高中英语牛津版高二下学期05

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[00:00.00]和谐英语学习网 CHAPTER FIVE    Reading
[00:-1.00]page 78   GREEN ORCHIDS
[00:-2.00]Life is a series of choices,and we cannot always foresee the consequences.
[00:-3.00]Harry Saleem,an obese man with too much money and power,faced a choice now.
[00:-4.00]Outside his office waited his personal doctor,
[00:-5.00]bringing him vital news about the only medicine which could save his life.
[00:-6.00]On the other side of the world,
[00:-7.00]one of his engineers waited for his decision
[00:-8.00]on an important matter of business.
[00:-9.00]His secretary asked whether she should bring the doctor in.
[00:10.00]And then the billionaire businessman made his decision.
[00:11.00]'No,let the fool wait,'growled Saleem.'Business comes first.'
[00:12.00]Despite the health problems caused by his huge weight,
[00:13.00]he was still obsessed with making money.
[00:14.00]He raised a fat finger,
[00:15.00]and one of his staff hurried to switch on a large television set.
[00:16.00]The screen flashed into life,and Saleem's engineer appeared.
[00:17.00]The man talked by satellite directly to his master
[00:18.00]although they were thousands of miles apart.
[00:19.00]'It's all ready to blow,Mr Saleem,'he said.
[00:20.00]'Just say the word.''Wait,ordered Saleem,
[00:21.00]while he considered the situation.
[00:22.00]His engineer was standing above a wide valley in South America.
[00:23.00]A few months ago,Rakan Valley had been a rain forest.
[00:24.00]Then Saleem's men had come.
[00:25.00]They had cut down all the valuable trees
[00:26.00]and forced the villagers to move out.
[00:27.00]Across the bottom of the valley,a dam had been built.
[00:28.00]This would provide hydro electric power
[00:29.00]for the many factories which Saleem planned to build in the area.
[00:30.00]Saleem finished his mental review of the situation.
[00:31.00]It was an operation which would bring vast profits.
[00:32.00]He cared nothing for the destruction of the environment.
[00:33.00]That was not his problem.
[00:34.00]He saw no reason to delay.
[00:35.00]He ordered the engineer to press the button.
[00:36.00]The camera panned away into the distance,and then a cloud of dust rose up,
[00:37.00]followed shortly by a dull explosion.
[00:38.00]A mighty river changed its course,
[00:39.00]and water flooded into the doomed Rakan Valley.
[00:40.00]In the big office,there was a short silence.
[00:41.00]But Saleem never wasted time.
[00:42.00]'Good, that's that.Turn it off.
[00:43.00]Now,get that doctor in here,he commanded,
[00:44.00]and his staff fell over themselves to obey their bullying employer.
[00:45.00]The doctor,a tall,thin, American with a worried look,
[00:46.00]came in and started to examine his wealthy patient nervously.
[00:47.00]'You're doing very well, Mr Saleem.'he said finally.
[00:48.00]'The new medicine is a great success.
[00:49.00]The only problem is getting more of it.'
[00:50.00]Saleem asked the doctor if he would be able to get more.
[00:51.00]'Money is no problem,you know,'he said.'
[00:52.00]Tell me what you need,and we'll get it.'
[00:53.00]But the doctor explained that the main ingredient of this new,life saving medicine came from a plant.
[00:54.00]'It's a small,green orchid,'he said,
[00:55.00]'which has just been discovered.
[00:56.00]We'll need many plants to make enough medicine.'
[00:57.00]'Well,get them!'ordered Saleem.'What's the problem?'
[00:58.00]'Er,there's no problem,sir said the doctor,'except that they are very rare.
[00:59.00]There's only one place in the world where they grow.'
[-1:00.00]'Where?'demanded the fat businessman,impatiently.The doctor smiled.
[-1:-1.00]He was pleased to have good news.
[-1:-2.00]'Well,luckily the orchids come from some land which you own,sir,
[-1:-3.00]so there won't be any difficulty.
[-1:-4.00]They're from a place in South America known as Pakan Valley.'
[-1:-5.00]LISTENING SKILLS     Page 82              Changing a text
[-1:-6.00]SPEAKING             page 88