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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,
Po
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
’
replied the man,
‘
the truth is that it is
too foggy for the bus to run that far. Take
‘
Sorry, Miss,
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
feel her
heart beating with fear.
’
s voice in her ear saying
‘
Sorry.
’
The man moved
away. She c
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.
’
said the man.
’
‘
I
can remember some
’
t see
your face, but you sound young.
‘
Come with me. You
’
ll be all
right.
’
He took
Polly
‘
Just take my
hand,
‘
Watch out for the step here.
In his other hand the man
carried a stick
. Polly heard it hit
the step.
terrible fogs, but maybe that was
before your time. I can
How old are you?
’
‘
Just twenty,
’
answered Polly.
‘
Ah,twenty! A nice age to
be! I was young once. Now we
’
reat 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.
’
said Polly in relief.
‘
Would you like to come i
‘
Thank you so much for
coming to my aid,
and rest for a while?
’
’
said the man,
‘
but I
’
ll be off. There may be more people
lost today,
‘
It
’
s very nice of
you,
and
I
’
d like to
help them. Yousee, 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 with
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
much 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
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