牛津英语模块三课文原文

Unit 1

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 soon.

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 foot steps 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 yo

u. Which road do you want?’ he asked.

‘

I live at 86 King Street.’ Polly 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 h

eard 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.’

Project

(P18)

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,

probably

because

they

have

seen

the

film

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 swims 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, colours 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 3o times more likely to be hit by lightning than be attacked

by a shark.

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.

Unit 2

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 5th 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

9th

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

12th

to

the

15th

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

mush

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

England,

French

did

not

replace

English

as

the

first

language.

On

the

other

hand,

the

English

language

did

borrow

many

words

from

French.

This

resulted

in

even

more

words

with

similar

meanings,

such

as

answer

(from

Old

English)

and

reply

(from

Old

French).

It

is

interesting

to

learn how the words for animals and meat developed. After the Norman Conquest, many English