《现代大学英语听力2》听力原文及题目答a案Unit11

《现代大学英语听力2》听力原文及答案U n i t1U n i t1Task 1【答案】A.1) She wanted to see St. Paul’s Cathedral.2) She was so surprised because she saw so many Englishmen who looked alike.3) They were all wearing dark suits and bowler hats, carrying umbrellas and newspapers.4) Because she had often read about them and seen photographs of them, who all looked as if they were wearing a uniform.5) No, he didn’t.6) He used the English saying “It takes all kinds to make a world”to prove his opinion.B.If all the seas were one sea, what a great sea it would be! And if all the trees were one tree, what a great tree it would be! And if this tree were to fall in the sea, what a great splash there would be!Yesterday morning Gretel went to the City of London. She wanted to see St. Paul's Cathedral. She was surprised to see so many Englishmen who looked alike. They were all wearing dark suits and bowler hats. They were all carrying umbrellas and newspapers. When she returned home she asked Mr clark about these strange creatures. "They must be typical English gentlemen," she said." I have often read about them and seen photographs of them. They all look as if they are wearing a uniform. Does the typical English gentleman still exist?"Mr. Clark laughed. "I've never thought about it," he answered." It's true that many of the men who work in the City of London still wear bowler hate and I suppose they are typical Englishmen. But look at this." Mr. Clark picked up a magazine and pointed at a photo of a young man. "He's just as typical, perhaps. It seems as if there is no such thing as a 'typical' Englishman. Do you know the English saying 'It takes all kinds to make a world'? That's true of all countries-including England."“Oh, just like the poem ‘If All the Seas Were One Sea’,”Gretel began to hum happily. If all the seas were one sea, what a great sea that would be! If all the trees were one tree, what a great tree that would be! And if this tree were to fall in the sea, w hat a great splash that would be!”Task 2A.1) people were much busier2) colder than England; minus thirty degrees; last longer3) much more mountainous; much higher and much more rocky; more beautiful4) tend to be more crowded5) the houses; smallerB.1) T 2) T 3) F 4) F 5) F【原文】John is British but has worked in Japan. Etsuko is Japanese from Osaka, but she is studying in Britain. In the following passage you are going to hear, they are comparing life as they see it in the two countries. But before listening to it, think of the two countries and try to answer the following pre-listening questions.John: I found that living in Japan, people were busier. They seem to workthe whole day.Etsuko: Yes, that’s right. We work from Monday through Saturday, even in summer. You know, summer in Japan is just horrible. It’s very, very humid and hot, and you need to shower three times a day.John: So you find it cooler in England?Etsuko: Yes, that’s right.John: Where I was living in Japan, in the North, it was much colder than England, especially in winter, minus thirty degrees centigrade. Does the winter in Osaka last longer than the winter in England?Etsuko: No, I don’t think so. December, January, February, March.John: Yes. It’s a little bit shorter if anything.Etsuko: Ever since I came here, I noticed that the countryside here in England is very beautiful.John: It’s much flatter than in Japan.Etsuko: Yes. Japan is a mountainous country and our cities are full of people. There are lots of people in a limited flat area.John: Yes, I found Japan much more mountainous than Britain, especially in the north. The mountains are much higher and much more rocky. I found itmore beautiful than Britain, I think.Etsuko: Yes, if you like mountains.John: And therefore the towns and villages tend to be more crowded.Etsuko: Yes, that’s right.John: Yes. So because the cities are more crowded, the houses tend to be smaller, don’t they?Etsuko: Yes, they are very compact, and we don’t hav e a lot of space. In big cities we have a lot of taller buildings now.John: Is this a problem because there are more earthquakes in Japan?Etsuko: Yes, that’s right and…Task 3【答案】A.1) In the US, people usually dance just to enjoy themselves; they don’t invite other people to watch them.2)Usually eight people dance together.3)Because people form a square in dancing with a man and a woman on eachside of the square.4) He usually makes it into a song.5) They wear old-fashioned clothes.B.1) F 2) T 3) F 4) F 5) TC.1) eight people form a square; on each side of the square2) what they should do; makes it into a song; sings it3) don’t have much time to think4) old-fashioned clothes【原文】Rosa: Why don’t you have folk dances in the United States? Most countries have special dances that the people have done for many years. Thedancers wear clothes from the old days. Everyone likes to watch them dance.Steve: We have folk dances, too. A lot of people belong to folk dancing groups.But when they dance, they usually do it just to enjoy themselves.They don’t inv ite other people to watch them.Rosa: Is there a folk dancing group here?Steve: I think so. There must be. There’s one in almost every city, and some big cities have several.Rosa: What are the dances like?Steve: Usually eight people dance together, four men and four women. When they start, they form a square, with a man and a woman on each sideof the square. That’s why it’s called square dancing.Then there’sa man who tells the dancers what they should do. He usually makesit into a song. He sings it while they dance.Rosa: Oh, that should make the dances easy!Steve: Yes, but they are very fast. They don’t have much time to think.I like to watch them, though. The dancers wear old-fashioned clothes.That makes the dances pretty to watch.Rosa: I’d like to watch a group dance.Steve: I’ll take you sometime.Task 4【答案】1) It was a time to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of spring.2) They burned the picture of their kitchen god to bring good luck.3) The custom said the brides must wear “something old, something new,something borrowed, and something blue” to bring good luck.4)Because they could not eat meat, eggs or dairy products during Lent, sothey tried to use up these things before Lent began.5)It was a straw man made by children in Czech; it was a figure of death.6)People brought their animals to church. And before the animals went intothe church people dressed them up in flowers and ribbons.【原文】1) On the evening of February 3rd, people in Japanese families took one driedbean for each year of their age and threw the beans on the floor, shouting "Good luck in! Evil spirits out!" This was known as "Setsubun", a time to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of spring.2) Before the Chinese Lunar New Year in the old days, many Chinese familiesburned the picture of their kitchen god to bring good luck. When Lunar NewYear's Day came, they put ancw picture of the kitchen god on the wall. 3) When American women got married, they sometimes followed an old customin choosing what to wear on their wedding day. The custom said the bride must wear "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue". This was to bring good luck.4) Before Lent (a time on the Christian calendar), the people of Ponti, Italyate an omelet made with 1,000 eggs. People could not eat meat, eggs or dairy products during Lent, so they tried to use up these things before Lent began.5) When winter ended in Czech, the children made a straw man called "Smrt",which was a figure of death. They burned it or threw it in the river. After they destroyed it, they carried flowers home to show the arrival of spring. 6) January 17th was St. Anthony's Day in Mexico. It was a day when peoplebrought their animals to church. But before the animals went into the church, the people dressed them up in flowers and ribbons. This ceremony was to protect people's animals.Task 5【答案】A.1) F 2) T 3) F 4) T 5) F 6) T 7) T B.【原文】Man: Well, I think life used to be much more fun than it is now. I mean, look at the Victorians. They had lots of servants to do all the work;they never had to do any cooking or cleaning; they just wore those beautiful dresses and went to tea parties.Woman: You must be joking! Their clothes were terribly uncomfortable and their tea parties were very formal and boring. They used to wear their hats and long gloves even when they were eating cakes and biscuits.And men were not usually invited.Man: Really? Weren't they?Woman: And think of the poor servants. What a terrible life —just cleaning and cooking for other people all the time!Man: But you hate housework!Woman: Yes, I know, but there are lots of machines now to help you with the housework. People don't need servants.Man: Maybe they don't, but life then was much slower than it is now-people nowadays are always rushing, and they never have time to stop and enjoy themselves.Woman: Life then was fine for the rich, but it was dreadful for the poor.There was much more illness. They didn't have the money to pay doctors,and they often used to die of illnesses that don't exist in England now.Man: Maybe. But people used to talk to each other, play the piano or play cards together. Nowadays people just sit in front of the television for hours and never talk to each other.Woman: I agree with you about television; but what about their children? They left their Children with the servants all day. Children hardly ever saw their parents! And the clothes they had to wear! Horrible, tight, uncomfortable, grown-up clothes. Children have a much better life now than they used to, and schools and education are much better too. Man: I hate school.Woman: And look at opportunities for women. In those days, women used to stay at home, play the piano, change their clothes several times a day and have tea parties. What a life! They didn't have any freedom at all.I'm very happy living now. I can work, have a career, do what I want to.Man: You mean you can work hard all your life like a Victorian servant. Woman: Life isn't all tea parties, you know.Task 6【答案】A.1) b 2) a 3) c 4) aB.1) family unit; process; change; used to be; the extended; the nuclear2) job patterns; progressed; agricultural; industrial; forced; job opportunities; split up3) traditional; family; expanded; other living arrangementsC.1) mother, father, children, and some other relatives, such as grandparents, living in the same house or nearby2)only the parents and the children3)previously married men and women marry again and combine the children fromformer marriages into a new family【原文】The American family unit is in the process of change. There used to be mainly two types offamilies: the extended and the nuclear. The extended family most often included mother, father, children, and some other relatives, such as grandparents, living in the same house or nearby. Then as job patterns changed and the economy progressed from agricultural to industrial, people were forced to move to different parts of the country for job opportunities. These moves split up the extended family. The nuclear family became more prevalent; this consisted of only the parents and the children. Now besides these two types of traditional groupings, the word "family" is being expanded to include a variety of other living arrangements.Today's family can be made up of diverse combinations. With the divorce rate nearly one in two, there is an increase in single parent homes: a father or mother living with one or more children. "Blended families" occur when previously married men and women marry again and combine the children from former marriages into a new family. On the other hand, some couples are deciding not to have any children at all, so there is an increase in childless families. There are also more people who live alone: single, widowed, divorced. Now one in five Americans lives alone.Task 7【答案】A.B.1) c 2) c 3) a 4) b 5) c 6) c 7) c【原文】In Japan both men and women go to university and both men and women study the arts such as history or English. But very few women study science, medicine or engineering. In engineering classes of thirty or forty students, there may be only one or two women. Men and women both go to university in order to get good jobs: men want to work for a big company, be successful, earn a lot of money and support a family; women, on the other hand, want to work for a big company because they have a better chance of meeting a successful man and getting married. This is changing, however, as Japanese women begin to think about their own careers. They have began to take jobs which they like rather than jobs in order to find a husband.Men work for their whole lives and usually stay with the same company.A woman may work up to ten years, but after that she usually gets married. Most women are married by the age of twenty seven, then they stay at home and look after the children. A man does not cook or look after the children. When he comes home, his meal must be ready. The woman may go out in the afternoon, shopping with her friends or having a chat, but she must go back home by four o'clock to prepare the meal. Then she may have to wait a long time for her husband to come home. Often he has to go out for a drink after work: if he doesn't he may not rise very high in the company. After her children grow up, a woman can go back to work, but it is not easy. If her former company takes older women back, she might be lucky. But most women find it difficult to find a job when they are older.Task 8【答案】A.1) a 2) c 3) b 4) c 5) c 6) b 7) c 8) bB.1) T 2) T 3) F 4) F 5) T 6) F 7) F 8) F 9) T 10) F【原文】Matthew: Geth, how do people set about getting married in England?Geth: I suppose the most common way is still for people to go home. For example, people who live in London now will go back to their homesin the provinces where they'll meet all their relatives and theirparents, and they'll get married in a church, with the bride wearingwhite, the traditional white. Then they'll go off and have a booze-upwith their relatives and friends and a jolly good time will be hadby all. Otherwise you can get married in a registry