[00:04.99]Discuss the following questions with your partner.
[00:12.85]1 What do you think you can see in a theme park?
[00:22.60]2 Do you like scary rides?
[00:30.64]3 What do you think about bungee jumping and other adventure sports?
[00:52.30]4 Does your town or city have an amusement park?What can you do there?
[01:03.16]READING
[01:07.60]THEME PARKS
[01:11.05]A theme park is a collection of rides,
[01:15.81]exhibitions or other attractions that are based on a common theme.
[01:22.57]Unlike traditional amusement parks,
[01:27.01]theme parks often wnat to teach visitors something.
[01:32.34]At the World Park,one of the largest theme parks in China.
[01:38.51]visitors can look at buildings,
[01:42.56]castles and statues from more than thirty countries.
[01:49.04]At the China Ethnic Culture Park,people can learn about the customs,costumes,
[01:56.69]and culture of China's fifty-five minorities.
[02:02.33]There are also theme parks about cartoon characters,animals--even about water.
[02:10.38]What they all have in common is that they combine fun
[02:16.33]with the opportunity to learn something.
[02:20.49]Many people come to theme parks looking for thrills and entertainment.
[02:26.65]But theme parks also try to make sure thar visitors leave knowing more about their theme.
[02:34.31]A good example of a theme park that both educates
[02:40.76]and entertains is Ocean Park in Hong Kong.
[02:44.70]Visitors to Ocean Park will find all the rides
[02:50.76]and attractions that can be found in most parks,
[02:55.44]but they will also find many opportunities to learn about life in the ocean.
[03:02.28]More than 50,000 students visit the park every year.
[03:08.24]The park has a conservation centre that helps protect marine animals
[03:14.09]and their habitats in the rivers and coastal waters of Asia.
[03:19.94]Ocean Park is built on both sides of a mountain
[03:24.90]on the south side of Hong Kong Island.
[03:29.27]The park is divided into two sections.
[03:34.10]Headland,visitors can take the shuttle to the Lowland.
[03:42.25]At the Lowland,they cna explore the past at the Discovery of the Ancient World
[03:50.19]and examnine giant footprints at the dinosaur exhibition.
[03:56.25]Visitors can also lern about coral and sharks at Dolphin University,
[04:03.02]look at the winged beauties in the Butterfly House,
[04:08.16]or admire An An and Jia Jia,the two giant pandas.
[04:14.41]Disneyland in California was one of the first theme parks
[04:20.88]to become popular around the world.
[04:24.23]New Disney parks have opened in other parts of the US and in Europe and Asia.
[04:31.67]The theme of the Disney parks is the world of Walt Disney and his characters:
[04:38.33]Mickey Mouse,Donald Duck and many others.
[04:43.69]Visitors to the Disney parks can meet Mickey and his friends,enjoy rides and games,
[04:51.94]and look at exhibitions from all parts of the world.
[04:57.01]Another big theme park in the US is Universal Studios in Florida.
[05:04.38]At Universal,all the rides and activities are based on Universal Pictures movies.
[05:12.84]Entering one of the attractions at Universal Studios is like strpping into
[05:19.90]the world of your favourite movie.
[05:23.94]Visitors can go on exciting rdes where they can feel what it is like
[05:30.61]to do the things they have seen their heroes do in the movie.
[05:36.17]New theme parks are being built all over the world.
[05:41.52]It seems that people just cannot get enough of scary rides and exciting adventures.
[05:49.28]The parks are becoming more advanced and new technology allows us
[05:56.73]to experience almost anything without actually being in danger or risking injury.
[06:03.26]So if you want to know what it feels like to fall through the air,
[06:07.93]take off in a rocket,fly a helicopter or fight alien creatures in outer space,
[06:18.70]visit one of the theme parks in your area.
[06:23.35]If there isn't one where you live yet,don't worry,the theme parks are coming!
[15:20.03]LANGUAGE STUDY
[15:31.97]If you have any difficulty in making any decision
[16:01.31]turn to the contexts of the sentences for help.
[16:19.88]For example,in sentence 1,you may find a singular noun is needed.
[16:42.84]But there are three singular nouns:collection","rocket"and"statue".
[18:42.19]they are broad main roads leading from one town to another.
[19:38.88]Passengers can travel along such roads smoothly and comfortably,
[19:46.32]watching big tall trees and small low trees like bushes flying back fast,
[19:53.77]telling jokes,saying or doing something to cause amusement,
[20:00.01]making people laugh happily and heartily.
[20:52.96]INTEGRATING SKILLS
[20:56.20]LIVE TO RIDE
[21:01.35]For many visitors,rides are what theme parks are all about.
[21:07.30]Much has changed since the early days of roller coasters;
[21:12.56]today rides are wilder and scarier than ever.
[21:17.39]The cars run aster,the tracks are higher,
[21:22.72]and you must be ready to go through twists,loops and drops.
[21:28.49]Some roller coasters even let you race against your friends:
[21:34.24]two tracks are next to each other
[21:38.21]and you fly through the air just metres away from your friends.
[21:43.85]Other roller coasters are inside a mountain
[21:48.42]or a building so that you ride through darkness.
[21:53.88]Another attraction found in many theme parks is the thrill ride.
[21:59.52]Like roller coasters,
[22:02.87]thrill rides let you enjoy a good scream as you experience something exciting,
[22:09.71]Instead of rolling,twisting and looping like the roller coasters,
[22:16.37]thrill rides use technology and special effects to give you a thrill.
[22:22.82]Some thrill rides will let you feel what it is like to fall through the air:
[22:28.86]you sit in a car that"falls"
[22:33.12]from a tall tower and you scream your way down to a safe landing.
[22:39.65]Thrill rides can also send you into space or deep down in the ocean.
[22:46.02]You sit in a car that rocks
[22:49.97]and shakes while you watch a large screen in front of you.
[22:54.80]You can feel what it is like to live in space,
[22:59.34]walk on the ocean floor or ski with polar bears at the North Pole.
[23:06.61]The only limit to the fun is the imagination of the designers of the thrill rides
[23:13.97]and it seems to be endless! |