Private Cars
With the increase in the general standard of living, some ordinary Chinese families begin to afford a car. Yet opinions of the development of a private car vary from person to person.
It gives a much greater degree of comfort and mobility. The owner of a car is no longer forced to rely on public transport, and hence no
irritation caused by waiting for buses or taxis. However, others strongly object to developing private cars. They maintain that as more and more cars are produced and run in the street, a large volume of poisonous gas will be given off, polluting the atmosphere and causing actual hamp3 to the health of people.
Whether private cars should be developed in China is a difficult question to answer, yet the desire for the comfort and independence a private car can bring will not be eliminated. 11
A Henpecked Husband and His Wife
There was once a large, fat woman who had a small, thin husband. He had a job in a big company and was given his weekly wages every Friday evening. As soon as he got home on Fridays, his wife used to make him give her all his money, and then she used to give him back only enough to buy his lunch in his company every day.
One day, the small man came home very excited. He hurried into the living-room. His wife was listening to the radio and eating chocolates there.
“You will never guess what happened to me to day, dear.” he said. He waited for a few seconds and then added, “I won ten thousand dollars on the lottery!”
“That is wonderful! ” said his wife delightedly. But then she pulled a long face and added angrily, “But how could you afford to buy the ticket?” 11
A Henpecked Husband and His Wife
There was once a large, fat woman who had a small, thin husband. He had a job in a big company and was given his weekly wages every Friday evening. As soon as he got home on Fridays, his wife used to make him give her all his money, and then she used to give him back only enough to buy his lunch
in his company every day.
One day, the small man came home very excited. He hurried into the living-room. His wife was listening to the radio and eating chocolates there.
“You will never guess what happened to me to day, dear.” he said. He waited for a few seconds and then added, “I won ten thousand dollars on the lottery!”
“That is wonderful! ” said his wife delightedly. But then she pulled a long face and added angrily, “But how could you afford to buy the ticket?” 13
A Kind Neighbor
Mr. and Mrs. Jones’ apartment was full of luggage, packages, furniture and boxes. Both of them were very busy when they heard the doorbell ring. Mrs. Jones went to open it and she saw a middle-aged lady outside. The lady said she lived next door. Mrs. Jones invited her to come in and apologized because there was no place for her to sit. “Oh, that’s OK.” said the lady. “I just come to welcome to your new home. As you know, in some parts of this city, neighbors are not friendly at all. They are some apartment houses where people don’t know any of their neighbors, not even the ones next door. But in this building, everyone is very friendly with everyone else. We are like a big happy family. I am sure you will be very happy here.” Mr. and Mrs. Jones said, “But madam, we are not new dwellers in this apartment. We’ve lived here for two years. We are moving out tomorrow.” 14
A Kind Neighbor
Mr. and Mrs. Jones’ apartment was full of luggage, packages, furniture and boxes. Both of them were very busy when they heard the doorbell ring. Mrs. Jones went to open it and she saw a middle-aged lady outside. The lady said she lived next door. Mrs. Jones invited her to come in and apologized because there was no place for her to sit. “Oh, that’s OK.” said the lady. “I just come to welcome to your new home. As you know, in some parts of this city, neighbors are not friendly at all. They are some apartment houses where people don’t know any of their neighbors, not even the ones next door. But in this building, everyone is very friendly with everyone else. We are like a big happy family. I am sure you will be very happy here.” Mr. and Mrs. Jones said, “But madam, we
are not new dwellers in this apartment. We’ve lived here for two years. We are moving out tomorrow.” 15
A Kind Neighbor
Mr. and Mrs. Jones’ apartment was full of luggage, packages, furniture and boxes. Both of them were very busy when they heard the doorbell ring. Mrs. Jones went to open it and she saw a middle-aged lady outside. The lady said she lived next door. Mrs. Jones invited her to come in and apologized because there was no place for her to sit. “Oh, that’s OK.” said the lady. “I just come to welcome to your new home. As you know, in some parts of this city, neighbors are not friendly at all. They are some apartment houses where people don’t know any of their neighbors, not even the ones next door. But in this building, everyone is very friendly with everyone else. We are like a big happy family. I am sure you will be very happy here.” Mr. and Mrs. Jones said, “But madam, we are not new dwellers in this apartment. We’ve lived here for two years. We are moving out tomorrow.” 16
A Qualified Pilot
The captain of a small ship had to go along a rocky coast, but he was unfamiliar with it, so he tried to find a qualified pilot to guide him. He went ashore in one of the small ports, and a local fishemp3an pretended that he was a pilot because he needed some money. The captain took him on board and asked him where to steer the ship.
