阅读下面短文，根据短文内容，填写表格。

　　How much do you know about Brazil? You might think of football , samba (桑巴) and the Amazon． But there is a lot more to this country： its wonderful land, history and culture．

　　On September 7 , 1822 , Brazil won its independence (独立) from Portugal． So that day is Brazil’s National Day．

　　It is the largest country in South America and has the second longest river in the world． It is called the Amazon． The river is 6, 440 kilometres long and runs through the world’s largest rainforest． The rainforest is home to between 800, 000 and 5 million kinds of plants and animals． But be careful when you swim because the biggest snake, the Anaconda (大水蟒), and the most terrible fish, the Piranha (水虎鱼) , live there!

　　Brazilians love sports, especially football． Many great players were born in Brazil like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo． Football is-played everywhere． It is so popular that schools and businesses close during their important matches !

　　The Brazilians also love dancing very much． The national dance is the samba． Samba is a very lively and fun dance． Every year in February or March, there is the Carnival (狂欢节) in Rio de Janeiro． This is a time for parades and partying ! People go out and dance in the streets Dancers dress up in colorful clothes and go through the streets on big cars called floats． Tens of thousands of people watch the dancing．

　　If you want to be part of the carnival, then find a chance to travel to Brazil!

阅读下面短文，根据短文内容，回答问题。

　　Written records indicate that in 1153B． C．, workers in the city of Thebes, Egypt protested receiving the same food every day, as well as their 'overall working conditions． This was the first recorded disagreement between labor and management． About 800 years later, the first strike happened． Aristos, originally from Greece, led the strike in Rome against his master in protest of meal breaks which were too short． The tradition of organizing workers to protest unfair conditions has continued to the present． Today, labor unions stand up for the rights of workers using collective bargaining techniques． These unions, which exist all around the world, take two basic forms－voluntary unions, bureaucratic unions．

　　Voluntary, or free unions, leave the choice of membership up to individuals． Not everyone must join the union, but enough people do join so that the union keeps power in the workplace． The purpose of this type of union is to establish a good living standard for employees and also to protect this standard during times of economic difficulty． Countries where this type of union is popular include most of western Europe, Britain, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan．

　　Membership in bureaucratic unions is also voluntary, but because these unions are closely connected to political parties in the countries where these unions operate, members of the party include themselves as members of the union． This type of union's main purpose is to set up good relations between the ruling government and members of the union． Political and social reforms are the main goals of this type of union． Bureaucratic unions are found in Latin America, and some Asian and African countries．

　　When unions and employers do not see eye to eye on an issue, the union sends some of its workers to meet with the employers and try to reach an agreement． However, collective bargaining does not always sufficiently influence policy makers． When this technique fails to meet the union goals, a strike may be called． Strikes may take several different forms including pickets, sit-down strikes, and also general strikes in which labor for an entire region may stop． Unions have found that strikes are the most effective in times when unemployment is low and economic conditions are good．

阅读下面短文，根据短文内容回答问题。

　　Can a person make it rain? Many people believed that Charles Hatfiled could． In the early 1900s, Mr． Hatfield traveled through the United States, Canada, and Mexico bringing rain to farms and cities that suffered from drought． For 30 years, people considered him the greatest rainmaker in North America． In order to make it rain, he used a secret mixture of chemicals that be placed high on wooden towers in special trays． As the chemicals evaporated, they attracted rain clouds to the area． Over his career, Mr． Hatfield even offered to help clear the fog from London and to water the Sahara Desert．

　　One of Mr． Hatfiled's most amazing rainmaking accomplishments happened in southern California in 1916． Because he knew that the city of San Diego did not have enough water, Mr． Hatfield offered to give the city a hand with its water problem． He planned to create enough rain to fill the lake behind Morena Dam near the city． Since the time the dam was built, the lake had never been more than half full, but the lake could hold 57 billion liters (15 billion gallons) of water if it were full． Filling the lake would help the city of San Diego with its constant water problems． Mr． Hatfield suggested that if he succeeded in filling the lake with rain water, the city would pay him $10, 000．If no rain fell, the city would pay nothing． The city agreed because they had nothing to lose from the business deal, and only paying $ 10, 000 for that much water seemed to be a steal．

