高中英语选修8课文录音

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高中英语选修8课文录音(一)
高中英语选修8课文逐句翻译(人教版)

1.选修八Unit1 CALIFORNIA加利福尼亚

California is the third largest state in the USA but has the largest population. 加州是美国第三大洲, 而且是人口最多的州。 It also has the distinction of being the most multicultural state in the USA, having attracted people from all over the world. 加州与众不同之处在于它也是美国最具多元文化的一个州。它吸引了来自世界各地的人们。 The customs and languages of the immigrants live on in their new home. 这些移民的风俗习惯以及语言在他们的新家都得以延续。 This diversity of culture is not surprising when you know the history of California.当你了解了加利福尼亚的历史,你就不会对其文化的多样性感到惊奇了。

NATIVE AMERCANS美洲土著人

Exactly when the first people arrived in what we now know as California, no one really knows. 最早一批人具体是什么时候来到我们现在了解的加利福尼亚地区的, 谁也说不清楚。 However, it is likely that Native Americans were living in California at least fifteen thousand years ago. 然而,可能至少在一15,000年以前美洲土著人就住在加利福尼亚了。Scientists believe that these settlers crossed the Bering Strait in the Arctic to America by means of a land bridge which existed in prehistoric times. 科学家们认为这些迁居者通过一条史前时期曾经存在的大陆桥穿越北极地区的白令海峡到达美洲。 In the 16th century, after the arrival of the Europeans, the native people suffered greatly. 欧洲人在16世纪到来这里之后,土著人遭受了极大的苦难。 Thousands were killed or forced into slavery. 成千上万人被杀或被迫成为奴隶。In addition, many died from the diseases brought by the Europeans. 另外, 欧洲人带来的疾病,使许多人染病而死。 However, some survived these terrible times, and today there are more Native Americans living in California than in any other state. 不过,还是有一些人经历了这些恐怖时期而活下来了。今天住在加利福尼亚的美洲土著人比任何其他州的都要多。

THE SPANISH西班牙人

In the 18th century California was ruled by Spain. 在18世纪的时候,加利福尼亚是被西班牙统治的。 Spanish soldiers first arrived in South America in the early 16th century, when they fought against the native people and took their land. 西班牙士兵最早是在16世纪初期来到南美洲的,他们同土著人打仗,夺去了他们的土地。Two centuries later, the Spanish had settled in most parts of South America and along the northwest coast of what we now call the United States. 两个世纪以后, 西班牙人在南美洲大部分地区定居下来,而且还在我们现在称之为美国的西北沿海地区住下来。Of the first Spanish to go to California, the majority were religious men, whose

ministry was to teach the Catholic religion to the natives. 在首批移居加利福尼亚州的西班牙人中,大部分是宗教人士,他们的职责是向原住居民传授天主教。In 1821, the people of Mexico gained their independence from Spain. 1821年,墨西哥人从西班牙获得了独立。 California then became part of Mexico.加利福尼亚于是成了墨西哥的一部分。In 1846 the United States declared war on Mexico, and after the war won by the USA, Mexico had to give California to the USA. 1846年美国向墨西哥宣战,美国赢得战争胜利后,墨西哥被迫把加利福尼亚割让给美国。However, there is still a strong Spanish influence in the state. 但是,这个州至今仍然保留着很强的西班牙文化的影响。That is why today over 40 of Californians speak Spanish as a first or second language. 这就是为什么今天还有40%的加利福尼亚人仍然把西班牙语作为第一或第二语言的缘故。

RUSSIANS俄罗斯人

In the early 1800s, Russian hunters, who had originally gone to Alaska, began settling in California. 在19世纪初期,一批最初到阿拉斯加的俄罗斯猎人开始在加利福尼亚定居下来。 Today there are about 25,000 Russian-Americans living in and around San Francisco. 今天,住在旧金山及其周边地区的美籍俄罗斯人大约25,000人。

GOLD MINERS金矿工

In 1848, not long after the American-Mexican war, gold was discovered in California. 1848年,美墨战争后不久,在加利福尼亚发现了金矿。 The dream of becoming rich quickly attracted people from all over the world. 发财梦很快就吸引了来自世界各地的人。The nearest, and therefore the first to arrive, were South Americans and people from the United States. 距离最近因而来的最早的是南美洲人和美国人, Then adventurers from Europe and Asia soon followed. 随后跟着来的有欧洲和亚洲的探险家。 In fact, few achieved their dream of becoming rich. 事实上, 很少有人圆了发财梦。Some died or returned home, but most remained in California to make a life for themselves despite great hardship. They settled in the new towns or on farms. 许多人死了或回家了,但是尽管条件十分艰苦,大多数人仍然留在了加利福尼亚劳作谋生,在新的城镇或农场里定居下来。 By the time California elected to become the thirty-first federal state of the USA in 1850, it was already a multicultural society.到1850年加利福尼亚成为美国第31个州的时候, 它已经是一个有着多元文化的社会了。

LATER A RRIVALS后来的移民

Although Chinese immigrants began to arrive during the Gold Rush Period, it was the building of

the rail network from the west to the east coast that brought even larger numbers to California in the 1860s. 虽然中国移民在淘金热期间就开始来到(美国),但是更大批量的中国移民却是在十九世纪六十年代为了修建贯穿美国东西海岸的铁路而来的。Today, Chinese-Americans live in all parts of California, although a large percentage have chosen to stay in the "Chinatowns" of Los Angeles and San Francisco. 今天,加利福尼亚州各地都有美藉华人居住,尽管有很大比例的华人还是选择住在洛杉矶和旧金山的―中国城‖里。Other immigrants such as Italians, mainly fishermen but also wine makers, arrived in California in the late 19th century. 十九世纪后期,其他国家的移民,比如意大利人来到加利福尼亚,他们主要是渔民,也有些酿酒工人。 In 1911 immigrants from Denmark established a town of their own, which today still keeps up their Danish culture. 1911年丹麦移民建立了他们自己的城镇,至今仍保留着丹麦文化。 By the 1920s the film industry was well established in Hollywood, California. 到了二十世纪二十年代,电影产业在加利福尼亚州的好莱坞建立了起来。 The industry boom attracted Europeans including many Jewish people. 这个行业吸引了许多欧洲人包括许多犹太人。Today California has the second largest Jewish population in the United States. 今天,加利福尼亚的犹太人口在美国占第二位。Japanese farmers began arriving in California at the beginning of the 20th century, and since the 1980s a lot more have settled there. 日本的农民是在20世纪初期开始到加利福尼亚来的,而从20世纪80年代以来就有更多的日本人在加利福尼亚定居了。 People from Africa have been living in California since the 1800s, when they moved north from Mexico. 非洲人从19世纪就在加利福尼亚住下来,他们是从墨西哥向北迁来的。However, even more arrived between 1942 and 1945 to work in the ship and aircraft industries. 然而更多的非洲人在1942年到1945年之间来到加利福尼亚的,当时他们是到船厂和飞机厂工作的。

