Danish culture. By the 1920s the film industry was well established in Hollywood, California. The industry boom attracted Europeans including many Jewish people. Today California has the second largest Jewish population in the United States.Japanese farmers began arriving in California at the beginning of the 20th century, and since the 1980s a lot more have settled there. People from Africa have been living in California since the 1800s, when they moved north from Mexico. However, even more arrived between 1942 and 1945 to work in the ship and aircraft industries. MOST RECENT ARRIV ALSIn more recent decades, California has become home to more people from Asia, including Koreans, Cambodians, Vietnamese and Laotians. Since its beginning in the 1970s, the computer industry has attracted Indians and Pakistanis to California.THE FUTUREPeople from different parts of the world, attracted by the climate and the lifestyle, still immigrate to California. It is believed that before long the mix of nationalities will beso great that there will be no distinct major racial or cultural groups, but simply a mixture of many races and cultures.GEORGE’S DIARY 12TH—14TH JUNEMonday 12th, JuneArrived early this morning by bus.Went straight to hotel to drop my luggage, shower and shave.Then went exploring. First thing was a ride on a cable car. From top of the hill got a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay and the city. Built in 1873, the cable car system was invented by Andrew Hallidie, who wanted to find a better form of transport than horse-drawn trams. Apparently he'd been shocked when he saw a terrible accident in which a tram's brakes failed, the conductor could not control the situation and the tram slipped down the hill dragging the horses with it.Had a late lunch at Fisherman's What. This is the district where Italian fishermen first came to San Francisco in the late 19th century and began the fishing industry. Now it's a tourist area with lots of shops, sea food restaurants and bakeries. It's also the place to catch the ferry to Angel Island and other places in the Bay.Did so much exploring at Fisherman's What. Am exhausted and don't feel like doing anything else. Early bed tonight!Tuesday 13th, JuneTeamed up with a couple from my hotel (Peter and Terri) and hired a car. Spent all day driving around the city. There's a fascinating drive marked out for tourists. It has blue and white signs with seagulls on them to show the way to go. It's a 79km round-trip that takes in all the famous tourist spots. Stopped many times to admire the view of the city from different angles and take photographs. Now have a really good idea of what the city's like.In evening, went to Chinatown with Peter and Terri. Chinese immigrants settled in this area in the 1850s. The fronts of the buildings are decorated to look like old buildings in southern China. Saw some interesting temples here, a number of markets and a great many restaurants. Also art galleries and a museum containing documents, photographs and all sorts of objects about the history of Chinese immigration, but it is closed in the evening. Will go back during the day. Had a delicious meal and then walked down the hill to our hotel.Wednesday 14th, JuneIn morning, took ferry to Angel Island from the port in San Francisco Bay.On the way had a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge. From 1882 to 1940 Angel Island was a famous immigration station where many Chinese people applied for right to live in USA. The cells in the station were very small, cold and damp; some did not even have light but the immigrants had nowhere else to go. Their miserable stay seemed to be punishment rather than justice and freedom to them. They wrote poems on the walls about their loneliness and mourned their former life in China. In 1940 the civil authorities reformed the system so that many more Chinese people were able to grasp the opportunity of settling in the USA. Made me very thoughtful and thankfulfor my life today.选修8 Unit 2 Cloning-ReadingCLONING: WHERE IS IT LEADING US?Cloning has always been with us and is here to stay. It is a way of making an exact copy of another animal or plant. It happens in plants when gardeners take cuttings from growing plants to make new ones. It also happens in animals when twins identical in sex and appearance are produced from the same original egg. The fact is that these are both examples of natural clones.Cloning has two major uses. Firstly, gardeners use it all the time to produce commercial quantities of plants. Secondly, it is valuable for research o n new plant species and for medical research on animals. Cloning plants is straightforward while cloning animals is very complicated. It is a difficult task to undertake. Many attempts to clone mammals failed. But at last the determination and patience of the scientists paid off in 1996 with a breakthrough - the cloning of Dolly the sheep. The procedure works like this:On the one hand, the whole scientific world followed the progress of the first successful clone, Dolly the sheep. The fact that she seemed to develop normally was very encouraging. Then came the disturbing news that Dolly had become seriously ill. Cloning scientists were cast down to find that Dolly's illnesses were more appropriate to a much older animal. Altogether Dolly lived six and a half years, half the length of the life of the original sheep. Sadly the same arbitrary fate affected other species, such as cloned mice. The questions that concerned all scientists were: "Would this be a major difficulty for all cloned animals? Would it happen forever? Could it be solved if corrections were made in their research procedure?"On the other hand, Dolly's appearance raised a storm of objections and had a great impact on the media and public imagination. It became controversial. It suddenly opened everybody's eyes to the possibility of using cloning to cure serious illnesses and even to produce human beings.Although at present human egg cells and embryos needed for cloning research are difficult to obtain, newspapers wrote of evil leaders hoping to clone themselves to attain their ambitions. Religious leaders also raised moral questions. Governments became nervous and more conservative. Some began to reform their legal systems and forbade research into human cloning, but other countries like China and the UK, continued to accumulate evidence of the abundant medical aid that cloning could provide. However, scientists still wonder whether cloning will help or harm us and where it is leading us.THE RETURN OF THE DINOSAURS?The possibility of cloning fierce and extinct wild animals has always excited film makers. And they are not the only ones! The popularity of films such as Jurassic Park, in which a scientist clones several kinds of extinct dinosaurs, proves how the idea struck a mixture of fear and excitement into people's hearts. But in fact we are a long way from being able to clone extinct animals. Scientists are still experimenting with cloning mammals. This is because the cloning of mammals is still a new science and its story only began seriously in the 1950s as this list shows:1950s cloning of frogs 1996 first clone of a mammal: Dolly the sheep1970s research using the embryos of mice 2000 cow gave birth toa bison1979 work on embryos of sheep and mice 2001 China's first cloned twin calves1981 first experimental clones of mice 2002 first cloned cats1983 first experimental clones of cows 2005 first cloned dog…From time to time people suggest that extinct animals like dinosaurs, can possibly be brought back to life through cloning. Unfortunately, with what we know now, this is either impossible or unsuitable. There are many reasons.◎The initial requirement is that you need perfect DNA (which gives information for how cellsare to grow).◎All efforts of cloning an animal will be in vain if there is not enough diversity inthe group to overcome illnesses. Diversity in a group meanshaving animals with their genes arranged in different ways. The advantage is that if there is a new illness some of these animals may die,but others will survive and pass on the ability to resist that disease to the next generation. The great drawback to cloning a group ofanimals is that they would all have the same arrangement of genes and so might die of the same illness. Then none of them would be left tocontinue the species.◎It would be unfair to clone any extinct animals if they were to live in a zoo. A suitable habitat would be needed for them to lead a natural life.Based on what we know now, you cannot clone animals that have been extinct longer than 10,000 years. Actually, dinosaurs disappeared 65,000,000 years ago. So the chance of dinosaurs ever returning to the earth is merely a dream.选修8 Unit 3 Inventors and inventions-ReadingTHE PROBLEM OF THE SHRIKESWhen I called up my mother in the countryside on the telephone she was very upset. "There are some snakes in our courtyard," she told me. "Snakes come near the house now and then, and they seem to have made their home here, not far from the walnut tree. Can you get rid of them please?" I felt very proud. Here was a chancefor .me to distinguish myself by inventing something merciful that would catch snakes but not harm them. I knew my parents would not like me to hurt these living creatures!The first thing I did was to see if there were any products that might help me, but there only seemed to be powders designed to kill snakes. A new approach was clearly needed. I set about researching the habits of snakes to find the easiest way to trap them. Luckily these reptiles are small and that made the solution easier.Prepared with some research findings, I decided on three possible approaches: firstly, removing their habitat; secondly, attracting them into a trap using male or female perfume or food; and thirdly cooling them so that they would become sleepy and could be easily caught. I decided to use the last one. I bought an ice-cream maker which was made of stainless steel. Between the outside and the inside walls of the bowl there is some jelly, which freezes when cooled. I put the bowl into the fridge and waited for 24 hours. At the same time I prepared some ice-cubes.The next morning I got up early before the sun was hot. I placed the frozen bowl over the snakes' habitat and the ice-cubes on top of the bowl to keep it cool. Finally I covered the whole thing with a large bucket. Then I waited. After two hours I removed the bucket and the bowl. The snakes were less active but they were still too fast for me. They abruptly disappeared into a convenient hole in the wall. So I had to adjust my plan.For the second attempt I froze the bowl and the ice-cubes again but placed them over the snakes' habitat in the evening, as the temperature was starting to cool. Then as before, I covered the bowl with the bucket and left everything overnight. Early the next morning I returned to see the result. This time with great caution I bent down to examine the snakes and I found them very sleepy. But once picked up, they tried to bite me. As they were poisonous snakes, I clearly needed to improve my design again.My third attempt repeated the second procedure. The next morning I carried in my hand a small net used for catching fish. This was in the expectation that the snakes would bite again. But monitored carefully, the snakes proved to be no trouble and all went according to plan. I collected the passive snakes and the next day we merrily released them all back into the wild.Pressed by my friends and relations, I decided to seize the opportunity to get recognition formy successful idea by sending my invention to the patent office. Only after you have had thatrecognition can you say that you are truly an inventor. The criteria are so strict that it is difficult to get new ideas accepted unless they are truly novel. In addition, no invention will get a patent if it is:◎a discovery◎a scientific idea or mathematical model◎literature or art◎a game or a business◎a computer programme◎a new animal or plant varietyNor will you receive a patent until a search has been made to find out that your product reallyis different from everyone else's. There are a large number of patent examiners, too, whose only job is to examine whether your claim is valid or not. If it passes all the tests, your application for a patent will be published 18 months from the date you apply. So I have filled in the form and filed my patent application with the Patent Office. Now it's a matter of waiting and hoping. You'll know if I succeed by the sizeof my bank balance! Wish me luck!ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELLAlexander Graham Bell was born in 1847 in Scotland, but when he was young his family moved to Boston, USA. His mother was almost entirely deaf, so Alexander became interested in helping deaf people communicate and in deaf education. This interest led him to invent the microphone. He found that by pressing his lips against his mother's forehead, he could make his mother understand what he was saying.He believed that one should always be curious and his most famous saying was:"Leave the beaten track occasionally and dive into the woods. Every time you do you will be certain to find something that you have never seen before. Follow it up, explore all around it, and before you know it, you will have something worth thinking about to occupy your mind. All really big discoveries are the result of thought."It was this exploring around problems and his dynamic spirit that led to his most famous invention - the telephone in 1876. Bell never set out to invent the telephone and what he was trying to design was a multiple telegraph. This original telegraph sent a message over distances using Morse code (a series of dots tapped out along awire in a particular order). But only one message could go at a time. Bell wanted to improve it so that it could send several messages a t the same time. He designed a machine that would separate different sound waves and allow different conversations to be held at the same time. But he found the problem difficult to solve. One day as he was experimenting with one end of a straw joined to a deaf man's ear drum and the other to a piece of smoked glass, Bell noticed that when he spoke into the ear, the straw drew sound waves on the glass. Suddenly he had a flash of inspiration. If sound waves could be reproduced in a moving electrical current, they could be sent along a wire. In searching to improve the telegraph,Bell had invented the first telephone!Bell was fully aware of the importance of his invention and wrote to his father:"The day is coming when telegraph wires will be laid on to houses justlike water or gas – and friends will talk to each other without leaving home."The patent was given in 1876, but it was not until five days later that Bell sent his first telephone message t o his assistant Watson. The words have now become famous:"Mr Watson - come here - I want to see you."Alexander Graham Bell was not a man to rest and he interested himself in many other areas of invention. He experimented with helicopter designs and flying machines. While searching for a kite strong enough to carry a man into the air, Bell experimented putting triangles together and discovered the tetrahedron shape. Being very stable, it has proved invaluable in the design of bridges.Bell was an inventor all his life. He made his first invention at eleven and his last at seventy- five. Although he is most often associated with the invention of the telephone, he was indeed a continuing searcher after practical solutions to improve the quality of everybody's life.选修8 Unit 4 Pygmalion-ReadingPYGMALIONMAIN CHARACTERS:Eliza Doolittle (E): a poor flower girl who is ambitious to improve herself Professor Higgins (H): an expert in phonetics, convinced that the quality of a person's English decides his/her position in societyColonel Pickering (CP): an officer in the army and later a friend of Higgins' who sets him a taskAct One FATEFUL MEETINGS11 :15 pm in London, England in 1914 outside a theatre. It is pouring with rain andcab whistles are blowing in all directions. A man is hiding from the rain listening to people's language and watching their reactions. While watching, he makes notes.Nearby a flower girl wearing dark garments and a woollen scarf is also shelteringfrom the rain. A gentleman (G) passes and hesitates for a moment.E: Come over’ere, cap’in, and buy me flowers off a poor girl.G: I'm sorry but I haven't any change.E: I can giv’ou change, cap’in.G: (surprised) For a pound? I'm afraid I've got nothing less.E: (hopefully) Oah! Oh, do buy a flower off me, Captain. Take this for three pence.(holds up some dead flowers)G: (uncomfortably) Now don't be troublesome, there's a good girl. (looks in his walletand sounds more friendly) But, wait, here's some small change. Will that be of anyuse to you? It's raining heavily now, isn't it? (leaves)E: (disappointed at the outcome, but thinking it is better than nothing) Thank you, sir.(se es a man taking notes and feels worried) Hey! I ain’t done nothing wrong byspeaking to that gentleman. I've a right to sell flowers, I have. I ain’tno thief. honest girl I am! (begins to cry)H: (kindly) There! There! Who's hurting you, you silly girl? What do you take me for?(gives her a handkerchief)E: I thought maybe you was a policeman in disguise.H: Do I look like a policeman?E: (still worried) Then why did 'ou take down my words for? How do I know whether'ou took me down right? 'ou just show me what 'ou've wrote about me!H: Here you are. (hands over the paper covered in writing)E: What's that? That ain't proper writing. I can't read that. (pushes it back at him)H: I can. (reads imitating Eliza) "Come over' ere, cap'in, and buy me flowers off apoor girl." (in his own voice) There you are and you were borninLisson Grove if I'm not mistaken.E: (looking confused) What if I was? What's it to you?CP: (has been watching the girl and now speaks to Higgins) That's quite brilliant!How did you do that, may I ask?H: Simply phonetics studied and classified from people's own speech. That's myprofession and also my hobby. You can place a man by just a few remarks. I canplace any spoken conversation within six miles, and even within two streets inLondon sometimes.CP: Let me congratulate you! But is there an income to be made in that?H: Yes, indeed. Quite a good one. This is the age of the newly rich. People begin theirworking life in a poor neighbourhood of London with 80 pounds a year and end in arich one with 100 thousand. But they betray themselves every time they open theirmouths. Now once taught by me, she'd become an upper class lady ...CP: Is that so? Extraordinary!H: (rudely) Look at this girl with her terrible English: the English that will condemnher to the gutter to the end of her days. But, sir, (proudly) once educated to speakproperly, that girl could pass herself off in three months as a duchess at anambassador's garden party. Perhaps I could even find her a place as a lady's maid or ashop assistant, which requires better English.E: What's that you say? A shop assistant? Now that's sommat I want, that is!H: (ignores her) Can you believe that?CP: Of course! I study many Indian dialects myself and ...H: Do you indeed? Do you know Colonel Pickering?CP: Indeed I do, for that is me. Who are you?H: I'm Henry Higgins and I was going to India to meet you.CP: And I came to England to make your acquaintance!E: What about me? How'll you help me?H: Oh, take that. (carelessly throws a handful of money into her basket) We must have a celebration, my dear man. (leave together)E: (looking at the collected money in amazement) Well, I never. A whole pound! A fortune! That'll help me, indeed it will. Tomorrow I'll find you, Henry Higgins. Justyou wait and see! All that talk of (imitates him) "authentic English" ... (in her own voice) I'll see whether you can get that for me ... (goes out)Act Two, Scene 1 MAKING THE BETIt is 11am in Henry Higgins' house the next day. Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering are sitting deep in conversation.H: Do you want to hear any more sounds?CP: No, thank you. I rather fancied myself because I can pronounce twenty-four distinct vowel sounds; but your one hundred and thirty beat me. I can't distinguish most of them.H: (laughing) Well, that comes with practice.There is a knock and Mrs Pearce (MP), the housekeeper, c omes in with cookies, a teapot, some cream and two cups.MP: (hesitating) A young girl is asking to see you.H: A young girl! What does she want?MP: Well, she's quite a common kind of girl with dirty nails.I thought perhaps you wanted her to talk into your machines.H: Why? Has she got an interesting accent? We'll see.Show her in, Mrs Pearce. MP: (only half resigned to it) Very well, sir. (goes downstairs)H: This is a bit of luck. I'll show you how I make records on wax disks ...MP: (returning) This is the young girl, sir. (Eliza comes into the room shyly following Mrs Pearce. She is dirty and wearing a shabby dress. She curtsies to the two men.) H: (disappointed) Why! I've got this girl in my records. She's the one we saw the other day. She's no use at all. Take her away.CP: (gently to Eliza) What do you-want, young lady?E: (upset) I wanna be a lady in a flower shop 'stead o' selling flowers in the street. But they won't take me 'less I speak better. So here I am, ready to pay him. I'm not asking for any favours - and he treats me like dirt.H: How much?E: (happier) Now yer talking. A lady friend of mine gets French lessons for two shillings an hour from a real Frenchman. You wouldn't have the face to ask me for the same for teaching me as yer would for French. So I won't give yer more than a shilling.H: (ignoring Eliza and speaking to Pickering) If you think of how much money thisgirl has - why, it's the best offer I've had! (to Eliza) But if I teach you, I'll be worsethan a father.CP: I say, Higgins. Do you remember what you said last night? I'll say you're the greatest teacher alive if you can pass her off as a lady. I'll be the referee for this little bet and pay for the lessons too ...E: (gratefully) Oh, yer real good, yer are. Thank you, Colonel.H: Oh, she is so deliciously low. (compromises) OK, I'll teach you. (toMrs Pearce) But she'll need to be cleaned first. Take her away, Mrs Pearce. Wash her and burn her horrible clothes. We'll buy her new ones. What's your name, girl?E: I'm Eliza Doolittle and I'm clean. My clothes went to the laundry when I washedlast week.MP: Well, Mr Higgins has a bathtub of his own and he has a bath every morning. If these two gentlemen teach you, you'll have to do the same. They won't like the smell of you otherwise.E: (sobbing) I can't. I dursn't. It ain't natural and it'd kill me. I've never had a bath inmy life; not over my whole body, neither below my waist nor taking my vest off. I'd never have come if I'd known about this disgusting thing you want me to do ...H: Once more, take her away, Mrs Pearce, immediately. (Outside Eliza is still weeping with Mrs Pearce) You see the problem, Pickering. It'll be how to teach her grammar, not just pronunciation. She's in need of both.CP: And there's another problem, Higgins. What are we going to do once the experiment is over?H: (heartily) Throw her back.CP: But you cannot overlook that! She'll be changed and she has feelings too. We must be practical, mustn't we?H: Well, we'll deal with that later. First, we must plan the best way to teach her. CP: How about beginning with the alphabet. That's usually considered very effective ... (fades out as they go offstage together)。

