原版英語故事短文閱讀

　　就工具性而言,學生通過英語學習掌握基本的英語語言知識,而語言與故事的關係就像花與土壤的關係,語言的學習離不開故事,所以英語語言的學習和故事不是割裂開的。小編整理了原版英語故事短文，歡迎閱讀!

　　原版英語故事短文：US Passports Outsourced

　　The federal government has decided that it’s too expensive to print US passports in the US. Starting later this year, the government will send all passports to Thailand. A printing company in Thailand will print all US passports at a significant savings to the US taxpayer.

　　A radio ad in Los Angeles proclaims that a citizen’s identity is stolen every 3 seconds. “Outsourcing our passports is only going to make identity theft a bigger problem,” said an angry citizen. “What’s next? Before we know it, they’ll be printing driver’s licenses, birth certificates, and social security cards in Thailand. This will result in total chaos. Fifty people will have the same passport and driver’s license.”

　　A US Senator said that outsourcing is necessary because of the Iraq War. “To pay for the war, we have to reduce our spending elsewhere,” he said. He said that passports were only the beginning; money was next. Starting two years from now, he said that all US cash would be printed overseas. Starting three years from now, he said, military vehicles and weapons would be made overseas.

　　“The good news,” he said, “is that we are going to also outsource our military troops. Two undeveloped countries have agreed to replace our soldiers starting four years from now. Our American soldiers will gradually return to America, and these foreign soldiers will do all the fighting in Iraq. This will reduce our military costs in Iraq 90 percent, from $10 billion monthly to only $1 billion. To further reduce spending, of course, all the returning American soldiers will be laid off.”

　　原版英語故事短文：The Vacuum Cleaner Filter

　　Oliver went to Target to buy a new vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaners at Target cost $60 to $500. The expensive ones were too bulky and, of course, too expensive. He bought the cheapest one in the store: a Dirt Devil “Vibe.” Its label claimed that it had “full size features, a clean release dirt cup, onboard cleaning tools, and weighed less than 11 pounds.” Plus, it had an HEPA filter. All of these features were nice, Oliver thought, but the most important feature was the cheap price.

　　When he got home, he tried out his new Vibe. It worked pretty well. It had a nice long cord; he could plug it into the outlet in his kitchen and the vacuum cleaner would reach all corners of his apartment. The handle, however, was not very comfortable to hold. Every few minutes, he had to stop vacuuming in order to rest his hand. Whoever had designed the handle had done a very poor job. He figured it was probably the same person who designs the tiny rear windshields that restrict a driver's view of what’s behind him.

　　But, otherwise, the Vibe seemed to clean quite well, and the plastic cup was easy to empty. There was no bag to hassle with—just pour the dirt out of the plastic cup, rinse it out, and snap it back onto the vacuum cleaner.

　　原版英語故事短文：The Horrible Face

　　Mitchell was looking for the Instant Dry Milk in Ralphs. He had started buying dry milk two months ago. Packaged in a box weighing only 1½ pounds, dry milk tastes and costs the same as regular nonfat milk. Plus, it is a lot lighter to carry than liquid milk. He couldn’t find it on the aisle with the unrefrigerated soy milk, so he walked to the next aisle.

　　Just as Mitchell started up the next aisle, he almost collided with someone pushing a shopping cart toward him. Mitchell’s eyes opened wide, and then he quickly looked away. Was this person starring in a monster movie? She was the ugliest person he had ever seen. He couldn’t even believe that this was a real person—she had to be an actor still in make-up.

　　She had warts all over her face! Warts—too many to count—covered her forehead, cheeks, nose, and neck. The warts were the same color as her skin, and each one was about the size of a pencil eraser. When Mitchell was a kid, he thought that the Halloween mask of a witch with just one wart on the tip of her nose was ugly. But this woman was hideous--even more repulsive than people with bad acne or with severe facial burns.