1、Yeti,Bigfoot and the Wild Man of Shennongji

For centuries,people have reported seeing a wild
creature in the Himalayas called Yeti. The Yeti is
said to be a large, （is said to be：据说）hairy animal that walks on two
feet like a human being. People believe that Yetis
sometimes come down from the mountains to
attack villagers.
In 1998, an American mountain climber said that
he saw a Yeti on the Chinese side of the
Himalayas. ‘It walked like a human, but it had
thick black fur and was about six feet tall with
huge shoulders, very long arms and large hands,’ he said.
In 2007（two thousand and seven）， an American TV team saw Yeti tracks 33 centimetres in length in the snow near Mount Qomolangma.They made copies of these tracks and had them
examined by a scientist in the USA. He reported that they looked like the tracks
of a similar creature, called Bigfoot, which some people believe lives in the forests
of the north-west of the USA.
Yeti and Bigfoot are similar to （与某某相似）a creature known as the Wild Man of Shennongjia.（野人和大脚怪与人类熟知的神农架野人类似）
There have been dozens （很多）of reports that people have seen a Wild Man in the
Shennongjia Nature Reserve in western Hubei Province, China. （地址写法：小-中-大）In one case（一种情况）， a
group of engineers ran after the creature（一群工程师追赶怪物）, which moved with amazing speed and
strength. Large tracks have also been discovered which some people say belong to
the Wild Man（倒装句？——一些人说发现的巨大的足迹是属于野人的）. Because of these reports and the tracks, there have been several organized searches for this creature, but no strong evidence for its existence has
ever been found.
Dr Grover Krantz,a scientist from Washington State University, studied reports of
such strange creatures for many years. He became convinced they exist.He
believed that these creatures are linked （联系、关系）to a common ancestor, an animal that
lived in Asia some 300,000 （three hundred thousand）years ago. In his opinion, this animal made its way to（向前、向。。走去）other parts of the world, and continues to survive even today.
Scientists hope that the mystery will be solved one day. If such creatures really
exist, we might have the chance to see one with our own eyes.（我们自己的眼睛）

注解：

centuries:世纪 wild：野生的（wild flower/wild annimal/in the wild）
himalayas：喜马拉雅山 hairy：多毛的 come down：流传下来、反对
attack：袭击（make an attack on 攻击）climber：登山者 thick：充满、厚度
fur：毛皮衣服（a fur coa：毛皮大衣） feet：脚、英尺（foot的复数） hand：手 arm：手臂、武器
track：小路、足迹、跟踪 lengh：长度 examined：检查 scientist:科学家(science科学)
similar:类似的(be similar to与某某相似) north-west：西北部 dozen：十二个、很多 Nature：自然
Reserve：保护区、保留。Province：省。 engineers：工程师。 speed：速度。 strength：力度
several：几个。 organized：工会。 existence：存在。convinced：说服。ancestor：祖先。opinion：看法
survive：存留。 became：成为、开始变得

难易词：

survive—-several—-reserve
strength—-strange

长难句：

1、 Large tracks have also been discovered which some people say belong to
the Wild Man
2、

