[00:01.00]Module 4 Great Scientists
[00:08.00]READING AND VOCABULARY
[00:10.40]1 Look at the title of the reading passage below.
[00:15.09]Guess what is about.
[00:17.21]The Students Who Asked Questions
[00:20.89]In a hungry world rice is a staple food
[00:25.29]and China is the world's largest producer.
[00:28.73]Rice is also grown in many other Asian countries,
[00:32.88]and in some European countries like Italy
[00:35.90]In the rice-growing world，
[00:38.61]the Chinese scientist,Yuan Longping,is a leading figure.
[00:43.34]Yuan Longping was born and bought up in China.
[00:47.61]As a boy he was educated in many schools and was given the nickname,
[00:52.59]"the student who asks questions".
[00:55.72]From an early age he was interested in plants.
[00:59.40]He studied agriculture in college
[01:02.22]and as a young teacher he began experiments in crop breeding.
[01:06.92]He thought that the key to feeding people was to have more rice
[01:11.43]and to produce it more quickly.
[01:14.81]He thought there was only one way to do this --
[01:17.59]by crossing different species of rice plant,
[01:21.31]and then he could produce a new plant
[01:23.17]which could give a higher yield than either of the original plants.
[01:27.85]First Yuan Longping experiment with different types of rice.
[01:33.49]The results of his experiments were published in China in 1966.
[01:39.24]Then he began his search for a special type of rice plant.
[01:44.34]It had to be male.It has to be sterile.
[01:48.77]Finally,in 1970 a naturally sterile male rice plant was discovered.
[01:56.15]This was the breakthrough.
[01:58.40]Researchers were brought in from all over China
[02:01.41]to develop the new system.
[02:03.79]The research was supported by the government.
[02:07.48]As a result of Yuan Longping's discoveries
[02:10.60]Chinese rice production rose by 47.5 percent in the 1990's.
[02:16.39]There were other advantages too.
[02:18.96]50 thousand square kilometres of rice fields
[02:22.60]were converted to growing vegetables and other cash crops.
[02:26.20]Following this,Yuan Longping's rice was exported to other countries,
[02:31.53]such as Pakistan and the Philippines.
[02:34.59]In Pakistan rice is the second most important crop after wheat
[02:40.52]and will be grown in many parts of the country.
[02:43.79]The new hybrid rice has been developed
[02:46.79]by the Yuan Longping High-tech Agricultural Company of China.
[02:51.34]It's yield is much greater than the yield of other types of rice
[02:55.38]grown in Pakistan.
[03:00.11]LISTENING AND VOCABULARY
[03:02.69]2 Listen to the quiz and show and answer the questions.
[06:58.58]PRONUNCIATION
[07:00.39]2 Listen and underline the stresses.
[07:05.40]biology chemistry electric electricity
[07:16.61]genetics government gravity information
[07:29.90]CULTURAL CORNER
[07:32.61]Read the following passage and answer the questions.
[07:36.50]1 How many rockets invented?
[07:40.84]2 What are they used for today?
[07:45.45]Rockets
[07:47.36]Today rockets are very advanced machines
[07:52.22]which we can use to send astronauts into space.
[07:55.68]They are also used in firework displays to celebrate great events,
[08:00.70]such as the end of the Olympic Games
[08:03.35]or the beginning of the new millennium in the year 2000.
[08:07.65]Rockets were probably invented by accident about 2,000 years ago.
[08:13.97]The Chinese had a form of gunpowder
[08:17.07]which was put in bamboo tubes
[08:18.92]and thrown into fires to make explosions during festivals.
[08:23.78]Perhaps some of the tubes jumped out of the fire instead of exploding in it.
[08:29.77]The Chinese discovered that the gas escaping from the tube could
[08:33.41]lift it into the air.
[08:35.86]The idea of the rocket was born.
[08:38.68]The first military use of rockets was in 1232.
[08:44.70]The Song Dynasty was at war with the Mongols.
[08:49.38]During the battle of Kaifeng,the Song army shot "arrows of flying fire".
[08:56.09]The tubes were attached to a long stick
[08:59.31]which helped keep the rocket moving in a straight direction.
[09:03.07]Soon the Mongols learned how to make rockets themselves
[09:07.59]and it is possible that they introduced them to Europe.
[09:11.18]Between the13th and 15th centuries
[09:14.80]there were many rocket experiments in England,France and Italy.
[09:19.84]They were used for military purposes.
[09:22.98]One Italian scientist even invented a rocket
[09:27.00]which could travel over the surface of water and hit an enemy ship.
[09:31.56]But not everybody wanted to use rockets in battles.
[09:35.79]Wan Hu,a Chinese government official,invented a flying chair.
[09:42.00]He attached two big kites to the chair,
[09:45.43]and 47 rockets to the kites.
[09:48.52]The rockets were lit,
[09:50.52]there was a huge explosion and clouds of thick smoke.
[09:54.59]When the smoke cleared Wan Hu and his chair had disappeared.
[10:00.06]No one knows what happened.
