2.Fast Food Fast-food restaurants are very popular because the service is fast and the food is inexpensive.For many people, this is more important than the quality of the food .These restaurants are also popular because the food is always the same.People know that if they eat in a company’s restaurant in the north or south of the city, the food will be same .If they eat in New York or London, it will still be the same.Fast service and low cost are important in the United States.One reason is that about 50 percent of all married women with children work outside the home.They are too busy and too tired to cook dinner every night.
3.Slow Food Italians know and love good food.It’s at the heart of their culture.They don’t like to rush through their meals, either.In 1986, something happened in Italy.A McDonald’s opened in Rome.Many Italians were surprised and angry.They thought, “This is an attack on Italian culture!” One man, Carl Petrini, decided to fight back.”Fast food is the enemy,” he said.He started a group called Slow Food.Today, about 80 000 people from over 100 countries belong to the group.It began as a humorous but determined attempt to preserve Italian foods and support small restaurants from preures of international fast food companies.It has grown into an international movement to preserve local foods and culinary traditions and to conserve agricultural biodiversity.Fast food is reaching more and more parts of the world.But Slow Food is getting its meage to more and more people, too.
4.The English Dictionary How many words are there in the English dictionary? If you had asked that question in the 1806, the answer would have been 28 000.In 1822, the answer would have been 70 000.Today the question is difficult to answer because there are many kinds of dictionaries.The number of the words depends on how inclusive the dictionary is.For example, there are apparently some one million insects already described, with several million more awaiting description.It is indeed hard to see how even a conservative estimate of English vocabulary could go much below a million words.A complete and exhaustive English dictionary today, therefore, would probably contain around 650 000 words .Don’t worry, though , few people use more than 60 000 words!
5.Electric Cars People are interested in making electric cars as early as the 1840s.One small electric car was made then, but it didn’t work well.Then, in 1912, General Motors produced an electric truck.These electric vehicles were of course not made for the public to buy.General Motors was the first to try again in the last decade.It was a big challenge.An electric car needs a battery.But the batteries are heavy and don’t work well.None of them could power a car far enough or long enough.And the new technology cost a lot.They did succeed finally.The car they built was called EV1 and it became available in California in 1998.It was the first electric car designed and sold by a large automobile company.
6.Folklore------Stories of Cultures Past Folklore is the study of culture and history that is paed on through oral literature.The word “oral” means relating to the mouth, especially the spoken word.Oral literature includes stories, poems, and songs that are paed on by word of mouth.They are paed between family members and residents of villages, and one generation to the next.Before written language and books, and long before computers, people paed information orally------by telling stories and singing songs.In some parts of the world, the oral tradition is still the primary way of communication.There are many different purposes of these songs and stories.Some stories and songs taught religious beliefs; other celebrated romance and the triumph of good over evil.Still others gave important moral leons, especially to children.Many of these stories contained supernatural elements like fairies, witches and magic spells.
7.Your Sense of Taste Taste is one of our five senses.The others are hearing, sight, touch, and smell.You hear with your ears, you see with your eyes, and you taste things with your tongue.On your tongue, you have groups of tiny taste buds.Taste buds send information about food to your brain.You have a lot of taste buds, maybe even 10 000! People don’t have the same number of them.Women often have more taste buds than men.Because of your taste buds, foods like ice cream and bananas taste sweet.French fries, cheese, and ocean water taste salty.Lemons have a sour taste, and coffee is bitter.We all know about these four main tastes: sweet, salty, sour and bitter.Why does a sense of taste matter? For one thing, it helps people decide on safe things to eat.And of course, thanks to your sense of taste, you can enjoy all your favorite foods
8.Rainforests------Wonders of Nature Tropical rainforests are one of the earth’s richest and most fascinating areas.They are found in eighty-five countries in the world.These damp, dense forests thrive in Central and South America, Australia, and Southeast Asia.Although these areas cover just about ten percent of the earth’s surface, over forty percent of the world’s plant and animal species are found in the rainforests.Many of them are found nowhere else on earth.The rainforests are very important to the world.It actually contributes to the climate of the areas in which they live, helping to sustain rainfall.The thick trees also help turn carbon dioxide into oxygen, which is neceary for humans to live.It is believed that the rainforests contain important plants that will cure the serious and deadly diseases of today.Because of its vital contribution to the environment, and its limitle poibilities for science discovery, preservation of the rainforest should be a priority for worldwide.
