Passage G1a

 1

Once Lu Xun spoke to the youth about the study of foreign languages. He said:

"You must not give up studying foreign languages for even a day. To master a language, words and grammatical rules are not enough. You must do a lot of reading. Take a book and force yourself to read it. At the same time, consult dictionaries and memorize grammatical rules. After reading a book, it is only natural that you won't understand it all. Never mind. Put it aside and start another one. In a few months or half a year, go over the first book once again; you are sure to understand much more than before ... Young people have good memories. If you memorize a few words every day and keep on reading all the time, in four or five years, you will certainly be able to read works in the foreign language."

2

A VISIT TO THE LIBRARY IN THE FUTURE

The shopping is finished. Charlie's parents tell him they have to go out for a little while. "Why don't you visit the library while we're out?" says Charlie's dad. "I know they have some new books on basket-ball, your favourite game."

Charlie goes to one of the visionphones. He places a call to the library. He asks to see one of the new books on basket-ball.

*Basket-ball Giant,* the name of the book, is flashed on the screen. "Turn," says Charlie. The first page of the book is shown on the screen. Then the second, and the third. Charlie has read about thirty pages of it. Then he hears his mother's voice coming through a speaker on the wall. Charlie turns off the visionphone. He says hello to his mother.

"Where are you?" he adds.

"We' re driving on the freeway, "Mrs Green says. "This is taking a little more time than we thought. We won't be back until two o' clock. Better get some lunch for yourself."

"What are you doing? "Charlie asks.

"We'll explain later, "she says.

"O. K." says Charlie.

3

THE CAT'S PAW

Long, long ago there lived two animals — a cat and a monkey. One day the monkey found some chestnuts in a fire. He wanted very much to eat them, but was afraid of burning his hand. So he took the cat to the fire and said: "Ah! How good those chestnuts smell! Cat, my dear friend, your paws are made just like man's hands. You are the only one who can pull the nuts from the fire. Why don't you try it?"

The cat was flattered by the monkey's praise. She was willing to do anything for him. So she put out her paw and began to pull the chestnuts out of the fire. She burned her paw each time she pulled a nut out.

"How fine it is to have hands like a man!" said the monkey. "Try to get some more. We' ll share them."

So the cat went on pulling more and more chestnuts out of the fire. But when at last she turned for her share of the nuts, she found that the monkey had eaten them all.

This is how the term "cat's paw" has come into use.

4

PENICILLIN

If you leave a piece of bread in a warm damp place, mould will soon grow on it. When this happens, we say the bread "has gone mouldy". Mould can grow on all kinds of things besides food. It grows from spores which are in the air. If the conditions are right, a spore can quickly get around and form a mould. This happens quite commonly. We have all probably seen it.

In 1928, Sir Alexander Fleming found that mould had killed some germs he was trying to grow in his lab. If he had not noticed this, the world would have lost one of the greatest discoveries of the century. Fleming called the substance "penicillin".

Because penicillin can kill germs, doctors use it to treat diseases. It has saved millions of lives. Scientists grow large quantities of common mould so that they can get penicillin from it in order to make antibiotics, that is, substances that kill germs.

Next time you see some mould on a piece of bread, remember that it is one of man's greatest friends!

5

THE VAIN STAG

One hot day a big stag that had a pair of very large antlers stood on the bank of a river. He was thirsty and went down to the water to drink. Suddenly he saw his reflection in the water. He was very pleased with what he saw. "Oh," he said. "What a beautiful pair of antlers I've got How fine my head is! How proud I look! Nobody has such beautiful antlers as I have. Perhaps some people will say that my antlers are too big, but I don't think so. I like them very much. "And the vain stag looked again at his reflection in the water.

Suddenly he heard the barking of dogs. Three hunters and their dogs came out of the forest. The stag ran across the field into the forest. He was already far from the dogs, but he caught his antlers in the branches of some low trees and could not get away.

The dogs ran up to him and pulled him to the ground. Then the hunters came up and killed him.

THE BOYS BUILD A BRIDGE G1sr06

 6. THE BOYS BUILD A BRIDGE

"Do you all agree, then? "asked David. "We will go for a long cycle ride during the holidays. I expect the other three will agree. We can ask them when they come.”

“But what about Sammy?” said Roy. “He hasn't got a bicycle. His father can't afford to buy him one.”

“Oh, we hadn't thought of that,” said David thoughtfully. “I wonder if we can borrow one for him.”

At that moment Robert, Henry and Sammy arrived.

“You three are late,” said Roy. “What happened to you?”

“We had to come round the long way,” said Robert. “The old bridge over the stream has collapsed.”