MOST RECENT ARRIVALS最近期的移民

In more recent decades, California has become home to more people from Asia, including Koreans, Cambodians, Vietnamese and Laotians. 在最近几十年里,加利福尼亚成了亚洲人的家,包括柬埔寨人、朝鲜人、越南人和老挝人。 Since its beginning in the 1970s, the computer industry has attracted Indians and Pakistanis to California. 从20世纪70年代开始发展计算机工业以来,加利福尼亚又吸引了印度人和巴勒斯坦人的到来。

THE FUTURE未来展望

People from different parts of the world, attracted by the climate and the lifestyle, still immigrate to California世界各地的人,由于受气候条件和生活方式的吸引,仍然在继续迁入加利福尼亚。.

It is believed that before long the mix of nationalities will be so great that there will be no distinct major racial or cultural groups, but simply a mixture of many races and cultures. 人们认为, 要不了多久,多种国籍的混合将会非常之大,以至于不可能存在一种主要的种族或文化群体,而只是多种族、多文化的混合体。

2.选修八Unit 1 GEORGE’S DIARY乔治的日记

12TH—14TH JUNE

Monday 12th, June6月12日,星期一

Arrived early this morning by bus. Went straight to hotel to drop my luggage, shower and shave. 清晨乘公共汽车抵达,直赴饭店,放下行李,洗澡、刮脸,即去观光。Then went exploring. First thing was a ride on a cable car. From top of the hill got a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay and the city. 先是乘缆车,在山顶揽胜,观看旧金山湾及整个城市。 Built in 1873, the cable car system was invented by Andrew Hallidie, who wanted to find a better form of transport than horse-drawn trams. 缆车系统建立于1873年,是由安德鲁·哈利迪发明的,他试图找到一种比马拉的轨道车更好的交通方式。 Apparently he'd been shocked when he saw a terrible accident in which a tram's brakes failed, the conductor could not control the situation and the tram slipped down the hill dragging the horses with it. 他曾经看到过一次可怕的交通事故:一辆马车刹车失灵,驾车失控,车子和马一起从山上滑了下去,很明显这让他受到了极大的震惊。 Had a late lunch at Fisherman's Wharf. 午餐是在渔人码头吃的,吃得很晚。 This is the district where Italian fishermen first came to San Francisco in the late 19th century and began the fishing industry. 意大利渔民在19世纪末首先来到这个地区,并且在这儿开始捕鱼业。 Now it's a tourist area with lots of shops, sea food restaurants and bakeries. 如今这儿是一个旅游区了,很多商店、海鲜馆和面包坊。It's also the place to catch the ferry to Angel Island and other places in the Bay. 这儿也是乘渡船去天使岛和海湾其他地方的渡口。Did so much exploring at Fisherman's Wharf. Am exhausted and don't feel like doing anything else. Early bed tonight!在渔人码头看了这么多东西,我太累了,什么也不想干了。今晚要早点睡觉!

Tuesday 13th, June 6月13日 星期二

Teamed up with a couple from my hotel (Peter and Terri) and hired a car. 同酒店里的一对夫妻(彼得和泰莉)作伴,一起租了一辆小汽车。Spent all day driving around the city. 一整天驱车游览城市。There's a fascinating drive marked out for tourists. 有一种专门为旅游者选定的驾车游

活动。 It has blue and white signs with seagulls on them to show the way to go. 车身上有蓝白两色相间的标记,上面有海鸥以表示要去的路线。It's a 79km round-trip that takes in all the famous tourist spots. 这是一次79公里的旅行,它涵盖了所有著名的旅游景点。 Stopped many times to admire the view of the city from different angles and take photographs. 途中多次停车,从不同角度欣赏城市风景并摄影。 Now have a really good idea of what the city's like. 现在有对城市的面貌有了一个很好的了解。

In evening, went to Chinatown with Peter and Terri. 傍晚,跟彼得和泰莉一起去中国城。 Chinese immigrants settled in this area in the 1850s. 中国移民于19世纪50年代定居在这个地区。 The fronts of the buildings are decorated to look like old buildings in southern China. 建筑物面前装饰得就像在中国南部地区的古建筑一样。Saw some interesting temples here, a number of markets and a great many restaurants. 这儿看到了一些有趣的寺庙,不少的集贸市场和大量的餐馆,还有美术馆和一个博物馆。Also art galleries and a museum containing documents, photographs and all sorts of objects about the history of Chinese immigration, but it is closed in the evening. 博物馆里有关于中国移民史的文件、照片和各种各样的物品,但是晚上关门了。 Will go back during the day. Had a delicious meal and then walked down the hill to our hotel.打算白天再来。吃了一顿可口的饭菜,然后步行下山回到酒店。

Wednesday 14th, June6月14日星期三

In morning, took ferry to Angel Island from the port in San Francisco Bay. On the way had a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge. 早晨,从旧金山湾的港口乘渡轮去天使岛,路上观赏了金门大桥。From 1882 to 1940 Angel Island was a famous immigration station where many Chinese people applied for right to live in USA. 从1882年至1940年,天使岛成为一个著名的移民站,许多中国人在那儿申请美国居住权。The cells in the station were very small, cold and damp; some did not even have light but the immigrants had nowhere else to go. 移民站的房间又冷又潮湿,一些房间甚至没有光,但是移民们没有其他去处。 Their miserable stay seemed to be punishment rather than justice and freedom to them. 悲惨的境遇对他们来说似乎是一种惩罚而谈不上公正和自由。They wrote poems on the walls about their loneliness and mourned their former life in China. 他们在墙上写诗,抒发孤独的情感,痛惜以前在中国的生活。 In 1940 the civil authorities reformed the system so that many more Chinese people were able to grasp the opportunity of settling in the USA. 1940年民政部门改革了制度,使得更多的中国人能够得到机会定居美国。Made me very thoughtful and thankful for my life today. 这引起我的感慨,使

高中英语选修8课文录音(二)
人教版高中英语选修8 课文及翻译

人教版高中英语选修8 课文及翻译

选修8 Unit 1 A land of diversity-Reading

CALIFORNIA

California is the third largest state in the USA but has the largest population. It also has the distinction of being the most multicultural state in the USA, having attracted people from all over the world. The customs and languages of the immigrants live on in their new home. This diversity of culture is not surprising when you know the history of California.

