初中英语阅读材料 12页

TheOldCatAnoldwomanhadacat.Thecatwasveryold;shecouldnotrunquickly,andshecouldnotbite,becauseshewassoold.Onedaytheoldcatsawamouse;shejumpedandcaughtthemouse.Butshecouldnotbiteit;sothemousegotoutofhermouthandranaway,becausethecatcouldnotbiteit.Thentheoldwomanbecameveryangrybecausethecathadnotkilledthemouse.Shebegantohitthecat.Thecatsaid,"Donothityouroldservant.Ihaveworkedforyouformanyyears,andIwouldworkforyoustill,butIamtooold.Donotbeunkindtotheold,butrememberwhatgoodworktheolddidwhentheywereyoung.”Amanwasgoingtothehouseofsomerichperson.Ashewentalongtheroad,hesawaboxofgoodapplesatthesideoftheroad.Hesaid,”1donotwanttoeatthoseapples;fortherichmanwillgivememuchfood;hewillgivemeverynicefoodtoeat.1'Thenhetooktheapplesandthrewthemawayintothedust.Hewenton日ndcametoariver.Theriverhadbecomeverybig;sohecouldnotgooverit.Hewaitedforsometime;thenhesaid,”1cannotgototherichman'shousetoday,forIcannotgetovertheriver."Hebegantogohome.Hehadeatennofoodthatday.Hebegantowantfood.Hecametotheapples,andhewasgladtotakethemoutofthedustandeatthem.Donotthrowgoodthingsaway;youmaybegladtohavethematsomeothertimeTheCityMouseandtheCountryMouseOncethereweretwomice・Theywerefriends.Onemouselivedinthecountry;theothermouselivedinthecity.AftermanyyearstheCountrymousesawtheCitymouse;hesaid,"Docomeandseemeatmyhouseinthecountry.1'SotheCitymousewent.TheCitymousesaid,”Thisfoodisnotgood,andyourhouseisnotgood・Whydoyouliveinaholeinthefield?Youshouldcomeandliveinthecity.Youwouldliveinanicehousemadeofstone.Youwouldhavenicefoodtoeat.Youmustcomeandseemeatmyhouseinthecity."TheCountrymousewenttothehouseoftheCitymouse.Itwasaverygoodhouse.Nicefoodwassetreadyforthemtoeat.Butjustastheybegantoeattheyheardagreatnoise.TheCitymousecried,”Run!Run!Thecatiscoming!"Theyranawayquicklyandhid.Aftersometimetheycameout.Whentheycameout,theCountrymousesaid,”1donotlikelivinginthecity.Ilikelivinginmyholeinthefield.Foritisnicertobepoorandhappy,thantoberichandafraid."\nAGoodBoyLittleRobertaskedhismotherfortwocents."WhatdidyoudowiththemoneyIgaveyouyesterday?'*”1gaveittoapooroldwoman,”heanswered・HYou*reagoodboy,"saidthemotherproudly.”Herearetwocentsmore.Butwhyareyousointerestedintheoldwoman?””Sheistheonewhosellsthecandy."DrunkOneday,afatherandhislittlesonweregoinghome.Atthisage,theboywasinterestedinallkindsofthingsandwasalwaysaskingquestions.Now,heasked,"What'sthemeaningoftheword'Drunk；dad?”"Well,myson,"hisfatherreplied,"look,therearestandingtwopolicemen.IfIregardthetwopolicemenasfourthenIamdrunk.”"But,dad,"theboysaid,"there'sonlyONEpoliceman!HAMonkeyandaTigerTodayIamveryhappytostandhere,tellingyouastory:AMonkeyandatiger.Everyonethinksthemonkeyisverysmall,butthetigerisst「ong」nthisstoryLittleMonkeyuseshiswisdowtobitthetiger,justremenberthosewhoareweakcanbeatthosewhoarestrong,let'ssharethestory.Anoldtigerlivesintheforest.Hedoesnotwanttolookforfood・Heoftentellsotheranimalstobringhimsomethingtoeat.OnedayHeseesamonkeyandsays,"I'mhungry,monkey.Gotothevillageandbringmeafatpig.""Oh,Tiger,"saysthemonkey.”1can'tdothatnow.Thereisanothertigeroverthere.Healsowantsafatpig.Hewillnotletmegetanythingforyoutoeat.Iamafraidofhim.""What?"criesthetiger."Showmethattiger.Iwillteachhimalesson“Comewithme,"saysthemonkey.Themonkeyandthetigergettoabridgeovertheriver."Nowlookdownatthewater,"saysthemonkey."Doyouseethehead,thewhiteteethandthebiggreeneyesofatiger?"”Yes,Ido,”saystheoldtiger,"Iwilleathimup!"