Modern Bond returns (P1)
I. Pre-reading
Discuss the following questions with your partner.
 Have you ever seen any of the James Bond movies?
 If so, were you impressed by James Bond 007, the world’s favorite secret agent, in the movies?
 Do you like him? Why or why not?

II. Reading
Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions.
1. What was the author’s main purpose in writing this article?
A. To explore what has made the James Bond movies so successful.
B. To describe the highlights of the latest James Bond movie Spectre.
C. To analyze how the character of James Bond has changed in the film series.
D. To tell readers why Daniel Craig’s James Bond appeals to a new generation.
2. By saying “but he has managed to keep being reborn to escape the fate of being out of favor and being thrown away in the dustbin of history”, the author means that ____.
A. the character of James Bond has changed a lot in Spectre
B. the Bond that Craig plays has a unique charm, making it stand out
C. the new character of James Bond is the best of all time
D. James Bond is the best-known gentleman spy in history
3. Why has James Bond become popular since he first appeared in movies in the UK?
A. Because he helped Britons recover from the pain of World War II. 
B. Because he reminded Britons of the once-great British Empire.
C. Because he was a new type of British man that people were then in need of.
D. Because he was light-hearted and funny and made people feel good. 
4. According to the article, in the first James Bond movie, the character was ____.
A. a modern and damaged hero
B. a perfect, self-obsessed gentleman
C. a modern and sophisticated man about town
D. a brilliant spy with a good sense of humor

Key:
1. C。本文主要分析了James Bond这一角色在关于他的电影里的人物特点的变化，所以答案为C。
2. B。作者说这句话的意思是“虽然Daniel Craig 塑造的James Bond这一角色基本上还与原来差不多，讲的还是同一位男士，他喜欢鸡尾酒，枪，小器械和女人，但是他被注入新的生命力，逃脱失宠与被扔进历史尘埃的命运”，所以答案为B。
3. C。由第六、七段的“This was the time after World War II and the end of the British Empire, when a new type of British man was needed.”“When Britons were waking up to the fact that they were perhaps no longer so great, Bond was ‘the ultimate escape’”可知答案为C。
4. C。由第六、七段可以推知答案为C。

III. Language study
Study the following sentences.
1. His performance is, according to the Cinemablend website, “the ultimate (终极的) proof that Daniel Craig is the best James Bond of all time”.
2. But there is no doubt that Craig is a modern take on the classic British gentleman character.
3. When Britons were waking up to the fact that they were perhaps no longer so great, Bond was “the ultimate escape”, according to Higson.

 What is the function of “that” in the three sentences above?
上面三句话中that都引导同位语从句，对其前面的名词做进一步的解释说明，that在从句中只起连接作用，不充当任何成分。

proof n. 证据，证明
Do they have any proof that it was Thomas who stole the goods?
take n. 态度，理解，看法
She gave me her take on what had gone wrong.
wake up to 认识到，意识到
It’s time you woke up to the fact that you’re not very popular here.

El Nino could be coming (P5)
I. Pre-reading
Discuss the following questions with your partner.
 What is El Nino?
 How often does it occur?
 Where does it usually occur?
 What are the effects of El Nino?
 
II. Reading
Read the article and find out the answers to the questions above.
1. What is El Nino?
El Nino, meaning “little boy” in Spanish, is a type of extreme weather disaster.

2. How often do El Ninos happen?
They usually happen between every two to seven years.

3. Where do El Ninos usually occur?
They usually happen in the Pacific Ocean.

4. What are the effects of El Nino?
In an El Nino event, the waters of the eastern Pacific can be up to 4 degrees Celsius warmer than usual. El Nino can also cause severe droughts, floods and mudslides. A strong El Nino also affects hurricane seasons around the planet. The warmer the Eastern Pacific is, the more hurricanes it gets. The Western Pacific, on the other hand, tends to see more and stronger typhoons. Besides, warmer surface waters in the Eastern Pacific make the coldwater fish swim away and damage the fishing industry in much of Latin America.

Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions.
1. What is the text mainly about?
A. A comparison of El Nino and La Nina.
B. The strongest El Nino event in history.
C. El Nino and its harmful effects.
D. Common extreme weather disasters.
2. Which of the following statements is TRUE about El Ninos?
A. El Ninos result from hurricanes or typhoons in the oceans.
B. El Ninos happen every two years or so and last about half a year each time.
C. El Ninos are a weather phenomenon that occurs in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
D. El Ninos can cause extreme weather, such as floods, droughts and mudslides, around the globe.
3. During an El Nino year, ____.
A. the wind blows so strongly that it causes the water to pile up
B. the fishing industry in much of Latin America is likely to suffer
C. the more typhoons it experiences, the warmer the Western Pacific is
D. the surface water in the Eastern Pacific usually gets colder than ever
4. What can we learn about La Nina from the text?
A. It occurs every 3-4 years and usually lasts for at least six months.
B. It has fewer bad effects on the world’s weather than El Nino does.
C. It is linked with cooler-than-normal water temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
D. With the data they’ve gathered, scientists can now successfully predict each La Nina.