NATIVE AMERCANS

Exactly when the first people arrived in what we now know as California, no one really knows. However, it is likely that Native Americans were living in California at least fifteen thousand years ago. Scientists believe that these settlers crossed the Bering Strait in the Arctic to America by means of a land bridge which existed in prehistoric times. In the 16th century, after the arrival of the Europeans, the native people suffered greatly. Thousands were killed or forced into slavery. In addition, many died from the diseases brought by the Europeans. However, some survived these terrible times, and today there are more Native Americans living in California than in any other state.

THE SPANISH

In the 18th century California was ruled by Spain. Spanish soldiers first arrived in South America in the early 16th century, when they fought against the native people and took their land. Two centuries later, the Spanish had settled in most parts of South America and along the northwest coast of what we now call the United States. Of the first Spanish to go to California, the majority were religious men, whose ministry was to teach the Catholic religion to the natives. In 1821, the people of Mexico gained their independence from Spain. California then became part of Mexico. In 1846 the United States declared war on Mexico, and after the war won by the USA, Mexico had to give California to the USA. However, there is still a strong Spanish influence in the state. That is why today over 40 of Californians speak Spanish as a first or second language.

RUSSIANS

In the early 1800s, Russian hunters, who had originally gone to Alaska, began settling in California. Today there are about 25,000 Russian-Americans living in and around San Francisco.

GOLD MINERS

In 1848, not long after the American-Mexican war, gold was discovered in California. The dream of becoming rich quickly attracted people from all over the world. The nearest, and therefore the first to arrive, were South Americans and people from the United States. Then adventurers from Europe and Asia soon followed. In fact, few achieved their dream of becoming rich. Some died or returned home, but most remained in California to make a life for themselves despite great hardship. They settled in the new towns or on farms. By the time California elected to become the

thirty-first federal state of the USA in 1850, it was already a multicultural society.

LATER A RRIVALS

Although Chinese immigrants began to arrive during the Gold Rush Period, it was the building of the rail network from the west to the east coast that brought even larger numbers to California in the 1860s. Today, Chinese-Americans live in all parts of California, although a large percentage have chosen to stay in the "Chinatowns" of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Other immigrants such as Italians, mainly fishermen but also wine makers, arrived in California in the late 19th century. In 1911 immigrants from Denmark established a town of their own, which today still keeps up their Danish culture. By the 1920s the film industry was well established in Hollywood, California. The industry boom attracted Europeans including many Jewish people. Today California has the second largest Jewish population in the United States.

Japanese farmers began arriving in California at the beginning of the 20th century, and since the 1980s a lot more have settled there. People from Africa have been living in California since the 1800s, when they moved north from Mexico. However, even more arrived between 1942 and 1945 to work in the ship and aircraft industries. MOST RECENT ARRIVALS

In more recent decades, California has become home to more people from Asia, including Koreans, Cambodians, Vietnamese and Laotians. Since its beginning in the 1970s, the computer industry has attracted Indians and Pakistanis to California. THE FUTURE

People from different parts of the world, attracted by the climate and the lifestyle, still immigrate to California. It is believed that before long the mix of nationalities will be so great that there will be no distinct major racial or cultural groups, but simply a mixture of many races and cultures.

GEORGE’S DIARY 12TH—14TH JUNE

Monday 12th, June

Arrived early this morning by bus. Went straight to hotel to drop my luggage, shower and shave. Then went exploring. First thing was a ride on a cable car. From top of the hill got a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay and the city. Built in 1873, the cable car system was invented by Andrew Hallidie, who wanted to find a better form of transport than horse-drawn trams. Apparently he'd been shocked when he saw a terrible accident in which a tram's brakes failed, the conductor could not control the situation and the tram slipped down the hill dragging the horses with it. Had a late lunch at Fisherman's What. This is the district where Italian fishermen first came to San Francisco in the late 19th century and began the fishing industry. Now it's a tourist area with lots of shops, sea food restaurants and bakeries. It's also the place to catch the ferry to Angel Island and other places in the Bay.

Did so much exploring at Fisherman's What. Am exhausted and don't feel like doing anything else. Early bed tonight!

Tuesday 13th, June

Teamed up with a couple from my hotel (Peter and Terri) and hired a car. Spent all day driving around the city. There's a fascinating drive marked out for tourists. It has blue and white signs with seagulls on them to show the way to go. It's a 79km round-trip that takes in all the famous tourist spots. Stopped many times to admire the view of the city from different angles and take photographs. Now have a really good idea of what the city's like.

In evening, went to Chinatown with Peter and Terri. Chinese immigrants settled in this area in the 1850s. The fronts of the buildings are decorated to look like old buildings in southern China. Saw some interesting temples here, a number of markets and a great many restaurants. Also art galleries and a museum containing documents, photographs and all sorts of objects about the history of Chinese immigration, but it is closed in the evening. Will go back during the day. Had a delicious meal and then walked down the hill to our hotel.

Wednesday 14th, June

In morning, took ferry to Angel Island from the port in San Francisco Bay. On the way had a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge. From 1882 to 1940 Angel Island was a famous immigration station where many Chinese people applied for right to live in USA. The cells in the station were very small, cold and damp; some did not even have light but the immigrants had nowhere else to go. Their miserable stay seemed to be punishment rather than justice and freedom to them. They wrote poems on the walls about their loneliness and mourned their former life in China. In 1940 the civil authorities reformed the system so that many more Chinese people were able to grasp the opportunity of settling in the USA. Made me very thoughtful and thankful for my life today.

选修8 Unit 2 Cloning-Reading

CLONING: WHERE IS IT LEADING US?

Cloning has always been with us and is here to stay. It is a way of making an exact copy of another animal or plant. It happens in plants when gardeners take cuttings from growing plants to make new ones. It also happens in animals when twins identical in sex and appearance are produced from the same original egg. The fact is that these are both examples of natural clones.