“Grr…!SoyoutoldMonkeynottobringmeanything?!Grrr...Illkillyou!nWiththesewordsthetigerjumpedintotheriver.Hedidnotcomeoutagain.uHa3ha3ha!Goodbye,MrTiger/5saidthemonkeyandhewentaway.\nIJeremyHampdenhasalargecircleoffriendsandisverypopularatparties・Everybodyadmireshimforhisgreatsenseofhumour八everybody,thatis,excepthissix-year-olddaughter,Jenny.Recently,oneofJeremy'sclosestfriendsaskedhimtomakeaspeechataweddingreception.ThisisthesortofthingthatJeremyloves.HepreparedthespeechcarefullyandwenttotheweddingwithJenny,hehadineludedalargenumberoffunnystoriesinthespeechand,ofcourse,itwasagreatsuccess・Assoonashehadfinished,Jennytoldhimshewantedtogohome・Jeremywasalittledisappointedbythisbuthedidashisdaughterasked.Onthewayhome,heaskedJennyifshehadenjoyedthespeech.Tohissurprise,shesaidshehadn't.Jeremyaskedherwhythiswassoandshetoldhimthatshedidnotliketoseesomanypeoplelaughingathim!【生词汇总】circlen.圈子admirev.赞美,钦佩closeadj.亲密的weddingn.婚礼receptionn.招待会sortn.种类【短语汇总】admiresomebodyforsth因某些事而崇拜某人laughat嘲笑2LastChristmas,thecircusowner,JimmyGates,decidedtotakesomepresentstoachildrerTshospital.DressedupasFatherChristmasandaccompaniedbya'guardofhonour*ofsixprettygirls,hesetoffdownthemainstreetofthecityridingababyelephantcalledJumbo.Heshouldhaveknownthatthepolicewouldneverallowthissortofthing.ApolicemanapproachedJimmyandtoldhimheoughttohavegonealongasidestreetasJumbowasholdingupthetraffic・ThoughJimmyagreedtogoatonce,Jumborefusedtomove・Fifteenpolicemenhadtopushveryhardtogethimoffthemainstreet.Thepolicehadadifficulttime,buttheyweremostamused.'Jumbomustweighafewtons,1saidapolicemanafterwards,'soitwasfortunatethatwedidn'thavetocarryhim・Ofcourse,weshouldarresthim,butashehasagoodrecord,weshalllethimoffthistime.1\nversusprep.对（对抗的概念）Christmasn.圣诞节circusn.马戏团presentn.礼物accompanyv.陪伴，随彳亍approachv.定近oughtmodalverb・丿M该weighv.重fortunateadj.幸运的【短语汇总】setoff出发2In1858,aFrenchengineer,AimeThomedeGamond,arrivedinEnglandwithaplanforatwenty・one・miletunnelundertheEnglishChannel.HesaidthatitwouldbepossibletobuildaplatforminthecentreoftheChanneLThisplatformwouldserveasaportandarailwaystation.Thetunnelwouldbewell-ventilatediftallchimneyswerebuiltabovesealevel.In1860,abetterplanwasputforwardbyanEnglishman,WilliamLow.Hesuggestedthatadoublerailway-tunnelshouldbebuilt.Thiswouldsolvetheproblemofventilation,forifatrainenteredthistunnel,itwoulddrawinfreshairbehindit.Forty-twoyearslateratunnelwasactuallybegun.If,atthetime,theBritishhadnotfearedinvasion,itwouldhavebeencompleted・Theworldhadtowaitalmostanother100yearsfortheChannelTunnel.ItwasofficiallyopenedonMarch7,1994,finallyconnectingBritaintotheEuropeancontinent.【生词汇总】tunneln.隧道portn.港口ventilatev.通风chimneyn.烟囱sealevel海平面doubleadj.双的ventilationn.通风fearv.害怕invasionn.入侵,侵略officiallyadv.正式地connectv.连接Europeanadj.欧洲的continentn.大陆【短语汇总】TheInternetWeareallbusytalkingaboutandusingtheInternet,buthowmanyofusknowthehistoryoftheInternet?