听力教程1 (施心远版)news原文 unit3

【最新整理，下载后即可编辑】UNIT 1Section OnePart 1Spot DictationHouses in the FutureWell, I think houses in the future will probably be (1) quite small but I should think they'll be (2) well-insulated so that you don't need so much (3) heating and (4) cooling as you do now, so perhaps very economical (5) to run. Perhaps they will use (6) solar heating, although I don't know, in this country, perhaps we (7) won't be able to do that so much. Yes, I think they'll be full of (8) electronic gadgets: things like very advanced televisions, videos, perhaps videos which take up ... the screen (9) takes up the whole wall. I should think. Yes, you'll have things like (10) garage doors which open automatically when you (11) drive up,perhaps electronic (12) sensors which will (13) recognize you when you, when you come to the front door even. Perhaps (14) architects and designers will be a bit more (15) imaginative about how houses are designed and perhaps with the (16) shortage of space people will think of putting gardens (17) on the roof and, and maybe rooms can be (18) expanded and, and (19) contracted depending on what you use them for, so perhaps there'll be a bit more (20) flexibility about that.Part 2Listening for GistA: Tuesday two fifteen. Letme look in my diary.B: No, Thursday.A: Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you said Tuesday.B: Thursday two fifteen. No, I'm sorry. I've got an appointment until three. Could we make it later? Say three fifteen?A: Well, there's a lot to talk about. It'll takea couple of hours, at least.B: Shall we say Monday morning, then?A: Monday morning. All right. Nine o'clock?B: Nine. I think that will be all right. I'llring you back and confirm. A: All right.But ring before five, could you?B: All right.A: Right you are. Bye.B: Bye.Exercise. Directions: Listen to the dialogue and write down the gist and the key words that help you decide.1.This dialogue is about making an appointment.2.The key words are Tuesday. Thursday. two fifteen. three fifteen. Mondaymorning. nine o'clock.Section Two Listening comprehensionPart 1 DialogueI'm terribly sorry I'm lateWoman: Listen! I'm terribly sorry I'm late.Man: Oh, that's all right. It doesn't really matter, does it? I haven't got anything better to do, have I?Woman: Just let me explain, will you?Man: I've only been waiting for over an hour. That's all. Woman: Yes. I know, and I would have ...Man: After all, my time isn't really that important, is it? Woman: Please don't be likethat. Just let me explain.(Silence. Man says nothing.)Woman: I ... I tried to get here in time but just after I left home, the car broke down.Man: The car broke down?Woman: Yes, and ... well ... luckily ... there was a garage near me. And ... and it took them a while to repair it.Man: Why didn't you at least phone?Woman: I would have! But I didn't know the number of the restaurant.Man: You could have looked it up in the telephone book! Woman: Yes, but ... you'll never believe this ... I couldn't remember the name of the restaurant. I knew where itwas, but forgot the name.Man: I see. Well, at least it was lucky you found a garage to repair your car.Woman: Yes. It was something I couldn't do myself. It didn't take too long, but that's why I'm late, you see.Man: Uh-huh. Which garage, by the way?Woman: Pardon?Man: Which garage did you take it to?Woman: Uh ... the one near my flat. You know. Lewis Brothers. Man: Yes, I know that garage. It's the only one near your flat. Woman: Hmm, well now, let's have something to eat. Uh, what about some ...Man: I know the garage very well!Woman: Yes. Let's see now. Yes, I think I'll have some ... Man: A pity it's Sunday.Woman: Pardon?Man: A pity it's Sunday. That garage is closed on Sunday! ExerciseDirections: Listen to the dialogue and write down the gist and the key words that help you decide.1.They are possibly boyfriend and girlfriend.2.In a restaurant.3."It doesn't really matter, does it? I haven't got anything better to do, have I?""I've only been waiting forover an hour.That's all""After all, my time isn't reallythat important, is it?""Well, at least it was lucky you found a garage to repair your car."4.Because she wants to stop the conversation like this.5.Because he knows the girl is lying.Part 2 PassageThe Oscar Statuette1．Industry insiders and members of the press called the award "the Academy statuette", "the golden trophy" or "the statue of merit", but the term never stuck.2. No hard evidence exists to support that tale, but in any case, by the sixth Awards Presentation in 1934, a Hollywood columnist used the name in his column.3.Walt Disney was honored with one full-size and seven miniature statuettes on behalf of his Animated Feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.4. If the statuettes don't meet strict quality control standards, they are immediately cut in half and melted down.5.The large boxes are shipped to the Academy offices via airexpress, with no identifiable markings.The Oscar statuette, designed by MGM's* chief art director Cedric Gibbons, depicts a knight holding a crusader's* sword, standing on a reel of film with five spokes, signifying the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, and Technicians.Born in 1928, years would pass before the Academy Award of Merit was officially named "Oscar". Industry insiders and members of the press called the award "the Academy statuette", "the golden trophy" or "the statue of merit". The entertainment trade paper, Weekly Variety, even attempted to popularize "the iron man". The term never stuck.A popular story has been that an Academy librarian and eventual executive director, Margaret Herrick, thought thestatuette resembled her uncle Oscar and said so, and that as a result the Academy staff began referring to it as Oscar.No hard evidence exists to support that tale, but in any case, by the sixth Awards Presentation in 1934, Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky used the name in his column in reference to Katharine Hepburn's first Best Actress win. The Academy itself didn't use the nickname officially until 1939.Since its conception, the Oscar statuette has met exacting uniform standards - with a few notable exceptions. In the 1930s, juvenile players received miniature replicas* of the statuette; a ventriloquist* Edgar Bergen was presented with a wooden statuette with a moveable mouth; and Walt Disney was honored with one full-size and seven miniature statuettes on behalf of his animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Between 1942 and 1944, in support of the war effort, Oscars were made of plaster. After the War, winners turned in the temporaryawards for golden Oscar statuettes.The traditional Oscar statuette, however, hasn't changed since the 1940s, when the base was made higher. In 1945, the base was changed from marble to metal and in 1949, Academy Award statuettes began to be numbered, starting with No. 501.Approximately 50 Oscars are made each year in Chicago by the manufacturer, R. S. Owens. If they don't meet strict quality control standards, the statuettes are immediately cut in half and melted down.Each award is individually packed into a Styrofoam container slightly largerthan a shoebox. Eight of these are then packed into a larger cardboard box, and the large boxes are shipped to the Academy offices in Beverly Hills via air express, with no identifiable markings.On March 10, 2000, 55 Academy Awards mysteriouslyvanished en route from the Windy City* to the City of Angels. Nine days later, 52 of stolen statuettes were discovered.For eight decades, the Oscars have survived war, weathered earthquakes, and even managed to escape unscathed* from common thieves. Since 1995, however, R. S. Owens has repaired more than 160 statuettes. "Maybe somebody used chemicals on them to polish them and the chemicals rubbed right through the lacquer* and into the gold," explains the company president. "Or maybe people stored them someplace where they corroded." Although he stresses that the statuette is made to endure, Siegel offers this sage advice to all Oscar winners: "If it gets dusty, simply wipe it with a soft dry cloth."Exercise A Pre-listening QuestionEvery January, the attention of the entertainment community and of film fans around the world turns to the upcoming Academy Awards, the highest honor in filmmaking. The annual presentation of the Oscars has become the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' most famous activity. The Oscar Statuette is a knight holding a crusader's sword, standing on a reel of film with five spokes.Exercise B Sentence DictationDirections: Listening to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times.Exercise C Detailed ListeningDirections: Listen to the passage and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). Discuss with your classmates why you think the statement is true or false.T 1. There were five original branches of the Academy.(Because the five spokes on the reel of film signify theoriginal branches of the Academy:Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, and Technicians.)F 2. The Academy Award of Merit was officially named "Oscar" in 1928.(Born in 1928, years would pass before the AcademyAward of Merit was officially named "Oscar.")T 3. The Academy staff began referring to the Academy statuette as Oscar because Margaret Herrick said thestatuette was like her uncle Oscar.(An Academy librarian and eventual executive director,Margaret Herrick, thought the statuette resembled heruncle Oscar and said so, and as a result the Academystaff began referring to it as Oscar.)F 4. Since its conception, the Oscar statuette has met exacting uniform standards.(There were a few notable exceptions. In 1930s, juvenile players received miniature replicas of the statuette and a ventriloquist Edgar Bergen gained a wooden statuette with a moveable mouth. Walt Disney was honored with one full-size and seven miniature statuettes. )T 5. Oscars were made of plaster in the 1940s because of the War.(Between 1942 and 1944, in support of the war effort, Oscars were made of plaster.)T 6. The manufacturer, R. S. Owens makes about 50 Oscars each year in Chicago. (Approximately 50 Oscars are made each year in Chicago by the manufacturer, R. S. Owens.)F7. 55 Academy Awards were stolen by a mysterious person en route from the Windy City to the City of Angels on March 10,2000.(On March 10,2000,55 Academy Awards just mysteriously vanished en route from the Windy City to the City of Angels, but how and by whom was unknown.)F8. For eighty years, the Oscars have survived war, weathered earthquakes, managed to escape unscathed from common thieves and even chemical corrosion.(Since 1995, however, R. S. Owens has repaired more than 160 statuettes. "Maybe somebody used chemicals on them to polish them and the chemicals rubbed right through the lacquer and into the gold." )Exercise D After-listening DiscussionDirections: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions.1.The traditional Oscar statuette hasn't changed since the 1940s,when the base was made higher.In 1945, the base was changed from marble to metal and in 1949, Academy Award statuettes began to be numbered, starting with No.501.2.(Open)Section ThreeNews Item 2President Obama says Washington and Beijing must cooperate to tackle the big problem facing the world.Mr Obama spoke to high-level American and Chinese officials as they launched a two-day meeting in Washington. The US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue is to discuss a broad agenda from currency concerns to foreign policy.The president said the officials must work together to tackle worldwide challenges, including the global economic recession, climate change, and the spread of nuclear weapons.The president said he is under no illusion the United States and China will agree on every issue, or always see the world in the same way. And he made clear that he will continue to speak out about human rights.President Obama streesed that it is these differences that make dialogue even more important. He said these discussions give the two sides a chance to get to know each other better and communicate with candor.Exercise ADirections: Listen to the news item and complete the summary. This news item is about the high-level US-China talks Obama opens.Exercise BNews Item3The oil Russia pumps from its frozen, Siberian fields, with one energy deal, will soon provide a significant amount of China’s daily needs, about four percent. Russia will deliver about 300,000 barrels of crude a day. In return, China will finance the pipeline Russia will build from its eastern Siberian oil fields to the Chinese border.Energy analysts say the deal ia another indication of Russia’s eagerness to shift some of its energy exports from its main market, Europe.Russia’s state-owned petroleum company Roseneft, will get $15 billion of the work and the state pipeline owner Transneft, is set to receive $10 billion.Construction has been delayed repeatedly as the two countries bargained over the cost of transporting crude oil to the border.But the Russian oil industry, which for decades has been a main source of revenue for the country, has suffered a dramatic shortfall as the price of oil fell during the global economic crisis.They say Russia also is seeking allies in the east where the Kremlin is seen more favourably than in the west.Exercise ADirections: Listening to the news item and complete the summary.This news item is about the oil supply from Russion to China and the relationship between the two countries.Section Four Supplementary ExercisesPart 1 Feature reportChina is a world growth leader, its cheap, manufactured exports power economies around the globe.This means, though, China is not immune to the global economic malaise. Chinese exports have slowed and its bull market dropped sharply in the wake of the credit crisis in the United States.The government bought up stocks and lowered trading taxes to boost the market, but trading remains volatile.Just ahead of the G-20 meeting, China also lowered interest rates and announced a $586 billion spending package on infrastructure, social services and tax rebates.The world is now waiting to see whether Beijing’s actions will help restore global economic stability.Li Wan-Yong is a researcher on economics at South Korea’s Hyundai Research Institute. “China has the most foreign currency reserves in the world and the second most US debt after Japan. In those terms, China can play an important role to overcome the global economic crisis and the Asican economic crisis.”China’s Vice Foreign Minisrer He Yafei says China can best help the world economy by stabilizing its own. “China’s economy makes up a large part of the world economy. Whether or not China’s economy is able to maintain stability and continue growing, whether or not China’s domestic economy is stable, is very important not only to China’s but to the world’s economy.”Analysts say the government spending package will to some degree help exporters, but is mainly aimed at increasing domestic consumption.Bill McCahill is with China-based research firm J. L. McGregor and Company. “This is a leadership, after all, that is composed of, the better ones are good engineers. These are not people who are terribly outward looking and outward focused. And they get up in the morning wondering how they’re going to take care of 1.4 or 1.5 billion people in their home country, not homeowners in Los Angeles.”Slowing demand from the US and other countries has forced thousands of Chinese factories to close and raised fears of unrest as millions are expected to lose their jobs.Chinese officials warn exports will continue to suffer because of the global slump, indicating the worst may be yet to come.Exercise ADirections: Listening to the news report and complete the summary.This news report is about China’s main cocern at the G-20 meeting which is aimed at increasing domestic aonsumption. Exercise BDirections: Listen to the news again and fill in the blanks with the missing words.1.the G-20 meeting2.tnterest rates3.$586 billion spending package4.tax rebates5.will help restore global economic stability6.vice Foerign Minister7.stabilizing its own8.is able to maintain stability9.China’s10.the world’s economy11.s pending package12.i ncreasing domestic consumptionPart 2 PassageRise and Fall of Egypt1.The Nile River was a kind friend but occasionally a hard taskmaster of the people who lived along its banks.2.In due course of time, one man who grew more powerful than most of his neighbors became their King.3.Provided he was not obliged to pay more taxes to his King than he thought just, he accepted the rule of pharaoh as accepted the rule of Mighty Osiris.4.It was different however when a foreign invader came and robbed him of his possessions.5.Egypt regained a semblance of independence when one of Alexander's generals set himself up as king of a new Egyptian state.The Nile River* was a kind friend but occasionally it was a hard taskmaster*. It taught the people who lived along its banks the noble art of "teamwork". They depended upon each other to build their irrigation trenches and keep their dikes in repair. In this way they learned how to get along with their neighbors and their mutual-benefit-association quite easily developed into an organized state.Then one man grew more powerful than most of his neighbors and he became the leader of the community and their commander-in-chief when the envious neighbors of western Asia invaded the prosperous valley. In due course of time he became their King and ruled all the land from the Mediterranean to the mountains of the west.But these political adventures of the old pharaohs* (the word meant "the Man who lived in the Big House") rarely interested the patient and toiling peasant of the grain fields. Provided he was not obliged to pay more taxes to his King than he thought lust, he accepted the rule of pharaoh as accepted the rule of Mighty Osiris *.It was different however when a foreign invader came and robbed him of his possessions.After twenty centuries of independent life, a savage Arab tribe of shepherds, called the Hyksos, attacked Egypt and for fivehundred years they were the masters of the valley of the Nile. They were highly unpopular and great hate was also felt for the Hebrews who came to the land of Goshen* to find a shelter after their long wandering through the desert and who helped the foreign usurper* by acting as his tax-gatherers and his civil servants.But shortly after the year 1700 B.C., the people of Thebes began a revolution and after a long struggle the Hyksos were driven out of the country and Egypt was free once more.A thousand years later, when Assyria* conquered all of western Asia, Egypt became part of the empire of Sardanapalus*. In the seventh century B.C., it became once more an independent stateExercise A Pre-listening Question,It is the Great Pyramid of Giza probably. The great pyramid is believed to have been built over a 20-year period. The site was first prepared, and blocks of stone were transported and placed. An outer casing (which disappeared over the years) was then used to smooth the surface. Although it is not known how the blocks were put in place, several theories have been proposed. One theory involves the construction of a straight or spiral rampExercise B Sentence Dictationthat was raised as the construction proceeded. This ramp, coated with mud and water, eased the displacement of the blocks which were pushed (or pulled) into place. A second theory suggests that the blocks were placed using long levers with a short angled foot.1.Exercise B Sentence DictationDirections: Listen to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times.Exercise C Detailed listeningDirections: Listen to the passage and choose the best answer to complete each of the following sentences.1. C2.B3.B4.A5.A6.B7.D8.CExercise D After-listening DiscussionDirections: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions.1.The last Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, tried her best to save thecountry when the Romans came in the year 39 B. C. Her beauty and charm were more dangerous to the Roman generals than half a dozen Egyptian army corps. She was successful twice in her attacks upon the hearts of her Roman conquerors. In the year 30 B.c., Augustus landed in Alexandria and destroyed her armies. She killed herself by taking poison.2(Open)。

UNIT 5Section One Tactics for ListeningPart 1 PhoneticsExercise: Complete the following short dialogue as you listen to the tape. Pay special attention to the weak forms, link-ups and contractions. Woman 1: Oh did he? I don't (1) believe it!Woman 2: And so I said...Waiter: Yes, what (2) would you like?Woman 2: Oh, I don't know. Just let me (3) have a look at the menu. Let me see...Woman 1: Erm. I'll have a cheeseburger, chips (4) and a large coke. Woman 2: Ugh! I hate cheese. (5) I'll just have a beefburger and chips. Waiter: Anything else?Woman 2: (6) Have you got any orange juice?Waiter: Large (7) or small?Woman 2: Small, please. So anyway, (8) and then I said...Part 2 Listening and Note-Taking1. Prices on a Tokyo stock market rose more than 5%. The Nikkei closed at 17,686 points.2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up a modest 14 points to10,699 -- a fractional gain for the "blue-chips." The Standard andPoor's 500 index closed 10 points higher -- less than 1%.3. The technology-weighted Nasdaq composite gained about 40 points--over 1%.4. The US economy may be slowing, but the latest data shows it is stillvibrant. US consumer confidence bounced back this month. Andsales of existing homes in June rose a surprising 2.8% -- astronger-than-expected jump.New Words:1. Fractional=very small in size or degree2. blue-chip: According to the New York Stock Exchange, a blue chip isstock in a corporation with a national reputation for quality,reliability, and the ability to operate profitably in good times andbad.The most popular index that follows U.S. blue chips is the Dow Jones Industrial Average. 蓝筹股（稳而值钱的股票）3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average道琼斯工业平均指数is aprice-weighted average of 30 blue-chip stocks that are generally the leaders in their industry. All companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average are blue-chips, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average is an index that does not include all companies that are blue chips.Nevertheless, it has been a widely followed indicator of the stockmarket since October 1, 1928. Often these stocks pay dividends（红利，股息）.4. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index(S&P 500) is an index of 500 stocks seen as a leading indicator of U.S. equities and a reflection of the performance of the large cap universe, made up of companies selected by economists. The S&P 500 is a market value weighted index and one of the common benchmarks for the U.S. stock market; other S&P indexes include small cap companies with market capitalization between $300 million and $2 billion, and an index of mid cap companies. Investment products based on the S&P 500 include index funds and exchange-traded funds are available to investors.标准普尔指数Section Two Listening ComprehensionPart 1 DialoguesDialogue 1 With Casual Clothes…Woman: Hey Dan, where are you going?Dan: I’m going to work.Woman: To work? Look at you. You’re not wearing a suit. You’rewearing … well, just regular clothes.Dan: We don’t have to wear suits on Fridays anymore. There are new rules at work. We can wear whatever we want.Woman: That’s great!Dan: Yeah. And believe it or not, casual clothes are good for theenvironment.Woman: Good for environment? Stopping pollution?Dan: Yeah. Casual clothes actually stop pollution.Woman: How?Dan: Well, people don’t dry-clean casual clothes. You have to dry-clean suits. Dry cleaning uses chemicals. Some chemicals are bad forthe environment.Woman: Fewer chemicals. I never thought of that.Listen to the dialogue and answer the following questions:1.What day is it today?It is Friday.2.What is the change in the rules at work?People don’t have to wear suits on Fridays anymore. They can wear whatever they want.3.Why is it that casual clothes are good for the environment?1) Because people don’t dry-clean casual clothes. You have to dry-clean suits. Dry cleaning uses chemicals. Some chemicals are bad for the environment.2) My personal opinion: Dry-cleaning uses lots of electricity, a waste ofenergy.4.Where does the man probably work?He probably works in an office because he usually wears a suit to work. -s: 1990s, 90s, in one’s twenties/20s,-’s: Tom’s family, doctor’s, tailor’s,74sOne medium, one rare: beef steakDialogue 2 Two 74s, PleaseAt MacArthur's, a hamburger restaurant in Putney, near Wandsworth.Dave: I still don't understand why you had to see your grandmother on Saturday evening.Carol: Well, it was a sort of family thing. Everyone was there. I'd completely forgotten about the concert. Anyway, my mum would havebeen upset if I hadn't gone.Dave: She wouldn't have been, surely? She would have understood. You could have told her you had tickets.Carol: I said I forgot.Waitress: Are you ready to order now?Dave: Yes. Two 74s, please -- one medium and one rare – Oh---and two salads.Waitress: And to drink?Carol: Coffee for me.Dave: Two coffees, please.Carol: And you haven't phoned me at all during the week. You're too busy with your cycle club. If you'd phoned me on Friday night, I wouldn't have forgotten.Dave: But you know I go training every Friday night.Carol: I'm sorry but it's just that...Dave: What?Carol: Well. I wish you wouldn't take me for granted so much.Dave: I don't! Anyway, you wanted to go to the concert. You bought the tickets months ago. Anyway, we always go out on Saturdays.Carol: That's just it.Dave: That's just what?Waitress: Did you want dressing with your salad'?Dave: What? Oh, no. thanks.Waitress: OK. No dressing.Carol: Oh. I don't know. It's just...Dave: It's just what?Waitress: Two 74s. Whose is the rare?Dave: Mine.Carol: Oh, sometimes I wish I'd never started going out with you. You act as if you own me. If only you were a bit more ...Waitress: Is everything all right?Dave: Fine, everything's fine.Exercise A: Listen to the dialogue and decide whether the following statements are true or false. Write T or F in the space provided. Discuss with your classmates why you think the statement is true or false.F 1. They were supposed to go to the theatre on Saturday evening. (concert)F 2. The girl didn't go to meet the boy because she had to see her grandmother. (... because she had forgotten.)T 3. The boy was a member of a cycle club.F 4. The boy phoned tile gift on Friday night. (The boy didn't phone the girl on Friday night, because he goes training every Friday night.)T 5. The boy thought the girl would remember everything. (Carol: Well Iwish you wouldn't take me for granted so much.)Exercise B: Listen to the dialogue again and answer the questions.1.What does “Two 74s'” mean?74 probably is the number of the dish on the menu, presumably beef, because the man said “one medium and the other rare”2.What else did they order?They ordered salad and coffee.Part 2 Passagegrind (ground, ground)研磨；resulting；evaporate（使）蒸发，（使）脱水；liquor酒；液体；cylindrical；cylinder；drier; jar; granulated; granulate; granule=grain颗/微粒; block=a large rectangular pieceroasted and ground coffeeSugar, salt and a variety of chemicalstemperature and pressureevaporates,very strong coffee liquor.250℃, vacuum , freeze-dryingInstant coffee powder, instant coffee granuleInstant CoffeeWhen coffee arrives at an instant coffee factory, it has already been roasted and ground. In the factory, water is slowly passed through the coffee. The resulting* liquid is then repeatedly pumped through tubes at a very high temperature and pressure. The liquid is boiled and sugar, salt and a variety of chemicals are carefully added. This makes some of water evaporate*, leaving very strong coffee liquor*.To make instant coffee powder, the coffee liquor is poured through large cylindrical* drier s at a temperature of 250℃. The heat evaporates the liquid, leaving instant coffee powder, which is collected and put into jars.Granulated* coffee is made by freeze-drying, The process is a secret one and is passed from one family of manufacturers to the next. The coffee liquor is rapidly frozen into block s. After these have been broken up into very small pieces, they are dried in a vacuum. This removes the water without heat, leaving instant coffee granule s*.Part 3 NewsNews Item 1The leaders of North and South Korea met this week. It was the first such meeting in 7 years, and only the second since Korea was divided in 1953.South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korea’s Kim Jong Ⅱended three days of talks in Pyongyang on Thursday. They signed a joint declaration to support peace and economic growth on the Korea Peninsula.It says the South and the North will closely cooperate to end military hostilities and ease tensions. The two Koreas have been increasingly cooperative, but technically they are still at war.Earlier this week, North Korea agreed to disable its main nuclear centers and document all of its programs by the end of the year. The agreement came in the six-party talks with China, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the United States.A:This news item is about the meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea.B:1.The leaders of North and South Korea met this week. Yes, because it was the first such meeting in 7 years, and only the second since Korea was divided in 1953. (1st paragraph)2.They signed a joint declaration to support peace and economic growth on the Korea Peninsula. (2nd paragraph)3.The South and the North will closely cooperate to end military hostilities and ease tensions. (3rd paragraph)News Item 2Reports say a civilian was at one of the controls of the nuclear submarine that hit a Japanese fishing boat last week. The Navy said there is no evidence that the civilian was directly involved in the accident. Nine Japanese students and crew members from the fishing boat are still missing. Twenty-six other people survived the accident. The Navy has sent a deep-sea vehicle to the sunken wreckage. It also will decide if the boat can be raised. On Tuesday, President Bush told Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori that he greatly regretted sinking the boat. The president spoke to Mr. Mori by telephone.AThis news item is about an accident in which a US nuclear submarine hit a Japanese fishing boat last week.BAccident: a US nuclear submarine hit a Japanese fishing boat last week Result: The boat sank after being hit.Casualties:Nine Japanese students and crew members are still missing. Number of survivors: 26Actions of the US:1. The Navy has sent a deep-sea vehicle to the sunken wreckage.2. It also will decide if the boat can be raised.Action of President Bush: On Tuesday, he told Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori that he greatly regretted sinking the boat by telephone.News Item 3South Korea’s government has issued a stern warning in reaction to Saturday night protests that left more than 100 people injured. Officials say police will take every necessary measure to track down violent protesters, and will consider resuming the use of tear gas for the first time in nearly a decade.Saturday’s day-long protest escalated into clashes between police and demonstrators by nightfall. Police say the demonstrators vandalized buses authorities and set up as barricades. Authorities say some of the protesters attacked by throwing stones, swinging steel pipes, and even shooting acid from squirt guns at police. More than 50 protesters were taken into custody.AThis news item is about South Korea’s government’s stern warning in reaction to Saturday night protests.Section 3 Oral WorkPart 1 Questions and AnswersMan: Hello. Could I speak to Miss Appleby, please? This is John Blofeld. Woman: One moment, please. I'm afraid she's out at the moment. She's visiting a factory.Man: I see. Will she be back in her office at 10.30?Woman: Let me see, Uhm. Well, she might be late because of the traffic. Man: All right. She's a difficult person to get hold of, isn't she?What about lunch time? Is she free then?Woman: Yes, I'm awfully sorry. Just one moment. I'll check. No, she's having flinch with a designer.Man: Oh, dear. What time will she be back?Woman: Erm ... At two o'clock. She's seeing a customer here in her office.Man: Ah. So what time can I phone back'?Woman: Any time after 2.30.Man: Are you sure?Woman: Definitely. She will be in her office for the rest of the afternoon. Man: OK. I'll phone back then. Thank you.Woman: That's all right. Goodbye.Questions:1. Was Miss Appleby in?(No, she was out.)2. Where was she?(She was at a factory.)3. Would she be back at 10:30?(No. she would be back later than that.)4. Why would she be back late?(The traffic was busy.)5. Would she be free at lunch time?(No, she would be having lunch with a designer.)6. What would she do at two o'clock?(She would see a customer in her office.)7, She was a person who was hard to get hold of, wasn't she?(Yes. she was a difficult person to get hold of.)8. When could John Blofeld phone back?(He could phone back anytime after 2.30.)Part 2 RetellingJimmy left home when he was fifteen and went to London He did lots of different jobs and always got tip very early, at about 6.30. He went to work on a bicycle and always crossed a vet? busy main road to work.One Monday morning he had an accident. He crossed the roadcarelessly and a car hit him. He fell off his bike and hit his head on the pavement. He was sent to hospital in an ambulance. When he was in hospital he did a lot of thinking about this life and his work.When he left hospital, he went straight to a second-hand shop and got all old electric guitar for 25 pounds. He forgot about his job in the factory? and never went back to it again. He lost his job but he found another work and a better way of life. He often thinks, “I’m glad I had that accident."Exercise: Listen to the passage and then retell it in your own words. You will hear the passage only once.Section Four Supplementary exercisePart 1 Listening ComprehensionPassage 1 Tinned Tomato SoupTinned tomato soup is horrible. Why not make your own? It's dead easy, and it tastes delicious.You need some onions*, some tomatoes, butter or margarine*, salt, pepper*, some wine, and any herbs* that you feel like putting in.The first thing to do is to pour yourself a glass of wine. Then chop* the onions up small, wash the tomatoes carefully ----- you don't know what sort of chemicals they've had on them, do you? -- and cut them into quarters. Then you ---- I'm sorry, I didn't say how many tomatoes, did I?My book says 700 grams for four to six people, but I don't find that's enough, because the soup's so good that everybody asks for more. So I usually make twice as much. If they don't eat it all you can always freeze it. I use about one and a half kilos of tomatoes, and two or three big onions, or five or six small ones. You must have enough onions -- that's what makes the soup taste good,OK, so you chop the onions and cut the tomatoes into quarters. When you've done that, you put some butter in a big saucepan -- or you can use margarine or oil instead, if you prefer put it on a low heat and fry* the onions and garlic gently for three or four minutes. Yeah, sorry, 1 should have said -- you need two cloves* of garlic, chopped up small or crushed*. You might like to throw in a piece of bacon rind* as well. Keep stirring* everything gently while it's frying.After three or four minutes, put the tomatoes into tile saucepan, and pour in some water about a quarter of a litre. A bit more if the tomatoes aren't very juicy. Add plenty of salt and pepper, and herbs if you want to.Stir everything thoroughly, put the lid on the saucepan, and bring it to the boil* Then leave it to cook slowly over a low heat for an hour or so. Pour yourself another glass of wine.When it's ready -- you can tell if it's ready, because everything's soft and it smells terrific --when it's ready, take it off the cooker and strain* it carefully through a sieve*. Actually, it's best if you've got one ofthose little machines where you turn a handle and it pushes everything through a round metal plate with little holes in -- you know what I mean?Put the soup back into the saucepan and see whether it needs any more salt. Then bring it to the boil again. Cook it gently for two or three minutes; keep stirring it. When you serve it, you can mix in some milk if you like, but I don't bother--- I think it's nice as it is. You're supposed to make croutons* as well -- you know, little squares of toast or fried bread--- but I don't bother about that either. It's too much trouble. Do try it. You'll thank me.Exorcise A:1-4: B D A C 5-8: D D A BExercise B: Listen to the passage again and complete the following outline.1.PreparationA. ingredientsa. onionsb. tomatoes, about 700 grams for four to six peoplec. butter or margarined. herbs (optional)e. two cloves of garlicB. Preparationa. chop the onionsb. wash and cut the tomatoes into quartersc. chop or crush the garlicII. CookingA. Put some butter or margarine or oil in a big saucepan.B. Put it on a low heat.C. Fry the onions and garlic gently for three or four minutes. Keepstirring everything gently while it's frying.D. Put the tomatoes into the saucepan, and pour in some water---about a quarter of a litre. Add plenty of salt and pepper, andherbs if you want to.E. Stir everything thoroughly, put the lid on the saucepan, and bring it to the boil.F. Leave it to cook slowly over a low heat for an hour or so.G. When it's ready, take it off the cooker and strain it carefully through a sieve.H. Put the soup back into the saucepan and add more salt if necessary.I. Then bring it to the boil again. Cook it gently for two or three minutes: keep stirring~ it.J. Serve it, you can mix in some milk if you like.Passage 2 WHO Medical Training CenterThe World Health Organization has opened a new medical training center to help developing countries identify and control diseases. The center opened last month in Lyons*, France. It will help poor countries set up laboratories to quickly identify and control infectious diseases.The WHO already