高中英语人教版高三1 13

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[00:00.00]和谐英语学习网 Unit 13              The USA
[00:04.78]Lesson 49            1 Reading comprehension
[00:11.86]Read the text fast to get a general idea.
[00:17.32]Which of the following subjects are mentioned in the text?
[00:22.60]Population/History/Government/Sports/Weather/Radio and TV
[00:32.76]Transport/Food/Parks/Buildings/Hotels
[00:39.52]NEW YORK
[00:42.27]New York is built on a group of islands on theeast coast of the USA
[00:49.24]at a point where several rivers flow into the ocean.
[00:54.49]The first westerner to discover these islands was an Italian explorer in 1524.
[01:02.75]In 1626 the island of Manhattan was bought from local Indians,
[01:10.11]Native Americans,for a handful of goods worth about$24.
[01:18.45]Today Native Americans express their anger over this business deal.
[01:24.82]After the War of Independence ended,
[01:29.18]New York became the capital of the USA for a short time
[01:34.64](1789-90)before Washington,D.C.
[01:40.88]By 1820 the population of New York had grown to about 125,000,
[01:49.04]making it the largest city in the USA.
[01:53.71]In 1858 an area of poor housing,
[01:59.46]factories and farm buildings was torn down and Central Park was created,
[02:07.40]reaching from 59th Street to 110th Street and across three avenues.
[02:15.94]There is space for summer picnics,open-air concerts,plays and games.
[02:23.20]There is a zoo,an art museum,a boating lake,
[02:28.95]a smaller lake for model boats and,in winter,an ice-skating area.
[02:36.32]In 1892 the age of mass arrivals began,
[02:42.19]during which 15 million new people passed through Ellis Island
[02:48.44]into the USA over a period of 62 years.
[02:54.18]Today Ellis Island is a museum,showing the roots of America's new citizens,
[03:01.45]who came from all the corners of the earth.
[03:05.89]Officials used to have trouble with the foreign names of people passing throrgh Ellis Island,
[03:12.44]and because they were so busy,many people's names got changed in the rush.
[03:18.92]People who wanted to enter the USA
[03:23.08]had to through a number of mental and physical tests,
[03:28.43]and about 2 million people were turned away.
[03:32.98]Thus Ellis Island became known as the"Island of Tears".
[03:38.54]The building of skyscrapers in New York began around the year 1900.
[03:45.02]Because Manhattan Island is made of solid rock,
[03:49.59]it is safe to build very tall buildings.
[03:54.14]A55-storey building went up in 1913,
[03:59.91]and in 1931 the Empire State Building was completed,
[04:05.84]then the tallest building in the world.
[04:10.28]It has 102 storeys and 73 lifts.
[04:15.92]From the top of it,you could see up to a distance of 130 kilometres on a clear day.
[04:23.39]Today it is no longer the tallest building in the USA,or even in New York.
[04:30.84]The World Trade Center,
[04:34.68]an office building for over 1,200 firms employing about 50,000 people,
[04:42.15]is even higher at 411 metres.
[04:47.29]The twin towers are 110 storeys high,
[04:52.47]but high-speed lifts controlled by computer take only a minute to reach the top.
[04:59.91]The towers are further apart at the top than at the base,but this is no mistake.
[05:06.39]This is because the surface of the earth is not flat but round.
[05:12.03]New York never sleeps.
[05:15.69]The underground railway runs 24 hours a day,
[05:20.37]and there are all-night cinenas,bars and restaurants.
[05:25.64]Some people think that the weather is unpleasant,the city ugly and dirty,
[05:31.89]the competition fierce and the streets unsafe.
[05:37.63]It is a city in a hurry,but a very excitiing place to be.
[05:43.38]Lesson 50
[05:50.35]1 Reading comprehension
[05:54.80]Read the text fast to find answers to these questions.
[06:00.07]1 In what ways did the settlers treat the Native Americans unfairly?
[06:07.52]2 What caused a big change in the wildlife on the plains?
[06:14.28]THE BISON ON THE PLAINS OF AMERICA
[06:18.54]The first settlers on the plains of America were Native Americans.