人教版必修2课文及翻译.doc

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1、Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd: a little bit more.-author-date人教版必修2课文及翻译必修二课文完整版必修二课文及翻译Unit 1In search of the amber roomFrederick William I, the king of Prussia, could never have imagined that this greatest gift to the Russia people would have s

2、uch an amazing history. This gift was the Amber Room, which was given this name because several tons of amber were used to make it. The amber which was selected had a beautiful yellow-brown colour like honey. The design of the room was in the fancy style popular in those days. It was also a treasure

3、 decorated with gold and jewels, which took the countrys best artists about ten years to make. In fact, the room was not made to be a gift. It was designed for the palace of Frederick I. However, the next king of Prussia, Frederick William I, to whom the amber belonged, decided not to keep it. In 17

4、16 he gave it to Peter the Great. In return, the Czar sent him a troop of his best soldiers. So the Amber Room became part of the Czars winter palace in St Petersburg. About four meters long, the room served as a small reception hall for important visitors. Later, Catherine II had the Amber Room mov

5、ed to a palace outside St Petersburg where she spent her summers. She told her artists to add more details to it. In 1770 the room was completed the way she wanted. Almost six hundred candles lit the room, and its mirrors and pictures shone like gold. Sadly, although the Amber Room was considered on

6、e of the wonders of the world, it is now missing. In September 1941, the Nazi army was near St Petersburg. This was a time when the two countries were at war. Before the Nazi cold get to the summer palace, the Russians were able to remove some furniture and small art objects from the Amber Room. How

7、ever, some of the Nazi secretly stole the room itself. In less than two days 100,000 pieces were put inside twenty-seven wooden boxes. There is no doubt that the boxes were then put on a train for Konigsberg, which was at that time a German city on the Baltic Sea. After that, what happened to the Am

8、ber Room remains a mystery. Recently, the Russians and Germans have built a new Amber Room at the summer palace. By studying old photos of the former Amber Room, they have made the new one look like the old one. In 2003 it was ready for the people of St Petersburg when they celebrated the 300th birt

9、hday of their city.Unit 2An interview Pausanias, who was a Greek writer about 2000 years ago, has come on a magical journey on March 18th, 2007 to find out about the present-day Olympic Games. He is now interviewing Li Yan, a volunteer for the 2008 Olympic Games.P: My name is Pausanias. I lived in w

10、hat you call “Ancient Greece” and I used to write about the Olympic Games a long time ago. Ive come to your time to find out about the present-day Olympic Games because I know that in 2004 they were held in my hometown. May I ask you some questions about the modern Olympics?L: Good heavens! Have you

11、 really come from so long ago? But of course you can ask any questions you like. What would you like to know?P: How often do you hold your Games?L: Every four years. There are two main sets of Games- the Winter and the Summer Olympics, and both are held every four years on a regular basis. The Winte

12、r Olympics are usually held two years before the Summer Games. Only athletes who have reached the agreed standard for their event will be admitted as competitors. They may come from anywhere in the world.P: Winter Games? How can the runners enjoy competing in winter? And what about the horses?L: Oh,

13、 no! There are no running races or horse riding events. Instead there are competitions like skiing and ice skating which need snow and ice. Thats why they are called the Winter Olympics. It is in the Summer Olympics that you have the running races, together with swimming, sailing and all the team sp

14、orts.P: I see. Earlier you said that the athletes are invited from all over the world. Do you mean the Greek world? Our Greek cities used to compete against each other just for the honour of winning. No other countries could join in, nor could salves or women!L: Nowadays any countries can take part

15、if their athletes are good enough. There are over 250 sports and each one has its own standard. Women are not only allowed, but play a very important role in gymnastics, athletics, team sports andP: Please wait a minute! All those events, all those countries and even women taking part! Where are all

16、 the athletes housed?L: For each Olympics, a special village is built for them to live in, a main reception building, several stadiums for competitions, and a gymnasium as well.P: That sounds very expensive. Does anyone want to host the Olympic Games?L: As a matter of fact, every country wants the o