　　On January 1, 1916, Mr． Hatfield began his rainmaking procedure． It began to rain four days later． The rain continued for the next five days． On January 10, it began to rain more heavily, and the rain continued for the next 10 days The city of San Diego was flooded． Fifty people died． More than 200 bridges were washed away,． and many miles of train tracks were destroyed． However, Mr． Hatfield did succeed in filling the lake． The water was within 12 centimeters of the top of the dam． Mr． Hatfield thought that he had completed his job, so he went to collect his money from the city． However, the city of San Diego backed out of the deal． They said that the rain was an “act of God” and not the work of the rainmaker． Mr． Hatfield tried to sue the city, but he never collected any money for his work．

阅读下面短文，根据短文内容，给短文后的句子排序。

　　“The Lord of the Rings” , one of the best sellers in the new millennium (千年) , was made up of three parts－“The Fellowship of the Ring” , “Two Towers” , and “The Return of the King”． Millions upon millions of people have read it in over 25 different languages, but fewer know about the author and the history of the composition of the creative masterwork．

　　John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in South Africa in 1892． His parents died when he was a child． Living in England with his aunt, Tolkien and his cousins made up play languages, a hobby that led to Tolkien's becoming skilled in Welsh, Greek, Gothic, Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon．

　　After graduating from Oxford, Tolkien served in World War I． In 1917, while recovering from trench fever, he began composing the mythology for The Rings． As a professor of Anglo-Saxon in 1930s at Oxford, Tolkien was part of an informal discussion group called the Inklings, which in-cluded several writers． The group was soon listening to chapters of Tolkien’s imaginative work “ The Hobbit”．

　　Hobbit was a name Tolkien created for a local people that could best be described as half-sized members of the English rural class． Hobbits live in hillside holes． One of them, Bilbo Baggins, looks for treasures with a group of dwarves (侏儒)． On the way, he meets the twisted, pitiful creature Gollum, from whom he sees a golden ring that makes the holder invisible．

　　One of Tolkien’s students persuaded her employer, publisher Allen & Unwin, to look at a draft (草稿)． The chairman of the firm, Stanley Unwin, thought that the best judge, for a chil-dren's book would be his ten-year-old son． The boy earned a shilling for reporting back that the ad-venture was exciting, and “The Hobbit” was published in 1937．

　　It sold so well that Unwin asked for a continuation． Over a dozen years later, in 1954, Tolkien produced “The Lord of the Rings” , a series of books so creative that they hold readers－new and old －after their publication．

　　a．He had his “The Hobbit” published．

　　b．He became a member of the Inklings．

　　c．He served in World War I．

　　d．He became an undergraduate at Oxford．

　　e．His work “The Lord of the Rings” came to the world．

　　f．He moved to England to live with his aunt．

阅读训练

阅读下面短文，根据短文内容回答问题。

　　In the north of Scotland there is a lake called Loch Ness． It is the biggest lake in Britain． It is over thirty kilometers long and in places nearly 300 meters deep． It is cold and dark and not many people went there until after 1930． Then a road was made around the lake． Holiday makers began to use the mad, and this was when the stories began．

　　Someone said that he had seen a monster in the lake． He said it was twelve meters long． It had a long neck and a small head． Then someone else said he had seen it． Others said the same thing and in 1933 a London doctor took a photo． It looked like a monster with a long neck and a thick body but the photo was not clear． The newspapers printed the picture and called it the Loch Ness monster, or “Nessie”．

　　Then the argument began． Some people, however, were certain there was something living in the lake． Others said there was nothing there． 1n 1961, a lot of people joined together to make a real effort to see and photograph the monster if there was one! Several times people thought they saw something but after ten years there was still no real proof．

　　Later underwater television cameras were used, but no one found any real proof． However, they did find something interesting： a huge underwater cave． It was big enough to be home of a monster, but of course , this was not a proof．

　　In 1975, however, some American scientists formed a search group． They used an underwater camera． It took pictures every seventy seconds． Some of the pictures seemed to show a red-brown creature． Its body was about four meters long and had a very ugly head on the end of a four-meter neck． Many people then began to believe in the monster． But even today we cannot be certain．

1．Did many people go to Loch Ness Lake before 1930?

