carl feels pitiful that steve jobs died of disease.
史蒂夫·乔布斯因病去世，卡尔为此觉得很遗憾。
carl: it's really a great pity about the death of steve jobs. he is such an outstanding man.
卡尔：史蒂夫·乔布斯的离世真是一个很大的遗憾，他是一位如此杰出的人！
henry: as the ceo and one of the cofounders of apple, he had made great contributions to the world.
亨利：作为苹果公司的首席执行官和创始人之一，他对世界做出了很大的贡献。
carl: have you got the apple's products?
卡尔：你用过苹果的产品吗？
henry: yes, i bought an ipod last year. it is very good. the tone quality is excellent.
亨利：是的，我去年买了一个ipod。它很好，音质非常出色。
carl: the iphone 4s is on the market now. the functions of this mobile phone are rather powerful. there's no need of a pc any more if you have this. i'm eager to get one. but i just got a cell phone several months ago.
the advantages and disadvantages of genetically modified food:
转基因食品的利弊：
advantages: it can increase crop output per unit of area to reduce producing cost.the transgenic technology can increase the pest-resistant and antiviral ability of the crop. it can also improve the storability of the agricultural products, and extend the refreshing time.
disadvantages: a number of studies show that genetically modified foods will damage the immune function of mammals.
弊端：多项研究表明，转基因食品对哺乳动物的免疫功能造成伤害。
航天技术
dialogue
it's time for lunch. kim and matt are talking while walking to the dining hall.
该吃午饭了。金和马特在去餐厅的路上边走边聊。
kim: it is said that the shenzhou-8 manned spaceship launched in november.
金：据说神州八号在11月份发射升空了。
matt: yeah, i've heard of it. the aeronautical technology of our country is developing at a very fast speed now. the tiangong-1 have just launched successfully in september.
马特：是啊，我听说过了。我们国家的航天技术现在发展得非常快，天宫一号9月份刚刚发射成功。
kim: tiangong-1 is the first unmanned space module in china. it is really a breakthrough.
金：天宫1号是中国第一艘无人太空舱。这真是一个突破。
matt: yes, it is worth memorizing. and the shenzhou-8 and the tiangong-1 completed the first space docking.
马特：对，很值得纪念。神州八号和天宫一号完成了第一次太空对接。
kim: i think it is very amazing and fantastic. how can two objects which are far away from earth can complete different actions as precisely as we wish?
matt: this is the power of knowledge. people are awesome.
马特：这就是知识的力量。人类是了不起的。
kim: maybe one day we would reach out of the solar system and search the outer space.
金：也许有一天我们能够走出太阳系，探索外太空。
matt: yes, and then we can cross the universe and visit different planets easily.
马特：嗯。那我们就能很容易地穿越宇宙，去拜访其他星球。
kim: it will come true one day, i think.
金：我想总有一天会实现的。
notes
1. spaceship [?speis??ip] n. 宇宙飞船
2. launch [?l?:nt?] v. 发动；推出；发射；n. 发射；下水；投产
3. aeronautical [,??r?'n?:tik?l] adj. 航空的；飞行术的
4. module [?m?dju:l] n. 组件，模块，模件；（航天器）舱
5. memorize [?mem?raiz] v. 记住，熟记
6. dock [d?k] v. 使（船）进港，进港；n. 码头；被告席
7. precisely [pri?saisli] adv. 精确地；刻板地
8. awesome [??:s?m] adj. 令人叹为观止的，很棒的，了不起的
9. planet [?pl?nit] n. 行星
小贴士
1. our country has made remarkable progress on aerospace technology.
我们国家的航天技术已经取得了长足的进步。
2. more than one hundred years have past since the wright brothers invented the first plane in the world.
距离莱特兄弟发明飞机至今已经过去100多年了。
3. the boeing company is still the giant in aerospace engineering.
波音公司依然在航空技术领域独占鳖头。
4. the space travel will not be just a fantasy any more.
星际旅行将不再是一个梦想。
5. the american scientists plan to invent an unmanned space vehicle to explore the mars.
美国科学家计划发明一个无人飞行器去探索火星。
6. modern life needs the services of the applied satellites circling the earth on a large scale.
现代生活在很大程度上离不开环绕地球的应用卫星的服务。
7. the aerospace technology is a high-tech subject which depends on the support of many other subjects.
航空航天技术是一门高技术的学科，需要很多其他学科的支持。
建筑工程
dialogue
owen just came back from his business trip to hong kong.
欧文刚刚从香港出差归来。
mike: when did you come back from your business to hong kong?
迈克：你什么时候从香港出差回来的？
owen: i came back the day before yesterday. it was a cheerful journey.
欧文：我前天回来的。真是一次愉快的旅行。
mike: you must have a good time there,right?
迈克：你一定在那儿玩得很开心，对吧？
owen: of course, hong kong is a wonderful city. the beautiful scenery of seaside, and the towering buildings, everything there makes me linger on without any thought of leaving.
