姜紅偉　周瑞蓮

(A)

A Letter from Above

天外來信

這封來信是美國“哥倫比亞號”航天飛機的宇航員之一的勞雷爾從地球的外層空間發(fā)回的電子郵件片段。勞雷爾乘坐宇宙飛船，邀游在無垠的太空，俯視機艙外的地球美景，她思緒萬千，那么她看到了什么呢?對這次太空之旅她又有什么感想呢?

To our dear earth:

These days Ive been very busy working all the time. I just get a little time to write an e-mail. It will be short and I want to give it to many people I know and love. In space, I have seen some wonderful things: the moon setting over the earth, the large plains of Africa, rivers breaking through the earth and tall mountains passing by the spaceship. Mount Fuji is like a small hump from up here. Much of the time I am working in space lab. Whenever I get to look out, it is great. Even the stars look brighter.

All of the experiments have been done and a few are finished. I feel happy to be here in space as the first person from our country and do experiments for the scientists around the world.

My eyes have got a little worse up here, so you may see me wearing glasses. Up till now, we have finished most of the work. Maybe, in a few days, Ill be back.

The food is great and Im feeling well now. It still takes some time to eat and to drink because there is no gravity in space.

Thanks to many of you who have supported me these years.

Love to all,

Laurel

Notes:

1. large plains of Africa 非洲大草原

2. Mount Fuji is like a small hump 富士山就像一個小面團

3. finish v. 完成 4. do an experiment 做一個實驗

5. gravity n. 重力 6. support v. 支持

Comprehension questions

1. Where does Laurel write the e-mail? ____.

A. At home B. In her school

C. In the space lab D. On the moon

2. Why does Laurel wear glasses? ____.

A. Her eyesight becomes worse

B. In space she has to wear glasses

C. Because the sun is too bright

D. She wants to be more beautiful

3. Why does drinking take more time in space? ____.

A. She cant hold her glasses

B. In space, she has time to drink very slowly

C. Because there is no gravity

D. She doesnt like to drink quickly

(B)

A Kangaroo Court

袋鼠法庭

袋鼠的彈跳力極好，長得也挺逗人，但由于過度保護，這些澳大利亞的“國寶”多得快要泛濫成災了。難道這“袋鼠法庭”是用來處理袋鼠問題的?非也，不要顧名思義。原來這是一個著名的典故，你想知道它和袋鼠有什么關系嗎?

A“Kangaroo court” may be an unfair court. It may also be a group of people who hold a trial without any right to do so.

“Kangaroo court” began to be used about 150 years ago. At that time, Australia and its fast jumping kangaroos were popular in America. One writer believes “Kangaroo court” came into use at that time.

This story says judges in America often had to go a long way to hold trials in different places. Often, if they traveled farther and held more trials, they would get more money. So all the judges wanted to hold more trails and they often went from one place to another. Usually, the money came from fines. The judges asked the guilty to pay for the trial. So court trials were often short and always unfair.

This story told us that these courts became known as “Kangaroo courts” because the judges jumped quickly, like a kangaroo, from one town to the next.

Notes:

1. trial n. 審判 2. unfair adj. 不公平的

3. the guilty 有罪的一方 4. judge n. 法官 5. fines n. 罰款

Comprehension questions

1. The text is mainly about ____.

A. kangaroos B. judges C. fines D. unfair courts

2. A “Kangaroo court” ____.

A. is usually unfair B. is only found in Australia

C. has no judges in it D. is very popular

3. About 150 years ago, a judge of the “Kangaroo court” got his money

from ____.

A. the fines B. the court

C. the people of the country D. the school

Key(1)