Cloning has two major uses. Firstly, gardeners use it all the time to produce commercial quantities of plants. Secondly, it is valuable for research on new plant species and for medical research on animals. Cloning plants is straightforward while cloning animals is very complicated. It is a difficult task to undertake. Many attempts to clone mammals failed. But at last the determination and patience of the scientists paid off in 1996 with a breakthrough - the cloning of Dolly the sheep.

The procedure works like this:

On the one hand, the whole scientific world followed the progress of the first successful clone, Dolly the sheep. The fact that she seemed to develop normally was very encouraging. Then came the disturbing news that Dolly had become seriously ill. Cloning scientists were cast down to find that Dolly's illnesses were more appropriate to a much older animal. Altogether Dolly lived six and a half years, half the length of the life of the original sheep. Sadly the same arbitrary fate affected other species, such as cloned mice. The questions that concerned all scientists were: "Would this be a major difficulty for all cloned animals? Would it happen forever? Could it be solved if corrections were made in their research procedure?"

On the other hand, Dolly's appearance raised a storm of objections and had a great impact on the media and public imagination. It became controversial. It suddenly opened everybody's eyes to the possibility of using cloning to cure serious illnesses and even to produce human beings.

Although at present human egg cells and embryos needed for cloning research are difficult to obtain, newspapers wrote of evil leaders hoping to clone themselves to attain their ambitions. Religious leaders also raised moral questions. Governments became nervous and more conservative. Some began to reform their legal systems and forbade research into human cloning, but other countries like China and the UK, continued to accumulate evidence of the abundant medical aid that cloning could provide. However, scientists still wonder whether cloning will help or harm us and where it is leading us.

克隆一直在我们左右并且已经被大多数人接受。它是一种用来准确复制其他动物或者植物的方法。在植物方面,克隆就发生在园丁从正在生长的植物上切去切口用来制造新的植株的时候。在动物方面也有克隆现象,比如说两个拥有同样性别以及外貌的同卵双胞胎。这两个事实都是自然界里的克隆例子。

克隆有2方面的主要用途。首先,园丁可以一直用它生产具有商业价值的植物。其次,它对于新的植物物种以及动物医药方面的研究极具价值性。植物克隆相对于动物克隆来说简单得多,而动物克隆则比较困难。

动物克隆是一项难以施行的任务。许多去克隆哺乳动物的尝试都以失败告终。但是在最后,科学家们凭借着决心和耐心终于在1996年取得了突破性的成功——成功地克隆出了多利羊。这项工作的步骤如下:

1.从母羊A体内取出卵细胞。

2.将细胞核从该卵细胞中移除。

3.该卵细胞为另一个新的细胞核准备。

4.从母羊B体内取出体细胞用于克隆。该体细胞内的细胞核包含了克隆一只新的羊所需的全部基因。

5.将该细胞核从体细胞中取出。

6.用电激的方法将从母羊B体内取出的细胞核与从母羊A体内取出的卵细胞融合。

7.重新融合的细胞在胚胎内分裂、生长。

8.将胚胎植入母羊C的体内,它将成为该克隆的携带者。

9.克隆出来的小羊羔体内细胞的基因来自于提供细胞核的母羊B。

THE RETURN OF THE DINOSAURS?

The possibility of cloning fierce and extinct wild animals has always excited film makers. And they are not the only ones! The popularity of films such as Jurassic Park, in which a scientist clones several kinds of extinct dinosaurs, proves how the idea struck a mixture of fear and excitement into people's hearts. But in fact we are a long way from being able to clone extinct animals. Scientists are still experimenting with cloning mammals. This is because the cloning of mammals is still a new science and its story only began seriously in the 1950s as this list shows:

1950s cloning of frogs 1996 first clone of a mammal: Dolly the sheep

1970s research using the embryos of mice 2000 cow gave birth to a bison

1979 work on embryos of sheep and mice 2001 China's first cloned twin calves 1981 first experimental clones of mice 2002 first cloned cats

1983 first experimental clones of cows 2005 first cloned dog

From time to time people suggest that extinct animals like dinosaurs, can possibly be brought back to life through cloning. Unfortunately, with what we know now, this is either impossible or unsuitable. There are many reasons.

◎ The initial requirement is that you need perfect DNA (which gives information for how cells

are to grow).【高中英语选修8课文录音】

◎ All efforts of cloning an animal will be in vain if there is not enough diversity in the group to overcome illnesses. Diversity in a group means

having animals with their genes arranged in different ways. The advantage is that if there is a new illness some of these animals may die,

but others will survive and pass on the ability to resist that disease to the next generation. The great drawback to cloning a group of

animals is that they would all have the same arrangement of genes and so might die of the same illness. Then none of them would be left to

continue the species.

◎ It would be unfair to clone any extinct animals if they were to live in a zoo.

A suitable habitat would be needed for them to lead a natural life.

Based on what we know now, you cannot clone animals that have been extinct longer than 10,000 years. Actually, dinosaurs disappeared 65,000,000 years ago. So the chance of dinosaurs ever returning to the earth is merely a dream.

选修8 Unit 3

Inventors and inventions-Reading

THE PROBLEM OF THE SHRIKES

When I called up my mother in the countryside on the telephone she was very upset. "There are some snakes in our courtyard," she told me. "Snakes come near the house

高中英语选修8课文录音(三)
人教课标版高中英语选修8 课文及翻译

人教课标版高中英语选修8 课文及翻译

选修8 Unit 1 A land of diversity-Reading

CALIFORNIA

California is the third largest state in the USA but has the largest population. It also has the distinction of being the most multicultural state in the USA, having attracted people from all over the world. The customs and languages of the immigrants live on in their new home. This diversity of culture is not surprising when you know the history of California.

NATIVE AMERCANS

Exactly when the first people arrived in what we now know as California, no one really knows. However, it is likely that Native Americans were living in California at least fifteen thousand years ago. Scientists believe that these settlers crossed the Bering Strait in the Arctic to America by means of a land bridge which existed in prehistoric times. In the 16th century, after the arrival of the Europeans, the native people suffered greatly. Thousands were killed or forced into slavery. In addition, many died from the diseases brought by the Europeans. However, some survived these terrible times, and today there are more Native Americans living in California than in any other state.

THE SPANISH

In the 18th century California was ruled by Spain. Spanish soldiers first arrived in South America in the early 16th century, when they fought against the native people and took their land. Two centuries later, the Spanish had settled in most parts of South America and along the northwest coast of what we now call the United States. Of the first Spanish to go to California, the majority were religious men, whose ministry was to teach the Catholic religion to the natives. In 1821, the people of Mexico gained their independence from Spain. California then became part of Mexico. In 1846 the United States declared war on Mexico, and after the war won by the USA, Mexico had to give California to the USA. However, there is still a strong Spanish influence in the state. That is why today over 40 of Californians speak Spanish as a first or second language.

