北师大版初中英语九年级Unit 3 Communication Workshop, Check Your Progress, Across Cultures 2 & Study Help练习

— I don't agree with you.

    "People have been travelling by car for 100 years. My invention is not done by the time expected."

    Phil has invented a chemical toilet for cars. One size fits all cars and people. It is made from recycled materials. "It never smells bad," he says. Before used, it can be stored in the trunk. When the toilet is full, an adult or child can compress(挤压) it into the size of a bowling ball. The waste matter in the toilet is continuously being taken in by chemicals. All the waste matter even turns into a lot of dry crumbs. The toilet can be, dropped into any trash can at any time.

    Phil tested his invention while on a two-week vacation with his wife and four young kids. He said that the kids loved it but his wife didn't.

    "Nothing on earth could make me, use that disgusting thing!" she told him. He said to her sincerely that he had invented the toilet mainly for women and kids. He needed a woman's encouragement so the toilet would sell. "No women would ever use this thing!" she answered.

    "My wife is a prude (拘守礼仪的人),"Phil said one day to Bret, his workmate. After much thought, Phil finally figured out how to make his wife love his invention: he made a pink toilet covered with yellow flowers. "What more could a woman want?" he asked while showing it to Bret. Bret said it was a beautiful and practical gift. And since his wife's birthday was the following week, Bret ordered a toilet. "Your wife will remember this birthday forever!" Phil promised Bret.

    If you've been near a tourist attraction lately, you may have seen someone taking photos either alone or with a group of friends- with a camera phone put at the end of a telescoping pole (伸缩杆), now commonly known as a "selfie stick".

    Selfie sticks first became popular with the young people in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, followed by Korea and Japan. They are now widely seen across Asia and have spread to the US and Europe. There are nearly 130, 000 photos on Instagram (图片分享应用) taken with a selfie stick.

    As you know, selfie sticks are pretty convenient to use. First you put your phone at the end of the selfie stick. Then raise it in front of yourself and make a sound or press a button on the stick handle which is connected to the camera, or press a button on a wireless remote (无线遥控), or use the camera's built-in timer(内置计时器) to take a photo after a number of seconds have passed. With a perfect smile on your face, the picture you want is done! Besides its convenience, there are other advantages to use selfie sticks.

    Putting more people in the frame (边框). A selfie stick makes it easy to fit all your friends in one shot. Nobody has to "cut" the face by half in the picture any more.

    Adding backgrounds to your selfies. The selfie stick provides distance between the camera and your subject (you!)，so you can include more in your picture the skyline behind you, an ancient building in the background or even the grassland- anything you like and want that can make your picture special and nice.

    Getting more angles (角度). The selfie stick is easy to hold, which means you can get some fun and creative angles -to enrich your selfies or to take interesting photos of friends.

    So next time you travel alone or want to take a fun group photo, a selfie stick may help you.