Unit Eight

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Unit Eight
The Scenic Spots at the Entrance to Xiling Gorge
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The scenic spots at the entrance to Xiling Gorge
Three Visitors Cave
White Horse Cave
Taohuacun Resort
The Garden of Chinese Sturgeon
Another Beautiful Peak in the Three
Gorges Gallery
3
The scenic spots at the entrance to Xiling
Gorge, which located in the city proper(??), is a
national tourist attraction. Three Visitors Cave
is very famous at home and abroad because of its
special humanism(????) charm. The Chinese
Sturgeon Garden was granted the AAA scenic spot
by the National Touring Bureau. The Chinese
Sturgeon, which is being protected and bred in
the garden, is one of the oldest acanthi(??)
animal.
4

It appeared about 140 million years ago and was
classified as firstrated-protected
aquatic(???)animal. It was equally famous as
National Treasures as the Giant Panda.
5
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• ??????????,?????????????????????????????????
  ??3A????,????????????????????,??????????,?????????
  ??,???????

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Passage 1
Three Visitors Cave
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Three Visitors Cave, Situated in the Xiling
Mountains on the outskirts of Yichang. It is a
tourist highlight both because of its approximate
to Yichang and the spectacular terrain it is on.
It is caught between towering peaks and skirted
by a clear stream called Xialao. Its top commands
a view of Nanjin Pass where the dangerous upper
section of the Yangtze River gives way to the
middle reaches along which navigation is
relatively easy. Three Visitors' Cave has
two interconnected entrances, one as wide and
tall as a city gate while the other so low that a
tourist has to crawl through it on all fours. The
bigger section measures six metres in height and
20-30 metres both in breadth and depth.
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Three stalactites divide it into two chambers,
the front one being spacious and bright and the
rear one having a ceiling shaped like a hanging
bell. The floor of the cave issues the sound of a
drum when the tourist stamps his feet on it, and
smaller rocks near its walls sound like a chime
when struck. These are three wonders of Three
Visitors' Cave Heavenly Bell, Earth Drum, and
Side Chime. More than forty stone inscriptions
both inside and outside the cave are still
discernible, including Bai Juyi's Introduction
to Three Visitors' Cave and some writings by the
Song scholar Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072).

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The name of Three Visitors Cave was from a
story. A story says that, in 819,the Tang poet
Bai Juyi(772864) and his younger brother came
across another poet Yuan Zhen(779831). The three
visited the cave together and each inscribed a
long poem on its walls in praise of it. In his
introduction of the spot, Bai wrote Since the
three of us are the first to visit this cave, I
name it Three VisitorsCave. In 1056,Su
Xun(1009-1066)and his sons,Su Shi(1036-1101)and
Su Zhe(1039-1112), all men of letters of the
subsequent Song Dynasty,came to visit the cave on
their way to the imperial capital to take civil
service examinations. Each of them also wrote a
poem on its stone walls.
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Notes
1. Three VisitorsCave ???,??????????????????????
??????????????????????? 2. each inscribed a long
poem on its walls in praise of it. inscribe v.
(??in, on, with??)????e g. She inscribed her own
name on the textbook. ??????????????? The
monument is inscribed with his name. ???????????
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New Words
outskirts n.(??)?? stalactite n. ????
highlight n. ?????? chamber n. ?
spectacular a. ??? rear vt. ??
terrain n. ?? chime n. ???????
peak n. ?? discernible a. ????
navigation n. ?? inscribe v. ??
relatively ad. ??? subsequent a. ???
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• Exercises
• I. Answer the questions
• 1. Where is the Three Visitors Cave?
• 2. When did the Three Visitors Cave date back
  to?
• 3. Who named Three Visitors Cave?
• 4. Why does Three Visitors Cave become a tourist
  highlight?
• 5. What are the three wonders of Three Visitors
  Cave?

Key
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II. Decide the statements true or false 1. Three
Visitors Cave situated in the Wu Mountain on the
outskirts of Yichang. ( ) 2. The name of Three
Visitors Cave can date back to Qing Dynasty. (
) 3. Three Visitors Cave has one interconnected
entrance. ( ) 4. The three visitors are Bai
Juyi ,his younger brother, and Yuan Zhen. (
) 5. More than forty stone inscriptions both
inside and outside the cave are
still discernible. ( )
Key
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Translation

• ? ? ?
• ???,???????????????????????????,?????,??
  ??,?????
• ?????????,????,???????????,????,????,??3
  0???20???10??????3??????????????,?????????????????
  ???,????,?????????,????,????,? ????????