\nManypeoplearesurprisedwhentheyfindthattheInternetwassetup（建立）inthe1960s・Atthattime,computerswerelargeandexpensive・Computernetworksdidn'tworkwell.Ifonecomputerinthenetworkbrokedown,thenthewholenetworkstopped.Soanewnetworksystem（系统）hadtobesetup.Itshouldbegoodenoughtobeusedbymanydifferentcomputers・Ifpartofthenetworkwasnotworking,informationcouldbesentthroughanotherpart・Inthiswaycomputernetworksystemwouldkeeponworkingallthetime・Atfirst,theInternetwasonlyusedbythegovernment,butintheearly1970s,universities,hospitalsandbmnkswereallowedtouseit,too.However,computerswerestillveryexpensiveandtheInternetwasdifficulttouse.Bythestartof1990s,computersbecamecheaperandeasiertouse.Scientistshadalsodevelopedsoftwarethatmade"surfing”theInterneteasier・TodayitiseasytogetonlineanditissaidthatmillionsofpeopleusetheInterneteveryday.Sendinge-mailsismoreandmorepopularamongyoungpeople.TheInternetnowhasbecomeoneofthemostimportantpartsinpeople'slife.5AgenerousgiftAwomanwascollectingmoneyforachurchcharity.Themoneyshecollectedwasgoingtobegiventopoorchildrenwhohadnoparentstotakecareofthem.Shewentfromapartmenttoapartmentandfromhousetohouse・Sheknoekedondoorsandaskedformoney.Shealwayssaidthesamewords・“Goodmorning,Tmcollectingforachurchcharity.Pleasegivegenerously.Weneed$5,000/Thensheheldoutacollectingbox.Mostpeopleputafewcoinsinthebox.Anartistlivedinoneoftheapartments.Heopenedthedoorforher."“Goodmorning,”shesaid.uTmcollectingforachurchcharity.Pleasegivegenerously.Weneed$5,000.”\nTheartistthoughtforamoment,thenhesaid,uTmsorry,butIdon'thaveanymoney.However,TIIgiveyouapainting・Aweeklatershecalledonhimagain."Tmsorrytotroubleyouagain,”shesaid,Ubutwestillneedmoremoney.Ineedanother$100.Canyouhelp?"uOfcourse,”theartistsaid・T‘IIincreasethevalueofmypaintingto$500.n6BodyIanguageSometimespeopleaddtowhattheysayevenwhentheydon5ttalk.Gesturesarethe“silentlanguage^ofeveryculture・Wepointafingerormoveanotherpartofthebodytoshowwhatwewanttosay.Itisimportanttoknowthebodylanguageofeverycountryorwemaybemisunderstood・IntheUnitedStates,peoplegreeteachotherwithahandshakeinaformalintroduction.Thehandshakemustbefirm.Ifthehandshakeisweak,itisasignofweaknessorunfriendliness・Friendsmayplaceahandontheother!sarmorshoulder.Somepeople,usuallywomen,greetafriendwithahug.PrivatespaceisimportanttoAmericans.Whentwopeopletalktoeachother,theystandtwoandahalffeetawayatanangle（角），sotheyarenotfacingeachotherdirectly.Americanswillgetuncomfortableifapersonstandstooclose.Theywillmovebacktohavetheirownspace.IfAmericanstouchanotherpersonbyaccident,theywillsay,uPardonme,noruExcuseme.MAmericansliketolooktheotherpersonintheeyeswhentheyaretalking.Ifyoudorftdoso,itmeansyouarebored,hidingsomething,orarenotinterested・Butwhenyoustareatsomeone,itisnotpolite.ForAmericans,thumbsupmeansyes,verygood,orwelldone.Thumbsdownmeanstheopposite（反义词）.Tocallawaiter,raiseonehandtoheadlevelorabove.Toshowyouwantthecheck,makeamovementwithyourhandsasifyouaresigningapieceofpaper.Itisallrighttopointatthingsbutnotatpeoplewith\nthehandandindexfinger（食指）.Americansshaketheirindexfingeratchildrenwhentheyscold（责骂）themandpat（轻拍）themontheheadwhentheyadmirethem.LearningaculturedbodyIanguageissometimesconfusing（难以理解的）•Ifyoudorftknowwhattodo,thesafestthingtodoistosmile・7Thefarmer,theson,andthedonkeyOnedayafarmerandhissonwereontheirwaytoanearbymarkettowntoselltheirdonkey.Astheywalkedalongbesidethedonkey,theymetsomeyounggirlsontheroad.Thegirlsbegantolaughatthem.“Don'tyoutwolooksilly?ntheysaid."Bothofyouarewalking,andoneofyoucouldberiding/Whenthefarmerheardthis,heagreed・Hehelpedhissongetontothedonkey,andtheycontinuedontheirway.Soontheypassedtwomenstandingbytheroadside・“Justlookatthat!nsaidoneofthetwomen.Thatpooroldmaniswalkingwhilehissonisriding.Theboyoughttobeashamed•”Sothesongotoffthedonkey,andhisfatherclimbedonandrode.Theyhadnotgoneveryfarwhentheycametosomeoldwomenatacrossroad.Onewomanscolded（责备）thefather.