发布时间 : 星期日 文章新外研版英语九年级上册课文电子稿word版更新完毕开始阅读4408751a7275a417866fb84ae45c3b3567ecdd27
Dear Mum and Dad,
I’m writing this letter to you from the centre of Australia. At the moment we’re staying near Uluru — that’s the Aboriginal name for Ayers Rock. On the first day, we took a helicopter tour over the rock, and I was surprised at how big it was: 3.6 kilometres long and 348 metres high. The colours of the rock are fantastic, and at different times of the day, they change from purple to red. The Aborigines are the first people of Australia, and the ancient Aboriginal stories describe the spirits that created the world. Uluru is a centre of Aboriginal culture.
The Australians have many British relatives and they’re like us in many ways. Their family life is similar to ours, and they enjoy the same food and hobbies. The food and drink that most Australians like are grapes, lamb, ham and especially wine that they make in the south of the country. They love all sports, but the games that they love the most are football, cricket and
rugby. Because most Australians live near the coast, they love going to the beach, swimming and surfing.
Although it’s December, it’s summer over here. The sunshine is very bright, and near the coast the countryside is very green. There are lots of sheep in the fields and on the hills, but the outback is more like a desert, full of rocks and sand.
Most Australians speak English, although they have some special expressions such as “Good day!” and “No worries, mate.” They mean “Hello!” and “Don’t worry about it. It’s not a problem!”
The next day after we arrived at Uluru, we went on a camel ride. The camel that I rode had a bad temper, and I got very tired. Everyone else thought it was very funny that my camel kept lying down …
Finally, later this evening, we’re taking the plane back to Sydney and coming home. It’s been a fantastic trip! Love, Tony
M8U2 P66
Results of student photo competition
We were very pleased with the photo competition. Compared with other years, we received many more photos. Even though all of the photos are excellent, we can’t give prizes to everyone. There are four prizes, so read on to find out who the winners are.
The person who won the prize for the Most Beautiful Nature photography is fifteen-year-old Li Wei. Li took photos of the mountains in Xiangshan Park. The park isn’t far from his home, about 500 metres, and he knows it very well.
The photo which we liked best in the Historic China group was taken by Zhao Min. Zhao is only 12 years old. Her photo is of Tian’an men Square, the largest public square in the world. It’s 880 metres from north to south and 500 metres wide at the northern end. Her photo shows the size and beauty of the square perfectly.
The best photo in the Music category was taken by He Zhong. His photo of this year’s best band Crazy Feet shows the singer. Becky Wang, and the band playing at a concert in Shenzhen. He Zhong manages to show the movement and the sounds of this great new band, and the fun which their fans are having.
A collection of photos called “The many Faces of Our City” which features Beijing won the prize for the Most Unusual category. Three pupils at the same school worked on this entry. It includes photos of different parts of the city, old and new. It successfully shows the rich culture which makes Beijing so famous.
Congratulations to our winners and thanks to everyone who entered the competition. We are very lucky that the famous photographer John William is in China to talk about his new book. He has agreed to present the prizes at the prize giving ceremony at the end of this month.
M9U2 P74
Cartoon heroes
Nemo, a cute orange-and-white fish, and Shriek, a huge green monster, have won the hearts of young people in China and the all over the world . The heroes of popular cartoons are everywhere, on office desks, handbags, and computer screens.
But there are some cartoon favorites which are older. The cartoon of the monkey King has just had its “40th birthday”. Called havoc in Heaven, it tells the story of a monkey who leads a group of monkeys against the rule of the Emperor in heaven. He flies into a peach garden and ears as many peaches as he likes. He makes a mess in each room in heaven. But it is above all the jokes played by the monkey that people remember. “Havoc in heaven” has become a common expression used by a parent or a boss when they return to the house or office and see a mess. Another favorite who has celebrated an important birthday in China is a reporter with hair and a small white dog. Tintin has traveled to the jungles, the backstretch of Shanghai and even the surface of the moon. Tintin has been popular for 75 years, ever since Belgian cartoonist Here invented the character in 1929. His books have been translated into more than 50 languages, and about 200 million copies have been sold. In December 1984 the whole series of Tintin began to be published in China. Many Chinese still keep collections of these black-and-white Tintin books. There are several fan clubs in China which have held birthday parties for Tintin in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Wuhan.