15
????????????????????(??819?),??????????????
?????,??????????(????),??????????????????????????
?????????????,????????????????????,???????137
??????,?????????????????????????????????,?????????
?????,???????????,??????
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White Horse Cave
Passage 2
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White Horse Cave is located at Nanjin Pass in
northwestern suburb of Yichang City. The entrance
to the cave faces Changjiang and its outlet is
opposite to the Three Visitors Cave. The
world-famous Gezhouba Key Water Conservancy
Project is on its left, about 5 km down stream.
This large karst cave is 2100 metres long and
extends by T.
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The Whole Cave is divided into five levels. The
stalactites in the cave are untouched with
different shapes. The average temperature inside
is about 19 ?,In the inner part of the cave,
there is a group of white stalactites shaped like
a vivid strong white horse. This is how the cave
named. The murmuring stream slowly flows out into
a pool at the entrance. Tourists may visit the
cave by boat .The cave in the cave and spots in
the spots make people forget to go home.
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Notes
White Horse Cave ???????????????,?????????????,??
??????????
New words
outlet n. ??, ?? stalactite n. ???
water conservancy ??(??) untouched a. ?????
karst n. ??? murmuring n. ???
extend v. ??, ??
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Exercise I. Decide the statements true or
false 1. White Horse Cave is located at xiling
Pass. ( ) 2. The Whole Cave is divided into
four levels. ( ) 3. The average temperature
inside is about19. ( ) 4. This large karst
cave is 2100 metres long and extends by Y. (
) 5. Tourists may visit the cave by car. ( )
Key
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Translation

• ???
• ????????????????,????????,???????,????5??
  ????????????????????????????2100??,?T????
• ???????,??????????,????????19????????????
  ???????,??????????,????????
• ??????????,????????,????????,????,????,??
  ?????

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Passage 3
Taohuacun Resort
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Taohuacun Resort, situated at Nanjin Pass,
Yichang City, opposites Gezhouba Dam. It is the
only resort of preservation in Yichang for
peoples cognition of various species of peach
blossoms. Moreover, it is considered to be a
combination of culture and species of peach
blossom . Taohuacun Resort is also called
Zhaojunyuan Garden. Its history could be traced
back to 1st century BC. Emperor Guang Di of Han
Dynasty chose Wang Zhaojun of Zigui to the palace.
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Zhaojun was reluctant to leave this spot while
Sailing by a dragon boat through Yiling.
Additionally, more than 20 beautiful spots where
tourists
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can appreciate peach and cherry blossoms in
spring, enjoy celestial fruit in summer, and
admire sweet-scented osmanthus in autumn have
already been well-known by their particular charm.
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Notes
Taohuacun Refers to Peach Blossom Village in
Chinese.
New words
resort n. ?? trace back to v. ???
preservation n. ?? reluctant a. ???
cognition n. ?? appreciate vt. ??
species n. ?? cherry n. ??
combination n. ?? celestial a. ???
blossom n. ? sweet-scented n. ??
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Exercise
I.Decide the statements true or false 1.
Taohuacun Resort, situated at Nanjin Pass, near
to Geahouba Dam. ( ) 2. Taohuacun Resort is
also called Zhaojun yuan Garden. ( ) 3. Its
history could be traced back to 1st century BC.
( ) 4. More than 25 beautiful spots where
tourists can appreciate peach and cherry blossoms
in spring. ( ) 5. Emperor Guang Di of Song
Dynasty chose Wang Zhaojun of Zigui to the
palace. ( )
Key
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? ? ?
back
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Translation

• ? ? ?
• ???????????,????????,????????????????
  ????????,?????????????,?????????????????????
• ????????,??????????,?????,???????????,??????
  ????????,???????????????????,?????????????????????
  ??,??????????