[10:02.50]Did Wan Hu die in the explosion?
[10:05.51]Or was he carried miles into space,
[10:08.40]becoming the world's first astronaut?
[10:14.40]Module 4 Words and Expressions
[10:19.10]biochemistry n.生物化学
[10:22.35]biology n. 生物学
[10:24.47]botany n. 植物学
[10:26.70]genetics n. 遗传学
[10:29.10]zoology n. 动物学
[10:31.79]staple a. 主要的; 重要的
[10:33.86]producer n. 生产者
[10:36.11]leading a. 主要的
[10:38.18]figure n. 人物
[10:41.02]bring up 培养; 养育
[10:42.97]educate vt. 教育
[10:45.45]nickname n. 绰号
[10:48.52]agriculture n. 农业
[10:51.18]breeding n. 培育
[10:52.90]species n. (动物域植物的)种
[10:55.04]yield n. 产量
[10:57.20]original a. 原来的; 最初的
[10:59.75]publish vt. 出版
[11:02.34]sterile a. (指生物) 不孕育的; 不结果实的
[11:04.90]breakthrough n. 突破
[11:07.32]support vt. 支持
[11:09.82]as a result of 由于……的结果
[11:12.52]production n. 产量
[11:15.61]convert vt. 改变; 转换
[11:17.75]cashcrop n.经济作物
[11:20.40]export vt. 出 口
[11:23.63]hybrid n. 杂交种
[11:25.62]agricultural adj.农业的
[11:28.28]replace vt. 取代; 以...替
[11:30.48]quantity n. 数量
[11:33.27]quality n. 质量
[11:35.43]be known for 因 ……而出名 /闻名
[11:37.95]best-seller n. 畅销书(或唱片等)
[11:40.47]cosmology n. 宇宙生成学;宇宙论
[11:43.41]diagnose vt. 诊断
[11:46.29]motor neurone disease n. 运动神经元病
[11:50.02]victim n. 受害者
[11:52.90]brilliant a. 聪颖的; 才华横溢醚
[11:55.84]career n. 生涯; 经历
[11:58.70]brief a. 简短的; 简洁的
[12:01.17]partly adv. 部分地; 在一定程
[12:03.59]physical a. 身体的
[12:06.03]graduate vi. 毕业
[12:08.81]personal a. 个人的
[12:11.31]relativity n. 相对论
[12:14.18]earn one's living 谋生
[12:17.12]come to power 掌权
[12:20.13]rocket n. 火箭
[12:23.06]millennium n. 千年
[12:25.71]gunpowder n. 火药
[12:28.29]explosion n. 爆炸; 爆炸声
[12:30.88]explode vi. 爆炸
[12:33.02]escape vi. 逃跑; 逃避
[12:35.31]arrow n. (弓)箭
[12:38.52]straight a. 直的
[12:40.56]clear vi. (烟雾) 消散
[12:46.65]Module 5 A Trip Along the Three Gorges
[12:51.77]READING AND VOCABULARY
[12:54.06]2 Read the passage
[12:57.50]and check the items in activity 1 which the writer talks about.
[13:02.54]A Trip Along the Three Gorges
[13:06.11]In August 1996,Peter Hessler,
[13:10.81]a young American teacher of English,
[13:13.19]arrived in the town of Fuling on the Yangtze River.
[13:17.07]He and a colleague were to spend two years there
[13:21.02]teaching English at a teacher training college.
[13:24.54]They were the only foreigners in the town.
[13:27.67]The first semester finished at the end of January
[13:31.73]and they had four weeks off for the Spring Festival.
[13:34.75]They could go anywhere they wished.
[13:37.72]They decided to take a boat downstream.
[13:41.31]We decided to buy tickets for the Jiangyou boat.
[13:46.65]Our colleagues said,"You shouldn't go on those ships.
[13:50.45]They are very crowded.
[13:52.31]They are mainly for goods and people trading along the river.
[13:56.02]They don't stop at the temples and there won't be any other foreigners."
[14:01.35]That sounded fine to me.
[14:03.63]We just had to show our passports and they let us get on the boat.
[14:09.05]We left the docks on a beautiful afternoon.
[14:14.22]The sun was shining brightly
[14:16.37]as we sailed downstream through a hilly region.
[14:20.11]Men rode bamboo rafts along the river's edge and coal boats went past.
[14:26.59]As the sun set we docked at Fengdu.
[14:30.56]We could see the sun setting behind the white pagoda.
[14:33.97]It was beautiful.
[14:36.04]We slept through the first gorge,which is called the Qutang Gorge.
[14:42.13]The gorge narrows to 350 feet
[14:45.16]as the river rushes through the two-mile-high mountains.
[14:49.77]"Oh,well," my friend said,"at least we have two more left."
[14:54.77]At Wushan we made a detour up the Daning River to see some of the smaller gorges.
[15:02.50]The next day we went through the big gorges on the Yangtze River.
[15:07.13]It was a lovely morning as we went through the Wu Gorge.
[15:11.68]We passed the Xiang River home of Qu Yuan,the 3rd century BC poet.