选修8 Unit 1 A land of diversity-ReadingCALIFORNIACalifornia is the third largest state in the USA but has the largest population. It also has the distinction of being the most multicultural state in the USA, having attracted people from all over the world. The customs and languages of the immigrants live on in their new home. This diversity of culture is not surprising when you know the history of California.NATIVE AMERCANSExactly when the first people arrived in what we now know as California, no one really knows. However, it is likely that Native Americans were living in California at least fifteen thousand years ago. Scientists believe that these settlers crossed the Bering Strait in the Arctic to America by means of a land bridge which existed in prehistoric times. In the 16th century, after the arrival of the Europeans, the native people suffered greatly. Thousands were killed or forced into slavery. In addition, many died from the diseases brought by the Europeans. However, some survived these terrible times, and today there are more Native Americans living in California than in any other state.THE SPANISHIn the 18th century California was ruled by Spain. Spanish soldiers first arrived in South America in the early 16th century, when they fought against the native people and took their land. Two centuries later, the Spanish had settled in most parts of South America and along the northwest coast of what we now call the United States. Of the first Spanish to go to California, the majority were religious men, whose ministry was to teach the Catholic religion to the natives. In 1821, the people of Mexico gained their independence from Spain. California then became part of Mexico. In 1846 the United States declared war on Mexico, and after the war won by the USA, Mexico had to give California to the USA. However, there is still a strong Spanish influence in the state. That is why today over 40 of Californians speak Spanish as a first or second language. RUSSIANSIn the early 1800s, Russian hunters, who had originally gone to Alaska, began settling in California. Today there are about 25,000 Russian-Americans living in and around San Francisco.GOLD MINERSIn 1848, not long after the American-Mexican war, gold was discovered in California. The dream of becoming rich quickly attracted people from all over the world. The nearest, and therefore the first to arrive, were South Americans and people from the United States. Then adventurers from Europe and Asia soon followed. In fact, few achieved their dream of becoming rich.Some died or returned home, but most remained in California to make a life for themselves despite great hardship. They settled in the new towns or on farms. By the time California elected to become the thirty-first federal state of the USA in 1850, it was already a multicultural society. LATER A RRIVALSAlthough Chinese immigrants began to arrive during the Gold Rush Period, it was the building ofthe rail network from the west to the east coast that brought even larger numbers to California in the 1860s. Today, Chinese-Americans live in all parts of California, although a large percentage have chosen to stay in the "Chinatowns" of Los Angeles and San Francisco.Other immigrants such as Italians, mainly fishermen but also wine makers, arrived in California in the late 19th century. In 1911 immigrants from Denmark established a town of their own, which today still keeps up their Danish culture. By the 1920s the film industry was well established in Hollywood, California. The industry boom attracted Europeans including many Jewish people. Today California has the second largest Jewish population in the United States.Japanese farmers began arriving in California at the beginning of the 20th century, and since the 1980s a lot more have settled there. People from Africa have been living in California since the 1800s, when they moved north from Mexico. However, even more arrived between 1942 and 1945 to work in the ship and aircraft industries.MOST RECENT ARRIVALSIn more recent decades, California has become home to more people from Asia, including Koreans, Cambodians, Vietnamese and Laotians. Since its beginning in the 1970s, the computer industry has attracted Indians and Pakistanis to California.THE FUTUREPeople from different parts of the world, attracted by the climate and the lifestyle, still immigrate to California. It is believed that before long the mix of nationalities will be so great that there will be no distinct major racial or cultural groups, but simply a mixture of many races and cultures.GEORGE’S DIARY 12TH—14TH JUNEMonday 12th, JuneArrived early this morning by bus. Went straight to hotel to drop my luggage, shower and shave. Then went exploring. First thing was a ride on a cable car. From top of the hill got a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay and the city. Built in 1873, the cable car system was invented by Andrew Hallidie, who wanted to find a better form of transport than horse-drawn trams. Apparently he'd been shocked when he saw a terrible accident in which a tram's brakes failed, the conductor could not control the situation and the tram slipped down the hill dragging the horses with it. Had a late lunch at Fisherman's What. This is the district where Italian fishermen first came to San Francisco in the late 19th century and began the fishing industry. Now it's a tourist area with lots of shops, sea food restaurants and bakeries. It's also the place to catch the ferry to Angel Island and other places in the Bay.Did so much exploring at Fisherman's What. Am exhausted and don't feel like doing anything else. Early bed tonight!Tuesday 13th, JuneTeamed up with a couple from my hotel (Peter and Terri) and hired a car. Spent all day driving around the city. There's a fascinating drive marked out for tourists. It has blue and white signs with seagulls on them to show the way to go. It's a 79km round-trip that takes in all the famous tourist spots. Stopped many times to admire the view of the city from different angles and take photographs. Now have a really good idea of what the city's like.In evening, went to Chinatown with Peter and Terri. Chinese immigrants settled in this area in the 1850s. The fronts of the buildings are decorated to look like old buildings in southern China. Saw some interesting temples here, a number of markets and a great many restaurants. Also art galleries and a museum containing documents, photographs and all sorts of objects about the history of Chinese immigration, but it is closed in the evening. Will go back during the day. Had a delicious meal and then walked down the hill to our hotel.Wednesday 14th, JuneIn morning, took ferry to Angel Island from the port in San Francisco Bay. On the way had a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge. From 1882 to 1940 Angel Island was a famous immigration station where many Chinese people applied for right to live in USA. The cells in the station were very small, cold and damp; some did not even have light but the immigrants had nowhere else to go. Their miserable stay seemed to be punishment rather than justice and freedom to them. They wrote poems on the walls about their loneliness and mourned their former life in China. In 1940 the civil authorities reformed the system so that many more Chinesepeople were able to grasp the opportunity of settling in the USA. Made me very thoughtful and thankful for my life today.选修8 Unit 2 Cloning-ReadingCLONING: WHERE IS IT LEADING US?Cloning has always been with us and is here to stay. It is a way of making an exact copy of another animal or plant. It happens in plants when gardeners take cuttings from growing plants to make new ones. It also happens in animals when twins identical in sex and appearance are produced from the same original egg. The fact is that these are both examples of natural clones.Cloning has two major uses. Firstly, gardeners use it all the time to produce commercial quantities of plants. Secondly, it is valuable for research on new plant species and for medical research on animals. Cloning plants is straightforward while cloning animals is very complicated. It is a difficult task to undertake. Many attempts to clone mammals failed. But at last the determination and patience of the scientists paid off in 1996 with a breakthrough - the cloning of Dolly the sheep. The procedure works like this:On the one hand, the whole scientific world followed the progress of the first successful clone, Dolly the sheep. The fact that she seemed to develop normally was very encouraging. Then came the disturbing news that Dolly had become seriously ill. Cloning scientists were cast down to find that Dolly's illnesses were more appropriate to a much older animal. Altogether Dolly lived six and a half years, half the length of the life of the original sheep. Sadly the same arbitrary fate affected other species, such as cloned mice. The questions that concerned all scientists were: "Would this be a major difficulty for all cloned animals? Would it happen forever? Could it be solved if corrections were made in their research procedure?"On the other hand, Dolly's appearance raised a storm of objectionsand had a great impact on the media and public imagination. It became controversial. It suddenly opened everybody's eyes to the possibility ofusing cloning to cure serious illnesses and even to produce human beings.Although at present human egg cells and embryos needed for cloningresearch are difficult to obtain, newspapers wrote of evil leaders hopingto clone themselves to attain their ambitions. Religious leaders alsoraised moral questions. Governments became nervous and more conservative.Some began to reform their legal systems and forbade research into humancloning, but other countries like China and the UK, continued toaccumulate evidence of the abundant medical aid that cloning could provide.However, scientists still wonder whether cloning will help or harm us andwhere it is leading us.THE RETURN OF THE DINOSAURS?The possibility of cloning fierce and extinct wild animals hasalways excited film makers. And they are not the only ones! The popularityof films such as Jurassic Park, in which a scientist clones several kindsof extinct dinosaurs, proves how the idea struck a mixture of fear andexcitement into people's hearts. But in fact we are a long way from beingable to clone extinct animals. Scientists are still experimenting withcloning mammals. This is because the cloning of mammals is still a newscience and its story only began seriously in the 1950s as this list shows:1950s cloning of frogs 1996 first clone of a mammal: Dolly the sheep1970s research using the embryos of mice 2000 cow gavebirth to a bison1979 work on embryos of sheep and mice 2001 China's firstcloned twin calves1981 first experimental clones of mice 2002 firstcloned cats1983 first experimental clones of cows 2005 firstcloned dog…From time to time people suggest that extinct animals likedinosaurs, can possibly be brought back to life through cloning.Unfortunately, with what we know now, this is either impossible or unsuitable. There are many reasons.