RUSSIANS

【高中英语选修8课文录音】

In the early 1800s, Russian hunters, who had originally gone to Alaska, began settling in California. Today there are about 25,000 Russian-Americans living in and around San Francisco.

GOLD MINERS

In 1848, not long after the American-Mexican war, gold was discovered in California. The dream of becoming rich quickly attracted people from all over the world. The nearest, and therefore the first to arrive, were South Americans and people from the United States. Then adventurers from Europe and Asia soon followed. In fact, few achieved their dream of becoming rich. Some died or returned home, but most remained in California to make a life for themselves despite great hardship. They settled in the new towns or on farms. By the time California elected to become the

thirty-first federal state of the USA in 1850, it was already a multicultural society.

LATER A RRIVALS

Although Chinese immigrants began to arrive during the Gold Rush Period, it was the building of the rail network from the west to the east coast that brought even larger numbers to California in the 1860s. Today, Chinese-Americans live in all parts of California, although a large percentage have chosen to stay in the "Chinatowns" of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Other immigrants such as Italians, mainly fishermen but also wine makers, arrived in California in the late 19th century. In 1911 immigrants from Denmark established a town of their own, which today still keeps up their Danish culture. By the 1920s the film industry was well established in Hollywood, California. The industry boom attracted Europeans including many Jewish people. Today California has the second largest Jewish population in the United States.

Japanese farmers began arriving in California at the beginning of the 20th century, and since the 1980s a lot more have settled there. People from Africa have been living in California since the 1800s, when they moved north from Mexico. However, even more arrived between 1942 and 1945 to work in the ship and aircraft industries. MOST RECENT ARRIVALS

In more recent decades, California has become home to more people from Asia, including Koreans, Cambodians, Vietnamese and Laotians. Since its beginning in the 1970s, the computer industry has attracted Indians and Pakistanis to California. THE FUTURE

People from different parts of the world, attracted by the climate and the lifestyle, still immigrate to California. It is believed that before long the mix of nationalities will be so great that there will be no distinct major racial or cultural groups, but simply a mixture of many races and cultures.

GEORGE’S DIARY 12TH—14TH JUNE

Monday 12th, June

Arrived early this morning by bus. Went straight to hotel to drop my luggage, shower and shave. Then went exploring. First thing was a ride on a cable car. From top of the hill got a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay and the city. Built in 1873, the cable car system was invented by Andrew Hallidie, who wanted to find a better form of transport than horse-drawn trams. Apparently he'd been shocked when he saw a terrible accident in which a tram's brakes failed, the conductor could not control the situation and the tram slipped down the hill dragging the horses with it. Had a late lunch at Fisherman's What. This is the district where Italian fishermen first came to San Francisco in the late 19th century and began the fishing industry. Now it's a tourist area with lots of shops, sea food restaurants and bakeries. It's also the place to catch the ferry to Angel Island and other places in the Bay.

Did so much exploring at Fisherman's What. Am exhausted and don't feel like doing anything else. Early bed tonight!

Tuesday 13th, June

Teamed up with a couple from my hotel (Peter and Terri) and hired a car. Spent all day driving around the city. There's a fascinating drive marked out for tourists. It has blue and white signs with seagulls on them to show the way to go. It's a 79km round-trip that takes in all the famous tourist spots. Stopped many times to admire the view of the city from different angles and take photographs. Now have a really good idea of what the city's like.

In evening, went to Chinatown with Peter and Terri. Chinese immigrants settled in this area in the 1850s. The fronts of the buildings are decorated to look like old buildings in southern China. Saw some interesting temples here, a number of markets and a great many restaurants. Also art galleries and a museum containing documents, photographs and all sorts of objects about the history of Chinese immigration, but it is closed in the evening. Will go back during the day. Had a delicious meal and then walked down the hill to our hotel.

Wednesday 14th, June

In morning, took ferry to Angel Island from the port in San Francisco Bay. On the way had a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge. From 1882 to 1940 Angel Island was a famous immigration station where many Chinese people applied for right to live in USA. The cells in the station were very small, cold and damp; some did not even have light but the immigrants had nowhere else to go. Their miserable stay seemed to be punishment rather than justice and freedom to them. They wrote poems on the walls about their loneliness and mourned their former life in China. In 1940 the civil authorities reformed the system so that many more Chinese people were able to grasp the opportunity of settling in the USA. Made me very thoughtful and thankful for my life today.

选修8 Unit 2 Cloning-Reading

CLONING: WHERE IS IT LEADING US?

Cloning has always been with us and is here to stay. It is a way of making an exact copy of another animal or plant. It happens in plants when gardeners take cuttings from growing plants to make new ones. It also happens in animals when twins identical in sex and appearance are produced from the same original egg. The fact is that these are both examples of natural clones.

Cloning has two major uses. Firstly, gardeners use it all the time to produce commercial quantities of plants. Secondly, it is valuable for research on new plant species and for medical research on animals. Cloning plants is straightforward while cloning animals is very complicated. It is a difficult task to undertake. Many attempts to clone mammals failed. But at last the determination and patience of the scientists paid off in 1996 with a breakthrough - the cloning of Dolly the sheep.【高中英语选修8课文录音】

The procedure works like this:

On the one hand, the whole scientific world followed the progress of the first successful clone, Dolly the sheep. The fact that she seemed to develop normally was very encouraging. Then came the disturbing news that Dolly had become seriously ill. Cloning scientists were cast down to find that Dolly's illnesses were more appropriate to a much older animal. Altogether Dolly lived six and a half years, half the length of the life of the original sheep. Sadly the same arbitrary fate affected other species, such as cloned mice. The questions that concerned all scientists were: "Would this be a major difficulty for all cloned animals? Would it happen forever? Could it be solved if corrections were made in their research procedure?"

On the other hand, Dolly's appearance raised a storm of objections and had a great impact on the media and public imagination. It became controversial. It suddenly opened everybody's eyes to the possibility of using cloning to cure serious illnesses and even to produce human beings.

