2 . The Million Pound Bank Note

Narrator: Two rich brothers, Roderick and Oliverhave made a bet. Oliver believes that with a million-pound bank note a mancould live a month in London. His brother Roderick doubts it. They see a poor young man walking outside their house. It is Henry Adams.
Roderick: Young man, would you step inside amoment, please?
Henry: Who? Me, sir?
Roderick: Yes, you.
Servant: (opening a door) Good morning, sir. Would you please come in?
(Henry enters the house.)
Roderick: How do you do, Mr ... er ...?
Henry: Adams. Henry Adams.
Oliver: Come and sit down, Mr Adams.
Henry: Thank you.
Roderick: You're an American?
Henry: That's right, from San Francisco.
Roderick: May we ask what you're doing in this country and what your plans are?
Henry: Well, I can't say that I have any plans.As a matter of fact, I landed in Britain by accident.
Oliver: How is that possible?
Henry: Well, I had my own boat. About a month ago, I was sailing, and towards night. I found myself carried out to sea by astrong wind. The next morning I was spotted by a ship.
Oliver: And it was the ship that brought you to England.
Henry: Yes, I went to the American consulate to seek help, but ... Anyway, I didn't dare to try again. (The brothers smile at eachother;)
Roderick: Well, you mustn't worry about that. It's an advantage.
Henry: I'm afraid I don't quite follow you, sir.
Roderick: Tell us, what sort of work did you do in America?
Henry: I worked for a mining company. Could you offer me work here?
Roderick: Patience. lf you don't mind, may I ask youhow much money you have?
Henry: Well, to be honest, I have none.
Oliver: (happily) What luck! Brother, what luck!
Henry:Well, it may seem lucky to you but not to me! If this is your idea of some kind of joke, I don't think it's very funny. Now if you'll excuse me, I ought to be on myway.
Roderick: Please don't go. You mustn't think we don't care about you. Oliver, give him the letter.
Oliver: Yes, I was about to go get the letter. Wait! (getting it from a desk and giving it to Henry) The letter.
Henry: (taking it carefully) For me?
Roderick: For you. (Henry starts to open it.) Oh, no, you'd better not open it. You can't open ituntil two o'clock.
Henry: Oh, this is silly.
Roderick: Not silly. There's money in it.
Henry: Oh, no. I don't want your charity. I just want a job that earns an honest income.
Roderick: We know you're hard-working. That's why we've given you the letter. (to the servant) Show Mr Adams out.
Henry: Well, why don't you explain what this is all about?
Roderick: You'll soon know. In exactly an hour and a half.
Servant: This way, sir.
Roderick: Not until 2 o'clock. Promise?
Henry: Promise. Goodbye.
1. Identify True or False
(1)Henry opened the letter before 2 o’clock._________
(2)Henry felt unhappy when the two brothers gave him the letter. _________
(3)Roderick believed that with a million pound bank note a man could survive a month. _________
(4)Henry only wanted a job because he was penniless in London. _________
(5)The two brothers would like to offer him a job. _________
2. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Two rich gentlemen made a bet on a million pound bank note.

B．How did Henry Adams land in London?

C．Henry Adams was puzzled about the note.

D．Why did the two rich gentlemen choose Henry Adams?

3. What happened to Henry when he was sailing out of the bay?

A．His boat sank in a storm at sea.

B．He was carried out to sea by a strong wind.

C．He was attacked by some bad men at sea.

D．He jumped into the sea to kill himself.

4. After reading the text, we can find that _________.

A．Henry Adams owned a large mining company

B．Henry Adams paid nothing for the trip to Britain

C．Henry Adams opened the letter at once

D．Henry Adams was an American who lived in New York

3 . THE MILLION POUND BANK NOTE

Narrator: Two rich brothers, Roderick and Oliver have made a bet. Oliver believes that with a million-pound bank note a man could live a month in London. His brother Roderick doubts it. They see a poor young man walking outside their house. It is Henry Adams.
Roderick: Young man, would you step inside a moment, please?
Henry:Who? Me, sir?
Roderick: Yes, you.
Servant:(opening a door) Good morning, sir. Would you please come in?
(Henry enters the house.)
Roderick: How do you do, Mr ... er ...?
Henry:Adams. Henry Adams.
Oliver:Come and sit down, Mr Adams.
Henry:Thank you.
Roderick: You’re an American?
Henry: That’s right, from San Francisco.
Roderick: May we ask what you’re doing in this country and what your plans are?
Henry: Well, I can’t say that I have any plans. As a matter of fact, I landed in Britain by accident.
Oliver:How is that possible?
Henry: Well, I had my own boat. About a month ago, I was sailing, and towards night. I found myself carried out to sea by a strong wind. The next morning I was spotted by a ship.
Oliver: And it was the ship that brought you to England.
Henry: Yes. I went to the American consulate to seek help, but ... Anyway, I didn’t dare to try again. (The brothers smile at each other.)
Roderick: Well, you mustn’t worry about that. It’s an advantage.
Henry: I’m afraid I don’t quite follow you, sir.
Roderick: Tell us, what sort of work did you do in America?
Henry:I worked for a mining company. Could you offer me work here?
Roderick: Patience. If you don’t mind, may I ask you how much money you have?
Henry:Well, to be honest, I have none.
Oliver:(happily) What luck! Brother, what luck!
Henry:Well, it may seem lucky to you but not to me! If this is your idea of some kind of joke, I don’t think it’s very funny. Now if you’ll excuse me, l ought to be on my way.
Roderick: Please don’t go. You mustn’t think we don’t care about you. Oliver, give him the letter.
Oliver:Yes, I was about to go get the letter. Wait! (getting it from a desk and giving it to Henry) The letter.
Henry:(taking it carefully) For me?
Roderick: For you, (Henry starts to open it.) Oh, no, you’d better not open it. You can’t open it until two o’clock.
Henry:Oh, this is silly.
Roderick: Not silly. There’s money in it.
Henry:Oh, no. I don’t want your charity. I just want a job that earns an honest income.
Roderick: We know you’re hard-working. That’s why we’ve given you the letter. (to the servant)Show Mr Adams out.
Henry: Well, why don’t you explain what this is all about?
Roderick: You’ll soon know. In exactly an hour and a half.
Servant:This way, sir.
Roderick: Not until 2 o’clock. Promise?
Henry:Promise. Goodbye.
Complete the sentences with the words from the text.

