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外研版高中英语必修三课文3.1GreatEuropeanCitiesParisParisisthecapitalandlargestcityofFrance,situatedontheRiverSeine.Itisoneofthemostbeautifulcitiesintheworldandisvisitedbymorethaneightmilliontouristseveryyear.ThemostpopularplacefortouristsistheEiffelTower,thefamoussymbolofParis.Oneoftheworld'slargestartgalleries,theLouvre,isalsolocatedinParis.Thecityisalsofamousforitsrestaurants,cafsandtheatreés.Abouttwo-thirdsofFrance'sartistsandwritersliveinParis.BarcelonaBarcelonaisthesecondlargestcityofSpainandissituatedonthenortheastcoast,aboutfivehundredkilometreseastoftheSpanishcapital,Madrid.OneofBarcelona'smostfamouslandmarksistheChurchoftheSagradaFamilia,whichwasdesignedbyanarchitectcalledAntonioGaudi.Gaudiworkedontheprojectfrom1882untilhisdeathin1926.Thechurchhasn'tbeenfinishedyet!FlorenceFlorenceisanItaliancitywhichbecamefamousbecauseoftheRenaissance,agreatartisticmovementwhichbeganinthe1300sandlastedforthreehundredyears.DuringtheRenaissance,someofthegreatestpaintersofalltimelivedandworkedinFlorence.ManyofFlorence'smostbeautifulpaintingsandsculptureswereproducedbygreatartistssuchasLeonardodaVinciandMichelangelo.Florenceisvisitedeachyearbyaboutamilliontouristswhocometoseetheartgalleries,churchesandmuseums.TheUffiziPalaceisthemostfamousartgalleryinthecity.AthensAthens,thecapitalofGreece,isknownasthebirthplaceofwesterncivilisation.Twothousandfourhundredyearsago,itwastheworld'smostpowerfulcity.BuildingssuchastheParthenonontheAcropolisHillwerebuiltduringthisperiod.Greece'sbestwriterslivedinancientAthens.Theirworkshasinfluencedotherwriterseversince.3.2TheHumanDevelopmentReportIntheyear2000,147worldleadersagreedtoworktogethertoreducepovertyby2015orearlier.FromthisagreementcametheHumanDevelopmentReport.OneofthemostimportantsectionsofthisreportisTheHumanDevelopmentIndex.Thisexaminestheachievementsof175countries.Theindexmeasuresacountry'sachievementsinthreeways:lifeexpectancy(howlongpeopleusuallylive),educationandincome.Theindexhassomesurprises.Norwayisatthetopofthelist,whiletheUSisatnumber7.Theothertopfivecountriesare:Iceland(2),Sweden(3),Australia(4),theNetherlands(5).TheUKisinthethirteenthposition,whileChinaisinthemiddleofthelist.ThebottomtencountriesareallAfricancountries,withSierraLeone(inWestAfrica)atthebottomofthelist.Thereportdescribeseightdevelopmentgoals.Themostimportantgoalsareto:?reducepovertyandhunger;?makesurethatallchildrenhaveeducationuptotheageof11;?fightAIDSandotherdiseases;?improvetheenvironmentofpoorpeople,e.g.makesuretheyhavesafedrinkingwater;?encouragedevelopedcountriestogivemorehelptoothercountries.The2003HumanDevelopmentReportgivesexamplesofsuccessfuldevelopment.Forexample,innineyears(1953–1962),Chinaincreasedlifeexpectancyby13years.InthelasttenyearsinChina,150millionpeoplemovedoutofpoverty.However,thechallengesarestilglreat.Everyday799millionpeopleindevelopingcountriesarehungry.OverhalfoftheseareinSouthAsiaorAfrica.Althoughmorethan80%ofchildrenindevelopingcountriesgotoprimaryschool,about115millionchildrenarenotbeingeducated.Morethan1billionpeopleindevelopingcountriesdonotdrinksafewater.However,inotherregionsoftheworld,e.g.EasternEurope,waterisnowmostlysafetodrink.Thereportshowsthatwearemakingsomeprogressbutthatweneedtomakegreaterefforts.Althoughdevelopedcountriesgivesomefinancialhelp,theyneedtogivemuchmore.Interestingly,thecountriesthatgivethemostmoneyaretheNetherlands,NorwayandSweden.Theseareamongthefiverichestcountriesintheworld,soitisrightthattheyshoulddoso.3.3TheViolenceofNatureWhatIsaTornado?Atornadoisarotatingcolumnofairfromathunderstormtotheground.Themostviolenthavewindsofmorethan400kilometresperhour.AlmostallofthemoccurintheUS,intheareafromTexasinthesoutheasttoSouthDakotainthenorth.Tornadoescanpickupcars,trainsandevenhousesandputthemdowninthenextstree—toreveninthenexttown.Theycantakethefuroffthebackofacatandthefeathersoffachicken.Theycandestroyhouses,butleavethefurnitureinsideexactlywhereitwas.Onaverage,thereare800tornadoesintheUSeachyear,causingabout80deathsand1,500injuries.Theworsttornadoofalltimeoccurredin1925,affectingthreeUSstates:Missouri,IllinoisandIndiana.Bythetimeitended,morethan700peoplehadbeenkilledand2,700hadbeeninjured.WhatIsaHurricane?Hurricanesarestrongtropicalstorms,andtheyusuallyoccurinsothuethernAtlanticOcean,theCaribbeanSeaandtheGulfofMexico.Thereareviolentwindsof120kilometresperhourormore,whichcausehugewaves,heavyrainandfloods.ThereareonaveragesixAtlantichurricaneseachyearandtheyusuallyaffecttheeastcoastoftheUSfromTexastoMaine.Theworsthurricanedisasterofalltimeoccurredonthe8thSeptember1900inGalveston,Texas.Windsof200kilometresperhourandfive-metre-highwaveshitthecity.Thedisasterkilled6,000peopleinapopulationof37,000anddestroyed3,600buildings.AnExtraordinaryEventThisisastoryaboutthe1900Galvestonhurricane.CharlesCoghlanwasanineteenth-centurIyrishactorwhowenttoliveinCanada.HethenmovedtoNewYork,wherehebecamefamous.Bythelate1890s,hehadmovedtoGalveston,wherehediedin1899,ayearbeforethehurricanestruck.ThecemeterywhereCoghlanwasburiedwasdestroyedbythehurricaneandCoghlan'scoffinendedupinthesea