Question

急需：高一第二学期牛津英语unit4课文和more reading（有spider。。。） 邮箱：1417294445@qq.com

Answer 1

Unit 4 Reading Friend or enemy?

Reading this excerpt from the play Winston and the Spider to learn about one kind of small creature. The scene begins with Winston and his wife Betty standing in their kitchen.

Betty: (jumping in fright, and then shouting)Kill it!

Winston: (calmly) Certainly not.

Betty: Why? You’re not frightened of it, Winston, are you? It’s only an insect.

Winston: It isn’t an insect, Betty. It’s a spider. Actually, spiders are very useful creatures. I watched a TV prgramme last night that completely changed my view about spiders. Do you want to hear about it?

Betty: Not really. (She sighs.) but I suppose you’re going to tell me anyway.

Winston: Spiders are the enemies of insects and the friends of humans. Chinese farmers realized that years ago. Do you know that in parts of China, in autumn, farmers build shelters for spiders and put them all over their fields?

Betty: No. I didn’t know that.

Winston: (ignoring her remarks) The shelters are like little tents. Surviving winter in them, the spiders emerge healthy and hungry when spring comes. At the same time, millions of insects arrive to attack the farmers’ crops. The spiders fill their empty stomachs, and the farmers become happy because their fields have been protected.

Betty: So everyone is hapy except the insects.

Winston: Right, and now this natural method of pest control is being copied all over the world.

Betty: (looking bored) Interesting, but now I must go and…

Winston: (becoming excited) Wait! There’s more. What’s stronger than steel, lighter than a feather and as elastic as a rubber band?

Betty: What?

Winston: It’s the silk the spiders make their webs with. Scientists are trying to develop a material having similar properties. They plan to use it in spacecraft, artificial organs like hearts, and to make really bulletproof vests.

Betty: I still think spiders are nasty and should be killed. Their bites are dangerous, aren’t they?

Winston: To insects, yes, but to people, rarely. But even their poison is useful. Doctors think it might be used to treat brain disorders in humans.

Betty: That’t good news for you, then. (She laughs.) But seriously, I get your point, Winston. We should try to understand things in nature and not destroy them.

Unit 4 MoreReading The mystery of hibernation

No human has ever experienced hibernatin, and yet many creatures experience it every year. Read the following article from a science magazine to see what hibernation is all about.

What do bears, bats and frogs have in common? They all hibernate. Hibernation is a state often compared to sleep. It usually occrus in winter, when a creature does not move for weeks or months continuously. Creatures hibernate to survive the cold weather and the absence of food.

A typical example of a hibernating creature is the bat. When winter comes, bats find a safe place in a cave. Looking like they are dead, they hang upside down. Their pulse and breathing rates greatly slow down. Their body temperatures drop as well. These things help them save energy during long winters when it is difficult to find food.

Frogs, like many amphibians, also hibernate when it gets cold. After digging deep into the mud at the bottom of a pond, they do not stir again until it is warm. During hibernation, they breathe through their skins, not their mouths.

Another hibernating creature is the bear. In contrast to other creatures, hibernating bears do not appear as though they are dead, but seem as though they are very sleepy. If they are disturbed during hibernation, they can get up very quickly. While hibernating, bears stay in their dens, which are filled with leaves to make their stay more comfortable and warmer. In spring, having awakened, they leave their dens, thin and hungry.