The Sahara

    The nameSaharaderives from the Arabic word for "desert" or "steppe". At 3. 5 million square miles，an area roughly the size of the United States，the Sahara Desert in northern Africa is the largest desert in the world. lt spans the continent from theAtlantic Oceanto theRed Sea. Daytime temperatures can reach as high as 130°F. The humidity sometimes gets into the teens. But it can also be as low as 2. 5 percent，the lowest in the world. Most of the Sahara receives less than five inches of rain per year，while large areas sometimes have no rainfall at all for years.

    At the heart of the Sahara is the landlocked north African country ofNiger. Here the sand dunes can be 100 feet tall and several miles long. Here sand plains stretch over an area larger thanGermanywhere there is neither water nor towns. Yet sitting in the midst of the surrounding desert is the town ofBilma. Suddenly there are pools of cIear water. Surprisingly，there are groves of date palms. Underground water resources，or oases，sufficient to support irrigated agriculture are found in dry stream beds and depressions. ¹Irrigation ditches run off a creek to water fields. ²  Corn，cassava，tea，peanuts，hot peppers，and orange，lime，and grapefruit trees grow in these fields. Donkeys and goats graze on green grass. ³

    The Sahara of Niger is still a region where you can see a camel caravan of 500 camels tied together in loose lines as long as a mile，traveling toward such oasis towns. There a caravan will collect life-sustaining salt，which is mined from watery basins，and transport it up to 400 miles back to settlements on the edges of the desert. The round trip across the vast sands takes one month.

词汇:

Humidity / hju:ˈmɪdəti / n. 湿度

irrigate / " lrlgelt/ v. 灌溉

stretch / stretʃ / v. 伸展

camel / "kæml / n. 骆驼

date palms n. 椰枣树

注释:

1. Underground water resources，or oases，sufficient to support irrigated agriculture are found in dry stream beds and depressions. 在干河床和洼地处可找到充足的地下水资源或者绿洲来支持灌溉农业。

2. Irrigation ditches run off a creek to water fields. 灌溉沟渠通过一条小溪到达水田中。

The phrase "an area roughly the size of the United States" gives an indication of the size of_______.

A:northern Africa B:Niger C:the Sahara D:all of Africa

The Family

    The structure of a family takes different forms around the world and even in the same society. The family"s form changes as it adapts to changing social and economic influences. Until recently, the most common form in North America was the nuclear family，consisting of a married couple with their minor children. The nuclear family is an independent unit. It must be prepared to fend for itself. ¹ Individual family members strongly depend on one another. There is little help from outside the family in emergencies. Elderly relatives of a nuclear family are cared for only if it is possible for the family to do so. In North America，the elderly often do not live with the family ; they live in retirement communities and nursing homes. ²  

    There are many parallels between the nuclear family in industrial societies，such as North America，and of families in societies such as that of the Inuits，who live in harsh environments. The nuclear family structure is well adapted to a life of mobility. In harsh conditions，mobility allows the family to hunt for food. ³ For North Americans，the hunt for jobs and improved social status also requires mobility.

    The nuclear family was not always the North American standard. In a more agrarian time，the small nuclear family was usually part of a larger extended family. This might have included grandparents，mother and father，brothers and sisters，uncles，aunts，and cousins. In North America today，there is a dramatic rise in the number of single-parent households. Twice as many households in the United States are headed by divorced，separated，or never-married individuals as are comprised of nuclear families. The structure of the family，not just in North America, but throughout the world，continues to change as it adapts to changing conditions.

词汇:

nuclear [ˈnju:kliə(r)] adj. 原子核的，中心的

harsh [hɑ:ʃ] n. 严酷的

emergency [ɪ"mɜ:dʒənsɪ] n. 紧急状况

agrarian [əˈgreəriən] adj. 土地的，耕地的

注释:

1. lt must be prepared to fend for itself. 它必须能够照料自己。

2. In North America，the elderly often do not live with the family; they live in retirement communities and nursing homes. 在北美洲，老人很少和家人一起生活;他们一般住在退休社

区和养老机构。

Another good title for this passage would be_____.