back
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Passage 4
The Garden of Chinese Sturgeon
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The Chinese Sturgeon is a kind of giant
migration fish which exists only in China,and
weighs over one thousand kilograms. The fossils
of sturgeon have been found in the stratum of
Cretaceous Period in Mesozoic Era which dated on
140 million years ago, it was called Living
Fossil in Water and was classified as
first-rated-protected aquatic animal, it was
equally famous as National Treasures as the
Giant Panda. The Chinese sturgeon is the biggest
fresh water fish. The texture construction of it
is very special. There is no sting in it, only
five roles of beautiful bone boards and cartilage
backbone support its huge body.
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It looks powerful with a huge body. The adult
sturgeon can be as long as 4 meters, weights up
to 500 pounds. It' s the biggest sturgeon among
27 sturgeons in the world, so it is called the
king of sturgeon, and gets the fame of the king
fish in the Changjiang River . The Chinese
sturgeon is a typical migration fish between the
river and the sea with a special behavior. In
summer and autumn each year, the Chinese
sturgeons which grow up in the sea gather at the
mouth of the Changjiang River, from there they
begin their romantic and arduous trip of
amativeness and marriage.
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The trip up the river takes one year, they swim
3000 kilometers till the next autumn when they
arrive at the torrential Jinsha River their
yearning birthplace. In Jinsha River they lay
eggs and rear their offsprings. During the
nearly two years of propagation up the river and
the trip to the sea, the sturgeons eat nothing,
the strength to swim all lies in the nourishment
they store, they can be called the champion of
fast. When they get to the mouth of the
Changjiang River,their eggs are not completely
mature,yet they are willing to experience
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hardships of the ten-month pregnancy, they
supply nourishment continuously to the eggs to
ensure that the eggs mature completely when they
arrive at the Jinsha River. The mysterious
phenomenon of energy transformation remains to be
an unsolved enigma.
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Born in the river and grown up in the sea, the
Chinese sturgeons are suitable to live in the
aquatic circumstance with a salinity of 1 to
36.It takes at least ten years from the young
sturgeons are fetched in the river till they grow
up in the sea and get back to the river to bear
the offspring. Generation after generation, they
live like this. No matter how far away they swim,
they are still attached to their mother river.
Their unalterable direction and clinging
regression is like the love of the Chinese people
living overseas to the motherland.
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In 1963, professor Wu Xianwen, the famous
ichthyologist named the fish with affection the
Chinese sturgeon, also called the patriotic
fish. The construction of the Gezhouba Dam and
Three Gorges project on Yangtze River has cut the
migration course off, for protection of this
species,the Institute of Chinese sturgeon had
succeeded in artificial propagation of the
Chinese sturgeon in 1984,since then,over 300
thousand fish fries have been put into the river
every year, it is a remarkable achievements in
the environ mental protection and
imminent-danger-animal propagation.
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Notes
1. The Garden of Chinese Sturgeon????,???????????
???,???????????---??????????????AAA????????2????,?
????????????????????????????????????????? 2. It
was classified as firstratedprotected aquatic
animal. classify v.?????? eg I classified
my books by subjects. ?????????? Eggs are
classified according to size. ???????????
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New Words
yearning a. ???,??? offspring n. ??
propagation n. ?? nourishment n. ???
champion n. ?? pregnancy n. ??
mysterious a. ??? phenomenon n. ??
salinity n. ?? regression n. ??
Ichthyologist n. ???? Patriotic a. ???
sturgeon n. ?? migration n. ?? fossil
n. ?? stratum n. ? ?? cretaceous n.
??? Mesozoic n. ??? classify vt. ??
aquatic a. ??? texture n.(??)?? cartilage
n. ?? arduous a. ??? amativeness n. ??
torrential a. ???
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Exercises
I. Answer the questions 1. Where does the
Chinese Sturgeon lay eggs? 2. Does the Chinese
Sturgeon only live in the sea? 3. Can you state
something about the Chinese Sturgeon's texture
construction? 4. Who named the fish the Chinese
Sturgeon? 5. Which stratum the fossil of
sturgeon have been found?
Key
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II. Decide the statements true or false 1. The
Chinese Sturgeon was called Living Fossil in
Water. ( ) 2. The Chinese Sturgeon is the
biggest fresh water fish. ( ) 3. The Chinese
Sturgeon are suitable to live in the aquatic
circumstance with a salinity of 1-36. ( ) 4.
The adult sturgeon can be as long as 3 meters,
weights up to 500 pounds. ( ) 5. The Chinese
sturgeon can be called the champion of fast. (
)
Key
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Translation
????
????????????????????,?????????????????????????
?,????????????,????????,?????????????,??????????
?????????????,????????????,??????????????????
???????????????????????????????,????,?????????,???
??,???27?????,???????,??????????
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??????????????,????????????,????????????,?
????????,?????,????3000???,???????????????????????
?,??????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????,???????,????????????
???????,??????????????????????,???????????,??????
??????,???????????,??????????????????????????????
??????
43
????????,?????,??????1 36?????????????????
??????????????,??????????,????,???????????????????
,????????????????,???????????????????????????1963?
,???????????????????????,??????
?????????????????????????????????,???????1984?????
?????????,??,?????????????30???,??????????????????
???????
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Passage 5
Another Beautiful Peak in the Three
Gorges Gallery
?????