◎ The initial requirement is that you need perfect DNA (which gives information for how cellsare to grow).◎ All efforts of cloning an animal will be in vain if there is not enough diversity in the group to overcome illnesses. Diversity in a group means having animals with their genes arranged in different ways. The advantage is that if there is a new illness some of these animals may die, but others will survive and pass on the ability to resist that disease to the next generation. The great drawback to cloning a group ofanimals is that they would all have the same arrangement of genes and so might die of the same illness. Then none of them would be left to continue the species.◎ It would be unfair to clone any extinct animals if they were to live in a zoo. A suitable habitat would be needed for them to lead a natural life.Based on what we know now, you cannot clone animals that have been extinct longer than 10,000 years. Actually, dinosaurs disappeared 65,000,000 years ago. So the chance of dinosaurs ever returning to the earth is merely a dream.选修8 Unit 3 Inventors and inventions-ReadingTHE PROBLEM OF THE SHRIKESWhen I called up my mother in the countryside on the telephone she was very upset. "There are some snakes in our courtyard," she told me. "Snakes come near the house now and then, and they seem to have made their home here, not far from the walnut tree. Can you get rid of them please?" I felt very proud. Here was a chance for .me to distinguish myself by inventing something merciful that would catch snakes but not harm them.I knew my parents would not like me to hurt these living creatures! The first thing I did was to see if there were any products that might help me, but there only seemed to be powders designed to kill snakes.A new approach was clearly needed. I set about researching the habits of snakes to find the easiest way to trap them. Luckily these reptiles are small and that made the solution easier.Prepared with some research findings, I decided on three possible approaches: firstly, removing their habitat; secondly, attracting them into a trap using male or female perfume or food; and thirdly cooling them so that they would become sleepy and could be easily caught. I decided to use the last one. I bought an ice-cream maker which was made of stainlesssteel. Between the outside and the inside walls of the bowl there is some jelly, which freezes when cooled. I put the bowl into the fridge and waited for 24 hours. At the same time I prepared some ice-cubes.The next morning I got up early before the sun was hot. I placed the frozen bowl over the snakes' habitat and the ice-cubes on top of the bowl to keep it cool. Finally I covered the whole thing with a large bucket. Then I waited. After two hours I removed the bucket and the bowl. The snakes were less active but they were still too fast for me. They abruptly disappeared into a convenient hole in the wall. So I had to adjust my plan. For the second attempt I froze the bowl and the ice-cubes again but placed them over the snakes' habitat in the evening, as the temperature was starting to cool. Then as before, I covered the bowl with the bucket and left everything overnight. Early the next morning I returned to see the result. This time with great caution I bent down to examine the snakes and I found them very sleepy. But once picked up, they tried to bite me. As they were poisonous snakes, I clearly needed to improve my design again. My third attempt repeated the second procedure. The next morning I carried in my hand a small net used for catching fish. This was in the expectation that the snakes would bite again. But monitored carefully, the snakes proved to be no trouble and all went according to plan. I collected the passive snakes and the next day we merrily released them all back into the wild.Pressed by my friends and relations, I decided to seize the opportunity to get recognition formy successful idea by sending my invention to the patent office. Only after you have had thatrecognition can you say that you are truly an inventor. The criteria are so strict that it is difficult to get new ideas accepted unless they are truly novel. In addition, no invention will get a patent if it is: ◎a discovery◎a scientific idea or mathematical model◎literature or art◎a game or a business◎a computer programme◎a new animal or plant varietyNor will you receive a patent until a search has been made to find out that your product reallyis different from everyone else's. There are a large number of patent examiners, too, whose only job is to examine whether your claim is valid or not. If it passes all the tests, your application for a patent will be published 18 months from the date you apply. So I have filled in the form and filed my patent application with the Patent Office. Now it's a matter of waiting and hoping. You'll know if I succeed by the size of mybank balance! Wish me luck!ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELLAlexander Graham Bell was born in 1847 in Scotland, but when he was young his family moved to Boston, USA. His mother was almost entirely deaf, so Alexander became interested in helping deaf people communicate and in deaf education. This interest led him to invent the microphone. He found that by pressing his lips against his mother's forehead, he could make his mother understand what he was saying.He believed that one should always be curious and his most famous saying was:"Leave the beaten track occasionally and dive into the woods. Every time you do you will be certain to find something that you have never seen before. Follow it up, explore all around it, and before you know it, you will have something worth thinking about to occupy your mind. All really big discoveries are the result of thought."It was this exploring around problems and his dynamic spirit that led to his most famous invention - the telephone in 1876. Bell never set out to invent the telephone and what he was trying to design was a multiple telegraph. This original telegraph sent a message over distances using Morse code (a series of dots tapped out along a wire in a particular order). But only one message could go at a time. Bell wanted to improve it so that it could send several messages at the same time. He designed a machine that would separate different sound waves and allow different conversations to be held at the same time. But he found the problem difficult to solve. One day as he was experimenting with one end of a straw joined to a deaf man's ear drum and the other to a piece of smoked glass, Bell noticed that when he spoke into the ear, the straw drew sound waves on the glass. Suddenly he had a flash of inspiration. If sound waves could be reproduced in a moving electrical current, they could be sent along a wire. In searching to improve the telegraph,Bell had invented the first telephone!Bell was fully aware of the importance of his invention and wrote to his father:"The day is coming when telegraph wires will be laid on to houses just like water or gas – and friends will talk to each other without leaving home."The patent was given in 1876, but it was not until five days later that Bell sent his first telephone message to his assistant Watson. The words have now become famous:"Mr Watson - come here - I want to see you."Alexander Graham Bell was not a man to rest and he interested himself in many other areas of invention. He experimented with helicopter designs and flying machines. While searching for a kite strong enough to carry a man into the air, Bell experimented putting triangles together and discovered the tetrahedron shape. Being very stable, it has proved invaluable in the design of bridges.Bell was an inventor all his life. He made his first invention at eleven and his last at seventy- five. Although he is most often associated with the invention of the telephone, he was indeed a continuing searcher after practical solutions to improve the quality of everybody's life.选修8 Unit 4 Pygmalion-ReadingPYGMALIONMAIN CHARACTERS:Eliza Doolittle (E): a poor flower girl who is ambitious to improve herselfProfessor Higgins (H): an expert in phonetics, convinced that the quality of a person's English decides his/her position in society Colonel Pickering (CP): an officer in the army and later a friend of Higgins' who sets him a taskAct One FATEFUL MEETINGS11 :15 pm in London, England in 1914 outside a theatre. It is pouring with rain and cab whistles are blowing in all directions. A man is hiding from the rain listening to people's language and watching their reactions. While watching, he makes notes. Nearby a flower girl wearing dark garments and a woollen scarf is also sheltering from the rain. A gentleman (G) passes and hesitates for a moment.E: Come over’ere, cap’in, and buy me flowers off a poor girl.G: I'm sorry but I haven't any change.E: I can giv’ou change, cap’in.G: (surprised) For a pound? I'm afraid I've got nothing less.E: (hopefully) Oah! Oh, do buy a flower off me, Captain. Take this for three pence. (holds up some dead flowers)G: (uncomfortably) Now don't be troublesome, there's a good girl. (looks in his wallet and sounds more friendly) But, wait, here's some small change. Will that be of any use to you? It's raining heavily now, isn't it? (leaves)E: (disappointed at the outcome, but thinking it is better than nothing) Thank you, sir. (sees a man taking notes and feels worried) Hey! I ain’t done nothing wrong by speaking to that gentleman. I've a right to sell flowers, I have. I ain’t no thief. I'm an honest girl I am! (begins to cry)H: (kindly) There! There! Who's hurting you, you silly girl? What do you take me for? (gives her a handkerchief)E: I thought maybe you was a policeman in disguise.H: Do I look like a policeman?E: (still worried) Then why did 'ou take down my words for? How do I know whether 'ou took me down right? 