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Unit1OurEarthListeningAudioTrack4-1-11.I’vevisitedafewcavesinGuilin.Therocksinthecavesareindifferentshapesandcolors.Ifyouuseyourimagination,therockscanresemblemanydifferentthings.Itlookslikeawholeotherworld.2.IwenttothedesertinGansuonce.AsIstoodinthemiddleofthedesert,Ifacedendlesssandandfeltverysmall.Bydaythedesertwasextremelyhot,bynightitgotverycold.Iexperiencedsummerandwinterinthesameday.3.Tomyknowledge,Californiahasbeautifulcoastlines.PeoplelovethemandthousandsofvolunteersoftengiveuppartoftheirweekendstokeepthesandyCalifornianbeachesclean.4.ThePortofShanghaiislocatedatthemouthoftheYangtzeRiver.Ithandlesmanymillionsofshippingcontainerseachyear.Infactitmightevenbethebusiestcontainerportintheworld.5.Japanhasmanyhotsprings.Someofthemarelocatedinmountainousareasandaregreatattractionstoforeigntourists.Supposedly,thehotspringshavehealingproperties.6.ThemostfamousmountainrangeintheworldistheHimalayas.Itcontainstheworld’shighestmountain,MountEverest(i.e.Qomolangma),whichclimbstoaheightof8,848meters.7.TheWhiteCliffsofDoverareoneoftheUnitedKingdom’smostspectacularnaturalsights.Thecliffsaremadefrombrightwhitestone.Onaclearday,theyarevisiblefromFrance,approximately30kilometersaway.8.MountVesuviusisafamousvolcanoinItaly,whichhasnotbeenactiveforabouttwocenturies.Butpeoplesayitmighteruptagain,somedaysoon.9.NiagaraFallscrossestheborderoftwocountries,CanadaandtheUnitedStates.Everyyear,millionsoftouristsobservethebeautyofthesemagnificentwaterfalls.Morerecently,thewaterfallshavebecomeavaluablesourceofhydroelectricpower.AudioTrack4-1-2/AudioTrack4-1-3Blake:Whatareyouworkingon,Mary?Mary:I’mfinishingmypaper.It’sduetomorrow,Blake.Blake:What’sthetopic?Mary:It’saboutGreenland.Blake:Greenland.Hmmm…that’spartofCanada,right?Mary:Ithinkyouneedtostudyyourworldgeography,Blake.Blake:Well,isn’titnearCanada?Mary:Yes,it’soffthecoastofnortheastCanada,butit’spartofDenmark.Blake:Oh,Ididn’tknowthat.Well,what’syourpaperaboutexactly?Mary:Inmypaper,Ianswerthequestion“IsGreenlandreallygreen?”Inotherwords,isGreenlandcoveredbyalotofplantsandtrees?Blake:Isit?Mary:Whatdoyouthink?Blake:Let’ssee…GreenlandisintheArcticCircle—wayupnorth.It’scold,…so“IsGreenlandreallygreen?”I’danswer“probablynot.”Mary:You’dbecorrect.It’stoocoldthere.Inthenorth,alotofthegroundisfrozen.Thesummersareshort,soonlythesurfacethaws.Blake:Thatsoundstough.Mary:It’shardfortheconstructionindustry.It’snoteasytobuildinGreenland.Blake:Itsoundssoharsh.Whywouldanyonewanttogothere?Mary:Therearebigmountainrangesonthecoasts.They’regreatforhikingandoutdoorsports.Andtherearelotsofanimalsthere.Youcansometimesseewhalesswimmingintheharbors.Blake:Thatsoundscool!OK,soifit’snotreallya“green”place,whywasitnamed“Greenland”?Mary:Thefirstsettlerswantedtoattractotherpeople.Theygaveitanattractivename.AudioTrack4-1-4/AudioTrack4-1-5Jay:Comeinhere,Elise.Youshouldseethisshow!Elise:Whatisit?Jay:It’scalled“TheTitanicoftheSky.”It’sabouttheHindenburg,agreatengineeringfeat.Elise:TheHindenburg…Jay:Youknow,thatgiantzeppelinthatcrashedin1934.Thirty-fivepeopledied.Elise:Ohyeah,Iremembernow.ItwasflyingfromGermanytotheUnitedStates.Itcrashedasitwaslanding.Jay:Right.It’ssofunnylooking,don’tyouthink?Itdoesn’tlookanythingliketheairplaneswehavetoday.Elise:That’strue.Whywouldpeoplerideinazeppelinanyway?Itseemssodangerous.Jay:Well,somepeoplecalledtheHindenburg“man’sgreatestachievementinflight.”Theythoughtitwassafe,Iguess.Elise:Whorodeinitanyway?Jay:Mostlywealthypeople.Itaccommodatedbetween30and40passengersandcrew.Onepersonsaiditwaslikea“flyinghotel.”Elise:Itsoundsprettygreat.Jay:Yeah,anditwasfast.That’swhypeoplerodeit.Theywantedtogettotheirdestinationfaster.Elise:Whydidn’ttheyjusttakeajetplane?Jay:Elise!Youknowtheydidn’thavejetsbackthen.Look,in1934ittookfivedaystotravelfromGermanytotheUSbyship.Thezeppelincoulddoitinhalfthattime.Itwasspeedy.Elise:Well,maybeI’llsitdownandwatchalittlebit.MaybeI’lllearnsomething…AudioTrack4-1-6/AudioTrack4-1-7/AudioTrack4-1-8Jack:Ithinkweshouldbuyabiggercar.Bigcarsaresafer.Kayla:Yes,butontheotherhand,theyconsumemoreoil.Jack:Theyalsolookreallycool.Kayla:That’strue,buttherearesomeSUVswhicharenotthatbigbutalsoverybeautiful.Jack:AndIthinkbigcarsaremorefuntodrive.Kayla:Butthenagain,it’sveryexpensive.Jack:Well,let’sgetmoreinformationaboutseveralkindsofcars,okay?AudioTrack4-1-9MycountryhastwoveryfamousbuildingscalledthePetronasTowers.Thebuildingsaremadeofglass,steel,andconcrete.TheyweredesignedbyanAmericanarchitect,butheusedaMalaysianstyle.Theywerefinishedin1998,andtheywerethetallestbuildingsintheworldatthattime.Eachtowerhas88floors,andis452metershigh.IreallylikethePetronasTowers.Theyshowboththemodernandthetraditionalsideofmycountry.AudioTrack4-1-10/AudioTrack4-1-11Modernbuildings:Welovethem,wehatethem.Theworld-famousLouvreMuseuminParisisalmost500yearsold,anditfacedaverymodernproblem:Theresimplywasn’tenoughspaceforsixmillionvisitorseachyear.In1989,AmericanarchitectI.M.Peidesignedastrikingglasspyramidinthebuilding’scentertobeavisitor’sentranceandshoppingarcade.Buthealsostartedanangrydebate.Somepeoplefelth