17、pportunity. Its a great responsibility but also a great honour to be chosen. Theres as much competition among countries to host the Olympics as to win Olympic medals. The 2008 Olympics will be held in Beijing, China. Did you know that?P: Oh yes! You must be very proud. L: Certainly. And after that t

18、he 2012 Olympics will be held in London. They have already started planning for it. A new village for the athletes and all the stadiums will be built to the east of London. New medals will be designed of course andP: Did you say medals? So even the olive wreath has been replaced! Oh dear! Do you com

19、pete for prize money too?L: No, we dont. Its still all about being able to run faster, jump higher and throw further. Thats the motto of the Olympics, you know-“Swifter, Higher and Stronger.”P: Well, thats good news. How interesting! Thank you so much for your time.The story of Atlanta Atlanta was a

20、 Greek princess. She was very beautiful and could run faster than any man in Greece. But she was not allowed to run and win glory for herself in the Olympic Games. She was so angry that she said to her father that she would not marry anyone who could not run faster than her. Her father said that she

21、 must marry, so Atlanta mad a bargain with him. She said to him, “These are my rules. When a man says he wants to marry me, I will run against him. If he cannot run as fast as me, he will be killed. No one will be pardoned.” Many kings and princes wanted to marry Atlanta, but when they heard of her

22、rules they knew it was hopeless. So many of them sadly went home, but others stayed to run the race. There was a man called Hippomenes who amazed when he heard of Atlantas rules, “Why are these men so foolish?” he thought. “Why will they let themselves be killed because they cannot run as fast as th

23、is princess?” However, when he saw Atlanta come out of her house to run, Hippomenes changed his mind. “I will marry Atlantaor die!” he said. The race started and although the men ran very fast, Atlanta ran faster. As Hippomenes watched he thought, “How can I run as fast as Atlanta?” He went to ask t

24、he Greek Goddess of Love for help. She promised to help him and gave him three golden apples. She said, “Throw an apple in front of Atlanta when she is running past. When she stops to pick it up, you will be able to run past her and win.” Hippomenes took the apples and went to the King. He said, “I

25、want to marry Atlanta.” The King was sad to see another man die, but Hippomenes said, “I will marry heror die!” So the race began.Unit 3Who am I Over time I have been changed quite a lot. I began as a calculating machine in France in 1642. Although I was young I could simplify difficult sums. I deve

26、loped very slowly and it took nearly two hundred years before I was built as an analytical machine by Charles Babbage. After I was programmed by an operator who used cards with holes, I could “think” logically and produce an answer quicker than any person. At that time it was considered a technologi

27、cal revolution and the start of my “artificial intelligence”. In 1936 my real father, Alan Turing, wrote a book about how I could be made to work as a “universal machine” to solve any difficult mathematical problem. From then on, I grew rapidly both in size and in brainpower. By the 1940s I had grow

28、n as large as a room, and I wondered if I would grow any larger. However, this reality also worried my designers. As time went by, I was made smaller. First as a PC(personal computer) and then as a laptop, I have been used in offices and homes since the 1970s. These changes only became possible as m

29、y memory improved. First it was stored in tubes, then on transistors and later on very small chips. As a result I totally changed my shape. As I have grown older I have also grown smaller. Over time my memory has developed so much that, like an elephant, I never forget anything I have been told! And

30、 my memory became so large that even I couldnt believe it! But I was always so lonely standing there by myself, until in the early 1960s they gave me a family connected by a network. I was able to share my knowledge with others through the World Wide Web. Since the 1970s many new applications have b

31、een found for me. I have become very important in communication, finance and trade. I have also been put in robots and used to make mobile phones as well as help with medical operations. I have even been put into space rockets and sent to explore the Moon and Mars. Anyhow, my goal is to provide huma

32、ns with a life of high quality. I am now truly filled with happiness that I am a devoted friend and helper of the human race!Andy- the android My first football competition was in Nagoya, Japan several years ago. Last year our team went to Seattle, Washington in the USA. We won second place. Persona

33、lly, I think the team that won first place cheated. They had developed a new type of program just before the competition. So we need to encourage our programmer to improve our intelligence too. We are determined to create an even better system. In a way our programmer is like our coach. She programs

