练习材料第一单元地理篇No Giant SkyscrapersChicago and New York are famous for their tall buildings. California cannot be. Its buildings have to be famous for their beauty or their historical importance1. California is earthquake country2.The San Andreas Fault3 is a cause of earthquakes. It is a long crack in the earth that stretches from Southern to Northern California. Rocks inside the earth move and the earth shakes. These earthquakes make the fault bigger4.The most famous earthquake in California happened in 1906. It destroyed most of the young city of San Francisco. People rebuilt the city. They looked at the buildings that did not fall in the earthquake5 and they learned more about building in California.Tall buildings can be dangerous6 in earthquakes. Today California has codes7 that say how a building must be built and how tall it can be.Los Angeles has several earthquakes each year. The tall buildings move8 a little and everyone takes a deep breath. Usually tourists and newcomers are the most frightened. People who grew up in California say, “We’re used to it!”Earthquakes do not stop the building industry in California, but they do make architects work a little harder9. The buildings they design have to look good and stand up in an earthquake. These buildings are good examples of modern California architecture. The Bonaventure Hotel is a few city blocks from the old Mission Church. The Century City Complex is near the ocean. It stands on the site of the old Twentieth Century Fox movie studios. These buildings show that people are not afraid to build in California.水桥在巴拿马，有一座世界闻名的“水桥”，那就是巴拿马运河。
去年暑假，我跟着爸爸妈妈去巴拿马运河游览观光，至今还记忆犹新。
我们乘机抵达巴拿马城，然后搭上了一艘游轮，从巴尔博亚港进入运河。
船行13公里后，便到了运河的第一组水闸1。
巴拿马运河就是通过水闸的关与开，让船舰跨越陆地的一座“水桥”2。
我们开始“上桥”了。
船驶进闸池之后，厚2米，高、宽各20米，重数百吨的钢闸门便缓缓地关闭，闸池里开始注水。
几分钟后，水涨船高3。
游轮在两岸电力机车的牵引下缓缓前进。
这样连升两级之后，船已经升高了16米。
出闸后，再驶过一个小湖，又到了第二组水闸。
经过这座水闸，船又升高了9.5米。
这样，船已高出海平面26米，进入“桥顶”4。
我们的游船驶进了长达13公里的主航道，只见5两岸山6如刀削，绿树红花，景色十分秀丽7。
游船出了峡谷，驶入了宽阔的加通湖。
湖水倒映着远山白云，美丽的小岛时隐时现8。
在湖中悠悠航行38公里之后，船来到了加通水闸，从此进入了“下桥”段。
这座水闸共有三级，犹如三个巨大的台阶。
游船经过加通水闸后，已经降到了与大西洋水面相同的高度。
当船驶入利蒙湾时，美丽的加勒比海便出现在眼前9。
我们从太平洋来到大西洋10，彼此隔离的大洋因为有了巴拿马运河而相通。
运河全长81.8公里，宽度由150米到304米不等。
5万吨级的巨轮，日夜畅通无阻。
它无愧于“世界桥梁”的称誉。
我由衷地赞美人类改造自然的智慧和勇气!我敬佩你，巴拿马人民!导游告诉我们，巴拿马人民是有志气的。
他们一方面正在改造现在这条运河；另一方面，还准备新建一条更长的运河，预计工程需要10年才能完成，它将成为人类有史以来最大的工程11。
我们期待着它早日完成。
第二单元人物篇Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln, sixteenth president of the United States, was born in Kentucky in 1809, and died in Washington in 1865, the day after he had been shot1 by a Southern2 sympathizer3. He is classed with Washington in greatness of deeds, but is nearer the hearts of all Americans4 because he sprang from the ranks of the common people, and rose from the log hut of birth to the White House5. Because his family were pioneers in the newly settled West, he had practically no regular education6, but he held firmly to his purpose to secure knowledge in every possible way. Stories are told of how he walked miles to secure a book7, and studied by the light of the hearth fire8 at night after a hard day at farm work. After a hard struggle as clerk, village postmaster, and surveyor, he succeeded in passing the bar examinations9, and became a lawyer in Springfield, Illinois. In 1846, he was elected to Congress. In 1858, he might have gained his place in the United States Senate had he not taken his stand against slavery in the famous debates which he entered with Stephen A. Douglas. These debates spread his fame throughout the country and led the way for his election10 to the presidency in 1860. Very shortly after his election the secession of certain Southern states led to the Civil War, which in turn induced Lincoln to free the slaves11 on January 1, 1863, by the Emancipation Proclamation. His second inaugural speech12 gave his plan for building up the peace of the nation, but he did not live to accomplish his desire. Many comparisons have been made of Washington and Lincoln. Each was in the highest sense13a providential man14 raised up for his era, and filled with those eminent qualities that enabled him to do the great work of the hour15.京剧大师梅兰芳梅兰芳是伟大的京剧表演艺术家。
可他小时候却被认为是“言不出众，貌不惊人”，不是学戏的料1。
梅兰芳小时候是个没人管的野孩子2。
他八岁开始学戏，由于天资不出众，学了多时还不能开口唱戏。
他平时寡言少语，见了人也不会说话3，总是无精打采的，眼睛也没有一点儿神4。
姑母说他不行，连老师教了一段时间后也丧失了信心，不愿意再教下去了。
梅兰芳人虽小，但挺懂事5，也有股倔强劲儿。
“你们说我不行，我偏要学。
”梅兰芳暗暗下了决心。
从此，梅兰芳一有空就站在院子里的空地上朝天上看6。
蔚蓝的天空，常有鸽子飞过，梅兰芳就拼命地7抬起眼，盯住鸽子，目送它向远处飞去，眼睛一眨也不眨。
开始很难受，眼睛又酸又累，还不住地流眼泪，眼皮也挺吃力的。
但是梅兰芳不怕苦和累，一直坚持不断地练习。