Although at present human egg cells and embryos needed for cloning research are difficult to obtain, newspapers wrote of evil leaders hoping to clone themselves to attain their ambitions. Religious leaders also raised moral questions. Governments became nervous and more conservative. Some began to reform their legal systems and forbade research into human cloning, but other countries like China and the UK, continued to accumulate evidence of the abundant medical aid that cloning could provide. However, scientists still wonder whether cloning will help or harm us and where it is leading us.

克隆一直在我们左右并且已经被大多数人接受。它是一种用来准确复制其他动物或者植物的方法。在植物方面,克隆就发生在园丁从正在生长的植物上切去切口用来制造新的植株的时候。在动物方面也有克隆现象,比如说两个拥有同样性别以及外貌的同卵双胞胎。这两个事实都是自然界里的克隆例子。

克隆有2方面的主要用途。首先,园丁可以一直用它生产具有商业价值的植物。其次,它对于新的植物物种以及动物医药方面的研究极具价值性。植物克隆相对于动物克隆来说简单得多,而动物克隆则比较困难。

动物克隆是一项难以施行的任务。许多去克隆哺乳动物的尝试都以失败告终。但是在最后,科学家们凭借着决心和耐心终于在1996年取得了突破性的成功——成功地克隆出了多利羊。这项工作的步骤如下:

1.从母羊A体内取出卵细胞。

2.将细胞核从该卵细胞中移除。

3.该卵细胞为另一个新的细胞核准备。

4.从母羊B体内取出体细胞用于克隆。该体细胞内的细胞核包含了克隆一只新的羊所需的全部基因。

5.将该细胞核从体细胞中取出。

6.用电激的方法将从母羊B体内取出的细胞核与从母羊A体内取出的卵细胞融合。

7.重新融合的细胞在胚胎内分裂、生长。

8.将胚胎植入母羊C的体内,它将成为该克隆的携带者。

9.克隆出来的小羊羔体内细胞的基因来自于提供细胞核的母羊B。

THE RETURN OF THE DINOSAURS?

The possibility of cloning fierce and extinct wild animals has always excited film makers. And they are not the only ones! The popularity of films such as Jurassic Park, in which a scientist clones several kinds of extinct dinosaurs, proves how the idea struck a mixture of fear and excitement into people's hearts. But in fact we are a long way from being able to clone extinct animals. Scientists are still experimenting with cloning mammals. This is because the cloning of mammals is still a new science and its story only began seriously in the 1950s as this list shows:

1950s cloning of frogs 1996 first clone of a mammal: Dolly the sheep

1970s research using the embryos of mice 2000 cow gave birth to a bison

1979 work on embryos of sheep and mice 2001 China's first cloned twin calves 1981 first experimental clones of mice 2002 first cloned cats

1983 first experimental clones of cows 2005 first cloned dog

From time to time people suggest that extinct animals like dinosaurs, can possibly be brought back to life through cloning. Unfortunately, with what we know now, this is either impossible or unsuitable. There are many reasons.

◎ The initial requirement is that you need perfect DNA (which gives information for how cells

are to grow).

◎ All efforts of cloning an animal will be in vain if there is not enough diversity in the group to overcome illnesses. Diversity in a group means

having animals with their genes arranged in different ways. The advantage is that if there is a new illness some of these animals may die,

but others will survive and pass on the ability to resist that disease to the next generation. The great drawback to cloning a group of

animals is that they would all have the same arrangement of genes and so might die of the same illness. Then none of them would be left to

continue the species.

【高中英语选修8课文录音】

◎ It would be unfair to clone any extinct animals if they were to live in a zoo.

A suitable habitat would be needed for them to lead a natural life.

Based on what we know now, you cannot clone animals that have been extinct longer than 10,000 years. Actually, dinosaurs disappeared 65,000,000 years ago. So the chance of dinosaurs ever returning to the earth is merely a dream.

选修8 Unit 3

Inventors and inventions-Reading

THE PROBLEM OF THE SHRIKES

When I called up my mother in the countryside on the telephone she was very upset. "There are some snakes in our courtyard," she told me. "Snakes come near the house

高中英语选修8课文录音(四)
高中英语人教版选修8课文翻译及必备资料大全

高中英语人教版选修8课文翻译

Unit1一个多元文化的国家

加利福尼亚是美国的第三大州,而且是人口最多的州。加州与众不同之处在于它也是美国最具多元文化的一个州,它吸引了来自世界各地的人们。这些移民的风俗习惯以及语言在他们的新家都得以延续。当你了解了加利福尼亚的历史后,你就不会对此感到惊讶了。 美洲土著人

最早的一批人具体是在什么时候来到我们现在所知道的加利福尼亚地区的,谁也说不清楚。然而,很可能至少在15 ,000年以前美洲土著人就住在加利福尼亚了。科学家们认为,这些迁居者通过一条史前时代曾经存在的大陆桥穿越北极地区的白令海峡到达美洲。欧洲人在16世纪来到这儿后,土著人遭受了极大的苦难,成千上万的人被杀害或被迫成为奴隶。此外,欧洲人带来了疾病,使许多人染病而死,不过,还是有一些人在经历了这些恐怖时期后活下来了。今天住在加利福尼亚的美洲土著人比任何其他州的都要多。

西班牙人

在18世纪的时候,加利福尼亚是由西班牙统治的西班牙士兵最早是在1 6世纪初期来到南美洲的,他们同土著人打仗,并夺去了他们的

土地。两个世纪以后,西班牙人在南美洲的大部分地区定居下来,而且还在我们现在称之为美国的西北沿海地区住下来。在首批移 居加州的西班牙人中,大部分是宗教人士,他们的职责是向原住民传授天主教。1821年,墨西哥人从西班牙获得了独立-加利福尼亚于是成了墨西哥的一部分。1846年美国向墨西哥宣战,美国赢得战争胜利后,墨西哥被迫把加利福尼亚割让给美国。但是,这个州至今仍然保留着很强的西班牙的影响。这就是为什么今天还有40%的加利福尼亚人仍然把西班牙语作为第一或第二语言的缘故。

俄罗斯人

19世纪初期,一批最初到阿拉斯加的俄罗斯猎人开始在加利福尼亚定居下来。今天,住在圣弗朗西斯科(旧金山)及其周边地区的美籍俄罗斯人约有25,000人。

淘金矿工

1848年,在美国同墨西哥开战之后不久,在加利福尼亚发现了金矿。发财梦很快就吸引了世界各地的人。距离最近因而来得最早的是南美洲人和美国人。随后跟着来的有欧洲和亚洲的探险家。事实上很少有人圆了发财梦。一些人死了或回家了,但是尽管条件十分艰苦,多数人还是留在了加利福尼亚劳作谋生,并在新的城镇或农场里定居下

