Chapter 14

Topic Reading

A

The Smith family were getting ready to fly to the United States for their summer holiday. Steven was choosing which books to take with him and Mrs Smith was putting clothes in the suitcase. Mr Smith was looking for his passport. “Have you seen my passport?” Mr Smith asked his wife.

“No, I haven’t,” replied Mrs Smith. “Have you looked in your desk? “

Mr Smith looked in his desk. The passport was not there. He looked in his bag, he looked in the cupboard, and he even searched the bookshelf. He could not find his passport anywhere.

Steven finally chose his Chinese books and put them in his bag. He also checked that he had Mei Lin’s address. He was looking forward to writing to her every day, but he was worried about writing in Chinese.

Mrs Smith finished packing all the clothes. Then she filled the suitcase with the presents they were taking home. They had bought lots of Chinese things to give to their friends.

They were almost ready for the journey. Steven placed his bag beside his mother’s suitcase. But Mr Smith still did not have his passport. “I have your passport here in my overcoat, together with the tickets,” he said. “Where did I put my passport?”

Just then Steven shouted “I’ve found it!”

“Where?” cried Mr Smith.

“Turn round, Dad,” said Steven. Mr Smith turned round. There, in the back pocket of his trousers, was the passport.

“Thank you, Steven. I knew my passport was somewhere safe!” said Mr Smith with a laugh.

Read it carefully and then answer the questions.

1. Where did Mr Smith look for his passport?

1. Why was Steven worried about writing to Mei Lin?

3. What did Mrs Smith buy as presents for her friends?

4. Where did Mr Smith put the tickets?

5. Where did Steven find Mr Smith’s passport?

B

(Miss Zhang has asked the class to write about what they have learned this year at school. Here are some of the answers she received.)

Mei Lin: I learned that even though it is good to study hard, I should also have fun. I now have a pen pal in America called Anna. She always seems to be having a good time. I want to enjoy my life, too.

Su mi: The biggest thing I learned this year was to be myself. Before I followed what other people did or said. I wanted everyone to like me. Now, I will only do what I want to do. My friends must like me for who I am.

Jane: I have realized that money does not always buy happiness. I have spent a lot of money on clothes. But I am still not happy. I have decided to spend more time listening to my friends and less time talking to them about me.

Jenny: this year I learned to be a good student. I just worked as little as possible to pass my exams before. But now I want to go to high school and then on to university. So I am taking my studies seriously now.

Xiao ping: I don’t think I’ve learned anything at all this year. I don’t like studying very much. I play football with my friends on the farm at weekends. I don’t think I need to learn any more.

Steven: This year has been wonderful. I have improved my Chinese and our football team has played well. I also went back home to America and I learned a lot about how people there are almost the same as people here. I feel I have grown up a lot.

Simon: I’m no longer just the fat boy in class. I have started to play well as the school goalkeeper. I have learned that I do not need to be funny all the time to make friends. Now I like coming to school.

GOODBYE, MISS ZHANG! GOODBYE, EVERYBODY! GOOD LUCK!

Read and answer the questions according to the passage.

1. Who has learned to be herself this year?

2. Who is going to listen more to other people?

3. Who wants to go to university?

4. Who does not like school?

5. Which of these students do you like the most? Why? How about yourself?

Fun reading

Newton, a famous physicist and mathematician, was born in a northern remote countryside in England on December 25, 1642. In his life, he devoted himself to scientific researches. He found the law(定律) of universal gravitation(萬有引力) and summarized (總結) the famous three laws of Newton motion（運動）. He made great contributions to mechanics（力學）, optics（光學）, astronomy（天文學） and mathematics.

As a boy, he liked reading and thinking very much. He was very concentrative （專心）in studying. Once when he cooked the eggs, because of reading carefully, he forgot to put the eggs into the pot, while he put his watch into it. When he opened the cover for the eggs and was ready to have them, he found not eggs but his watch in the pot. Another time he invited a friend of his to have dinner in his home. When the meal was put on the dinner table, he suddenly thought out a problem, came back to his room for his books quickly and thought it over. It was for a long time that he stayed there. His friend began to have dinner without waiting for him. At last his friend ate up all of the meal, remained the bones of chicken on the plate and left. Later Newton just saw the bones of chicken. “I had thought I didn’t have my meal, but I have already had it.” He said to himself.

Newton made great contributions to science and won the high fame. He will be forever respected by people.

Read and choose the right answer.

1. Which country was Newton born in?

A. France B. America C. England

2. Which is right?

A. Newton was born on Christmas Day, 1642

B. Newton was a famous English Chemist

C. Newton liked writing and singing very much

3. “He put his watch into the pot and cooked it.” What’s the meaning of this sentence?