operates an international system that watches for major health threats that could develop into world problems. The WHO executive director for communicable diseases is David Heymann. Doctor Heymann says the new medical center in France will help strengthen public health laboratories and services in developing countries.Doctor Heymann says there is a great need for this. In Africa, for example, he says only one laboratory can identify tile Ebola* or Marburg* viruses that cause serious diseases. It is the WHO laboratory in South Africa.Bacteria or other substances that are collected in any country in Africa are sent to the laboratory in South Africa. Or they are sent to laboratories in Europe, North America or Asia. Doctor Heymann says Ebola is an example of a very complex disease that is hard to identify. But many countries, he says, do not even have the ability to identify more commonly known diseases, such as cholera* or yellow fever*.The World Health Organization estimates that diseases spread toother people kill more than 13,000,000 people around the world each year. Most of the victims are poor people in developing countries.To help solve this problem, the WHO hopes to train people from 45 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, The first training class begins in April in Lyons. Laboratory experts from eight countries in West Africa and Central Africa will take part. The programme will offer the medical experts and, scientists new skills to identify diseases. They also will learn how to use communications equipment, the Internet and electronic mail. This technology will help them respond quickly to possible medical problems.The WHO says the purpose of the project is to build a system that will help countries identify diseases. With these skills, the WHO says countries will be able to react more quickly to fight the spread of disease.Part 2 Oral WorkLast Christmas Professor Smith wanted to show his family that he was young and fashionable at heart, so he decided to give them clothes as Christmas presents.For his twelve-year old nephew he thought a pair of shorts would be suitable. Unfortunately the pair he got didn't fit him at all. They were much mo big. His brother was very keen on swimming so he got him a pair of swimming trunks. They were a size too small, however, and sowere much too tight. But that was the last mistake the poor professor made, because while he was picking out a bright pink summer dress for his daughter, she happened to see him in the shop and managed to persuade him that the colour didn't go with the colour of her hair, She was quite relieved to open her Christmas present the next week and find a book on wild flowers.Exercise: Listen to the passage and then give your opinion on the following topics:1. Wily do you think Professor Smith couldn't buy the right presents for his children?2. Have things of this kind ever happened in your family?21。

Unit 3Section One Tactics for listeningPart 1 Spot DictationWildlifeEvery ten minutes, one kind of animal, plant or insect (1) dies out for ever. If nothing is done about it, one million species that are alive today will have become (2) extinct twenty years from now.The seas are in danger. They are being filled with (3) poison: industrial and nuclear waste, chemical fertilizers and (4) pesticides, sewage. If nothing is done about it, one day soon nothing will be able to (5) live in the seas.The tropical rain (6) forests, which are the home of half the earth's living things are (7) being destroyed. If nothing is done about it, they will have (8) nearly disappeared in twenty years. The effect on the world's (9) climate - and on our agriculture and food (10) supplies - will be disastrous.(11) Fortunately, somebody is trying to do something about it. In 1961, the(12) World Wildlife Fund was founded - a small group of people who wanted to(13) raise money to save animals and plants (14) from extinction. Today, the World Wildlife Fund is a large (15) international organization. It has raised over (16) £35 million for (17) conservation projects, and has created or given support to the National Parks in (1 8) five continents. It has helped 30 (19) mammals andbirds - including the tiger - to (20) survive.Part 2 Listening for GistMrs. Bates: Hullo. Is that Reception? .Reception: Yes, madamMrs. Bates: This is Mrs. Bates. Room 504. I sent some clothes to the laundry this morning, two of my husband's shirts and three of my blouses. Butthey're not back yet. You see, we're leaving early tomorrow morning. Reception: Just a moment, madam. I'll put you through to thehousekeeper.Housekeeper: Hullo. Housekeeper.Mrs. Bates: Oh, hullo. This is ... I'm phoning from Room 504. It's about some clothes I sent to the laundry this morning. They're not back yet andyou see ...Housekeeper: They are, madam. You'll find them in your wardrobe. They're in the top drawer on the left.Mrs. Bates: Oh, I didn't look in the wardrobe. Thank you very much.Sorry to trouble you.Housekeeper: That's quite all right. Goodbye.Mrs. Bates: Goodbye.ExerciseDirections: Listen to the dialogue and write down the gist and the key words that help you decide.1)This dialogue is about making an inquiry about the laundry.2)The key words are reception. laundry. shirts. blouses. wardrobe.Section Two Listening ComprehensionPart 1 DialogueA UN InterpreterInterviewer: ... so perhaps you could tell us how exactly you became so proficient at language learning, Suzanne.Suzanne: Well, I think it all started with a really fortunate accident of birth.You know I was born in Lausanne*, Switzerland; my father wasSwiss-French Swiss and my mother was American, so, of course, wespoke both languages at home and I grew up bilingual. Then, of course,I learnt German at school - in Switzerland that's normal. And becauseI was already fluent in English, my second language at school wasItalian. So I had a real head start*!Interviewer: So that's ... one, two, three, four - you had learnt four languages by the time you left school? How fluent were you?Suzanne: Urn, I was native speaker standard in French and English, but I'd become a bit rusty* in German and my Italian was only schoolstandard. I decided the best option was to study in the UK, and I didHispanic Studies at university, studying Spanish and Portuguese, withsome Italian, and living in Manchester. Then I went to live in Brazil fortwo years, teaching English.Interviewer: So by this time you must have been fluent in six languages? Suzanne: Nearly. My Italian wasn't perfect, but I had a boyfriend from Uruguay* while I was there, so my Spanish also became pretty good! Interviewer: And then what did you do?Suzanne: When I was 25 I came back to Switzerland, went to an interpreters' school and then got a job in the United Nations when I was 28. Interviewer: And you've been there ever since?Suzanne: Not quite. In the first few months I met Jan, a Czech interpreter, who became my husband. We went to live in Prague in 1987 and that waswhere I learnt Czech.Interviewer: And the eighth language?Suzanne: Well, unfortunately the marriage didn't last; I was very upset and I decided to take a long break. I went to Japan on holiday, got a job andstayed for two years, which was when I learnt Japanese. Interviewer: That's amazing! And now you're back at the United Nations? Suzanne: Yes. Well, I never really left. I carried on doing work for them when I was in Prague - some in Prague, some in Austria and Switzerland, andI took a "sabbatical*" to work in Japan. They need people who canunderstand Japanese. But, yes, I've been back with them full-time fortwo years now.Interviewer: And your plans for the future?Suzanne: I'm going to learn more Oriental languages. It was such a challenge learning Japanese - it's so different from all the others. So I'll spendanother two or three years here with the UN full-time, during whichtime I hope to get a substantial promotion, then I think I'll go back andlearn Korean, or perhaps Chinese, and Thai - I'd love to learn Thai.And then, perhaps an Indian language. Whatever, I want to be fluent inanother three or four languages before 45.ExerciseDirections: Listen to the dialogue and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).l.T 2.F 3.F 4.F 5.T 6.F 7.T 8.T 9. T 10. FPart 2 PassageThe Clyde River1)Salmon are very sensitive to environmental conditions and require cool,well-oxygenated water to thrive.2)The closure of factories that had poured toxins and other pollutants intothe river boosted water quality significantly and modern sewage processing plants helped eliminate some of the foul smells.3)The river's depth and navigability helped make Glasgow an importantcenter for importing tobacco, sugar and cotton from the Americas starting in the 1600s.4)The mills and factories that lined the Clyde made steel, textiles andchemicals, tanned leather and even produced candy and brewed alcohol. 5)When the factories began to close in the second half of the 20th century,working-class Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, gained a reputation forsocial deprivation and rough streets.Running through one of Britain's biggest manufacturing centers, Glasgow, the Clyde River* was poisoned for more than a century by the fetid* byproducts of industry.The waterway bore the brunt of Glasgow's economic success during the Industrial Revolution and beyond, as pollution and chemicals destroyed its fish and wildlife populations and brewed smells whose memory still makes residents wince*. Now, with heavy industry gone and Glasgow reconceived as a center for culture and tourism, the Clyde is coming back to life.For the first time since the late 1800s, its native salmon have returned in sizable numbers, reflecting the new cleanliness of a river that was once one of Britain's filthiest.The Clyde River Foundation surveyed fish populations last autumn at 69 sites in the Clyde and its tributaries, and found salmon in seven of the nine major tributaries.The migratory fish, which vanished from the Clyde around 1880 after a long decline, first reappeared in the 1980s, but last year's survey was the first to show they've come back in healthy numbers.Although commercial salmon fishing was never widespread on the Clyde, the fish's return is symbolically important for Glasgow, where salmon were once so important to the city's identity that two are pictured on its official coat of arms.The salmon's comeback is also a sign of big improvements to water quality. Like sea trout, which have also reappeared in the Clyde system in recent years, salmon are very sensitive to environmental conditions and require cool, well-oxygenated* water to thrive.The decline of Glasgow's main industries helped boost the fortunes of a river that was essentially fishless for decades during the worst periods of pollution.The closure of factories that had poured toxins* and other pollutants into the river boosted water quality significantly. Environmental regulators also lightened dumping rules, and modern sewage processing plants helped eliminate some of the foul* smells that once tainted* the air.With worries rising about the environmental impact of enormous fish farmselsewhere in Scotland and severely depleted fish stocks in the North Sea and North Atlantic, the Clyde comeback is a rare bit of good news for Scotland's fish lovers.Since the area that is now Glasgow was first settled around the year 550, the Clyde has been central to its history.The river's depth and navigability helped make Glasgow an important center for importing tobacco, sugar and cotton from the Americas starting in the 1600s. Later, during the Industrial Revolution that began in the late 1700s, Glasgow became a center of British shipbuilding and one of the country's great manufacturing centers.The mills and factories that lined the Clyde made steel, textiles and chemicals, tanned leather and even produced candy and brewed alcohol.When the factories began to close in the second half of the 20th century, working-class Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, gained a reputation for social deprivation* and rough streets. More recently, its art museums and nightlife have helped drive an economic comeback that has turned the city into a popular tourist destination.Exercise A Pre-listening QuestionRivers are important to humans because they supply fresh drinking water, serve as home for important fishes, and provide transportation routes.Exercise B Sentence DictationDirections: Listen to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times.(Refer to Typescript)Exercise C Detailed ListeningDirections: Listen to the passage and choose the best answer to complete each of the following sentences.l.A 2. C 3. C 4. B 5. D 6. C 7. B 8. AExercise D After-listening DiscussionDirections: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions.1)The Clyde's depth and navigability helped make Glasgow an importantcenter for importing tobacco, sugar and cotton from the Americas starting in the 1600s. And the city became a center of British shipbuilding and one of the country's great manufacturing centers during the Industrial Revolution.More recently, its art museums and nightlife have helped drive an economic comeback that has turned the city into a popular tourist destination.2)(Open)Section Three :NewsNews Item 1UN Environmental Program Executive Director Archim Steiner calls the agreement historic. He says the nine chemicals that have joined the list of Persistent Organic Pollutants, or POPs, are extremely harmful to the environment and to health.The newly targeted chemicals include products that are widely used in pesticides and flame-retardants, and in a number of other commercial uses, such as a treatment for head lice.These nine toxic chemicals will join the Stockholm Convention’s original list of 12 Persistent Organic Pollutants, refereed to as the “dirty dozen.”The Pollutants are especially dangers because they cross boundaries and travel long distances, from the Equator to the Arctic. They persist in the atmosphere and take many years, often decades, to degrade into less dangerous forms.They pose great risks to the environment and huamn health, especially to young people, farmers, pregnant women and the unborn.A esicrexEDirections: Listen to the news item and complete the summary.This news item is about a ban on nine of the world’s most hazardous chemicals.B esicrexEDirections: Listen to the news again and complete the following passage.News Item2Scientists predict the world will get hotter over the coming decades. A major conference in Copenhagen at the end of the year will focus on ways to mitigate the worst affects of global warming.WMO Secretary- General Michel Jarraud says countries must have the tools to adapt to a changing climate. They must be able to respond to a world that is likely to experience more extreme weather events, such as floods and hurricanes.Jarraud notes farmers in certain parts of the world will have to adapt to a dryer climate. He says they might have to modify irrigation systems or consider growing crops that do not require much rain.He says global warming is likely to increase the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. Therefore, better and more timely information on these phenomena are essential to make decisions on climate variability and change. To do this, he says, weather observation networks must be strengthend.The WMO chief says climate change is a global problem. And, everyone needs everyone else to solve this problem. He says even the biggest, richestcountries can not do it alone. He says the development world needs reliable weather information from developing counties and vice-versaExercise ADirections: Listen to the news item and complete the summary.This news item is about NATO's Prague Summit and its help to the USA.Exercise BDirections: Listen to the news again and answer the following questions.1)One month and one day before the Prague summit, President Bush met withthe NATO Secretary General.2)When meeting with President Bush, the NATO Secretary General describedthe Prague summit as "a transformational summit", perhaps the mostimportant in the history of the alliance.3)Because just days after September 11 th terrorist attacks, NATO voted toinvoke its charter and help defend the United States.4)They are the skills that can deal with chemical weapons or fight in ruggedmountains and the like.News Item3Section Four Supplementary ExercisesPart 1Feature ReportSydney Ready for Big Switch Off as Earth Hour Goes GlobalScotland' Edinburgh Castle, the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing and the pyramids in Egypt will join the Sydney Opera House in dimming their lights as part of Earth Hour.The global event has been endorsed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Ban Ki-moon has said it was the biggest climate change demonstration ever attempted. Mr. Ban urged people everywhere to pressure their governments to take decisive action to cut carbon pollution.Organizers are hoping that up to a billion people from small villages in Namibia to sprawling cities in Asia will participate in an international effort to cut greenhouse gas emission, which many scientists blame for a warming climate.One of the architects of Earth Hour, Andy Ridley from the conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF), says the current financial meltdown should not be used as an excuse to delay environmental reforms."The global economic crisis has proved that we are a global community, so when America goes bad, we all go bad and climate change is going to be on a scale that is way, way beyond our global economic crisis at the moment and weneed to put in place the measures to a) slow that down and ideally halt it, b) be ready for economies that will have to change. So, the longer we procrastinate the more we pay the penalty so we need to move quickly," he said.Earth Hour was started by environmentalists in Sydney in 2007. It encourages households, businesses and governments to switch off all non-essential lights for 60 minutes in a show of unified concern for the health and future of the planet.In two years, the event has become a large global movement and its aim is to create an enormous wave of public pressure that will influence delegates at a meeting in Copenhagen later this year, which hopes to establish a new U.N. Climate treaty.However, critics of Earth Hour have insisted it is simply a symbolic gesture that will not affect significant environmental changes.The event will officially begin on the international dateline in the remote Chathan Islands south-east of New Zealand and will conclude in Hawaii.。

