1、14 1 Women of AchievementFollowing Janes way of studying chimps, our group are all going to visit them in the forest. Jane has studied these families of chimps for many years and helped people understand how much they behave like humans. Watching a family of chimps wake up is our first activity of t
2、he day. This means going back to the place where we left the family sleeping in a tree the night before. Everybody sits and waits in the shade of the trees while the family begins to wake up and move off. Then we follow as they wander into the forest. Most of the time, chimps either feed or clean ea
3、ch other as a way of showing love in their family. Jane warns us that our group is going to be very tired and dirty by the afternoon and she is right. However, the evening makes it all worthwhile. We watch the mother chimp and her babies play in the tree. Then we see them go to sleep together in the
4、ir nest for the night. We realize that the bond between members of a chimp family is as strong as in a human family.Nobody before Jane fully understood chimp behaviour. She spent years observing and recording their daily activities. Since her childhood she had wanted to work with animals in their ow
5、n environment. However, this was not easy. When she first arrived in Gombe in 1960, it was unusual for a woman to live in the forest. (Only after her mother came to help her for the first few months was she allowed to begin her project). Her work changed the way people think about chimps. For exampl
6、e, one important thing she discovered was that chimps hunt and eat meat. Until then everyone had thought chimps ate only fruit and nuts. She actually observed chimps as a group hunting a monkey and then eating it. She also discovered how chimps communicate with each other, and her study of their bod
7、y language helped her work out their social system.For forty years Jane Goodall has been outspoken about making the rest of the world understand and respect the life of these animals. She has argued that wild animals should be left in the wild and not used for entertainment or advertisements. She ha
8、s helped to set up special places where they can live safely. She is leading a busy life but she says: “Once I stop, it all comes crowding in and I remember the chimps in laboratories. Its terrible. It affects me when I watch the wild chimps. I say to myself, Arent they lucky?“ And then I think abou
9、t small chimps in cages though they have done nothing wrong. Once you have seen that you can never forget .“She has achieved everything she wanted to do: working with animals in their own environment, gaining a doctors degree and showing that women can live in the forest as men can. She inspires tho
10、se who want to cheer the achievements of women.24 2 A pioneer for all peopleAlthough he is one of Chinas most famous scientists, Yuan Longping considers himself a farmer, for he works the land to do his research. Indeed, his sunburnt face and arms and his slim, strong body are just like those of mil
11、lions of Chinese farmers, for whom he has struggled for the past five decades. Dr Yuan Longping grows what is called super hybrid rice. In 1974, he became the first agricultural pioneer in the world to grow rice that has a high output. This special strain of rice makes it possible to produce one-thi
12、rd more of the crop in the same fields. Now more than 60% of the rice produced in China each year is from this hybrid strain.Born in 1930, Dr Yuan graduated from Southwest Agricultural College in 1953. Since then, finding ways to grow more rice has been his life goal. As a young man, he saw the grea
13、t need for increasing the rice output. At that time, hunger was a disturbing problem in many parts of the countryside. Dr Yuan searched for a way to increase rice harvests without expanding the area of the fields. In 1950, Chinese farmers could produce only fifty million tons of rice. In a recent ha
14、rvest, however, nearly two hundred million tons of rice was produced. These increased harvests mean that 22% of the worlds people are fed from just 7% of the farmland in China. Dr Yuan is now circulating his knowledge in India, Vietnam and many other less developed countries to increase their rice h
15、arvests. Thanks to his research, the UN has more tools in the battle to rid the world of hunger. Using his hybrid rice, farmers are producing harvests twice as large as before.Dr Yuan is quite satisfied with his life. However, he doesnt care about being famous. He feels it gives him less freedom to
16、do his research. He would much rather keep time for his hobbles. He enjoys listening to violin music, playing mah-jong, swimming and reading. Spending money on himself or leading a comfortable life also means very little to him. Indeed, he believes that a person with too much money has more rather t
17、han fewer troubles. He therefore gives millions of yuan to equip others for their research in agriculture. Just dreaming for things, however, costs nothing. Long ago Dr yuan had a dream about rice plants as tall as sorghum. Each ear of rice was as big as an ear of corn and each grain of rice was as