“And that means we had to walk an extra quarter of a mile and use the other bridge,” added Henry. “The stream must be nearly five feet deep after all this rain.”

“Don't worry,” said David. “The Town Council will soon build another one.”

“Oh no,” replied Henry quickly. “My father has already asked about that. There isn't enough money this year.”

The boys were silent for a moment.

“I wonder who built that old bridge,” Robert said. “It was only a few tree trunks and planks held together with some nails.” Then an idea struck him. “Do you think we could rebuild it?”

“How wide is the gap?” asked David.

“About ten or fifteen yards, I think,” replied Robert.

“You know …” David paused. “I think we could do it, if we planned it properly and could borrow the tools.”

“And if we could get the timber,” added Roy. “What do we need?”

The boys started to consider the idea seriously. Sammy told them that his elder brother worked in the Public Works Department and could probably make a plan for them.

“I'll ask him to come and look at the old bridge tomorrow,” said Sammy. “I'm sure he'll help us.”

Their greatest problem was to find enough planks and thick beams. The next day the boys visited nearly every house in the area. In the evening they returned to their hut and told each other about their visits. Henry was very excited.

“I must tell you this,” he burst out. “Mr Robinson has promised to supply the wood as long as we do the work and finish it within a month.”

“Splendid” said Robert. “That will certainly solve our problem.”

“There's another thing,” said David. “Roy and I found that several people will give us money if we build a new bridge. It's a short cut for them.”

"Then let's start work," said Robert. "Sammy's brother is making a plan now."

The next day the boys cleared away the remains of the old bridge. They then climbed down the sides of the stream and dug holes for the supports— one on each bank.

Mr. Robinson kept his promise and sent a lorryload of timber. The boys soon slipped the supports into their holes, and at the end of a week of hard work, two thick logs had been lowered on to them from each bank. The most difficult job was to get the long logs across the middle. The boys fastened a rope to each log, threw the rope over, and then pulled the log into position. Mr. Robinson walked out each evening to see how the work was getting on, and the boys knew he was proud of them.

The last job was simple. The boys nailed the planks across the logs, and strengthened these with other planks which ran right across the bridge. Three days after the start of the holidays, the bridge was finished. The boys met in their hut to decide on an opening ceremony for their bridge.

The next day, at six o' clock the boys gathered at the bridge. Mr Robinson appeared with nearly forty of the people of that district. In a little speech he praised the boys for their efforts. The neighbours clapped, and the boys felt even more pleased with their work.

THE FIRST TELEVISION G1sr05

 5. THE FIRST TELEVISION

John Baird lived in Scotland. As a boy he was always making things, and most of them were electric. When he was older, he went to college to study more about electricity. Radios had just been invented then, and people were talking about sending pictures by electricity. John Baird began to think about this. He worked so hard at it that he got ill. But he made up his mind to go on working at the wireless pictures until he had found out how to send them.

He made his first set in an old box. He found a toy electric motor in a junk heap behind a shop. He fixed it and used it in his set. He also bought a cheap lamp to help him. Besides this, he used part of an old army wireless set, and some bits of wood. All these he fixed together with glue, string, wax, and many wires.

After many months of hard work, he managed to send a picture of a cross over a distance of three yards. It was not a clear picture, but he could not do any better, for he was running out of money. He had to take his machine to a shop and show the picture to people. In return, the shop owner paid him £25 a week. He stayed in the shop for a few weeks, then left to work at his set again. But the money was soon spent, so he often had to go hungry. His clothes needed mending and his shoes needed repairing. He became ill again, but still he worked at his idea. He was so poor by now that he even had to sell some parts of his set so as to have money to buy some food. That meant, of course, he could not work without those parts.

But then his luck changed. Some friends sent him some money and he soon bought back the parts he had sold. With these to help him he tried to send a picture of a face—not a real face, but the face of a doll he had. The picture only came out like a white circle with three black spots showing for the mouth and eyes.

He now bought some new parts for his set with more of the money his friends had given him. He put these parts into the set and switched it on. He had a great surprise! It now showed the doll's face clearly—nose, mouth, eyes, ears, and hair! John was so delighted that he wanted to find someone whose face could be shown. He ran downstairs to an office just below his room. He found the office boy there, and quickly dragged him upstairs.

The boy must have thought John was mad, but John did not care. He made the boy sit down in place of the doll, facing the strong lights and noisy machinery. Then he shouted to him, "Don't move!" and went off into the room where the picture would be shown. He looked at the screen. Alas! There was no face showing! What had happened? John rushed back into the room, and saw what was wrong. The boy was afraid and had bent his head back from the lights and noise. John made the boy sit still, promising that nothing would hurt him. A few seconds later he was looking at the screen again with the machinery turned on. This time, to his delight, he saw the boy's face! It was quite clear—just as clear as the doll's had been. He called the boy to the screen, and he himself went and sat in the doll's seat. To the boy's surprise, he saw John's face on the screen.

