. . . . 外研社(2014新版)九年级英语上册课文〔Module 1—12〕Module1 Wonders of the worldUnit 1 It’s more than 2,000 years old.Tony: Let's call Wonders of the World and join in the discussion. I think natural wonders are more interesting than man-made ones. And I think the Giant's Causeway is the most fantastic natural wonder.Lingling: Hm, I’ve never seen it, so I'm not sure Iagree with you. Why do you like it, Tony?Tony: Well, I visited the Giant's Causeway two years ago. It's huge. There're about 40,000 rocks, most of them with six sides. It goes for several hundred metres on the eastern coast of Northern IrelandLingling: That sounds great, though I think Victoria Falls in Africa are even more fantastic. They're about l,700 metres wide and 100 metres high. You can hear the loud noise a few kilometres away.Betty: Wow, that's huge! But in my opinion, man-made wonders are more exciting than natural ones. Look at the Terracotta Army. It's more than 2.000 years old.Daming: I agree with you, Betty.And I think the Three Gorges Dam is fantastic too. It's about 2,300 metres long, 185 metres high and 15 metres wide at the top. It produces electricity for millions of people in China.Betty: Now, who'd like to call first?Unit 2 The Grand Canyon was not just big.A great wonder of the natural worldWhen I arrived, it was early morning and it was raining. I looked to the east -- the sky was becoming grey. I got out of the car, went through a gate and walked along a dark path. There was nothing to see, but I knew it was there. After about a mile, a stranger appeared beside the path. "Am I going the right way?" I asked. He knew where I was going. "Yes,〞 hereplied, “you’ll get there in five minutes," Finally, I came to some rocks and stopped. I looked over them, but it was silent and there was no sign of it. Suddenly, the rain stopped and the clouds cleared. The sun rose behind me and shone on the rocks. Far below me, the ground fell away and down to a river. I was looking across one of the wonders of the natural world - the Grand Canyon. I looked down to the Colorado River, a silver stream nearly one mile below me. If you put the two tallest buildings in the world on top of each other at the bottom of the canyon, they still would not reach the top. Then I looked across to the other side of the canyon. It was about fifteen miles away, maybe more. Finally, I looked to my left and to my right, and on both sides the canyon went far away for more than 200 miles. The Grand Canyon was not just big. It was huge! I remained by the canyon for about half an hour, and I asked myself. "Is the Grand Canyon the greatest wonder of the natural world?" I certainly know the answer. What do you think?Module 2 Public HolidaysUnit 1 My family always go somewhere interesting as soon as the holiday begins.Tony: The First of October is China's National Day, isn 't it, Lingling?Lingling: Yes. The People's Republic of China was founded on 1st October 1949. People have celebrated the National Day since then. There are flowers and national flags everywhere, and we have a three-day holiday. Tony: Do you have any plans for the holiday this year?Lingling: Yes. My parents and I are going to visit some friends in ShandongProvince and will stay there until the end of the holiday. While we're staying with our friends, we're going to spend one day in Qingdao. When is your national day, Betty'?Betty : Our national day is called Independence Day. It's on 4th July. We've celebrated it since 1777. It's a public holiday, but we only have one day off. On that day, there are all kinds of holiday activities. It's the start of the vacation season and most people take a vacation sometime in July or August.Lingling: And is there anything special on that day?Betty: Well, you can see American flags everywhere. We usually have a picnic somewhere nice. Kids have great fun. We also watch bands play music in public parks.Daming: Do you have a national day in the UK, Tony?Tony: No, we don't --- we celebrate Christmas with a two-day holiday. And my family always go somewhere interesting as soon as the holiday begins.Unit 2 We have celebrated the festival since the first pioneers arrived in America.ThanksgivingThanksgiving is an American festival. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. It is a time for a special dinner among family and friends. People make short speeches and give thanks for their food.We have celebrated the festival since the first pioneers from England arrived in America by ship in the seventeenth century. While they were crossing the Atlantic, many people died, and after they landed, their first winter was worse than any English winter. The local people, the Native Americans, taught the pioneers how to grow corn. The following year they celebrated together by eati。