[15:18.20]There was so much history along the Yangtze River.
[15:21.67]Every rock looked like person or animal,
[15:25.00]every stream that joined the great river carried its legends,
[15:29.28]every hill was heavy with the past.
[15:32.37]As we came out of the third gorge,the Xiling Gorge,
[15:37.49]we sailed into the construction site of the dam.
[15:40.97]All the passengers came on deck.
[15:44.11]We took pictures and pointed at the site,
[15:47.20]but we weren't allowed to get off the boat.
[15:49.97]The Chinese flag was blowing in the wind.
[15:53.06]On a distant mountain was a sign 20-foot characters.
[15:58.11]"Build the Three Gorges Dam,Exploit the Yangtze River," it said.
[16:03.31]Now say why the writer enjoyed the trip.
[16:09.89]LISTENING
[16:11.81]1 Listen to the conversation and decide where the speakers are.
[16:18.31]I'm interested in booking a classic Three Gorges cruise.
[16:25.29]Can you tell me something about the boats?
[16:28.14]Yes,certainly.
[16:29.73]They're big,modern boats,
[16:31.97]and they all have professional English speaking directors.
[16:35.84]You can choose between western and Chinese cuisine.
[16:39.88]Right.What about on-board activities?
[16:44.09]Well,first of all,there is a welcome party.
[18:00.55]PRONUNCIATION
[18:02.03]1 Listen and repeat these questions.
[18:05.96]Make sure you pause at the end of each sense group.
[18:10.50]Can you tell me/something about the boats?
[18:17.15]What about/on-board activities?
[18:21.54]What about/swimming in the Yangtze?
[18:27.32]Are there any/other rules I should know about?
[18:36.43]2 Say these sentences aloud.
[18:41.52]Now listen and check.
[18:46.09]What about swimming in the Yangtze?
[18:49.93]Are there any other rules I should know?
[18:54.18]Can you tell me if we're allowed to take photos of the dam?
[19:04.78]3 Listen to these extracts from the passage in Listening activity 1.
[19:12.80]Mark a / where the speaker pauses at the end of each sense group.
[19:18.15]A I'm interested in booking a classic Three Gorges cruise.
[19:25.25]Can you tell me something about the boats?
[19:30.98]B Yes,certainly.
[19:34.72]They're big,modem boats,
[19:37.18]and they all have professional English speaking directors.
[19:41.56]You can choose between western and Chinese cuisine.
[19:46.13]Now work in pairs. Say these sentences aloud.
[19:56.93]4 Now work in pairs Say the sentences aloud.
[20:03.25]Make sure you pause at the end of each sense group.
[20:08.38]Now listen and check.
[20:13.38]A Are there any other rules I should know?
[20:19.21]B There aren't a lot of rules.
[20:24.04]But the boats are non-smoking,
[20:26.57]so you're not allowed to smoke anywhere except in your cabin
[20:31.47]and in the smoking lounge.
[20:37.16]CULTURAL CORNER
[20:39.15]Read the passage and answer the questions.
[20:42.54]1 What does Mr McCorquodale like doing when he travels?
[20:48.00]2 Choose any country and imagine you are there.
[20:54.74]Write a short postcard to yourself.
[20:57.70]Postcards to Myself
[21:00.65]In 50 years of travelling
[21:04.25]Colin McCorquodale has visited every country in the world,except three.
[21:10.50]And everywhere he goes,he sends himself a postcard.
[21:15.32]He always chooses a postcard with a beautiful view,
[21:19.97]and sticks on an interesting stamp.
[21:23.10]Usually he writes just a short message to himself.
[21:27.20]His latest one, from the Malvinas islands,reads Good fishing.
[21:33.45]On a wall in his home in London there is a large map of the world.
[21:39.31]There are hundreds of little red pins stuck in it.
[21:43.13]"It's good to get a pin in the map,"says Mr McCorquodale,
[21:48.36]"but I follow the rules.
[21:49.81]I'm allowed to stick one in only if I've been in a place for more than 24 hours."
[21:55.72]Naturally,Mr McCorquodale has his favourite places.
[22:00.81]New Zealand he describes as "wonderful".
[22:04.96]In Europe,Italy is a favourite place.
[22:08.72]"There's a saying in the travel trade that all tourists are ripped off.
[22:13.71]Well,at least the Italians rip you off with a smile."
[22:17.64]Of China he says,
[22:20.00]"This is one country in the world which is completely different.
[22:24.69]There's no European influence.
[22:27.27]It's been around for 6,000 years,yet it's a country of the future."
[22:33.11]Wherever he goes,
[22:35.61]Mr McCorquodale takes with him a photo of his wife,
[22:38.93]a candle,a torch,a shirt with a secret pocket,
[22:43.54]and a pen for writing his postcards.
[22:46.63]So why does he do it?For the postcards or the travel?
[22:51.52]Mr McCorquodale laughs."I do it for the journey," he says.
[22:56.83]"I get a kick of travelling.And all the planning."
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