UNIT1 Our EarthTrack 4-1-1& 4-1-2Blake: What are you working on, Mary"Mary: I'm finishing my paper. It's due tomorrow, Blake.Blake: What's the topic"Mary: It's about Greenland.Blake: Greenland. Hmmm . . . that's part of Canada, right"Mary: I think you need to study your world geography, Blake.Blake: Well, isn't it near Canada"Mary: Yes, it's off the coast of northeast Canada, but it's part of Denmark.Blake: Oh, I didn't know that. Well, what's your paper about e*actly"Mary: In my paper, I answer the question "Is Greenland really green"" In other words, is Greenland covered by a lot of plants and trees"Blake: Is it"Mary: What do you think"Blake: Let's see . . . Greenland is in the Arctic Circle-way up north. It's cold, . . . so "Is Greenland really green"" I'd answer "probably not."Mary: You'd be correct. It's too cold there. In the north, a lot of the ground is frozen. The summers are short, so only the surface thaws.Blake: That sounds tough.Mary: It's hard for the construction industry. It's not easy to build in Greenland.Blake: It sounds so harsh. Why would anyone want to go there"Mary: There are big mountain ranges on the coasts. They're great for hiking and outdoor sports. And there are lots of animals there. You can sometimes see whales swimming in the harbors. Blake: That sounds cool! OK,so if it's not really a "green" place, why was it named "Greenland""Mary: The first settlers wanted to attract other people. They gave it an attractive name.Track 4-1-3Bart: So what e*actly did you do over the summer"Gustav: We worked as volunteers at Glacier National ParkBart: I've never been there. What's it like"Carolina: It's beautiful. There are mountains and lakes... and, of course, glaciers!Bart: How was the job"Gustav: We had to do a lot of physical work. It was kind of hard.Carolina:That's true, but it was e*citing, too! We actually saw bears!Bart:Wow! That does sound e*citing. Maybe I should apply. I'll need a job ne*t summer.Carolina: Sorry, Bart, but you can't apply to that program. It's a special program for international students.Track 4-1-41. Mt. Fuji is really beautiful from far away. When you climb it, it's just rocks and dirt ... but it's really beautiful from far away.2. Last year I was in San Francisco and I had a chance to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. What an amazing feat of engineering. It gives you a chance to look through all of San Francisco and over San Francisco Bay and it's just a wonderful chance to see the city.Track 4-1-OL-1&4-1-OL-2Jay: e in here, Elise. You should see this show!Elise: What is it"Jay: It's called "The Titanic of the Sky". It's about theHindenburg, a great engineering feat.Elise: The Hindenburg . . .Jay: You know, that giant zeppelin that crashed in 1934.Thirty-five people died.Elise: Oh yeah, I remember now. It was flying from Germany to the United States. It crashed as it was landing.Jay: Right. It's so funny looking, don't you think" It doesn't look anything like the airplanes we have today.Elise: That's true. Why would people ride in a zeppelin anyway" It seems so dangerous.Jay: Well, some people called the Hindenburg "man's greatest achievement in flight."They thought it was safe, I guess.Elise: Who rode in it anyway"Jay: Mostly wealthy people. It acmodated between 30and 40 passengers and crew. One person said it was like a "flying hotel."Elise: It sounds pretty great.Jay: Yeah, and it was fast. That's why people rode it. Theywanted to get to their destination faster.Elise: Why didn't they just take a jet plane"Jay: Elise! You know they didn't have jets back then. Look,in 1934 it took five days to travel from Germany to the U.S. by ship. The zeppelin could do it in half that time.It was speedy.Elise: Well, maybe I'll sit down and watch a little bit. MaybeI'll learn something . . .Track 4-1-OL-3Jack: I think we should buy a bigger car. Big cars are safer.Kayla: Yes, but on the other hand, they consume more oil.Jack: They also look really cool.Kayla: That’s true, but there are some SUVs which are not big but also very beautiful.Jack: And I think big cars are more fun to drive.Kayla: But then again, it’s very e*pensive.Jack: Well, let’s get more information about several kinds of cars, okay"Track 4-1-OL-4My country has two very famous buildings called the Petronas Towers. The buildings are made of glass, steel, and concrete. They were designed by an American architect, but he used a Malaysian style. They were finished in 1998, and they were the tallest buildings in the world at that time. Each tower has 88 floors, and is 452 meters high. I really like the Petronas Towers. They show both the modern and the traditional side of my countryTrack 4-1-OL-5&4-1-OL-6Modern buildings: We love them, We hate them The world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris is almost 500 years old, and it faced a very modern problem: There simply was。