高中英语选修8课文.docx
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高中英语选修8课文.docx
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高中英语选修8课文
选修8Unit1Alandofdiversity-Reading
CALIFORNIA
CaliforniaisthethirdlargeststateintheUSAbuthasthelargestpopulation.ItalsohasthedistinctionofbeingthemostmulticulturalstateintheUSA,havingattractedpeoplefromallovertheworld.Thecustomsandlanguagesoftheimmigrantsliveonintheirnewhome.ThisdiversityofcultureisnotsurprisingwhenyouknowthehistoryofCalifornia.
NATIVEAMERCANS
ExactlywhenthefirstpeoplearrivedinwhatwenowknowasCalifornia,noonereallyknows.However,itislikelythatNativeAmericanswerelivinginCaliforniaatleastfifteenthousandyearsago.ScientistsbelievethatthesesettlerscrossedtheBeringStraitintheArctictoAmericabymeansofalandbridgewhichexistedinprehistorictimes.Inthe16thcentury,afterthearrivaloftheEuropeans,thenativepeoplesufferedgreatly.Thousandswerekilledorforcedintoslavery.Inaddition,manydiedfromthediseasesbroughtbytheEuropeans.However,somesurvivedtheseterribletimes,andtodaytherearemoreNativeAmericanslivinginCaliforniathaninanyotherstate.
THESPANISH
Inthe18thcenturyCaliforniawasruledbySpain.SpanishsoldiersfirstarrivedinSouthAmericaintheearly16thcentury,whentheyfoughtagainstthenativepeopleandtooktheirland.Twocenturieslater,theSpanishhadsettledinmostpartsofSouthAmericaandalongthenorthwestcoastofwhatwenowcalltheUnitedStates.OfthefirstSpanishtogotoCalifornia,themajoritywerereligiousmen,whoseministrywastoteachtheCatholicreligiontothenatives.In1821,thepeopleofMexicogainedtheirindependencefromSpain.CaliforniathenbecamepartofMexico.In1846theUnitedStatesdeclaredwaronMexico,andafterthewarwonbytheUSA,MexicohadtogiveCaliforniatotheUSA.However,thereisstillastrongSpanishinfluenceinthestate.Thatiswhytodayover40ofCaliforniansspeakSpanishasafirstorsecondlanguage.
RUSSIANS
Intheearly1800s,Russianhunters,whohadoriginallygonetoAlaska,begansettlinginCalifornia.Todaythereareabout25,000Russian-AmericanslivinginandaroundSanFrancisco.
GOLDMINERS
In1848,notlongaftertheAmerican-Mexicanwar,goldwasdiscoveredinCalifornia.Thedreamofbecomingrichquicklyattractedpeoplefromallovertheworld.Thenearest,andthereforethefirsttoarrive,wereSouthAmericansandpeoplefromtheUnitedStates.ThenadventurersfromEuropeandAsiasoonfollowed.Infact,fewachievedtheirdreamofbecomingrich.Somediedorreturnedhome,butmostremainedinCaliforniatomakealifeforthemselvesdespitegreathardship.Theysettledinthenewtownsoronfarms.BythetimeCaliforniaelectedtobecomethethirty-firstfederalstateoftheUSAin1850,itwasalreadyamulticulturalsociety
LATERARRIVALS
AlthoughChineseimmigrantsbegantoarriveduringtheGoldRushPeriod,itwasthebuildingoftherailnetworkfromthewesttotheeastcoastthatbroughtevenlargernumberstoCaliforniainthe1860s.Today,Chinese-AmericansliveinallpartsofCalifornia,althoughalargepercentagehavechosentostayinthe"Chinatowns"ofLosAngelesandSanFrancisco.
OtherimmigrantssuchasItalians,mainlyfishermenbutalsowinemakers,arrivedinCaliforniainthelate19thcentury.In1911immigrantsfromDenmarkestablishedatownoftheirown,whichtodaystillkeepsuptheirDanishculture.Bythe1920sthefilmindustrywaswellestablishedinHollywood,California.TheindustryboomattractedEuropeansincludingmanyJewishpeople.TodayCaliforniahasthesecondlargestJewishpopulationintheUnitedStates.
JapanesefarmersbeganarrivinginCaliforniaatthebeginningofthe20thcentury,andsincethe1980salotmorehavesettledthere.PeoplefromAfricahavebeenlivinginCaliforniasincethe1800s,whentheymovednorthfromMexico.However,evenmorearrivedbetween1942and1945toworkintheshipandaircraftindustries.
MOSTRECENTARRIVALS
Inmorerecentdecades,CaliforniahasbecomehometomorepeoplefromAsia,includingKoreans,Cambodians,VietnameseandLaotians.Sinceitsbeginninginthe1970s,thecomputerindustryhasattractedIndiansandPakistanistoCalifornia.
THEFUTURE
Peoplefromdifferentpartsoftheworld,attractedbytheclimateandthelifestyle,stillimmigratetoCalifornia.Itisbelievedthatbeforelongthemixofnationalitieswillbesogreatthattherewillbenodistinctmajorracialorculturalgroups,butsimplyamixtureofmanyracesandcultures.
选修8Unit2Cloning-Reading
CLONING:
WHEREISITLEADINGUS?
