北师大版高中英语课文必修三.doc

北师大版高中英语课文必修三
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U7 L1
1 The Spirit of Explorers
Viking Voyages to America
The Vikings were the first Europeans to reach America. They achieved this long before Columbus ever set sail. The Vikings were a group of people whose ancestors came from Scandinavia. They controlled the seas and coasts of Northern Europe between the 8th and 10th centuries AD. By around 900 AD, there were many places in Northern Europe where the Vikings chose to live. In 982 AD, when a man called Eric the Red decided to set sail further west, there were as many as 10,000 Vikings living in Iceland.
According to the old stories of Iceland and Norway, Eric the Red was forced to leave Iceland because he had committed a murder, for which he got into trouble. Eric reached Greenland and discovered that people could live in the place where he landed. He returned to Iceland and told people there about Greenland. He persuaded some people to go back with him to Greenland. Eric set sail once again, this time with 25 ships, of which only 14 made it to Greenland. Not long after Eric the Red had landed in Greenland, a man called Biarni set sail from Iceland in search of Eric's party. Biarni was hoping to join his father who was with Eric, but he was blown off course and found himself in an unknown land, from where he eventually reached Greenland.
In the year 1002, when Eric the Red's son Leif was planning a trip further west, Biarni was the man with whom Leif discussed his plans. Leif followed Biarni's directions and sailed to what is believed to be the coast of present-day Canada. He then sailed further south to an island which is now known as Newfoundland. We know about Eric the Red and Leif's deeds through stories which were written down centuries later in Norway and Iceland. They are the first records we have of Europeans sailing to the Americas.
U7 L3
3 The Sea World
UNDER WATER WORLD
The Best place to See Sea Creatures
Polar World
We have polar bears and a real iceberg too! You can only see a small part of it above the water. It's three times as big underwater. Watch the acrobatic seals at feeding time. Meet our less energetic but more friendly penguins. You'll love them!
Ocean Floor
See some of the most beautiful coral and the most unusual fish in the world. Watch some fish “flying” through the water. They are less colourful than some other fish but they move beautifully.
Sea Theatre
See our intelligent dolphins.
There are fantastic shows every two hours.
Discovery Pool
Especially for younger children. They can touch crabs and other smaller creatures. They can be educated about daily life on the beach in this exciting area.
Virtual Reality Voyage
Our most up-to-date attraction. Come with us on a “virtual reality” trip to the
ocean floor and see some of the strangest fish in the world.
• Noisiest Fish. Some fish can produce sounds almost twice as loud as your speaking voice! You certainly won't find a noisier fish.
• Prettiest Fish. Some fish attract other fish with a light on their body – and then eat them!
They have a huge mouth and can eat fish as big as themselves.
Watch out!
• Tiniest Fish. Look carefully for the tiniest fish in the world. It is not as big as a fly in your house!
• Swim with dolphins and face an attack by the most dangerous creature in the sea – the great white shark!
U7 L4
4 Sea Stories
It may seem strange, but at that moment, when we were on the edge of the whirlpool, I felt calmer than when we were moving towards it. We went round and round, nearer and nearer to the horrible edge of the whirlpool. Suddenly, we went over the edge. I thought my life was over. But moment after moment passed, and I was still safe. The boat was on the inside of the huge whirlpool and we were going round in circles at great speed. I saw clearly that there were other objects in the whirlpool – trees and barrels. I noticed that the heavier objects went down more quickly than the smaller, lighter ones. So I tied myself to a barrel to help me float. I tried to make my brother understand, but he was terrified and stayed in the heavy boat. Without waiting, I dived into the sea to try and escape.
About three years ago, something terrible happened to me. Those six hours of terror have broken my body and soul. You think I am a very old man – but I am not. It took less than a single day to change my hair from black to white. One day, my two brothers and I were coming back from the islands, our boat full of fish. All at once, the sky was covered with dark clouds and in less than a minute we were in a terrible storm. An enormous wave covered our boat and my younger brother fell into the sea. Our boat survived, and I was trying to recover when my elder brother put his mouth close to my ear, and screamed out the terrifying word “Whirlpool!” With the wind and waves we were going in the direction of the whirlpool, and nothing could save us!
