高中英语选修7课本答案

高中英语选修7课本答案 篇一:人教版英语选修7课文 大思教育?英语课本倒背如流特训班 课文 原文 少年中国说原文俱舍论原文大医精诚原文注音大学原文和译文对照归藏易原文 (高中?选修七) Unit 1 Living well Hi, my name is Marty Fielding and I guess you could say that I am “one in a million.”In other words, there are not many people like me. You see, I have a muscle disease which makes me very weak, so I can’t run or climb stairs as quickly as other people. In addition, sometimes I am very clumsy and drop things or bump into furniture. Unfortunately, the doctors don’t know how to make me better, but I am very outgoing and have learned to adapt to my disability. My motto is: live one day at a time. Until I was ten years old I was the same as everyone else. I used to climb trees, swim and play football. In fact, I used to dream about playing professional football and possibly representing my country in the World Cup. Then I started to get weaker and 1 weaker, until I could only enjoy football from a bench at the stadium. In the end I went into hospital for medical tests. I stayed there for nearly three months. I think I had at least a billion tests, including one in which they cut out a piece of muscle from my leg and looked at it under a microscope. Even after all that, no one could give my disease a name and it is difficult to know what the future holds. One problem is that I don’t look any different from other people. So sometimes some children in my primary school would laugh, when I got out of breath after running a short way or had to stop and rest halfway up the stairs. Sometimes I was too weak to go to school so my education suffered. Every time I returned after an absence, I felt stupid because I was behind the others. My life is a lot easier at high school because my fellow students have accepted me. The few who can not see the real person inside my body do not make me annoyed, and I just ignore them. All in all I have a good life. I am happy to have found many things I can do, like writing and computer programming. My ambition is to work for a firm that develops computer 2 software when I grow up. Last year I invented a computer football game and a big company has decided to buy from me. I have a very busy life with no time to sit around feeling sorry for myself. As well as going to movies and football matches with my friends, I spend a lot of time with my pets. I have two rabbits, a parrot, a tank full of fish and a tortoise. To look after my pets properly takes a lot of time but I find it worthwhile. I also have to do a lot of work, especially if I have been away for a while. In many ways my disability has helped me grow stronger psychologically and become more independent. I have to work hard to live a normal life but it has been worth it. If I had a chance to say one thing to healthy children, it would be this: having a disability does not mean your life is not satisfying. So don’t feel sorry for the disabled or make fun of them, and don’t ignore them either. Just accept them for who they are, and give them encouragement to live as rich and full a life as you do. Thank you for reading my story. Unit 2 Robots Larry Belmont worked for a company that made robots. Recently it had begun experimenting with a household robot. 3 It was going to be tested out by Larry’s wife, Claire. Claire didn’t want the robot in her house, especially as her husband would be absent for three weeks, but Larry persuade her or allow her to be harmed. It would be a bonus. However, when she first saw the robot, she felt alarmed. His name was Tony and he seemed more like a human than a machine. He was tall and handsome with smooth hair and a deep voice although his facial expression never changed. On the second morning Tony, wearing an apron, brought her breakfast and then asked her whether she needed help dressing. She felt embarrassed and quickly told him to go. It was disturbing and frightening that he looked so human. One day, Claire mentioned that she didn’t think she was clever. Tony said that she must feel very unhappy to say that. Claire thought it was ridiculous to be offered sympathy by a robot. But she began to trust him. She told him how she was overweight and this made her feel unhappy. Also she felt her home wasn’t elegant enough for someone like Larry who wanted to improve his social position. She wasn’t like Gladys Claffern, one of the richest and most powerful women around. 