The two gentlemen had been having a heated argument for a couple of days, and had decided to make a     1     which would settle their argument. They were going to find someone to take part in their bet when they saw Henry walking on the street outside. They invited him into their house, where Henry told them he had landed in Britain by     2    . Although he had gone to the American consulate to     3     help, he had not received any. Henry hoped that the brothers would offer him some     4    of work because he had no money. Henry got     5    with the brothers when they seemed too happy about his bad luck. They quickly told him not to feel that way and they gave him an     6    with money in it. They said the letter inside would explain what it was all about, but he had to postpone opening it until 2 o’clock. Henry felt that was odd. The     7     ended with Henry leaving their house and promising that he would not open the letter until 2 o’clock.

6 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What do we know about the writer?

A．He never travels around the world.

B．He is a teacher.

C．He was born disabled.

2. How does the man find the writer?

A．Encouraging.

B．Polite.

C．Strange.

8 . A FEW SIMPLE FORMS OF ENGLISH POEMS

There are various reasons why people compose poetry. Some poems tell a story or describe a certain image in the reader’s mind. Others try to convey certain feelings such as joy and sorrow. The distinctive characteristics of poetry often include economical use of words, descriptive and vivid language, integrated imagery, literary devices such as similes and metaphors, and arrangement of words, lines, rhymes, and rhythm. Poets use many different forms of poetry to express themselves. Now we will look at a few of the simpler forms.

Some of the first poems a young child learns in English are nursery rhymes. They are usually the traditional poems or folk songs. The language of these rhymes, like Poem A, is to the point but has a storyline. Many children enjoy nursery rhymes because they rhyme, have a strong rhythm, and often repeat the same words. The poems may not make sense and even seem contradictory, but they are easy to learn and recite. By playing with the words in nursery rhymes, children learn about language.

One of the simplest kinds of poem is the “list poem”, which contains a list of things, people, ideas, or descriptions that develop a particular theme. List poems have a flexible line length and repeated phrases which give both a pattern and a rhythm to the poem. Some rhyme (like B and C), while others do not. Another simple form of poem that amateurs can easily write is the cinquain, which is made up of five lines. With these, you can convey a strong picture or a certain mood in just a few words. Look at the example (D).

Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry that consists of 17 syllables. It has a format of three lines, containing 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively. It is not a traditional form of English poetry, but is very popular with English writers. It is easy to write and, like the cinquain, can give a clear picture and create a special feeling using very few words. The haiku poem (E) on the right is a translation from Japanese, which shows a moment in the life of a delicate butterfly.

English speakers also enjoy poems from China, those from the Tang Dynasty in particular. A lot of Tang poetry has been translated into English, such as this one (F).

With so many different forms of poetry to choose from, you may eventually want to write poems of your own. Give it a try!

A	Hush, little baby, don’t say a word, Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird. If that mockingbird won’t sing, Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring. If that diamond ring turns to brass, Papa’s gonna buy you a looking glass. If that looking glass gets broke, Papa’s gonna buy you a billy goat. If that billy goat won’t pull, Papa’s gonna buy you a cart and bull.
B	Only One Mother Hundreds of stars in the pretty sky, Hundreds of shells on the shore together, Hundreds of birds that go singing by, Hundreds of lambs in the sunny weather. Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn, Hundreds of bees in the purple clover, Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn, But only one mother the wide world over. George Cooper
C	LIFE Life can be good, Life can be bad, Life is mostly cheerful, but sometimes sad Life can be dreams, Life can be great thoughts Life can mean a person, Sitting in court.
D	Brother Beautiful, athletic Teasing, shouting, laughing Friend and enemy too Mine
E	A fallen blossom Is coming back to the branch. Look, a butterfly!
F	Where she awaits her husband On and on the river flows. Never looking back, Transformed into stone. Day by day upon the mountain top, wind and rain revolve. Should the traveller return, this stone would utter speech. Wang Jian

根据课文内容完成以下表格。

Type of poem	Characteristics	Example	Topics and poetic devices
Nursery rhyme	• concrete but creative language	A	• love between father and baby • rhymes, repetition
List poem		B
		C
Cinquain		D
Haiku		E
Tang poem		F