外研版高中英语必修三-课文

外研版高中英语必修三课文3.1GreatEuropeanCitiesParisParisisthecapitalandlargestcityofFrance,situatedontheRiverSeine.Itisoneofthemostbeautifulcitiesintheworldandisvisitedbymorethaneightmilliontouristseveryyear.ThemostpopularplacefortouristsistheEiffelTower,thefamoussymbolofParis.Oneoftheworld'slargestartgalleries,theLouvre,isalsolocatedinParis.Thecityisalsofamousforitsrestaurants,cafésandtheatres.Abouttwo-thirdsofFrance'sartistsandwritersliveinParis.BarcelonaBarcelonaisthesecondlargestcityofSpainandissituatedonthenortheastcoast,aboutfivehundredkilometreseastoftheSpanishcapital,Madrid.OneofBarcelona'smostfamouslandmarksistheChurchoftheSagradaFamilia,whichwasdesignedbyanarchitectcalledAntonioGaudi.Gaudiworkedontheprojectfrom1882untilhisdeathin1926.Thechurchhasn'tbeenfinishedyet!FlorenceFlorenceisanItaliancitywhichbecamefamousbecauseoftheRenaissance,agreatartisticmovementwhichbeganinthe1300sandlastedforthreehundredyears.DuringtheRenaissance,someofthegreatestpaintersofalltimelivedandworkedinFlorence.ManyofFlorence'smostbeautifulpaintingsandsculptureswereproducedbygreatartistssuchasLeonardodaVinciandMichelangelo.Florenceisvisitedeachyearbyaboutamilliontouristswhocometoseetheartgalleries,churchesandmuseums.TheUffiziPalaceisthemostfamousartgalleryinthecity.AthensAthens,thecapitalofGreece,isknownasthebirthplaceofwesterncivilisation.Twothousandfourhundredyearsago,itwastheworld'smostpowerfulcity.BuildingssuchastheParthenonontheAcropolisHillwerebuiltduringthisperiod.Greece'sbestwriterslivedinancientAthens.Theirworkshasinfluencedotherwriterseversince.3.2TheHumanDevelopmentReportIntheyear2000,147worldleadersagreedtoworktogethertoreducepovertyby2015orearlier.FromthisagreementcametheHumanDevelopmentReport.OneofthemostimportantsectionsofthisreportisTheHumanDevelopmentIndex.Thisexaminestheachievementsof175countries.Theindexmeasuresacountry'sachievementsinthreeways:lifeexpectancy(howlongpeopleusuallylive),educationandincome.Theindexhassomesurprises.Norwayisatthetopofthelist,whiletheUSisatnumber7.Theothertopfivecountriesare:Iceland(2),Sweden(3),Australia(4),theNetherlands(5).TheUKisinthethirteenthposition,whileChinaisinthemiddleofthelist.ThebottomtencountriesareallAfricancountries,withSierraLeone(inWestAfrica)atthebottomofthelist.Thereportdescribeseightdevelopmentgoals.Themostimportantgoalsareto:•reducepovertyandhunger;•makesurethatallchildrenhaveeducationuptotheageof11;•fightAIDSandotherdiseases;•improvetheenvironmentofpoorpeople,e.g.makesuretheyhavesafedrinkingwater;•encouragedevelopedcountriestogivemorehelptoothercountries.The2003HumanDevelopmentReportgivesexamplesofsuccessfuldevelopment.Forexample,innineyears(1953–1962),Chinaincreasedlifeexpectancyby13years.InthelasttenyearsinChina,150millionpeoplemovedoutofpoverty.However,thechallengesarestillgreat.Everyday799millionpeopleindevelopingcountriesarehungry.OverhalfoftheseareinSouthAsiaorAfrica.Althoughmorethan80%ofchildrenindevelopingcountriesgotoprimaryschool,about115millionchildrenarenotbeingeducated.Morethan1billionpeopleindevelopingcountriesdonotdrinksafewater.However,inotherregionsoftheworld,e.g.EasternEurope,waterisnowmostlysafetodrink.Thereportshowsthatwearemakingsomeprogressbutthatweneedtomakegreaterefforts.Althoughdevelopedcountriesgivesomefinancialhelp,theyneedtogivemuchmore.Interestingly,thecountriesthatgivethemostmoneyaretheNetherlands,NorwayandSweden.Theseareamongthefiverichestcountriesintheworld,soitisrightthattheyshoulddoso.3.3TheViolenceofNatureWhatIsaTornado?Atornadoisarotatingcolumnofairfromathunderstormtotheground.Themostviolenthavewindsofmorethan400kilometresperhour.AlmostallofthemoccurintheUS,intheareafromTexasinthesoutheasttoSouthDakotainthenorth.Tornadoescanpickupcars,trainsandevenhousesandputthemdowninthenextstreet—oreveninthenexttown.Theycantakethefuroffthebackofacatandthefeathersoffachicken.Theycandestroyhouses,butleavethefurnitureinsideexactlywhereitwas.Onaverage,thereare800tornadoesintheUSeachyear,causingabout80deathsand1,500injuries.Theworsttornadoofalltimeoccurredin1925,affectingthreeUSstates:Missouri,IllinoisandIndiana.Bythetimeitended,morethan700peoplehadbeenkilledand2,700hadbeeninjured.WhatIsaHurricane?Hurricanesarestrongtropicalstorms,andtheyusuallyoccurinthesouthernAtlanticOcean,theCaribbeanSeaandtheGulfofMexico.Thereareviolentwindsof120kilometresperhourormore,whichcausehugewaves,heavyrainandfloods.ThereareonaveragesixAtlantichurricaneseachyearandtheyusuallyaffecttheeastcoastoftheUSfromTexastoMaine.Theworsthurricanedisasterofalltimeoccurredonthe8thSeptember1900inGalveston,Texas.Windsof200kilometresperhourandfive-metre-highwaveshitthecity.Thedisasterkilled6,000peopleinapopulationof37,000anddestroyed3,600buildings.AnExtraordinaryEventThisisastoryaboutthe1900Galvestonhurricane.CharlesCoghlanwasanineteenth-centuryIrishactorwhowenttoliveinCanada.HethenmovedtoNewYork,wherehebecamefamous.Bythelate1890s,hehadmovedtoGalveston,wherehediedin1899,ayearbeforethehurricanestruck.ThecemeterywhereCoghlanwasburiedwasdestroyedbythehurricaneandCoghlan'scoffinendedupinthesea.Eightyearslater,thecoffinwasfoundbyfishermenintheseanearhishomeonPrinceEdwardIslandintheeastofCanada.TheGulfStreamhadcarriedit3,000kilometresuptheeasternUScoasttoPrinceEdwardIsland.CoghlantravelledbacktoCanada—afterhehadbeenburiedinTexas.3.4SandstormsinAsiaSandstormshavebeenamajordisasterformanyAsiancountriesforcenturies.ScientistshavetriedmanywaystosolvethisproblemandinChina,amasscampaignhasbeenstartedtohelpsolveit.Sandstormsarestrong,drywindsthatcarrysand.Theyareoftensothickthatyoucannotseethesun,andthewindissometimesstrongenoughtomovesanddunes.ThefourmainplacesintheworldwheretherearesandstormsareCentralAsia,NorthAmerica,CentralAfricaandAustralia.RenJianbo,fromInnerMongoliadescribedaterriblesandstormheexperiencedasachildinthedesert."Tohavebeencaughtinasandstormwasaterribleexperience,"hesaid."Therewasnothingtobedone.ItwasthemostfrighteningandthemostdangeroussituationI'veeverbeenin.Youjusthadtohopeyou'dsurvive.IthoughtIwasgoingtodisappearunderthesand."NorthwestChinaispartofthesandstormcentreinCentralAsia.Sandstormsbeginindesertareas.SandstormsinChinaappeartohaveincreasedinrecentyearsasaresultof"desertification".Thisisaprocessthathappenswhenlandbecomesdesertbecauseofclimatechangesandbecausepeoplecutdowntreesanddigupgrass.SandstormssometimesaffectBeijing.Citizenswakeuptoanorangeskyandstrongwindsthatcoverthecityinathick,brown-yellowdust.Thestormssometimescontinuealldayandtrafficmovesveryslowlybecausethethickdustmakesitdifficulttosee.TheChineseCentralWeatherStationcanforecastasandstormsomeweeksbeforeitarrivesinBeijing,butthestrengthofthestormsometimessurprisespeople.Whenasandstormarrivesinthecity,weatherexpertsadvisepeoplenottogoout.HuangXiaomei,wholivesinBeijingsays,"Tobecyclinginasandstormisfrightening.Thewindsareverystrong.It'sdifficulttobreatheandthedustmakesmeill.Soifyouwanttogoout,you'dbetterwearamask."Thedesertisonly250kilometresawaytothewestofBeijing.Topreventitcomingnearer,thegovernmentisplantingtrees.Alreadythegovernmenthasplantedmorethan30billiontreesandplanstocontinueplantingforthenextfiveyears.3.5PhilosophersofAncientChinaAncientChinawasaplacewherestateswereoftenatwarwitheachother.Butitwasalsoatimewhenthereweremanygreatphilosophers.Confucius(551BC–479BC)isthephilosopherwhoseinfluencehasbeenthegreatest.Hestressedtheimportanceofkindness,dutyandorderinsociety.Chinesesocietywasinfluencedbytheseideasformorethan2,000years.MenciuswasathinkerwhoseteachingswereverysimilartothoseofConfucius.Menciuswasbornin372BC.Hisfatherdiedwhenhewasyoung,andhewasbroughtupbyhismother.HebecameastudentofConfucius'sideas,andwasthengivenanimportantpositioninthegovernmentofastate.However,whenhesawthattherulerwasnotfollowinghisadvice,heresigned.Formanyyearshetravelledfromstatetostate,teachingtheprinciplesofConfucius.Hethenbecameanadvisertoanotherruler.HespenthislastyearspreparingabookofhisteachingscalledTheBookofMencius.Menciusbelievedthatthereasonwhymanisdifferentfromanimalsisthatmanisgood.Hetaughtthatifthegovernmentwaskind,thenpeoplewouldbegood.Hebelievedthatpeopleweremoreimportantthanrulers,andhatedthestatewhenittreatedpeoplebadly.Moziwasanotherteacherwhowasveryinfluential.Bornin476BC,hecamefromafamilywhichwasverypoor.Hebecamefamousforhisunusualclothesandbehaviour.MozifoundedthephilosophycalledMohism.Insomeways,hisbeliefsweresimilartothoseofConfucius.Forexample,heconsideredthatgovernmentwasmostimportant.Asaresult,hespentmanyyearstryingtofindastatewherepeoplewouldfollowhisteachings.Mozibelievedthatallmenwereequal.HisideaoflovewasdifferentfromtheConfucianideaofkindness.Mozitaughtthatweshouldloveallhumanbeingsandlookafterthosewhoareweakerthanourselves.Hehatedtheideaofwar.Mozidiedin390BC.