Unit1 Reading and Thinking
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED（Adapted）
Larry Belmont worked for a company that made robots. Recently it had begun experimenting with a household robot. It was going to be tested out by Larry’s wife，Claire.
Claire didn’t want the robot in her house，especially as her husband would be away on a business trip for three weeks，but Larry persuaded her that the robot wouldn’t harm her or allow her to be harmed. It would be a bonus. However，when she first saw the robot，she felt alarmed. His name was Tony. He seemed more like a human than a machine. He was tall and handsome with smooth hair and a deep voice，although his facial expression never changed.
On the second morning，Tony brought her breakfast and then asked her whether she needed help dressing. She felt embarrassed and quickly told him to go. Now she was being looked after by a robot that looked so human，and it was disturbing.
One day，Claire mentioned that she didn’t think she was clever. Tony said that she must feel very unh
appy to say that. Claire thought it was ridiculous that she was being offered sympathy by a robot，but she gradually admired his wisdom and integrity and began to trust him. He always treated her with dignity. She told him how she was unhappy that her home wasn’t elegant enough for Larry，who wanted to improve his social position with a bigger salary. She wasn’t like Gladys Claffern，one of the richest and most powerful women around.
As a favour，Tony promised to help Claire make herself more beautiful and her home more elegant. So Claire borrowed some library books for him to read，or rather，scan. She looked at his fingers with wonder as they turned each page. How absurd，she thought. He was just a machine.
Tony gave Claire a new hairstyle and improved her makeup. As he was not allowed to accompany her to the shops，he wrote out a list of things that he would need for his work on the house. Claire went downtown and bought these things. She had an appointment to paint her nails，then she went into an expensive clothes shop. The saleswoman there was rude to her，so she rang Tony and told him she was being treated badly. He spoke to the woman，who immediately changed her attitude. Claire thanked Tony，telling him that he was a“dear”. As she turned around，there stood Gladys Claffern. How awful to be discovered by her，Claire thought. By the look on her face，Claire knew that Gladys thought they were in a relationship. After all，she knew Claire’s husband’s name was Lar
ry，not Tony. Although it was completely innocent，Claire felt guilty.
When Claire got home，she wept. Gladys was everything Claire wished to be. Tony told her she was being sensitive and was just as good as Gladys. He suggested that she invite Gladys and her friends to the house the night before he was to leave and Larry was to return. By that time，Tony expected that the house，which was being completely transformed，would be ready.
Tony worked steadily on the improvements. Claire tried to help by working on a light suspended from the ceiling，but she fell off the ladder. Even though Tony had been in the next room，he managed to catch her in time. As he held her，she felt the warmth of his body. She screamed，pushed him away，and ran to her room.
The night of the party arrived. The clock struck eight. The guests would be arriving soon，so Claire dismissed Tony for the rest of the night. At that moment，Tony took her in his arms，bringing his face close to hers. She heard him declare that he did not want to leave her the next day，and that he felt more than just the desire to please her. Then the front door bell rang.
UNIT 1 Using Language
THE TIME MACHINE（Adapted）
It was at ten o’clock today that the first of all Time Machines began its career. I gave it a last check，and sat myself in the leather seat. I pushed the starting lever on the main panel forwards an inch then immediately backwards again. Looking around，I saw my laboratory exactly as before. Had anything happened? I thought my mind had tricked me. Then I saw the clock. A moment before，it was a minute or so past ten；now it was nearly half past three!
I drew a breath，gripped the lever and pushed it forwards. The laboratory went hazy around me. My niece came in to fetch something，maybe her handkerchief，apparently without seeing me. It probably took her a minute，but to me she moved like a rocket! I pushed the lever further. Night came as if a lamp was being turned out，and in another moment came the day. Tomorrow night came，then skipped to day，again and again，faster and faster still.