4 As a favor Tony promised to help Claire make herself smarter and her home more elegant. So Claise borrowed a pile of books from the library for him to read, or rather, scan. She looked at his fingers with wonder as they turned each page and suddenly reached for his hand. She was amazed by his fingernails and the softness and warmth of his skin. How absurd, she thought. He was just a machine. Tony gave Claire a new haircut and changed the makeup she wore. As he was not allowed to accompany her to the shops, he wrote out a list of items for her. Claire went into the city and bought curtains, cushions, a carpet and bedding. Then she went into a jeweler shop to buy a necklace. When the clerk at the counter was rude to her, she rang Tony up and told the clerk to speak to him. The clerk immediately changed his attitude. Claire thanked Tony, telling him that he was a “dear”. As she turned around, there stood Gladys Claffern. How awful to be discovered by her, Claire thought. By the amused and surprised look on her face, Claire knew that Gladys thought she was having an affair. After all, she knew Claire’ 5 s husband name was Larry, not Tony. When Claire got home, she wept with anger in her armchair. Gladys was everything Claire wanted to be.“You can be like her”, Tony told her and suggested that she invite Gladys and her friends to the house the night before he was to leave and Larry was to return. By that time, Tony expected the house to be completely transformed. Tony worked steadily on the improvements. Claire tried to help once but was too clumsy. She fell off a ladder and even though Tony was in the next room, he managed to catch her in time. He held her firmly in his arms and she felt the warmth of his body. She screamed, pushed him away and ran to her room for the rest of the day. The night of the party arrived. The clock struck eight. The guests would be arriving soon and Claire told Tony to go into another room. At that moment, Tony folded his arms around her, bending his face close to hers. She cried out “Tony” and then heard him declare that he didn’t want to leave her the next day and that he felt more than just the desire to please her. Then the front door bell rang. Tony freed her and disappeared from sight. It was then that Claire 6 realized that Tony had opened the curtains of the front window. Her guests had seen everything! The women were impressed by Claire, the house and the delicious cuisine. Just before they left, Claire heard Gladys whispering to another woman that she had never seen anyone so handsome as Tony. What a sweet victory to be envied by those women! She might not be as beautiful as them, but none of them had such a handsome lover. Then she remembered- Tony was just a machine. She shouted “ Leave me alone” and ran to her bed. She cried all night. The next morning a car drove up and took Tony away. The company was very pleased with the report of Tony on his three weeks with Claire. Tony had protected a human being from harm. He had prevented Claire from harming herself through her own sense of failure. He had opened the curtains that night so that the other women would see him and Claire, knowing that there was no risk to Claire’s marriage. But even though Tony had been so clever, he would have to be rebuilt- you can not have women falling in love with machines. Unit 3 Under the sea 7 I was 16 when I began work in June 1902 at the whaling station. I had heard of the killers that every year helped whalers catch huge whales. I thought, at the time, that this was just a story but then I witnessed it with my own eyes many times. On the afternoon I arrived at the station, as I was sorting out my accommodation, I heard a loud noise coming from the bay. We ran down to the shore in time to see an enormous animal opposite us throwing itself out of the water and then crashing down again. It was black and white and fish-shaped. Without pausing we jumped into the boat with the other whalers and headed out into the bay. I looked down into the water and could see Old Tom swimming by the boat, showing us the way. A few minutes later, there was no Tom, so George started beating the water with his oar and there was Tom, circling back to the boat, leading us to the hunt again. Using a telescope we could see that something was happening. As we 篇二:高中英语选修7课文逐句翻译(人教版) 1.