2、An adventure in Africa

30 June
Dear Aihua
How are you? Sorry I haven’t written for so long.I’ve been quite （现在完成时：从过去到现在/我一直在忙）busy arranging （arrang+sth）my holiday with my older brother,Colin.Colin and I plan to （计划做某事）spend a few weeks （spend+sometime doing sth）travelling before he goes to university.We’re going to visit so many exciting places and do lots of extraordinary things.We will go to Africa first.I can’t wait（迫不及待）! Have you ever been there?（have been to：去过某地已经回来了）
We leave London on 15 July（一般现在时表将来）,and we’ll be taking a flight （将来进行时表将来）to Morocco,in northern Africa.We’re going to ride camels through the Sahara Desert.It’s the biggest desert in the world-about the size of the US! I expect it will be very hot,dry and dusty there.We’ll be travelling （将来进行时）by camel with local guides, camping in tents and sleeping on the ground（当地）.I’ve heard （听说）that, in the Sahara,there is no shade during the day,and the stars seem especially brilliant on clear nights（在晴朗的晚上）.I’ll bring a flashlight with me（bring sth with sb：随身携带） so that I’ll be able to see in the dark.Altogether,the trip will take six days.That means I’ll have to sit on a camel for almost a week-how uncomfortable! I hope my camel likes me!
After the trip by camel, we’re going to travel down the River Nile.We’ll start （出发）at Lake Victoria.A little way down the river from Lake Victoria,the water gets quite rough（汹涌）.So,we’ll go white-water rafting.It’s quite dangerous,but very exciting! You have to wear a helmet and a life jacket（救生衣） for protection, just in case（以防万一） you fall into（掉落） the water.
Then,we’re going on（继续） a trip to see wild animals in Kenya.We’ll live with the local people in their villages, and eat and drink whatever they do,including cow’s blood! Do you think I should drink it?
Since （因为）we’ll be walking for almost two weeks,I’ll need to buy a large backpack in advance to carry my supplies of food and water.Duringthe day, we’ll walk across the land,following the tracks of wildlife such as elephants, lions and giraffes.We’ll try to get as close as（尽可能靠近） possible to the animals, even though they’re dangerous, so that we can take some really good photographs. But don’t worry about me. Our guides will have guns with them for defence-they can use the guns to scare the animals away if they come too near.I really want to see an elephant up close（close up：关闭）,and Colin wants to see a giraffe.
After that,we’ll be moving on（继续） to Tanzania,where we’re going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.Mountain climbing can be very tiring,and many people feel sick （恶心）as the atmosphere gets thinner, so Colin and I will make sure that we get plenty of rest. The African part of our trip will take about four weeks.Afterwards,we’re going to the Himalayas.
I’l send you postcards from all the different places we visit!
Love
Toby

注解：

quite：非常。 arranging：安排。 exciting：激动。 extraordinary：意想不到的
July：七月。 flight：飞行、班机。 rid：骑。 camel：骆驼。 expect：期望、预计。 dusty：灰尘
camping：露营。 tent：帐篷。 shade：阴影。 brilliant：明亮的。 flashlight：手电筒。 trip：旅行
uncomfortable：不舒服的。 helmet：头盔。 wear：穿。 jacket：夹克。 advance：前进。supplies：供给
defence：保护。 tiring（tire）：令人疲倦的。atmosphere：大气。 plenty：大量的。 Afterwards：以后

3、Hunan Province Adventure

Days I & 2
Enjoy nature at Mount Heng（恒山）,near
Hengyang,and spend the day
climbing to the top of the mountain.
Take a night （休息一晚）train to Fenghuang（凤凰） to
view a traditional way of life. See the
home of Shen Congwen（沈从文）, a modern
Chinese writer.
Day 3
Travel by bus to Zhangjiajie.Go
white-water rafting on the
Mengdong River（猛洞河）.For almost 50
kilometres your eyes will be filled
with the wonders of nature.
Day 4
Travel to the top of Mount Tianzi（天子山）.
See the splendid sight of the high
mountains rising up through the
clouds.

Explore Shandong Province

Day 1
Explore Ji’nan, known as ‘the City of
Springs’. See the famous Baotu Spring（趵突泉） and
Daming Lake（大明湖）.Then visit the Yellow River（黄河）.
Days 2 & 3
Take a bus to Tai’an （泰安）and climb Mount Tai（泰山）.
Spend the night （过夜）at South Heaven Gate（南天门）.
Watch the beautiful sunrise on
the mountaintop early the next
morning.Visit Dai Temple（岱庙） at the
foot of the mountain. Relax a
little bit （一小会儿）at a teahouse.
Day 4
Take a bus to Qufu（曲阜）,where
Confucius was buried.

