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Unit 4 Amazing Plants and Animals
Section A, 1b and 1c
Conversation 1
Emma: Hi, Yaming. What are you doing?
Yaming: Hi, Emma. I’m starting to test on animals and plants.
Emma: Sounds fun. Let’s take it together.
Yaming: OK. First question. What’s the largest animal in the world?
Emma: It’s the blue whale, right?
Yaming: Right. It’s also the heaviest animal on earth. Next question.
Which animal runs the fastest?
Emma: Oh wait! I just read about it. The cheetah runs the fastest.
Yaming: Right again! And I think it’s the most beautiful animal in the
world.
Emma: I completely agree with you.
Conversation 2
Yaming: Now let’s answer the questions about plants. What is the oldest
plant in the world?
Emma: Hmm, I’m not sure. Do you have any idea?
Yaming: Well, I think moss is one of the oldest plants. It appeared
on earth around 470 million years ago ... Oh, look here. I'm correct!
公众号：优乐乐学习乐源 更多资料添加微信：ccqq0108Emma: Interesting! Let's go on!
Yaming:Which kind of tree is the tallest in the world?
Emma:The redwood tree, right?
Yaming: Yes! I hope I can see some someday.
Section A, 2a and 2d
Ella: Oh, what’s that, Chen Jie? It’s so beautiful!
Chen Jie: Thanks. It’s a folding fan. I bought it last year.
Ella: Oh! It has a painting of bamboo on it.
Chen Jie: Yeah. Bamboo is one of the most popular subjects in Chinese
paintings. It’s a symbol of goodness in Chinese culture.
Ella: I didn’t know that before. So, where did you get that fan?
Chen Jie: At the Bamboo Sea in Sichuan, the largest and oldest bamboo
forest in China. I learnt lots of interesting things when I was there.
Ella: Really? Like what?
Chen Jie: Well, bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants. Some
bamboo can grow almost one metre in one day. Also, it’s one of
the most useful plants in the world. People can use it to build
houses and make tools and instruments.
Ella: Oh, that’s interesting. I remember pandas love to eat bamboo too,
right?
Chen Jie: Exactly! Actually, we eat bamboo shoots too. They’re really
公众号：优乐乐学习乐源 更多资料添加微信：ccqq0108delicious.
Section B 1b
We Can't Live Without Bees
Imagine you go to the supermarket in your area, but there are almost
no fruits, vegetables, honey, milk, eggs, or chocolate. How would you
feel? Disappointed? Angry? Sad? At this moment you realize people,
plants, and animals are all connected. We need each other to live, and
bees are one of the best examples of this connection.
Bees are very hard-working animals, and their greatest work is
pollination. On one trip, they often visit 50 to 100 flowers. As they fly
from one flower to another, they take pollen with them. This action helps
plants grow. In fact, without their work, about 80 per cent of the plants in
the world cannot grow. For this reason, many scientists believe that bees
are the most important animals on this planet.
Bees are also one of the most interesting animals in the world. For
example, they work hard together to make their homes. In order to store
honey, they create honeycombs. Another interesting thing about bees is
how they communicate. When a bee finds new food, it uses a dance to tell
the others where and how far away the food is.
Bees are an important part of the ecosystem of our planet. However,
the number of bees is dropping, and scientists are worried. They need our
公众号：优乐乐学习乐源 更多资料添加微信：ccqq0108help, and there is a lot we can do. Think about what you can do to protect
one of the most amazing animals on earth.
Reading Plus
The Brave Homing Pigeon
(Adapted from Ernest Seton's Animal Heroes)
Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, 1862.
The captain sighed. This was the thickest fog he had ever seen. They
were over 330 kilometres from the closest land, so he didn't know where
to go. The ship was on its way to Europe. Just ten hours ago they left
New York, but now the engine stopped working. Clearly, they needed
help!
Suddenly, the captain remembered the homing pigeons. He ran to
them quickly, wrote a message for help, and tied it to Big Blue's leg. Big
公众号：优乐乐学习乐源 更多资料添加微信：ccqq0108Blue flew up and then returned almost right away.
The captain became more worried.
"You are our last hope, little guy," said the captain as he tied a note to
Army, the smaller and younger of the two pigeons. The captain threw him
into the air. Army flew around and around, higher and higher. Soon, the
bird was away from the ship, and the captain couldn't see Army anymore.
"That's a good sign," said the captain with more hope.
Almost 340 kilometres away, Billy heard fast - moving wings come
into his building and go straight to the water bowl.
"Hi there, little guy. Well, aren't you the thirstiest bird!" Billy smiled.
Then he saw the note.
Billy knew what to do. He took the note, running as fast as he could
to the company office. There, he learnt Army had flown in fog and over
公众号：优乐乐学习乐源 更多资料添加微信：ccqq0108the sea, for more than four hours.
Thanks to Army, people sent help to the ship.
The captain later explained, "Army really is the most amazing bird!"
公众号：优乐乐学习乐源 更多资料添加微信：ccqq0108