选修七Unit1 MARTY’S STORY马蒂的故事 8 Hi, my name is Marty Fielding and I guess you could say that I am one in a million.你好。我叫马蒂?菲尔丁。我想你可 能会说我是―百万人中才有一个‖的那种人。In other words, there are not many people like me. 换句话说，世界上像我这 样的人并不多见。 You see, I have a muscle disease which makes me very weak, so I can't run or climb stairs as quickly as other people. 你瞧，我的肌肉有毛病，使我的身 体非常虚弱，所以我不能像别人那样快跑快步爬楼梯。 In addition, sometimes I am very clumsy and drop things or bump into furniture. 再说，有时候我还会笨手笨脚、不小心 摔掉东西，或磕碰到家具上。Unfortunately, the doctors don't know how to make me better, but I am very outgoing and have learned to adapt to my disability. 不幸的 是，大夫们不知道如何治好我的病，但是我很开朗乐观，学 会了适应身体的残疾。My motto is: live one day at a time. 我的座右铭是:活好每一天。 Until I was ten years old I was the same as everyone else. 十岁以前，我跟其他人是一样的。I used to climb trees, swim and play football. 我常常爬树、游泳、踢足球。In fact, I used to dream about playing professional football and possibly representing my country in the World Cup. 说实在的，我过 去常常梦想我会成为职业球员，代 表 关于同志近三年现实表现材料材料类招标技术评分表图表与交易pdf视力表打印pdf用图表说话 pdf 我们的国家参加世界杯 9 足球赛。Then I started to get weaker and weaker, until I could only enjoy football from a bench at the stadium. 后 来，我的身体开始变得越来越虚弱，以至于只能坐在体育场 的长凳上欣赏足球了。 In the end I went into hospital for medical tests. I stayed there for nearly three months. 最后我 到医院去做了检查，几乎住了三个月的医院。I think I had at least a billion tests, including one in which they cut out a piece of muscle from my leg and looked at it under a microscope. 我想我至少做过十亿次检查，这还包括一次他 们从我的大腿上切下一片肌肉放在显微镜下观察, Even after all that, no one could give my disease a name and it is difficult to know what the future holds. 也没人能够确诊这 个病， 因此很难知道将来会是个什么样子。 One problem is that I don't look any different from other people. 问题是我看上去跟平常人一样。So sometimes some children in my primary school would laugh, when I got out of breath after running a short way or had to stop and rest halfway up the stairs. 因此，当我跑了很短的一段路之 后，我就会喘不过气来，或者爬楼才爬到一半就得停下来休 息。因此，上小学时有的孩子见了我这种情况就会笑话我。 Sometimes, too, I was too weak to go to school so my education suffered. 有时候我的身体太虚弱上不了学，因此 10 落了许多功课。 Every time I returned after an absence, I felt stupid because I was behind the others.每次缺课之后，我 就觉得 自己很笨，因为我比别人落后了。 My life is a lot easier at high school because my fellow students have accepted me. 我在中学时期的生活(比在小学 时)要轻松多了，因为我的同学开始接受了我的状况。The few who cannot see the real person inside my body do not make me annoyed, and I just ignore them. 还有些同学看不 到我的内心世界，但是我并不生气，只是不去理会他们罢了。 All in all I have a good life. 总而言之，我生活得挺好。 I am happy to have found many things I can do, like writing and computer programming. 我很高兴我能做许多事情，比如写 作和电脑编程。 My ambition is to work for a firm that develops computer software when I grow up. 我有雄心壮 志，长大后我要在开发电脑软件的公司里工作。Last year I invented a computer football game and a big company has decided to buy it from me. 去年我发明了一个电脑足球游 戏，有一家大公司已经决定从我这儿买走。I have a very busy life with no time to sit around feeling sorry for myself. 我的 生活很充实，没有时间闲坐着顾影自怜。As well as going to the movies and football matches with my friends, I spend a 11 lot of time with my pets. 除了同我的朋友一起去看电影和足 球比赛，我还花很多时间和我的宠物在一起。I have two rabbits, a parrot, a tank full of fish and a tortoise. 我有两只 兔子、一只鹦鹉、一缸金鱼和一只乌龟。To look after my pets properly takes a lot of time but I find it worthwhile. 我得花 大量时间来照顾这些宠物，但我觉得很值。 I also have to do a lot of work, especially if I have been away for a while.此 外，我还有好多功课，特别是在病了一段时间之后。 In many ways my disability has helped me grow stronger psychologically and become more independent. 在许多方 面，我身体的残疾倒使我心理上变得更加坚强、更加独立。 I have to work hard to live a normal life but it has been worth it. 我必须努力工作才能过上正常的生活，但这是值得 的。If I had a chance to say one thing to healthy children, it would be this: having a disability does not mean your life is not satisfying. 假如我有机会跟健康孩子讲一句话，那么， 这句话就是:身体残疾并不意味着生活不美满。So don't feel sorry for the disabled or make fun of them, and don't ignore them either. 因此，不要感到残疾人可 怜，或者取笑他们，也别不理睬他们。Just accept them for who they are, and give them encouragement to live as rich and full a life as you do. 要接受他们，给他们以鼓励让他们 12 能像你一样过得丰富多彩、充实美满。 Thank you for reading my story. 谢谢你们读我的故事。 Marty马蒂 2.选修七Unit 1 A LETTER TO AN ARCHITECT致建筑 师的一封信 Ms L Sanders桑德斯女士 Alice Major爱丽斯?梅杰 Chief architect总建筑师 64 Cambridge Street剑桥街 64 号 Cinema Designs影院 设计 领导形象设计圆作业设计ao工艺污水处理厂设计附属工程施工组织设计清扫机器人结构设计 公司 Bankstown班克斯敦 44 Hill Street希尔街 44 号 Bankstown班克斯敦 24 September, 200__200___ 年 9 月 24 日 Dear Ms Sanders, 亲爱的桑德斯女士: I read in the newspaper today that you are to be the architect for the new Bankstown cinema. 