18、huge as a peanut. Dr Yuan awoke from his dream with the hope of producing a kind of rice that could feed more people. Now, many years later, Dr Yuan has another dream: to export his rice so that it can be grown around the globe. One dream is not always enough, especially for a person who loves and c
19、ares for his people.4 4 Body languageYesterday, another student and I, representing our universitys student association, went to the Capital International Airport to meet this years international students. They were coming to study at Beijing University. We would take them first to their dormitories
20、 and then to the student canteen. After half an hour of waiting for their flight to arrive, I saw several young people enter the waiting area looking around curiously. I stood for a minute watching them and then went to greet them.The first person to arrive was Tony Garcia from Colombia, closely fol
21、lowed by Julia Smith from Britain. After I met them and then introduced them to each other, I was very surprised. Tony approached Julia, touched her shoulder and kissed her on the cheek! She stepped back appearing surprised and put up her hands, as if in defence. I guessed that there was probably a
22、major misunderstanding. Then Akira Nagata from Japan came in smiling, together with George Cook from 3Canada. As they were introduced, George reached his hand out to the Japanese student. Just at that moment, however, Akira bowed so his nose touched Georges moving hand. They both apologized - anothe
23、r cultural mistake!Ahmed Aziz, another international student, was from Jordan. When we met yesterday, he moved very close to me as I introduced myself. I moved back a bit, but he came closer to ask a question and then shook my hand. When Darlene Coulon from France came dashing through the door, she
24、recognized Tony Garcias smiling face. They shook hands and then kissed each other twice on each cheek, since that is the French custom when adults meet people they know. Ahmed Aziz., on the contrary, simply nodded at the girls. Men from Middle Eastern and other Muslim countries will often stand quit
25、e close to other men to talk but will usually not touch women.As I get to know more international friends, I learn more about this cultural “body language“. Not all cultures greet each other the same way, nor are they comfortable in the same way with touching or distance between people. In the same
26、way that people communicate with spoken language, they also express their feelings using unspoken “language“ through physical distance, actions or posture. English people, for example, do not usually stand very close to others or touch strangers as soon as they meet. However, people from places like
27、 Spain, Italy or South American countries approach others closely and are more likely to touch them. Most people around the world now greet each other by shaking hands, but some cultures use other greetings as well, such as the Japanese, who prefer to bow.These actions are not good or bad, but are s
28、imply ways in which cultures have developed. I have seen, however, that cultural customs for body language are very general - not all members of a culture behave in the same way. In general, though, studying international customs can certainly help avoid difficulties in todays world of cultural cros
29、sroads!Body language is one of the most powerful means of communication, often even more powerful than spoken language. People around the world show all kinds of feelings, wishes and attitudes that they might never speak aloud. It is possible to “read“ others around us, even if they do not intend fo
30、r us to catch their unspoken communication. Of course, body language can be misread, but many gestures and actions are universal. The most universal facial expression is, of course, the smile its function is to show happiness and put people at ease. It does not always mean that we are truly happy, h
31、owever. Smiles around the world can be false, hiding other feelings like anger, fear or worry. There are unhappy smiles, such as when someone “loses face“ and smiles to hide it. However, the general purpose of smiling is to show good feelings.From the time we are babies, we show unhappiness or anger
32、 by frowning. In most places around the world, frowning and turning ones back to someone shows anger. Making a fist and shaking it almost always means that someone is angry and threatening another person.There are many ways around the world to show agreement, but nodding the head up and down is used
33、 for agreement, almost worldwide. Most people also understand that shaking the head from side to side means disagreement or refusal.How about showing that I am bored? Looking away from people or yawning will, in most cases, make me appear to be uninterested. However, if I turn toward and look at som