office, whichmeans you turn up with your bride-to-be or bridegroom-to-be with twowitnesses only. The ceremony takes about five minutes, I suppose.You sign the form and that's it.Matthew: There are many today who say that marriage is a complete waste of time. What's your view of marriage in the twentieth century?Goth: Well, I live in London as you know. I think in London, the tendency is to... for a... boy and girl, man or woman to live together beforemarriage and often to live together without any prospect of marriageat all. I think this probably is... is true of London and the otherbig cities than elsewhere, because after all people in London areliving in a big place where home ties are obviously less restrictive.They can do more or less as they please and I think this is thepattern.Matthew: But do you think it helps for people to live together before taking their vows?Geth: I think in a sense the habit of living together before marriage may, in a strange sort of way, make marriage stronger, because after allthe people will know each other better when they do get married andit might be suggested that divorce would be less likely between sucha couple.Matthew: Sue, you've been married for two or three years now. How's it working out?Sue: I think it's a successful marriage. It's... I mean, it's difficult to say why, because we basically suit each other very much. We havea good friendship, apart from anything else, and, you know, we justgo together very well because we respect each other's freedom andindividuality, but on the other hand we really need each other, youknow, it's...Matthew: What about.., have you thought of having children?Sue: Well, obviously, like most young couples, we have thought about it, but, you know, we both feel rather, sort of, loath to lose our freedomjust yet. I think we'll probably wait another few years. Matthew: Is it easy in England today to people to get divorced, or is thatquite difficult?Chris: I think technically it's probably fairly easy, I think, because I'm not English but, I think technically it's fairly easy to be... to getdivorced. But it's not just the technicality of it which is the problem.Divorce is... is a social stigma which people can probably Cope withto varying degrees, but it's also a lot easier for the man becausethe woman, after she is divorced is, in fact, frowned upon by... bya lot of people in society. She is... is... at a... a much moredifficult social position in terms of... of meeting other men, orwhatever, simply because she is a divorcee.Task 9【原文】Social customs and ways of behaving change. But they do not necessarily always change for the better. Things which were considered impolite many years ago are now acceptable. Just a few years ago, it was considered impolite behaviour for a man to smoke on the street. No man who thought of himself as being a gentleman would make a fool of himself by smoking when a lady was in the room.The important thing to remember about social customs is not to do anything that might make other people feel uncomfortable — especially if they areyour guests. There is a story about a rich nobleman who had a very formal dinner party. When the food was served, one of the guests started to eat his peas with a knife. Other guests were amused or shocked, but the nobleman calmly picked up his knife and began eating in the same way. It would have been bad manners to make his guest feel foolish or uncomfortable.。

《现代大学英语听力2》听力原文及题目答案Unit 2Unit 2Task 1【答案】1) b 2) a 3) d【原文】Texas was the biggest state before Alaska became the forty-ninth state in 1959. One good way to understand the size of Texas is to learn about its weather. Different parts of the state have very different kinds of weather.Laredo is one of the hottest cities in the United States in summer. The best time to visit Laredo is in winter, when it is pleasantly warm.Amarillo gets very cold in winter. Sometimes there is more snow in Amarillo than in New York, which is a northern city. Summers are better, but sometimes it gets quite hot. The best time to visit Amarillo is in the autumn when it is cool.If anyone asks you about the weather in Texas, ask him, “What part of Texas do you mean？”Task 2【答案】A.1)T 2) F 3) FB.1) d 2) c 3) cC.climate, reputation, extraordinary, unreliable, dry, wet, clear, dull, hot, cold, bad, mild【原文】Our friend, Nick, whose English gets better and better, declared solemnly the other day that he thought that the British climate was wonderful, but the British weather was terrible. He went on to explain by pointing out that the British climate was a temperate one. This meant, he said, "that you could always be certain that the weather would never be extreme — at any rate not for any length of time — never very hot and never very cold." He quite rightly pointed out that the rainfall in Britain, according to the statistics, was not very heavy. "Why then," he asked, "has the British climate such a bad reputation?" He answered by saying it was because of the extraordinary, unreliable weather. There was no part of the year at which you could be certain that the weather would be dry or wet, clear or dull, hot or cold. A bad day in July could be as cold as a mild day in January. Indeed you could feel cold at almost any time of the year. Nick blamed drafty British houses for this, but agreed you could also blame the small amount of sunshine and a great amount of dampness. He advised every student coming to Britain to bring an umbrella and to understand the meaning of that splendid word "drizzle".Task 3【答案】I.the country; Trees, grass, lakes and steamsII.A.1. concrete, iron, steel2. take in the heat during the day and throw off heat into the air at nightB. Warmer winters, car engines; electrical applianceⅢ.A. air pollution may stop sunlight from reaching the earthB.1. Ice near the North and South poles to melt2. to be slowly flooded and people living in these cities to move to higher land【原文】Cities change the climate around you. In the country, there are trees, grass, lakes, and streams. In hot weather, the trees and grass cool the area around them. Lakes and rivers also cool the area around them.But cities are not cooled in these natural ways. Cities are built of asphalt, concrete, iron, and steel. There are few trees and usually not much grass. Rain falls onto the streets and into the sewers.When the summer sun shines, streets and buildings take in the heat; after the sun sets, the streets and buildings throw off heat into the street. Once the sun sets, the countryside cools off, but a city may stay hot all night.Cities are hotter than the countryside in winter, too. Standing near a car with its motor running, winter or summer, you will feel the heat thrown off by the engine. The heat comes from the gasoline burned by the engine. This heat warms the air and the ground around the car. Thousands of running cars are almost like thousands of small fires burning.Carefully put your hand near a light bulb or television set. As you can see, electricity creates a lot of heat. This heat from electricity warms the house and the outside air.The heat given off by cities can affect the climate. Some experts even believe that cities can change the climate of the whole world. They think that air pollution may stop sunlight from reaching the earth. If less sunshine reaches the earth, the earth may become cooler.Still other experts think the world will get warmer. If the world did get warmer, great changes would occur. Ice near the North and South poles would melt. This would make the oceans rise. Cities near oceans — like Los Angeles, Boston, and Miami — would slowly be flooded. People living in these cities would have to move to higher land.Task 4【答案】A.1) b 2) cB. night, delight; morning, warning; gray, way, red, headC.1) F 2) T 3) F【原文】A red sky at either dusk or dawn is one of the spectacular and beautiful weather predictors we have in nature. By closely observing this phenomenon, you can achieve short-range accuracy of the weather as good as, or better than your local weatherman. In the Bible, Jesus in Matthew 16, 2-3 is quoted as saying, “When it is evening, it will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning it will be foul weather today: for the sky is red” when speaking to the Pharisees. An old English weather proverb based on this passage is:Red sky at night, sailors delight.Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.OrEvening red and morning gray,Sends the traveler on his way.Evening gray, morning red,Brings the rain down on his head.At dusk, a red sky indicates that dry weather is on the way. This is due to the sun shining through dust particles being pushed ahead of a high pressure system bringing in dry air. A red sky in the morning is due to the sun again shining through dust. In this case however, the dust is being pushed on by an approaching low reassure system bringing in moisture. Don't confuse a red sky in the morning with a red sun in the morning. If the sun itself is red and the sky is a normal color, the day will be fair.Task 5【答案】1) c 2) b 3) d 4) c 5) c【原文】Mark: I am an avid fly fisherman and frequently find myself on the river in a raft during lightning storms. We always have a debate at these times on where weare safest — pulling into shore or staying on the water. Since I have heard oneis safe in a car when lightning strikes I wonder if the raft floating on the wateris insulated, and therefore the safest place to be.Meteorologist A: We spoke with some scientists about your question, and they all agreed that under no circumstances should you remain on the water during a lightningstorm. If your raft is made of rubber, you might feel that you're .well insulated,but don't kid yourself. Typical lightning flashes travel 10 to 15 kilometers andcan deliver as much as 100,000 amps of current. In comparison, a toaster usesabout 10 amps of current. If lightning strikes the water near you, it will have notrouble traveling through a few extra centimeters of rubber.Meteorologist B: So, if you're on the water and a thunderstorm approaches, get to the shore and seek shelter on land. Try a building or car. If neither is available, look for a cave,cliff, wall, or a group of trees. Never take shelter under an isolated tree-it's also agood target for lightning.Task 6【答案】A.1) F 2) T 3) F 4) T 5) F 6) TB.Incredible, one minute, one kilometer, destroyed, lifted up, carried away, killed, injured【原文】Every spring and summer many inland areas are hit by tornados. A tornado is a kind of storm. It's a revolving, funnel-shaped column of air that moves through the sky at very high speeds. A tornado looks like a huge, black ice cream cone whirling through the sky. The speed of a tornado is very fast-it is believed to be between 200 and 700 kilometers per hour.Tornados form under very special weather conditions, and these special weather conditions occur most often in inland areas, such as the central United States. A tornado forms when a layer of warm, dry air is on top of a layer of cooler, moist air. This combination of dry, warm air above wet, cool air creates a condition that causes the lower layer of air to lift up. As the lower air rises, both layers of air begin to rotate, to turn around and around. The air begins to rotate faster and faster because of centrifugal force. The tornado has a center called an “eye” and the air rotates quickly around this eye.As the air begins to rotate faster and faster, the tornado cloud begins to grow downward; that is, it begins to form a funnel or cone, and this cone goes down toward the ground.The cone of air is dark because it develops from a dark rain cloud. As the cloud gets longer, as the cloud gets closer to the ground, it begins to pull up dirt from the ground. Then the funnel of rotating air becomes very dark because of the dirt in it. As the tornado funnel gets longer, it begins to drag along the ground.When the tornado touches the ground, it does incredible damage. It usually touches the ground for only about one minute, and it usually travels along the ground for only about one kilometer, but during that one minute, buildings are destroyed, trees are lifted up out of the ground, small objects are carried away, and sometimes people are injured or killed.Task 7【答案】A.1) b 2) a 3) bB.1) It has been nice weather during the day, but it is going to change at night.2) Fine weather in southern Europe and not so nice in northern EuropeFor todaySoutheast England---26 degrees Celsius by mid-afternoonSouthern Scotland---Maximum temperatures of around 21 degreesBrighton---15 hours of lovely sunshineMidlands---23 degrees Celsius by early afternoonNorthwest of Scotland---Light showers around middayFor the weekendSpain---34 degrees CelsiusGreece---32 degrees CelsiusFrance---Cloudy with rain, maximum temperatures of 22 degreesNorthern Ireland---Heavy rain, 17 degrees CelsiusMost of England---Cloudy but mainly dry with sunny periods, 23 degrees Celsius【原文】Radio Announcer: You’re listening to Radio Metro. It’s two minutes to nine, and time for the latest weather for cast from Dan Francis at the London Weather Centre.Francis: Hello. It's been another warm and fine day for most of us. Temperatures in southeast England reached 26 degrees Celsius by mid-afternoon, and Brighton had 15 hours of lovely sunshine. Further north it was a little cooler with maximum temperatures of around 21 degrees in southern Scotland, and in the far northwest of Scotland there were some light showers around midday. But the rest of the country, as I said, has been warm and dry with temperatures in theMidlands reaching 23 degrees Celsius by early afternoon though it was a little cooler along the west coast and in Northern Ireland. But already the weather is beginning to change, I'm afraid, and during the night showers will slowly move in from the Atlantic to reach south-west England and the southern coast of Wales by early morning.The rest of the country will have a very mild, dry night with minimum temperatures no lower than 15 degrees in the south, a little cooler — 11degrees or so — in the north. Any remaining showers in northwest Scotland will pass quickly to leave a mild, dry night there too.And now the outlook for Friday and the weekend. Well, southern Europe will, once again, get the best of the weekend weather, and if your holiday starts this weekend, then southern Spain is the place to go, with temperatures of 34 degrees along the Mediterranean coast. At the eastern end of the Med, too, you can expect uninterrupted sunshine and temperatures of up to 32 degrees Celsius in Greece and southeast Italy, but further north the weather's not so settled. Much of France, Belgium and the Netherlands will be cloudy with occasional rain, and maximum temperatures will be around 22 degrees — very disappointing for this time of the year.Scotland and Northern Ireland will have heavy rain for much of the weekend and temperatures will drop to a cool 17 degrees. Across most of England the weather will be cloudy but mainly dry with sunny periods. And when the sun does come out, temperatures could rise to a maximum of 23 degrees.Task 8【原文】As the air pressure around you either rises or falls, many changes in nature occur. Most of these are very obvious changes while others are of a more subtle nature.Mountains and other far away objects will appear to be much closer and more sharply focused as wet weather approaches and the air pressure drops. The dust particles in the air begin to settle to the ground and the air clears, allowing you to see more details of faraway objects. As a high pressure front approaches and the air becomes “thicker,” more dust particles become suspended in air and things take on their normal somewhat hazy appearance.