1、tall and played basketball as a young man. But he is also big in a different way he fights hard to protect Chinas past. His real name is Feng Jicai and he has written many novels about life in China. Several years ago, however, he put down his pen for a while and began to protect the cltural relics
2、in Tianjin, where he lives. Once someon asked him why he no longer wrote. He replied that at the moment he felt protecting cultural relics was more important. Feng loves his hometown. He believes that old things must be given a plave next to new thins, or people will soon forget ther great past. He
3、does not make speeches to get others to help him in his projects. Instead he goes out and does what he can himeself. If others follow him, so much the better. One of his biggest projects was to protect the oldest street in Tianjin. Along that street some shops had done business for seven hundred yea
4、rs. Althought the city government rebuilt this street, they did save its oldest building. Another project was more successful: he persuaded the city government to buy some land in the centre of the city so it could not be sold for businesses. This area is very improtant for the history of Tianjin. I
5、t was here that the city was first built during the Song Dynasty. Later many treasures were found here. To Feng, digging down in to the earth is like reading page after page of a book. Each dynasty found in the earth is like an interesting story. Not long ago he and other writers and artists took ph
6、otos of the old parts of Tianjin. The photos were put into a book which was very popular. The money from the book helps his prjects. Once, and old man asked Feng to sign a book for him, saying he would give it to his grandson who was not yet born. Feng was glad to do it - he knows that he past is no
7、t only for us to enjoy but also for the children of the future. Unit 2 An interview Pausanias, who was a Greek writer about 2000 year ago, has come on a magical journey on March 18th ,2007 to find out about the present-day Olympic Games. He is now interviewing Li Yan, a volunteer for the 2008 Olympi
8、cs Games. P: My name is Pausanias. I lived in what you call “ Ancient Greece” and I used to write about the Olympic Games a long time ago. Ive come to your time to find out about the present-day Olympic Games because I know that in 2004 they were held in my homeland. May I ask you some questions abo
9、ut themodern Olympics? L: Good heavens! Have reallycome from so long ago? But of course you can ask any questions you like. What would you like to know? P: How often do you hold your Games? L: Every four years. There are two main sets of Gamesthe Winter and the Summer Olympics, and both are held eve
10、ry four years on a regular basis. The Winter Olympics are usually held two years before the Summer Games. Only athletes who have reached the agreed standard for their event will be admitted as competitors. They may come from anywhere in the world. P: Winter Games? How can the runners enjoy competing
11、 in winter? And what about the horses? L: Oh no! There are no running races or horse riding events. Instead there are competitions like skiing and ice skating which need snow and ice. Thats why theyre called the Winter Olympics. Its in the Summer Olympics that you have the running races, together wi
12、th swimming, sailing and all the team sports. P: I see. Earlier you said that athletes are invited from all over the world. Do you mean the Greek world? Our Greek cities used to compete against each other just for the honour of winning. No other countries could join in, nor could slaves or women! L:
13、 Nowadays any country can take part if their athletes are good enough. There are over 250 sports and each one has its own standard. Women are not only allowed, but play a very important role in gymnastics, athletics, team sports and P: Please wait a minute! All those events, all those countries and
14、even women taking part! Where are all the athletes housed? L: For each Olympics, a special village is built for them to live in, a main reception building, several stadiums for competitions, and a gymnasium as well. P: Thats sounds very expansive. Does anyone want to host the Olympic Games? L: As a
15、matter of fact,every country wants the opportunity. Its a great responsibility but also a great honour to be chosen. Theres as much competitions among countries to host the Olympics as to win Olympic medals. The 2008 Olympics will be held in Beijing. P: Oh yes! You must be very proud. L: Certainly.
16、And after that the 2012 Olympics will be held in London. They have already started planning for it. A new village for the athletes and all the stadiums will be built to the east of London. New medals will be designed of course and P: Did you say medals? So even the olive wreath has been replaced! Oh
17、 dear! Do you compete for prize money too? L: No, we dont. Its still all about being able to run faster, jumper higher and throw further. Thats the motto of the Olympics, you know“ Swifter, Higher and Stronger.” P: Well, thats a good news. How interesting! Thank you so much for your time. The story
18、of Atlanta Atlanta was a Greek princess. She was very beautiful and could run faster than any man in Greece. But she was not allowed to run and win glory for herself in the Olympic Games. She was so angry that she said to her farther that she would not marry anyone who could not run faster than her.