A. He wanted to cook his watch in the pot

B. Because his watch didn’t work, he would have it washed.

C. Because he was reading carefully, he thought he was cooking the eggs.

4. When he was a boy, what did he like to do?

A. He was fond of reading and thinking

B. He liked to have the cooked eggs

C. He like doing chemical experiments

5. Which of the following isn’t true?

A. He was a famous physicist and mathematician

B. He found the law of universal gravitation

C. He did everything carefully, such as cooking eggs

Reading skills

Have you ever been to Singapore?

(Before you read)

It’ good to find out about a place you are going to visit before you go there. Choose a place for visit, and write down four things you know about it.

1. 2.

3. 4.

(While you read)

Reading strategy:

After reading, write down three or more things you have learned. We always remember things better if we take time to reflect.

Have you ever been to Singapore? For many Chinese tourists, this small island in Southeast Asia is wonderful place to take a holiday. On the one hand, more than three quarters of the population are Chinese, so you can simply speak Putonghua a lot of time. On the other hand, Singapore is an English-speaking country, so it’s also a good place to practice your English!

Have you ever tried Chinese food outside of China? Maybe you fear that you won’t be able to find anything to eat in a foreign country. In Singapore, however, you’ll find a lot of food from China; you won’t have any problem finding rice, noodles, or dumplings. However, if you are feeling brave, Singapore is an excellent place to try new food. Whether you like Indian food, western food, or Japanese food, you’ll find it all in Singapore if you look!

Most large cities have zoos, but have you ever been to a zoo at night? Singapore has a night zoo called the “Night Safari”. It might seem strange to go to a zoo when it’s dark. But if you have ever been to a zoo during the daytime, you might understand why this zoo is so special. A lot of animals only wake up at night, so this is the best time to watch them. If you go to see lions, tigers, or foxes during the daytime, they’ll probably be asleep! At the Night Safari, you can watch these animals in a more natural environment than a normal zoo.

One great thing about Singapore is that the temperature is almost the same all year round. This is because the island is so close to the equator. So you can choose to go whenever you like---spring, summer, autumn, or winter! And, of course, it’s not too far from China!

(After you read)

1. Complete the chart with the words from the reading.

names of places animals seasons languages kinds of food

China

lions summer Chinese rice

2. Now add more words that you know to each group. Compare your words with your partner.

3. The statements below are all false. Use information from the reading. Write four true sentences.

a. Singapore is a big country in Europe.

b. In Singapore, you can only find Japanese food.

c. It’s good to see lions and foxes during the daytime because they’ll probably be awake.

d. It’s best to visit Singapore in autumn.

Culture

British holidays

英式假期

英國人小舉家出游，而且大都選擇著名的景點或海濱。每年夏天，英國的大小海灘總是人多得幾乎到了看不見沙子的地步。

The British enjoy traveling. Most of them choose famous beautiful places, or the seaside. They often crowd together. Sometimes you can’t even see the sand. Others choose a lonely place. There are few people there.

The seaside is the most popular choice for English people on their holidays. Food in British hotels and restaurants is cheap, but rooms are not. The English people rent houses for their holidays.

The most interesting things are the holiday camps. There are dancing halls and swimming pools near camps. But camping holidays are not as popular in England as they are in France, because the summer weather is often not good for the travelers.

British people always like to go to new places. They always like to travel to places far away. English men are some of the first people to climb many of the great mountains. Now each year, more English men, women, and children go to other European countries. When they are in foreign countries on holidays, they like to go shopping.

Marian Blacksmith

Can you say something about Chinese holidays?

KEYS：

Topic reading

(A) 1. He looked in his desk, in his bag, in the cupboard, and on the bookshelf.

2. Because he had to write in Chinese.

3. Lots of Chinese things.

4. In his overcoat.

5. In the back of Mr. Smith’s trousers.

（B） 1.Sumi 2. Jane 3. Jenny 4.Xiaoping 5. (open)

Fun reading

1.C 2.A 3.C 4.A 5.C

Skill reading

1.

names of places animals seasons languages kinds of food

China

Singapore

lions

tigers

foxes summer

spring autumn winter Chinese

English rice, noodles, dumplings,

Indian food Japanese food western food

2. (open)

3. a. Singapore is a small island in Southeast Asia.

b. In Singapore, you’ll find a lot of food like Indian, western, Japanese and Chinese food.

c. It’s good to see lions and foxes at night because they’ll probably be awake.

d. Anytime is ok to visit Singapore.

Culture (open)