English learners. Will Chinese English develop its own identity? Only time will tell.

现在英语在南亚地区也被作为外语或第二语言使用。比如，印度就有很多人说英语说得很流利，因为在1765年到1947年之间英国统治着印度。在此期间，英语成了印度政府和教育所用的语言。在新加坡和马来西亚以及像非洲的南非，人们现在也说英语。当今，在中国学英语的人数正在快速增加，事实上，中国可能是学英语人数最多的国家。中国式英语是否也能发展成一种具有自己独特个性的语言？这还有待时间去证明。 STANDARD ENGLISH AND DIALECTS

What is standard English? Is it spoken in Britain, the US, Canada, Australia, India and New Zealand? Believe it or not, there is no such thing as standard English. Many people believe the English spoken on TV and the radio is standard English. This is because in the early days of radio, those who reported the news were expected to speak excellent English. However, on TV and the radio you will hear differences in the way people speak.

When people use words and expressions different form “standard language”, it is called a dialect. American English has many dialects, especially the midwestern, southern, African American and Spanish dialects. Even in some parts of the USA, two people from neighbouring towns speak a little differently. American English has so many dialects because people have come from all over the world.

Geography also plays a part in making dialects. Some people who live in the mountains of the eastern USA speak with an older kind of English dialect. When Americans moved form one place to another, they took their dialects with them. So people from the mountains in the southeastern USA speak with almost the same dialect as people in the northwestern USA. The USA is a large country in which many different dialects are spoken. Although many Americans move a lot, they still recognize and understand each other’s dialects.

什么是标准英语？是在英国、美国、加拿大、澳大利亚、印度、新西兰所说的英语吗？信不信由你，（世界上）没有什么标准英语。许多人认为，电视和收音机里所说的英语就是标准英语，这是因为在早期的电台节目里，人们期望

新闻播音员所说的英语是最好的英语。然而，在电视和收音机里，你也会听出 人们在说话时的差异。

当人们使用不同于“标准语言”的词语和表达时，那就叫做方言。美国英语有许多方言，特别是中西部地区和南部地区的方言，以及美国黑人和西班牙人的方言。即使在美国有些地区，两个相邻城镇的人所说的方言也可能稍有不同。美国英语之所以有这么多的方言是因为美国人是来自世界各地的缘故。 地理位置对方言的形成也有所影响。住在美国东部山区的一些人说着比较古老的英语方言。当美国人从一个地方搬到另一个地方时，他们也就把他们的方言

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随着带去了。因此，美国东南部山区的人同美国西北部的人所说的方言就几乎相同。美国是一个大国，有着许许多多彼此不同的方言。虽然许多美国人经常搬家，但是他们仍然能够辨别和理解彼此的方言。 Reading and speaking 读与说

1 Amy and her American friends are visiting London. They plan to visit Amy’s aunt and decide to go there by underground, but cannot find the nearest underground station. So she asks directions and then tells her friends. Read the dialogue and circle the words that mean the same.

1 艾米和她的美国朋友正在参观伦敦。她们计划去拜访艾米的姑妈，并决定乘地铁去，但是她们找不到最近的地铁站。所以她问问了路，然后告诉她的朋友。读对话，然后圈出意思相同的词。

AMY: Excuse me, Ma’ma. Could you tell me where the nearest subways is?

LADY: Er...the underground? Well, go round the corner on your left-hand side, straight on and cross two streets. It’ll be on your right-hand side. AMY: Thanks so much.

FRIENDS: What did she say, Amy?

AMY: She told us to go around the corner on the left and keep going straight for two blocks. The subway will be on our right.