34、 us with all the possible moves she has seen while watching human games. Then she prepares reliable moves to use if a new situation arises. In this way I can make up new moves using “my artificial intelligence”. I would really like to play against a human team, for I have been programmed to act just

35、 like them. After all, with the help of my electronic brain which never forgets anything, using my intelligence is what Im all about!Unit 4How Daisy learned to help wildlife Daisy had always longed to help endangered species of wildlife. One day she woke up and found a flying carpet by her bed. “Whe

36、re do you want to go?” it asked. Daisy responded immediately. “Id like to see some endangered wildlife.” she said. “Please take me to a distant land where I can find the animal that gave fur to make this sweater.” At once the carpet flew away and took her to Tibet. There Daisy saw an antelope lookin

37、g sad. It said, “Were being killed for the wool beneath our stomachs. Our fur is being used to make sweaters for people like you. As a result, we are now an endangered species.” At that Daisy cried, “Im sorry I didnt know that. I wonder what is being done to help you. Flying carpet, please show me a

38、 place where theres some wildlife protection.” The flying carpet travelled so fast that next minute they were in Zimbabwe. Daisy turned around and found that she was being watched by an elephant. “Have you come to take my photo?”it asked. In relief Daisy burst into laughter. “Dont laugh,” said the e

39、lephant, “We used to be an endangered species. Farmers hunted us without mercy. They said we destroyed their farms, and money from tourists only went to the large tour companies. So the government decided to help. They allowed tourists to hunt only a certain number of animals if they paid the farmer

40、s. Now the farmers are happy and our numbers are increasing. So good things are being done here to save local wildlife.” Daisy smiled. “Thats good news. It shows the importance of wildlife protection, but Id like to help as the WWF suggests.” The carpet rose again and almost at once they were in a t

41、hick rainforest. A monkey watched them as it rubbed itself. “What are you doing?”asked Daisy. “Im protecting myself from mosquitoes,” it replied. “When I find a millipede insect, I rub it over my body. It contains a powerful drug which affects mosquitoes. You should pay more attention to the rainfor

42、est where I live and appreciate how the animals live together. No rainforest, no animals, no drugs.” Daisy was amazed. “Flying carpet, please take me home so I can tell WWF and we can begin producing this new drug. Monkey, please come and help.” The monkey agreed. The carpet flew home. As they lande

43、d, things began to disappear. Two minutes later everything had gonethe monkey, too. So Daisy was not able to make her new drug. But what an experience! She had learned so much! And there was always WWFAnimal extinction Many animals have disappeared during the long history of the earth. The most famo

44、us of these animals are dinosaurs. They lived on the earth tens of millions of years ago, long before humans came into being and their future seemed secure at that time. There were many different kinds of dinosaur and a number of then used to live in China. The eggs of twenty-five species have been

45、found in Xixia County, Nanyang, Henan Province. Not long ago a rare new species of bird-like dinosaurs was discovered in Chaoyang County, Liaoning Province. When scientists inspected the bones, they were surprised to find that these dinosaurs could not only run like the others but also climb trees.

46、They learned this from the way the bones were joined together. Dinosaurs died out suddenly about 65million years ago. Some scientists think it came after an unexpected incident when a huge rock from space hit the earth and put too much dust into the air. Others think the earth got too hot for the di

47、nosaurs to live on any more. Nobody knows for sure why and how dinosaurs disappeared from the earth in such a short time. We know many other wild plants, animals, insects and birds have died out more recently. According to a UN report, some 844 animals and plants have disappeared in the last 500 yea

48、rs. The dodo is one of them. It lived on the Island of Mauritius and was a very friendly animal. Please listen to a short story of the dodo and how it disappeared from the earth.Unit 5The band that wasnt Have you ever wanted to be part of a band as a famous singer or musician? Have you ever dreamed

49、of playing in front of thousands of people at a concert, at which everyone is clapping and appreciating your music? Do you sing karaoke and pretend you are a famous singer like Song Zuying or Liu Huan? To be honest, a lot of people attach great importance to becoming rich and famous. But just how do people form a band? Many musicians mee