As you can see, I did escape. I will bring my story quickly to a conclusion. Some time after I left the boat, with my brother in it, it sank into the bottom of the whirlpool. Soon afterwards, the whirlpool became less violent. Then the sky was clear, the wind calmer and the moon was shining. I was still tied to the barrel and the waves soon carried me to an area where the other fishermen were. In the end, a boat picked me up. I was very tired. The fishermen were my old friends, but they were unable to recognize me. When I told them my story, they did not believe it. Now I have told you, and I cannot expect you to believe me more than the fishermen did.
U8 L1
1 Adventure Holidays
Just imagine. You are walking along a mountain path in the Himalayas. You are feeling tired. You are thinking about how far there is to go. Then, suddenly you are there! And the amazing Mount Qomolangma is on the horizon. It looks great. A few minutes later, you arrive at the camp. The food cooking on the fire smells great and while you are having a hot cup of tea, you relax and watch the sun go down. At dinner, the food tastes fantastic. You talk with other people in the group about everything you have seen and done during your day's hiking. If you are looking for experiences like this, Adventure 2000 is the organization for you.
A lot of hiking holidays sound exciting, but the reality is often very different. Hiking trips can be uncomfortable and even dangerous. However, at Adventure 2000 we feel that we understand the needs of hikers. All our guides have several years of experience in leading hiking trips in the Himalayas. They know all the best routes and best places to camp. We also realize that hiking can be hard work and believe that hikers need all our help. As well as the group guide, all teams have cooks and porters. While on a hiking trip, our cooks prepare delicious meals. And our porters carry your luggage, which means that you can simply enjoy the experience.
At Adventure 2000 we also think that good travel arrangements are important. We organize all the flights for you: from London to Beijing, from Beijing to Lhasa and bus travel in Tibet.
Accommodation is in comfortable hotels in Beijing and Lhasa, hostels on the hiking trip, and one-or two-person tents for camping.
There are also special offers for people who don't want to go straight home afterwards. If you like history, there is a trip to Western China. For people who prefer to spend some time on the coast, we can organize your travel and accommodation too. This is a Class A hike — you have to be fit. There are walks of 6–8 hours most days, with a maximum altitude of 5,545 metres. Class B and C hikes are easier, so you don't need to be so fit.
The hike costs £2,500 including all flights and accommodation. Maximum group size is 15 people. Hikes are between October and May.
U8 L3
3 Marco Polo
Marco Polo and His Travels
Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254. When he was 17 years old, he travelled across Europe and Asia with his father, who wanted to do trade with the Chinese. Eventually, they arrived in Beijing. At that time, China was ruled by the Yuan Dynasty Emperor, Kublai Khan.
Kublai Khan welcomed Marco and his father. He was very happy to meet two foreigners and wanted to learn all about Europe. Marco and his father were guests at the Emperor's Palace. Although Marco was young, he was very clever and could already speak four languages. The Emperor was impressed by him and they became friends. He asked Marco to serve in his court and sent him to do many important tasks across the country.
Marco, in turn, was amazed by how beautiful and powerful China was. He was very impressed by Beijing and the Emperor's Palace, especially the Summer Palace which he described as “The greatest palace that ever was ... The walls were covered in gold and silver and the Hall was so large it could easily seat 6,000 people for dinner.”
There were inventions and developments in China which were not available
in Europe at that time. Marco was surprised to see Chinese people using paper money in the markets. In Europe, people paid for goods with gold or silver. He could not understand how people could pay for food and valuable things with paper! He was also confused by the black stones people used to burn for fuel. The black stones were coal, but Marco had never seen coal before!
In 1291, after 17 years of service to the Emperor, Marco returned to Italy. He was now a very wealthy man. Not long after his return, a local war broke out near his town. During the war, Marco was the captain of a warship but was caught by the enemy and put into prison. However, Marco was lucky enough to meet another prisoner who enjoyed listening to his stories about China. The prisoner was an author and he took dictation while Marco told all his stories to him. The prisoner then wrote the stories in a book called The Description of the World, which became one of the best-selling books in Europe.