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2．What did the monster look like as people described in the 1930's ?

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3．Who first took a photo of the monster?

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4．What did a group of American scientists do in1975?

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阅读下面短文，回答问题

　　“I have a regular film camera but I just don't use it much,” said Ms Lowery, 23, a computer programmer． “ When I got married last year, I had all these pictures that didn't come out right． With digital cameras , you aren't spending money on film for wasted pictures, ” she said．

　　There are plenty of models from which to choose：from simple $ 200 point and shoot snappers to $ 1, 000 wonder with all the qualities that any advanced amateur (业余爱好者) could want． The wide selection is a sure sign that in may buyers’minds, digital cameras have risen from mere gadgets to must-have items．

　　Digital cameras offer more than just the instant previewing of pictures on small color screens． They can store dozens, sometimes hundreds, of pictures that can be printed easily at home or sent by e-mail． Although there are extra costs-the cost of memory cards for storage and the special paper for printing－-many buyers have been willing to make the switch．

　　Although about 90 percent of American households still use film cameras , digital cameras are capturing a growing share of the market． And the number of digital camera households, now at about 10 percent, is certain to grow, as producers introduce more and more camera, whose quality is as good as film cameras． Soon, even professionals will use them．

　　Salesmen expect digital cameras to be popular gifts this holiday season． “They are very hot this year, ” said Yossi Fogel at B&H ,Photo in New York． “The prices have come down and the quality has gone up． Who wants to travel with 30 rolls of film? With a large memory card to store pictures, you can shoot and shoot and never have to worry about changing a roll． How many times have you missed a picture because you failed to reload the film?”

1．What are the advantages of the digital camera over the film camera?

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2．Why does the writer say that the number of American household using digital cameras will increase?

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3．Can the pictures in digital cameras be seen before they are printed?

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4．According to this article, mainly by whom are digital cameras used nowadays?

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Read first and then discuss the questions.

　　Where did jazz originate? What musical, social, and cultural ingredients (n. 成分, 因素) combined to form jazz? These questions, and their respective answers, are important for the student of jazz history to investigate.

　　Jazz is the only indigenous American art form and it is truly a cultural product of the United States. Western and African musical culture were the seeds of jazz, but America was the soil where jazz grew and prospered (V．成功, 兴隆, 昌盛). Jazz is neither a music of Blacks nor the music of Whites, but jazz is actually a blending of a variety of traditions, heritages, and philosophies (n. 哲学, 哲学体系) .

　　During the early history of America, slavery was a standard social practice. Slaves were forcibly brought from Africa to America. While in America, the displaced African’s (including African musicians who brought their musical traditions and talents with them) would learn from already established Western musical theories and performance practices. At the same time, Western musicians would learn African (Eastern) musical theories and performance practices from the African musicians.

　　Primitive (原始的) African culture places a great emphasis on music, much more so than Western societies. Music is an important aspect (n. 方面) of many of the day-today activities of the primitive African societies. As a primitive musical expression, early African music placed a great emphasis on rhythmic (adj. 节奏的, 合拍的) activity with a more simple use of melody (n. 悦耳的音调) and harmony (n. 协调, 融洽). African rhythms are quite complex and very advanced, yet the melodies and harmonies are simple. This strong emphasis on musical tradition and usage was brought with the African populations during their forced exile of slavery to America.