艾米：对不起，夫人，你能告诉我去最近的地铁站怎么走吗？

夫人：呃……地铁？哦，往左边拐过去，一直往前走，走过两条街，地铁就是右边。

艾米：多谢了。

朋友：艾米，她说什么？

艾米：她叫我们往左边拐过去，一直往前走，走过两条街，地铁就是右边。 【意思相同的词】

subway←→underground （地铁） right-hand side←→right （右边） street←→block 街道，街区 第三单元 Travel journal

JOURNEY DOWN THE MEKONG PART 1 THE DREAM AND THE PLAN

My name is Wang Kun. Ever since middle school, my sister Wang Wei and I have dreamed about taking a great bike trip. Two years ago she bought an expensive mountain bike and then she persuaded me to buy one. Last year, she visited our cousins, Dao Wei and Yu Hang at their college in Kunming. They are Dai and grew

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up in western Yunnan Province near the Lancang River, the Chinese part of the river that is called the Mekong River in other countries. Wang Wei soon got them interested in cycling too. After graduating from college.we finally got the chance to take a bike trip. I asked my sister, \had the idea to cycle along the entire Mekong River from where it begins to where it ends. Now she is planning our schedule for the trip.

I am fond of my sister but she has one serious shortcoming. She can be really stubborn. Although she didn't know the best way of getting to places, she insisted that she organize the trip properly. Now, I know that the proper way is always her way. I kept asking her, \whether she had looked at a map yet. Of course, she hadn't; my sister doesn't care about details. So I told her that the source of the Mekong is in Qinghai Province. She gave me a determined look—the kind that said she would not change her mind. When I told her that our journey would begin at an altitude of more than 5,000 metres, she seemed to be excited about it. When I told her the air would be hard to breathe and it would be very cold, she said it would be an interesting experience. I know my sister well. Once she has made up her mind, nothing can change it. Finally, I had to give in. Several months before our trip,Wang Wei and I went to the library. We found a large atlas with good maps that showed details of world geography. From the atlas we could see that the Mekong River begins in a glacier on a Tibetan mountain. At first the river is small and the water is clear and cold. Then it begins to move quickly. It becomes rapids as it passes through deep valleys, travelling across western Yunnan Province. Sometimes the river becomes a waterfall and enters wide valleys. We were both surprised to learn that half of the river is in China. After it leaves China and the high altitude,the Mekong becomes wide，brown and warm. As it enters Southeast Asia, its pace slows. It makes wide bends or meanders through low valleys to the plains where rice grows. At last, the river delta enters the South China Sea. 沿湄公河而下的旅行 第一部分 梦想与计划

我的名字叫王坤。从高中起，我姐姐和我就一直梦想作一次伟大的自行车旅行。两年前，她买了一辆价钱昂贵的山地自行车，然后她还说服我也买了一辆。去年她去看望了我们的表兄弟—在昆明读大学的刀伟和宇航。他们是傣族人，在云南省西部靠近澜沧江的地方长大，湄公河在中国境内的这一段叫澜沧江，流经其他国家后就叫湄公河。很快，王薇使表兄弟也对骑车旅行产生了兴趣。到大学毕业后，我们终于有了作一次骑车旅行的机会。我问姐姐：“我们要去哪里？”首先想到要沿湄公河从源头到终点骑车旅行的是我的姐姐。现在，她正为这次旅行制订计划。

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我很喜欢我姐姐，但是她有一个严重的缺点，她有时确实很固执。尽管她对到某些地方的最佳路线并不清楚，她却坚持要把这次旅行安排的尽善尽美。现在我知道了这个尽善尽美的方式总是她的方式。我老是问她：“我们什么时候动身？什么时候回来？”我问她是否已经看过地图。当然她并没有看过，我的姐姐是不会考虑细节的。于是我告诉她湄公河的源头在青海省。她给了我一个坚定的眼神—这种眼神表明她是不会改变主意的。当我告诉她我们的旅行将从5000多米的的高地出发时，她似乎显得很兴奋。当我告诉她那里空气稀薄，呼吸会很困难，而且天气会很冷时，她却说这将是一次很有趣的经历。我非常了解我的姐姐，她一旦下了决心，就什么也不能使她改变。最后，我只好让步了。 在我们旅行前的几个月，王薇和我去了图书馆。我们找到了一本大型的地图册，里面有一些世界地理的明细图。我们从图上可以看到，湄公河源于西藏一座山上的冰川。起初，河很小，河水清澈而冷冽，然后它开始快速流动。它穿过深谷时就变成了急流。流经云南西部。有时，这条河形成瀑布进入宽阔的峡谷。我们惊奇的发现这条河有一半是在中国境内。当流出中国，流出高地后，湄公河就变宽，变暖了。河水也变成了黄褐色。而当它进入东南亚以后，流速减慢，河水变宽慢慢地穿过低谷，到了长着稻谷的平原。最后，湄公河三角洲的各支流流入中国南海。 Reading and discussing