“Sharp horns on the moon threaten bad weather.” This and a bright, clear moon are good indicators that wet weather is on the way. As the air clears of dust particles ahead of a low pressuresystem, the moon appears to come closer and be more sharply focused due to the lack of dust.Sound also becomes sharper and more focused prior to stormy weather. Instead of traveling upward and outward into the atmosphere sound waves are bent back to the earth and their range extended. Bird calls sound sharper, and, at my house, we can hear the blowing of the train horn as it rumbles through the valley below.If you find yourself out in a marsh or swamp and the air really seems to stink more than normal, expect rainy weather. This happens when the pressure drops and the methane trapped on the bottom of the swamp is released in greater quantities. In reverse, as fair weather approaches and the pressure rises, things won't smell quite so strong.Birds and bats have a tendency to fly much lower to the ground right before a rain due to the “thinning” of the air. They prefer to fly where the air is the most dense and they can get greater lift with their wings. With high pressure and dry air, the atmosphere becomes denser and they can easily fly at higher altitudes.Smoke rising straight into the air means fair weather and smoke hanging low means rain is on the way. This is pretty much the same as with the birds and methane in the swamp. When high pressure approaches, smoke will rise whereas with low pressure it can't rise and tends to lay low.Remember a grandparent talking about how their corns, bunions, or joints ached right before a rain? Again, this is due to the decreasing atmospheric pressure allowing the gas in our bodies to expand.Task 9【答案】A. Statements 3, 6, 7 are true.B.f—c—a—d—b—eC.1) F 2) T 3) F 4) FD.1) d 2) b【原文】It was 1974. Richard Nixon was still president. Kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst was still missing. In Xenia, a pretty spot of 25,000 people amid fields of soybeans and corn, American Graffiti was held over at the Cinema. The Xenia Hotel offered a chicken and dumpling dinner for $2.25, but everyone flocked to the A&W drive-in for burgers and root beer floats. That's where five of the bodies were found after the storm.In all, 33 people died in Xenia's tornado, the deadliest of 148 storms that raged through 13 states during the infamous "Super Outbreak'' of tornadoes April 3 to 4, 1974. In 16 hours and 10 minutes, 330 people were killed and nearly 5,550 were injured from Illinois to Georgia.Though the Xenia death toll has been matched by other killer storms, the degree of devastation makes the city's tornado among U.S. history's most destructive. The storm still is studied in colleges by aspiring meteorologists, a textbook case of a rare Category F-5, the most intense of tornadoes.On that fateful day, I was a young boy of 8 years old. We lived in the Arrowhead Subdivision. That afternoon I was around the corner playing with some neighbor kids. I thought I could hear my father calling me, so I ran back to the house. Thinking back now, there is no way I would havebeen able to hear him. I was too far away for a voice to have traveled in the afternoon noise. Besides, Dad had a very bad case of tonsillitis that day. Like I was saying, I went back home and got through the door just in time to answer the ringing phone. On the other end of the phone was my Mother. Mom was working. She told me she heard a bad storm was on the way. She told me to make sure the garage door was shut and to stay inside. After I hung up the phone, I settled down to watch The Dennis Show. To this day I can vividly remember the electricity going out. I looked out the large window in the living room and didn't have a clue as to what I was looking at.Dad was asleep on the couch, so I woke him up to look. Dad looked and said to get into the bathroom. We sat on the floor. Dad had his back to the door and his feet pushing against the wall opposite the door. I remember that as soon as we sat down, the windows broke. Glass blew under the door, and the sound was tremendous. I know it really didn’t take too long for the tornado to go past, but I do remember the conversation we had in the process. I could feel the cool air rushing under the floor through the crawlspace vents. I asked if we were flying. He said he wasn't sure, but he didn't think we were. He said the house was tearing apart. I asked him how he knew. He said he just knew it was.When things calmed down, we opened the door. The odd feeling I had, looking up the street from inside what once was my hallway, is still with me today.I think back often to that day. I think back and wonder what would have happened if my Dad hadn't been sick that day. Like a lot of kids, I stayed home by myself after school back then. I seriously doubt I would be able to tell you my story, if I had been alone that day. I still live in Xenia and wouldn’t trade this town for any other.Task 10【原文】Undoubtedly, Tibet is one of the harshest places for human existence. It is cool in summer but freezing cold in winter. In Lhasa, the mildest city temperature may exceed 29C in summer while plummeting to -16C in winter! Sun radiation is extremely strong in Tibet. The sunlight in Lhasa is so intense that the city is called Sunlight City. The thin air can neither block off nor retain heat so that the temperature extremes can be met in daytime and the same night respectively in Tibet. However it is not impossible to visit the holy snow land. April to October is the best time to visit Tibet, out of the coldest months, which are from December to February usually. The average temperature in north Tibet is subzero and winter arrives in October until the following May or June. July and August are the best time to visit the area, enjoying warm temperature, intense sunshine, beautiful scenery and festive events. May, June and September is the tourist season in east Tibet. In winter, roads are all blocked by heavy snow. Landslides and rock falls frequently occur, which will make travel difficult.。

Unit 11 Left-ha ndednessPart BListe ningTasksPassage 1Word Bank Why Are Some People Left-ha nded?mentala. relating to the activity of the mind or brain 精神的；脑力adoptin volveme nt iden tical birth pare ntsv. to take some one else ' s child into one ' s family and make it legally one ' s own child 收养n. participation 卷入；牵连a. exactly the same 完全相同的one ' s biological parents 亲生父母adopted pare nts one s non-biological pare nts 养父母iden tical twins twins developed from the same egg and therefore almost alwaysPrince Charles Prince William of the same sex and very much alike in appearanee（英）查尔斯王子（英）威廉王子同卵双生子Script:Research has show n that 90% of people n aturally use their right hands for most tasks. But hun dreds of milli ons of people use their left han ds. Then why are some people left-ha nded? Scie ntists have bee n trying to an swer that questio n for many years. A study done in 1992 found that men are more likely to be left-handed thanwomen. It also found that Asian or Hispanic people are less likely to be left-handed than white people, black people, or North American Indians. Some cultures accept people who do things mostly with their left han ds. Others do not.Scie ntists want to know the reas on for left-ha nded ness because it is closelylin ked to men tal problems and Ian guage difficulties. One idea about the cause ofleft-handedness is the genetic theory. It says that people are right- or left-handed because of genes passed to them by their pare nts. For example, it has bee n show nthat the handedness of adopted children is more likely to follow that of their birth pare nts tha n their adopted pare nts. Other evide nee of gen etic in volveme nt can befound in some families. One famous example is the left-handed members of the present British royal family. These in clude Quee n Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and PrinceWilliam.Another idea is that right-handed people are born with the gene for it. But about 20%of people do not have the right-handed gene. These people could be either left- or right-ha nded. This idea may expla in why two babies who have the same genes use differe nt han ds. In 18% of ide ntical twins one twin is right-ha nded, and the otheris left-handed. Probably both twins lack the right-handed gene so each has a chaneeto be either right- or left-ha nded.Somescie ntists believe that the cause of han ded ness could in elude both gen etics and developme nt.Exercise 1Listen to the passage and choose the right answers to the questions you hear.1. What is the passage mainly about?a. Causes of left-ha nded ness and right-ha nded ness.b. Two scie ntific expla nati ons of the cause of left-ha nded ness.c. Genes for left-ha nded ness.d. Men tal problems of left-ha nded people.2. Which of the follow ing topics is discussed in more detail in the passage?a. Handedness and the genetic theory. _____b. Ide ntical twins.c. Birth pare nts and adopted pare nts.d. Famous left-ha nded people in the world.3. What con clusi on can you draw from the passage?a. Right-ha nded people are superior to left-ha nded people.b. Right-ha nded ness is determ ined gen etically, but left-ha nded ness is learnt.c. About 18% of ide ntical twins are left-ha nded.d. Scientists have not yet reached agreement on the causes of ___________left-ha nded ness.Exercise 2Liste n to the passage aga in and complete the follow ing sentences with the miss ingin formati on.1. A study done in 1992 found that men are more likely to be left-handed than women.It also found that Asia n or Hispa nic people are less likely to be left-handed _______________ tha n white people, black people or North America n In dia ns. _______2. Scien tists want to know the reas on for left-ha nded ness because it is closelylin ked to mental problems and language difficulties. _________3. One idea about the cause of left-ha nded ness is the gen etic theory. __________4. Another idea is that right-handed people are born with the gene for it. But about20% of people do not have the right-handed gene. They could be either left- o ______________ right-ha nded.5. Somescientists believe that the cause of handedness could include both genetics anddevelopme nt.Passage 2Does Being Left-handed Affect One ' s Life?Word Bankad. nearly 大约 n. a point in question; a matter in dispute 问题；争论点 a. important 重大的 n. feelings of being disappointed and annoyed 沮丧 n. a cutting device 剪刀（复数） n. a container or tool commonly for kitchen use 器皿 amount to to be equal to, esp. in meaningScript:There are approximately 30 million left-handed people in the United States, and several hundred million more around the world. Most right-handed people have never even considered the possibility that there might be any serious issues affecting left-handers. Even among all of these left-handed people, there are many different opinions about what these issues are and which issues might be most important to them.Some left-handers think that being left-handed is a positive factor in their lives, and they feel that there are no serious issues affecting them. Others think that being left-handed is not a significantfactor and has not affected their lives one way or another. There are also some left-handers who have no opinion and have never given any thought to what being left-handed has meant to them. But the majority of left-handed people find that being left-handed is at least a small disadvantage and a minor source of frustration in their lives.There are many things that right-handed people take for granted that are quite difficult for left-handers. These include many basic skills like learning to write, learning to use scissors and other hand tools and utensils, and learning various crafts and other activities. Sometimes left-handers are puzzled by equipment designed for right-handers, and other times they are confused by instructors andinstructions geared toward teaching right-handers. For some left-handedpeople this amounts to occasional difficulties and minor inconveniences. For other left-handers it is a lifetime fullof failures and frustrations that may lead to much more serious problems. Exercise 1Listen to the passage and choose the right answers to the questions you hear.1. What is the speaker' s attitude toward left-handers?a. Indifferent.b. Neutral.c. Favorable. gear v. to be organized in a way that is suitable for a particularpurpose or situation 使适应；使适合one way or anothereither of two possible ways; in any way用那种方法；用某种方法 approximatelyissuesignificantfrustrationscissorsutensil 不是用这种方法就是take …for gran ted to accept sth. as true without questioning 想当然 意味着d. Sympathetic.2. What can be in ferred from the passage about right-ha nders?a. Most of them are sympathetic to left-ha nders.b. Most of them are indifferent to the problems left-handers face.c. Most of them con sider themselves lucky to be right-ha nded.d. Most of them are un aware of the problems left-ha nders face.Exercise 2Liste n aga in and supply the miss ing in formati on in the tables below.How Left-ha nders Feel About Their Bei ng Left-ha ndedPart CTest Your Liste ningA Compo und Dictati onListen to the passage three times and supply the missing information.Approximately 90%of people in the world are 1) naturally right-handed. Why is this so, and are we 2) born one way or the other? The answer to this question is rather 3) complicated.In babies and young children, no 4) single side becomes 5) dominant until around the age of eight. At 12 weeks, babies usually use both hands 6) equally, but by 16 weeks, they mostly use the left hand for 7) touching. By 24 weeks, they have changed aga in and start using both han ds. Then at 28 weeks, they become on e-ha nded aga in, although this time it is the right hand that is used more. At 32 weeks, they startusi ng both hands agai n. 8) When they reach the age of 36 weeks, there is another ____________ change, with most babies now preferring to use the left hand. Between 40 and 44 weeks, the right hand is once aga in more used. At 48 weeks, babies switch to using theirleft hands aga in, and the n betwee n 52 and 56 weeks, the right hand takes over.There are further changes still. 9) At 80 weeks, the right hand loses control, and both are used aga in equally. When the young child reaches the age of two, the right hand takes over again, butbetween two and a half and three years, both hands are used equally. 10) Things finally become stable at around four years and stay _________________________________________________ the same until, by the age of eight, one hand is strongly dominant over the other.。