A:What Makes a Family? B:The Life of the Inuits C:Living with Hardship D:The Failure of theNuclear Family

The Family

    The structure of a family takes different forms around the world and even in the same society. The family"s form changes as it adapts to changing social and economic influences. Until recently, the most common form in North America was the nuclear family，consisting of a married couple with their minor children. The nuclear family is an independent unit. It must be prepared to fend for itself. ¹ Individual family members strongly depend on one another. There is little help from outside the family in emergencies. Elderly relatives of a nuclear family are cared for only if it is possible for the family to do so. In North America，the elderly often do not live with the family ; they live in retirement communities and nursing homes. ²  

    There are many parallels between the nuclear family in industrial societies，such as North America，and of families in societies such as that of the Inuits，who live in harsh environments. The nuclear family structure is well adapted to a life of mobility. In harsh conditions，mobility allows the family to hunt for food. ³ For North Americans，the hunt for jobs and improved social status also requires mobility.

    The nuclear family was not always the North American standard. In a more agrarian time，the small nuclear family was usually part of a larger extended family. This might have included grandparents，mother and father，brothers and sisters，uncles，aunts，and cousins. In North America today，there is a dramatic rise in the number of single-parent households. Twice as many households in the United States are headed by divorced，separated，or never-married individuals as are comprised of nuclear families. The structure of the family，not just in North America, but throughout the world，continues to change as it adapts to changing conditions.

词汇:

nuclear [ˈnju:kliə(r)] adj. 原子核的，中心的

harsh [hɑ:ʃ] n. 严酷的

emergency [ɪ"mɜ:dʒənsɪ] n. 紧急状况

agrarian [əˈgreəriən] adj. 土地的，耕地的

注释:

1. lt must be prepared to fend for itself. 它必须能够照料自己。

2. In North America，the elderly often do not live with the family; they live in retirement communities and nursing homes. 在北美洲，老人很少和家人一起生活;他们一般住在退休社

区和养老机构。

A nuclear family is defined as_____.

A:a married couple with their minor children B:a single father with，minor children C:parents，grandparents，and children D:parents，children，and aunts and uncles

Tales of the Terrible Past

    It is not the job of fiction writers to analyze and interpret history. Yet by writing about the past in a vivid and compelling manner，storytellers can bring earlier eras to life and force readers to consider them seriously. ¹Among those taking on the task of recounting history are some black writers who attempt to examine slavery from different points of view.

    Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison deals specifically with the legacy of slavery in her book Beloved. The main character in this novel，a former slave called Sethe，lives in Ohio in the years following the Civil War，but she cannot free herself from her horrific memories. Through a series of flashbacks and bitter reminiscences，the reader learns how and why Sethe escaped from the plantation she had lived on; the fate of her husband，who also tried to escape; and finally，what happened to the child called Beloved. Morrisons scenes of torture and murder are vivid and strongly convey the desperation of the slaves and the cruelty of their owners.

    Charles Johnsons Middle Passage approaches slavery from a different，yet no less violent，vantage point. His main character，Rutherfprd Calhoun，is a ne’er-do-well free black American who stows away on a slave ship bound for Africa to collect its "cargo" ². Put to work after he is discovered，Calhoun witnesses firsthand the appalling conditions in which the captured Africans are transported. When they finally rebel and take over the ship，he finds himself in the middle -- and is forced to come to terms with who he is and what his values are.

Neither Beloved nor Middle Passage is an easy read，but both exemplify African American writers attempts to bring significant historical situations alive for a modem audience.

词汇:

interpret [ɪn"tɜ:prɪt] v. 解释，翻译

desperation [ˌdespəˈreɪʃn] n. 绝望的境地

recount [rɪ"kaʊnt] v. 叙述

capture ["kæptʃə(r)] v. 俘获

slavery [ˈsleɪvəri] n. 奴隶制度

注释:

1. Yet by writing about the past in a vivid and compelling manner，storytellers can bring earlier eras to life and force readers to consider them seriously. 然而通过用一种生动有趣的方式来描写过去，小说家可以将早期时代重现，并引起读者的重视。

Beloved is set__________.

