[00:08.80]PRE-READING
[00:25.57]LIFE ON THE GO
[00:31.74]Wang mei puts her hand into her pocket,
[00:37.38]takes out her red cellphone and presses the talk key.
[00:44.75]"Hi,mum! I'm on the bus.I should be home in about ten minutes."
[00:53.39]Wang Mei is one of many Chinese teenagers
[00:59.04]who live life "on the go" and use cellphones.
[01:05.41]cellphones,or mobile phones,
[01:10.69]make it possible for us to talk to anyone from anywhere.
[01:17.95]Words and images are being sent throughout the world.
[01:24.11]Modern cellphones are more than just phones
[01:29.86]--they are being used as cameras and radios,
[01:35.63]and to sent e-mail or surf the Internet.
[01:41.80]New functions are being added to the phones.
[01:47.26]The latest cellphones have features such as games,
[01:53.74]music and an electronic calendar
[01:59.09]that will remind you about appointments and important dates.
[02:05.26]Cellphones have changed our behaviour and how we communicate.
[02:12.10]They are being used everywhere--sometimes where they shouldn't.
[02:19.08]One headmaster says that phones are not allowed in the classroom.
[02:26.63]"if a phone starts ringing in the classroom,
[02:32.19]teachers and students are disturbed and cannot work."
[02:38.72]The students obey the rules
[02:43.08]and agree not to use their phones in the classroom.
[02:48.83]"I don't dare to use the phone in school,
[02:54.60]because they will take it away from me,"says John Hill,a student in London
[03:02.86]John got his phone for his birthday,
[03:08.13]but his parents don't let him use it in school.
[03:14.09]Some parents worry
[03:17.85]that their children will spent too much time and money on phone calls.
[03:24.93]Why are cellphones so popular,especially among teenagers?
[03:32.48]The answer seems to be that we have a need to stay in touch with friends and family
[03:39.95]no matter where we are or what we are doing.
[03:45.28]Having a cellphone also makes us feell safer,
[03:51.21]since we can call for help in case of an emergency.
[03:57.77]Of course,to many teenagers
[04:02.83]the cellphone is not only a useful tool
[04:08.08]but also a way to have fun and be cool.
[04:14.04]Wang Mei calls her best friend Xiao Li at least once a day
[04:21.02]to see How she is doing and what is going on.
[04:26.48]She says that her cellphone helps do whatever she wants to do
[04:33.53]and still stay in touch with her parents and friends.
[04:39.38]"I think it's the most useful invention ever,"
[04:45.44]Wang Mei says as she is dialling the number to Ziao Li again
[04:51.68]to ask her what she will be wearing to school tomorrow.
[04:57.53]INTEGRATING SKILLS
[05:06.49]It is the year 2374 and the machines have taken over.
[05:15.04]The earth is ruled by a great computer named Q12
[05:20.81]that uses robots to make people work for it.
[05:26.16]It is not a happy world.
[05:30.32]The few surviving human beings
[05:34.76]are being used in the way that we use machines today:
[05:40.32]They have to make electrcity for the machines.
[05:45.68]repair them when they break down,
[05:49.94]and do every thing Q12 tells them to.
[05:55.50]Once,the earth was a beautiful blue planet
[06:00.25]where people lived happily among trees and animals.
[06:05.61]Now,the world is dark and dirty,with no room for happiness and fun.
[06:13.55]But there is still hope.
[06:17.39]The human beings have been able to keep a small,secret school open
[06:23.92]since the machines took over.
[06:27.89]in this school,the students still learn about all the wonders of the world-
[06:34.66]science,art,history,culture-
[06:40.30]and they are still allowed to dream about a better future .
[06:45.94]The leader of the humans has decided that it is time to do something to stop Q12,
[06:54.20]bring the machines and people back together,
[06:59.24]and make the world beautiful again.
[07:03.78]A group of experts were asked to solve the problem,but they failed.
[07:10.26]Now the leader has asked a group of students to do what they can to save the earth
[07:17.52]Q12 cannot be defeated by force
[07:22.88]It is too strong and no one believes that fighting a war can sove the problem
[07:30.53]Instead,the students have decided to come up with a peaceful solution.
[07:37.59]They will try to teach Q12 about love and fried ship.
[07:43.36]If they succed,they believe that humans and machines can live together
[07:50.02]like friends in the future.
[07:53.78]Imagine that you are one of the students chosen to solve the problem.
[08:00.34]Write a letter to Q12 in which you explain love and friendship.
[08:07.18]Remember that Q12 is a computer that does not understand how human beings feel
[08:15.26]and what human life is like.
[08:19.20]Tell Q12 about how we think,how we feel about each other,
[08:25.68]and try to give wcamples of love and friendship.
[08:31.56]After reading this section on pages 55-56
[08:39.21]and doing the required exercise,try to translate the reading pieces
[09:09.67]Look at the photo below and put its caption into chinese.
[09:33.23]Team of robots
[09:40.18]positioned in front of the ball
[09:45.22]prior to the start of their match
[09:53.40]during the seventh Soccer World Championship
[09:58.67]for Robots in Padua,northem Italy,on July 9 |