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Outline There is an amazing gorge area named
Xiaofeng, which is called another beautiful peak
in the Three Gorges gallery. Away from Yichang,
25 kilometers in the west along the
Yizi(??)highway, Here it has rich sunshine,
terrific mountains, and wonderful landscapes.
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You can not help spending more time here for
various natural wonders such as the Lovers
spring water in the underground longest river,
the hundred meters high waterfall in Baiguoshu
(???), dangerous
but exciting Gulong(??)River, the mysterious
coffins in rock, and etc. Its one of the most
attractive travel places in the mouth area of the
Three Gorges.
?????
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The ancient coffins in rock is mystery The first
must-see mystery is the coffins in rock during
our trip in Xiaofeng. Across the chain bridge,
the Yin-yang Bridge, we are entering the place.
Among the total thirteen coffins , five coffins
are stored here that we can see clearly, while
the rest 8 ones are kept in natural caves to keep
its original states. In China, its the only Ba
peoples burial heritage that was kept in
original state to enable the closest viewing.
According to the C14 historical test done by the
National Archaeology Institute , the skeleton was
buried in around 270 years BC.
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The ancient coffins in rock is mystery.
back
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According to the Chinese history, that time is
the end of the Fighting Kingdoms Period, and is
almost 2,300 years away from nowadays. The most
wonderful mystery is that, 2,300 years ago, under
the condition of undeveloped technologies, how
the Ba people lifted such 100 kilos coffin into
the natural cave in the cliff that is 350 meters
to the mountaintop and nearly 200 meters above
the ground? Many people gave their concluded
solutions, such as rope lifting, diastrophism,
ladder lifting, earth platform lifting, tunnel
sending, wood picket lifting, and etc. But,
actually, up to now, the experts still did not
find their real approaches.
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The Lovers Spring
It is on the other side of the river, just
opposite to the coffins in rock, we can see an
underground river about more than 10km long
integrating the caves, springs and waterfalls.
The Baiyunyan(???) Water-Eroded cave(??) is about
700 million years old which is rare in the
nation.
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It was found in 1997,and was opened to the public
in April, 1998. Why the spring was called Lovers
spring? Because the two stalactite rocks,which
look like a couple of lovers, are the symbol of
the Lovers Spring. They lean close to each other
standing here for thousands of years without
leaving each other. All the solemn pledges of
love made by the human beings seem incomparable
with their loving history, magically, behind the
couple there stands another third person who is
all wet by tears. The nature returns the real
love to the human being and nature itself.
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Six km away from the Lovers Spring is the
Baiguoshu(???) Waterfall. Here it has ever been
chosen as the camera location for a film named
The Tour Package for Fit Keeping. Its an
attractive gorge integrating sceneries, cultures,
nature, exploration, and recreation.
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New Words
ferry n . ?? valley n . ?? cling v .
?? lean v . ??
Integrating a. ???? spring n .
? waterfall n . ?? eroded v. ??
Exercises
I. Answer the questions 1. What is Xiaofeng
called? 2. When the Lovers spring was
discovered? 3. What is the meaning of the Lovers
spring?
Key
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II. Decide the statements true or false 1. The
first scenic in Xiaofeng is coffins in rock. (
) 2. Many people gave five points for the method
of the Hanging coffin. ( ) 3. The Lovers
spring is beside of the Hanging coffin. ( ) 4.
The Baiyunyan(???) had 700 million years old
which is rare in the nation. ( )
Key
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III. Multiple choices 1. Which scenic does not
include in Xiaofeng? A. Lovers spring
B. Huangguoshu waterfall C. Hanging coffin
D Baiguoshu waterfall 2. How many years
does the Hanging coffin exist? A.2000 B.
2100 C. 2200 D. 2300 3. When the Lovers
spring was opened to the public? A. 1997
B. 1998 C. 1999 D. 2000 4. How far is
Baiguoshu waterfall from Lovers spring? A.
5km B. 6km C. 7km D. 8km
Key
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Translation
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?,?????????,??????,??????,?????????????????,??????
?,??????????,????????????????????
57
???????
????,?????????????????????????,?
??????????,????13???,?????????5?,??8????????????,?
???????????????????????????????????????????????C14
??,?????????270?,????????????,????,???2300????
58
???2300??,????????????,????????????100????????????
?350??,?????200??????????????????????????,??.???
.?????.????.?????.??????????????????????,????,
??????,?????????
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? ? ?
??????,????????????,?????????????????,??????10??,?
????????????????????????7?????????????1997????,199
8?4?????????????????????????????????????????????,?
???,??????,????,????,??????????
60
???????????????????????????,???????,???????,??????
?????????????????????6??,???????????????????????
??????????????????????????????.
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Key (Unit Eight)
Passage 1 I. 1. It situated in the Xiling
Mountains on the outskirts of Yichang. 2. Tang
Dynasty 3. Bai Juyi 4. Because of its approximate
to Yichang and the spectacular terrain it is
on 5. Heavenly Bell, Earth Drum, and Side
Chime II.1.F 2.F 3.F 4.T 5.T Passage 2 I. 1.F
2.F 3.T 4.F 5.F
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Passage 3 I. 1.F 2.T 3.T 4.F 5.F Passage 4 I.
1. In Ginsha River 2. No, it doesnt 3.
There is no sting in it, only five roles of
beautiful bone boards and cartilage backbone
support its huge body. 4. Professor Wu
Xianwen 5. Cretaceous Period in Mesozoic Era.
II. 1.T 2.T 3.F 4.F 5.T Passage 5 I.(?) II.
1.T 2F 3.F 4.T III. 1.B 2.D 3.A 4.B
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????--???
Thank you!