“Howdareyouridethatdonkeywhilethatpoorchildhastowalk・Hemustbeexhausted•”Sothefarmerliftedtheboyupbesidehim,andtheybothrodetherestofthewaytotown.Whentheyfinallyarrivedintown,theypassedamanwhowantedtoknowifthedonkeybelongedtothem・Thefarmerrepliedthatitwastheirdonkey.uThatpooranimalisoverworked,Msaidtheman.“Thetwoofyoucouldcarryitfarbetterthanitcancarryyou!”Sothefarmerandhissongotdown.Buttheycouldn'tfigureouthowtocarrythedonkey.Finally,thefatherhadanidea・Fromatree,hecutathickbranchtomakeakindofcarryingpole（木T）・Hetiedthedonkey'sfeettothepolewith\nrope.Then,heandhissoneachcarriedoneendofthepolewiththefrighteneddonkeyhangingbetweenthem.Bythetimetheyreachedthebridge,anoisycrowdstoodaroundwatchingthem.Thecrowdpointedandlaughedloudly.Allthenoiseandlaughterfrightenedthedonkey.Itbegantokickandpullat（用力拉）theropes・Soonitgotlooseandfellintotheriverbelow.SinceitcouldrTtswim,thedonkeydrowned.Thefarmerandhissonfeltveryfoolish.Slowlytheyturnedandstartedbackhomewithnodonkeyandnomoney.Moral（寓意）：Ifyoutrytopleaseeveryone,youmayenduppleasingnoone・8Howcanarocketfly?Rocketscanflyfaroutintospace・RocketsmadebytheUSAandRussiawithmaninsidethemhavealreadyreachedthemoon.Severalrocketswithoutmanhavebeensenttootherworldsmuchfartheraway.OnNov.7,2007,China5sfirstlunarprobe（月球探测器）,Chang'eI,successfullycompletedits1,580,000kmflyingjourneytothemoon.Iamsurethatyouareasking:Howdoesarocketfly?Ifyouwanttoknow,getaballoonandthenblowitup,untilitisquitebig.Donottieuptheneckoftheballoon,letitgo.Theballoonwillflyoffthroughtheairveryquickly.Theairinsidetheballoontriestogetout・Itrushesoutthroughtheneckoftheballoonandthispushestheballoonthroughtheair.Thisishowarocketworks・Ofcourse,therocketismadeofmetal.Themetalmustnotbeheavybutitmustbeverystrong.Thereisgasinsidetherocket,whichismadeveryhot.Whenitrushesoutoftherocket,therocketispushedupintotheair.Thejetvelocity（喷射速度）isalwaysfasterthantheflyingspeed.We'resurethatonedayrocketswithmanmaybeabletogoanywhereinspace.9Helpinghands\nJaneWarner'shusband,Jack,wassenttoprisonfortwoyearsforstealing.Whilehewasinprison,Janehadaverydifficulttime・Shehadtwochildren,butnojob・Herhusband,ofcourse,didnotmakeanymoneyeither.Theonlymoneyshehadwasasmallamountfromthegovernment.Tdon'tknowhowwewillmanage/shewrotetoherhusbandinprison.ulgetonlyenoughmoneytopaytherent（租金）.Thereisn'tenoughmoneyforfood.IthinkI'llhavetoplantvegetablesinthegarden.They'llgrowquickly.Wecanliveonvegetables/1Thegardenwasquitelarge,andmuchofitwascoveredwithgrass.WhenJackWarnerreceivedhiswife'sletter,herepliedtoherimmediately.“Don'tdigupthegardehewrote.“That'swherethemoneyIstoleishidden.nAllletterswrittenbytheprisonerswerereadbyoneoftheguardsbeforetheyweremailed.WhentheguardreadJack'sletter,hetookittotheheadguard.Whentheheadguardreadit,hetelephonedthepolice・HetoldthemwhatJackhadwrittentohiswife.ThepoliceimmediatelywenttoJack'shouse.Theytookforksandshovels（铲）withthem.Theydugupthegarden,Iookingforthemoney,buttheydidnotfindanything.Whentheyhadgone,Mrs.Warnerwrotetoherhusband.