　　While in America, these new Black Americans still expressed themselves through their musical traditions. Since they were in America, their old musical traditions could not be reproduced exactly for many reasons, including not being allowed to use traditional African instruments. To understand a comparable situation, let us assume (vt. 假定, 设想) that we have a fictional American rock band who are forcibly taken to a foreign country. While in slavery, the rock musicians still desire to create their music. Unfortunately, their new “owners” give them permission to perform their rock music, but the rock band is not allowed to use any electric guitars, an electric bass, a drum set, keyboards, or any type of electronic instruments. This would cause quite a problem for the rock band, but if they have a strong enough desire to create their music, they would have to find a way to do so with the resources (instruments etc. ) that were available to them. This imaginary (adj. 假想的, 想象的) scenario (剧情概要, 或是某一特定情节) was exactly what the African musicians faced as slaves in America.

　　Along with finding new instruments, the African musicians were being exposed to the Western musical culture. This exposure was a vital essence to the evolution of jazz. These new Western melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, and aural traditions affected the African musicians tremendously. Of course, White musicians were also being affected by what they head from the African musicians. As time passes, the give and take between the African and Western musical traditions would blossom into what would be called Jazz.

　　To this day, elements that started with the African slaves can still be heard in jazz and rock. One example still in use is the African “call and response” method of early African songs. In a call and response, the soloist sings a portion of a melody while the group responds afterwards (much like a musical question and answer) .

　　Another example is “pitch-bending”. During the advent of jazz, the musicians would bend pitches for expressive purposes. This bent pitch catches our ears because the ear does not know where the pitch will actually end up, thus creating a musical surprise. Countless jazz and rock musicians use this technique today. Listen to a rock lead-guitar solo and count all the pitch-bends utilized. Most of today's synthesizers even have a pitch-bend device built in.

　　The roots of jazz are from African and Western musical traditions blended together. Over a period of many years, these traditions exchanged musical qualities and slowly evolved into jazz. The African emphasis on rhythm combined with Western theoretical musical thought created a new music for all musicians and audiences to enjoy. As the jazz musical tree grew, other sub-styles of music grew from the trunk of jazz. Music styles such as Rhythm and Blues (n. 节奏和布鲁斯) Soul, Funk, Rap, and Rock and Roll are all descendants (n. 子孙, 后裔, 后代) of jazz and the jazz heritage.

Questions For Discussion:

1．Does Jazz come from Africa?

2．Does Jazz come from Blues?

Read the following news and discuss:

1．What cause the hunger crises?

2．What shall we do to solve the problem?

3．What does the word“refugee”mean in the text?

4．Where is the“hunger belt”?

　　International experts are concerned about a growing humanitarian crisis--world hunger. Last year, the World Food Program fed more than seventy-seven-million people in eighty-two countries. Many of the people who received food aid are refugees and people forced to leave their homes because of conflict. This year, the humanitarian organization estimates an additional twenty-five-million people will need food aid.

　　Several problems have caused the world hunger crisis. These include severe dry weather and conflicts within and between countries. The World Food Program says starvation is a problem in parts of Asia, Central America and the Middle East. However, the hardest hit area is Africa. Officials estimates about forty-million people on that continent alone are threatened with starvation.

　　Trevor Rowe is a spokesman for the World Food Program. He says people in Ethiopia and Eritrea are facing starvation because of dry weather and a continuing war along their shared border. Severe dry weather conditions, or drought, have left fields unfertile. This lack of rain has also halted crop production in southern Africa. People in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho and Malawi are also suffering from starvation. The World Food Program calls this area of Africa the "hunger belt."

　　Emergency efforts to ease the hunger crisis in southern Africa began nine months ago. By the end of last year, the World Food Program had given more than two-hundred-seventy-thousand metric tons of food to the six countries. However, food shipments could soon be halted if the World Food Program does not receive more money. Officials say the aid program in southern Africa needs about two-hundred-million dollars through March.