《听力教程》新闻部分UNIT 3Item 1Exercise A: Listen to the news item and complete the following summary.This news item is about ________________________.Exercise B: Listen to the news item again and complete the following blanks. Talks between NATO Secretary General and Russian officials:Participants: ________________ Robertson, ________________Place of talks: ________________Purpose of talks: ________________Situation: ________________Russia’s opinion: 1________________ for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.2________________ if Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia join thealliance.Item 2Exercise A: Listen to the news item and complete the following summary.This news item is about ________________________.Exercise B: Listen to the news item again and complete the following passage.An official of the Federal Security Service has linked 1 ________________ arrested this month to 2 ________________. The Federal Security Service says John Edward Tarbin 3 ________________ for possessing the drug marijuana. The Russian official says 4 ________________ has not been charged with 5________________. However, he told the Interfax News Agency that 6________________ may have been preparing 7 ________________ for the United States. The spokesman for the American State Department dismissed 8________________.Item 3Exercise A: Listen to the news item and complete the following summary.This news item is about ________________________.Exercise B: Listen to the news item again and choose the best answer to each of the following sentences.1.The European Union is admitting a split among its ___________ members overpolicy toward Iraq.a.14b.15c.16d.172.An EU spokesman said member nations are divided into ___________ groups.a.twob.threec.fourd.five3.Some EU nations believe the UN ___________ is a failure.a.food for oil programb.oil for flour programc.oil for food grogramd.olive for food program4.The program does nothing to ease the suffering of ___________.a.the Iranian peopleb.the Israeli peoplec.the Irish peopled.the Iraqi people5.The American and British are being condemned for ___________.a.air attacksb.air affairsc.air linesd.air restrictions6.Iraq is threatening to attack ___________ if they continue to provide bases forwestern planes.a.Kuwait and Sierra Leoneb.Kuwait and Saudi Arabiac.Key West and San Marinod.Kiribati and Saudi Arabia。

Unit 4Section One Tactics for ListeningPart 1 Spot DictationStephen Powelson’s Amazing Memory When Stephen Powelson was nine, his school organized a (1) weekly contest in memorizing passages from the Bible. Stephen paid (2) no attentionuntil he was chided* for (3) not competing. The next Sunday he surprised everyone by (4) recitingall the passages for the (5) entire year.As a teenager in prep school, Stephen took Greek. His teacher (6) assigned21 lines of the Iliad* to be memorized (7) in a week. At the end of the hour - though he (8) insistedhe paid full attention to the (9) lecture - Stephen knew all 21. He went on to memorize the first (10) 100 lines.In 1978, for the first time (11) since college, Powelson, now 60, had some (12) spare time. To keephis mind active, he reread the Iliad and (13) discoveredthat he still knew the first 100 lines (14) by heart.That someone could memorize so much between ages 60 and 70 is (15) astonishingto most people, who are (16) convincedthat memory (17) worsensas we grow older.Powelson's method is to (18) read a book intohis tape recorder, then read it several more times, making sure he understands (19) each word. "Also," he says, "I attempt to (20) visualizemyself as part of the action." Part 2 Listening for Gist You might not know how rarely images are viewed directly through telescopes. The most common way to observe the skies is to photograph them. The process is very simple. First, a photographic plate is coated with a light-sensitive material. The plate is positioned so that the image received by the telescope is recorded on it. Then the image can be developed, enlarged, and published so that many people can study it.Because most astronomical objects are very remote, the light we receive from them is rather feeble. But by using atelescope as a camera, long time exposures can be made. In this way, objects can be photographed that are a hundred times too faint to be seen by just looking through a telescope.1)This passage is about how to photograph astronomical objects.2)Photograph, coated, light-sensitive material, positioned, received, recorded, developed, enlarged, published, remote, feeble, telescope, camera, long exposuresSection Two Listening Comprehension Part one DialogueTunisian Holiday Vocabularyamphitheatremosaiccoach n. 公共马车，普通旅客车厢resort n. 胜地，常去之地(Someone is enquiring about the Tunisian holiday.) Agent: Hello, Bath Travel.Client: Hello, I'd like to find out more about your Tunisian holiday for amateur archaeologists. I've readabout it in the paper, but I'd like to know more about what is involved.Agent: You mean you'd like to know the itinerary? Client: Yes, that's right.Agent: All right. Just briefly, you arrive in Tunis at midday on the first day and go by coach to La Marsa. Then there is a short briefing by the archaeologist and then the rest of the day you are free to explore.The second day you get up before dawn and go to Carthage to see the sunrise. You have breakfast and a lecture there and then go by coach to Mansoura, where there are beautiful coves(小海湾). After lunch you can walk along the beach, to Kerkouane. The walk takes about four hours. Kerkouane is one of the most recent and most exciting sites. Then by coach to Kelibia, a fishing village, in time for sunset over the harbor.Client: That sounds rather a long walk.Agent: Well, it's an easy walk. Flat all the way, and very pretty. But you can go by coach, if you prefer. The third day you spend in Hammamet on Cap Bon, and the day is free to enjoy the town. It's alovely old townand resort. And the fourth day you take the coach to the ruin of EI Djem, which is a magnificent amphitheatre*. You have lunch in Sfax and then you take the ferry to the beautiful Kerkennah Islands. Client: Islands, you say?Agent: Yes, they're very peaceful and you spend the fifth day there. The fishermen will take everyone out on their sailing boats and there will be a fishermen's picnic. On the sixth day you visit the Great Mosque of Kairouan and have a picnic lunch. Then take the coach to the lovely port of Bizerte for the last night. And the final day there is a visit to the ancient Roman capital of Utica with its fantastic mosaics* and then a coach to Tunis International Airport.Client: Have you got a full brochure which gives more details?ExerciseDirections: Listen to the dialogue and complete the following itinerary.Part 2 PassageMexican GrayWolfExercise A Pre-listening QuestionThe wolf is a large member of the canine(犬科的) family. Most of the adult grey wolves weigh in the vicinity of 75 to 125 pounds (34 to 56 kilograms). Wolves live in family groups called packs. A pack is usually made up of a male parent, a female parent, their pups and a few other adult wolves who are the older brothers and sisters. Wolves can run up to 40 miles an hour and can easily cover 50 miles a day. The wolf has developed the capacity to survive in the most inhospitable of climates. The wolves in the high arctic endure several winter months of perpetual darkness. Even in February when the sun returns to the north, temperatures of -40°C and bitter winds are common. In the wild wolves can live up to 13 years or more; in a protected wolf park or a controlled area ofland, a wolf can live to be up to 16 years old.1)After more than a century of assault by humans, the wolf population had dwindled to no more than a handful by the 1970s in Mexico and the American southwest.2)The program is now about halfway to meeting its goal of a "wild" population of at least 100 wolves covering more than 12,800 square kilometers. 3)Decisions about mating, movement among the 45 captive-breeding facilities and releases into the wild are made by a US-Mexican committee of scientists, land owners and others.4)A wolf with rare genes - until it has successfully reproduced - will never be released because· of the high mortality rate in the wild.5)The recovery program is gradually moving away from freeingcaptive-born wolves, as the population of pups born free takes off.****Francisco and Sheila were pioneers in a federal program in Eureka, 32 kilometers southwest of S1. Louis, the United States, to restore the endangeredMexican gray wolf, the rarest and most genetically distinct subspecies of gray wolf in North America.After more than a century of assault by humans, the wolf population had dwindled to no more thana handful by the 1970s in Mexico and the American southwest.The research center, popularly known as the Wolf Sanctuary*, was founded in 1971 by Marlin Perkins, a world-renowned naturalist and former director of the St. Louis Zoo, and his wife Carol. Besides the Mexican wolf, the sanctuary works with the endangered red wolf, maned wolf (maned: 有鬃毛的; maned wolf 鬣狼), swift fox and African wild dogs.In the late 1970s, the last seven known wolves were captured in the wild or taken from zoos to begin the breeding program. In 1981, the first captive-bred litter of Mexican gray wolves produced in the federal program was born at the Wild Canid (犬科动物) Center, and the first release into the wild took place in 1998. The program is now about halfway to meeting its goal of a "wild" population of at least 100 wolves covering more than 12,800 square kilometers.Though in captivity themselves, Francisco and Sheila taught their pups so well that many are thriving in the wild. They were ideal parents. They raised 25 babies, taught them good survival skills and sent many of them off to live on their own.Nine of Francisco and Sheila's offspring were among the first 11 captive-born Mexican gray wolves released in 1998. Both parent wolves have since died - Francisco at age 14 in December. Sheila at age 16 in June 2000 - but they lived, as captive wolves often do, roughly twice as long as wolves in the wild. Today the Wild Canid Survival and Research Center in Eureka estimates that 98 percent of Mexican wolves released from the federal program are descendants of the prolific* lobo* pair. （lobo=timber wolf）About 250 lobos now live in captivity at 45 US and Mexican facilities. The Wild Canid Center, however, has produced more puppies and housed more Mexican grays than any other facility.The Wild Canid Center is ideated* on 25 isolated hectares(公顷) within Washington University's Tyson Research Center. The wolves live in large outdoor withminimal human contact. They learn to hunt, , live in natural family packs, and to be suspicious of people - all necessary skills for surviving in the wild.Decisions about mating, movement among the 45 and releases into the wild are made by a US-Mexican committee of scientists, land owners and others. They also maintain. A wolf with rare genes - until it has successfully reproduced - will never be released because ofthein the wild. It's not uncommon for freed wolves to be struck by cars or shot by hunters; in recent weeks, five have died.Despite the losses, released wolves are. The recovery program is gradually moving away from freeing captive-born wolves, as the population of pups born free. Scientists want to let nature decide what's a good wolf and what's not through.The Wild Canid Center is ideated* on 25 isolated hectares(公顷) within Washington University's Tyson Research Center. The wolves live in large outdoorenclosures with minimal human contact. They learn to hunt, raise young, live in natural family packs,and to be suspicious of people - all necessary skills for surviving in the wild.Decisions about mating, movement among the 45 captive-breeding facilities and releases into the wild are made by a US-Mexican committee of scientists, land owners and others. They also maintain a genetic database. A wolf with rare genes - until it has successfully reproduced - will never be released because of the high mortality rate in the wild. It's not uncommon for freed wolves to be struck by cars or shot by hunters; in recent weeks, five have died.Despite the losses, released wolves are reproducing. The recovery program is gradually moving away from freeing captive-born wolves, as the population of pups born free takes off. Scientists want to let nature decide what's a good wolf and what's not through natural selection.Exercise B Sentence DictationDirections: Listen to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times. Exercise C Detailed Listening1 Directions: Listen to the passage and complete theinformation about a Mexican gray wolf research center.1)The research center's known as: the WolfSanctuary2) Location: in Eureka. 32 Kilometers southwest of St. Louis. the United States3) Founding: in 19714) Purpose: to restore the endangered Mexican gray wolf5) Founder: Marlin Perkins. a world-renownednaturalist and former director theSt.Louis Zoo.and his wife Carol2. Directions: Fill in the blanks with events connectedwith the following time expressions.1)In the late 1970s: The last seven known wolves were captured in the wild or taken from zoos to begin the breeding program.2)In 1981: The first captive-bred litter of Mexican gray wolves produced in the federal program was born at the wild Canid Center.3)In 1998: The first release into the wild took place. Exercise D After-listening DiscussionDirections: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions.1)Francisco and Sheila were pioneers in a federal program. Though in captivity themselves, they taught their pups so well that many are thriving in the wild. They were ideal parents. They raised 25 babies, taught them good survival skills and sent many of them off to live on their own. Nine of Francisco and Sheila's offspring were among the first 11 captive-born Mexican gray wolves released in 1998. Both parent wolves have since died - Francisco at age 14 in December. Sheila at age 16 in June 2000 but they lived, as captive wolves often do, roughly twice as long as wolves in the wild.The Wild Canid Center is ideated on 25 isolated hectares within. Washington University's Tyson Research Center. Today the Wild Canid Survival and Research Center estimates that 98 percent of Mexican wolves released from the federal program are descendants of the prolific lobo pair. About 250 lobos now live in captivity at 45 US and Mexican facilities. The Wild Canid Center has produced morepuppies and housed more Mexican grays than any other facility. Other large US newspapers were singled out too, including the Wall Street Journal, which won the Pulitzer for breaking news, despite being displaced from its offices at the World Trade Center. The Washington Post received Pulitzers in two categories, investigative and national reporting.(Open)Section Three NewsNews Item1When Astroland opened in 1962 it represented the future of amusement theme parks, boasting state-of-the-art rides(游乐场所供人玩乐的乘坐装置) and attractions operating with an outer-space theme. The park is a fixture on the Coney Island boardwalk, best known for the Cyclone, its wooden roller coaster and the Wonder Wheel, a seaside landmark. Astroland's 22 rides and three game arcades provided jobs for up to 300 people.Astroland has been by far the biggest amusement center on Coney Island, which has been a favoriteholiday destination for Americans in the New York area since the 19th Century. It is the birthplace of the hot dog and is known for its kitschyrides, street performers, sand beaches and family-friendly atmosphere.But Astroland's final chapter may be still to come. A few days after the park's announced closure, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said hope is not yet lost, and that city officials are trying to step in and get a one-year renewal of Astroland's lease.A.Astroland’s announced closureB.1. It opened in 1962.2. It represented the future of amusement theme parks, boasting state-of-the-art rides and attractions operating with an outer-space theme.3. It is best known for the Cyclone, its wooden roller coaster and the Wonder Wheel, a seaside landmark.4. Because they enjoy its kitschyrides, street performers, sand beaches and family-friendly atmosphere.5. No. The city officials are trying to step in and get a one-year renewal of Astroland's lease.News Item 2It's called the "Highline." It's a newly renovated and elevated promenade that was once a railway line for delivering cattle and other foodstock. In 1980, the train made its last delivery, bringing frozen turkeys to lower Manhattan. In a densely populated city, the Highline now provides open space for relaxation as it winds through neighborhoods once noted for slaughterhouses.It's an oasis in a sea of concrete. The walkway includes more than 100 species of plants inspired by the wild landscape left after the trains stopped running. New construction is everywhere. Apartments, office towers, restaurants and even a museum have sprouted alongside the promenade.The first section of the Highline was inaugurated in May, after 15 years of planning and political battles. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, along with benefactors like clothing designer Diane von Furstenberg and her husband, media mogul Barry Diller, cut the ribbon.The first two sections of the Highline cost $152 million.Of that, $44 million was raised by the public. To those who visit, it seems it was well worth the wait and the money.News Item3African American History Museum An old Greyhound Bus* terminal sits unused in the heart of downtown Dothan, Alabama. It's hardly noticeable, nestled between two office buildings and surrounded by a chain link fence. There are no written signs that hint of the structure's controversial history. Four decades ago it was a symbol of racial segregation. During the 1960s, bus terminals like other public facilities throughout the American south were divided into white areas and black areas. The building still has the separate entrance and restroom facilities that black customers were legally required to use. Today, those elements have a different social value, and they will become one of the centerpieces of a new African American history museum.The museum will include galleries devoted to the accomplishments of George Washington Garver* and other black scientists and inventors. There will be agallery depicting black heroes of military and social campaigns.And the city of Dothan is helping. It's providing the museum with some financial support, and it's already promoting the attraction to visitors. The G-W Carver Interpretive Museum should open doors by August and its director Francina Williams hopes to capitalize on Alabama's historic role . the center of America's Civil Rights movement. When visitors come to Birmingham, Selma and Montgomery to learn about the struggles that African Americans have endured, she would like them I make a side trip to Dothan to see what African Americans have contributed to Alabama, America Id the world.Exercise ADirections: Listen to the news item and complete the summary.This news item is about an African American history museum showing the struggles and contributions f African Americans.Exercise BDirection: Listen to the news again and decidewhether the following statements are true (T) or false(F).1.F2. T3. F4.F5.T6. T7. F8.TSection Four supplementary ExercisesPart 1 Feature ReportLamaina grew up listening to her grandfather's stories of Garaguso.Tommaso Lamaina immigrated from Garaguso to Philadelphia in the 1920s in search of work. But he never let his family forget the place where generations of their forefathers had lived.The stories inspired Lamaina’s dream of developing her own relationship with a place she was never able to visit with her grandfather, who died when she was a teenager.So in 2000, with years of experience as a professional photographer behind her, she decided to begin an annual pilgrimage to Garaguso to capture life there on film.Garaguso is a farming village, home to about 1,500 people, in the mountainous region of Basilicata, located in the instep of Italy's boot. It's one of the most remote and least developed zones in thecountry. After decades of emigration, it's sparsely populated. One out of seven of the people who remain can't read or write.Lamaina's photos show a Garaguso that seems hardly to have changed in centuries, an anachronism compared with a very modern Italy. Taken in black and white, they show the winding cobblestone streets and ancient buildings of the historical centre. There are donkeys, loaded up with kindling for the open fires and stoves, which still warm the houses.There are portraits of men with gnarled faces, wearing black pants and white shirts from a past era. There's the local baker, whose family has been selling bread in the same building since the late 1700s. There are women with white hair and no teeth, dressed in black. Arriving in the village where her family had lived for generations was like a homecoming for Lamaina. She grew up in an inner-city neighborhood of Philadelphia, in the bosom of an immigrant southern Italian community. At home, her relatives spoke the dialect of Garaguso rather than English.But over the years, the reserve has lessened. Lamainaadmits, and her work shows, that life in Garaguso is not easy. The locals work from sunup to sundown in the fields, tending their crops and animals. They eat what they produce. Little is imported and nothing goes to waste.But she believes it's rich in the things that matter, like generosity, hospitality and family ties. In this respect, she says, the village has something to teach those who see her work.Lamaina recently held an exhibition of her work in Florence, where she now lives. She's also giving a copy of her images to City Hall in Garaguso.After eight years of recording life there, Susanna Lucia Lamaina's not ready to put away her camera yet. She says she has many more photographs to take and hopes her work will put her family village on the map.Her grandfather, Tommaso Lamaina, would have been proud.A.Susanna Lucia Lamaina’s recording life in Garaguso.B.T,T,T, T,T,F,T,FPart 2 PassageSafari1)A blur of gold was spotted through the high,wind-whipped grasses and off we walked toward the lion's den.2)He couldn't stop smiling as we crept closer and closer into the glow of the day's last light.3)Just a meter away from the lions a straggling buffalo loped by, but our appearance seemed to distract them and the buffalo got away.4)Under an open sky we winded our way through cracked sun-baked pathways. Our guides knelt in the sand, pointing out the differences between the various animal tracks.5)Thrashing in the water a mauve-colored hippo grunted, snapped his giant jaws, and lunged forward.We kept our distance behind a log on the banks of the river.A blur of gold was spotted through the high, wind-whipped grasses and off we walked toward the lion's den*. We glanced at each other nervously, but forged ahead. My friends and I had come to experience the African bush on foot, so, gulping, wefell in shaky step behind our two ranger guides. Their rifles were at the ready. So were our zoom lenses. Seeing lions was a special treat, even for our veteran guide, and he couldn't stop smiling as we crept closer and closer into the glow of the day's last light.About 150 meters ahead we counted 10 lions sitting in a semicircle in the grass. Their heads poked up through the grass thicket, listening, aware.Just a meter away from the lions a straggling* buffalo loped by. Perhaps the lions' intended dinner? But our appearance seemed to distract them and the buffalo got away.We were in the Kruger National Park*, the largest game park in South Africa, on a guided walking safari.Kruger National Park is the country's main game* reserve. Roughly the size of Wales, it stretches for almost 2.5 million hectares across a maze of ecozones from flat scrubby bush, dense shrub-like Mopane tree covered hillsides to lush valleys.For three nights home was a circle of thatched roof two-person huts tucked behind a leafy grove of trees in an enclosed camp that included toilets and hot(mostly) showers.Dinner was served around an open fire, a massive kettle of hot water for tea or coffee steaming on a nearby pile of smoldering coals.The only light after dark were swaths of luminous stars overhead and our kerosene* lanterns.We joked that we had arrived to the catered version of "Survivor".The first morning we climbed out from beneath mosquito nets to the muffled sounds of an elephant munching on a tree behind our huts, which were separated only by several meters and a wire mesh fence.As if the elephant was not wake-cup call enough, outside each hut a jug of water had been poured into a plastic basin for a quick face wash before hitting the trails.Under an open sky we winded our way through cracked sun-baked pathways through baobab* and kudu* berry trees. Our guides knelt in the sand, pointing out the differences between the various animal tracks.A line in the sand told a crocodile had recentlyslipped into a nearby pool.Later we saw a crocodile sunning on a rock not far from where we had been swimming the day before.In the same area we had a sunset sighting of a mauve*-colored hippo* who was not happy to see us.Thrashing in the water he grunted, snapped his giant jaws, and lunged* forward. We kept our distance behind a log on the banks of the river where we later got a glimpse at a family of baboons*.On our last evening streaks of orange made the sky glow as if on tangerine* fire. We were all on a high from our lion sighting.I inhaled the colors, the silhouette* of buffalos grazing near a watering hole, the evening dropped in temperature and squeezed a friend's hand. Exercise APre-listeningQuestion Here arethe top parks for anAfrican safari:The beautiful Masai Mara National Reserve inKenya, the world-famous Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, the lush green Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park in Botswana and the Etosha National Park in Namibia. Exercise B Sentence DictationDirections: Listen to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times. Exercise C Detailed ListeningDirections: Listen to the passage and answer the following questions.1)They experienced the African bush on foot.2)Seeing lions was a special treat for them.3)They saw 10 lions sitting in a semicircle in the grass.4)Krugge National Park stretches for almost 2.5 million hectares ,roughly the size of Wales.5)They stayed in a thatched roof two- person huts with toilets and hot showers.6)Dinner was served around an open fire.7)They saw a crocodile sunning on a rock not far from where they had been swimming the day before.8)They were all on a high from their lion sighting. Exercise D After-listening DiscussionDirections: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions1. They saw lions, buffaloes , elephants, crocodiles, hippos, baboons, etc.2.(Open)鱼儿，在水中串上串下，吐着顽皮的泡泡；鸟儿从荷叶上空飞过，想亲吻荷花姑娘的芳泽。

Unit 3Section One Tactics for listeningPart 1 Spot DictationWildlifeEvery ten minutes, one kind of animal, plant or insect (1) dies out for ever. If nothing is done about it, one million species that are alive today will have become (2) extinct twenty years from now.The seas are in danger. They are being filled with (3)poison: industrial and nuclear waste, chemical fertilizers and (4)pesticides, sewage. If nothing is done about it, one day soon nothing will be able to (5) live in the seas.The tropical rain (6)forests which are the home of half the earth's living things are (7) being destroyed. If nothing is done about it, they will have (8) nearly disappeared in twenty years. The effect on the world's (9) climate- and on our agriculture and food (10)supplies- will be disastrous.(11)Fortunately, somebody is trying to do something about it. In 1961, the (12)World Wildlife Fund was founded - a small group of people who wanted to (13) raise money to save animals and plants (14) from extinction. Today, the World Wildlife Fund is a large (15) internationa l organization. It has raised over (16)£35 million for (17)conservation projects, and has created or given support to the National Parks in (18) five continents. It has helped 30 (19) mammals and birds - including the tiger -to (20) survive.Part 2 Listening for GistMrs. Bates: Hullo. Is that Reception? .Reception: Yes, madamMrs. Bates: This is Mrs. Bates. Room 504. I sent some clothes to the laundry this morning, two of my husband's shirts and three ofmy blouses. But they're not back yet. You see, we're leavingearly tomorrow morning.Reception: Just a moment, madam. I'll put you through to the housekeeper.Housekeeper: Hullo. Housekeeper.Mrs. Bates: Oh, hullo. This is ... I'm phoning from Room 504. It's about some clothes I sent to the laundry this morning. They're notback yet and you see ...Housekeeper: They are, madam. You'll find them in your wardrobe.They're in the top drawer on the left.Mrs. Bates: Oh, I didn't look in the wardrobe. Thank you very much.Sorry to trouble you.Housekeeper: That's quite all right. Goodbye.Mrs. Bates: Goodbye.ExerciseDirections: Listen to the dialogue and write down the gist and the key words that help you decide.1)This dialogue is about making an inquiry about the laundry.2)The key words are reception. laundry. shirts. blouses. wardrobe.Section Two Listening ComprehensionPart 1 DialogueA UN InterpreterInterviewer: ... so perhaps you could tell us how exactly you became so proficient at language learning, Suzanne.Suzanne: Well, I think it all started with a really fortunate accident of birth. You know I was born in Lausanne*, Switzerland; myfather was Swiss-French Swiss and my mother was American,so, of course, we spoke both languages at home and I grew upbilingual. Then, of course, I learnt German at school - inSwitzerland that's normal. And because I was already fluent inEnglish, my second language at school was Italian. So I had areal head start (有利的开端)!Interviewer: So that's ... one, two, three, four - you had learnt four languages by the time you left school? How fluent were you? Suzanne: Urn, I was native speaker standard in French and English, butI'd become a bit rusty* in German and my Italian was onlyschool standard. I decided the best option was to study in theUK, and I did Hispanic Studies at university, studying Spanishand Portuguese, with some Italian, and living in Manchester.Then I went to live in Brazil for two years, teaching English. Interviewer: So by this time you must have been fluent in six languages? Suzanne: Nearly. My Italian wasn't perfect, but I had a boyfriend from Uruguay* while I was there, so my Spanish also became prettygood!Interviewer: And then what did you do?Suzanne: When I was 25 I came back to Switzerland, went to aninterpreters' school and then got a job in the United Nationswhen I was 28.Interviewer: And you've been there ever since?Suzanne: Not quite. In the first few months I met Jan, a Czech interpreter, who became my husband. We went to live in Prague in 1987and that was where I learnt Czech.Interviewer: And the eighth language?Suzanne: Well, unfortunately the marriage didn't last; I was very upset and I decided to take a long break. I went to Japan on holiday,got a job and stayed for two years, which was when I learntJapanese.Interviewer: That's amazing! And now you're back at the United Nations? Suzanne: Yes. Well, I never really left. I carried on doing work for them when I was in Prague - some in Prague, some in Austria andSwitzerland, and I took a "sabbatical*" to work in Japan. Theyneed people who can understand Japanese. But, yes, I've beenback with them full-time for two years now.Interviewer: And your plans for the future?Suzanne: I'm going to learn more Oriental languages. It was such a challenge learning Japanese - it's so different from all the others.So I'll spend another two or three years here with the UNfull-time, during which time I hope to get a substantialpromotion, then I think I'll go back and learn Korean, orperhaps Chinese, and Thai - I'd love to learn Thai. And then,perhaps an Indian language. Whatever, I want to be fluent inanother three or four languages before 45.ExerciseDirections: Listen to the dialogue and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).l.T 2.F 3.F 4.F 5.T 6.F 7.T 8.T 9. T 10. FPart 2 PassageThe Clyde RiverRunning through one of Britain's biggest manufacturing centers, Glasgow, the Clyde River* was poisoned for more than a century bythe fetid* byproducts of industry.The waterway bore the brunt of(首当其冲)Glasgow's economic success during the Industrial Revolution and beyond, as pollution and chemicals destroyed its fish and wildlife populations and brewed smells whose memory still makes residents wince*. Now, with heavy industry gone and Glasgow reconceived as a center for culture and tourism, the Clyde is coming back to life.For the first time since the late 1800s, its native salmon have returned in sizable numbers, reflecting the new cleanliness of a riverthat was once one of Britain's filthiest.The Clyde River Foundation surveyed fish populations last autumnat 69 sites in the Clyde and its tributaries, and found salmon in sevenof the nine major tributaries.The migratory fish, which vanished from the Clyde around 1880 after a long decline, first reappeared in the 1980s, but last year's survey was the first to show they've come back in healthy numbers.Although commercial salmon fishing was never widespread on the Clyde, the fish's return is symbolically important for Glasgow, where salmon were once so important to the city's identity that two are picturedon its official coat of arms.The salmon's comeback is also a sign of big improvements to water quality. Like sea trout, which have also reappeared in the Clyde system in recent years, salmon are very sensitive to environmental conditions and require cool, well-oxygenated* water to thrive.The decline of Glasgow's main industries helped boost the fortunes of a river that was essentially fishless for decades during the worst periods of pollution.The closure of factories that had poured toxins* and other pollutants into the river boosted water quality significantly. Environmental regulators also lightened dumping rules, and modern sewage processing plants helped eliminate some of the foul* smells that once tainted* the air.With worries rising about the environmental impact of enormous fish farms elsewhere in Scotland and severely depleted fish stocks in the North Sea and North Atlantic, the Clyde comeback is a rare bit of good news for Scotland's fish lovers.Since the area that is now Glasgow was first settled around the year 550, the Clyde has been central to its history.The river's depth and navigability helped make Glasgow an important center for importing tobacco, sugar and cotton from the Americas starting in the 1600s. Later, during the Industrial Revolution that began in the late1700s, Glasgow became a center of British shipbuilding and one of the country's great manufacturing centers.The mills and factories that lined the Clyde made steel, textiles and chemicals, tanned leather and even produced candy and brewed alcohol.When the factories began to close in the second half of the 20th century, working-class Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, gained a reputation for social deprivation and rough streets. More recently, its art museums and nightlife have helped drive an economic comeback that has turned the city into a popular tourist destination.Exercise A Pre-listening QuestionRivers are important to humans because they supply fresh drinking water, serve as home for important fishes, and provide transportation routes.Exercise B Sentence DictationDirections: Listen to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times.1)Salmon are very sensitive to environmental conditions and require cool, well-oxygenated water to thrive.2)The closure of factories that had poured toxins and other pollutants into the river boosted water quality significantly and modern sewage processing plant s（污水处理厂）helped eliminate some of the foulsmells.3)The river's depth and navigability helped make Glasgow an important center for importing tobacco, sugar and cotton from the Americas starting in the 1600s.4)The mills and factories that lined the Clyde made steel, textiles and chemicals, tanned leather and even produced candy and brewed alcohol.5)When the factories began to close in the second half of the 20th century, working-class Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, gained a reputation for social deprivation（社会剥夺）and rough streets.Exercise C Detailed ListeningDirections: Listen to the passage and choose the best answer to complete each of the following sentences.l.A 2. C 3. C 4. B 5. D 6. C 7. B 8. AExercise D After-listening DiscussionDirections: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions.1)The Clyde's depth and navigability helped make Glasgow an importantcenter for importing tobacco, sugar and cotton from the Americas starting in the 1600s. And the city became a center of Britishshipbuilding and one of the country's great manufacturing centers during the Industrial Revolution. More recently, its art museums and nightlife have helped drive an economic comeback that has turned the city into a popular tourist destination.2)(Open)Section Three :NewsNews Item 1Governments Ban Nine Of The World's Most Hazardous Chemicals UN Environment Program Executive Director Achim Steiner calls the agreement historic. He says the nine chemicals that have joined the list of Persistent Organic Pollutants, or POPS, are extremely harmful to the environment and to health.The newly targeted chemicals include products that are widely used in pesticides and flame-retardants, and in a number of other commercial uses, such as a treatment for head lice.These nine toxic chemicals will join the Stockholm Convention's original list of 12 Persistent Organic Pollutants, referred to as the "dirty dozen."The pollutants are especially dangerous because they cross boundaries and travel long distances, from the Equator to the Arctic. They persist inthe atmosphere and take many years, often decades, to degrade into less dangerous forms.They pose great risks to the environment and human health, especially to young people, farmers, pregnant women and the unborn.Exercise ADirections: Listen to the news item and complete the summary.This news item is about a ban of nine of the world’s most hazardous chemicals.Exercise BDirections: Listen to the news again and complete the following passage.UN environment Program Executive welcomed the agreement to ban the production of nine of the world’s most hazardous chemicals that are extremely harmful to the environment and to health. These substances will join a list of 12 other so-called persistent organic pollutants, or POPS, that are prohibited under an international treaty