高中英语（上教版）必修第一册Reading and reaction
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 end in a video clip from a typical from a typical day. He is 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 the shoeshine boys shows us his favourite thing—his notebook computer. He’s very proud of it because he earned money to pay for it.
“We’re 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, dog 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 the 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.
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 travellers 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, w
as 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 Wild Goose Pagodas and the remains of the Daming Palace, which was the centre of 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.reaction英语
Florence, Italy
Florence, one of the famous historic cities in Italy, is the birthplace of many amazing ides and discoveries!
Florence’s history is alive with the memory of a time when art, culture and science were bei
ng “reborn”. In the late 13th century, the Renaissance began here before spreading to the rest of Europe. At that time, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo were some of the people living, working and studying in Florence. During this period, they, along with other great minds, contributed valuable artworks and made important scientific discoveries.
Florence is filled with heart, science and history museums and ancient buildings, as well as historic universities. You can visit many of these places to experience and admire the amazing work and discoveries that happened during the Renaissance period. An example is Michelangelo’s famous statue David, which he completed between 1501 and 1504. Another must-see is the University of Florence. It was started in 1321 and many famous people studied in the Renaissance period, including Leonardo da Vinci.
In Florence today you can experience the old and the new. Historic sites are neighbours with fancy restaurants and high-end shops. While you are trying the delicious local food, you can decide which interesting places to visit next.
Unit 3 Choices
Food for thought: The good, the bad and the really ugly

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