Finally, Snoopy, Charlie Brown’s lovable dog who lives in his own private dream world, also had his “50th birthday” celebrated by China’s Snoopy fans in 2000.
“I didn’t draw the cartoons only for children. Adults who have experienced life understand them better,” said the late Charles Schultz, creator of Snoopy and the Peanuts cartoons.
M10U2 P82
Feed me better
Jamie Oliver is a young cook who wants to improve school dinners. In 2005 he went back to school to see what the children were eating.
1 ______________________________
Jamie asked the children what their meals were like. “We hamburgers and chips, or pizza,” they told him, “and sometimes there is fruit, but we prefer ice cream.” Jamie thought the menu was terrible. The children were eating junk food, and it was a problem. Junk food isn’t just bad for the body. Children whose midday meals were unhealthy were difficult to teach in the afternoon. Teachers said that children behaved very badly after lunch. 2 _______________________________
When Jamie took vegetables into class, the children didn’t know what they were. Jamie realized that the children didn’t know about healthy food. Then he talked to the people who worked in the kitchens. He found out that they didn’t know enough about food and health, and they didn’t have very much money to spend.
3 ________________________________
He decided to teach the cooks and the children about healthy food. It was hard work! He cooked healthy meals for them including meat, rice, pasta and vegetables, but a lot of the
teenagers refused to eat the new food. Jamie showed them why the junk food wasn’t healthy. In the end, when Jamie persuaded them to try his cooking, they like it! 4 ________________________________
Jamie talked to the government. He told them they need to ban junk food from schools, train the cooks, educate the children and spend more money on school dinners. A lot of parents, teachers and children agreed with him. The newspapers wrote articles about him, and a TV programme showed his visits to the school. Jamie is a cook whose ideas are changing school dinners all over Britain.
M11U2 P90
Visions of the city
Jo is 15 and lives in Parkville. When Jo’s grandparents first came to Parkville 50 years ago, it was a quiet country village in the centre of the country. At that time, they had a small house on the edge of town, with some fields and the hills in the distance.
But Parkville was close to a big city, Arnwick, with about 200,000 people. People from the countryside began to arrive in Arnwick to find jobs and have a better life. And of course they needed somewhere to live. However, it was expensive to live in the centre of Arnwick, so the city government decided to build flats around the edge of the city. And soon, Parkville became a suburb of Arnwick. It now has over a million people. Jo’s family live in one of those new flats — there’s no room for small houses any more.
The small local school in Parkville closed down five years ago. Jo goes to a school close to the centre of Arnwick, with 2,000 pupils. No one knows all their names.
It takes Jo an hour to get to school, and this adds to the traffic and pollution. But it’s not her fault. She liked her old school.
Arnwick needs larger hospitals and more doctors, better public transport and fewer private cars. There need to be more shops and offices. It also needs clean water and no rubbish in the streets. It’s difficult to run a big city, and to protect people from crime. So it also needs more laws and more police, and more taxes to pay for everything.
Well, what do you think of all this? Do you like the things which are happening in Parkville? In fact, “Visions of the city” is just a story. But does your town have the same problems as Arnwick?
M12U2 P98
Learn English in Los Angeles
We provide summer English courses which are the best you can find. You will enjoy coming to Los Angeles to learn about America culture and improve your English at the same time. The courses last for four, six or eight weeks. They start at the beginning of July and August. Our teachers are well –trained and very experienced. They teach English classes for four hours a day. You can choose between small groups of two or three, or largest groups of up to 15. We provide weekly tests to see the progress you’re making with your language skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. We also provide books and other materials.
As well as learning English, we want you to experience life in the USA. You live with an American family, and you take part in American life. You have meals with an American family and do some activities with the students which last a long time. Of course, If you prefer, we can arrange hotel accommodation.
Of course, there are many things to do in Los Angeles. Every day we have activities which take place after class. You can choose to take trips to Hollywood, Disneyland or the famous beaches around LA. You can also go to various shopping centers, sports centers, movies and concerts. There are also weekend visits organized to San Francisco and other places of interest in California.
We try to give our students the best possible experience of English and life in the USA. Just ask our students! They say our summer English courses are fantastic!
We hope that you’ll enjoy a course with us, too. If you’re interested, please fill in our application from where you will also find our list of prices. The course must be paid for one month before it begins.