known as the Stockholm Convention.The newly targeted chemicals include products that are widely used in pesticides and flame-retardants, and in a number of other commercial uses, such as a treatment for head lice.The pollutants are especially dangerous because they crossboundaries and travel long distances, from the Equator to the Arctic. They persist in the atmosphere and take many years, often decades, to degrade into less dangerous forms.They pose great risks to the environment and human health, especially to young people, farmers, pregnant women and the unborn.News Item2World Climate Conference to Focus on Adaptation to ClimateChangeScientists predict the world will get hotter over the coming decades. A major conference in Copenhagen at the end of the year will focus on ways to mitigate the worst affects of global warming.WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud (世界气象组织秘书长贾侯)says countries must have the tools to adapt to a changing climate. They must be able to respond to a world that is likely to experience more extreme weather events, such as floods and hurricanes.Jarraud notes farmers in certain parts of the world will have to adapt to a dryer climate. He says they might have to modify irrigation systems or consider growing crops that do not require much rain.He says global warming is likely to increase the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. Therefore, better and more timely information on these phenomena are essential to make decisions onclimate variability and change. To do this, he says, weather observation networks must be strengthened.The WMO chief says climate change is a global problem. And, everyone needs everyone else to solve this problem. He says even the biggest, richest countries cannot do it alone. He says the developed world needs reliable weather information from developing countries andvice-versa.Exercise ADirections: Listen to the news item and complete the summary.This news item is about an appeal for global cooperation to deal with climate change.Exercise BDirections: Listen to the news again and answer the following questions.1)Scientists predict the world will get hotter over the coming decades.2)A major conference in Copenhagen at the end of the year will focuson ways to mitigate the worst affects of global warming.3)Countries must have the tools to adapt to a changing climate.4)Jarraud notes farmers in certain parts of the world will have to adaptto a dryer climate. He says they might have to modify irrigation systems or consider growing crops that do not require much rain.5)Global warming is likely to increase the intensity and frequency ofextreme weather events.6)Weather observation networks must be strengthened.7)Even the biggest, richest countries cannot do it alone. He says thedeveloped world needs reliable weather information from developing countries and vice-versa.News Item3Scientists have warned that the Great Barrier Reef - which stretches for more than 2,500 kilometers down Australia's northeast coast - is likely to bear the brunt of warmer ocean temperatures.A major concern has been the bleaching of coral, where the sensitive marine organisms wither under environmental stress caused by increased water temperature, pollution or sedimentation. An unexpected discovery at the southern end of the reef has provided some rare good news for researchers.Researchers found that coral in the Keppel Islands off Queensland, which was damaged by bleaching in 2006 and then smothered by seaweed that overgrew the reef, has managed to repair itself.Experts say to see reefs bounce back from mass coral bleaching in less than a decade is highly unusual.Like other coral systems, the Great Barrier Reef is facing a range ofenvironmental threats. Scientists say their capacity to recovery from damage inflicted by warmer waters, for example, will be critical to its future health.The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia's premier tourist attractions. It covers an area bigger than Britain and is the largest living structure on earth and the only one visible from space.Exercise ADirections: Listen to the news item and complete the summary.This news item is about the Great Barrier Reef.Exercise BDirections: Listen to the news again and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).l. T 2. F 3. T 4.F 5. T 6. TSection Four Supplementary ExercisesPart 1Feature ReportSydney Ready for Big Switch Off as Earth Hour Goes GlobalScotland's Edinburgh Castle, the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing and the pyramids in Egypt will join the Sydney Opera House in dimming their lights as part of Earth Hour.The global event has been endorsed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Ban Ki-moon has said it was the biggest climate change demonstration ever attempted. Mr. Ban urged people everywhere to pressure their governments to take decisive action to cut carbon pollution.Organizers are hoping that up to a billion people from small villages in Namibia to sprawling cities in Asia will participate in an international effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which many scientists blame for a warming climate.One of the architects of Earth Hour, Andy Ridley from the conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF), says the current financial meltdown should not be used as an excuse to delay environmental reforms."The global economic crisis has proved that we are a global community, so when America goes bad, we all go bad and climate change is going to be on a scale that is way, way beyond our global economic crisis at the moment and we need to put in place the measures to a) slow that down and ideally halt it, b) be ready for economies that will have to change. So, the longer we procrastinate the more we pay the penalty so we need to move quickly," he said.Earth Hour was started by environmentalists in Sydney in 2007. It encourages households, businesses and governments to switch off all non-essential lights for 60 minutes in a show of unified concern for thehealth and future of the planet.In two years, the event has become a large global movement and its aim is to create an enormous wave of public pressure that will influence delegates at a meeting in Copenhagen later this year, which hopes to establish a new U.N. climate treaty.However, critics of Earth Hour have insisted it is simply a symbolic gesture that will not affect significant environmental change.The event will officially begin on the international dateline in the remote Chatham Islands southeast of New Zealand and will conclude in Hawaii.Exercise A: Directions: Listen to the news report and complete the summary.This news report is about a global event known as Earth Hour.Exercise BDirections: Listen to the news again and complete the following sentences.1.Scotland's Edinburgh Castle, the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing andthe pyramids in Egypt will join the Sydney Opera House in d imming their lights as part of Earth Hour.2.Ban Ki-moon has said it was the biggest climate changedemonstration ever attempted.anizers are hoping that up to a billion people will participate in aninternational effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which many scientists blame for a warming climate.4.Andy Ridley, One of the architects of Earth Hour, says the currentfinancial meltdown should not be used as an excuse to delay environmental reforms.5.In two years, the event has become a large global movement and itsaim is to create an enormous wave of public pressure that will influence delegates at a meeting in Copenhagen later this year.Part 2 PassageLab produces shape-shifting fruits and vegetables Many fruits and vegetables we know almost as much by their shape as by their color or taste. Bananas are long and curved. Onions are round. But what if you could alter the familiar shape? Would a square tomato still be a tomato?Scientists are learning how to change the shape of fruits and vegetables so they can be harvested or processed more efficiently, or maybe just to reduce waste in the kitchen. It can be done to some extent with traditional hybrid techniques. And as we hear from reporter Julie Grant, it can also be done by flipping a genetic switch.Ester van der Knaap steps gingerly around the greenhouse. We're at the Ohio State Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster.Van Der Knaap points out short, round tomatoes - and some odd-looking long, thin ones.V AN DER KNAAP: "That's one gene. One gene can make that difference."Van der Knaap's team discovered that gene and isolated it. They call it the SUN gene. And they've been able to clone it in tomatoes.Van der Knaap's research could lead to square-shapes - something she thinks the tomato industry might like. Square tomatoes fit into packages better. And, overall, square tomatoes might be easier to work with than the common round tomatoes.So far money for her research has come from the National Science Foundation - not big ag.Designer fruit shapes are gaining popularity.People have been cross-breeding tomatoes to make the shapes they want for a long time. But this is not the same thing.Dick Alford is a chef and professor of hospitality management at the University of Akron [Ohio].The difference between what his brother and lots of other folks have been doing and what van der Knaap is doing is the difference between cross-breeding and locating a specific gene that affects the shape of tomatoes.Chef Alford watches students as they cut yellow crookneck squashand carrots.They're trying to make uniform, symmetrical shapes out of curvy and pointed vegetables. There's a lot of waste. Chef Alford hates to see so much get thrown away. So he's got a request of Dr. van der Knaap.ALFORD: "If we could get square carrots, it would be great. If you could get a tomato as long as a cucumber, where you could get 20 or 30 slices out of them, it would be great."In a country that loves hamburgers, Van der Knaap has heard that request before. But the long, thin tomato hasn't worked out just yet. She says there's more genetics to be studied.“Once we know all the genes responsible for making different shapes in tomatoes”, Van der Knaap says, “ we'll have a better idea of what controls the shape of other crops, such peppers, cucumbers and gourds. And maybe then we'll get those square carrots.”Exercise A Pre-listening Question(open)Exercise B Sentence DictationDirections: Listen to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times.1.what if you could alter the familiar shape? Would a square tomato stillbe a tomato?2.Scientists are learning how to change the shape of fruits andvegetables so they can be harvested or processed more efficiently, or maybe just to reduce waste in the kitchen.3.People have been cross-breeding tomatoes to make the shapes theywant for a long time. But this is not the same thing.4.If you could get a tomato as long as a cucumber, where you could get20 or 30 slices out of it, it would be great.5.Once we know all the genes responsible for making different shapes intomatoes, we'll have a better idea of what controls the shape of other crops, such as peppers, cucumbers and gourds.Exercise C Detailed ListeningDirections: Listen to the passage and answer the following questions.1.Bananas and Onions are the examples known as much by their shape as by their color or taste.2. The hybrid or cross-breeding technique is regarded as the traditional way of changing the shape of fruits.3.The genetic technique which can also change the shape of fruits.4.They discovered the SUN gene and managed to clone it in tomatoes.pared with round tomatoes, square tomatoes might be easier to work with than the common round tomatoes.6.The difference between what his brother and lots of other folks havebeen doing and what van der Knaap is doing is the difference between cross-breeding and locating a specific gene that affects the shape of tomatoes.7.There's a lot of waste. Chef Alford hates to see so much get thrown away. So he's got a request of Dr. van der Knaap.8.“Once we know all the genes responsible for making different shapes in tomatoes, Van der Knaap says we'll have a better idea of what controls the shape of other crops, such peppers, cucumbers and gourds. Andmay be then we'll get those square carrots.”Exercise D After-listening DiscussionDirections: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions.1. Chef Alford’s request: "If we could get square carrots, it would be great. If you could get a nice long, a tomato as long as a cucumber, where you could get 20 or 30 slices out of them, it would be great." Van der Knaap’s opinion is that the long, thin tomato hasn't worked out just yet. and there's more genetics to be studied.2)(Open)。

施心远主编《听力教程》3-( 第二版 )unit-3 答案Unit 3Section One Tactics for listeningPart 1 Spot DictationWildlifeEvery ten minutes, one kind of animal, plant or insect (1)dies out for ever. If nothing is done about it, one million species that are alive today will have become (2) extinct twenty years from now.The seas are in danger. They are being filled with (3) poison: industrial and nuclear waste, chemical fertilizers and (4) pesticides, sewage. If nothing is done about it, one day soon nothing will be able to (5) live in the seas.The tropical rain (6) forests which are the home of half the earth's living things are (7) being destroyed . If nothing is done about it, they will have (8) nearly disappeared in twenty years. The effect on the world's (9) climate - and on our agriculture and food (10) supplies - will be disastrous.(11) Fortunately,somebody is trying to do something about it. In 1961, the(12) World Wildlife Fund was founded - a small group of people who wanted to(13)raise money to save animals and plants (14) from extinction . Today, the World Wildlife Fund is a large (15) internationa l organization. It has raised over(16)￡35 million for (17) conservation projects, and has created or given support to the National Parks in (18) five continents . It has helped 30 (19) mammals and birds - including the tiger - to (20)survive .Part 2Listening for GistMrs. Bates: Hullo. Is that Reception? .Reception: Yes, madamMrs. Bates: This is Mrs. Bates. Room 504. I sent some clothes to the laundry this morning, two of my husband's shirtsand three of my blouses. But they're not back yet. You see, we're leaving early tomorrow morning.Reception: Just a moment, madam. I'll put you through to the housekeeper.Housekeeper: Hullo. Housekeeper.Mrs. Bates: Oh, hullo. This is ... I'm phoning from Room 504. It's about someclothes I sent to the laundry this morning. They're not back yet andyou see ...Housekeeper: They are, madam. You'll find them in your wardrobe. They're in the top drawer on the left.Mrs. Bates: Oh, I didn't look in the wardrobe. Thank you very much. Sorry to trouble you.Housekeeper: That's quite all right. Goodbye.Mrs. Bates: Goodbye.ExerciseDirections: Listen to the dialogue and write down the gist and the key words thathelp you decide.1) This dialogue is about making an inquiry about the laundry.2) The key words are reception. laundry. shirts. blouses. wardrobe.Section Two Listening ComprehensionPart 1DialogueA UN InterpreterInterviewer: ... so perhaps you could tell us how exactly you became so proficient at language learning, Suzanne.Suzanne: Well, I think it all started with a really fortunate accident of birth.You know I was born in Lausanne*, Switzerland; my father wasSwiss-French Swiss and my mother was American, so, of course, wespoke both languages at home and I grew up bilingual. Then, of course,I learnt German at school - in Switzerland that's normal. And becauseI was already fluent in English, my second language at school wasItalian. So I had a real head start ( 有利的开端 )!Interviewer: So that's ... one, two, three, four - you had learnt four languages by the time you left school? How fluent were you?Suzanne: Urn, I was native speaker standard in French and English, but I'd become a bit rusty* in German and my Italian was only schoolstandard. I decided the best option was to study in the UK, and I didHispanic Studies at university, studying Spanish and Portuguese, withsome Italian, and living in Manchester. Then I went to live in Brazil fortwo years, teaching English.Interviewer: So by this time you must have been fluent in six languages?Suzanne: Nearly. My Italian wasn't perfect, but I had a boyfriend fromUruguay* while I was there, so my Spanish also became pretty good! Interviewer: And then what did you do?Suzanne: When I was 25 I came back to Switzerland, went to an interpreters' school and then got a job in the United Nations when I was 28. Interviewer: And you've been there ever since?Suzanne: Not quite. In the first few months I met Jan, a Czech interpreter, who became my husband. We went to live in Prague in 1987 and that waswhere I learnt Czech.Interviewer: And the eighth language?Suzanne: Well, unfortunately the marriage didn't last; I was very upset and I decided to take a long break. I went to Japan on holiday, got a job andstayed for two years, which was when I learnt Japanese. Interviewer: That's amazing! And now you're back at the United Nations? Suzanne: Yes. Well, I never really left. I carried on doing work for them when I was in Prague - some in Prague, some in Austria and Switzerland, andI took a "sabbatical*" to work in Japan. They need people who canunderstand Japanese. But, yes, I've been back with them full-time fortwo years now.Interviewer: And your plans for the future?Suzanne: I'm going to learn more Oriental languages. It was such a challenge learning Japanese - it's so different from all the others. So I'll spendanother two or three years here with the UN full-time, during whichtime I hope to get a substantial promotion, then I think I'll go back andlearn Korean, or perhaps Chinese, and Thai - I'd love to learn Thai.And then, perhaps an Indian language. Whatever, I want to be fluent inanother three or four languages before 45.ExerciseDirections: Listen to the dialogue and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).l.T 2.F 3.F 4.F 5.T 6.F 7.T8.T9. T10. FPart 2 PassageThe Clyde RiverRunning through one of Britain's biggest manufacturing centers, Glasgow, the Clyde River* was poisoned for more than a century by the fetid* byproducts of industry.The waterway bore the brunt of ( 首当其冲 )Glasgow's economic success during the Industrial Revolution and beyond, as pollution and chemicals destroyed its fish and wildlife populations and brewed smells whose memorystill makes residents wince*. Now, with heavy industry gone and Glasgow reconceived as a center for culture and tourism, the Clyde is coming back to life.For the first time since the late 1800s, its native salmon have returned in sizable numbers, reflecting the new cleanliness of a river that was once one ofBritain's filthiest.The Clyde River Foundation surveyed fish populations last autumn at 69 sites in the Clyde and its tributaries, and found salmon in seven of the ninemajor tributaries.The migratory fish, which vanished from the Clyde around 1880 after a long decline, first reappeared in the 1980s, but last year's survey was the first to showthey've come back in