Key:
1. C。本文主要介绍了厄尔尼诺现象以及它所带来的不良影响，所以答案为C。
2. D。由第三段的“If this lives up to its potential, this thing can bring a lot of floods, mudslides, and trouble”以及第六段可以推知答案为D。
3. B。由第最后一段的“Warmer surface waters in the Eastern Pacific make the coldwater fish swim away and damage the fishing industry in much of Latin America.’”可知B为正确答案。由第四段的“However, in El Nino years, the winds pushing the water get weaker and cause the warmer water to shift back toward the east.”可知A不对；由倒数第二段的“The warmer the Eastern Pacific is, the more hurricanes it gets. The Western Pacific, on the other hand, tends to see more and stronger typhoons.”可知C不对，应该是越暖和，西太平洋则会有更多更强的台风，所以C项逻辑反了；D项的gets colder应该是gets warmer才对。
4. C。由Did you know 部分的“It occurs when temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean are 0.5 degrees Celsius lower than normal for at least six months. Both affect the world’s weather.”可知C为正确答案。

III. Language study
Study the following sentences.
1. You may laugh it off if someone told you that extreme weather disasters were actually a child’s tricks.
laugh off 一笑置之
He had a bad fall while ice-skating but he laughed it off. 他滑冰时重重地摔了一跤, 但他一笑置之。

2. If this lives up to its potential, this thing can bring a lot of floods, mudslides (泥石流), and trouble.
live up to: 达到高标准，实践，做到，不辜负
I try to live up to the high standard of the school. 我力求达到这所学校的高标准要求。
You must live up to your promise. 你必须实践自己的诺言。

Our dog friend (P6)
I. Pre-reading
Discuss the following questions with your partner.
 Have you ever raised a pet? What was it?
 Share a story with your partner about you and a pet that impressed you.
 
II. Reading
Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions.
Choose the best answer:
1. Many years ago, the author ____.
A. blamed his father for adopting Kalu
B. was annoyed by Kalu’s constant appearances
C. thought Jhabroo would welcome Kalu willingly
D. discussed with his father how to drive away Kalu
2. We can infer from the text that ____.
A. Kalu showed off his ability to catch mice to prove himself
B. Kalu’s barking at night often disturbed the neighborhood
C. Kalu couldn’t stop the thief without the author’s father’s help
D. Kalu came to win the author’s family’s heart with his loyalty
3. The underlined word “desolate” in the last paragraph but one probably means ____.
A. empty      B. restless    C. unusual  D. peaceful 
4. According to the last paragraph, what did the author learn from his experience with Kalu?
A. First impressions are never to be relied on.
B. “Don’t judge a book by its cover” applies to both humans and dogs.
C. Ordinary as a person or a dog may look, we should treat them all as extraordinary.
D. Your feelings toward somebody or something can change after you are helped out.

Key:
1. B。根据第一段“I was furious. He kept turning up.”可知答案为B。
2. D。由第六段的“Kalu didn’t take long to prove himself useful. Whenever he spotted a rat, he left everything aside – even his food – and dashed after it.”；第七段的“We had often heard about thieves in the area but his presence was quite reassuring.”和第十一段的“Kalu got more popular in the family.”可知答案为D。
3. A。由上文提到作者一家人对Kalu的情感以及这句话“Our farm seemed desolate without Kalu.”可以判断答案为empty，意为冷清的，空荡的。Restless，不安宁的；unsafe，不安全的；peaceful 平静的，安宁的。
4. B。文中最后一句“The mean-looking stray I didn’t want taught me to never judge anyone by his looks – be it man or his best friend.”中“be it man or his best friend”意思为“whether it is man or his best friend - dog.”不管是人类还是人类的好朋友—狗。因此答案为B。其他选项对这句话的理解均不正确。

III. Language study
Study the following sentences.
1. “Had I listened to you,” my father said, “we would have been without a dog now!”
释义：父亲说，“如果我那时候听了你的，现在就一只狗都没有了。”
分析：had前置倒装，常用于虚拟语气中，相当于if引导的条件句，所以had I listened to you = if I had listened to you。例如：Had we known what the problem was, we could have addressed it.

2. Armed with lathis (包铁粗棍) we went outside, and saw that Kalu had pinned the man down on the ground.
释义：拿着包铁粗棍，我们走到外面，看到Kalu把那个人压在地上。
分析：armed with … 是过去分词短语作状语，arm sb with sth本意是“用……武装”，也常常引申，例如：Armed only with a BBC microphone, I traveled across South Africa meeting writers. Pin的意思是“按住，压住，使动弹不得”。I pinned him against the wall.

3. The mean-looking stray (流浪狗) I didn’t want taught me to never judge anyone by his looks – be it man or his best friend.
释义：这只我本来不想要的卑微的流浪狗告诉我绝对不要以貌取人——不管是人类，还是人类最好的朋友。
分析：be it … or … 相当于whether it is … or ….。例如：Our everyday activities, be they selling goods or shipping them, are important to our business. 我们的日常活动，无论是售货还是送货，对于我们的生意来说都很重要。

IV. Post-reading
Writing:
Write an article describing a story about your pet that impressed you.