今天我从报上了解 到，您将成为班克斯敦新影院的建筑设计师。 I hope you will not mind me writing to ask if you have thought about the needs of disabled customers. In particular I wonder if you have considered the following things: 我希望您不介意我写 信询问您是否已考虑到残疾顾客的需要尤其是以下几点不 知您是否考虑到了: 1 Adequate access for wheelchairs. 为乘坐轮椅的人进 13 入电影院提供充分的便利。It would be handy to have lifts to all parts of the cinema. 影院内德各个部分都安装电梯就会 很方便。 The buttons in the lifts should be easy for a person in a wheelchair to reach, and the doors be wide enough to enter. 电梯的按钮应当让乘坐轮椅的人容易够到，电梯门应 足够宽。 In some cinemas, the lifts are at the back of the cinema in cold, unattractive places. 在有些电影院里，(残疾 人专用)电梯设在影院背后阴冷而不显眼的地方。As disabled people have to use the lifts, this makes them feel they are not as important as other customers. 由于残疾人必 须要使用这些电梯，这就使残疾人感到比别的观众低一等。 2 Earphones for people who have trouble hearing. 给听 力有障碍的人提供耳机。 It would help to fit sets of earphones to all seats, not just to some of them. 所有座位的 旁边都装有耳机，而不是少数几个座位，那会有帮助。 This would allow hearing-impaired customers to enjoy the company of their hearing friends rather than having to sit in a special area. 这样可以使那些听力有缺陷的观众和那些听 力正常的朋友做在一起欣赏，而不是让前者坐在一个特定的 区域。 3 Raised seating. 抬高座位。 People who are short cannot always see the screen. 身材矮小的人常常看不到屏 幕。 So I'd like to suggest that the seats at the back be 14 placed higher than those at the front so that everyone can see the screen easily. 所以我想建议影院后排的座位应该比 前排的高，这样每个人都能很容易地看到银幕。 Perhaps there could be a space at the end of each row for people in wheelchairs to sit next to their friends. 也 许可 商标使用许可商标使用许可商标使用许可商标使用许可商标使用许可 以让每一横排的排头都留出空位，以便坐轮椅的人坐 在他们的朋友旁边。 4 Toilets. 厕所。For disabled customers it would be more convenient to place the toilets near the entrance to the cinema. 在影院入口处的附近安排厕所会让残疾人感觉更加 方便。 It can be difficult if the only disabled toilet is in the basement a long way from where the film is showing. 只在 里放映大厅很远的地下室为残疾人安排一个厕所，这种做法 会给他们带来麻烦。And if the doors could be opened outwards, disabled customers would be very happy. 如果厕 所的门能设计成向外开，残疾人会很高兴。 5 Car parking. 停车场。 Of course, there are usually spaces specially reserved for disabled and elderly(来 自:WwW.xltkwJ.cOm 小龙 文档 网:高中英语选修7课本 答案) drivers.当然还得专门为残疾司机和老年司机安排停 车场。If they are close to the cinema entrance and/or exit, it is easier for disabled people to get to film in comfort. 当如果 15 这些停车场离影院出入口都很近，残疾人就会很轻松地到达 影院。 Thank you for reading my letter. I hope my suggestions will meet with your approval. 感谢您阅读我的信，希望您能 赞成我的建议。 Disabled people should have the same opportunities as able-bodied people to enjoy the cinema and to do so with dignity. 残疾人应当和健全人有同样的机会来 欣赏电影，同时能保持自己的尊严。 I am sure many people will praise your cinema if you design it with good access for disabled people. 如果您设计的电影院能够为残疾人提供方 便，那么，我相信许多人都会夸奖您的电影院， It will also make the cinema owners happy if more people go as they will make higher profits! 而且电影院的老板也会高兴，因为 有更多的人能够去看电影了，他们就能赚更多的钱了。 Yours sincerely,此致敬礼 Alice Major 爱丽斯?梅杰 3.选修七Unit2 SATISFACTION GURANTEED包君满 意 Larry Belmont worked for a company that made robots. 拉里?贝尔蒙特在一家生产机器人的公司里工作。Recently it had begun experimenting with a household robot. 最近，该 公司要对一个家用机器人进行试验。 It was going to be 16 tested out by Larry's wife, Claire.这项试验将由拉里的 夫人克莱尔来尝试。 Claire didn't want the robot in her house, especially as her husband would be absent for three weeks, but Larry persuaded her that the robot wouldn't harm her or allow her to be harmed. 克莱 尔并不想把机器人留在家里，特别是在她丈夫离家三周的 这个期间，但是克莱尔被拉里说服了。他说，机器人不会伤 害她，也不会让别人来伤害她。It would be a bonus. 这样会 是个以外的收获。However, when she first saw the robot, she felt alarmed. 然而她初次见到机器人的时候就感到有点儿 吃惊。 His name was Tony and he seemed more like a human than a machine. 机器人名叫托尼，看上去更像一个 人，而不像台机器。 He was tall and handsome with smooth hair and a deep voice although his facial expression never changed.他虽然面部表情毫无变化，但是个子高大、相貌英 俊，头发平整，声音低沉浑厚。 On the second morning Tony, wearing an apron, brought her breakfast and then asked her whether she needed help dressing. 第二天早晨，托尼戴着围裙，给她端来了早餐，然 后问她是否需要帮忙穿衣打扮。 She felt embarrassed and quickly told him to go. It was disturbing and frightening 17 that he looked so human.她感到有点不好意思，很快就打发 他走了。机器人如此通人性，这使她觉得心烦和害怕。 One day, Claire mentioned that she didn't think she was clever. 有一天，克莱尔说起，她觉得她自己并不聪明。 