19、 Her father said that she must marry, so Atlanta made a bargain with him. She said to him, “ These are my rules. When a man says he wants to marry me, I will run against him. If he cannot run as fast as me, he will be killed. No one will be pardoned.” Many kings and princes wanted to marry Atlanta,
20、but when they heard of her rules they knew it was hopeless. So many of them sadly went home, but others stayed to run the race. There was a man called Hippomenes who was amazed when he heard of Atlantas rules, “ Why are these men so foolish?” hethought. “ Why will they let themselves be killed becau
21、se they cannot run as fast as this princess?” However, when he saw Atlanta come out of her house to run, Hippomenes changed his mind. “ I will marry Atlantaor die !“ he said. The race started and although the man ran very fast, Atlanta ran faster. As Hippomenes watched he thought, “ How can I run as
22、 fast as Atlanta?” He went to ask the Greek Goddess of Love for help. She promised to help him and gave him three golden apples. She said, “ Throw an apple in front of Atlanta when she is running past. When she stops to pick it up, you will be able to run past her and win.” Hippomenes took the apple
23、s and went to the King. He said, “ I want to marry Atlanta.” The King was sad to see another man die, but Hippomenes said, “ I will marry her or die!” So the race began. Three inspiring stories about the Olympic Games 1. The kind Norwegian There is a cross-country skiing race which is part of the Wi
24、nter Olympics. In 2006 a Canadian skier, Sara Renner, was taking part in the cross-country final when her left pole broke. This was a serious problem as she needed the pole to help her travel quickly through the deep snow. Immediately Bjornar Hakensmoen , the coach of the Norwegian team, gave her an
25、other pole. So Renner was able to get a silver medal. Hakensmoen said that he had only behaved as any good sportsman should, but Sara said that Hakensmoen had shown everybody the true meaning of sport. 2. The Special Olympic athlete For athlete Eric Williams gold medals are nice, but good sportsmans
26、hip is more important. Eric has a low mental ability but this does not stop him from taking apart in the Olympics. In 2005 Eric competed in running races and the long jump. He said, “ Ive been competing in the Special Olympics ever since I was at high school. Its really a good experience. You get to
27、 meet different athletes and volunteers and make all kinds of friends. “ John Corbett, an organizer of the Special Olympics said, “ He always does his best and has a wonderful time in the progress. He truly appreciates all the people around him who are trying to help, and he makes that appreciation
28、known. “ Lets hope Eric wins more medals in the next Special Olympics! 3. The stubborn African In 1968 a Kenyan athlete Kip Keino competed in the 1500 metres running race. At that time he was very ill and in great pain. Although he had reached the standard for the final of the race he decided at fir
29、st not to take part. However, just before the race was going to start he changed his mind. He ran from his room and arrived at the race track a few minutes before the race was about to begin. Surprisingly, he won the race, finishing well ahead of everyone else and showing what true courage and perse
30、verancetall and played basketball as a young man. But he is also big in a different way he fights hard to protect Chinas past. His real name is Feng Jicai and he has written many novels about life in China. Several years ago, however, he put down his pen for a while and began to protect the cltural
31、relics in Tianjin, where he lives. Once someon asked him why he no longer wrote. He replied that at the moment he felt protecting cultural relics was more important. Feng loves his hometown. He believes that old things must be given a plave next to new thins, or people will soon forget ther great pa
32、st. He does not make speeches to get others to help him in his projects. Instead he goes out and does what he can himeself. If others follow him, so much the better. One of his biggest projects was to protect the oldest street in Tianjin. Along that street some shops had done business for seven hund
33、red years. Althought the city government rebuilt this street, they did save its oldest building. Another project was more successful: he persuaded the city government to buy some land in the centre of the city so it could not be sold for businesses. This area is very improtant for the history of Tia
34、njin. It was here that the city was first built during the Song Dynasty. Later many treasures were found here. To Feng, digging down in to the earth is like reading page after page of a book. Each dynasty found in the earth is like an interesting story. Not long ago he and other writers and artists