Although people enjoyed reading his book, many of them thought that Marco's stories about China were too fantastic to be true. But Marco always stood by his tales. Just before he died, aged 70, Marco was asked the question, “Was it all true?”, to which he replied, “I have only told a half of what I saw!”
U8 L4
4 Journey to the Antarctic
The RACE to the POLE
On 1 June, 1910, Captain Scott left London to begin his journey to the Antarctic. On his way, he received a message from the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen:
“I'm going South.” So the race to the South Pole was on! During the polar summer of 1910–1911, both teams organized food bases in preparation for their journeys the next year. Then came the total darkness of the polar winter. Scott and Amundsen waited anxiously for spring.
Amundsen was the first to leave, on 15 October, 1911. He had teams of dogs pulling the sledges and all his men were on skis. Because of this, he made rapid progress. Scott left on 1 November and soon had problems. First, his two sledges broke down, and then the horses began to have serious difficulties with the snow and the cold. After a while, Scott and his men had to push the sledges themselves.
Amundsen reached the Pole on 14 December and put a Norwegian flag there. Then he prepared for the return journey. Scott finally arrived at the Pole with four team members on 17 January. They were shocked when they saw the Norwegian flag. Scott wrote sadly in his diary: “Well, we have now lost the goal of our ambition and must face 800 miles of hard pushing – and goodbye to most of our dreams.”
The return journey was one of the worst in the history of exploration. The men were soon exhausted and were running out of food. The weather conditions were terrible. Scott started to realize their hopeless situation: “... we are very cheerful, but what each man feels in his heart I can only guess. Putting on our shoes in the morning is getting slower and slower.”
However, on their way back they found time to look for rocks. They carried 20 kilos of rocks all the way with them. Later, these rocks proved that at one time in the distant past the Antarctic was covered by plants. Then, disaster soon came. Edgar Evans had a terrible disease and died after a bad fall.
The next to go was Captain Oates, who was having great difficulty walking. Scott recorded his death: “He said, ‘I am just going outside and I may be some time.' We knew that poor Oates was walking to his death, but though we tried to stop him, we knew that it was the act of a brave man and an English gentleman. We all hope to meet the end with a similar spirit, and certainly the end is not far.”
Scott and two of his team members carried on and got within eleven miles of one of their food bases. But then a terrible storm started and they could not leave their tent. Scott spent some of his last hours writing. He wrote a letter full of sadness to his wife Kathleen: “I could tell you lots and lots about this journey. What stories you would have for the boy … But what a price to pay.”
Scott's diary also told the story of their end: “We are getting weaker and weaker and the end can't be far. It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more.”
The news of Scott's death shocked the world. He had failed to win the race to the Pole, but the extraordinary courage shown by Captain Scott and his men made them into heroes.
Captain Scott and his team members reached the Pole, but with little to celebrate.
U9 L1
1 On Your Bike

Return of the white bikes!
People have been enjoying the benefits of cycling in Amsterdam for years. It is a good city for cycling because it is flat and therefore is convenient for bikes. There are also plenty of places for bicycle parking and most streets in the city centre have a bicycle path. Today some people call Amsterdam the “City of Bicycles” because of the convenience for bicycles there.
In the 1960s, a group of cycling fans had an idea. They believed that it would be better for everybody if cars weren't allowed in the city centre and only bicycles were. They were hopeful that this would help to save energy, reduce pollution and provide free public transport. The group painted hundreds of bicycles white and placed them in lots of neighbourhoods around Amsterdam for people to use. Anyone was allowed to take them and use them for short journeys. Wherever someone finished a journey they would leave the bike there for someone else to use. The problem was that it didn't work – thieves took all the bicycles within weeks!
However, more than thirty years later, the “white bike” is back in town – this time with a computer chip to record its every move! To take a bicycle, you have to insert a special card. The new “white bike” is not actually white but is an unusual design with bright colours. The bikes are parked at special parking places and people who want to use them have to take them to another special parking place that has enough room.
There is already less traffic in central Amsterdam, because both locals and tourists have