'ou just show me what 'ou've wrote about me!H: Here you are. (hands over the paper covered in writing)E: What's that? That ain't proper writing. I can't read that. (pushes it back at him)H: I can. (reads imitating Eliza) "Come over' ere, cap'in, and buy me flowers off a poor girl." (in his own voice) There you are and you were bornin Lisson Grove if I'm not mistaken.E: (looking confused) What if I was? What's it to you?CP: (has been watching the girl and now speaks to Higgins) That's quite brilliant! How did you do that, may I ask?H: Simply phonetics studied and classified from people's own speech. That's my profession and also my hobby. You can place a man by just a few remarks. I can place any spoken conversation within six miles, and even within two streets in London sometimes.CP: Let me congratulate you! But is there an income to be made in that? H: Yes, indeed. Quite a good one. This is the age of the newly rich. People begin their working life in a poor neighbourhood of London with 80 pounds a year and end in a rich one with 100 thousand. But they betray themselves every time they open their mouths. Now once taught by me, she'd become an upper class lady ...CP: Is that so? Extraordinary!H: (rudely) Look at this girl with her terrible English: the English that will condemn her to the gutter to the end of her days. But, sir, (proudly) once educated to speak properly, that girl could pass herself off in three months as a duchess at an ambassador's garden party. Perhaps I could even find her a place as a lady's maid or a shop assistant, which requires better English.E: What's that you say? A shop assistant? Now that's sommat I want, that is!H: (ignores her) Can you believe that?CP: Of course! I study many Indian dialects myself and ...H: Do you indeed? Do you know Colonel Pickering?CP: Indeed I do, for that is me. Who are you?H: I'm Henry Higgins and I was going to India to meet you.CP: And I came to England to make your acquaintance!E: What about me? How'll you help me?H: Oh, take that. (carelessly throws a handful of money into her basket) We must have a celebration, my dear man. (leave together)E: (looking at the collected money in amazement) Well, I never. A whole pound! A fortune! That'll help me, indeed it will. Tomorrow I'll find you, Henry Higgins. Just you wait and see! All that talk of (imitates him) "authentic English" ... (in her own voice) I'll see whether you can get that for me ... (goes out)Act Two, Scene 1 MAKING THE BETIt is 11am in Henry Higgins' house the next day. Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering are sitting deep in conversation.H: Do you want to hear any more sounds?CP: No, thank you. I rather fancied myself because I can pronounce twenty-four distinct vowel sounds; but your one hundred and thirty beat me. I can't distinguish most of them.H: (laughing) Well, that comes with practice.There is a knock and Mrs Pearce (MP), the housekeeper, comes in with cookies, a teapot, some cream and two cups.MP: (hesitating) A young girl is asking to see you.H: A young girl! What does she want?MP: Well, she's quite a common kind of girl with dirty nails.I thought perhaps you wanted her to talk into your machines.H: Why? Has she got an interesting accent? We'll see.Show her in, Mrs Pearce.MP: (only half resigned to it) Very well, sir. (goes downstairs)H: This is a bit of luck. I'll show you how I make records on wax disks ...MP: (returning) This is the young girl, sir. (Eliza comes into the room shyly following Mrs Pearce. She is dirty and wearing a shabby dress. She curtsies to the two men.)H: (disappointed) Why! I've got this girl in my records. She's the one we saw the other day. She's no use at all. Take her away.CP: (gently to Eliza) What do you-want, young lady?E: (upset) I wanna be a lady in a flower shop 'stead o' selling flowers in the street. But they won't take me 'less I speak better. So here I am, ready to pay him. I'm not asking for any favours - and he treats me like dirt.H: How much?E: (happier) Now yer talking. A lady friend of mine gets French lessons for two shillings an hour from a real Frenchman. You wouldn't have the face to ask me for the same for teaching me as yer would for French. So I won't give yer more than a shilling.H: (ignoring Eliza and speaking to Pickering) If you think of how much money this girl has - why, it's the best offer I've had! (to Eliza) But if I teach you, I'll be worse than a father.CP: I say, Higgins. Do you remember what you said last night? I'll say you're the greatest teacher alive if you can pass her off as a lady. I'll be the referee for this little bet and pay for the lessons too ...E: (gratefully) Oh, yer real good, yer are. Thank you, Colonel.H: Oh, she is so deliciously low. (compromises) OK, I'll teach you. (to Mrs Pearce) But she'll need to be cleaned first. Take her away, Mrs Pearce. Wash her and burn her horrible clothes. We'll buy her new ones. What's your name, girl?E: I'm Eliza Doolittle and I'm clean. My clothes went to the laundry when I washed last week.MP: Well, Mr Higgins has a bathtub of his own and he has a bath every morning. If these two gentlemen teach you, you'll have to do the same. They won't like the smell of you otherwise.E: (sobbing) I can't. I dursn't. It ain't natural and it'd kill me. I've never had a bath in my life; not over my whole body, neither below my waist nor taking my vest off. I'd never have come if I'd known about this disgusting thing you want me to do ...H: Once more, take her away, Mrs Pearce, immediately. (Outside Eliza is still weeping with Mrs Pearce) You see the problem, Pickering. It'll be how to teach her grammar, not just pronunciation. She's in need of both. CP: And there's another problem, Higgins. What are we going to do once the experiment is over?H: (heartily) Throw her back.CP: But you cannot overlook that! She'll be changed and she has feelings too. We must be practical, mustn't we?H: Well, we'll deal with that later. First, we must plan the best way to teach her.CP: How about beginning with the alphabet. That's usually considered very effective ... (fades out as they go offstage together)。

第一部分1 一5 BACAB 6-10 CAACB 11-15 BCAAB 16-20 CCACB 听力部分原稿(Text 1)W：I always begin my lecture with a joke. That puts the audience at ease. M：What! You should say they laugh to put you at ease.(Text 2)M：Pm sorry,but I won‘t be on time,Alice. I have to give a key to my mom.W : Never mind. We will wait for you at the bus station.(Text 3)W：From here,the snow mountain peaks look as if you could just reach out and touch them.M：That's why I chose this room. It has one of the best views here.(Text 4)M：How long does it take you to drive home when there isn，t much traffic?W ：Only fifteen minutes. But if I can't leave my office before 5 : 40 pm as usual, it sometimes takes me a whole hour.(Text 5)W: Your teacher said you got a full mark in your math exam. Congratulations!M:Thanks! Pm sure you did a good job,too.(Text 6)M: Are you interested in music, Mrs. Rogers?W: Yes, Pm taking a course of classical music now, but jazz is my favorite. And my husband is crazy about rock music.M: You play the viol in,don’t you?W：A little bit, but my husband is much better than me. He can also play the drums quite well,which he learned from my uncle.canM: Really? I hope I hear your husband play some day.W: Why not come to our house this Friday evening? We are having a party towelcome my music teacher.M:Thank you. I'd love to.(Text 7)W: Hello,Mr..Nelson. It's Linda. I'm on my way to visit you now,but I got lost. M：That's too bad. Pm waiting for an important call. But where are you now?W；I don't know exactly. Maybe somewhere on Hill Street, I'm calling from a post office. M：It's on a corner,isn't it?W: Yeah. And I can see a gas station opposite.M:Oh,you turned at the second corner. You should have turned at the first corner from the railway station.W: Then I will go back to the first corner.M：Good. You'11 find a one-way traffic sign there. Turn right and go on until you reach a six-storied apartment. And my room is on the top floor.(Text 8)M: Time for lunch. Have you finished the report?W: Yes. Our boss needs it this afternoon.M: You always do a good job. Oh,I heard you’re selling your house. Why?W:Pve got new neighbors. They're newly married and very noisy. They have a party every day, making me sick. I often have headaches during the day now, and I take medicine every other day.M: Have you talked to them?W: No. I want to call the police.M: Oh no - Jessie. If I were you, I would try to build a friendship with them.W:They never say "Hi" to me when we meet.M:Why not say “Hi" to them first? And then t ell them about your physical problems. Or you can call them directly.W:Maybe I'd better write a note and put it on their door.(Text 9)W: Where did you go last summer, Mike?M: I went to France, Spain, Italy, Austria and Germany. Of all those countries, Istayed in France the longest,W : How long did you stay in France?M : Five weeks. I took a summer French course in Nice, a city in the south of France. W : When did the course start?M:On July 10. A week after the vacation started.W: Where did you live during your stay in Nice?M:I lived with the Marceaus. Mr. Marceau is a teacher,his wife is a doctor and his daughteris a nurse. They were friendly to me.W: What did you usually have?M: I usually had bread with milk for breakfast, chicken and fish for lunch and beef for supper.W: Did you often travel to other pl aces in France at weekends?M: Yes, I did. For example, I went to Cannes on July 21, Marseille on July 28 and Avignon onAugust 4. I really enjoyed my life in France,although it was mostly busy.(Text 10)My father woke me up early one morning when I was fourteen and announced, "Get up ；you are going with me to cut grass. I felt proud and excited because my father thought I was responsible enough to help him in his business. Still,that first day was very hard. From 6 am to 7 pm, my father, my sixteen—year — old brother and I cut grass in very large yards. By the encl of the day I was tired out,but I felt good, I had put in a hard day's work and earned six dollars,two dollars less than my elder brother did, though.Another clay, my father found some grass I had missed cutting and called me to his room. “Cut that section again!" he said f irmly,"and don't make me tell you again. " The message was very clear.Today I stress the importance of doing a job right the first time. Every job I have held, from cutting grass to washing dishes,from cleaning the streets to working a machine on a construction site,I have learned something that has helped me in my next job Ifyou work bard enough, you can learn from any job you do.。