【答案】1) c2) a3) b4) a【原文】Bali is a beautiful island of mountains, forests and rice fields. It is also an island of artists. Almost everybody there is an artist of some kind. The people work all day at home, in the fields or on their boats, but in the evening they make music, dance, paint or carve things out of wood and stone.For the Balinese, art is part of religion. It is a way of pleasing their gods--and Bali, they believe, is full of gods. There are thousands of temples in Bali, and there are festivals at these temples when people die or get married, or when a child is born. At these festivals the people try to keep their gods happy by giving them food, by dancing, by acting, and by playing music for them.In the past, the Balinese did not care about the outside world. For them Bali was the whole world. But in the 1930s tourists began to visit Bali, and since the 1950s tourism has become big business there. So the islanders have begun to sell their art to tourists. These days the Balinese pro-duce more and more things for tourists; they make fewer things for their temples. They have less time for their gods, so there are fewer festivals.Each year more tourists bring more money to the island; they also bring new ideas and a new way of life. The Balinese know that if fewer tourists come to the island, there will be less money. But they also know if there are too many tourists, the Balinese way of life will change drastically. The authorities are trying hard to organize and control tourism with caution. Bali has to change; nevertheless they want to make sure that it changes for the better, not for the worse.Task 3【答案】A.1) Because until 1980, it had been quiet for more than a hundred years.2) It was strange. No birds were singing, and the air was still.3) He was standing near the summit and reporting the eruption on radio.B.Washington; 35; 1980; 123; recreation; summit; tremors; small eruptions; no danger; 1980; dust; ash; rocks; mud; 40; peaceful; empty【原文】Most volcanoes are quiet. They rest peacefully for hundreds of years. No one pays much attention to them.Mount St. Helens was one of these volcanoes. Until 1980, it was a beautiful recreation area. Its last eruption had been 123 years ago. No one was worried about another one. Then, in March 1980, Mount St. Helens began to make noises. At first, there were tremors. Then, small eruptions occurred. Some residents left immediately. Others felt there was no danger.But on the morning of May 18, 1980, the mountain blew its top. With the power of twenty-five atomic bombs, Mount St. Helens exploded. Clouds of dust and ash rose more than twelve miles into the sky. Rocks and mud crashed down the slopes.Unfortunately, many people were still living, camping, or working in the area. Over forty people lost their lives. Others were rescued.Robert Baker was fishing with his family when the explosion occurred. He reported that the morning of May 18 was strange. No birds were singing. The air was still. Then, he saw a large black cloud coming down toward them. In minutes, day turned into night. He called his family to their van and they started on the slow dark ride away from the mountain. All the time, hot ash was raining on them.But other people were not so lucky. David Johnston, a volcano expert, was standing near the summit of the mountain. At 8:31 a. m. , he radioed, "This is it!" He was never heard from again.Mount St. Helens is peaceful now. But its slopes are empty. It will be many years before fish, plants, and trees will again live on the mountain.Task 4【答案】A.1) Mrs. Rakel Surlien is the Norwegian Minister of Environmental Protection, and she is about to begin a three-day visit to Britain.2) Britain.3) Britain insists the case against acid rain in general and its contribution in particular is far from proven. / Britain insists that neither the disastrous effects of acid rain nor Britain’s responsibility in the issue has been proven.4) Sweden.5) It refers to a group of some 20 nations which are committed to reducing sulfur dioxide by a third.6) Norway is against Britain in the dispute over acid rain in spite of its cordial approach.B.1) fish; aquatic life; forest2) power stations3)remain isolateed【原文】Norway has decided to resume a "softly-softly approach" to Britain in the long-standing dispute over the issue of acid rain, as Mrs. Rakel Surlien, the Norwegian Minister of Environmental Protection, begins a three-day visit to Britain.All the Nordic countries believe that Britain is responsible for as much as a third of the acid deposit failing in southern Scandinavia, killing fish and most other aquatic life in thousands of lakes and rivers and possibly putting large areas of forest at risk. Emissions from coal and oil burning power stations are blamed mostly, but Britain insists the case against acid rain in general and its contribution in particular is far from proven.The issue has become almost fashionable since the Swedes raised it in 1972. More than 20 nations have agreed to join the so-called "30 Percent Club", committed to reducing sulfur dioxide by a third, and Britain is increasingly isolated in Western Europe by its refusal to do so.Mrs. Surlien says there has been no change in the Norwegian position in spite of the cordial approach, and she also scented victory, as she said, "I don't see you can remain isolated in this way for long. It must be very difficult to live with."Task 5【答案】1) four out of five; survive; rosy; forest flower; for centuries2) 2,000; fight cancer; 40; wildlife; the rain forest3) drugs; a South American tree; blood pressure; the snakeroot plant from Indian forests4) foods; tropical forests; winged bean5) rubber; oils; one; examined; 99; threatened【原文】A representative of an ecological organization is talking about the advantages and benefits for humans of the rain forests.Four out of five of all children who got leukemia in 1960 died. Now four out of every five survive. The secret of this miraculous change is the rosy periwinkle,a forest flower which tribal doctors had used for centuries.The United States National Cancer Institute has identified more than 2,000 tropical rain forest plants with the ability to fight cancer. In fact, about 40 percent of all drugs given out in the United States today owe much of their strength to chemicals from wildlife, largely from the rain forest.Other drags include quinine, which comes from a South American tree, and drugs to relieve high blood pressure are derived from the snakeroot plant from Indian forests. The armadillo of South America is helping us find a cure for leprosy. The tropical forests also contain large amounts of new foods. For example, the winged bean of New Guinea is now grown in about 50 different countries. Japanese scientists have found a calorie-free substance in Paraguay which is 300 times sweeter than sugar, and a coffee free of caffeine has been found in the small forests of the Comoros islands.Every day we use products from the rain forests--robber, spices and oils, and of course wood. Less than one percent of the forest plants have been examined for their potential, but the remaining 99 percent is threatened by our endless search for wood. The South American Indians say the trees hold up the sky, and if they come down there will be a catastrophe.Task 6【答案】A.1) A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, and the moon’s shadow covers part of the earth.2) A solar eclipse has occurred at Christmas only 30 times during the past 5,000 years, the last time in 1954.3) The (retina of the) eye can be permanently damaged.4) It works by projecting the sun’s image on a piece of paper through a pinholeon another piece.5) The next eclipse at Christmas will occur in 2307; it can be observed on the west coast of Africa.B.1) T2) F3) T【原文】On December 25, 2000, many people across North America received a rare Christmas treat when the moon passed in front of the sun resulting in a partial solar eclipse.Solar eclipses occur when the moon passes between the earth and the sun, and the moon’s shadow covers part of the earth, and a total solar eclipse takes place when the moon’s shadow blocks out the sun entirely. What made this particular solar eclipse unique was that this event has occurred on December twenty-fifth only 30 times during the past five thousand years, the last time in 1954.But people must be exceptionally careful when attempting to view the solar eclipse. Without taking precautionary measures, one can permanently damage the retina of the eye; however, there are several safe methods of witnessing this heavenly marvel.First, you can view a solar eclipse by using eclipse safety glasses for filtering out the sun’s harmful rays. They should be used when any part of the sun is visible.Sunglasses can block out some of the sun’s ultraviolet rays, but the results can be very deceptive. The eye’s natural reaction to this darken state when wearing sunglasses is to make the pupil larger, which allows in more light and can intensify the damage to the your eye.You c an watch an eclipse by projecting the sun’s image on a piece of paper eitherby using a telescope, or easier yet, by creating a pinhole in a piece of paper and viewing the result on another piece of paper, thus called a pinhole projector.Only during a total eclipse when the sun is completely and briefly covered can you watch the eclipse without eye protection. Even then, extreme caution should be taken.In case you didn’t catch this last spectacular solar eclipse on December twenty-fifth, 2000, there is no need to fret. Your posterity can record the next eclipse on Christmas in the year 2307, but only if they’re visiting the west coast of Africa for the holidays.Task 7【答案】A.1) pottery; metal2) large cities; food production3) the late 1950s; borrow; returnable; one-trip4) pots; pansB.1) Because the food must be shipped from place to place when it is produced, andbecause of the increased variety of foods available and the convenience of precooked meals, it is impossible for the customer to collect many foods in his own container.2) Until the late 1950s Americans had to borrow soft-drink bottles by paying a depositeach time they bought one.3) Yes, beaus sales of soft drink climbed.4) Glass companies gave soft-drink sellers a helping hand. A US company, Consumer'sGlass, made an arrangement with the bottler companies to reimburse them for much of the cost of one-trip bottles.5) Aluminium food packages now have their own electric plugs. After you eat the food,you can just throw them away.6) The writer is mildly criticizing the trend toward one-trip living and thinks itprobably has gone too far.