So John Baird had really managed to do it. He had found a way to send pictures by wireless. That was in the year 1925, and it was the beginning of television.

THE BEST ADVICE I EVER HAD G1sr04

 4. THE BEST ADVICE I EVER HAD

When I was about 15, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings. Week by week her list grew: I was skinny, I talked too loud, I was too proud, and so on. I put up with her as long as I could. At last, I ran to my father in tears and anger.

He listened to my outburst quietly. Then he asked, "Are the things she says true—or not?"

True? I wanted to know how to strike back. What did truth have to do with it?

"Mary, didn't you ever wonder what you're really like? Well, you now have that girl's opinion. Go make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. You needn't pay attention to the other things she said.”

I did as he told me and discovered to my surprise that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn't change (like being skinny), but a good number I could—and suddenly wanted to—change. For the first time in my life I began to get quite a clear picture of myself.

I brought the list back to Daddy, but he wouldn't take it.

"That's just for you, "he said." You know better than anybody else the truth about yourself, once you hear it. But you've got to learn to listen, not close your ears in anger or hurt. When someone says something about you, you'll know if it's true or not. If it is, you'll find it will echo inside you."

"I still don't think it very nice of her to talk about me in front of everybody, "I said.

"Mary, there is one way you could stop others talking about you ever again, and criticizing you—just say nothing and do nothing. But then, if you do that, you'd find you were nothing. You wouldn't like that now, would you?"

"No," I admitted.

Later, I was to have another, more painful lesson about hearing the truth. It happened the week we were to put on a play in which I had the lead. How eager and excited I was!

A few days before the show, some of my friends decided to have a picnic at a nearby lake. It was still rather cold. Mother wanted me to stay home so that I might not catch cold, but I insisted on going. After making me promise not to go swimming, she gave in.

Well, I kept the words but not the spirit of that promise. When the others went into the water I couldn't stand being left behind. I put on my swimming-suit, too, and went out in a rowboat.

When at last I headed for shore, some of the boys began to rock my boat. Just as I was about to reach the shore, it went over. Trying to keep out of the water, I took a leap for shore. I made it— but I landed on a broken bottle. My heel was cut right to the bone!

I didn't get to star in the play, but had to lie still in hospital. “But I kept my promise not to go swimming,” I said to daddy.

“Mary, you listened to only half of what your mother said. What she really made you promise was to try not to catch cold. Going swimming was only part of it. You let yourself hear only part of the truth. And that's why you ended up like this.”

I made a final excuse: “All my friends thought it would be all right, if I stayed in the boat.”

"And they all were wrong, weren't they?” He paused a moment. “You’ll find the world is full of people who think they know better than you. Don't shut your ears to them. Hear them out, but listen out only for the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”

Daddy's advice has returned to me at many critical moments in my life and it has worked.

THAT CRAZY TOWER IN PISA G1sr03

 3. THAT CRAZY TOWER IN PISA

*The Dear Old Lady—that is what the people of Pisa call the tower—needs help.*

Three million people visit Pisa each year. That's a lot of people. Why do they come to this town in Italy? To see a tower. A look at the picture will tell you why. The crazy tower leans！ It is known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The tower looks as if it might fall at any time. In fact, some visitors stop at the tower just long enough to take a picture. Then they hurry away. Other visitors climb the 294 steps to the top—and come down, feeling like heroes.

Engineers say that the visitors are safe—at least for a while. But the tower does lean. It slants 14 feet 10 inches at the present time. The tower has been leaning for 800 years. And every year it leans a tiny bit more. If this keeps on, the tower will fall.

You may wonder what makes the tower lean. If you look at the picture, you will see that one side of the tower is deeper in the earth than the other. The foundation on which the tower rests has sunk into the soil on the leaning side. Why has this happened?

Pisa's tower weighs 14,500 tons. The soil of the town is a mixture of clay and sand and water. A heavy tower built on soil like this must have a very strong foundation. The Leaning Tower's foundation is just not deep or wide enough for the tower above it.

Can anything be done about the tower?

Yes, Italian engineers have several plans. They don't want to make the tower straight—just keep it from leaning any further. So all the plans call for a new foundation that won't sink.

But a new foundation can't be built while the tower is resting on the old one. The tower must be raised. And it must have something to rest on while the new foundation is being built.