A:on a slave ship B:on a plantation before the Civil War C:in Ohioafter the Civil War D:in an African town

Some things we know about language

    Many things about language are a mystery, and many will always remain so．But some things we do know．

    First, we know that all human beings have a language of some sort．There is no race of men anywhere on earth so backward that it has no language, no set of speech sounds by which the people communicate with one mother．Furthermore, in historical times, there has never been a race of men without a language．

    Second, there is no such thing as a primitive language．There are many people whose cultures are undeveloped, who are, as we say, uncivilized. but the languages they speak are not primitive．In all known 1anguages we can see complexities that must have been ¹ tens of thousands of years in developing．

    This has not always been well understood；indeed, the direct contrary ²  has often been stated． Popular ideas of the language of the American Indians will illustrate．Many people have supposed that the Indians communicated in a very primitive system of noises．Study has proved this to be nonsense．There are, or were, hundreds of American Indian languages, and a11 of them rum out ³ to be very complicated and very old. They are certainly different from the languages that most of us are familiar with, but they are no more primitive than English and Greek ⁴．

    A third thing we know about language is that all languages are perfectly adequate．That is, each one is a perfect means of expressing the culture of the people who speak the language．

Finally, we know that language changes．It is natural and normal for language to change； the only languages which do not change are the dead ones．This is easy to understand if we look backward in time．Change goes on in all aspects of language．Grammatical features change as do speech sounds, and changes in vocabulary are sometimes very extensive and may occur very rapidly．Vocabulary is the least stable part of any language ⁵.

词汇：

race/[reɪs] n.种族

primitive [ˈprɪmətɪv] adj.原始的

uncivilized [ʌnˈsɪvəlaɪzd] adj.不开化的, 落后的

complexity [kəm"pleksətɪ] n.复杂性, 复杂现象

nonsense [ˈnɔnsəns] n.胡说, 没有根据的话

extensive/[ɪkˈstensɪv] adj.广泛的

vocabulary [və"kæbjələrɪ] n.词汇

注释：

1．must have( been) done:must+动词的完成式，表示对过去发生的事情的猜测。

2．the direct contrary:完全相反（的观点，看法）

3．turn out:结果（是），原来（是）

4．no more... than...：同……一样不……

According to the author, people of undeveloped cultures can have languages．

A:complicated B:uncivilized C:primitive D:well-known

The Family

    The structure of a family takes different forms around the world and even in the same society. The family"s form changes as it adapts to changing social and economic influences. Until recently, the most common form in North America was the nuclear family，consisting of a married couple with their minor children. The nuclear family is an independent unit. It must be prepared to fend for itself. ¹ Individual family members strongly depend on one another. There is little help from outside the family in emergencies. Elderly relatives of a nuclear family are cared for only if it is possible for the family to do so. In North America，the elderly often do not live with the family ; they live in retirement communities and nursing homes. ²  

    There are many parallels between the nuclear family in industrial societies，such as North America，and of families in societies such as that of the Inuits，who live in harsh environments. The nuclear family structure is well adapted to a life of mobility. In harsh conditions，mobility allows the family to hunt for food. ³ For North Americans，the hunt for jobs and improved social status also requires mobility.

    The nuclear family was not always the North American standard. In a more agrarian time，the small nuclear family was usually part of a larger extended family. This might have included grandparents，mother and father，brothers and sisters，uncles，aunts，and cousins. In North America today，there is a dramatic rise in the number of single-parent households. Twice as many households in the United States are headed by divorced，separated，or never-married individuals as are comprised of nuclear families. The structure of the family，not just in North America, but throughout the world，continues to change as it adapts to changing conditions.

词汇:

nuclear [ˈnju:kliə(r)] adj. 原子核的，中心的

harsh [hɑ:ʃ] n. 严酷的

emergency [ɪ"mɜ:dʒənsɪ] n. 紧急状况

agrarian [əˈgreəriən] adj. 土地的，耕地的

注释:

1. lt must be prepared to fend for itself. 它必须能够照料自己。

2. In North America，the elderly often do not live with the family; they live in retirement communities and nursing homes. 在北美洲，老人很少和家人一起生活;他们一般住在退休社

区和养老机构。

The information in the first paragraph is presented mainly through _____.

A:listing statistics B:telling a story C:pointing out similarities D:pointing out differences

Tales of the Terrible Past

    It is not the job of fiction writers to analyze and interpret history. Yet by writing about the past in a vivid and compelling manner，storytellers can bring earlier eras to life and force readers to consider them seriously. ¹Among those taking on the task of recounting history are some black writers who attempt to examine slavery from different points of view.

    Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison deals specifically with the legacy of slavery in her book Beloved. The main character in this novel，a former slave called Sethe，lives in Ohio in the years following the Civil War，but she cannot free herself from her horrific memories. Through a series of flashbacks and bitter reminiscences，the reader learns how and why Sethe escaped from the plantation she had lived on; the fate of her husband，who also tried to escape; and finally，what happened to the child called Beloved. Morrisons scenes of torture and murder are vivid and strongly convey the desperation of the slaves and the cruelty of their owners.

    Charles Johnsons Middle Passage approaches slavery from a different，yet no less violent，vantage point. His main character，Rutherfprd Calhoun，is a ne’er-do-well free black American who stows away on a slave ship bound for Africa to collect its "cargo" ². Put to work after he is discovered，Calhoun witnesses firsthand the appalling conditions in which the captured Africans are transported. When they finally rebel and take over the ship，he finds himself in the middle -- and is forced to come to terms with who he is and what his values are.

Neither Beloved nor Middle Passage is an easy read，but both exemplify African American writers attempts to bring significant historical situations alive for a modem audience.

词汇:

interpret [ɪn"tɜ:prɪt] v. 解释，翻译

desperation [ˌdespəˈreɪʃn] n. 绝望的境地

recount [rɪ"kaʊnt] v. 叙述

capture ["kæptʃə(r)] v. 俘获

slavery [ˈsleɪvəri] n. 奴隶制度

注释:

1. Yet by writing about the past in a vivid and compelling manner，storytellers can bring earlier eras to life and force readers to consider them seriously. 然而通过用一种生动有趣的方式来描写过去，小说家可以将早期时代重现，并引起读者的重视。

Beloved is set__________.

A:on a slave ship B:on a plantation before the Civil War C:in Ohioafter the Civil War D:in an African town

Some things we know about language

    Many things about language are a mystery, and many will always remain so．But some things we do know．

    First, we know that all human beings have a language of some sort．There is no race of men anywhere on earth so backward that it has no language, no set of speech sounds by which the people communicate with one mother．Furthermore, in historical times, there has never been a race of men without a language．

    Second, there is no such thing as a primitive language．There are many people whose cultures are undeveloped, who are, as we say, uncivilized. but the languages they speak are not primitive．In all known 1anguages we can see complexities that must have been ¹ tens of thousands of years in developing．

    This has not always been well understood；indeed, the direct contrary ²  has often been stated． Popular ideas of the language of the American Indians will illustrate．Many people have supposed that the Indians communicated in a very primitive system of noises．Study has proved this to be nonsense．There are, or were, hundreds of American Indian languages, and a11 of them rum out ³ to be very complicated and very old. They are certainly different from the languages that most of us are familiar with, but they are no more primitive than English and Greek ⁴．

    A third thing we know about language is that all languages are perfectly adequate．That is, each one is a perfect means of expressing the culture of the people who speak the language．

Finally, we know that language changes．It is natural and normal for language to change； the only languages which do not change are the dead ones．This is easy to understand if we look backward in time．Change goes on in all aspects of language．Grammatical features change as do speech sounds, and changes in vocabulary are sometimes very extensive and may occur very rapidly．Vocabulary is the least stable part of any language ⁵.

词汇：

race/[reɪs] n.种族

primitive [ˈprɪmətɪv] adj.原始的

uncivilized [ʌnˈsɪvəlaɪzd] adj.不开化的, 落后的

complexity [kəm"pleksətɪ] n.复杂性, 复杂现象

nonsense [ˈnɔnsəns] n.胡说, 没有根据的话

extensive/[ɪkˈstensɪv] adj.广泛的

vocabulary [və"kæbjələrɪ] n.词汇

注释：

1．must have( been) done:must+动词的完成式，表示对过去发生的事情的猜测。

2．the direct contrary:完全相反（的观点，看法）

3．turn out:结果（是），原来（是）

4．no more... than...：同……一样不……

According to the author, people of undeveloped cultures can have languages．

A:complicated B:uncivilized C:primitive D:well-known