Tony said that she must feel very unhappy to say that. Claire thought it was ridiculous to be offered sympathy by a robot. 托尼则说，克莱尔一定是很不高兴，才会说出这样的话来。 克莱尔觉得，机器人会向她表示同情，这有点荒唐可笑。But she began to trust him. 但是他开始信任托尼了。 She told him how she was overweight and this made her feel unhappy. 她告诉托尼她太胖了，这让她很不高兴。 Also she felt her home wasn't elegant enough for someone like Larry who wanted to improve his social position. 还有对于像拉里 这样很想提高社会地位的人来说，她的家也不够高雅。 She wasn't like Gladys Claffern, one of the richest and most powerful women around. 她跟格拉迪丝?克拉芬不一 样，格拉迪丝是远近闻名的有钱有势的女人。 As a favour Tony promised to help Claire make herself smarter and her home more elegant. 托尼为让克莱尔高兴， 答应帮助她，使她变得漂亮，使她的家变的高雅大方。 So Claire borrowed a pile of books from the library for him to read, or rather, scan. 于是克莱尔从图 书 关于书的成语关于读书的排比句社区图书漂流公约怎么写关于读书的小报汉书pdf 馆借来一堆书给托 18 尼阅读，或者说给他浏览一下。 She looked at his fingers with wonder as they turned each page and suddenly reached for his hand. 他惊奇地看着他的手指翻动着书页，忍不住伸 出手来摸他的手指。She was amazed by his fingernails and the softness and warmth of his skin. 他的手指甲和他那柔软 温暖的皮肤使她感到大为惊异。 How absurd, she thought. He was just a machine.她在想，这是多么可笑啊，他只不过 是一台机器呀～ 篇三:英语选修7课文内容 1.Unit1 MARTYS STORY Hi, my name is Marty Fielding and I guess you could say that I am one in a million.In other words, there are not many people like me. You see, I have a muscle disease which makes me very weak, so I can't run or climb stairs as quickly as other people. In addition, sometimes I am very clumsy and drop things or bump into furniture. Unfortunately, the doctors don't know how to make me better, but I am very outgoing and have learned to adapt to my disability. My motto is: live one day at a time. Until I was ten years old I was the same as everyone else. I used to climb trees, swim and play football. In fact, I used to dream about playing professional football and possibly 19 representing my country in the World Cup. Then I started to get weaker and weaker, until I could only enjoy football from a bench at the stadium. In the end I went into hospital for medical tests. I stayed there for nearly three months. I think I had at least a billion tests, including one in which they cut out a piece of muscle from my leg and looked at it under a microscope. , Even after all that, no one could give my disease a name and it is difficult to know what the future holds. One problem is that I don't look any different from other people. So sometimes some children in my primary school would laugh, when I got out of breath after running a short way or had to stop and rest halfway up the stairs. Sometimes, too, I was too weak to go to school so my education suffered. Every time I returned after an absence, I felt stupid because I was behind the others. My life is a lot easier at high school because my fellow students have accepted me. The few who cannot see the real person inside my body do not make me annoyed, and I just ignore them. All in all I have a good life. I am happy to have found many things I can do, like writing and computer programming. My ambition is to work for a firm that 20 develops computer software when I grow up. Last year I invented a computer football game and a big company has decided to buy it from me. I have a very busy life with no time to sit around feeling sorry for myself. As well as going to the movies and football matches with my friends, I spend a lot of time with my pets. I have two rabbits, a parrot, a tank full of fish and a tortoise. To look after my pets properly takes a lot of time but I find it worthwhile. I also have to do a lot of work, especially if I have been away for a while. In many ways my disability has helped me grow stronger psychologically and become more independent. I have to work hard to live a normal life but it has been worth it. If I had a chance to say one thing to healthy children, it would be this: having a disability does not mean your life is not satisfying. So don't feel sorry for the disabled or make fun of them, and don't ignore them either. Just accept them for who they are, and give them encouragement to live as rich and full a life as you do. Thank you for reading my story. Marty 2.Unit 1 A LETTER TO AN ARCHITECT 21 Dear Ms Sanders, I read in the newspaper today that you are to be the architect for the new Bankstown cinema. I hope you will not mind me writing to ask if you have thought about the needs of disabled customers. In particular I wonder if you have considered the following things: 1 Adequate access for wheelchairs. It would be handy to have lifts to all parts of the cinema. The buttons in the lifts should be easy for a person in a wheelchair to reach, and the doors be wide enough to enter. In some cinemas, the lifts are at the back of the cinema in cold, unattractive places. As disabled people have to use the lifts, this makes them feel they are not as important as other customers. 