JOURNEY DOWN THE MEKONG

PART 2 A NIGHT IN THE MOUNTAINS

Although it was autumn, the snow was already beginning to fall in Tibet. Our legs were so heavy and cold that they felt like blocks of ice. Have you ever seen snowmen ride bicycles? That's what we looked like! Along the way children dressed in long wool coats stopped to look at us. In the late afternoon we found it was so cold that our water bottles froze. However, the lakes shone like glass in the setting sun and looked wonderful. Wang Wei rode in front of me as usual. She is very reliable and I knew I didn't need to encourage her. To climb the mountains was hard work but as we looked around us, we were surprised by the view. We seemed to be able to see for miles. At one point we were so high that we found ourselves cycling through clouds. Then we began going down the hills. It was great fun especially as it gradually became much warmer. In the valleys colorful butterflies flew around us and we saw many yaks and sheep eating green grass. At this point we had to change our caps, coats, gloves and trousers for T-shirts and shorts.

In the early evening we always stop to make camp. We put up our tent and then we eat. After supper Wang Wei put her head down on her pillow and went to sleep but I stayed awake. At midnight the sky became clearer and the stars grew brighter. It was so quiet. There was almost no wind-only the flames of our fire for company. As I lay

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beneath the stars I thought about how far we had already travelled.

We will reach Dali in Yunnan Province soon, where our cousins Dao Wei and Yu Hang will join us. We can hardly wait to see them! Unit 4 Earthquakes

A NIGHT THE EARTH DIDN'T SLEEP

Strange things were happening in the countryside of northeast Hebei.For three days the water in the village wells rose and fell, rose and fell. Farmers noticed that the well walls had deep cracks in them. A smelly gas came out of the cracks. In the farmyards, the chickens and even the pigs were too nervous to eat. Mice ran out of the fields looking for places to hide. Fish jumped out of their bowls and ponds. At about 3:00 am on July 28,1976,some people saw bright lights in the sky. The sound of planes could be heard outside the city of Tangshan even when no planes were in the sky. In the city, the water pipes in some buildings cracked and burst. but the one million people of the city, who thought little of these events, were asleep as usual that night.

At 3:42 am everything began to shake. It seemed as if the world was at an end! Eleven kilometers directly below the city the greatest earthquake of the 20th century had begun. It was felt in Beijing, which is more than two hundred kilometers away. One-third of the nation felt it. A huge crack that was eight kilometres long and thirty metres wide cut across houses, roads and canals. Steam burst from holes in the ground. Hard hills of rock became rivers of dir. In fifteen terrible seconds a large city lay in ruins. The suffering of the people was extreme. Two-thirds of them died or were left without parents. The number of people who were killed or injured reached more than 400,000.

But how could the survivors believe it was natural? Everywhere they looked nearly everything was destroyed. All of the city's hospitals,75%of its factories and buildings and 90% of its homes were gone. Bricks covered the ground like red autumn leaves. No wind, however, could blow them away. Two dams fell and most of the bridges also fell or were not safe for travelling. The railway tracks were now useless pieces of steel.Tens of thousands of cows would never give milk again. Half a million oigs and millions of chickens were dead.Sand now filled the wells instead of water.People were shocked.Then,later that afternoon,another big quake which was almost as strong as the first one shook Tangshan.Some of the rescue workers and doctors were trapped under the ruins.More buildings fell down.Water,food,and electricity were hard to get.people begab to wonder how long the disaster would last.

All hope was not lost.Soon after the quakes,the army sent 150,000 soldiers to Tangshan to help the rescue workers.Hundreds of thousands of people were

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