注解：

traditional：传统。 modern：当今的、近代的、现代的。 wonder：奇观、奇迹、感到惊讶
splendid：壮丽的、极好的。 sight：景观、视力。 explore：探索。 Spring：春天、泉水
Heaven：上帝、天堂。 confucius：孔子。 bury：埋葬

4、Shangri-la

Shangri-la
Would you like the chance to discover a place of mystery and beauty in the
south-west of China? If your answer is ‘yes’, consider a trip to Shangri-la!
How to get there
Start in the city of Dali and drive north along the Yunnan-Tibet Highway
until you reach Zhongdian(Shangri-la), the capital of Diqing. Zhongdian is
659 kilometres away from Kunming, and there are regular flights between
the two cities.
The world-famous Chinese Shangri-la
The word ‘Shangri-la’ first appeared in a classic novel by James Hilton.
Today, Shangri-la has become a common English word meaning heaven on
earth. Hilton（希尔顿） described a beautiful kingdom where three rivers joined
together, steep mountains reached to the sky, and fields of long grass
covered the earth. In this perfect world lived people who had discovered
how to stay young forever.
Which place could officially take the name of this wonderful land? There
were arguments over which tourist spot would win the name of Shangri-la.
Many years after the book was published, some people realized that the
Shangri-la of the novel was a perfect match for Zhongdian in Yunnan
Province, China. In September 1997, the government of Yunnan Province
announced that Zhongdian was the Shangri-la of Hilton’s story.
What you will see in Shangri-la
Three mountains,Meili,Baimang and Haba, which are covered with snow,
tower over the land. Their snowy mountaintops form a beautiful picture
that will leave you at a loss for words.
Below the mountains, the sunshine reflects on the many lakes, making
them shine like diamonds against the rich countryside. Sheep, cattle and
horses wander on the green grass, and the surrounding forests are home to
many birds and animals. In this peaceful land, people live in perfect
harmony with nature, far away from the noise and worry of the outside
world.
Nature has provided Shangri-la with endless natural treasures, making the
land a happy home for the local people.
What the weather is like
The weather changes so quickly that people say you can experience four
seasons in one day. The best times to visit Shangri-la are spring and autumn
when the temperature is at its mildest.

5、The curse of the mummy

The curse of the mummy
Howard Carter is one of the most famous explorers the world has
ever known.He was brave and loved to visit and explore new places.
During his life, he discovered many amazing things.
When Howard Carter was a child,he was bright and curious about
the world outside his home town.In 1891,at the age of 17,he set
sail for Alexandria, Egypt.By the 1920s,he had become an explorer,
searching for the tombs of the Egyptian kings. He found several
important ones.Inside the tombs,he discovered a great fortune in
jewels and gold,along with the preserved bodies of dead kings.
These preserved bodies are known as mummies.
In 1922,Howard Carter made his most amazing discovery of all, in
the Valley of the Kings,in Egypt.He had received money from Lord
Carnarvon,a British man who was very interested in Egypt.Carter’s
team was working at a place near the city of Luxor.There,they came
across the tomb of King Tutankhamun.It was the most important
tomb that had ever been found.’The tomb contained more treasure
than any of us had ever seen before, as well as the mummy of the
king,’ said Carter.’After we looked into the tomb,we closed it and
hid its entrance.We wanted to study the tomb later when we had
more time.Afterwards,all of its contents would go into a museum.’
However,not long after the discovery, people in Carter’s team began
to fall ill and die.Upon their entering the tomb,Carter’s lucky pet

bird,which he had left in Cairo,was swallowed by a snake. Then,a
few months after Carter had opened the tomb,Lord Carnarvon,who
was also present when the tomb was opened, fell ill with a fever and
died in Egypt. At the moment of Carnarvon’s death,the lights went
out in Cairo,the capital of Egypt.Back in England,his dog died at
approximately the same time.
George Gould,a friend of Carnarvon’s,went to Egypt after hearing of
his strange death. He too visited the tomb, only to catch a high fever
the next day.Twelve hours later, he was dead. Carter’s secretary,
Richard Bethell,died of heart trouble four months after the tomb was
opened.Arthur Mace,another member of the team,also died shortly
after the discovery.
Within seven years,21 people who had something to do with the
opening of the tomb died. Howard Carter,however,lived on until the
age of 65.Some people say the deaths were just coincidence. Others
believe that they were in connection with a mummy’s curse,as a
punishment for those who enter the resting place of the dead.
However,still others believe that there is a scientific explanation.
Inside the tombs,there are many viruses.When a tomb is opened,
fresh air disturbs the viruses. If breathed in, they can result in illness
or even death. Today, when scientists examine mummies, they wear
special clothing for protection.
What is certain, though,is that ‘the curse of the mummy’ remains a
riddle to this day.