Unit 1 Our world Life in a day
What do you love? What do you fear? What’s in your pocket? These are the questions from the film Life in a Day. Director Kevin Macdonald asked people around the world to answer the questions and send in a video clip from a typical day. He was interested in creating a picture of the world, a digital time capsule for the future. On 24 July 2010, people from Africa, Europe, America, Antarctica and Asia recorded events on their mobile phones and digital cameras and uploaded them onto the Internet. In all there were 81,000 video clips. It took Macdonald and a team of researchers seven weeks to make them into a film.
The film starts at midnight. The moon is high in the sky, elephants are washing themselves in a river in Africa and a baby is sleeping. At the same time, in other parts of the world, people are getting up, brushing their teeth and making breakfast. In the next minutes of the one-and-a-half-hour-long film, we watch everyday routines from more than 140 different countries and see the connections between them. In one short scene an American girl is playing with her hula hoop. In another, a child is working at a shoeshine stand in Peru. One looks well off, the other is poor, but then the shoeshine boy shows us his favorite thing—his notebook computer. He’s very proud of it because he earned the money to pay for it.
“We all care about the same things,” says the director and in some ways he’s right. Family and friends are the things most people love and many of them are keen on sports, like football. But then one man says he loves his cat and another loves his fridge because it doesn’t talk back.
Monsters, dogs and death are the things most people fear. One young girl is worried about growing up and a man in Antarctica says, “I’m afraid of losing this place.” But when asked, “What’s in your pocket?”, the answers are surprising. We don’t see an ID card, a shopping list, or a bus ticket. Instead, one person has a paper towel, and another shows us a button. A poor man says he has nothing. He’s not ashamed of his poverty—he’s simply happy to be alive.
The film ends just before midnight, with a young woman in her car. It’s raining outside and she’s recording a short clip on her phone. “I just want people to know that I’m here,” she says. In other words, she wants to show that her life matters.
Even though their lives are very different, the people in Life in a Day have one thing in common: each of them is able to find meaning and happiness, no matter what his or her life is like.
My work at UNICEF China
Li Zhen from UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) China was interviewed by our reporter last week. Here is what he shared with us.
Reporter: What does UNICEF do?
Li Zhen: UNICEF is an international organization. Its goal is to protect the rights of children and to make sure that every child receives health care and education.
A lot of important work is being done by UNICEF and its partners. We are always doing our best to improve the lives of children around the world. The organization has offices in most countries. I’m mainly working in the UNICEF China office in Beijing, but I do travel a lot.
A large number of activities are being organized by different UNICEF offices and partner organizations. Because of this, I’m always in touch with other offices to find out about new projects.
Reporter: What kind of programme is currently being implemented?
Li Zhen: UNICEF has an Early Childhood Development programme to help children between the ages of three and six. Kids that age are too young to start school, but they’re not too young to start learning. Through our community programmes, children are playing and learning at the same time. Parents love these programmes.
Reporter: What are your plans for today at the office?
Li Zhen: Well, these are several things on my schedule. A big conference will be held in Beijing next week. My team is preparing to talk about our projects. I’m also writing a report for the UNICEF office in New York. Several plans are being developed to improve school quality in small town far from any big cities. My report explains some of our goals and what we’re doing to achieve them.
And later this afternoon, I’ll take part in a meeting about UNICEF’s e-learning project for parents. That programme supports Chinese parents who are living and working far away from their children.
18XX Renmin Road Shanghai 200040
People’s Republic of China
12 September 20XX
Dear Teens,
I’ve been at senior high for about two weeks and I love it.
Many things here are different from those in my junior high school.The school is larger.It has so many buildings that I still love my way sometimes.We have more classes and the subjects are much more difficult than before.Unlike the teachers in junior high,teachers here don’t set a lot of rules,so we have more freedom.There are more school clubs and activities.I have joined the basketball club and the guitar club.The biggest difference is that
my senior high school is a boarding school.I live in the school dorm during the week.I miss my family sometimes,but I get on well with my roommates,and I’m learning how to live away from home.
Other things are the same.Students here are as friendly,as those in the junior high school.I’ve made some friends here and we play basketball after school together—just like before.
Next week,we’re going to have the school Art Festival.I’m playing the guitar for my class and I’m excited bout that!
I like life here.So much is new,challenging and fun.I know I’ll enjoy the next three years here. Yours, Li Ming
Unit 2 Places Where history comes alive
Xi’an, China
Xi’an is no doubt one of the most popular tourist destinations in China. Every year, millions of travelers visit the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shihuang about 42 kilometres from the city centre, which is one of the most amazing historic sites in the world.
As one of China’s great former capitals, Xi’an grew to be the largest city in the world during the Tang Dynasty, a golden age of art and poetry. Chang’an, as it was known at the time, was the starting point of the Silk Road, which connected China to the world. It was here that Xuan Zang set out on his famous travels, which became the basis of Journey to the West. Historic sites from that time include the two Wide Goose Pagodas and the remains of the Daming Palace, which was the centre of the Tang court.
Today, Xi’an is a modern city, at the heart of China’s Belt and Road initiative, but its long history can be seen everywhere: it is one of the few cities in the world that still have city walls. The wall, almost 14 kilometres in length, was originally built for the purpose of defence, but nowadays, it’s a great way to experience Xi’an: from here,you can get an amazing view of the city.
Florence, Italy
Florence, one of the famous historic cities in Italy, is the birthplace of many amazing ideas and discoveries! Florence’s history is alive with the memory of a time when art, culture and science were being “reborn”. In the late 13th century, the Renaissance began here before spreading to the rest of Europe. At that time, Michelangelo,
上海高一英语新教材(上教版)教材必修一课文