It is hard to explain the strange and unpleasant feeling of time travelling. It felt like I was being driven fast on a winding road. As my pace grew faster，the walls of the laboratory fell away，and I was left in the open air. The sun and moon looked as if they were being thrown across the sky，but soon there was division between night and day. Around me I saw trees growing like puffs of smoke；they grew，spread，and died in moments. I saw huge buildings rise up，then disappear like in a dream. The whole surface of the earth was being changed，melting and flowing before my eyes. I calculate
d that I was being pushed through time at hundreds of years a minute.
I had a strong urge to look at the random things that were being flashed before my eyes! I had thought about the risk of stopping the Time Machine many times. So long as I travelled at maximum speed，it didn’t matter. But if I stopped and the same space was being occupied by something else，we would be forced together and explode like a bomb! Like an impatient fool，I pulled the lever backwards hard. With a sudden jolt，the Time Machine was flipped on its side，and I was thrown through the air.
I was stunned for a moment，and then heard the sound of thunder. I was sitting in the rain in some mud next to the machine.“A fine welcome，”I said，“for a man who has travelled thousands of years to be here!”
选修四UNIT 2 Iconic Attractions
Reading and Thinking
25 Sep
Next week I’m travelling to Australia to visit a friend there over the school holidays. I plan to keep this
blog to record my experiences and what I learn. I have already done some research on the country. Located to the south of the equator，below many other countries on the globe，it’s often informally referred to as“down under”.
I have also read about some iconic sites，such as the Sydney Opera House and the Great Ocean Road，and animals like the cute koalas and kangaroos. I can’t wait to see all of them! However，as I major in social studies，I’m more interested in meeting people in Australia and experiencing their culture，food，and way of life.
1 Oct
I’m here in Sydney! Since I arrived，my friend has brought me to my first open-air barbecue and has also shared many different but yummy meals with me，so my first impressions of Australia have been all about food! A lot of typical Australian food，such as the Sunday roast，is originally British. Bakeries，fast-food joints，butcher shops，cafes，and restaurants everywhere provide some of the premier food experiences in the world. The influence of Asian cultures，on the other hand，led to the introduction of bean curd and Asian herbs，along with Australian versions of foods like the Chinese-inspired dim sum.
3 Oct
My friend and I have arrived in Katherine，a town in Australia’s Northern Territory. We’re here to learn about the life and customs of the Aborigines，who are native to Australia. The Aboriginal population might be small，but its influence is still visible. For example，“Bondi” in “Bondi Beach” is an Aboriginal word meaning “water breaking over rocks”.
To survive in this vast land on the ocean，the Aborigines had to be in close contact with nature. This shows in their music，too，which celebrates the natural world and the spiritual world around them. Most of their musical instruments are really just sticks found on the ground，among which there is an amazing instrument called the didgeridoo.
The didgeridoo is made from a tree branch which is hollow. To play the didgeridoo，you put your mouth on one end and blow while vibrating your lips. Unlike a horn，there are no finger holes. The didgeridoo player has to change the shape of his mouth in order to change pitch. A skilled player can play for a long time without stopping to breathe. He does this by continually breathing in through his nose while breathing out through his mouth and into the didgeridoo. I tried to learn how to play it，but after trying for hours，I was convinced that I could never make a musical sound with this instrument!
6 Oct
It’s almost time for me to say goodbye to Australia. I’ve enjoyed my time here very much. After being here for a while，my biggest impression is the complicated mix of peoples and cultures that make up the nation. Although the main cultural influence since 1788 has been Western culture，minority cultures have also played a part in shaping the unique Australian culture，with many of the new cultural influences contributed by immigrants. It is said that now nearly half of all Australian citizens were either born overseas or have parents who were born overseas.
Personally speaking，what I like most about Australia is the people themselves. They have a straightforward and free-and-easy attitude towards life，and their friendliness and warmth made me feel at home wherever I went.
After experiencing Australia，I have to say that I agree with the tourism slogan：“There’s nothing like Australia.”