After half an hour, the captain began to suspect that the fisheman did not really know what he was doing and where he was going.
“Are you sure you are a qualified pilot?” he asked.
“Oh, yes,” answered the fisheman. “I know every rock on this part of the coast.”
Suddenly there was a terrible crash from under the ship. At once the fisheman added, “And that’s one of them.”
17
Living Things React
You and all organisms live an environment. An environment is made up of everything that surrounds an organism. It can include the air, the water, the soil, and even other organisms.
An organism responds to changes in its environment. When an organism responds to a change, it reacts in certain ways. All living things respond in some way.
Have you ever noticed how plants and insects respond to light? Plants bend toward light. Insects fly toward light.
Living things also respond in other ways. The leaves on some trees respond to a change in season. In autumn, they change colors and then fall off the branches Animals also respond to a change in season. Squirrels save nuts for the winter. Bears sleep through the winter in a cave.
You respond to your environment in many ways, too. You may shiver if you are cold. What other ways do you respond to changes in your environment? 18
Flowering Plants
What are the parts of a flower?
Flowers can have male parts and female parts. The female parts make eggs that become seeds. The male parts make pollen. Pollen is a powdery material that is needed by the eggs to make seeds. To make seeds, pollen and eggs must come together. The wind, insects, and birds bring pollen to eggs. Many animals love flowers’ bright colors. They also like a sugary liquid in flowers. This is called nectar. While they drink nectar, pollen rubs off on their bodies. As they move, some of this pollen gets delivered to the female flower parts.
Over time, the female parts turn into fruits that contain seeds. Animals often eat the fruits and the seeds pass through their bodies as waste. The animals do no know they are working for the plants by planting seeds as they travel to different places! Useful words and Expressions: 1. flowering 开花的 2. pollen 花粉 3. powdery 粉状的
4. sugar 含糖的，甜的 5. nectar花蜜，甘露 6. rub 磨擦 19
Finding the Direction and Location
How can you tell which direction? By day, look for the Sun. It is in the east in the morning and the west in the afternoon. At night, use the Big Dipper to help you find the North Star. It would be better to bring a compass because its needle always points north.
How do you know how far you have gone? You could count every step. Each step is about two feet. You’d better wear a pedometer which is a tool that counts steps. If you know where you started, which direction you are heading, and how far you have gone, you can use a good map to figure out
exactly where you are.
Today there is a new way for travelers to figure out where they are. It is the GPS. It has 24 satellites that orbit the earth and constantly broadcast their positions. Someday you may carry a small receiver as you hike and use GPS to find out if you are there yet! Useful Words and Expressions: 1. dipper北斗七星 2. compass 罗盘
3. pedometer 步数计
4. GPS= Global Position System全球定位系统 5. orbit 轨道，绕„„轨道而行 6. receiver 接收器
20
Waves
How does light get from the sun to the earth? How does music get from the stage to the audience? They move the same way-----in waves!
Light and sound are fomp3s of energy. All waves carry energy, but they may carry it differently. Light and sound travel through different kinds of matter. For example, light waves cannot move through walls, but sound waves can. That is why you can hear people talking in another room even though you cannot see them. The energy of some waves is destructive. An earthquake produces seismic waves.
Catch a wave. Ask a friend to stand a few feet away from you. Stretch a spring between you. Shake the spring to transfer energy to it. What happens? The spring bounces up and down in waves. When the waves reach your friend, they bounce back to you!
Light waves travel 300,000 kilometers (186,000 miles) per second! They can also travel through a vacuum. That is why light from the sun and distant stars can travel through space to the earth! Useful Words and Expressions; 1. destructive 破坏的 2. seismic地震的 3. vacuum真空
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