9. Giving a man a fish
There is an old saying: “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today.Teach a man a fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime.” This saying, however, may no longer be true today.The reason is overfishing.The problem of overfishing is spreading.Since anyone can fish, many people do.Around the world, the number of fishermen and fish farmers is growing.The total has more than doubled in the past 25 years.When too many people fish, too many fish are caught.The days of teaching people to fish may be over.New solutions to this problem must be found, before there are no more fish to eat.
10.A Big Head and a Big Mouth An idiom is a group of words with a special meaning.The words in the idiom do not have their usual, ordinary meanings.English is full of idioms.You know some already, and you will certainly know more.Many idioms mention parts of body: the head, the hands ,the heart, and so on.You might hear a girl say, “my brother’s getting a big head.” The boy’s head isn’t growing! A big head is an idiom: This boy thinks he is very important and special.His sister doesn’t think he is.She says that he’s getting too confident.A friend might tell you, “Be careful.That girl has a big mouth.” the literal meaning is That girl’s mouth is large.However, have a big mouth is also an idiom.Your friend means the girl talks too much or she tells other people’s secrets.Your friend is giving you some advice: You shouldn’t tell that girl any private information.You can’t trust her to keep quiet.
11.Comfort Food It’s natural for people to eat when they’re hungry.But people eat for other reasons, too.Do you ever eat because you’re with friends and everyone else in eating? Do you ever eat because you’re tired, or because you are under stre? Many people do.People often eat to feel better.When people eat to feel better, they don’t eat just anything.They want specific kinds of food.They want food that helps them relax.They want comfort food.What is comfort food? For most people, it\'s food that is easy to prepare.It is often soft, so it is easy to eat.Eating it gives people a warm feeling.Sometimes it is a type of food that people loved as children.Maybe they used to eat it at specific times or places.Maybe it is food their mother used to make.Comfort food makes people feel “Somebody’s taking care of me.”
Yes.People eat to feel better.But more often, they eat comfort foods when they already feel happy.They eat them to celebrate or reward themselves.
12.A Myth------ a Cultural Story
A myth is a complicated cultural story.It describes the beginnings and other basic parts of culture.Myths tell, for example, how the world began, how people and animals were created, and how certain customs started.Myths are not the same as fairy tales.Myths usually talk about a time before history, or before the world began.They more serious and more supernatural than fairy tales.Their purpose is not only to certain people, but to teach them about the foundation of a culture.Myths are often thought of as religious stories, because they talk about gods and other supernatural beings.However, myths go beyond religious beliefs.Therefore, they can tell us about many parts of human life and culture, not just religion.
13.Selling an Old House A man was tired of living in his old house in the country and wanted to sell it and buy a better one.He attempted to sell it for a long time, but was not succeful, so at last he decided to solve a problem by using a real estate agent.The agent promptly advertised the house and a few days later, the owner saw a very attractive photograph of the house, with a wonderful description of its gardens, in an expensive magazine.After he read the advertisement through, the house owner hastened to telephone the real estate agent.“I’ m sorry, Mr.Jones, ”
said the man, “but I’ve decided not to sell my house after all.Do you know why? After reading your advertisement in that magazine, I can see that it’s exactly the king of house I’ve wanted to live in all my life.”
Speech So what is beauty? Does it mean that you will look beautiful when you wear new a dre or get a new car? Not neceary.As far as I see, beauty is a feeling and you just need to find something to feel.We all experienced that when someone get into your heart because of some reasons, you will kind of think the one beautiful or handsome.I can\'t say Michael Jackson is handsome but his dance and his music has conquered many people around the world.And James LeBron, the NBA basketball star, is not pretty either, but millions of people get crazy about him.So you see beauty is not just about appearance.And what makes you think someone is beautiful or handsome? It may be appearance, but mostly it\'s not because of this as there are so many other qualities which can make a chorus on us.I think everyone has got his own personal quality, for example, a teacher\'s excellent in teaching, a worker\'s good skills in construction or a athlete\'s persistence in running, these are all good qualities of their own.And to us--students at school, study comes first.So don\'t care too much about your clothes cause that\'s not a tag of student.Appearance ? Well, I don\'t think anyone is ugly.