34、eone or something, people from almost every culture will think that I am interested. If I roll my eyes and turn my head away, I most likely do not believe what I am hearing or do not like it.Being respectful to people is subjective, based on each culture, but in general it is probably not a good ide
35、a to give a hug to a boss or teacher. In almost every culture, it is not usually good to stand too close to someone of a higher rank. Standing at a little distance with open hands will show that I am willing to listen.With so many cultural differences between people, it is great to have some similar
36、ities in body language. We can often 4be wrong about each other, so it is an amazing thing that we understand each other as well as we do!4 5 Theme parksWhich theme park would you like to visit? There are various kinds of theme parks, with a different park for almost everything: food, culture, scien
37、ce, cartoons, movies or history. Some parks are famous for having the biggest or longest roller coasters, others for showing the famous sights and sounds of a culture. Whichever and whatever you like, there is a theme park for you! The theme park you are probably most familiar with is Disneyland. It
38、 can be found in several parts of the world. It will bring you into a magical world and make your dreams come true, whether traveling through space, visiting a pirate ship or meeting your favourite fairy tale or Disney cartoon character. As you wander around the fantasy amusement park, you may see S
39、now White or Mickey Mouse in a parade or on the street. Of course Disneyland also has many exciting rides, from giant swinging ships to terrifying free-fall drops. With all these attractions, no wonder tourism is increasing wherever there is a Disneyland. If you want to have fun and more than fun, c
40、ome to Disneyland!Dollywood, in the beautiful Smoky Mountains in the southeastern USA, is one of the most unique theme parks in the world. Dollywood shows and celebrates Americas traditional southeastern culture. Although Dollywood has rides, the parks main attraction is its culture. Famous country
41、music groups perform there all year in indoor and outdoor theatres. People come from all over America to see carpenters and other craftsmen make wood, glass and iron objects in the old-fashioned way. Visit the candy shop to try the same kind of candy that American southerners made 150 years ago, or
42、take a ride on the only steam- engine train still working in the southeast USA. You can even see beautiful bald eagles in the worlds largest bald eagle preserve. And for those who like rides, Dollywood has one of the best old wooden roller coasters, Thunderhead. It is world-famous for having the mos
43、t length in the smallest space. Come to Dollywood to have fun learning all about Americas historical southeastern culture! If you want to experience the ancient days and great deeds of English knights and ladies, princes and queens, then Englands Camelot Park is the place for you. Every area of the
44、park is modelled after life in the days of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. In one place, you can watch magic shows with Merlin the Wizard. If you want to see fighting with swords or on horseback, then the jousting area is a good place to visit. If you do well there, King Arthur may c
45、hoose you to fight in the big jousting tournament. Do you like animals? Then visit the farm area, and learn how people in ancient England ran their farms and took care of their animals. To enter a world of fantasy about ancient England, come to Camelot Park!Last week I took a journey deep into space
46、, to the end of the solar system, and was pulled into a black hole. Then I took a trip to Brazil and experienced surviving an airplane crash in the jungle. After that, I joined some divers and went to the bottom of the ocean to see strange blind creatures that have never seen sunlight. For a break,
47、I took part in some car racing and then skied down some of the most difficult mountains in the world. I ended my travels by meeting face to face with a dinosaur, the terrible T-Rex, and survived the experience!I did all this in one great day at Futuroscope. Opened in 1987, Futuroscope is one of the
48、largest space-age parks in the world. This science and technology-based theme park in France uses the most advanced technology. Its 3-D cinemas and giant movie screens provide brand new experiences of the earth and beyond. Visitors can get close to parts of the world they have never experienced, goi
49、ng to the bottom of the ocean, flying through the jungle or visiting the edges of the solar system. The amazing, up-to-date information together with many opportunities for hands-on learning makes the world come to life in a completely new way for visitors. Learning centres throughout 5the park let visitors try their own scientific experiments, as well as learn more about space travel, the undersea world and much mote.I bought tickets for myself and my friends at the parks entrance, but tickets are also available online. Futuroscope is not only for individuals, but is
