时间:2018-12-04 作者:英语课 分类:高中三年级英语


英语课

Reading and discussing


Before you read the following text, read the title and look at the pictures. Discuss with a partner what you expect to read about in the text.
                                                  AUSTRALIA’S DANGEROUS CREATURES
       Australia is home to more than 170 different kinds of snake and 115 of these are poisonous. In fact, Australia has more kinds of venomous snake than any other country in the world. Luckily, the poison of most snakes can kill or paralyze 2 only small creatures.A few varieties, however, can kill humans, so it is just as well that snakes are very shy and usually attack only if they are disturbed and feel threatened.

 
      There are also approximately 2,000 different kinds of spider in Australia and, like snakes, most have a poisonous bite. However, the majority have no effect on humans or cause only mild sickness.Only a few have venom 1 that is powerful enough to kill a human being. While a small number of Australians are bitten by spiders each year, most recover without any medical treatment.

       The seas around Australia contain over 160 different kinds of shark, which vary 3 in size from just 20 centimetres to over 14 metres. However, although they look dangerous because of their wide mouths and sharp teeth, all but two or three kinds are harmless 4 to humans.

        Another potentially dangerous sea animal is the jellyfish. Most kinds of poisonous jellyfish can cause severe pain to anyone who touches them but the poison of the box jellyfish can actually kill a human, especially if that person has a weak heart. The tiniest amount of poison from a box jellyfish can kill in less than five minutes and it is probably the most poisonous animal in the world.

        There is one other dangerous animal in Australia worth mentioning, and that is the crocodile. Although two types of crocodile live in Australia, only the saltwater crocodile has been known to kill humans. This crocodile moves very quickly when it sees something it considers to be food, and from time to time a crocodile has snatched 5 someone before he or she is even aware that the crocodile is there.

         You might think that with all these dangerous animals Australia is an unsafe place to live in or visit. However, this is far from the truth. There are no more than a handful 6 of shark attacks each year and only three deaths have been reported in the last five years.Similarly 7, in the last three years there have been only two reported deaths from crocodile attacks. Since 1956, when an anti-venom treatment for redback spider bites was developed, there have been no deaths from redbacks, and since 1981 when a treatment was developed for funnelweb spider poison, there have been no deaths from this spider either. Treatments for jellyfish stings 8 and s~aakebites have also been developed and in the last five years there have been only three deaths from jellyfish stings and about the same number from snakebites.

1 venom
n.毒液,恶毒,痛恨
  • The snake injects the venom immediately after biting its prey.毒蛇咬住猎物之后马上注入毒液。
  • In fact,some components of the venom may benefit human health.事实上,毒液的某些成分可能有益于人类健康。
2 paralyze
vt.使瘫痪,使丧失作用,使呆若木鸡
  • The fear that you might make a mistake or fail in your efforts can paralyze your progress.担心你可能会犯错或者你的努力将会失败,这会阻碍你的进步。
  • The snake uses its venom to stun or paralyze its victims.蛇用其毒液使受害者失去知觉或瘫痪。
3 vary
vi.变化,有不同;vt.改变,使不同
  • Cherries vary in colour from almost black to yellow.樱桃的颜色由近乎黑到黄各不相同。
  • Old people don't like to vary their habits.老年人不喜欢改变他们的习惯。
4 harmless
adj.无害的,无恶意的
  • This experiment was harmless to the animals.这个试验不会对动物造成伤害。
  • He was a harmless sort.他是一个不怀恶意的人。
5 snatched
突然伸手拿取,攫取,抓住( snatch的过去式和过去分词 ); 抓紧时间做; 乘机获得; 夺去
  • The boy snatched a piece of cake and ate it hungrily. 男孩抢过一块饼便贪婪地吃起来。
  • The thief snatched her handbag and ran. 盗贼抢了她的手提包就跑。
6 handful
n.一把;少量,少数,一小撮
  • We invited 30 people, but only a handful came.我们邀请了30人,但是只到了几个人。
  • He pulled out a handful of coins from his pocket.他从口袋里掏出一把硬币。
7 similarly
adv.类似地,相似地
  • He was late and I similarly was delayed.他迟到了,我也晚了。
  • These two pages are similarly glued together.这两页好像粘在一起了。
8 stings
螫伤处( sting的名词复数 ); (某些昆虫的)毒刺; (身体或心灵的)剧痛; (警察为抓捕罪犯而设的)圈套
  • Falsehood like a nettle stings those who meddle with it. 谎言似荨麻,玩弄会刺手。
  • This cream contains a mild analgesic to soothe stings and bites. 这种乳膏含有一种性能平和的止痛剂,能缓解被螫咬后的疼痛。
学英语单词
alpha-proton reaction
alpinia officinarum
alterna-
answer-back signal
archimimes
Arequipite
as like as chalk to cheese
autonomous amplitude limiter
autoregressive deconvolution
avantgardistic
benzhydryl amine
Bermudian rig
bertalanffies
biennial bearing
bitser
blue tulips
Booth, Edwin (Thomas)
brass instrument
bus-fare
casting surface
cherogrils
Chinese lexicology
CORDAT
craplets
critical melting point
descended upon
DIS/SEC
ephedine
epidermolysis acquisita
ethenylene
Ferospace
fibre optic memory
film disk
floating sludge
flobber
fluorocomplex
free-response
gamed
gastrostyle
good wishes
Gr. S.
gradient projection method
graduates
hemochromatosis
hunting-cat
hydroxy-malonic acid
hyperboloidal mirror
industrially advanced country
Kirovskaya
Lytton, Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-,lst Baron Lytton
manograph
Mansonia annulatus
mid ordinate
miediling
modulation formats
native vermilion
onerari non debet
orizio
part-time bowler
peltate tentacle
pigeonhole principle
point-contact
polychromism
postboat
preemulsion
primary tentacle
promote the sale of products
Pueblan
rail loading machine
renal fibroid sarcoma
rescue cutter
rich chromium ball bearing steel wire
rio bravoes
rogueish
Sarcosperma arboreum
scientific notation
search frequency generator
second reserve
signal instructions
smart structure technology
sodium dodecylsulfate
spelye
square normal closed double head wrench
steam-powers
steering engine valve
subnuclear particle
subsizar
Syringa julianae
tarsal pulvilli
text-understanding
twin-cams
unnarratable
uova
vacuum diffusion pump
valley girls
varitypers
Villiers
vinylcarbenoids
vizament
walruslike
Web Pad
withametelins