欧文：当然，香港是一个充满魅力的城市。海边的美丽风光，高耸入云的建筑，那里的一切都让我流连忘返。
mike: can you tell me something about your experience?
迈克：可以给我讲一下你的见闻吗？
owen: ok, the spot of hong kong which impressed me most was the zhongyin building. it looks like a bamboo. it is said that it represents the sprit of power, vitality and enterprise.
mike: really nice. i have heard the international finance center in hong kong. is it good enough, too?
迈克：真是太棒了。我听说过香港的国际金融中心，那也不错吧？
owen: absolutely. it is the tallest building in hong kong. the outer wall of its base is just like the style of the great wall, which represents china.
欧文：绝对，它是香港最高的建筑。楼基的外墙就像长城的风格一样，代表着中国。
mike: it's an ingenious design. hong kong is always a part of the motherland.
迈克：真是个绝妙的设计。香港从来都是祖国的一部分。
owen: there are also many buildings of ancient style. st john's cathedral is the oldest church building in hong kong. you can feel the profound culture and history of hong kong by visiting the cathedral.
mike: i have been attracted deeply now. i will visit hong kong by myself one day for sure.
迈克：我已经动心了。总有一天我要亲自游览香港。
notes
1. cheerful [?t?i?ful] adj. 欢乐的；令人高兴的，使人感到愉快的
2. linger [?li?g?] v. 逗留，留恋徘徊，继续停留；缓慢消失
3. vitality [vai?t?liti] n. 活力，生命力；效力
4. enterprise [?ent?praiz] n. 进取心；（艰巨的）事业
5. ancient [?ein??nt] adj. 古代的；古老的，年老的
6. profound [pr??faund] adj. 深度的，深远的；见解深刻的，深奥的
小贴士
burj al arab, dubai
迪拜帆船酒店
burj al arabis a 5-star（often misleadingly referred to as 7-star）luxury hotel located in dubai, united arab emirates. it's 321 meters high（1,053 ft）, and it is the fourth tallest hotel in the world. burj al arab stands on an artificial island 280 meters（920 ft）out from jumeirah beach, and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. it is designed as a sailing ship.
burj al arab was designed by british architect tom wright. the design and construction were accomplished by canadian engineer rick gregory.
ufo is always the topic people are glad to discuss. john and david are talking about this topic.
不明飞行物一直是人们乐于讨论的话题。约翰和戴维就在讨论这一话题。
john: it has been many years since america's first landing on the moon. i'm wondering why there's no second moon landing plan by any country till now.
约翰：美国第一次登陆月球已经过去很多年了。不知道为什么直到现在也没有任何国家进行第二次登月行动。
david: i have read some adventure records books about the moon landing. it seemed that the astronauts had encountered the ufo on the moon.
戴维：我读过一些关于月球登陆纪实的探险纪录书籍。好像是宇航员在月球上遇到不明飞行物了。
john: oh, it is one piece of the movie transformers 3. maybe it is the megatons.
约翰：噢，这是电影《变形金刚3》的一个片段。或许是威震天吧。
david: the film is just based on a fiction.but i think ufo do exist. the aliens must have visited the earth for many times.
戴维：电影只是根据小说创作的。但是我认为不明飞行物的确存在。外星人一定造访过地球很多次了。
john: i agree with you. many people have witnessed the ufo in many places around the world. some of them are illusions. but i don't think all of them are just unreal.
john: yes, i've watched a tv programme about it. it seems that even the scientists couldn't explain the reason of that.
约翰：是的，我看过一个关于麦田怪圈的电视节目。好像连科学家都无法解释原因。
david: some people claimed that they had seen ufo near these circles. maybe we can communicate with the aliens directly with our technology one day.
戴维：一些人声称曾在麦田怪圈附近看到过不明飞行物。或许有一天我们可以依靠科技和外星人直接交流。
notes
1. wonder [?w?nd?] v. 感到疑惑（好奇），想知道；n. 惊奇；奇迹
2. record [?rek?:d] n. 记录，唱片；履历；v. 记录，写下
3. astronaut ['?str?n?:t] n. 宇航员
4. witness [?witnis] n. 目击者；证据；v. 目击；作证
5. illusion [i'lu??n] n. 幻想，错误的假象，幻觉；错误，假象
小贴士
crop circle
a crop circle is a sizable pattern created by the flattening of a crop such as wheat, barley, rye, maize, or cole. crop circles are also referred to as crop formations, because they are not always circular in shape. while the exact date crop circle began to appear is unknown, the documented cases have substantially increased from the 1970s to current times. approximately ten thousand crop circles appeared in the last 30 years of the 20th century. ninety percent of those were located in southern england. many of the formations appeared near the historecal remains, such as stonehenge. according to one study, nearly half of all circles found in the uk in 2003 were located within a 15 km（9.3 miles）radius of avebury.