L3-Unit2 4-1 Listening
Overview of Earth
Earth is where we all live. It is our home in the solar system. There is no other place for us to live. Earth isn’t just any planate. It’s a very special place. It’s special because we depend on it for many things. Because of its importance we need to take care of it.
We depend on the Earth for its air, its water, and many of its nature resources. Natural resources, such as coal and oil, give us energy. Other natural resources we depend on include forests and soil. Forests provide clean air and wood for building houses. Soil is needed to grow plants and keep them healthy. We need to take care these resources and not waste them. (Coal and oil are examples of natural resources.)
The earth is a large, rotating sphere, about 4.5 billion years old. The equator, which divides the earth into two hemispheres, is about 40,000 kilometers long. The Earth's diameter is 12,756 kilometers. It’s radius is half that, or 6378 kilometers. The radius is the distance from the Earth’s center to its surface. Most of the Earth's surface is covered by water. The rest of the Earth's surface is land.
Just above the Earth’s surface is the atmosphere. The atmosphere is the layer of gases about 500 kilometers thick. These gases include oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. This mixture of gases is the air that we breathe.
As we move above the Earth's surface the air gets thinner. At hight altitudes, the air is too thin to breathe. At the edge of the atmosphere is space. There is no air at all in space.
Water on Earth
Most of the Earth’s water is in the Oceans. The two largest oceans are the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
Unfortunately, we can’t drink ocean water. This is because ocean water has too much salt.
Fortunately, there is also water in lakes and rivers. This water isn’t salty, so we can drink it.
Only about 2% of the world’s water is fresh water. Without fresh drinking water, we can’t live. A person can’t live for more than a few days without water.
Rivers are important. Most rivers began in mountains and end in the oceans. The water flows from high ground to low ground. At first, rivers are small and are called creeks or steams. As water enters from other steams, a river grows.
Some rivers become very large and long. The longest river in the world is the Nile River, in Africa. It’s almost 6500 km's long. As for water volume, the Amazon is the largest river. The volume of water flowing through it per second is more than in any other river.
Another use of rivers is for energy. The energy of falling water is used to produce electricity. This use of water supplies over 20% of the world's electricity. Rivers are also important for agriculture. Without water, farmers cannot grow food.
And of course rivers can be used for transportation. Rivers boats are used to carry things to inland cities or lakes.
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L3-Unit2 4-2 Vocabulary
Things we enjoy doing
This man does running five days week if the weather is good.
On the weekends he goes running 10km unless the weather is bad.
This woman really enjoys reading, especially works of fiction.
She has read hundreds of books.
This young couple enjoys watching old movies, such as Titanic.
They both cried when it sank and many people went down with the ship.
This young boys enjoy playing sports on the weekend.
Sometimes they play basketball and sometimes they play football.
This young man eats too many sweets so he is overweight.
He needs to eat fewer sweets and exercise more.
Continents
Here are 6 of the Earth's 7 continents：
Asia is the largest continent, both in land and in population. Asia covers 30% of the Earth's land area.
Africa is the second largest continent. Of all the continents, Africa has the youngest population.
Europe is to the west of Asia and is the second smallest continent. Europe is the birthplace of classical music and some of the world's greatest art and literature.
(Some of the world's greatest music and art come from Europe.)
North and South America are bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean.The first human beings to live in the Americas came from Asia more than 15,000 years ago.
Australia is the world's smallest continent and the world's largest island. Australia is surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans.
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L3-Unit1 4-2 Vocabulary
Here are some different types of things to read.
Works of fiction include novels, short stories and plays, such as Shakespeare. We read fiction to enjoy stories of imagination and adventure.
People read the news to learn about what’s happening in the world. We can get the news in newspapers and online.
When we buy something, we often need to read an instruction manual. Instruction manuals show us how to put together or install things.
Non-fiction works include biographies and books about science and history. We read non-fiction to learn about different subjects and real people.
We can learn about the latest scientific research in journals and academic papers. Many online university courses give a list of research papers to read.
L3-Unit2 4-3 Dialogue
Emergency Call
I’d like to speak with Mr. B please.
I’m sorry, but he is no here right now.
Would you like to leave a voice message?
It’s urgent that I speak with him. (needing quick attention)
It’s an emergency.
Oh, I see. What kind of emergency?
It’s very personal, so I can’t give you any details.
Without more details, I’m afraid I can’t give you his number.
Give me your number, and I’ll let him know about your call.
Then maybe he’ll call you back, will that be ok?
Sure, my number is 5834987.
It would be great if he could call within the next half hour.
Pay Bill
That was a great dinner.
Here, put away your wallet, I’ll pay the bill.
You payed last time. This time is my turn to pay.
Hey, you don’t have a job, and I do, let me pay.
Thanks for the offer, but I can handle it.
Wait, let’s flip for it.
Flip for it? What does that mean?
Do you see this coin?
This side is heads and the opposite side is tails. (硬币反面)
I’ll flip it up in the air.
If it comes down with heads facing up, I’ll pay.
If tails is up, you can pay.
Okay, that’s fine with me.
Look, it’s heads up, so I’ll pay.
Thanks, it’s very nice of you.
It’s my pleasure.
Getting Cash
Do you want anything else sir?
Would you like to see the dessert menu?
No, thank. I’m ready for the check.
Here is my credit card.
I’m sorry sir. But we don’t take credit cards.
You’re joking, right?
No, sir. I’m not joking.
Do you see that sign, it says cash only.
I didn’t see it, when I came in.
I don’t have enough cash to pay the bill.
(He planned to pay by credit card.)
There is a bank down the street sir.
If you let me hold your driver’s license, you can go and get the cash.
(He has to leave his driver’s license with the waiter.)
Ok, I hope the bank is open.
The bank is closed, but can use the ATM to get your cash.
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