“Thepolicecametoday/5shewrote.uTheydugupallthegrass.WhatshouldIdo?”Herhusbandwrotebackimmediately,uPlantthevegetables.n10Thegoldentouch\nThereoncelivedakingnamedMidaswhowasveryrich.Helovedtwothingsaboveallelse:hislittledaughterandgold・Thekinghadmanyroomsfullofgold,buthewasn'tsatisfied.Hewantedtopossessevenmoregold・Onedaywhenthekingwasinhisgarden,anunknownvisitorcametohim.Hetoldthekingthathecouldwishforanythinghewanted.Atfirstthekingdidnotbelievethestranger,butfinallyhewasconvinced（使信月艮）・Jwishtohavemoregold「thekingsaid.uVerywell,”answeredthestranger「Youshallhaveyourwish.Fromtomorrow,everythingyoutouchwillturntogold.”Thenextmorningthekinggotoutofbedearly.Hewantedtoseeifhiswishhadbeengranted・First,hetouchedachair,thenaflower,thenatable・Everythinghetouchedturnedtogold!Thekingwasveryhappy.Then,hesatdowntoeatbreakfast.Butassoonashetouchedhisfood,itturnedtogold.Thekingbegantoworry.Whatwouldhappenifhecouldn'teatanything?Justthenthelittleprincesscameintothediningroom・Sherantoherfather.Butashetouchedher,sheturnedtogold.Thekingwassadandworried・Hewentouttothegarden.Ashewaswalking,hesawthestrangeragain.Thekingbeggedhimtotakebackthewish・Tdon5twantanymoregold,”hecried.Thestrangerwarnedthekingtobesurethistime.Then,heagreedtotakebackthewish.Fromthatdayon,thekingwasawiserandhappierman,eventhoughhehadlessgold・Thekingwassadandworried・Hewentouttothegarden.Ashewaswalking,hesawthestrangeragain.Thekingbeggedhimtotakebackthewish.uldon'twantanymoregold,”hecried.Thestrangerwarnedthekingtobesurethistime.Then,heagreedtotakebackthewish・Fromthatdayon,thekingwasawiserandhappierman,eventhoughhehadlessgold・\n11UncleSamUncleSamisatall,thinman.He'sanoldermanwithwhitehairandwhitebeard.Heoftenwearsatallhat,abowtie（领结），andthestarsandstripesoftheAmericanflag・Whoisthisstrange-lookingman?WouldyoubelievethatUncleSamistheU.S.government?ButwhydowecalltheU.S.governmentUncleSam?DuringtheWarof1812,theU.S.governmenthiredmeatpackerstoprovidemeattothearmy.OneofthesemeatpackerswasamannamedSamuelWilson.HewasafriendlyandfairmarkEveryonelikedhimandcalledhimUncleSam.SamWilsonstampedtheboxesofmeatforthearmywithalargeU.S.—forUnitedStates.Somegovernmentinspectors（巡视员）cametolookoverWilson'scompany.TheyaskedaworkerwhattheU.S.ontheboxesstoodfor・Asajoke,theworkeransweredthattheselettersstoodforthenameofhisboss,UncleSam.Thejokespread,andsoldiersbegansayingthattheirfoodcamefromUncleSam.Beforelong,peoplecalledallthingsthatcamefromthegovernment“UncleSam—UncleSam,,becameanicknamefortheU.S.government.SoonthereweredrawingsandcartoonsofUncleSaminnewspapers.Intheseearlypictures,UncleSamwasayoungman.Heworestarsandstripes,buthishairwasdarkandhehadnobeard.ThebeardwasaddedwhenAbrahamLincolnwasthepresident・PresidentLincoinhadabeard・ThemostfamouspictureofUncleSamisonaposterduringWorldWarI.Thegovernmentneededmentofightinthewar.Intheposter,averyseriousUncleSampointshisfingerandsays,“IwantYOUfortheU.S.Army.”12LookingforgoldTwobrotherssoldalltheyhadandwenttoCaliforniatolookforgold.Theydiscoveredavein（矿脉）ofgold,andboughttheland.Thentheybeganthebusinessofgettingthegoldoutoftheland.Everythingwentwellatfirst,butlatera\nstrangethinghappened.Theveinofgoldwasgone!Thebrothersfeltdisappointed,buttheykeptondiggingforafewmonths・Unfortunately,theygotnothing,sotheydecidedtogiveup.Theysoldthelandforafewhundreddollars,andtookthetrainbackhome・Twoyearslaterthepersonwhoboughtthelandsentanengineertocheckupontheveinofgold・Theengineertoldhimtogoondiggingthreefeetdeeper.Thentheyfoundgold.Ifthebrothershavemorepersistence（坚持），theywillhavealotofgoldnow.