Page 42:Listening and discussing《 DATING METHODS 》Zhou Heping(ZH) has come to ask the archaeologist, Richard Leakey (RL) how he dates the bones he finds.Listen to part 1. Listen again and fill in the blanks .ZH: How can you tell how old bones are when you find them?RL: There are two main ways: the first uses the layers in the ground and the second uses radiocarbon dating.ZH: I see. how does the layer method work?RL: Well, look at the diagram in your book. Think of a wastepaper basket When you came into work, you ate an orange and threw the orange skin into it. That's layer number 1. Later somebody threw some yogurt pots into it. That’s layer number 2.ZH: Oh yes, and then I threw some paper into it. So that's layer number 3.RL: Yes, and finally someone threw away some used envelopes. So how many layers are there in this wastepaper basket?ZH: There are four.RL: Which layer is the first and therefore the oldest?ZH: The orange skin.RL: And which is the last and therefore the most recent?ZH: Of course-the used envelopes. I see how it works now. but how does it help?RL: Well, layers of soil are produced at different times like the layers in your wastepaper basket. Each time people live somewhere they make a layer in the soil. If they live there for a long time, they make a lot of layers. Each layer has a different colour and texture which we use to find out how old it is.ZH: How splendid！Listen to part 2 Listen again and fill in the blanksZH: Now what about radiocarbon dating?RL: This is more scientific. It uses radioactivity to measure the amount of carbon in living things. The carbon in a dead body disappears at afixed rate. We know how long that takes so we can measure the amount of carbon and work out how old a bone is.ZH: That's very clever. Is it accurate, too?RL: There are some problems with very old bones, so you are always given two dates.ZH: How does that work?RL: Well, the date for a bone may be between 9, 900 years and 10, 100 years old.ZH: I see! how old are the bones in the Zhoukoudian caves?RL: They are between 250,000 and 400,000 years old.ZH: Perhaps we could visit the site together sometime?RL: Of course. Whenever you like!Page 78:Listening 《MORE NEWS ABOUT THE TERRACOTTA WARRIORS》Amanda Peters(AP) wants to find out about how to preserve the terracotta warriors from her Chinese friend Zhou Lei(ZL), an archaeologist。

选修8 Unit 1 A land of diversity-ReadingCALIFORNIACalifornia is the third largest state in the USA but has the largest population. It also has the distinction of being the most multicultural state in the USA, having attracted people from all over the world. The customs and languages of the immigrants live on in their new home. This diversity of culture is not surprising when you know the history of California.NATIVE AMERCANSExactly when the first people arrived in what we now know as California, no one really knows. However, it is likely that Native Americans were living in California at least fifteen thousand years ago. Scientists believe that these settlers crossed the Bering Strait in the Arctic to America by means of a land bridge which existed in prehistoric times. In the 16th century, after the arrival of the Europeans, the native people suffered greatly. Thousands were killed or forced into slavery. In addition, many died from the diseases brought by the Europeans. However, some survived these terrible times, and today there are more Native Americans living in California than in any other state.THE SPANISHIn the 18th century California was ruled by Spain. Spanish soldiers first arrived in South America in the early 16th century, when they fought against the native people and took their land. Two centuries later, the Spanish had settled in most parts of South America and along the northwest coast of what we now call the United States. Of the first Spanish to go to California, the majority were religious men, whose ministry was to teach the Catholic religion to the natives. In 1821, the people of Mexico gained their independence from Spain. California then became part of Mexico. In 1846 the United States declared war on Mexico, and after the war won by the USA, Mexico had to give California to the USA. However, there is still a strong Spanish influence in the state. That is why today over 40 of Californians speak Spanish as a first or second language.RUSSIANSIn the early 1800s, Russian hunters, who had originally gone to Alaska, began settling in California. Today there are about 25,000 Russian-Americans living in and around San Francisco.GOLD MINERSIn 1848, not long after the American-Mexican war, gold was discovered in California. The dream of becoming rich quickly attracted people from all over the world. The nearest, and therefore the first to arrive, were South Americans and people from the United States. Then adventurers from Europe and Asia soon followed. In fact, few achieved their dream of becoming rich. Some died or returned home, but most remained in California to make a life for themselves despite great hardship. They settled in the new towns or on farms. By the time California elected to become the thirty-first federal state of the USA in 1850, it was already a multicultural society.LATER A RRIV ALSAlthough Chinese immigrants began to arrive during the Gold Rush Period, it was the building ofthe rail network from the west to the east coast that brought even larger numbers to California in the 1860s. Today, Chinese-Americans live in all parts of California, although a large percentage have chosen to stay in the "Chinatowns" of Los Angeles and San Francisco.Other immigrants such as Italians, mainly fishermen but also wine makers, arrived in California in the late 19th century. In 1911 immigrants from Denmark established a town of their own, which today still keeps up their Danish culture. By the 1920s the film industry was well established in Hollywood, California. The industry boom attracted Europeans including many Jewish people. Today California has the second largest Jewish population in the United States.Japanese farmers began arriving in California at the beginning of the 20th century, and since the 1980s a lot more have settled there. People from Africa have been living in California since the 1800s, when they moved north from Mexico. However, even more arrived between 1942 and 1945 to work in the ship and aircraft industries. MOST RECENT ARRIV ALSIn more recent decades, California has become home to more people from Asia, including Koreans, Cambodians, Vietnamese and Laotians. Since its beginning in the 1970s, the computer industry has attracted Indians and Pakistanis to California.THE FUTUREPeople from different parts of the world, attracted by the climate and the lifestyle, still immigrate to California. It is believed that before long the mix of nationalities will be so great that there will be no distinct major racial or cultural groups, but simply a mixture of many races and cultures.GEORGE’S DIARY 12TH—14TH JUNEMonday 12th, JuneArrived early this morning by bus. Went straight to hotel to drop my luggage, shower and shave. Then went exploring. First thing was a ride on a cable car. From top of the hill got a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay and the city. Built in 1873, the cable car system was invented by Andrew Hallidie, who wanted to find a better form of transport than horse-drawn trams. Apparently he'd been shocked when he saw a terrible accident in which a tram's brakes failed, the conductor could not control the situation and the tram slipped down the hill dragging the horses with it.Had a late lunch at Fisherman's What. This is the district where Italian fishermen first came to San Francisco in the late 19th century and began the fishing industry. Now it's a tourist area with lots of shops, sea food restaurants and bakeries. It's also the place to catch the ferry to Angel Island and other places in the Bay.Did so much exploring at Fisherman's What. Am exhausted and don't feel like doing anything else. Early bed tonight!Tuesday 13th, JuneTeamed up with a couple from my hotel (Peter and Terri) and hired a car. Spent all day driving around the city. There's a fascinating drive marked out for tourists. It has blue and white signs with seagulls on them to show the way to go. It's a 79km round-trip that takes in all the famous tourist spots. Stopped many times to admire the view of the city from different angles and take photographs. Now have a really good idea of what the city's like.In evening, went to Chinatown with Peter and Terri. Chinese immigrants settled in this area in the 1850s. The fronts of the buildings are decorated to look like old buildings in southern China. Saw some interesting temples here, a number of markets and a great many restaurants. Also art galleries and a museum containing documents, photographs and all sorts of objects about the history of Chinese immigration, but it is closed in the evening. Will go back during the day. Had a delicious meal and then walked down the hill to our hotel.Wednesday 14th, JuneIn morning, took ferry to Angel Island from the port in San Francisco Bay. On the way had a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge. From 1882 to 1940 Angel Island was a famous immigration station where many Chinese people applied for right to live in USA. The cells in the station were very small, cold and damp; some did not even have light but the immigrants had nowhere else to go. Their miserable stay seemed to be punishment rather than justice and freedom to them. They wrote poems on the walls about their loneliness and mourned their former life in China. In 1940 the civil authorities reformed the system so that many more Chinese people were able to grasp the opportunity of settling in the USA. Made me very thoughtful and thankful for my life today.选修8 Unit 2 Cloning-ReadingCLONING: WHERE IS IT LEADING US?Cloning has always been with us and is here to stay. It is a way of making an exact copy of another animal or plant. It happens in plants when gardeners take cuttings from growing plants to make new ones. It also happens in animals when twins identical in sex and appearance are produced from the same original egg. The fact is that these are both examples of natural clones.Cloning has two major uses. Firstly, gardeners use it all the time to produce commercial quantities of plants. Secondly, it is valuable for research on new plant species and for medical research on animals. Cloning plants is straightforward while cloning animals is very complicated. It is a difficult task to undertake. Many attempts to clone mammals failed. But at last the determination and patience of the scientists paid off in 1996 with a breakthrough - the cloning of Dolly the sheep. The procedure works like this:On the one hand, the whole scientific world followed the progress of the first successful clone, Dolly the sheep. The fact that she seemed to develop normally was very encouraging. Then came the disturbing news that Dolly had become seriously ill. Cloning scientists were cast down to find that Dolly's illnesses were more appropriate to a much older animal. Altogether Dolly lived six and a half years, half the length of the life of the original sheep. Sadly the same arbitrary fate affected other species, such as cloned mice. The questions that concerned all scientists were: "Would this be a major difficulty for all cloned animals? Would it happen forever? Could it be solved if corrections were made in their research procedure?"On the other hand, Dolly's appearance raised a storm of objections and had a great impact on the media and public imagination. It became controversial. It suddenly opened everybody's eyes to the possibility of using cloning to cure serious illnesses and even to produce human beings.Although at present human egg cells and embryos needed for cloning research are difficult to obtain, newspapers wrote of evil leaders hoping to clone themselves to attain their ambitions. Religious leaders also raised moral questions. Governments became nervous and more conservative. Some began to reform their legal systems and forbade research into human cloning, but other countries like China and the UK, continued to accumulate evidence of the abundant medical aid that cloning could provide. However, scientists still wonder whether cloning will help or harm us and where it is leading us.THE RETURN OF THE DINOSAURS?The possibility of cloning fierce and extinct wild animals has always excited film makers. And they are not the only ones! The popularity of films such as Jurassic Park, in which a scientist clones several kinds of extinct dinosaurs, proves how the idea struck a mixture of fear and excitement into people's hearts. But in fact we are a long way from being able to clone extinct animals. Scientists are still experimenting with cloning mammals. This is because the cloning of mammals is still a new science and its story only began seriously in the 1950s as this list shows:1950s cloning of frogs 1996 first clone of a mammal: Dolly the sheep1970s research using the embryos of mice 2000 cow gave birth to a bison1979 work on embryos of sheep and mice 2001 China's first cloned twin calves1981 first experimental clones of mice 2002 first cloned cats1983 first experimental clones of cows 2005 first cloned dog…From time to time people suggest that extinct animals like dinosaurs, can possibly be brought back to life through cloning. Unfortunately, with what we know now, this is either impossible or unsuitable. There are many reasons.