【原文】The product that most people throw out after using only once is packaging. This is not always tree. The pottery or metal container used in Roman times and in most rural areas of the world today is a permanent and valuable household item. Unless a container is accidentally broken, it lasts a lifetime, despite the many journeys from home to market, farm or water well and back. The growth of large cities and modem methods of food production changes all that. Because the food must be shipped from place to place while it is produced, and because of the increased variety of foods available and the convenience of precooked meals, it is impossible for the customer to collect many foods in his own container.It costs a great deal to provide a new container each time we buy milk, wine, beer and other drinks. Yet for a number of reasons the trend towards one-trip bottles for all these items is in full swing. The case of the vanishing returnable soft-drink bottle shows how much these containers add to the rising tide of waste.Until the late 1950s, Americans had to borrow soft-drink bottles by paying a deposit each time they bought one. But several years later, soft-drink bottlers decided that it was more convenient for the customer to throw the bottle away instead.A returnable bottle lasting 30 or more trips was replaced with 30 one-trip cans or bottles. Sales of soft drinks climbed and the container manufacturers smiled all the way to the bank. Glass companies gave soft-drink sellers a helping hand. A US company, Consumer's Glass, made an arrangement with the bottler companies to reimburse them for much of the cost of one-trip bottles.Other manufacturers have joined in promoting the throw-away spirit. TheAluminium Company of America announced that packages would soon replace pots and pans. Food packages were being designed with their own electric plugs. After you eat the food, you just throw away the pan with the messy old grease. What about a camping holiday You can make a bonfire on the last day with the disposable equipment that can now be purchased. In hospitals, there may well be a case on health grounds for disposable syringes. But isn't the use of one-trip sleeping bags and tents taking disposability too farTask 8【答案】A.B.1) F2) F3) T【原文】Jane Goodall, a British field biologist, has devoted her life to wildlife conservation, in particular to the study of chimpanzees. She makes a special effort to reach out to young people. In 1991, Jane started an environmental and humanitarian programme for kids called Roots & Shoots. Today, there are more than 4,000 Roots & Shoots groups in 68 countries all over the world and a programme in every state in the US. The main purpose of the Roots & Shoots programme is to help kids develop a concern for animals, the environment, and their own communities. "Roots creep underground every-where and make a firm foundation. Shoots seem very weak, but to reach the light they can break through brick walls," Jane tells people as she speaks about the programme. Imagine the brick walls are all the problems humans have inflicted on the planet. Young people, like those roots and shoots, can break through those walls to change the world.A hundred years ago, Africa was home to about 2 million wild chimpanzees. Today the population of chimps has dropped to less than 150,000. Jane Goodall knows it will take a worldwide effort to save the species. She is working to sec that this effort is made.In November 2000, the Great Ape Conservation Act was signed into law in the United States. Jane worked hard to persuade members of the US Congress to support this bill. The act provides money for protecting the great apes of Africa and Asia that are in danger of extinction. Experts predict that if we do not protect them now, soon there will be no more great apes living in the Congo Basin, their last stronghold in Africa.Jane Goodall is hopeful about the future. She knows that each of us can do ourpart, no matter where we live, to protect wildlife and our environment. Her story shows us that one person really can make a difference.Task 9【答案】A.1) Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco.2) It’s San Francisco's world-famous landmark3) Because of the gap between the amount of cars and the amount of roadway available. Or: If you think of it as a supply/demand relationship, you’ll find that there’sa lot more demand than supply.4) Texas Transportation Institute.B.1) 852) 62; Los Angeles; 136; Seattle; Houston; New York; Miami; 693) Bigger cities; roadway; transit system4) expensive; $68 billion【原文】James Hattori, the Host:Hi, everybody. I'm James Hattori. Welcome to our program, this week from the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco's world-famous landmark, at the mouth of the Golden Gate straits.42 million vehicles a year cross this bridge. That gives you an idea of the often nightmarish traffic drivers face around here. And, of course, we're not alone. Natalie Pawelski, our environment correspondent, has the numbers on what it costs Americans to cope with rush hour traffic, in time and money.Natalie Pawelski, the Environment correspondent:If you think traffic is getting worse in your town, you're probably right.There's a combination of factors. It's the amount of people, the amount of roadway that is there. It's sort of a demand/supply relationship. You can think of it that way, and there's a lot more demand than there is supply.The annual Urban Mobility Report from the Texas Transportation Institute finds in the average American city people traveled 85 percent more miles by car in the year 2000 than they did in 1982. And rush hour drivers are now wasting an average of 62 hours a year stuck in traffic. Now that's not total travel time, that's just the extra time spent going slow or going nowhere because of traffic congestion.The study says the worst traffic is in Los Angeles where the average rush hour driver loses 136 hours a year, more than three work weeks, to traffic jams. The runners up in the time drained category San Francisco, ., Seattle, Houston, San Jose, Dallas, New York, Atlanta and Miami where the average rush hour driver loses an extra 69 hours a year stuck in traffic.Once you get to a big system, it's difficult to maintain the pace of the roadway and transit system development and you wind up falling behind. More congestion is typical in bigger cities.The report says traffic jams aren't just annoying, they are expensive. For the 75 cities studied, researchers added up all the extra time and fuel wasted because of traffic congestion. The price tag they figure is almost $68 billion a year.Task 10【答案】I.A. common; poor housing; unemployment; traffic problemsB. peculiar1. infrastructure2. urbanizationII.A. MigrationB. Depopulation; decrease; riseC. urban population growth rate1. adults2. large familiesD. social service; health; educationE. labor supply; low-productivityⅢ.A. (Promote a) more equal land distributionB. Improve rural social services; health; educationC. (Give) financial aid to agriculture; small landowners.【原文】Today I want to discuss problems of urbanization and in particular I want to talk about those problems which are peculiar to developing economies and to discuss three possible policies which could be used to control or to stem uncontrolled urbanization in developing countries. Certain urban problems of course are common to both developed and developing countries, for example, problems of poor housing, unemployment and those problems connected with traffic, for example, congestion, pollution and so on. However there are problems which are very peculiar to developing economies and this is due to the fact the developing countries need to create a basic infrastructure which is necessary for industrialization and consequently for economic growth. In fact it is the provision of this infrastructure which constitutes the urbanization process itself and this infrastructure or the provision of this infrastructure may have undesired effects on the economy as a whole. Now it’s these consequences on these effects which um I’d like to deal w ith next. I’m going to talk about five main consequences of this uncontrolled urbanization. In the first instance there’s the problem of the migration of people from the country to thecity. Of course people living in the country see the city as a more desirable place to live, whether they are living in developing or developed countries. But the problem is much more serious in a developing country because there are in fact often more people who wish to migrate to the city.Now the fact of people migrating to the city causes a certain depopulation of rural areas. This is a second consequence if you like, and the result of this is a decrease in the production of food and in the supply of food to the country as a whole. This can in turn also lead to a rise in pricesbecause of the law of supply and demand.As a result of people moving to the city you get a high urban population growth rate. Now this is due not only to the fact of more adults moving to the city but can also be due to traditions of these people from the country because often people from rural areas have a tradition of large families and so on and so the population of the cities increases with these numerous children ofthe large families.This leads to a fourth consequence which is a dramatic pressure on the supply of social services in urban areas, in particular services related to health and education. In relation a health services we can see that there are endemic diseases which could be made worse by overcrowding people coming from the country to the city, and in the stresses on services in education, with more children there’s need for more schools schools and more teachers and so on.A fifth area which is affected by uncontrolled urbanization is that of the labour supply, and often uncontrolled urbanization leads to an excess of labour supply in the cities. This can lead to, in turn, an informal kind of labour activities of, if you like, what might be called lowproductivity activities. For example people selling things in the streets or you often find for instance in large urban areas in developing countries children watching cars and so on and asking for tips fromtheir owners when they come back. This is really a sort of undesirable type of labour. So those are in fact the main consequences of uncontrolled ur banization. Now I’d like to talk more on the three possible policies which could be developed to stem this kind of uncontrolled urbanization in developing countries.The first one would be to promote a more equal land distribution. In this way farmers would be more motivated to stay on the land. They would be able to work more land, and thus be able to feed their families more adequately. Often the reasons why farmers wish to go to the city is that they cannot grow enough food to both feed their families and earn a living. So a more equal land distribution is one such policy to stem this kind of move to the city.A second policy would be to improve the supply of social services in the rural areas particularly in the field of health and education. Country people often move to the city because they feel that these services are better in the city areas and if they could compare the services and feel that there was perhaps not much difference between the two, it would be another reason for not moving.A third possible policy would be to give financial assistance to agriculture especially to the small landowners.Now obviously the problem of uncontrolled urbanization, and the consequences which are not favorable, is a difficult problem to which there is no easy solution, but these three types of policies could help to reduce the problem which is felt in particular in developing countries.Task 11Planet Earth is 4,600,000,000 years old. If we condense this time span we can compare it to a person 46 years old. Only at the age of 42 did the Earth begin to flower. Dinosaurs and the great reptiles did not appear until one year ago, when the planet was 45. Mammals arrived only eight months ago, and in the middle of last week human-like apes developed into ape-like humans, and last weekend the last iceage covered the Earth.Modem man has been around for 4 hours. During the last hour agriculture was discovered. The Industrial Revolution began a minute ago. Since then, we have multiplied our numbers to plague proportions, caused the extinction of 500 species of animals, turned the planet upside down in the search for fuels, and now we stand, arrogant with power, on the edge of a war to end all wars, and close to effectively destroying this oasis of life in the solar system.。

现代大学英语听力2原文及答案Unit 1Task 1【答案】A.1) She wanted to see St. Paul’s Cathedral.2) She was so surprised because she saw so many Englishmen who looked alike.3) They were all wearing dark suits and bowler hats, carrying umbrellas and newspapers.4) Because she had often read about them and seen photographs of them, who all looked as if they were wearing a uniform.5) No, he didn’t.6) He used the English saying “It takes all kinds to make a world” to prove his opinion.B.If all the seas were one sea, what a great sea it would be! And if all the trees were one tree, what a great tree it would be! And if this tree were to fall in the sea, what a great splash there would be!【原文】Yesterday morning Gretel went to the City of London. She wanted to see St. Paul's Cathedral. She was surprised to see so many Englishmen who looked alike. They were all wearing dark suits and bowler hats. They were all carrying umbrellas and newspapers. When she returned home she asked Mr clark about these strange creatures. "They must be typical English gentlemen," she said." I have often read about them and seen photographs of them. They all look as if they are wearing a uniform. Does the typical English gentleman still exist?"Mr. Clark laughed. "I've never thought about it," he answered." It's true that many of the men who work in the City of London still wear bowler hate and I suppose they are typical Englishmen. But look at this." Mr. Clark picked up a magazine and pointed at a photo of a young man. "He's just as typical, perhaps. It seems as if there is no such thing as a 'typical' Englishman. Do you know the English saying 'It takes all kinds to make a world'? That's true of all countries-including England."