The tower could be raised with jacks. They would be like the jacks we use to raise cars when changing a tire. Only these jacks would be giant ones. One plan calls for 15 of them to be placed around the tower. Each of the giant jacks would be on its own foundation. And each of them could lift 1000 tons. The 15 jacks would raise the 14,500-ton tower and hold it up while the new foundation is being built.

The Italian engineers are searching for the best plan to save the tower. They know that any plan will take a lot of money. They are trying to get the money from the Italian government. But many Italians refuse to believe that the old tower is in danger. “It leans and leans and leans," they say." But it will never fall down."

The engineers want to make sure that it won't.

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND G1sr02

 2. GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND

The two largest islands of the British Isles are Great Britain and Ireland. There are three regions in Great Britain. They are England, Scotland and Wales. Scotland lies to the north of England, and Wales to the southwest. Ireland lies to the west of Great Britain. It is a smaller island than Great Britain.

The Atlantic Ocean lies between the British Isles and America, and the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland. The North Sea is on the east side of Great Britain. To the south is the English Channel. Every day large ships cross the Atlantic Ocean to America, and smaller ones cross the North Sea and the Channel to Europe.

The mountains in Great Britain are almost all in the north and the west. They are not very high; the highest ones are in Scotland. There are many low hills in some parts of the country, but not in the south and east, where there are almost no hills. In summer there is no snow on any of the mountains or hills in Great Britain or Ireland.

There are many rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very long. The rivers which run to the east are longer than the ones which run to the west.

The Thames is one of the longest rivers in England. It is a very beautiful river. It is in the south of the country and runs to the east, into the North Sea. London, the capital of Great Britain, is on the Thames.

London is a very old city. Today it is one of the largest cities in Europe. More than nine million people live there.

The port of London is one of the greatest ports in the world. Ships from all countries go up and down the Thames. They bring food to the people of Britain.

Then they take British machines and other things back to the ports from which they came.

There are many scenic spots in the West of England. The lakes here are the most beautiful in England. There are trees, and flowers and green grass round them.

The water is almost always very still, and you can see the green hills, the brown mountains and everything else round the lake upside down in the water. There are boats on all the larger lakes, which take people from one side to the other. There are always a lot of boats on the lakes in summer.

Travellers from many countries of the world go to the West of England in summer. There are boat races on the largest lakes, and people from many places in Great Britain and Europe come to see them. Young people travel from one place to another on their bicycles, or walk from one lake to another.

There are large lakes in Scotland too with mountains round them. They are not like the English ones; there are not so many trees and flowers, and green hills round them, but they are beautiful too. The mountains here are higher, and they are grey and dark.

Some people think that this part of Scotland with its lakes and mountains is more beautiful than the West of England. Other people say it is not more lovely, but it is more interesting.

Ireland is a very beautiful country. It is not far from England, and some people like to go there for their holidays. Ireland is even greener than the West of England. It rains very often there, but it is never very cold, and snow almost never falls. The west wind brings rain from the Atlantic Ocean, and much of it falls on Ireland and on the west of England and Scotland.

HOW TO USE AN ENGLISH DICTIONARY G1sr01

 SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS

1. HOW TO USE AN ENGLISH DICTIONARY

A dictionary can be most useful, if you know how to use it correctly.
The first thing to know is that the words in the dictionary are arranged in alphabetical order. This means that all the words beginning with 'a' come first, then those beginning with 'b', then those beginning with 'c', and so on. But this is not all. Take two words beginning with 'a', after and ago. Which comes first? After comes first, because the second letter in after, 'f', comes before the second letter of ago, which is 'g'. The same rule is followed all the way through the word. Thus about comes before above, and fifth before fifty. If you remember this rule it will save you a lot of time in looking up words.
Open your dictionary at any page. At the top of the page you will see two words printed in heavy type. These are known as guide words. The one on the left-hand side of the page tells you what the first word on that page is. The one on the right-hand side tells you what the last word on that page is. So if you are looking for a word in the dictionary, you first look at the guide words at the head of the pages. Then you will be able to tell whether or not the word you want is on the page you are looking at.
You will notice that a dictionary very often gives several definitions for one word. How would you decide which of these definitions is the one you need? First, you must know what part of speech the word is in the sentence. Is it a noun or a verb? Is it an adjective or an adverb? A word can be used differently in a sentence, and so may have a different sense. Next, you must see which of the definitions will fit into the sentence. It is important to study the rest of the sentence carefully in order to find out the meaning of the word.
For example, you might come across this sentence: “We use an inclined plane to load or unload a truck.” You look up ‘load’ in the dictionary. The dictionary says: 1. n. a burden, ... 2. vt. put a burden on or into, ... Of course the second definition makes the right sense in the sentence.
You will find that the more you use the dictionary, the better you'll be able to use it and the more useful it will be to you.