人教新课标高中英语必修2workbook readingtask

Unit1 Cultural relics-ReadingTask BIG FENG TO THE RESCUE His friends and family call him "Big Feng" because he is very tall and played basketball as a young man. But he is also big in a different way- he fights hard to protect China's past. His real name is Feng Jicai and he has written many novels about life in China. Several years ago, however, he put down his pen for a while and began to protect the cultural relics in Tianjin, where he lives. Once someone asked him why he no longer wrote. He replied that at the moment he felt protecting cultural relics was more important. Feng loves his hometown. He believes that old things must be given a place next to new things, or people will soon forget their great past. He does not make speeches to get others to help him in his projects. Instead he goes out and does what he can himself. If others follow him, so much the better. One of his biggest projects was to protect the oldest street in Tianjin. Along that street some shops had done business for seven hundred years. Although the city government rebuilt this street, they did save its oldest building. Another project was more successful: he persuaded the city government to buy some land in the centre of the city so it could not be sold for businesses. This area is very important for the history of Tianjin. It was here that the city was first built during the Song Dynasty. Later many treasures were found here. To Feng, digging down into the earth is like reading page after page of a book. Each dynasty found in the earth is like an interesting story. Not long ago he and other writers and artists took photos of the old parts of Tianjin. The photos were put into a book which was very popular. The money from the book helps his projects. Once, an old man asked Feng to sign the book for him, saying he would give it to his grandson who was not yet born. Feng was glad to do it - he knows that the past is not only for us to enjoy but also for the children of the future. Unit2 The Olympic Games-Reading Task THREE INSPIRINCI STORIES ABOUT THE OLYMPIC GAMES 1 The kind Norwegian There is a cross-country skiing race which is part of the Winter Olympics. In 2006 a Canadian skier, Sara Renner, was taking part in the cross-country final when her left pole broke. This was a serious problem as she needed the pole to help her travel quickly through the deep snow. Immediately Bjornar Hakensmoen, the coach of the Norwegian team, gave her another pole. So Renner was able to get a silver medal. Hakensmoen said that he had only behaved as any good sportsman should, but Sara said that Hakensmoen had shown everybody the true meaning of sport. 2 The Special Olympic athlete For athlete Eric Williams gold medals are nice, but good sportsmanship is more important. Eric has a low mental ability but this does not stop him from taking apart in the Olympics. In 2005 Eric competed in running races and the long jump. He said, "I've been competing in the Special Olympics ever since I was at high school. It's really a good experience. You get to meet different athletes and volunteers and make all kinds of friends." John Corbett, an organizer of the Special Olympics said, "He always does his best and has a wonderful time in the process. He truly appreciates (感激) all the people around him who are trying to help, and he makes that appreciation known." Let's hope Eric wins more medals in the next Special Olympics! 3 The stubborn African In 1968 a Kenyan athlete Kip Keino competed in the 1,500 metres running race. At that time he was very ill and in great pain. Although he had reached the standard for the final of the race he decided at first not to take part. However, just before the race was going to start he changed his mind. He ran from his room and arrived at the race track a few minutes before the race was about to begin. Surprisingly, he won the race, finishing well ahead of everyone else and showing what true courage and perseverance (毅力) can achieve. It was no wonder that Kip Keino became the only Kenyan sportsman ever to appear on the cover of the world famous sports magazine “Sports Illustrated”. Unit3 Reading Task My name is Hua Fei and I am a sporting robot of the 23rd century. I am an expert at high flying exercises. I jump from spaceships and as I fall I turn, dive, circle and dance until I softly land as close as I can to the finishing line. Robot competitions in the23rd century are truly a popular sport. Fans from all over China watch their handheld TVs when a competition comes on. Last time I took part in the 78th Olympics on a flying island above Brussels in the sky. I won the silver medal for my performance. This year I had the honour to be chosen again. I wanted to meet robots from other countries and explore ideas about our sport. However, my programmer fell ill the week before we were going to leave. It was very painful for her and I felt very frightened. I no longer felt so confident that I would win. The day of the competition was rather cold for my legs and my special oil began to freeze. I paused before I jumped from the starting place on a little spaceship but then I began my performance. At the correct moment I tried to open my parachute but there was a problem. It only opened a little. Instead of flying softly to earth I began to fall faster and faster so that I could not turn, dive, circle or dance. My heart stopped beating as I landed heavily on a mountain covered with snow. This is why I am writing to you from my hospital bed with two broken legs and a fragile head. I did not win anything at the Olympics after all. I need the factory to build me two new legs and an even bigger head. Then I will be able to compete once more. Let's hope for greater success in the next Olympics! Unit 4 Wildlife protection-Reading Task THE RETURN OF THE MILU DEER My name is Lin Hui. I like to tell stories about people who work together. What is even better is when countries help each other and build a good friendship. An excellent example of this happened when Britain and China worked together to bring the Milu deer back to China. The Milu deer, a species with large horns (角), used to be common in China long ago.Like other deer they lived together and ate grass and the soft parts of trees such as small branches. Milu deer were often hunted for food or sport in the past. The Ming and Qing dynasties did not protect them and many were killed. That is how the Milu deer disappeared from China. Luckily before all of them were killed, some were taken to Britain to improve the environment of the beautiful park which belonged to the Duke of Bedford. He liked them so much that he took them all the way from China to Britain. The Milu deer liked the cool, wet weather in England and their number increased year by year. As a result, when in 1985 the government of China wanted to reintroduce the Milu deer, the Duke of Bedford was happy to help. The first deer came back to China to the Nanhaizi Milu Park 20 kilometres south of Beijing and the centre in Dafeng, Jiangsu Province. The deer certainly seem happy to be back in China because their numbers have grown rapidly. There are now so many of them that a new park has been opened for them in Hubei Province. At the moment the Milu deer live in centres where they are being well protected and cared for. It is hoped that one day there will be enough animals to let them live in the wild again. So Britain helped China by bringing back an animal that had disappeared from its homeland. This is a good example of friendship and understanding between these two countries. Unit 5 Music-Reading Task CAT'S IN THE CRADLE by Harry Chapin and Sandy Chapin Part 1 My child arrived just the other day; He came to the world in the usual way, But there were planes to catch and bills to pay, He learned to walk while I was away. And he was talking before I knew it, And as he grew he'd say: "l'm going to be like you, dad, You know I'm going to be like you." Chorus And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon, Little boy blue and the man in the moon. "When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when, But we’ll get together then, You know we'll have a good time then." Part2 My son turned ten just the other day. He said, "Thanks for the ball, dad, come on, let's play. Can you teach me to throw?” I said, "Not today, I've got a lot to do." He said, "That's OK." And he walked away, but his smile never dimmed; He said I'm going to be like him, yeah. You know I'm going to be like him. (Chorus) Part3 Well, he came from college just the other day, So much like a man, I just had to say, "Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?” He shook his head and said with a smile, "What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys. See you later, can I have them please?” (Chorus) Part4 I've long since retired, my son's moved away. I called him up just the other day. I said, “I’d like to see you if you don't mind." He said, "I’d love to, Dad, if I can find the time. You see, my new job's a worry and the kids have the flu, But it's sure nice talking to you, dad. It's sure been nice talking to you." And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me, He'd grown up just like me. My boy was just like me.