UNIT 2 Using Language
THE AMAZING ANIMALS OF AUSTRALIA
Our topic today is “Creatures Unique to Australia”，with questions answered by wildlife expert，Dr Jim Smith.
Australia has lots of unique animals，but which animal is a symbol of the country?
It has to be the kangaroo，as it has a wide distribution throughout the country. It’s a tough animal that has to survive in a difficult environment. Also，it cannot walk backwards，so it is always moving forwards. This expresses the strength and resolve of the Australians as individuals and as a nation. Baby kangaroos weigh only two grammes at birth. They then find their way into their mother’s pouch—a kind of pocket—to stay safe and warm. They sleep and drink milk in that temporary，protected environment until they are about seven or eight months old. After this phase，they go out to try their legs. After they learn to jump，they gradually spend less time with their mother and learn to be independent. Kangaroos may look cute，but encounters with them don’t always end so well. Kangaroos can hit and kick very hard，so please folks，if you see some kangaroos，remember they’re not for petting!
Koalas are cute，and we see so many pictures of people holding them. But in many places in Australia，it is against the law to even touch them. Can you clarify that?
They are really quite cute，but the truth is，koalas are very sensitive creatures who can easily panic because of even small changes in their environment. They spend quite a lot of time eating，sleeping，and hanging onto tree trunks，so interaction with humans can cause them a lot of stress. Because of this，the government began to make laws against touching koalas，in the interest of animal protection，as well as public safety. So，if you see one in the wild，you shouldn’t approach it to pick it up or even touch it. If you want to hold a koala，you have to go to certain licensed zoos where animal experts make sure that the koalas selected for each session are in a good state for human contact and that they are handled for only a limited time and on a limited frequency of occasions.
So，we’ve talked about some cute animals. What about animals which aren’t so cute?
My favourite is a little creature called the Tasmanian devil. If you are out camping in Tasmania and come across one，the experience might scare you! Tasmanian devils hunt at night，so you won’t usually see them，but you may hear their loud cries when they are fighting or eating. The noise they make could wake the dead. Frightening! They are about the size of small dogs and look like rather large black rats. They also have a terrible smell! Their diet is mostly dead animals. Fortunately，despite their name，they are generally not violent towards people.
Australia also has some animals that many people have never heard of，for example，the duck-billed platypus. Is that some kind of bird?
Not at all. While it may lay eggs in a nest like a bird，it’s really a primitive mammal，with a unique biology. Its eggs hatch after about ten days，and then the baby platypus nurses from its mother like all other mammals. Its nose looks like a duck’s bill，and it has feet like a duck’s so it can dive under the water，but it’s covered in hair. Do you know what’s really strange about a platypus? The platypus doesn’t use its senses of sight or smell to find food. It has a capacity to find food in the water by using electrical sensors in its bill. There are only a small handful of animals in the world that can do that!
UNIT3 Sea Exploration
Reading and Thinking
REACHING OUT ACROSS THE SEA
Trade and curiosity have often formed the foundation of mankind’s greatest achievements. To complete the great map of the world was a strong passion for the people of early civilisations. Marco
Polo’s tales inspired European explorers to search for sea routes from west to east. However，merchants and explorers from the East set sail from east to west many years before Columbus first did.
In ancient times，silk from China found its way overland to India，the Middle East，and Rome，along what became known as the Silk Road. A trading route across the sea was also extended along the coasts of the Indian Ocean，centered around Ceylon（now Sri Lanka）. Here，merchants from China and many other places met to negotiate trade deals，which also led to more awareness of each other’s cultures. Over the centuries，further trading allowed more exploration of the regions to the west of China，as recorded in Du Huan’s Record of My Travels in the eighth century.高中英语课文
Later，the Ming Dynasty further developed relations with these regions. Between 1405 and 1433，seven large fleets sailed west on voyages of trade and exploration. These fleets were a sight to behold and were in a league of their own at that time. Under the command of Zheng He，they set sail from the South China Sea across the Indian Ocean to the mouth of the Red Sea，and then to the east coast
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