英语阅读新视野第1课

Spiders 蜘蛛

Before You Read 阅前思考

Answer the following questions.

1. Are spiders popular as pets in your country? Why or why not?

2. Are you, or is anyone you know, scared of spiders?

3. Do you think spiders have any uses?

Target Vocabulary 目标词汇

Match each word with the best meaning.

1. artificial a. from a particular area

2. benefit b. the army, air force, and navy

3. environment c. made by humans; not made naturally

4. military d. (verb) to receive a positive result; (noun) a positive result

5. native (to) e. the possibility of something

6. potential f. large or important

7. reputation g. opinion about how good something is

8. significant h. a grouping of living things

9. species i. the air, land, water, and surrounding that people, plants, and animals live in

10. fund j. (verb) to provide money for a purpose; (noun) a sum of money for a purpose.

Reading Passage 阅读文章

There are more than 37, 000 known species of spiders in the world in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The largest spiders in the world live in the rain forests of South American and are known by the people who live there as the “bird-eating spiders.” These spiders can grow up to 28 centimeters in length-about the size of a dinner plate, and , as their name suggests, have been known to eat small birds. In comparison, the smallest species of spider in the world is native to Western Samoa. These tiny spiders are less than half a millimeter long-about the size of a period on this page-and live in plants that grow on mountain rocks.

Some people like to keep spiders as pets, particularly tarantulas, which are native to North America and can live for up to twenty-five years. Most people, on the other had, don’t like touching spiders, and a significant number of people are afraid of them, mainly because of their poison. However, despite their bad reputation, only thirty of the 37,000 known species of spiders are deadly to humans. Spiders actually provide benefits to humans, by catching and eating harmful insects such as flies and mosquitoes.

The main thing that makes spiders different from other animals is that they spin webs to catch the small insects they feed on. The unique silk of a spider’s web is produced by special organs found in the lower part of the spider’s body. It is light, elastic, and strong-spider web is five times stronger than steel. Additionally, it is completely biodegradable. This means that the web will completely decompose and eventually return to nature over time-making it perfect for uses such as making fishing nets. Some people have tried to raise spiders commercially in order to collect the silk these spiders produce, but no one has ever really managed to make a go of it. One reason why these businesses never stand a chance is because it takes 670, 000 spiders to produce half a kilogram of silk, and all of these spiders need living insects for their food. In addition, spiders are usually solitary animals, and need to be kept alone.

One Canadian company may have found a solution to making artificial spider web. In 2002, they announced that they had used genetically modified goats to produce milk that contains the chemicals used to make spider web. The company, which is funded by the U. S. army, hopes that in the long run it will be able to make large quantities of very light, very strong fiber for military and medical uses. Additionally, because the manufacture of the artificial web is based on goat’s milk and water the industry potentially would be non-polluting and environmentally friendly.

Reading Comprehension 阅读理解

1. What is the best title for this passage?

a. The Spider-An Amazing Animal c. The World’s Largest Spider

b. Why People Hate Spiders d. How Spider Webs Are Made

2. According to this passage, spiders are…

a. deadly and useless. c. harmful but popular.

b. unpopular but beneficial d. uncommon and not significant

3. Spider web and steel are both .

a. strong b. light c. biodegradable d. elastic

4. What characteristic of spider web would make fishing nets made from it environmentally friendly?

a. strength b. elasticity c. lightness d. biodegradability

5. What sentence is NOT true about the Canadian researchers?

a. They have produced goats that can spin webs

b. They receive money from the American army.

c. Their technique for producing webs causes little pollution.

d. They are able to produce web without using spiders.

Idioms 习语

Find each idiom in the story.

1. make a go of something-have success with something

I thought his business would fail, but he’s really making a go of it.

Kylie wanted to make a go of her marriage, but her husband wanted a divorce.

2. stand a chance-likely to achieve something

I’d love it if my team won, but I don’t think they stand a chance.

I’ll have to study hard to stand a chance of passing that exam.

3. as (the) name suggests-as defined by the name.

Big Jim, as his name suggests, is a large man.

