Carnival:One day in Rio

主题语境：节日与庆祝 篇幅：363词 建议用时：7分钟

1Last year I went to the Rio de Janeiro Carnival,and it blew my mind.It had been my dream to attend the famous carnival for many years, so I was excited. However, the moment I arrived, I was a little bit nervous because there were so many people in the streets. Local people said that five or six million people come to Rio during carnival time and about two million of them are in the streets on any given day.Luckily,I had a local guide,my sister's friend Ronnie.He said he would take care of me and show me all the highlights.He did not let me down.

2Well, the carnival is most definitely all about the samba. It's a style of music and dance which has its roots in Africa. Lots of Africans were used as slave labor by the Portuguese when Brazil was being colonized, so this mixed culture of African, Latin and European styles is really strong here. Samba music is usually fast and exciting with a lot of drums and harmonic vocals. It's the kind of music that you can't help dancing to, and I learnt that as I followed Ronnie through the crowd, my hips and shoulders were swinging almost involuntarily(无意地).

3Ronnie had got us tickets for the samba parade, the icon of Brazilian culture, inside the Sambadrome where the top samba schools compete for the championship title, but we still had a long way to go through the street parties.He said most people enjoy the carnival by throwing their own parties in the street.About the samba parade,twelve main teams compete for the championship, and if they win, their performance will be talked about for years to come.So,you must be wondering how it was.Well,I'm afraid I can't tell you because Ronnie and I never made into the Sambadrome.We spent the day moving from one street party to another. There were many snacks, drinks and lots of dancing. Do I regret missing the main parade?Not at all.I experienced the carnival like the locals,and it was truly amazing.

Reading Check

1.What caused the author's nervousness according to paragraph 1?

A.The doubts about the visit.

B.The crowd in the streets.

C.The inability to find a local guide.

D.The anxiety about visiting a new country.

2.What can we learn about samba from the text?

A.It has its roots in America.

B.It is not the taste of the author.

C.It has a long and mixed culture.

D.Its music is usually slow and soft.

3.Why did the author have no regrets about missing the parade?

A.She met some amazing local people.

B.She didn't have the tickets for the parade.

C.She celebrated the carnival in a local way.

D.She enjoyed the carnival by throwing her own parties.

4.Which of the following words can best describe Ronnie?

A.Diligent and determined.

B.Humorous and generous.

C.Creative and demanding.

D.Reliable and considerate.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Useful expressions

blow one's mind 使某人兴奋（或吃惊）

let sb down 使某人失望

can't help doing 忍不住做……

dance to 跟着……跳舞

compete for 为……展开争夺

regret doing 后悔做过……

Ⅱ.V⁃ing形式作表语

1.V⁃ing形式作表语用来说明主语的具体内容。在这种情况下，主语和表语通常是对等关系，可互换位置。

Our greatest happiness is serving the people. =Serving the people is our greatest happiness.我们最大的幸福是为人民服务。

2.用来表示主语所具有的特征，有些词已变成了形容词。

The news is really disappointing.这个消息的确令人失望。

3.常用来作表语的V⁃ing形式词汇有：

interesting 令人感兴趣的

exciting 令人激动的

delighting 令人高兴的

disappointing 令人失望的

encouraging 令人鼓舞的

pleasing 令人愉快的

puzzling 令人费解的

satisfying 令人满意的

surprising 令人惊异的

worrying 令人担心的