Cloninghasalwaysbeenwithusandisheretostay.Itisawayofmakinganexactcopyofanotheranimalorplant.Ithappensinplantswhengardenerstakecuttingsfromgrowingplantstomakenewones.Italsohappensinanimalswhentwinsidenticalinsexandappearanceareproducedfromthesameoriginalegg.Thefactisthatthesearebothexamplesofnaturalclones.
Cloninghastwomajoruses.Firstly,gardenersuseitallthetimetoproducecommercialquantitiesofplants.Secondly,itisvaluableforresearchonnewplantspeciesandformedicalresearchonanimals.Cloningplantsisstraightforwardwhilecloninganimalsisverycomplicated.Itisadifficulttasktoundertake.Manyattemptstoclonemammalsfailed.Butatlastthedeterminationandpatienceofthescientistspaidoffin1996withabreakthrough-thecloningofDollythesheep.Theprocedureworkslikethis:
………………
Ontheonehand,thewholescientificworldfollowedtheprogressofthefirstsuccessfulclone,Dollythesheep.Thefactthatsheseemedtodevelopnormallywasveryencouraging.ThencamethedisturbingnewsthatDollyhadbecomeseriouslyill.CloningscientistswerecastdowntofindthatDolly'sillnessesweremoreappropriatetoamucholderanimal.AltogetherDollylivedsixandahalfyears,halfthelengthofthelifeoftheoriginalsheep.Sadlythesamearbitraryfateaffectedotherspecies,suchasclonedmice.Thequestionsthatconcernedallscientistswere:
"Wouldthisbeamajordifficultyforallclonedanimals?
Wouldithappenforever?
Coulditbesolvedifcorrectionsweremadeintheirresearchprocedure?
"
Ontheotherhand,Dolly'sappearanceraisedastormofobjectionsandhadagreatimpactonthemediaandpublicimagination.Itbecamecontroversial.Itsuddenlyopenedeverybody'seyestothepossibilityofusingcloningtocureseriousillnessesandeventoproducehumanbeings.
Althoughatpresenthumaneggcellsandembryosneededforcloningresearcharedifficulttoobtain,newspaperswroteofevilleadershopingtoclonethemselvestoattaintheirambitions.Religiousleadersalsoraisedmoralquestions.Governmentsbecamenervousandmoreconservative.Somebegantoreformtheirlegalsystemsandforbaderesearchintohumancloning,butothercountrieslikeChinaandtheUK,continuedtoaccumulateevidenceoftheabundantmedicalaidthatcloningcouldprovide.However,scientistsstillwonderwhethercloningwillhelporharmusandwhereitisleadingus.
THERETURNOFTHEDINOSAURS?
Thepossibilityofcloningfierceandextinctwildanimalshasalwaysexcitedfilmmakers.Andtheyarenottheonlyones!
ThepopularityoffilmssuchasJurassicPark,inwhichascientistclonesseveralkindsofextinctdinosaurs,proveshowtheideastruckamixtureoffearandexcitementintopeople'shearts.Butinfactwearealongwayfrombeingabletocloneextinctanimals.Scientistsarestillexperimentingwithcloningmammals.Thisisbecausethecloningofmammalsisstillanewscienceanditsstoryonlybeganseriouslyinthe1950sasthislistshows:
1950scloningoffrogs1996firstcloneofamammal:
Dollythesheep
1970sresearchusingtheembryosofmice2000cowgavebirthtoabison
1979workonembryosofsheepandmice2001China'sfirstclonedtwincalves
1981firstexperimentalclonesofmice2002firstclonedcats
1983firstexperimentalclonesofcows2005firstcloneddog
…
Fromtimetotimepeoplesuggestthatextinctanimalslikedinosaurs,canpossiblybebroughtbacktolifethroughcloning.Unfortunately,withwhatweknownow,thisiseitherimpossibleorunsuitable.Therearemanyreasons.
◎TheinitialrequirementisthatyouneedperfectDNA(whichgivesinformationforhowcells
aretogrow).
◎Alleffortsofcloningananimalwillbeinvainifthereisnotenoughdiversityinthegrouptoovercomeillnesses.Diversityinagroupmeanshavinganimalswiththeirgenesarrangedindifferentways.Theadvantageisthatifthereisanewillnesssomeoftheseanimalsmaydie,butotherswillsurviveandpassontheabilitytoresistthatdiseasetothenextgeneration.Thegreatdrawbacktocloningagroupofanimalsisthattheywouldallhavethesamearrangementofgenesandsomightdieofthesameillness.Thennoneofthemwouldbelefttocontinuethespecies.
◎Itwouldbeunfairtocloneanyextinctanimalsiftheyweretoliveinazoo.Asuitablehabitatwouldbeneededforthemtoleadanaturallife.
Basedonwhatweknownow,youcannotcloneanimalsthathavebeenextinctlongerthan10,000years.Actually,dinosaursdisappeared65,000,000yearsago.Sothechanceofdinosaurseverreturningtotheearthismerelyadream.
选修8Unit3
Inventorsandinventions-Reading
THEPROBLEMOFTHESHRIKES
WhenIcalledupmymotherinthecountrysideonthetelephoneshewasveryupset."Therearesomesnakesinourcourtyard,"shetoldme."Snakescomenearthehousenowandthen,andtheyseemtohavemadetheirhomehere,notfarfromthewalnuttree.Canyougetridofthemplease?
"Ifeltveryproud.Herewasachancefor.metodistinguishmyselfbyinventingsomethingmercifulthatwouldcatchsnakesbutnotharmt
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