来。到1850年加利福尼亚成为美国第31个州的时候,它已经是一个有着多种文化的社会了。

后来的移民

虽然中国移民在淘金热时期就开始到来了,但是更大批量的移民却是在1 9世纪60年代为了修建贯穿美国东西海岸的铁路而来的。今天,加利福尼亚州各地都有美籍华人,尽管有很大比例的华人还是选择住在洛杉矶和圣弗朗西斯科(旧金山)的“中国城”里。

19世纪后期,其他国家的移民,比如意大利人来到了加利福尼亚,他们主要是渔民,也有制酒工人。1911年,丹麦的移民建立了自己的城镇,至今仍然保留着丹麦文化。 20世纪20年代,电影业在加州的好莱坞建立了起来。这个行业吸引了大量的欧洲人,包括许多犹太人。今天,加利福尼亚的犹太人口在美国占第二位。

日本农民是在20世纪初期开始到加利福尼亚来的,而从20世纪80年代以来就有更多的日本人在加利福尼亚定居了。非洲人从1 9世纪就在加利福尼亚住下来,他们是从墨西哥向北迁来的。然而,更多的非洲人是在1942年至1945年期间来到加利福尼亚的,当时他们是到船厂和飞机厂工作。

最近期的移民

在最近的几十年里,加利福尼亚成了更多的亚洲人的家,包括朝鲜人、柬埔寨人、越南人和老挝人。从20世纪70年代以来,计算机工业吸引了印度人和巴基斯坦人来到加州。 未来展望

世界各地的人,由于受到气候条件和生活方式的吸引,仍然在继续迁入加利福尼亚。人们认为,要不了多久,多种国籍的混合将会非常之大,以致不可能存在一种主要的种 族或文化群体,而是多种族、多文化的混合体。

Unit2 克隆:它将把我们引向何方?

克隆一直与我们同在,而如今它还要持续下去。这是一种用来生产与原型完全相同的动植物的方法。当园艺师从生长着的植物上剪下枝条来培植新植物时,就会产生这种现象。这种现象也发生在动物身上,从同一个原生卵子产生性别和相貌相同的双胞胎也是克隆。实际上,这些都是自然克隆现象。

克隆技术有两大用途。第一,园艺师一直用它生产大量的供商用的植物;第二,它在对新植物物种的研究以及对动物的医学研究方面都是很有价值的。克隆植物简单,但克隆动物就比较复杂了,是一项很难

完成的任务。克隆哺乳动物的多次尝试都失败了。但是,科学家的决心和耐心最终得到了回报,这就是1996年具有突破性的克隆羊“多莉”的诞生。它的程序如下图所示:

1.母羊(A)提供一个卵细胞。

2.在卵细胞中取出细胞核。

3.卵细胞准备接受新的细胞核。

4.母羊(B)提供一个供克隆的躯干细胞。该细胞核应包含生产一头新羊所需要的全部基因。【高中英语选修8课文录音】

5.取出该细胞的细胞核。

6.用电把母羊(B)的躯干细胞核和母羊(A)的卵细胞结合起来。

7.细胞分裂并生长成胚胎。

8.把胚胎植入另外一头母羊(C)体内,母羊(C)就是克隆羊的代孕者。

9.这头小羔羊就是母羊(B)所提,供的细胞核克隆而成的。

高中英语选修8课文录音(五)
高中外研版英语教材选修8课文

Module 1

Antarctica:the last continent

1______________________________

Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. It’s also the driest. With annual rainfall close to zero, Antarctica is technically a desert. Covering about 14 million square kilometres around the South Pole, it is the fifth largest continent in the world. A high mountain range, the Trans-Antarctic range, runs from east to west, cutting the continent in two. There are volcanoes too, but they are not very active. Antarctica holds 90% of the world’s ice, and most of its fresh water (70%) is in a frozen state, of course. 98% of the surface is covered permanently in the ice cap. On average it is two kilometres thick, but in some places it reaches a depth of five kilometres.Strong winds driven by gravity blow from the pole to the coastline, while other winds blow round the coast. It is difficult to imagine a more inhospitable place.

2______________________________

Yet Antarctica is full of wildlife, which has adapted to its extreme conditions.There are different types of penguins, flying birds, seals, and whales. But the long Antarctic winter night, which lasts for 182 days (the longest period of continuous darkness on earth), as well as the extreme cold and lack of rainfall, means that few types of plants can survive there. Only two types of flowering plants are found, while there are no trees on the large continent. The rest of the plants are made up of mosses, algae and lichen. Some forms of algae have adapted to grow on ice.

3______________________________

Most of the ice has been there for thousands of years. As a result, it has become a window on the past, and can give researchers lots of useful information. Gases and minerals, in the form of volcanic dust trapped in the ice, can tell us a lot about what the worlds climate was like in past ages. Antarctic rocks are also very important for research. Most of them are meteorites from outer space. One rock, known us the “Alien” rock, may contain evidence of extra-terrestrial life. Since most Antarctic rocks arc dark in colour, they stand out against the while background and are easy to identify and collect.

4______________________________

Antarctica was the last continent to be discovered. But more than two thousand years ago Greek geographers believed that there was a large land mass in the south which balanced the land in the north. They called it Anti-Arktikos, or Antarctica: the opposite of Arctic. When Europeans discovered the continent of America in the 15th century, the great age of exploration began. However, progress to the South Pole was slow. Not until the late 18th century did the British explorer James Cook cross the Antarctic Circle, but he never saw land. Then in 1895, a Norwegian called Carstens Borchgrevink became the first man to set foot on the Antarctic mainland. The race to the pole had begun. It was finally reached on 11th December, 1911 by the Norwegian Roald Amundsen.

5______________________________

Today scientists from many countries travel to Antarctica to study its resources. A spirit of international friendship has replaced the rivalry that existed between many of the earlier explorers. In 1961, a treaty signed by 12 countries, including Britain, France, and the USA, made Antarctica the world's biggest nature reserve. The aim of the treaty is to prevent the commercial and military use of the continent. In particular, it aims to keep Antarctica free from nuclear tests and radioactive waste; to promote international scientific projects; and to end arguments about who owns the land. Today countries representing 80% of the world’s population have signed the treaty. Antarctica has become perhaps the most successful symbol of man’s efforts to work together for progress and peace.

