高一英语外研版必修四第四单元cultural corner

Answer 1

　　高一英语外研版必修四第四单元cultural corner原文及翻译:

　　Rockets
　　Todayrockets are very advanced machines which we can use to send astronauts intospace. They are also used in firework displays to celebrate great events, suchas the end of the Olympic Games or the beginning of the new millennium inthe year 2000.
　　Rocketswere probably invented by accident about 2,000 years ago. The Chinese had aform of gunpowderwhich was put in bamboo tubes and thrown into fires to make explosions duringfestivals. Perhaps some of the tubes jumped out of the fireinstead of exploding in it. The Chinese discovered that the gas escaping fromthe tube could lift it into the air. The idea of the rocket wasborn.
　　Thefirst military use of rockets was in 1232. The Song Dynasty was at war with theMongols. During the battle of Kaifeng, the Song army shot "arrows offlying fire".The tubes were attached to a long stick which helped keep the rocketmoving in a straightdirection. Soon the Mongols learned how to make rockets themselves and it ispossible that they introduced them to Europe. Between the 13th and 15thcenturies there were many rocketexperiments in England, France and Italy. They were used for military purposes.One Italian scientist even invented a rocketwhich could travel over the surface ofwater and hit an enemy ship.
　　But not everybody wanted to use rocketsin battles. Wan Hu, a Chinese government official, invented a flying chair. Heattached two big kites to the chair, and 47 rockets to the kites. The rocketswere lit, there was a huge explosion andclouds of thick smoke. When the smoke cleared Wan Hu and his chair haddisappeared. No one knows what happened. Did Wan Hu die in the explosion? Orwas he carried miles into space, becoming the world's first astronaut?
　　火箭
　　今天，火箭是我们用来将宇航员送入太空的非常先进的机器。它们也被用在庆祝重大事件的焰火表演中，像奥运会的闭幕式或2000年新千年的开始。
　　火箭很可能是在大约两千年前被偶然发明出来的。中国人有一种装在竹管里的火药，这种火药是节日中被用来扔进火里爆炸的。也许一些竹管从火堆里蹿了出来，而不是在里面炸开。中国人发现从竹管里释放出来的气体可以使其飞向空中。于是关于火箭的想法诞生了。
　　火箭第一次被用于军事上是在1232年。那时宋朝正与蒙古作战。在开封战役中，宋军射出了“飞火箭”。这些竹管被绑到一根长棍上，这根长棍可帮助火箭沿笔直的方向飞行。不久，蒙古人学会了怎样自己制造火箭，并且可能是他们将其引入欧洲的。在13世纪到15世纪期间，在英国、法国和意大利有很多关于火箭的实验。它们都用于军事目的。一个意大利科学家甚至发明了一种可以飞过水面打中敌舰的火箭。
　　但并不是每个人都想将火箭用于战争。一个名叫万户的中国官员发明了一种“飞椅”。他把两个大风筝绑到椅子上，又把47个火箭绑在风筝上。火箭被点燃了，发生了巨大的爆炸，出现了厚厚的浓烟。当烟雾消散时，万户和他的椅子已经不见了。没有人知道发生了什么。万户被炸死了？还是他被载入了数英里远的太空而成为世界上第一个宇航员了呢？

Answer 2

Most of us, however, take life for granted. We know that one day we must die,