2 Earphones for people who have trouble hearing. It would help to fit sets of earphones to all seats, not just to some of them. This would allow hearing-impaired customers to enjoy the company of their hearing friends rather than having to sit in a special area. 3 Raised seating. People who are short cannot always see the screen. So I'd like to suggest that the seats at the back be placed higher than those at the front so that everyone can see the screen easily. Perhaps there could be 22 a space at the end of each row for people in wheelchairs to sit next to their friends. 4 Toilets. For disabled customers it would be more convenient to place the toilets near the entrance to the cinema. It can be difficult if the only disabled toilet is in the basement a long way from where the film is showing. And if the doors could be opened outwards, disabled customers would be very happy. 5 Car parking. Of course, there are usually spaces specially reserved for disabled and elderly drivers.If they are close to the cinema entrance and/or exit, it is easier for disabled people to get to film in comfort. Thank you for reading my letter. I hope my suggestions will meet with your approval. Disabled people should have the same opportunities as able-bodied people to enjoy the cinema and to do so with dignity. I am sure many people will praise your cinema if you design it with good access for disabled people. It will also make the cinema owners happy if more people go as they will make higher profits! Yours sincerely, Alice Major 23 3.Unit2 SATISFACTION GURANTEED Larry Belmont worked for a company that made robots. Recently it had begun experimenting with a household robot. It was going to be tested out by Larry's wife, Claire. Claire didn't want the robot in her house, especially as her husband would be absent for three weeks, but Larry persuaded her that the robot wouldn't harm her or allow her to be harmed. It would be a bonus. However, when she first saw the robot, she felt alarmed. His name was Tony and he seemed more like a human than a machine. He was tall and handsome with smooth hair and a deep voice although his facial expression never changed. On the second morning Tony, wearing an apron, brought her breakfast and then asked her whether she needed help dressing. She felt embarrassed and quickly told him to go. It was disturbing and frightening that he looked so human. One day, Claire mentioned that she didn't think she was clever. Tony said that she must feel very unhappy to say that. Claire thought it was ridiculous to be offered sympathy by a robot. But she began to trust him. She told him how she was overweight and this made her feel unhappy. Also she felt her home wasn't elegant enough for someone 24 like Larry who wanted to improve his social position. She wasn't like Gladys Claffern, one of the richest and most powerful women around. As a favour Tony promised to help Claire make herself smarter and her home more elegant. So Claire borrowed a pile of books from the library for him to read, or rather, scan. She looked at his fingers with wonder as they turned each page and suddenly reached for his hand. She was amazed by his fingernails and the softness and warmth of his skin. How absurd, she thought. He was just a machine. Tony gave Claire a new haircut and changed the makeup she wore. As he was not allowed to accompany her to the shops, he wrote out a list of items for her.Claire went into the city and bought curtains, cushions, a carpet and bedding. Then she went into a jewellery shop to buy a necklace. When the clerk at the counter was rude to her, she rang Tony up and told the clerk to speak to him. The clerk immediately changed his attitude. Claire thanked Tony, telling him that he was a dear.As she turned around, there stood Gladys Claffern. How awful to be discovered by her, Claire thought. By the amused