How Failure Became Success

On 8th August, 1914,27 men who had replied to an advertisement in The Times boarded a ship leaving for the Antarctic. The name of the ship was the Endurance and the captain was an Irishman called Ernest Shackleton.

【高中英语选修8课文录音】

The aim of the journey was to cross the frozen continent via the South Pole-a journey of 1,800 miles. Shackleton thought the journey would last six months. But when land came into sight, the Endurance became trapped in the ice and began to break up. Shackleton and his men watched the Endurance sink into the icy sea. They then headed north, pulling three lifeboats behind them.

After six days, bad weather forced them to give up and the men set up camp on a sheet of ice which began slowly moving across the Antarctic Circle.

They survived on the ice for five months. Then, on 16th April, 1915,Shackleton saw land. It was Elephant Island-a large rock with nothing growing on it, but much better than a floating piece of ice. When they reached the island, Shackleton came up with an idea-it was a risk but he would have to take it. He and five men would take one of the lifeboats, and sail 800 miles to South Georgia, where there was a permanent camp. They could then return to rescue the rest of the men.

It took Shackleton 17 days to reach South Georgia. Unfortunately he landed on the wrong side of the island, and had to walk 36 hours over mountains to reach the camp. The whale hunters at the camp couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw the six men walking down from the mountains.

Shackleton kept his promise. More than three months later, he returned to Elephant

Island to rescue the crew he had been forced to abandon. He had failed to reach the pole-but he had saved the lives of all his men.

Welcome to the South Poles!

South Poles? How many are there?

In fact, there are three South Poles: a ceremonial Pole ,which is on the moving glacier, a geographical or true Pole, and a magnetic Pole.which changes its position according to the movement of the Earth.

Is it safe?

Because the South Pole is a high altitude site, the glare of the sunlight here is very intense. It’s also reflected by the snow, so if you go outside, remember to wear sunglasses and use suncream.If you don’t, there’s a severe risk that you’ll damage your eyesight or get badly sunburnt.

Is it cold?

Yes! Be very careful out in the open air! The temperature is between minus 21℃ in the summer and minus 78℃ in the winter, and you can become numb with cold without realising. There’s heavy frost even on the warmest summer days, and if it’s quiet you can hear your breath freeze. So if you leave the station, dress warmly and carry dry clothing and a portable radio.

Is there anything good about the weather?

The air is very pure, and it doesn’t snow very much-only about four millimetres a year. There’s very little wind and the sky is usually clear. It’s possibly the calmest place on Earth.

What’s it like to live here?

Life is quite abnormal. Sunrise and sunset come once every six months, and in the winter the total absence of daylight can be tiresome, and for some, depressing. We’re totally isolated except for radio and electronic communications, as no aircraft can fly here for about eight months.

Where do we live?

The South Pole scientific station is situated on a platform of ice, 3,000-4,000 metres high, but under only a few millimetres of snow. We have a minimum of 28 people

living here in the winter and a maximum of 125 in the summer. The living quarters are modest with few luxuries,but cosy.There’s a comfortable dormitory for sleeping ,the canteen serves great food, and there's a well-stocked library of DVDs and videos. But showers and laundry are limited, because water is very valuable. We discourage you from smoking except in specific areas. Medical assistance is available in case of an emergency.

Any other advice?

Remember that conventional equipment doesn’t always work as it should do. If you use an electric drill, the power cord will snap. Photography is tricky too, as film is fragile and the camera battery doesn’t work in the cold.

Don’t leave any rubbish, and don’t forget that the ecology of Antarctica is very delicate, so don’t take any souvenirs home with you, and be careful to leave nothing but footprints.

Finally, remember that we’re all visitors to the South Pole. It’s a privilege, not a right to come to this extraordinary place.

The Travels of Marco Polo

The year is 1271 AD. Imagine a 17- year-old boy from Venice, Italy, well- educated and trained for life as a rich trader. He sets off with his father and uncle on a 25-year journey to mysterious, distant lands that most people in Europe have never heard of. While on their journey buying and selling spices, silks and jewels, they befriend one of the most powerful men on Earth, Kubla Khan.

The boy’s name was Marco Polo and many years later a book about his travels was published which made him famous. Marco Polo told his fantastic stories to a writer named Rustichello who wrote them down for him. This man was well- known for his stories and romantic tales of the legendary English King Arthur, but so many people doubted the reliability of his book The Travels of Marco Polo. However, Chinese historians have found obscure names and facts in the book that could only have been known to someone intimate with the country.

Many of Marco’s stories were about China and its people. He told stories about the towns, cities and populations in great detail. He described the amazing things he saw in China such as paper money and black stone that burned (coal). With very little

contact between China and the West, it is not surprising that people in a rich powerful place like Venice could not believe his stories, nor in the idea of huge, rich city states inhabited by millions of people. There could surely be no comparison with Venice?

A general myth has grown up around Marco Polo that he introduced such things as spaghetti and ice cream from China to the West. There is no truth to any of these claims and actually they are not mentioned in Marco Polo’s book.

However, Marco Polo’s book is still a unique insight for its age. Most importantly it was a great influence for many future travellers.Christopher Columbus left behind a well- worn copy that he read as inspiration on his own voyages to America.

Last Part of Journey for First Women to Cross Antarctica

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The first two women to cross the Antarctic continent on foot have begun the last part of their long journey. Liv Arnesen, who is 47 and comes from Norway, and Ann Bancroft, who is a 45-year-old from the USA, have been skiing across the ice since 13th November. They have been using sails to help them pull their equipment, which weighs 110 kilos, behind them.

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On Sunday they reached the Ross Ice Shelf, 90 days after they first left home. The Ross Ice Shelf is a flat piece of floating ice which is bigger than France. There are 750 kilometres of dangerous ice left to cross before they reach McMurdo Station. They must arrive there by 22nd February in order to board the ship which will be waiting for them. If they are late, the ship risks being trapped in the ice.

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The temperature is,on average, minus 34℃, but this is not extreme in polar exploration. When the wind blows it can be much colder. But it is summer in the Antarctic at the moment, so the sun never goes down - it slays light 24 hours a day. There is no sound apart from the wind and sometimes a loud noise like a thunderstorm when a giant piece of ice breaks away from the shelf and falls into the sea. The main risk to polar explorers is not the cold; it is sunburn. There are no clouds or pollution to hide the sun, so the air is very dear; you can see for 70 kilometres.

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