◎The initial requirement is that you need perfect DNA (which gives information for how cellsare to grow).◎All efforts of cloning an animal will be in vain if there is not enough diversity in the group to overcome illnesses. Diversity in a group meanshaving animals with their genes arranged in different ways. The advantage is that if there is a new illness some of these animals may die,but others will survive and pass on the ability to resist that disease to the next generation. The great drawback to cloning a group ofanimals is that they would all have the same arrangement of genes and so might die of the same illness. Then none of them would be left tocontinue the species.◎It would be unfair to clone any extinct animals if they were to live in a zoo. A suitable habitat would be needed for them to lead a natural life.Based on what we know now, you cannot clone animals that have been extinct longer than 10,000 years. Actually, dinosaurs disappeared 65,000,000 years ago. So the chance of dinosaurs ever returning to the earth is merely a dream.选修8 Unit 3 Inventors and inventions-ReadingTHE PROBLEM OF THE SHRIKESWhen I called up my mother in the countryside on the telephone she was very upset. "There are some snakes in our courtyard," she told me. "Snakes come near the house now and then, and they seem to have made their home here, not far from the walnut tree. Can you get rid of them please?" I felt very proud. Here was a chance for .me to distinguish myself by inventing something merciful that would catch snakes but not harm them. I knew my parents would not like me to hurt these living creatures!The first thing I did was to see if there were any products that might help me, but there only seemed to be powders designed to kill snakes. A new approach was clearly needed. I set about researching the habits of snakes to find the easiest way to trap them. Luckily these reptiles are small and that made the solution easier.Prepared with some research findings, I decided on three possible approaches: firstly, removing their habitat; secondly, attracting them into a trap using male or female perfume or food; and thirdly cooling them so that they would become sleepy and could be easily caught. I decided to use the last one. I bought an ice-cream maker which was made of stainless steel. Between the outside and the inside walls of the bowl there is some jelly, which freezes when cooled. I put the bowl into the fridge and waited for 24 hours. At the same time I prepared some ice-cubes.The next morning I got up early before the sun was hot. I placed the frozen bowl over the snakes' habitat and the ice-cubes on top of the bowl to keep it cool. Finally I covered the whole thing with a large bucket. Then I waited. After two hours I removed the bucket and the bowl. The snakes were less active but they were still too fast for me. They abruptly disappeared into a convenient hole in the wall. So I had to adjust my plan.For the second attempt I froze the bowl and the ice-cubes again but placed them over the snakes' habitat in the evening, as the temperature was starting to cool. Then as before, I covered the bowl with the bucket and left everything overnight. Early the next morning I returned to see the result. This time with great caution I bent down to examine the snakes and I found them very sleepy. But once picked up, they tried to bite me. As they were poisonous snakes, I clearly needed to improve my design again.My third attempt repeated the second procedure. The next morning I carried in my hand a small net used for catching fish. This was in the expectation that the snakes would bite again. But monitored carefully, the snakes proved to be no trouble and all went according to plan. I collected the passive snakes and the next day we merrily released them all back into the wild.Pressed by my friends and relations, I decided to seize the opportunity to get recognition formy successful idea by sending my invention to the patent office. Only after you havehad thatrecognition can you say that you are truly an inventor. The criteria are so strict that it is difficult to get new ideas accepted unless they are truly novel. In addition, no invention will get a patent if it is:◎a discovery◎a scientific idea or mathematical model◎literature or art◎a game or a business◎a computer programme◎a new animal or plant varietyNor will you receive a patent until a search has been made to find out that your product reallyis different from everyone else's. There are a large number of patent examiners, too, whose only job is to examine whether your claim is valid or not. If it passes all the tests, your application for a patent will be published 18 months from the date you apply. So I have filled in the form and filed my patent application with the Patent Office. Now it's a matter of waiting and hoping. You'll know if I succeed by the size of my bank balance! Wish me luck!ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELLAlexander Graham Bell was born in 1847 in Scotland, but when he was young his family moved to Boston, USA. His mother was almost entirely deaf, so Alexander became interested in helping deaf people communicate and in deaf education. This interest led him to invent the microphone. He found that by pressing his lips against his mother's forehead, he could make his mother understand what he was saying.He believed that one should always be curious and his most famous saying was:"Leave the beaten track occasionally and dive into the woods. Every time you do you will be certain to find something that you have never seen before. Follow it up, explore all around it, and before you know it, you will have something worth thinking about to occupy your mind. All really big discoveries are the result of thought."It was this exploring around problems and his dynamic spirit that led to his most famous invention - the telephone in 1876. Bell never set out to invent the telephone and what he was trying to design was a multiple telegraph. This original telegraphsent a message over distances using Morse code (a series of dots tapped out along a wire in a particular order). But only one message could go at a time. Bell wanted to improve it so that it could send several messages at the same time. He designed a machine that would separate different sound waves and allow different conversations to be held at the same time. But he found the problem difficult to solve. One day as he was experimenting with one end of a straw joined to a deaf man's ear drum and the other to a piece of smoked glass, Bell noticed that when he spoke into the ear, the straw drew sound waves on the glass. Suddenly he had a flash of inspiration. If sound waves could be reproduced in a moving electrical current, they could be sent along a wire. In searching to improve the telegraph,Bell had invented the first telephone!Bell was fully aware of the importance of his invention and wrote to his father:"The day is coming when telegraph wires will be laid on to houses just like water or gas – and friends will talk to each other without leaving home."The patent was given in 1876, but it was not until five days later that Bell sent his first telephone message to his assistant Watson. The words have now become famous:"Mr Watson - come here - I want to see you."Alexander Graham Bell was not a man to rest and he interested himself in many other areas of invention. He experimented with helicopter designs and flying machines. While searching for a kite strong enough to carry a man into the air, Bell experimented putting triangles together and discovered the tetrahedron shape. Being very stable, it has proved invaluable in the design of bridges.Bell was an inventor all his life. He made his first invention at eleven and his last at seventy- five. Although he is most often associated with the invention of the telephone, he was indeed a continuing searcher after practical solutions to improve the quality of everybody's life.选修8 Unit 4 Pygmalion-ReadingPYGMALIONMAIN CHARACTERS:Eliza Doolittle (E): a poor flower girl who is ambitious to improve herself Professor Higgins (H): an expert in phonetics, convinced that the quality of a person's English decides his/her position in societyColonel Pickering (CP): an officer in the army and later a friend of Higgins' who sets him a taskAct One FATEFUL MEETINGS11 :15 pm in London, England in 1914 outside a theatre. It is pouring with rain and cab whistles are blowing in all directions. A man is hiding from the rainlistening to people's language and watching their reactions. While watching, he makes notes. Nearby a flower girl wearing dark garments and a woollen scarf is also sheltering from the rain. A gentleman (G) passes and hesitates for a moment.E: Come over’ere, cap’in, and buy me flowers off a poor girl.G: I'm sorry but I haven't any change.E: I can giv’ou change, cap’in.G: (surprised) For a pound? I'm afraid I've got nothing less.E: (hopefully) Oah! Oh, do buy a flower off me, Captain. Take this for three pence. (holds up some dead flowers)G: (uncomfortably) Now don't be troublesome, there's a good girl. (looks in his wallet and sounds more friendly) But, wait, here's some small change. Will that be of any use to you? It's raining heavily now, isn't it? (leaves)E: (disappointed at the outcome, but thinking it is better than nothing) Thank you, sir. (sees a man taking notes and feels worried) Hey! I ain’t done nothing wrong by speaking to that gentleman. I've a right to sell flowers, I have. I ain’t n o thief. I'm an honest girl I am! (begins to cry)H: (kindly) There! There! Who's hurting you, you silly girl? What do you take me for? (gives her a handkerchief)E: I thought maybe you was a policeman in disguise.H: Do I look like a policeman?E: (still worried) Then why did 'ou take down my words for? How do I know whether 'ou took me down right? 