healthy numbers .Although commercial salmon fishing was never widespread on the Clyde, the fish's return is symbolically important for Glasgow, where salmon were once so important to the city's identity that two are pictured on its official coat of arms.The salmon's comeback is also a sign of big improvements to water quality.Like sea trout, which have also reappeared in the Clyde system in recent years, salmon are very sensitive to environmental conditions and require cool, well-oxygenated* water to thrive.The decline of Glasgow's main industries helped boost the fortunes of a river that was essentially fishless for decades during the worst periods ofpollution.The closure of factories that had poured toxins* and other pollutants intothe river boosted water quality significantly. Environmental regulators also lightened dumping rules, and modern sewage processing plants helped eliminatesome of the foul* smells that once tainted* the air.With worries rising about the environmental impact of enormous fish farms elsewhere in Scotland and severely depleted fish stocks in the North Sea andNorth Atlantic, the Clyde comeback is a rare bit of good news for Scotland's fishlovers.Since the area that is now Glasgow was first settled around the year 550, the Clyde has been central to its history.The river's depth and navigability helped make Glasgow an important center for importing tobacco, sugar and cotton from the Americas starting in the 1600s. Later, during the Industrial Revolution that began in the late 1700s, Glasgow became a center of British shipbuilding and one of the country's greatmanufacturing centers.The mills and factories that lined the Clyde made steel, textiles and chemicals, tanned leather and even produced candy and brewed alcohol.When the factories began to close in the second half of the 20th century, working-class Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, gained a reputation for social deprivation and rough streets. More recently, its art museums and nightlife have helped drive an economic comeback that has turned the city into a popular tourist destination.Exercise A Pre-listening QuestionRivers are important to humans because they supply fresh drinking water, serveas home for important fishes, and provide transportation routes.Exercise B Sentence DictationDirections: Listen to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times.1)Salmon are very sensitive to environmental conditions and require cool,well-oxygenated water to thrive.2)The closure of factories that had poured toxins and other pollutants intothe river boosted water quality significantly and modern sewage processing plants（污水处理厂）helped eliminate some of the foul smells.3)The river's depth and navigability helped make Glasgow an importantcenter for importing tobacco, sugar and cotton from the Americasstarting in the 1600s.4)The mills and factories that lined the Clyde made steel, textiles andchemicals, tanned leather and even produced candy and brewed alcohol.5)When the factories began to close in the second half of the 20th century,working-class Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, gained a reputation forsocial deprivation （社会剥夺） and rough streets.Exercise C Detailed ListeningDirections: Listen to the passage and choose the best answer to complete each of the following sentences.l.A 2. C 3. C 4. B 5. D 6. C 7. B 8. AExercise D After-listening DiscussionDirections: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions.1)The Clyde's depth and navigability helped make Glasgow an important centerfor importing tobacco, sugar and cotton from the Americas starting in the 1600s.And the city became a center of British shipbuilding and one of the country's great manufacturing centers during the Industrial Revolution. More recently, its art museums and nightlife have helped drive an economic comeback that has turned the city into a popular tourist destination.2)(Open)Section Three :NewsNews Item 1Governments Ban Nine Of The World's Most Hazardous ChemicalsUN Environment Program Executive Director Achim Steiner calls the agreement historic. He says the nine chemicals that have joined the list of Persistent Organic Pollutants, or POPS, are extremely harmful to the environment and to health.The newly targeted chemicals include products that are widely used in pesticides and flame-retardants, and in a number of other commercial uses, such asa treatment for head lice.These nine toxic chemicals will join the Stockholm Convention's original list of 12 Persistent Organic Pollutants, referred to as the "dirty dozen."The pollutants are especially dangerous because they cross boundaries and travel long distances, from the Equator to the Arctic. They persist in the atmosphere and take many years, often decades, to degrade into less dangerous forms.They pose great risks to the environment and human health, especially to young people, farmers, pregnant women and the unborn.Exercise ADirections: Listen to the news item and complete the summary.This news item is about a ban of nine of the w orld ’smost hazardous chemicals.Exercise BDirections: Listen to the news again and complete the following passage.UN environment Program Executive welcomed the agreement to ban the production of nine of the world ’s most hazardous chemicals that are extremely harmful to the environment and to health. These substances will join a list of 12 other so-called persistent organic pollutants , or POPS, that are prohibited under an international treaty known as the Stockholm Convention .The newly targeted chemicals include products that are widely used in pesticides and flame-retardants , and in a number of other commercial uses, suchas a treatment for head lice.The pollutants are especially dangerous because they cross boundaries and travel long distances, from the Equator to the Arctic . They persist in the atmosphere and take many years, often decades, to degrade into less dangerous forms.They pose great risks to the environment and human health , especially to young people, farmers , pregnant women and the unborn .News Item2World Climate Conference to Focus on Adaptation to Climate ChangeScientists predict the world will get hotter over the coming decades. A major conference in Copenhagen at the end of the year will focus on ways to mitigatethe worst affects of global warming.WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud (世界气象组织秘书长贾侯)sayscountries must have the tools to adapt to a changing climate. They must be ableto respond to a world that is likely to experience more extreme weather events,such as floods and hurricanes.Jarraud notes farmers in certain parts of the world will have to adapt to a dryer climate. He says they might have to modify irrigation systems or considergrowing crops that do not require much rain.He says global warming is likely to increase the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. Therefore, better and more timely information on thesephenomena are essential to make decisions on climate variability and change. To do this, he says, weather observation networks must be strengthened.The WMO chief says climate change is a global problem. And, everyone needs everyone else to solve this problem. He says even the biggest, richest countries cannot do it alone. He says the developed world needs reliable weather information from developing countries and vice-versa.Exercise ADirections: Listen to the news item and complete the summary.This news item is about an appeal for global cooperation to deal with climate change.Exercise BDirections: Listen to the news again and answer the following questions.1)Scientists predict the world will get hotter over the coming decades.2)A major conference in Copenhagen at the end of the year will focuson ways to mitigate the worst affects of global warming.3)Countries must have the tools to adapt to a changing climate.4)Jarraud notes farmers in certain parts of the world will have to adapt toa dryer climate. He says they might have to modify irrigation systems orconsider growing crops that do not require much rain.5)Global warming is likely to increase the intensity and frequencyof extreme weather events.6)Weather observation networks must be strengthened.7)Even the biggest, richest countries cannot do it alone. He says thedeveloped world needs reliable weather information fromdeveloping countries and vice-versa.News Item3Scientists have warned that the Great Barrier Reef - which stretches for more than 2,500 kilometers down Australia's northeast coast - is likely to bear thebrunt of warmer ocean temperatures.A major concern has been the bleaching of coral, where the sensitive marine organisms wither under environmental stress caused by increased water temperature, pollution or sedimentation. An unexpected discovery at the southern end of the reef has provided some rare good news for researchers.Researchers found that coral in the Keppel Islands off Queensland, whichwas damaged by bleaching in 2006 and then smothered by seaweed that overgrew the reef, has managed to repair itself.Experts say to see reefs bounce back from mass coral bleaching in less than a decade is highly unusual.Like other coral systems, the Great Barrier Reef is facing a range of environmental threats. Scientists say their capacity to recovery from damage inflicted by warmer waters, for example, will be critical to its future health.The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia's premier tourist attractions. Itcovers an area bigger than Britain and is the largest living structure on earth and the only one visible from space.Exercise ADirections: Listen to the news item and complete the summary.This news item is about the Great Barrier Reef.Exercise BDirections: Listen to the news again and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).l. T 2. F 3. T 4.F 5. T 6. TSection Four Supplementary ExercisesPart 1Feature ReportSydney Ready for Big Switch Off as Earth Hour Goes Global Scotland's Edinburgh Castle, the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing and the pyramids in Egypt will join the Sydney Opera House in dimming their lights aspart of Earth Hour.The global event has been endorsed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Ban Ki-moon has said it was the biggest climate change demonstrationever attempted. Mr. Ban urged people everywhere to pressure theirgovernments to take decisive action to cut carbon pollution.Organizers are hoping that up to a billion people from small villages in Namibia to sprawling cities in Asia will participate in an international effort tocut greenhouse gas emissions, which many scientists blame for a warming climate.One of the architects of Earth Hour, Andy Ridley from the conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF), says the current financial meltdown should not be used as an excuse to delay environmental reforms."The global economic crisis has proved that we are a global community, so when America goes bad, we all go bad and climate change is going to be on a scale that is way, way beyond our global economic crisis at the moment and we need to put in place the measures to a) slow that down and ideally halt it, b) be ready for economies that will have to change. So, the longer we procrastinate the more we pay the penalty so we need to move quickly," he said.Earth Hour was started by environmentalists in Sydney in 2007. It encourages households, businesses and governments to switch off allnon-essential lights for 60 minutes in a show of unified concern for the health and future of the planet.In two years, the event has become a large global movement and its aim is to create an enormous wave of public pressure that will influence delegates at a meeting in Copenhagen later this year, which hopes to establish a new U.N. climate treaty.However, critics of Earth Hour have insisted it is simply a symbolic gesturethat will not affect significant environmental change.The event will officially begin on the international dateline in the remote Chatham Islands southeast of New Zealand and will conclude in Hawaii.Exercise A: Directions: Listen to the news report and complete the summary.This news report is about a global event known as Earth Hour.Exercise BDirections: Listen to the news again and complete the following sentences.1. Scotland's Edinburgh Castle, the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing and thepyramids in Egypt will join the Sydney Opera House in d imming their lightsas part of Earth Hour.2. Ban Ki-moon has said it was the biggest climate change demonstration everattempted.anizers are hoping that up to a billion people will participate in aninternational effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which many scientistsblame for a warming climate.4. Andy Ridley, One of the architects of Earth Hour, says the current financialmeltdown should not be used as an excuse to delay environmental reforms .5. In two years, the event has become a large global movement and its aim is tocreate an enormous wave of public pressure that will influence delegates at ameeting in Copenhagen later this year.Part 2 PassageLab produces shape-shifting fruits and vegetables Many fruits and vegetables we know almost as much by their shape as by their color or taste. Bananas are long and curved. Onions are round. But what if you could alter the familiar shape? Would a square tomato still be a tomato?Scientists are learning how to change the shape of fruits and vegetables so they can be harvested or processed more efficiently, or maybe just to reduce waste in the kitchen. It can be done to some extent with traditional hybrid techniques. And as we hear from reporter Julie Grant, it can also be done by flipping a genetic switch.Ester van der Knaap steps gingerly around the greenhouse. We're at the Ohio State Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster. Van Der Knaap points out short, round tomatoes - and some odd-looking long, thin ones.VAN DER KNAAP:"That's one gene. One gene can make that difference."Van der Knaap's team discovered that gene and isolated it. They call it the SUN gene. And they've been able to clone it in tomatoes.Van der Knaap's research could lead to square-shapes - something she thinks the tomato industry might like. Square tomatoes fit into packages better. And, overall, square tomatoes might be easier to work with than the common round tomatoes.So far money for her research has come from the National Science Foundation - not big ag.Designer fruit shapes are gaining popularity.People have been cross-breeding tomatoes to make the shapes they want for a long time. But this is not the same thing.Dick Alford is a chef and professor of hospitality management at the University of Akron [Ohio].The difference between what his brother and lots of other folks have been doing and what van der Knaap is doing is the difference between cross-breeding and locating a specific gene that affects the shape of tomatoes.Chef Alford watches students as they cut yellow crookneck squash and carrots.They're trying to make uniform, symmetrical shapes out of curvy and pointed vegetables. There's a lot of waste. Chef Alford hates to see so much get thrown away. So he's got a request of Dr. van der Knaap.ALFORD: "If we could get square carrots, it would be great. If you could get a tomato as long as a cucumber, where you could get 20 or 30 slices out of them, it would be great."In a country that loves hamburgers, Van der Knaap has heard that request before. But the long, thin tomato hasn't worked out just yet. She says there's more genetics to be studied.“ Once we know all the genes responsible for making different shapes in tomatoes ” , Van der Knaap says, “ we'll have a better idea of what controls the shape of other crops, such peppers, cucumbers and gourds. And maybe then we'll get those square carrots.”Exercise A Pre-listening Question(open)Exercise B Sentence DictationDirections: Listen to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times.1.what if you could alter the familiar shape? Would a square tomato still bea tomato?2.Scientists are learning how to change the shape of fruits and vegetables sothey can be harvested or processed more efficiently, or maybe just toreduce waste in the kitchen.3.People have been cross-breeding tomatoes to make the shapes they want fora long time. But this is not the same thing.4.If you could get a tomato as long as a cucumber, where you could get 20 or30 slices out of it, it would be great.5.Once we know all the genes responsible for making different shapes intomatoes, we'll have a better idea of what controls the shape of other crops, such as peppers, cucumbers and gourds.Exercise C Detailed ListeningDirections: Listen to the passage and answer the following questions.1.Bananas and Onions are the examples known as much by their shape asby their color or taste.2.The hybrid or cross-breeding technique is regarded as the traditional wayof changing the shape of fruits.3.The genetic technique which can also change the shape of fruits.4.They discovered the SUN gene and managed to clone it in tomatoes.5. Compared with round tomatoes, square tomatoes might be easier towork with than the common round tomatoes.6.The difference between what his brother and lots of other folks have beendoing and what van der Knaap is doing is the difference between cross-breeding and locating a specific gene that affects the shape of tomatoes.7.There's a lot of waste. Chef Alford hates to see so much get thrown away. Sohe's got a request of Dr. van der Knaap.8.“ Once we know all the genes responsible for making different shapes intomatoes, Van der Knaap says we'll have a better idea of what controls the shape of other crops, such peppers, cucumbers and gourds. And maybe then we'll get those square carrots.”Exercise D After-listening DiscussionDirections: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions.1. Chef Alford ’s request: "If we could get square carrots, it would be great. Ifyou could get a nice long, a tomato as long as a cucumber, where you could get 20 or 30 slices out of them, it would be great." Van der Knaap s’opinion is that the long, thin tomato hasn't worked out just yet. and there's more genetics to bestudied. 2)(Open)。