“Oh, just like the poem ‘If All the Seas Were One Sea’,” Gretel began to hum happily. If all the seas were one sea, what a great sea that would be! If all the trees were one tree, what a great tree that would be! And if this tree were to fall in the sea, w hat a great splash that would be!”Task 2【答案】A.1) people were much busier2) colder than England; minus thirty degrees; last longer3) much more mountainous; much higher and much more rocky; more beautiful4) tend to be more crowded5) the houses; smallerB.1) T 2) T 3) F 4) F 5) F【原文】John is British but has worked in Japan. Etsuko is Japanese from Osaka, but she is studying in Britain. In the following passage you are going to hear, they are comparing life as they see it in the two countries. But before listening to it, think of the two countries and try to answer the following pre-listening questions.John: I found that living in Japan, people were busier. They seem to work the whole day.Etsuko: Yes, that’s right. We work from Monday through Saturday, even in summer. You know, summer in Japan is jus t horrible. It’s very, very humid and hot, and you need to shower three times a day.John: So you find it cooler in England?Etsuko: Yes, that’s right.John: Where I was living in Japan, in the North, it was much colder than England, especially in winter, minus thirty degrees centigrade. Does the winter in Osaka last longer than the winter in England?Etsuko: No, I don’t think so. December, January, February, March.John: Yes. It’s a little bit shorter if anything.Etsuko: Ever since I came here, I noticed that the countryside here in England is very beautiful.John: It’s much flatter than in Japan.Etsuko: Yes. Japan is a mountainous country and our cities are full of people. There are lots of people in a limited flat area.John: Yes, I found Japan much more mountainous than Britain, especially in the north. The mountains are much higher and much more rocky. I found it more beautiful than Britain, I think.Etsuko: Yes, if you like mountains.John: And therefore the towns and villages tend to be more crowded.Etsuko: Yes, that’s right.John: Yes. So because the cities are more crowded, the houses tend to be smaller, don’t they?Etsuko: Yes, they are very compact, and we don’t have a lot of space. In big cities we have a lot of taller buildings now.John: Is this a problem because there are more earthquakes in Japan?Etsuko: Yes, that’s right and…Task 3【答案】A.1) In the US, people usually dance just to enjoy themselves; they don’t invite other people to watch them.2)Usually eight people dance together.3)Because people form a square in dancing with a man and a woman on each side ofthe square.4) He usually makes it into a song.5) They wear old-fashioned clothes.B.1) F 2) T 3) F 4) F 5) TC.1) eight people form a square; on each side of the square2) what they should do; makes it into a song; sings it3) don’t have much time to think4) old-fashioned clothes【原文】Rosa: Why don’t you have folk dances in the United States? Most countries have special dances that the people have done for many years. The dancers wearclothes from the old days. Everyone likes to watch them dance.Steve: We have folk dances, too. A lot of people belong to folk dancing groups. But when they dance, they usually do it just to enjoy themselves. They don’tinvite other people to watch them.Rosa: Is there a folk dancing group here?Steve: I think so. There must be. There’s one in almost every city, and some big cities have several.Rosa: What are the dances like?Steve: Usually eight people dance together, four men and four women. When they start, they form a square, with a man and a woman on each side of thesquare. That’s why it’s called square dancing.Then there’s a man who tellsthe dancers what they should do. He usually makes it into a song. He singsit while they dance.Rosa: Oh, that should make the dances easy!Steve: Yes, but they are very fast. They don’t have much time to think. I like to watch them, though. The dancers wear old-fashioned clothes. That makesthe dances pretty to watch.Rosa: I’d like to watch a g roup dance.Steve: I’ll take you sometime.Task 4【答案】1) It was a time to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of spring.2) They burned the picture of their kitchen god to bring good luck.3) The custom said the brides must wear “something old, something new, somethingborrowed, and something blue” to bring good luck.4)Because they could not eat meat, eggs or dairy products during Lent, so they triedto use up these things before Lent began.5)It was a straw man made by children in Czech; it was a figure of death.6)People brought their animals to church. And before the animals went into thechurch people dressed them up in flowers and ribbons.【原文】1) On the evening of February 3rd, people in Japanese families took one dried bean for each year of their age and threw the beans on the floor, shouting "Good luck in! Evil spirits out!" This was known as "Setsubun", a time to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of spring.2) Before the Chinese Lunar New Year in the old days, many Chinese families burned the picture of their kitchen god to bring good luck. When Lunar New Year's Day came, they put ancw picture of the kitchen god on the wall.3) When American women got married, they sometimes followed an old custom in choosing what to wear on their wedding day. The custom said the bride must wear "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue". This was to bring good luck.4) Before Lent (a time on the Christian calendar), the people of Ponti, Italy ate an omelet made with 1,000 eggs. People could not eat meat, eggs or dairy products during Lent, so they tried to use up these things before Lent began.5) When winter ended in Czech, the children made a straw man called "Smrt", which was a figure of death. They burned it or threw it in the river. After they destroyed it, they carried flowers home to show the arrival of spring.6) January 17th was St. Anthony's Day in Mexico. It was a day when people brought their animals to church. But before the animals went into the church, the people dressed them up in flowers and ribbons. This ceremony was to protect people's animals.Task 5【答案】A.1) F 2) T 3) F 4) T 5) F 6) T 7) T【原文】Man: Well, I think life used to be much more fun than it is now. I mean, look at the Victorians. They had lots of servants to do all the work; they never had to doany cooking or cleaning; they just wore those beautiful dresses and went totea parties.Woman: You must be joking! Their clothes were terribly uncomfortable and their tea parties were very formal and boring. They used to wear their hats and longgloves even when they were eating cakes and biscuits. And men were notusually invited.Man: Really? Weren't they?Woman: And think of the poor servants. What a terrible life — just cleaning and cooking for other people all the time!Man: But you hate housework!Woman: Yes, I know, but there are lots of machines now to help you with the housework. People don't need servants.Man: Maybe they don't, but life then was much slower than it is now-people nowadays are always rushing, and they never have time to stop and enjoythemselves.Woman: Life then was fine for the rich, but it was dreadful for the poor. There was much more illness. They didn't have the money to pay doctors, and they oftenused to die of illnesses that don't exist in England now.Man: Maybe. But people used to talk to each other, play the piano or play cards together. Nowadays people just sit in front of the television for hours andnever talk to each other.Woman: I agree with you about television; but what about their children? They left their Children with the servants all day. Children hardly ever saw theirparents! And the clothes they had to wear! Horrible, tight, uncomfortable,grown-up clothes. Children have a much better life now than they used to,and schools and education are much better too.Man: I hate school.Woman: And look at opportunities for women. In those days, women used to stay at home, play the piano, change their clothes several times a day and have teaparties. What a life! They didn't have any freedom at all. I'm very happyliving now. I can work, have a career, do what I want to.Man: You mean you can work hard all your life like a Victorian servant. Woman: Life isn't all tea parties, you know.Task 6【答案】A.1) b 2) a 3) c 4) aB.1) family unit; process; change; used to be; the extended; the nuclear2) job patterns; progressed; agricultural; industrial; forced; job opportunities; split up3) traditional; family; expanded; other living arrangementsC.1) mother, father, children, and some other relatives, such as grandparents, living in the same house or nearby2)only the parents and the children3)previously married men and women marry again and combine the children fromformer marriages into a new family【原文】The American family unit is in the process of change. There used to be mainly two types offamilies: the extended and the nuclear. The extended family most often included mother, father, children, and some other relatives, such as grandparents, living in the same house or nearby. Then as job patterns changed and the economy progressed from agricultural to industrial, people were forced to move to different parts of the country for job opportunities. These moves split up the extended family. The nuclear family became more prevalent; this consisted of only the parents and the children. Now besides these two types of traditional groupings, the word "family" is being expanded to include a variety of other living arrangements.Today's family can be made up of diverse combinations. With the divorce rate nearly one in two, there is an increase in single parent homes: a father or mother living with one or more children. "Blended families" occur when previously married men and women marry again and combine the children from former marriages into a new family. On the other hand, some couples are deciding not to have any children at all, so there is an increase in childless families. There are also more people who live alone: single, widowed, divorced. Now one in five Americans lives alone.Task 7【答案】A.B.1) c 2) c 3) a 4) b 5) c 6) c 7) c【原文】In Japan both men and women go to university and both men and women study the arts such as history or English. But very few women study science, medicine or engineering. In engineering classes of thirty or forty students, there may be only one or two women. Men and women both go to university in order to get good jobs: men want to work for a big company, be successful, earn a lot of money and support a family; women, on the other hand, want to work for a big company because they have a better chance of meeting a successful man and getting married. This is changing, however, as Japanese women begin to think about their own careers. They have began to take jobs which they like rather than jobs in order to find a husband.Men work for their whole lives and usually stay with the same company. A woman may work up to ten years, but after that she usually gets married. Most women are married by the age of twenty seven, then they stay at home and look after the children.A man does not cook or look after the children. When he comes home, his meal must be ready. The woman may go out in the afternoon, shopping with her friends or having a chat, but she must go back home by four o'clock to prepare the meal. Then she may have to wait a long time for her husband to come home. Often he has to go out for a drink after work: if he doesn't he may not rise very high in the company. After her children grow up, a woman can go back to work, but it is not easy. If her former company takes older women back, she might be lucky. But most women find it difficult to find a job when they are older.Task 8【答案】A.1) a 2) c 3) b 4) c 5) c 6) b 7) c 8) bB.1) T 2) T 3) F 4) F 5) T 6) F 7) F 8) F 9) T 10) F【原文】Matthew: Geth, how do people set about getting married in England?Geth: I suppose the most common way is still for people to go home. For example, people who live in London now will go back to their homes in the provinceswhere they'll meet all their relatives and their parents, and they'll getmarried in a church, with the bride wearing white, the traditional white.Then they'll go off and have a booze-up with their relatives and friends anda jolly good time will be had by all. Otherwise you can get married in aregistry office, which means you turn up with your bride-to-be orbridegroom-to-be with two witnesses only. The ceremony takes about fiveminutes, I suppose. You sign the form and that's it.Matthew: There are many today who say that marriage is a complete waste of time.What's your view of marriage in the twentieth century?Goth: Well, I live in London as you know. I think in London, the tendency is to...for a... boy and girl, man or woman to live together before marriage andoften to live together without any prospect of marriage at all. I think thisprobably is... is true of London and the other big cities than elsewhere,because after all people in London are living in a big place where home tiesare obviously less restrictive. They can do more or less as they please and Ithink this is the pattern.Matthew: But do you think it helps for people to live together before taking their vows?Geth: I think in a sense the habit of living together before marriage may, in a strange sort of way, make marriage stronger, because after all the people will knoweach other better when they do get married and it might be suggested thatdivorce would be less likely between such a couple.Matthew: Sue, you've been married for two or three years now. How's it working out? Sue: I think it's a successful marriage. It's... I mean, it's difficult to say why, because we basically suit each other very much. We have a good friendship,apart from anything else, and, you know, we just go together very wellbecause we respect each other's freedom and individuality, but on the otherhand we really need each other, you know, it's...Matthew: What about.., have you thought of having children?Sue: Well, obviously, like most young couples, we have thought about it, but, you know, we both feel rather, sort of, loath to lose our freedom just yet. I thinkwe'll probably wait another few years.Matthew: Is it easy in England today to people to get divorced, or is that quite difficult?Chris: I think technically it's probably fairly easy, I think, because I'm not English but, I think technically it's fairly easy to be... to get divorced. But it's not justthe technicality of it which is the problem. Divorce is... is a social stigmawhich people can probably Cope with to varying degrees, but it's also a loteasier for the man because the woman, after she is divorced is, in fact,frowned upon by... by a lot of people in society. She is... is... at a... a muchmore difficult social position in terms of... of meeting other men, or whatever, simply because she is a divorcee.Task 9【原文】Social customs and ways of behaving change. But they do not necessarily always change for the better. Things which were considered impolite many years ago are now acceptable. Just a few years ago, it was considered impolite behaviour for a man to smoke on the street. No man who thought of himself as being a gentleman would make a fool of himself by smoking when a lady was in the room.The important thing to remember about social customs is not to do anything that might make other people feel uncomfortable — especially if they are your guests. There is a story about a rich nobleman who had a very formal dinner party. When the food was served, one of the guests started to eat his peas with a knife. Other guests were amused or shocked, but the nobleman calmly picked up his knife and began eating in the same way. It would have been bad manners to make his guest feel foolish or uncomfortable.Unit 2Task 1【答案】1) b 2) a 3) d【原文】Texas was the biggest state before Alaska became the forty-ninth state in 1959. One good way to understand the size of Texas is to learn about its weather. Different parts of the state have very different kinds of weather.Laredo is one of the hottest cities in the United States in summer. The best time to visit Laredo is in winter, when it is pleasantly warm.Amarillo gets very cold in winter. Sometimes there is more snow in Amarillo than in New York, which is a northern city. Summers are better, but sometimes it gets quite hot. The best time to visit Amarillo is in the autumn when it is cool.If anyone asks you about the weather in Texas, ask him, “What p art of Texas do you mean？”