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人教版高中英语选修 CALIFORNIA It also attracted live

8 课文及翻译

选修 8 Unit 1 A land of diversity-Reading

California is the third largest state in the USA but has the largest population.

has the distinction people from all

of being the most multicultural

diversity of culture

state in the USA, having

when you know

over the world. The customs and languages of the immigrants

is not

on in their new home. This

surprising

the history of California. NATIVE AMERCANS Exactly when the first

people arrived

that

in what we now know as California,

no one really

at least

knows. However, it is likely Native Americans were living in California

fifteen thousand years ago. Scientists believe that these settlers crossed the prehistoric times. In the 16th century, after the arrival of the Europeans, the

Bering Strait in the Arctic to America by means of a land bridge which existed in

native people suffered greatly. Thousands were killed or forced into slavery. In survived

these terrible

addition, many died from the diseases brought by the Europeans. However, some

times, and today there are more Native

Americans living

in

California than in any other state. THE SPANISH

In the 18th century California was ruled by Spain. Spanish soldiers first arrived in South America in the early

16th century,

when they fought

against the native

people

and took their land. Two centuries later, the Spanish had settled in most parts of Of the first Spanish to go to California, the majority were religious men, whose ministry was to teach the Catholic religion to the natives. In 1821, the people of Mexico gained their

South America and along the northwest coast of what we now call the United States.

independence from Spain. California then became part of Mexico.

In 1846 the United States declared war on Mexico, and after the war won by the USA, Mexico had to give California to the USA. However, there is still a strong Spanish influence in the state. That is why today over 40 of Californians speak Spanish as a first or second language.

RUSSIANS

In the early 1800s, Russian hunters, who had originally gone to Alaska, began settling in California. Today there are about 25,000 Russian-Americans living in and around San Francisco. GOLD MINERS In 1848, not long

after the American-Mexican

war, gold was discovered

in California.

The dream of becoming rich quickly attracted people from all over the world. The nearest, and therefore the first to arrive, were South Americans and people from the United States. Then adventurers from Europe and Asia soon followed. In fact, few achieved their dream of becoming rich. Some died or returned home, but most remained in California to make a life for themselves despite great hardship. They settled in the new towns or on farms. By the time California elected to become the

thirty-first federal state of the USA in 1850, it was already a multicultural society.

LATER A RRIVALS

Although Chinese immigrants began to building of the rail California,

network from the

arrive during the Gold Rush Period,

it was the

west to the east coast that brought even larger

numbers to California in the 1860s. Today, Chinese-Americans live in all parts of

although a large

percentage have chosen to stay in

the \

of

Los Angeles and San Francisco. in California

Other immigrants such as Italians, mainly fishermen but also wine makers, arrived

in the late 19th century. In 1911 immigrants from

was well established

in Hollywood,

Denmark established

a town of their own, which today still keeps up their Danish culture. By the 1920s the film industry

California.

The industry

boom

attracted Europeans including many Jewish people. Today California has the second largest Jewish population in the United States. Japanese farmers began arriving and since the 1980s a lot in California

in California

at the beginning of the 20th century,

People from Africa

more have settled there. have been living

since the 1800s, when they moved north from Mexico. However, even more

arrived between 1942 and 1945 to work in the ship and aircraft industries. MOST RECENT ARRIVALS In more recent including

decades,

California has become home to more people from Since its beginning

Asia, in

Koreans, Cambodians, Vietnamese and Laotians.

the

1970s, the computer industry has attracted Indians and Pakistanis to California. THE FUTURE

People from different still

parts of the world, attracted

It

is believed

by the climate and the lifestyle, that

immigrate to California. before

long

the mix of or cultural

nationalities will be so great that there will be no distinct

major racial

groups, but simply a mixture of many races and cultures. GEORGE’S DIARY 12TH— 14TH JUNE Monday 12th, June

Arrived early this morning by bus. Went straight to hotel to drop my luggage, shower

and shave. Then went exploring. First thing was a ride on a cable car. From top of the hill got a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay and the city. Built in 1873, form of transport a terrible

accident

than horse-drawn in which a tram's

trams. Apparently brakes failed,

the cable car system was invented by Andrew Hallidie, who wanted to find a better

he'd been shocked when he saw the conductor could not control

the situation and the tram slipped down the hill dragging the horses with it. Had a late lunch at Fisherman's What. This is first

the district where Italian fishermen

industry.

It's

came to San Francisco in the late 19th century and began the fishing

Now it's a tourist area with lots of shops, sea food restaurants and bakeries.

also the place to catch the ferry to Angel Island and other places in the Bay.

Did so much exploring at Fisherman's What. Am exhausted and don't feel like doing anything else. Early bed tonight!

Tuesday 13th, June

Teamed up with a couple from my hotel (Peter and Terri) and hired a car. Spent all day driving around the city. There's a fascinating drive marked out for tourists. It has blue round-trip

and white signs with seagulls that takes

in all

on them to show the way to go. It's

spots. Stopped many times to

a 79km admire

the famous tourist

the view of the city from different angles and take photographs. Now have a really good idea of what the city's like.

In evening, went to Chinatown with Peter and Terri. Chinese immigrants settled in this area in the 1850s. The fronts of the buildings are decorated to look like old buildings in southern

China. Saw some interesting

Also art galleries

temples here,

and a great many restaurants.

a number of markets

documents,

but

and a museumcontaining

photographs and all sorts of objects about the history of Chinese immigration, it is closed in the evening. Will go back during the day. Had a delicious meal and then walked down the hill to our hotel.

Wednesday 14th, June

In morning, took ferry to Angel Island from the port in San Francisco Bay. On the way had a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge. From 1882 to 1940 Angel Island was a famous immigration station where many Chinese people applied for right to live in USA. The cells in the station were very small, cold and damp; some did not even have light but the immigrants had nowhere else to go. Their miserable stay seemed to be punishment rather than justice and freedom to them. They wrote poems on the walls about their loneliness and mourned their former life in China. In 1940 the civil authorities reformed the system so that many more Chinese people were able

to grasp the opportunity of settling in the USA. Made me very thoughtful and thankful for my life today.

选修 8 Unit 2 Cloning-Reading

CLONING: WHERE IS IT LEADING US?

Cloning has always been with us and is here to stay. It is a way of making an exact copy of another animal or plant. It happens in from growing plants

in sex and appearance are produced from are both examples of natural clones. commercial quantities

of plants.

plants when gardeners take cuttings

identical

to make new ones. It also happens in animals

the same original

when twins

egg. The fact is that these

Cloning has two major uses. Firstly, gardeners use it all the time to produce

Secondly,

it is valuable

species and for medical research on animals. Cloning plants is cloning animals is very complicated. It is a difficult task to undertake. Many attempts to clone mammals failed.

But at last

the determination

scientists paid off in 1996 with a breakthrough - the cloning of Dolly the sheep.

for research on new plant

straightforward

while of the

and patience