Unit 8Section OnePart 1 PhoneticsJill and Monica go to a travel agency.Jill: We’d like to make a booking (1) for a long weekend holida y, please.Clerk: Where (2) would you like to go, madam?Jill: Paris.Clerk: Where do you want to (3) stay in Paris?Monica: We’re not sure. Which hotel would you suggest?Clerk: The Residence Magenta is very good (4) and it’s quite cheap. I recommend you stay there.Monica: What (5) do you think, Jill?Jill: Ok. That’s what (6) we’ll do.Clerk: Would you complete this form, please?Jill: Is it (7) all right if we pay by cheque?Clerk: Of course, (8) that’s quite all right.Part 2 Listening and Note-TakingA. It’s got four wheels, and usually carries one person, but it ca n carry two. It top speed s around 6 kms an hour, and it weighs ab out 15 kilos. It costs ￡72.B. This vehicle costs about ￡5,000. It can go up to 160 kph, and can carry four people in comfor t. It weighs 695 kilos when it’s empty. There are four wheels.C. These two-wheeled vehicles are very popular with teenager s. They are fast, but much less safe than vehicle A or B. This mod el has a maximum speed of 224 KPH, and weighs 236 kilos. It can carry one or two people, and costs ￡1,700.D. This vehicle, which cots ￡65,000, is commonly used for public transport. It has two decks, or floors, and can carry 72 people when full. Its maximum speed is 11 0 kms an hour, but it doesn’t usually go faster than 80. It has six w heels, and weighs 9,000kilos.E. This vehicle was built by two countries working in collaborati on. It travels at 2, 160 kph- faster than sound-carrying a maximum of 100 people. When it is fully loaded with passengers and fuel, it weighs 175,000 kilograms. It has ten wheels. Each of these vehicl es cost hundreds of millions of pounds to produce- it is impossible to say exactly how much.F. “How may wheels”“Two”“What does it weigh?”“Thirteen and a half kilos.”“How much does it cost?”“￡140”“How many people can it carry?”“Just one”“Top speed?”“It depends. For most people, perhaps about 25 kph.”Exercise BSection Two Listening ComprehensionPart 1 DialoguesDialogue 1Interviewer: So you’re over from the States?Woman: That’s right. We’ve been here about er, two and a half weeks and we’ve got another three days before we go back.Interviewer: Have you been to the theatre here??Woman: Oh, yes. Theatre, opera, concert, the lot. We’ve seen some magnificent things at the theatre, really excellent- the acting, the stage sets, the whole atmosphere, really, it was fantastic.Interviewer: Which do you think was your favorite play?Woman: It’s hard to say. Er, the Shakespeare play, that was br illiant, and then we saw a comedy last night, that was really funny, I loved that. I don’t know, it’s been a very entertaining two weeks, I think I’ve enjoyed most thing I’ve seen.Interviewer: and what’s next then?Woman: The bank! Tomorrow morning I’m going to cash som e more traveller’s cheques. You can spend quite a lot of money in London, you know. Never mind, it’s been worth it. The most excitin g two weeks I’ve had for a long time. And I think I’ll come back nex t year if I can. If I have enough money left that is!Ex. A. Listen to the interview and answer the questions.1. Where are they now?They are in London.2. Where is the woman from?She is from the United States.3. How long has she been here?She has been here for two and a half weeks.Exercise B: Listen again and decide whether the following statements are true or false.1. F. Plan to stay there for 3 weeks.(W: We’ve been here about two and a half weeks and we’ve got another three days before we go back.)2. F. She also has been to a concert.(W: Oh, yes. Theatre, opera, concerts, the lot.)3. F. She has traveller’s cheques.(W: Tomorrow morning I’m going to cash some more traveller’s cheques.)4. T (W: I’ll come ba ck next year if I can. If I have enough money left that is!)Dialogue 2 Are you Free for Lunch Today?Stuart: Woodside 8432Margaret: Hello again, Stuart. What can I do for you?Stuart: Are you free for lunch today?Margaret: Yes, I think so. What time?Stuart: One o'clock?Margaret: OK, where?Stuart: Lacy's, in Marston Street. Do you know where it is?Margaret: No.Stuart: Well, you take a 47 bus from the office, get off at Grange Square, cross the road, turn left, take the first on your right, and Lacy's is a few yards down the road on you left, opposite a church. You can't miss it.Margaret：But I won't be coming from the office. I've got a meeting at the town hall; I'll be coming straight from there.Stuart: OK. Then get a number 17, get off in front of the cathedral, walk through the park, then go along the canal to the right and over the first bridge, and you'll come out opposite Marston Street. Lacy's is down the other end on the right. You can't miss it.Margaret: No, I bet. Did you say one o'clock?Stuart: Yes. Is that OK?Margaret: No, on second thoughts, can we make it a bit earlier? Say a quarter to?Stuart: Quarter to one, OK.Margaret: All right. See you then. Macy's, in Caxton Street, right.Stuart: No!Ex. Listen to the dialogue and complete the passage.Stuart asked Margaret to have (1) lunch together. They will meet at Lucy’s, in (2) Marston Street at (3) a quarter to nine. Margaret can take a (4) 47 bus from the (5) office, gets off at (6) Grange Square, (7) cross the road, turns (8) left, takes the (9) first on her (10) right, and Lacy’s is a few yards down the road on the (11) left, opposite a (12) church. However, Margaret won’t be coming from the office.She’s got a meeting at the (13) town hall. She’ll be coming straight from there. Then she can get a number (14) 17, gets off in front of the (15) cathedral, walk through the (16) park, then go along the (17) canal to the (18) right and over the (19) first bridge, and she’ll come out (20) opposite Marston Street. Lacy’s is down at the (21) other end on the (22) right.Part 2 PassagesPassage 1 Sleep and Language learningIf you ask some people “how did you learn English so well?”, y ou may get a surprising answer: “In my sleep!” These are people w ho have taken part in one of the recent experiments to test learn-w hile-you-sleep methods, which are now being tried in several count ries, and with several subjects, of which English is only one.Specialists say that this sleep-study method speeds languag e learning tremendously. They say that the average person can lea rn two or three times as much during sleep as in the same period d uring the day- and this does not affect his rest in any way. A word of warning, however: sleep-teaching will only hammer into your he ad what you have studied while you are awake.In one experiment, ten lessons were broadcast over the radio at intervals of a fortnight. Each lesson lasted twelve hours- from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. The first three hours of English grammar and vocab ulary were given with the students awake. At 11 p.m. a soothing lul laby was broadcast to send the student to sleep and for the next th ree hours the radio whispered the lesson again into his sleeping ea rs. At 2 a.m. a sharp noise was sent over the radio to wake the sle eping student up for a few minutes of revision. Then he was lulledback to rest again while the radio purred on. At 5 o’clock his sleep ended and he had to go through the lesson for three hours before his hard-earned breakfast.Exercise:1. A2. B3. D4. D5. C6. C7. A8. BPart3 NewsNews Item 1In many developing countries, weather reports remain trapped in the capital. National weather services have the information, but no way to get it to farmers and other people in rural communities.This is the job of an international project called RANET-Rural Communications using Radio and the Internet. RANET works with national weather services to improve their reach.The project develops networks of satellite receiver systems, community radio stations and other technologies. Communities often are provided with some equipment, but the systems are locally owned and supported. RANET is working to improve communications in countries with limited power supplies.Exercise A: Listen to the news item and complete the following summary.This news item is about getting weather reports to rural communities.Exercise B: Listen to the news item again and answer the following questions.1. What’s the situation of weather services in many developing countries?In many developing countries, national weather services have the information, but there is no way to get it to people in rural communities.2. What does RANET mean?RANET means Rural Communications using Radio and the Internet.3. What does RANET aim at?RANET aims at working with national weather services to improve their reach.4. Who owns and supports networks of satellite receiver systems?The local communities own and support the systems.5. Besides networks of satellite receiver systems, what else does the project help to develop?The project also helps to develop community radio stations and other technologies.News Item 2A government report says climate change is already affecting American agriculture.The news report is from the Climate Change Science Program, which brings together the research efforts of thirteen federal agencies.Much of the East and South now gets more rain than a century ago. But the report says there is some evidence of increaseddrought conditions in the West and Southwest. Western states have less snow and ice on the mountains and earlier melting in the spring.Grain and oilseed crops are likely to develop faster with increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But higher temperatures will increase the risk of crop failures.Also, horticultural crops such as tomatoes, onions and fruit are more easily affected by climate change than grain and oilseed crops.The Department of Agriculture was the lead agency for the new report.Exercise A:This news item is about the effect of climate change on American agriculture.Exercise B: Listen to the news item again and answer the following questions.1. Where is the news report from?The new report is from the Climate Change Science Program.2. How many federal agencies conducted the research?Thirteen federal agencies conducted the research.3. Which is the lead agency for the report?The Department of Agriculture was the lead agency for the new report.4. On what condition are grain and oilseed crops likely to develop faster?Grain and oilseed crops are likely to develop faster if carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing.5. What is more easily affected by climate change than grain and oilseed crops?Horticultural crops such as tomatoes, onions and fruit are more easily affected by climate change.C: Complete the following form.Parts of the United States Climate changeMuch of the East and SouthGets more rain than a century ago.The West and Southwest Have evidence of increased drought conditions. For example, there are less snow and ice on the mountains in western states and the snow melts earlier in the spring.News Item 3Science has made it possible to harvest energy from the wind, sun and water. All these renewable resources are used today to power an energy-hungry world. But imagine harvesting energy from crowds of people moving to and from work every day. That is one of the possibilities of piezoelectricity, the science of gaining power from motion.James Graham and Thaddeus Jusczyk are two graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. They designed a way to capture the energy of people' footsteps.They created a design for a special floor covering that moves a little when people step on it. The movement would create an electrical current that could be captured to provide electrical power.Gathering power from the movements of large groups of people is called "crowed farming." And interest in crowd farming continues to grow.Exercise A:This news item is about gathering electrical power from the movements of people.Exercise B: Listen to the news item and give the definition of the following expressions.Piezoelectricity: the science of gaining power from motion Crowd farming: gathering power from the movements of large groups of peopleC: Complete the following passage.James Graham and Thaddeus Jusczyk are two graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. They designed a way to capture the energy of people’s footsteps. They created a design for a special floor covering that moves a little when people step on it. The movement would create an electrical current that could be captured to provide electrical power.Section Three Oral WorkPart 1 Questions and AnswersRadio: Good afternoon. This is Radio Brighton. It’s two o’clock and time for “On the Town” and this is Judy Nash introducing the p rogram.Judy: Hello. I’m here on Palace Pire and it’s a beautiful holiday . The pier is crowed with visitors, Let’s talk to some of them. Where do you come from, sir?Ben: Montreal.Judy: All the way from Canada?Ben: That’s right.Judy: Are you enjoying yourself here in Brighton?Ben: Yes. It’s a lovely day and there’s lots to do.Judy: How much of Brighton have you seen?Ben: Not very much—we’ve only been here for an hour.Judy: Where are you going now?Ben: We’re going to Royal Pavilion.Judy: And after that?Ben: We haven’t decided yet.Judy: What about tonight?Ben: We’ll probably go to a restaurant and then catch the last t rain back to London.Judy: Well, thanks for talking to us, and have a good time.Exercise:1. Where is Judy?She is on Palace Pier.2. Whom is she talking to?She is talking to a visitor.3. Where does he come from?He comes from Montreal, Canada.4. Is he enjoying himself in Brighton?Yes. It’s a lovely day and there’s lots to do.5. How much of Brighton has he seen?He hasn’t seen much of Brighton.6. How long has he been there?He has been there for an hour.7. Where is he going now?He is going to the Royal Pavilion.8. Which train will he catch back to London? He will catch the last train back to London. Part 2 RetellingOne cold winter afternoon, a postman was slowly pushing his bicycle up the hill. He had only one letter to deliver: this was for an old lady who lived at the top of the hill. The old lady had lived alone ever since her daughter had moved to Australia many years before. She always invited the postman in for a cup of tea whenever he took her a letter and told him about her two grandchildren in Australia, whom she had never seen.Just as the postman went towards her gate, a small boy came running down the hill. Suddenly the boy slipped on the icy road and fell. The postman hurried across the road to help the boy. After a quick examination, he found that the boy hurt his leg badly. So the postman decided to send the boy to the hospital first. He carried the boy onto his bicycle and took him to the hospital.Section Four Supplementary ExercisesPart 1 Listening ComprehensionPassage 1 RunningWhen I started running seven years ago, I could manage only about a quarter of mile before I had to stop. Breathless and aching,I walked the next quarter of a mile, then I jogged the next quarter ofa mile, alternating these two activities for a couple of miles. Within a few weeks I could jog half way round Hampstead Heath withoutstopping. Soon I started to run up the quarter-mile slope to the top of Parliament Hill, although I had to stop at the top to get my breath back. Eventually I found that I could even manage to get up the hill comfortably.I started to run because I felt desperately unfit. But the biggest pay-off for me was- and still is- the deep relaxation that I achieve by taking exercise. It tires me out but I find that it does calm me down.In those early days I saw few other runners. Now there are many more- and not just the macho* sports freaks*. Men and women of all ages have now taken up running. Some 25,000 runners aged 5 to 85 are attracted each year to the Sunday Times Fun Run in Hyde Park.In the last two years the London Marathon has become the biggest British sporting event — overtaking the boat race and the Derby* in the number of spectators it attracts. When I started to jog I never dreamt of running of a marathon, but in 1982 I realized that if I trained for it, it would be with in my reach, and after a slow,six-month build-up I managed the 26.2 miles in just four hours. A creditable performance for a first-timer and a far cry from those days when I had to stop for breath after a quarter of a mile.Ex. Listen and choose the best answer.1.C2. D3. B4. A5. A6.C7. C8.A9.APassage2 Cats in AmericaAn old expression says “Man’s best friend is his dog.” Today, h owever, it seems that cats have replaced dogs as the most popular pets in American homes. Americans have more than 62 million pe t dogs. But even more cats—more than 64 million—live in America n homes.These pet cats may have long hair or short hair. They are of d ifferent colors and sizes. Some are costly animals that take part in competitions. Many more are common American mixtures of sever al kinds of cats.Most house cats live a good life. They are not expected to w ork for their food. Instead, they rule their homes like furry kings and queens. They wait for their owners to serve them,Americans are increasingly serious about their cats. These con cerns have made the care of cats into big business.Each year, cat owners buy tons of food especially prepared for cats. They buy toys and other equipment. They buy jewelry and cl othes for themselves with images of cats on them. Some owners e ven bury their dead pets in special burial grounds.Animal experts offer several reasons why cats have become s o popular as house pets. They say cats need less care than dogs. And cats do not seem to suffer as much as dogs from being alone i f the owners are away.Still millions of other people do not like cats at all. They say do gs are better and more loving pets. They say cats do not have muc h feeling. They believe cats stay with people only to be fed.Cat owners defend their pets against such criticism. They say cats are just much more independent than dogs.A student of animal medicine explains the situation this way: D og follow you around. They want you to talk to them and play with t hem a lot of the time. Cats like more space and more privacy. This does not mean they do not love their owners.Cat owners often like to read about cats. Many books about ca ts are in American libraries and bookstores. Cats also appear as th e heroes of newspaper comics, television programs and movies. A mong the most famous is Garfield. He is an orange, striped tiger c at.Garfield eats too much. His owner, John, is always trying to get the cat to lose weight. However, Garfield usually eats what he wa nts. He often shows more intelligence than his owner.Listen to the passage and answer the following questions.1. More than sixty-four million cats live in American homes as pets.2. American homes keep costly cats in order to let them take part in competitions.3. They are not expected to work for their food and they wait for their owners to serve them.4. Americans are increasingly serious about their cats.5. Cat owners buy tons of food, toys and other equipment.6. They need less care and they do not seem to suffer a lot from being alone when the owner are away.7. Cats like more space and more privacy.8. Garfield is an orange, striped tiger cat. He often shows his intelligence and does many clever things.Part 2 Oral WorkWhen you take a walk in any of the cities in the West, you ofte n see a lot of people walking dogs. It is still true that a dog is the m ost useful and faithful animal in the world, but the reason why peop le keep a dog has changed. In the old days, people used to train d ogs to protect themselves against animal attacks. And later they came to realize that a dog was not only useful for protection but willin g to obey his master. But now people in the city need not protect th emselves against attacks of animals. Why do they keep dogs, then ? Some people keep dogs to protect themselves from robbery. But the most important reason is for companionship. For a child, a dog is his best friend when he has no friend to play with. For young co uples, a dog is their child when they have no children. For old coup les, a dog is also their child when their children have grown up.。