-
13. M3U1. Reading
—
Fog
Fog warning
When Polly left
home that morning, the city was already covered in
a grey mist. At lunch, the
radio
forecast that the mist would become a thick fog in
the afternoon. At four o’clock, Polly left
work and stepped out into the fog. She
wondered if the buses would still be running.
No buses to King Street
Once out in the street, she walked
quickly towards her usual bus stop.
‘How far are you going?’ the bus
conductor asked her before he took her
fare.
‘King Street,’ said
Polly
.
‘Sorry, Miss,’
replied the man, ‘the truth is that it is too
foggy for the bus to run that far. Take
the Underground to Green Park. The
weather might be better there and you might be
able to get a
taxi.’
A tall man
As Polly observed
the passengers on the train, she had a feeling
that she was being watched
by a tall
man in a dark overcoat. At last the train arrived
at Green Park station. While the rest of
the passengers were getting out, she
glanced at the faces around her. The tall man was
nowhere to
be seen.
Footsteps
When Polly got to
the station entrance, it was empty. Outside,
wherever she looked the fog
lay like a
thick, grey cloud. There was no one in sight.
Polly set off towards Park Street. As she
walked along the narrow street, she
heard the sound of footsteps approaching, but by
the time she
reached the corner of the
street, the footsteps were gone. Suddenly Polly
felt a rough hand brush
her cheek, and
she heard a man’s voice in her ear saying ‘Sorry.’
The man moved away. She could
feel her
heart beating with fear.
The helpful
stranger
Then she heard the sound again
- soft footsteps behind her. A minute before, she
had wished
for someone to come along.
Now she wanted to run, but fear held her still.
The footsteps seemed
close now. Then a
man’s voice came out of the darkness. ‘Is anybody
there?’
Polly hesitated. At
last she answered, ‘Hello, I think I’m
lost.’
A few seconds later,
a hand reached out and grasped her arm. Polly
found herself staring up
at the face of
an old man with a beard.
‘Maybe I can
help you. Which road do you want?’ He
asked.
‘I live at 86 King
Street,’ Poly replied.
‘Just
take my hand,’ said the man. ‘Come with me. You’ll
be all right.’ He took Polly’s hand.
‘Watch out for the step
here.’
In his other hand the
man carried a stick
. Polly heard it hit
the step. ‘I can remember some
terrible
fogs, but maybe that was before your time. I can’t
see your face, but you sound young.
How
old are you?’
‘Just twenty,’
answered Polly.
‘Ah,
twenty!
A
nice
age
to
be!
I
was
young
once.
Now
we’re
at
the
crossroads.
Turn
left
here.’
‘I’m quite lost now. Are you sure you
know the way?’ Polly was beginning to feel
frightened
again.
‘Of
course. You really shouldn’t feel anxious.’ He
held her hand more firmly.
The grateful helper
‘Here we
are. King Street.’ He stopped.
‘Thank you so much for coming to my
aid,’ said Polly in relief. ‘Would you like to
come in
and rest for a
while?’
‘It’s very nice of
you,’ said the man, ‘but I’ll be off. There may be
more people lost today,
and I’d like to
help them. You
see, a fog this bad is
rare. It gives me the chance to pay back the
help that people give me when it’s
sunny. A blind person like me can’t get across the
road without
help, except in a fog like
this.’
14. M3U1. Project
(1)
—
Shark attacks
There are nearly 400 different types of
sharks, but only about 30 types are known to have
attacked human beings. Many people know
that the most dangerous shark is the great white
shark,
mainly
because
they
have
seen
the
movie
Jaws
.
However,
two
other
sharks
are
also
rather
dangerous: the tiger shark and the bull
shark.
Contrary
to
what
many
people
might
assume,
evidence
shows
that
sharks
seldom
attack
humans. There are three types of shark
attacks. In the main type, the shark attacks you
because it
mistakes you for a fish, but
when it tastes human flesh it decides to give up
and swim away. In the
second type, the
shark pushes you with its nose to find out if you
are fit to be eaten, and then bites
you
if it thinks you are. In the third type, the shark
waits for you to swim by, and then attacks you
suddenly. The last two types of attack
more often result in the death of humans.
To reduce the risk of a shark attack,
you should follow these suggestions.
?