The Man-Eating Tiger of Borneo, as its name suggests, killed and ate a number of people.

Vocabulary Reinforcement 词汇强化

A. Circle the letter of the word or phrase that best completes the sentence.

1. The inventor had a hard time finding someone with money to his new invention.

a. suggest b. fund c. stand a chance of d. benefit

2. Many scientists don’t feel comfortable doing research for purposes.

a. military b. beneficial c. artificial d. comparative

3. I think you can trust him; he has a good .

a. benefit b. species c. organ d. reputation

4. Kangaroos are Australia.

a. beneficial for b. native to c. as the name suggests d. deadly to

5. Andrea has a terrible voice. She doesn’t of winning the singing contest.

a. make a go b. stand a chance c. have a reputation d. find a solution

6. Green tree frogs, , live in trees.

a. eventually b. even though c. as the name suggests d. unfortunately

7. To me, sugar tastes better than sweeteners.

a. species b. artificial c. useful d. significant

8. Often, historical events didn’t seem at the time end up being very important later on.

a. delicious b. potential c. artificial d. significant

B. Complete the passage with items from the box. One item is extra.

The thousands of different (1) of spiders range from the size of dinner plates to smaller than a period. Spiders are unique because they spin webs of silk, and some people think spider silk is (2) useful for humans. Spider web silk is very strong and is biodegradable, so it is good for the (3) . No modern businesses have been able to (4)

spider farming, but one company claims to have found a way to produce the chemicals to make

(5) web silk through goat’s milk. If this company is successful, the new silk could (6) people in many ways.

What Do You Think? 你怎么想？

1. What other animals have a bad reputation? Do they deserve their unpopularity?

2. What do you think about genetically modified animals and plants? Do you think genetic modification is good idea?

Part 1: Complete the passage 完型填空

Use words from the box to complete the passage. Write the words in the spaces. One item is extra.

Many people are afraid of spiders because of their (1) as dangerous animals. However, only thirty of nearly forty thousand species have the (2) to poison humans. By contrast, spider silk can (3) mankind. In face, the military is (4) the development of (5) web.

Part 2: Read and answer 阅读并答题

Read the passage and answer questions. Circle the letter of the best answer.

In many parts of the world, people tell folk stories about magic spiders. The Anansi stories native to the Ashanti tribe in Ghana are the most famous of these stories. Two hundred years ago when people traveled from Ghana in West African to the New World, they took the Anansi stories with them. Today they are very popular in the Caribbean, especially in Jamaica. They are also popular in both North and South America.

The Anansi stories are about a trickster spider who told a lot of stories. In folk tales, a trickster is a small but very clever animal who, as the name suggests, plays jokes or tricks on larger, more powerful animals. Tricksters use their intelligence and their humor to get what they want. According to the legend, Anansi the spider earned his stories from the sky god Nyame by catching a leopard, some dangerous hornets (insects similar to bees), and a python (a kind of huge snake). Normally, a spider wouldn’t stand a chance against these animas, but Anansi figured out how to trap them.

Animal trickster stories have been passed on for generations by older people in a group telling them out loud to younger people. The stories help people understand each other, and they teach correct ways to act towards others. People of all ages like to listen to them because they are funny and they like the way the small spider is the hero of the stories. Sometimes the main trickster animal is a rabbit or turtle instead of a spider. The trickster gets into all kinds of difficult situations, but he always succeeds in the end.

1. What is the best title for the whole passage?

a. Poisonous Spiders in the News c. Stories of a Clever Spider

b. Anansi Tricks the Python d. Famous Children’s Stories

2. Where did the Anansi stories first come from?

a. West Africa b. South America c. North America d. the Caribbean

3. What is the best description of tricksters?

a. powerful and sad b. small and intelligent

c. humorous and huge d. large and dangerous

4. Which of these species is NOT mentioned in the reading as being a tricksters?

a. spiders b. rabbits c. turtles d. pythons

5. What happens at the end of trickster stories?

a. The hero is successful. c. The animals face a difficult situation.

b. The powerful animals benefit. d. Tricksters get a bad reputation.