'ou just show me what 'ou've wrote about me!H: Here you are. (hands over the paper covered in writing)E: What's that? That ain't proper writing. I can't read that. (pushes it back at him)H: I can. (reads imitating Eliza) "Come over' ere, cap'in, and buy me flowers off a poor girl." (in his own voice) There you are and you were bornin Lisson Grove if I'm not mistaken.E: (looking confused) What if I was? What's it to you?CP: (has been watching the girl and now speaks to Higgins) That's quite brilliant! How did you do that, may I ask?H: Simply phonetics studied and classified from people's own speech. That's my profession and also my hobby. You can place a man by just a few remarks. I can place any spoken conversation within six miles, and even within two streets in London sometimes.CP: Let me congratulate you! But is there an income to be made in that?H: Yes, indeed. Quite a good one. This is the age of the newly rich. People begin their working life in a poor neighbourhood of London with 80 pounds a year and end in a rich one with 100 thousand. But they betray themselves every time they open their mouths. Now once taught by me, she'd become an upper class lady ...CP: Is that so? Extraordinary!H: (rudely) Look at this girl with her terrible English: the English that will condemn her to the gutter to the end of her days. But, sir, (proudly) once educated to speak properly, that girl could pass herself off in three months as a duchess at an ambassador's garden party. Perhaps I could even find her a place as a lady's maid or ashop assistant, which requires better English.E: What's that you say? A shop assistant? Now that's sommat I want, that is!H: (ignores her) Can you believe that?CP: Of course! I study many Indian dialects myself and ...H: Do you indeed? Do you know Colonel Pickering?CP: Indeed I do, for that is me. Who are you?H: I'm Henry Higgins and I was going to India to meet you.CP: And I came to England to make your acquaintance!E: What about me? How'll you help me?H: Oh, take that. (carelessly throws a handful of money into her basket) We must have a celebration, my dear man. (leave together)E: (looking at the collected money in amazement) Well, I never. A whole pound! A fortune! That'll help me, indeed it will. Tomorrow I'll find you, Henry Higgins. Just you wait and see! All that talk of (imitates him) "authentic English" ... (in her own voice) I'll see whether you can get that for me ... (goes out)Act Two, Scene 1 MAKING THE BET It is 11am in Henry Higgins' house the next day. Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering are sitting deep in conversation.H: Do you want to hear any more sounds?CP: No, thank you. I rather fancied myself because I can pronounce twenty-four distinct vowel sounds; but your one hundred and thirty beat me. I can't distinguish most of them.H: (laughing) Well, that comes with practice.There is a knock and Mrs Pearce (MP), the housekeeper, comes in with cookies, a teapot, some cream and two cups.MP: (hesitating) A young girl is asking to see you.H: A young girl! What does she want?MP: Well, she's quite a common kind of girl with dirty nails.I thought perhaps you wanted her to talk into your machines.H: Why? Has she got an interesting accent? We'll see.Show her in, Mrs Pearce. MP: (only half resigned to it) Very well, sir. (goes downstairs)H: This is a bit of luck. I'll show you how I make records on wax disks ...MP: (returning) This is the young girl, sir. (Eliza comes into the room shyly following Mrs Pearce. She is dirty and wearing a shabby dress. She curtsies to the two men.) H: (disappointed) Why! I've got this girl in my records. She's the one we saw theother day. She's no use at all. Take her away.CP: (gently to Eliza) What do you-want, young lady?E: (upset) I wanna be a lady in a flower shop 'stead o' selling flowers in the street. But they won't take me 'less I speak better. So here I am, ready to pay him. I'm not asking for any favours - and he treats me like dirt.H: How much?E: (happier) Now yer talking. A lady friend of mine gets French lessons for two shillings an hour from a real Frenchman. You wouldn't have the face to ask me for the same for teaching me as yer would for French. So I won't give yer more than a shilling.H: (ignoring Eliza and speaking to Pickering) If you think of how much money this girl has - why, it's the best offer I've had! (to Eliza) But if I teach you, I'll be worse than a father.CP: I say, Higgins. Do you remember what you said last night? I'll say you're the greatest teacher alive if you can pass her off as a lady. I'll be the referee for this little bet and pay for the lessons too ...E: (gratefully) Oh, yer real good, yer are. Thank you, Colonel.H: Oh, she is so deliciously low. (compromises) OK, I'll teach you. (to Mrs Pearce) But she'll need to be cleaned first. Take her away, Mrs Pearce. Wash her and burn her horrible clothes. We'll buy her new ones. What's your name, girl?E: I'm Eliza Doolittle and I'm clean. My clothes went to the laundry when I washed last week.MP: Well, Mr Higgins has a bathtub of his own and he has a bath every morning. If these two gentlemen teach you, you'll have to do the same. They won't like the smell of you otherwise.E: (sobbing) I can't. I dursn't. It ain't natural and it'd kill me. I've never had a bath in my life; not over my whole body, neither below my waist nor taking my vest off. I'd never have come if I'd known about this disgusting thing you want me to do ...H: Once more, take her away, Mrs Pearce, immediately. (Outside Eliza is still weeping with Mrs Pearce) You see the problem, Pickering. It'll be how to teach her grammar, not just pronunciation. She's in need of both.CP: And there's another problem, Higgins. What are we going to do once the experiment is over?H: (heartily) Throw her back.CP: But you cannot overlook that! She'll be changed and she has feelings too. We must be practical, mustn't we?H: Well, we'll deal with that later. First, we must plan the best way to teach her. CP: How about beginning with the alphabet. That's usually considered very effective ... (fades out as they go offstage together)。

Page 17:Listening and speaking《IS CLONING CRUEL》Xiao Qing (XQ) and Rachel Brown (RB) are discussing whether cloning is cruel to animals or not.RB: Xiao Qing, do you think cloning’s cruel?XQ: What do you mean by that? The scientists are doing a wonderful job.Soon they may be able to bring people's favourite pets back to lifeRB: Yes. I know but doesn't it seem cruel to you that it took 276 experiments before dolly was successfully cloned? Think of all those live cells and eggs that died in order for dolly to be born. I don't approve of that.XQ: But, Rachel, be reasonable. Isn’t it always like that with a new science? This is the way people learn to do things better.RB: I suppose so- but they also make the animals do such unnatural things.One poor cow was made to give birth to a bison .What was the poor creature to think when it saw its baby.XQ: I don't quite understand why so many people are against cloning. I think the scientists need a bit of encouragement. Think of the benefits Cloning may help medical science to produce cures for serious illnesses. RB: Yes. I know and I agree with that.It's just that i don’t agree with the methodsXQ: Why not?RB: Well, I think it's a dead end. Dolly the sheep was“ middle-aged”When she was born because her DNA came from a middle-aged "mother".Cloning your grandmother would mean a new baby started life as an old lady!XQ: Really? I never thought of that.RB: And it weakens the species .Cloning means that there's less variety in the species. So the animals may not be able to resist a particular illness and they might die out .XQ: Oh dear! And that was just what you and I were trying to avoid. In spite of all these, don't you think scientists would still be able to solve the problems?Page 54:Workbook-listening 《IS HUMAN CLONING A GOOD IDEA?》Wang Qiao (WQ) is talking to Clare Peters(CP)about human cloning WQ: What do you think about human cloning, Clare?CP: I don't know what to think. But I suppose it'll come one of these days. I think there are many problems that nobody has thought of yet WO: What do you mean by that?CP: Well, a clone will be an exact copy of the original donor. Right? WQ: Yes, so what?CP: Well, what's the relationship between the clone and his original donor?WQ: I suppose they must be like one person. The clone is the same his original donor.CP: Let's suppose that you take a baby to a laboratory to be cloned. Does it matterif the laboratory returns you the real baby and one clone or two clones?WQ: Yes, it does. But how could this possibly happen?CP: Well, the scientists may get confused.WQ: My goodness. Surely they would notice if there is an age-gap between the donor and the clone.CP: Maybe. What if the donor and the clone are very close in age? let us suppose they are both babies.WQ: OKCP: Let's suppose that the laboratory wanted to use the real baby to make more clones. Perhaps they know parents who would like to buy a cloned baby. Perhaps this family is unable to have children of their own .So the laboratory keeps the real baby and sells the clones as they grow. WQ: But that's a baby factory! That's not moral at all.CP: I know, and that's why it's important to get our ideas sorted out now. So we really have to think about the problems of human cloning. WQ: Yes. Now I see your point. We should do something about this. How about a class discussion? What do you think?Page 57:Workbook-listening task 《A DISCUSSION ABOUT CLONING》Billy(b)and Frank (f) are having a discussion about cloning pets.B: You know, Frank, I agree with cloning. My mum has a pet dog and she is devoted to her i think if anything happened to this pet she would be very upset. So we want to keep my mother happy by keeping her pet alive forever. F: What's this all about? A little dog .Surely you can make your motherhappy again in another way! Does she know what people did before cloning was a possibility?B: Yes. and she knows the cloning procedure. She's read about the experiments in America. They offer chances for pets to produce their own stem cells. These stem cells will produce new pets at a very reasonable price. F: Reasonable price! Surely it will be very expensive.B: Well, my mother is saving money to go to America with the dog just before it dies. If she goes to the l aboratory, We’ll all spend a week in America. If were lucky, well be able to return after a few months with a new dog.F: Now I understand. You just want a holiday trip to America, and getting a new dog is just an excuse.B: Yes and why not?F: You are encouraging your mother to love her dog, so she will want to clone it when it gets old. Then you will take advantage of that to have a good holiday. Don't you think about the moral problems of cloning? B: No ,I don’t. It's fine by me. if I can make my mothe r happy and enjoy myself as well. That's moral too.F: You know what they say about small dogs in Western countries. People keep dogs instead of having a real baby . Is that the case with your mother? B: Certainly not! She has me after all But I have to be away from her when I study abroad for my Master's degree She'll need her small dog then! F: I see. Now I know why I don't agree with cloning.B: Now you know why I do.。