Do not swim in
the dark. Sharks can still see you but you cannot
see them.
?
Do
not go
swimming
in
the
ocean if you have a
fresh
wound.
Sharks
can
smell
blood
over a long distance.
?
Do not wear
bright clothing
or
jewellery,
because
sharks
are
attracted
to
the
flash
of
colors
and bright objects.
?
Stay in groups, as sharks usually avoid
large numbers of people.
Recently, shark
attacks have been increasing as water sports are
becoming more popular. If a
shark
attacks you, follow the advice below.
?
Keep calm. Do
not panic.
?
Hit
the shark on the nose with your fist.
?
Stick your
finger in the shark's eye.
Don't be
frightened by sharks:
you are 30 times
more likely to be hit by
lightning than be
attacked
by a shark.
15.
M3U1. Project (2)
—
The
wonderful world of pigeons
It is night.
All is quiet. The soldiers are asleep while a
guard watches for the enemy. There is
a
flash, and the sound of guns! They are being
attacked! Hundreds of enemy soldiers rush towards
them. They are all going to be killed
unless they get help. What should they do?
An officer writes a short message
quickly on a small piece of paper: 'Being
attacked! Hurry!'
He rolls up the paper
and puts it into a small case, and then reaches
into a cage and gets a bird.
Attaching
the
message
to
its
leg,
he
sets
the
bird
loose.
It
immediately
flies
into
the
air
and
disappears in the dark.
Will the bird arrive in time? Will they
be saved?
Though it may seem hard to
believe, the bird the officer uses is the same
bird often seen in
public
parks
—
the
pigeon.
Pigeons
have
a
wonderful
sense
of
direction
and
can
find
their
way
home
over
long
distances.
Indeed,
pigeons
have
been
known
to
fly
home
from
as
far
away
as
1,800 kilometres. That is why pigeons
have been used since ancient times to carry the
news or
even the mail. However, it was
in war that they found their greatest use. During
both World War I
and II, pigeons were
employed by armies to carry messages to and from
the front lines, saving the
lives of
many soldiers and even helping win some important
victories.
How do pigeons find their
way? Pigeons appear to have a compass inside them
that tells them
which way is north. How
this compass works remains a mystery. Of course,
since a compass alone
is not enough to
find one's way, they also appear to use their
sight and even their sense of smell to
tell them which way they should go.
Unlike humans, they never get lost and can always
find their
way home.
16. M3U2.
Reading
—
English and its
history
All through history, people
from many different countries and cultures have
lived together in
Britain. The English
language is made up of the grammar and vocabulary
these people brought to
Britain. That
is why English has so many difficult rules that
confuse people.
Old English
Old English is very different from the
English we speak nowadays .In fact, we would not
be
able to understand it if we heard it
today. Before the middle of the
5
th
century, people in
Britain all
spoke
a
language
called
Celtic.
Then
two
Germanic
groups
from
the
European
mainland
—
the
angles and the
Saxons
—
occupied Britain. Old
English consisted of a mixture of their languages.
(Both the English language and the
English people are named after the angles; the
word
Angle
was
spelt
Engle
in
old
English.)
Aside
from
place
names
such
as
London,
very
few
Celtic
words
became
part
of
old
English.
At
the
end
of
the
9
th
century,
the
Vikings,
people
from
Northern
European countries such as Denmark and
Norway, began to move to Britain. They brought
with
them their languages, which also
mixed with Old English. By the 10th century, Old
English had
become the official
language of England.
When we speak
English today, we sometimes feel puzzled about
which words or phrases to
use.
This
is
because
English
has
many
words
and
phrases
from
different
languages,
but
with
similar meanings. For
example, the word
sick
came
from a word once used by the Angles and the
Saxons, while
ill
came from a word once used by the Norwegians.
Middle English
Middle
English
is
the
name
given
to
the
English
used
from
around
the
12
th
to
the
15
th
centuries. Many things played a part in
the development of this new type of English. The
most
important contribution was from
the Normans, a French-speaking people who defeated
England
and took control of the country
in 1066. However, the Norman Conquest did not
affect English as
m
uch
as
the
Angles
and
the
Saxons’
victory
about
600
years
earlier,
which
led
to
old
English
replacing
Celtic.
Even
though
the
Normans
spoke
French
for
the
entire
250
years
they
ruled