　　The World Food Program is urging the international community to give more money. Officials say help is especially important now because early signs point to another possible drought in southern Africa this year.

　　Mister Rowe says the disease AIDS in Africa is making the hunger crisis even worse. People are extremely weakened by the disease. So they cannot farm and they cannot take care of themselves. Mister Rowe says hunger and disease are linked. He describes the situation in Africa as a crisis within a crisis.

Discuss the movie Forrest Gump after reading the following passage:

　　When Forrest Gump first came out, a lot of Americans felt embarrassed by its portrayal of them. Well, I can sympathize with the feeling. After all, Australia has produced some pretty embarrassing lifestyle movies, including Muriel's Wedding, Strictly ballroom and Crocodile Dundee. The thing is, no one outside of your own country can see anything to be embarrassed about. So I guess we should all just relax and enjoy the film.

　　Forrest Gump was an adorable piece of cinema. Tom Hanks was up to his usual high quality, but the star of the film had to be the script. Every now and then a movie comes out that is simply refreshing, and this was one of the best. Forrest is a character permanently in the role as underdog, not because of his failures but in spite of his successes. It is not possible to feel jealous of this good natured simpleton, no matter how many presidents he meets or how much he earns. We always cheer him on.

　　I had fun with the movie on many levels. The script was full of double meanings and clever references. The special effects were flawless and yet unnoticed. The winding, serendipitous path Gump's life took was surprisingly believable. And finally the characters were heart warming. The very lack of pretension in Forest only served to highlight it in the“normal”characters. Forrest Gump is the sort of film that leaves you feeling good but also prompts you to wonder about the true meaning of life. No one should feel embarrassed by this great film.

Discussion with your partner:

1．Why did a lot of Americans feel embarrassed by its portrayal of them?

2．What did the writer think of the movie?

3．What do you think of the movie?

Let the group of four discuss freely. They can have any answers to the questions.

Read and think:

Do you agree with the writer, if not, what will you describe a friend as?

　　In kindergarten your idea of a good friend was the person who let you have the red crayon (蜡笔) when all that was left was the ugly black one.

　　In primary school your idea of a good friend was the person who went to the bathroom with you; who held your hand as you walked through the scary halls; who helped you stand up to the class bully; who shared their lunch with you when you forgot yours on the bus; who saved a seat on the back of the bus for you and who knew who you had a crush on and never understood why.

　　In secondary school your idea of a good friend was the person who let you copy their social studies homework; who went to that “cool” party with you, so you wouldn't wind up being the only fresher there; who did not let you lunch alone．

　　In pre-university your idea of a good friend was the person who gave you rides in their new car；convinced your parents that you shouldn't be grounded; comforted you when you broke up with Nick or Susan；found you a date to the prom or went to the prom with you (both without dates) ;helped you pick a university and assured you that you would get into that university; helped you deal with your parents who were having a hard time letting you go.

　　On the threshold (开始) of adulthood your idea of a good friend was the person who was there when you just couldn't deal with your parents; assured you that now you and Nick or you and Susan were back together, you could make it through anything; just silently hugged (拥抱) you as you looked through blurry eyes at 18 years of memories; and reassured you that you would make it in university as well as you had these past 18 years； and most importantly sent you off to university knowing you were loved．

　Now， your idea of a good friend is still the person who gives you the better of the two choices, holds your hand when you're scared, helps you fight off those who try to take advantage of you, thinks of you at times when you are not there, reminds you of what you have forgotten， helps you put the past behind you but understands when you need to hold on to it a little longer, stays with you so that you have confidence, goes out of their way to make lime for you, helps you clear up your mistakes, helps you deal with pressure from others, smiles for you when they are sad, helps you become a better person, and most importantly loves you! 

　Pass this furl on to those friends of the past, those of the future and those you have met along the way.

　Thank you for being a friend. No matter where we go or who we become, never forget who helped us get there. There's never a wrong time to pick up a phone or send a message telling your friends how much you miss them or how much you love them.