35、took photos of the old parts of Tianjin. The photos were put into a book which was very popular. The money from the book helps his prjects. Once, and old man asked Feng to sign a book for him, saying he would give it to his grandson who was not yet born. Feng was glad to do it - he knows that he pas
36、t is not only for us to enjoy but also for the children of the future. Unit 2 An interview Pausanias, who was a Greek writer about 2000 year ago, has come on a magical journey on March 18th ,2007 to find out about the present-day Olympic Games. He is now interviewing Li Yan, a volunteer for the 2008
37、 Olympics Games. P: My name is Pausanias. I lived in what you call “ Ancient Greece” and I used to write about the Olympic Games a long time ago. Ive come to your time to find out about the present-day Olympic Games because I know that in 2004 they were held in my homeland. May I ask you some questi
38、ons about themodern Olympics? L: Good heavens! Have reallycome from so long ago? But of course you can ask any questions you like. What would you like to know? P: How often do you hold your Games? L: Every four years. There are two main sets of Gamesthe Winter and the Summer Olympics, and both are h
39、eld every four years on a regular basis. The Winter Olympics are usually held two years before the Summer Games. Only athletes who have reached the agreed standard for their event will be admitted as competitors. They may come from anywhere in the world. P: Winter Games? How can the runners enjoy co
40、mpeting in winter? And what about the horses? L: Oh no! There are no running races or horse riding events. Instead there are competitions like skiing and ice skating which need snow and ice. Thats why theyre called the Winter Olympics. Its in the Summer Olympics that you have the running races, toge
41、ther with swimming, sailing and all the team sports. P: I see. Earlier you said that athletes are invited from all over the world. Do you mean the Greek world? Our Greek cities used to compete against each other just for the honour of winning. No other countries could join in, nor could slaves or wo
42、men! L: Nowadays any country can take part if their athletes are good enough. There are over 250 sports and each one has its own standard. Women are not only allowed, but play a very important role in gymnastics, athletics, team sports and P: Please wait a minute! All those events, all those countri
43、es and even women taking part! Where are all the athletes housed? L: For each Olympics, a special village is built for them to live in, a main reception building, several stadiums for competitions, and a gymnasium as well. P: Thats sounds very expansive. Does anyone want to host the Olympic Games? L
44、: As a matter of fact,every country wants the opportunity. Its a great responsibility but also a great honour to be chosen. Theres as much competitions among countries to host the Olympics as to win Olympic medals. The 2008 Olympics will be held in Beijing. P: Oh yes! You must be very proud. L: Cert
45、ainly. And after that the 2012 Olympics will be held in London. They have already started planning for it. A new village for the athletes and all the stadiums will be built to the east of London. New medals will be designed of course and P: Did you say medals? So even the olive wreath has been repla
46、ced! Oh dear! Do you compete for prize money too? L: No, we dont. Its still all about being able to run faster, jumper higher and throw further. Thats the motto of the Olympics, you know“ Swifter, Higher and Stronger.” P: Well, thats a good news. How interesting! Thank you so much for your time. The
47、 story of Atlanta Atlanta was a Greek princess. She was very beautiful and could run faster than any man in Greece. But she was not allowed to run and win glory for herself in the Olympic Games. She was so angry that she said to her farther that she would not marry anyone who could not run faster th
48、an her. Her father said that she must marry, so Atlanta made a bargain with him. She said to him, “ These are my rules. When a man says he wants to marry me, I will run against him. If he cannot run as fast as me, he will be killed. No one will be pardoned.” Many kings and princes wanted to marry At
49、lanta, but when they heard of her rules they knew it was hopeless. So many of them sadly went home, but others stayed to run the race. There was a man called Hippomenes who was amazed when he heard of Atlantas rules, “ Why are these men so foolish?” hethought. “ Why will they let themselves be killed because they cannot run as fast as this princess?” However, when he saw Atlanta come out of her house to run, Hippomenes changed his mind. “ I will marry Atlantaor die !“ he said. The race started and although the man ran very fast, Atlant