and surprised look on her face, Claire knew that Gladys thought she was having an 25 affair. After all, she knew Claire's husband's name was Larry, not Tony. When Claire got home, she wept with anger in her armchair. Gladys was everything Claire wanted to be. You can be like her, Tony told her and suggested that she invite Gladys and her friends to the house the night before he was to leave and Larry was to return. By that time, Tony expected the house to be completely transformed. Tony worked steadily on the improvements. Claire tried to help once but was too clumsy. She fell off a ladder and even though Tony was in the next room, he managed to catch her in time. He held her firmly in his arms and she felt the warmth of his body. She screamed, pushed him away and ran to her room for the rest of the day. The night of the party arrived. The clock struck eight. The guests would be arriving soon and Claire told Tony to go into another room. At that moment, Tony folded his arms around her, bending his face close to hers. She cried out Tony and then heard him declare that he didn't want to leave her the next day and that he felt more than just the desire to please her. Then the front door bell rang. Tony freed her and disappeared from sight. It was then that 26 Claire realized that Tony had opened the curtains of the front window. Her guests had seen everything ! The women were impressed by Claire, the house and the delicious cuisine. Just before they left, Claire heard Gladys whispering to another woman that she had never seen anyone so handsome as Tony. What a sweet victory to be envied by those women! She might not be as beautiful as them, but none of them had such a handsome lover. Then she remembered -Tony was just a machine. She shouted Leave me alone and ran to her bed. She cried all night. The next morning a car drove up and took Tony away. The company was very pleased with Tony's report on his three weeks with Claire.Tony had protected a human being from harm.He had prevented Claire from harming herself through her own sense of failure.He had opened the curtains that night so that the other women would see him and Claire, knowing that there was no risk to Claire's marriage.But even though Tony had been so clever, he would have to be rebuilt -you cannot have women failing in love with machines. 4.Unit2 A BIOGRAPHY OF ISAAC ASIMOV 27 Isaac Asimov was an American scientist and writer who wrote around 480 books that included mystery stories, science and history books, and even books about the Holy Bible and Shakespeare. 480 But he is best known for his science fiction stories. Asimov had both an extraordinary imagination that gave him the ability to explore future worlds and an amazing mind with which he searched for explanations of everything, in the present and the past. Asimov's life began in Russia, where he was born on 2 January, 1920. 192012 It ended in New York on 6 April, 1992, when he died as a result of an HIV infection that he had got from a blood transfusion nine years earlier.199246 When Asimov was three, he moved with his parents and his one-year-old sister to New York City. There his parents bought a candy store which they ran for the next 40 or so years. 40 At the age of nine, when his mother was pregnant with her third child, Asimov started working part-time in the store. He helped out through his school and university years until 1942, a year after he had gained a master's degree in chemistry. 1942 In 1942 he joined the staff of the Philadelphia Navy Yard as a junior chemist and worked there for three years. 1942 In 1948 he got his PhD in 28 chemistry. 1948 The next year he became a biochemistry teacher at Boston University School of Medicine. In 1958 he gave up teaching to become a full-time writer. 1958 It was when Asimov was eleven years old that his talent for writing became obvious. 11 He had told a friend two chapters of a story he had written. The friend thought he was retelling a story from a book. This really surprised Asimov and from that moment, he started to take himself seriously as a writer. Asimov began having stories published in science fiction magazines in 1939. 19391950 In 1950 he published his first novel and in 1953 his first science book. 1953 Throughout his life, Asimov received many awards, both for his science fiction books and his 29