Task 2【答案】A.1)T 2) F 3) FB.1) d 2) c 3) cC.climate, reputation, extraordinary, unreliable, dry, wet, clear, dull, hot, cold, bad, mild 【原文】Our friend, Nick, whose English gets better and better, declared solemnly the other day that he thought that the British climate was wonderful, but the British weather was terrible. He went on to explain by pointing out that the British climate was a temperate one. This meant, he said, "that you could always be certain that the weather would never be extreme — at any rate not for any length of time — never very hot and never very cold." He quite rightly pointed out that the rainfall in Britain, according to the statistics, was not very heavy. "Why then," he asked, "has the British climate such a bad reputation?" He answered by saying it was because of the extraordinary, unreliable weather. There was no part of the year at which you could be certain that the weather would be dry or wet, clear or dull, hot or cold. A bad day in July could be as cold as a mild day in January. Indeed you could feel cold at almost any time of the year. Nick blamed drafty British houses for this, but agreed you could also blame the small amount of sunshine and a great amount of dampness. He advised every student coming to Britain to bring an umbrella and to understand the meaning of that splendid word "drizzle".Task 3【答案】I.the country; Trees, grass, lakes and steamsII.A.1. concrete, iron, steel2. take in the heat during the day and throw off heat into the air at nightB. Warmer winters, car engines; electrical applianceⅢ.A. air pollution may stop sunlight from reaching the earthB.1. Ice near the North and South poles to melt2. to be slowly flooded and people living in these cities to move to higher land【原文】Cities change the climate around you. In the country, there are trees, grass, lakes, and streams. In hot weather, the trees and grass cool the area around them. Lakes and rivers also cool the area around them.But cities are not cooled in these natural ways. Cities are built of asphalt, concrete, iron, andsteel. There are few trees and usually not much grass. Rain falls onto the streets and into the sewers.When the summer sun shines, streets and buildings take in the heat; after the sun sets, the streets and buildings throw off heat into the street. Once the sun sets, the countryside cools off, but a city may stay hot all night.Cities are hotter than the countryside in winter, too. Standing near a car with its motor running, winter or summer, you will feel the heat thrown off by the engine. The heat comes from the gasoline burned by the engine. This heat warms the air and the ground around the car. Thousands of running cars are almost like thousands of small fires burning.Carefully put your hand near a light bulb or television set. As you can see, electricity creates a lot of heat. This heat from electricity warms the house and the outside air.The heat given off by cities can affect the climate. Some experts even believe that cities can change the climate of the whole world. They think that air pollution may stop sunlight from reaching the earth. If less sunshine reaches the earth, the earth may become cooler.Still other experts think the world will get warmer. If the world did get warmer, great changes would occur. Ice near the North and South poles would melt. This would make the oceans rise. Cities near oceans — like Los Angeles, Boston, and Miami — would slowly be flooded. People living in these cities would have to move to higher land.Task 4【答案】A.1) b 2) cB. night, delight; morning, warning; gray, way, red, headC.1) F 2) T 3) F【原文】A red sky at either dusk or dawn is one of the spectacular and beautiful weather predictors we have in nature. By closely observing this phenomenon, you can achieve short-range accuracy of the weather as good as, or better than your local weatherman. In the Bible, Jesus in Matthew 16, 2-3 is quoted as saying, “When it is evening, it will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning it will be foul weather today: for the sky is red” when speaking to the Pharisees. An old English weather proverb based on this passage is:Red sky at night, sailors delight.Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.OrEvening red and morning gray,Sends the traveler on his way.Evening gray, morning red,Brings the rain down on his head.At dusk, a red sky indicates that dry weather is on the way. This is due to the sun shining through dust particles being pushed ahead of a high pressure system bringing in dry air. A red sky in the morning is due to the sun again shining through dust. In this case however, the dust is being pushed on by an approaching low reassure system bringing in moisture. Don't confuse a red sky in the morning with a red sun in the morning. If the sun itself is red and the sky is a normal color, the day will be fair.Task 5【答案】1) c 2) b 3) d 4) c 5) c【原文】Mark: I am an avid fly fisherman and frequently find myself on the river ina raft during lightning storms. We always have a debate at thesetimes on where we are safest — pulling into shore or staying on thewater. Since I have heard one is safe in a car when lightning strikesI wonder if the raft floating on the water is insulated, and thereforethe safest place to be.Meteorologist A: We spoke with some scientists about your question, and they allagreed that under no circumstances should you remain on the waterduring a lightning storm. If your raft is made of rubber, you mightfeel that you're .well insulated, but don't kid yourself. Typicallightning flashes travel 10 to 15 kilometers and can deliver as muchas 100,000 amps of current. In comparison, a toaster uses about 10amps of current. If lightning strikes the water near you, it will haveno trouble traveling through a few extra centimeters of rubber. Meteorologist B: So, if you're on the water and a thunderstorm approaches, get to the shore and seek shelter on land. Try a building or car. If neither isavailable, look for a cave, cliff, wall, or a group of trees. Never takeshelter under an isolated tree-it's also a good target for lightning.Task 6【答案】A.1) F 2) T 3) F 4) T 5) F 6) TB.Incredible, one minute, one kilometer, destroyed, lifted up, carried away, killed, injured【原文】Every spring and summer many inland areas are hit by tornados. A tornado is a kind of storm. It's a revolving, funnel-shaped column of air that moves through the sky at very high speeds. A tornado looks like a huge, black ice cream cone whirling through the sky. The speed of a tornado is very fast-it is believed to be between 200 and 700 kilometers per hour.Tornados form under very special weather conditions, and these special weather conditions occur most often in inland areas, such as the central United States. A tornado forms when a layer of warm, dry air is on top of a layer of cooler, moist air. This combination of dry, warm air above wet, cool air creates a condition that causes the lower layer of air to lift up. As the lower air rises, both layers of air begin to rotate, to turn around and around. The air begins to rotate faster and faster because of centrifugal force. The tornado has a center called an “eye” and the air rotates quickly around this eye.As the air begins to rotate faster and faster, the tornado cloud begins to grow downward; that is, it begins to form a funnel or cone, and this cone goes down toward the ground.The cone of air is dark because it develops from a dark rain cloud. As the cloud gets longer, as the cloud gets closer to the ground, it begins to pull up dirt from the ground. Then the funnel ofrotating air becomes very dark because of the dirt in it. As the tornado funnel gets longer, it begins to drag along the ground.When the tornado touches the ground, it does incredible damage. It usually touches the ground for only about one minute, and it usually travels along the ground for only about one kilometer, but during that one minute, buildings are destroyed, trees are lifted up out of the ground, small objects are carried away, and sometimes people are injured or killed.Task 7【答案】A.1) b 2) a 3) bB.1) It has been nice weather during the day, but it is going to change at night.2) Fine weather in southern Europe and not so nice in northern EuropeFor todaySoutheast England---26 degrees Celsius by mid-afternoonSouthern Scotland---Maximum temperatures of around 21 degreesBrighton---15 hours of lovely sunshineMidlands---23 degrees Celsius by early afternoonNorthwest of Scotland---Light showers around middayFor the weekendSpain---34 degrees CelsiusGreece---32 degrees CelsiusFrance---Cloudy with rain, maximum temperatures of 22 degrees。

《现代大学英语听力2》听力原文及题目答案Unit 2Unit 2Task 1【答案】1) b 2) a 3) d【原文】Texas was the biggest state before Alaska became the forty-ninth state in 1959. One good way to understand the size of Texas is to learn about its weather. Different parts of the state have very different kinds of weather.Laredo is one of the hottest cities in the United States in summer. The best time to visit Laredo is in winter, when it is pleasantly warm.Amarillo gets very cold in winter. Sometimes there is more snow in Amarillo than in New York, which is a northern city. Summers are better, but sometimes it gets quite hot. The best time to visit Amarillo is in the autumn when it is cool.If anyone asks you about the weather in Texas, ask him, “What part of Texas do you mean？”Task 2【答案】A.1)T 2) F 3) FB.1) d 2) c 3) cC.climate, reputation, extraordinary, unreliable, dry, wet, clear, dull, hot, cold, bad, mild【原文】Our friend, Nick, whose English gets better and better, declared solemnly the other day that he thought that the British climate was wonderful, but the British weather was terrible. He went on to explain by pointing out that the British climate was a temperate one. This meant, he said, "that you could always be certain that the weather would never be extreme —at any rate not for any length of time —never very hot and never very cold." He quite rightly pointed out that the rainfall in Britain, according to the statistics, was not very heavy. "Why then," he asked, "has the British climate such a bad reputation?" He answered by saying it was because of the extraordinary, unreliable weather. There was no part of the year at which you could be certain that the weather would be dry or wet, clear or dull, hot or cold. A bad day in July could be as cold as a mild day in January. Indeed you could feel cold at almost any time of the year. Nick blamed drafty British houses for this, but agreed you could also blame the small amount of sunshine and a great amount of dampness. He advised every student coming to Britain to bring an umbrella and to understand the meaning of that splendid word "drizzle".Task 3【答案】I.the country; Trees, grass, lakes and steamsII.A.1. concrete, iron, steel2. take in the heat during the day and throw off heat into the air at nightB. Warmer winters, car engines; electrical applianceⅢ.A. air pollution may stop sunlight from reaching the earthB.1. Ice near the North and South poles to melt2. to be slowly flooded and people living in these cities to move to higher land 【原文】Cities change the climate around you. In the country, there are trees, grass, lakes, and streams. In hot weather, the trees and grass cool the area around them. Lakes and rivers also cool the area around them.But cities are not cooled in these natural ways. Cities are built of asphalt, concrete, iron, andsteel. There are few trees and usually not much grass. Rain falls onto the streets and into the sewers.When the summer sun shines, streets and buildings take in the heat; after the sun sets, the streets and buildings throw off heat into the street. Once the sun sets, the countryside cools off, but a city may stay hot all night.Cities are hotter than the countryside in winter, too. Standing near a car with its motor running, winter or summer, you will feel the heat thrown off by the engine. The heat comes from the gasoline burned by the engine. This heat warms the air and the ground around the car. Thousands of running cars are almost like thousands of small fires burning.Carefully put your hand near a light bulb or television set. As you can see, electricity creates a lot of heat. This heat from electricity warms the house and the outside air.The heat given off by cities can affect the climate. Some experts even believe that cities can change the climate of the whole world. They think that air pollution may stop sunlight from reaching the earth. If less sunshine reaches the earth, the earth may become cooler.Still other experts think the world will get warmer. If the world did get warmer, great changes would occur. Ice near the North and South poles would melt. This would make the oceans rise. Cities near oceans — like Los Angeles, Boston, and Miami —would slowly be flooded. People living in these cities would have to move to higher land.Task 4【答案】A.1) b 2) cB. night, delight; morning, warning; gray, way, red, headC.1) F 2) T 3) F【原文】A red sky at either dusk or dawn is one of the spectacular and beautiful weather predictors we have in nature. By closely observing this phenomenon, you can achieve short-range accuracy of the weather as good as, or better than your local weatherman. In the Bible, Jesus in Matthew 16, 2-3 is quoted as saying, “When it is evening, it will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning it will be foul weather today: for the sky is red” when speaking to the Pharisees. An old English weather proverb based on this passage is:Red sky at night, sailors delight.Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.OrEvening red and morning gray,Sends the traveler on his way.Evening gray, morning red,Brings the rain down on his head.At dusk, a red sky indicates that dry weather is on the way. This is due to the sun shining through dust particles being pushed ahead of a high pressure system bringing in dry air. A red sky in the morning is due to the sun again shining through dust. In this case however, the dust is being pushed on by an approaching low reassure system bringing in moisture. Don't confuse a red sky in the morning with a red sun in the morning. If the sun itself is red and the sky is a normal color, the day will be fair.Task 5【答案】1) c 2) b 3) d 4) c 5) c【原文】Mark: I am an avid fly fisherman and frequently find myself on the river in a raft during lightning storms. We always have a debate at thesetimes on where we are safest —pulling into shore or staying on thewater. Since I have heard one is safe in a car when lightning strikesI wonder if the raft floating on the water is insulated, and thereforethe safest place to be.Meteorologist A: We spoke with some scientists about your question, and they all agreed that under no circumstances should you remain on the waterduring a lightning storm. If your raft is made of rubber, you mightfeel that you're .well insulated, but don't kid yourself. Typicallightning flashes travel 10 to 15 kilometers and can deliver as muchas 100,000 amps of current. In comparison, a toaster uses about 10amps of current. If lightning strikes the water near you, it willhave no trouble traveling through a few extra centimeters of rubber. Meteorologist B: So, if you're on the water and a thunderstorm approaches, get to the shore and seek shelter on land. Try a building or car. If neitheris available, look for a cave, cliff, wall, or a group of trees. Nevertake shelter under an isolated tree-it's also a good target forlightning.Task 6【答案】A.1) F 2) T 3) F 4) T 5) F 6) TB.Incredible, one minute, one kilometer, destroyed, lifted up, carried away, killed, injured【原文】Every spring and summer many inland areas are hit by tornados. A tornado is a kind of storm. It's a revolving, funnel-shaped column of air that moves through the sky at very high speeds. A tornado looks like a huge, black ice cream cone whirling through the sky. The speed of a tornado is very fast-it is believed to be between 200 and 700 kilometers per hour.Tornados form under very special weather conditions, and these special weather conditions occur most often in inland areas, such as the central United States. A tornado forms when a layer of warm, dry air is on top of a layer of cooler, moist air. This combination of dry, warm air above wet, cool air creates a condition that causes the lower layer of air to lift up. As the lower air rises, both layers of air begin to rotate, to turn around and around. The air begins to rotate faster and faster because of centrifugal force. The tornado has a center called an “eye” and the air rotates quickly around this eye.As the air begins to rotate faster and faster, the tornado cloud begins to grow downward; that is, it begins to form a funnel or cone, and this cone goes down toward the ground.The cone of air is dark because it develops from a dark rain cloud. As the cloud gets longer, as the cloud gets closer to the ground, it begins to pull up dirt from the ground. Then the funnel ofrotating air becomes very dark because of the dirt in it. As the tornado funnel gets longer, it begins to drag along the ground.When the tornado touches the ground, it does incredible damage. It usually touches the ground for only about one minute, and it usually travels along the ground for only about one kilometer, but during that one minute, buildings are destroyed, trees are lifted up out of the ground, small objects are carried away, and sometimes people are injured or killed.Task 7【答案】A.1) b 2) a 3) bB.1) It has been nice weather during the day, but it is going to change at night.2) Fine weather in southern Europe and not so nice in northern EuropeFor todaySoutheast England---26 degrees Celsius by mid-afternoonSouthern Scotland---Maximum temperatures of around 21 degreesBrighton---15 hours of lovely sunshineMidlands---23 degrees Celsius by early afternoonNorthwest of Scotland---Light showers around middayFor the weekendSpain---34 degrees CelsiusGreece---32 degrees CelsiusFrance---Cloudy with rain, maximum temperatures of 22 degreesNorthern Ireland---Heavy rain, 17 degrees CelsiusMost of England---Cloudy but mainly dry with sunny periods, 23 degrees Celsius 【原文】Radio Announcer: You’re listening to Radio Metro. It’s two minutes to nine, and time for the latest weather for cast from Dan Francis at the London Weather Centre. Francis: Hello. It's been another warm and fine day for most of us. Temperatures in southeast England reached 26 degrees Celsius by mid-afternoon, and Brighton had 15 hours of lovely sunshine. Further north it was a little cooler with maximum temperatures of around 21 degrees in southern Scotland, and in the far northwest of Scotland there were some light showers around midday. But the rest of the country, as I said, has been warm and dry with temperatures in the Midlands reaching 23 degrees Celsius by early afternoon though it was a little cooler along the west coast and in Northern Ireland. But already the weather is beginning to change, I'm afraid, and during the night showers will slowly move in from the Atlantic to reach south-west England and the southern coast of Wales by early morning.The rest of the country will have a very mild, dry night with minimum temperatures no lower than 15 degrees in the south, a little cooler — 11degrees or so —in the north. Any remaining showers in northwest Scotland will pass quickly to leave a mild, dry night there too.And now the outlook for Friday and the weekend. Well, southern Europe will, once again, get the best of the weekend weather, and if your holiday starts this weekend, then southern Spain is the place to go, with temperatures of 34 degrees along the Mediterranean coast. At the eastern end of the Med, too, you can expect uninterrupted sunshine and temperatures of up to 32 degrees Celsius in Greece and southeast Italy, but further north the weather's not so settled. Much of France, Belgium and the Netherlands will be cloudy with occasional rain, and maximum temperatures will be around 22 degrees — very disappointing for this time of the year.Scotland and Northern Ireland will have heavy rain for much of the weekend and temperatures will drop to a cool 17 degrees. Across most of England the weather will be cloudy but mainly dry with sunny periods. And when the sun does come out, temperatures could rise to a maximum of 23 degrees.Task 8【答案】【原文】As the air pressure around you either rises or falls, many changes in nature occur. Most of these are very obvious changes while others are of a more subtle nature.Mountains and other far away objects will appear to be much closer and more sharply focused as wet weather approaches and the air pressure drops. The dust particles in the air begin to settle to the ground and the air clears, allowing you to see more details of faraway objects. As a high pressure front approaches and the air becomes “thicker,” more dust particles become suspended in air and things take on their normal somewhat hazy appearance.“Sharp horns on the moon threaten bad weather.” This and a bright, clear moon are good indicators that wet weather is on the way. As the air clears of dust particles ahead of a low pressure system, the moon appears to come closer and be more sharply focused due to the lack of dust.Sound also becomes sharper and more focused prior to stormy weather. Instead of traveling upward and outward into the atmosphere sound waves are bent back to the earth and their range extended. Bird calls sound sharper, and, at my house, we can hear the blowing of the train horn as it rumbles through the valley below.If you find yourself out in a marsh or swamp and the air really seems to stink more than normal, expect rainy weather. This happens when the pressure drops and the methane trapped on the bottom of the swamp is released in greater quantities. In reverse, as fair weather approaches and the pressure rises, things won't smell quite so strong.Birds and bats have a tendency to fly much lower to the ground right before a rain due to the “thinning” of the air. They prefer to fly where the air is the most dense and they can get greater lift with their wings. With high pressure and dry air, the atmosphere becomes denser and they can easily fly at higher altitudes.Smoke rising straight into the air means fair weather and smoke hanging low meansrain is on the way. This is pretty much the same as with the birds and methane in the swamp. When high pressure approaches, smoke will rise whereas with low pressure it can't rise and tends to lay low.Remember a grandparent talking about how their corns, bunions, or joints ached right before a rain? Again, this is due to the decreasing atmospheric pressure allowing the gas in our bodies to expand.Task 9【答案】A. Statements 3, 6, 7 are true.B.f—c—a—d—b—eC.1) F 2) T 3) F 4) FD.1) d 2) b【原文】It was 1974. Richard Nixon was still president. Kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst was still missing. In Xenia, a pretty spot of 25,000 people amid fields of soybeans and corn, American Graffiti was held over at the Cinema. The Xenia Hotel offered a chicken and dumpling dinner for $, but everyone flocked to the A&W drive-in for burgers and root beer floats. That's where five of the bodies were found after the storm.In all, 33 people died in Xenia's tornado, the deadliest of 148 storms that raged through 13 states during the infamous "Super Outbreak'' of tornadoes April 3 to 4, 1974. In 16 hours and 10 minutes, 330 people were killed and nearly 5,550 were injured from Illinois to Georgia.Though the Xenia death toll has been matched by other killer storms, the degree of devastation makes the city's tornado among U.S. history's most destructive. The storm still is studied in colleges by aspiring meteorologists, a textbook case of a rare Category F-5, the most intense of tornadoes.On that fateful day, I was a young boy of 8 years old. We lived in the Arrowhead Subdivision. That afternoon I was around the corner playing with some neighbor kids.I thought I could hear my father calling me, so I ran back to the house. Thinking back now, there is no way I would have been able to hear him. I was too far away for a voice to have traveled in the afternoon noise. Besides, Dad had a very bad case of tonsillitis that day. Like I was saying, I went back home and got through the door just in time to answer the ringing phone. On the other end of the phone was my Mother. Mom was working. She told me she heard a bad storm was on the way. She told me to make sure the garage door was shut and to stay inside. After I hung up the phone, I settled down to watch The Dennis Show. To this day I can vividly remember the electricity going out. I looked out the large window in the living room and didn't have a clue as to what I was looking at.Dad was asleep on the couch, so I woke him up to look. Dad looked and said to get into the bathroom. We sat on the floor. Dad had his back to the door and hisfeet pushing against the wall opposite the door. I remember that as soon as we sat down, the windows broke. Glass blew under the door, and the sound was tremendous.I know it really didn’t take too long for the tornado to go past, but I do remember the conversation we had in the process. I could feel the cool air rushing under the floor through the crawlspace vents. I asked if we were flying. He said he wasn't sure, but he didn't think we were. He said the house was tearing apart. I asked him how he knew. He said he just knew it was.When things calmed down, we opened the door. The odd feeling I had, looking up the street from inside what once was my hallway, is still with me today.I think back often to that day. I think back and wonder what would have happened if my Dad hadn't been sick that day. Like a lot of kids, I stayed home by myself after school back then. I seriously doubt I would be able to tell you my story, if I had been alone that day. I still live in Xenia and wouldn’t trade this town for any other.Task 10【原文】Undoubtedly, Tibet is one of the harshest places for human existence. It is cool in summer but freezing cold in winter. In Lhasa, the mildest city temperature may exceed 29C in summer while plummeting to -16C in winter! Sun radiation is extremely strong in Tibet. The sunlight in Lhasa is so intense that the city is called Sunlight City. The thin air can neither block off nor retain heat so that the temperature extremes can be met in daytime and the same night respectively in Tibet. However it is not impossible to visit the holy snow land. April to October is the best time to visit Tibet, out of the coldest months, which are from December to February usually. The average temperature in north Tibet is subzero and winter arrives in October until the following May or June. July and August are the best time to visit the area, enjoying warm temperature, intense sunshine, beautiful scenery and festive events. May, June and September is the tourist season in east Tibet. In winter, roads are all blocked by heavy snow. Landslides and rock falls frequently occur, which will make travel difficult.。