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Chapter 9 Lecture: Public Education: Philosophy and FundingMost young people in the United States, like most young people around the world, attend public school. Indeed, young people in the U.S. have to attend school because education is compulsory, in most states to the age of sixteen or until the students reach ninth grade.A small percentage of American youth attend private schools, wither religious or secular schools, but the vast majority attend public schools. One distinguishing feature of U.S. public education that surprises many foreigners is that although there are some standardized examinations, there is no nationwide curriculum set by the government ministry of education determines the curriculum that all students study and the examinations that all the students take at a set time. Of course, U.S. students follow a curriculum, and they take examinations as all students do. Although the federal government does influence public education by providing funds to schools for special programs such as education for the handicapped and for bilingual education, the federal government does not determine the curriculum or the examinations. Today I’d like to talk about the three levels of control within each state and then spend some time discussing where the money for education comes from and three issues related to funding.Control of education in the United States is mainly exercised locally at three levels. Let’s begin with the state department of education. The department of education of each of the fifty states has two basic functions. First, each state department of education sets basic curriculum requirements for all the schools in its state. For example, a high school might require four years of English, three years of math, two years of social science, and so forth. The state also sets the number of credits a student must complete in order to graduate from a high school. This total number of credits includes both required courses and electives. So much for the state part in education.The second level of control is the school district. The number of school districts a state has depends on the size of its population and the size of the state. A large metropolitan area would have several school districts. A smaller community might have only one district. Each school district is run by a school board that is elected by the citizens of the district. The school district is responsible for the specific content of courses taught in its schools. In other words, the school district determines what the students will study in each of their, let’s say, four years of high school English. The school district also decides what electives will be available for students. Besides determining course content, the school district is responsible for the operation of the schools in its district, for example, the hiring if teachers and administrators. The third level of control is the individual school itself, where teachers have primary responsibility for deciding how to teach the content of each course and for preparing and giving examinations to the students.Local control of schools may seem very strange to some of you, but it will seem less strange if you consider how public schools in the United States are funded- that is, where money to run the schools comes from. Only about 7 percent of the money comes from the federal government. The rest of the money comes from state and local taxes. The percentages supplied by the state and by the local districts fluctuate over tome and from state to state. Currently appropriately 49 percentage of school funding comes from the states and about 44 percent comes from the local communities, that is, the school districts.Finally, I’d like to discuss three issues related to the funding of schools that have been receiving a lot of attention recently in the United States. The first issue deals with theinequality of educational opportunity that students face. Because public schools are funded to a great degree by local taxes, this means that schools in poorer communities or poorer parts of large cities do not have the same amount of money as schools located in richer communities. This, in turn, means that children from poorer areas are less likely to receive a good education than children from wealthier areas. The second issue, one that has been controversial since the beginning of public education, is the issue of funding for private schools, which are generally run by religious organizations. As you already know, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution mandates separation of church and state. A little background on the history and development of public education will be useful here.During colonial times, education was largely a religious concern and most schools were supported by religious organizations. However, during the nineteenth century, there was widespread support and acceptance of public education paid for by taxes as the best way to provide equal educational opportunity for all children. Nevertheless, some parents have always chosen to send their children to either private religious schools or private schools devoted to academic excellence. Because private schools are not funded by the government, parents have had to pay tuition to send their children to private schools. People who have wanted to send their children to private schools have long questioned why they should have to pay taxes for public schools at the same time as they pay private tuition for their children’s education.Although this issue is not new, during the last twenty years or so, more parents have become unhappy about what they perceive to be the increasingly secular nature of public education and prefer to send their children to schools where they will receive an education more in line with their religious beliefs. Other parents are concerned about the questionable quality of education in public schools. These concerns have led to efforts by the school system, and the government, to offer alternative educational opportunities, that is, educational choices. Two of the most important responses to these concerns have been charter schools and school vouchers. Both of these alternatives to regular public education are based on the idea that competition in the educational market is a good thing, but otherwise, they differ quite a bit. Charter schools are nonsectarian public schools that compete with regular public for students. Charter schools operate under contract to a sponsor, usually a state or local school board. Charter schools are accountable to their sponsors, the parents who choose to send their children to them, and the public that funds them through their tax money. In turn, charter schools generally have greater autonomy, that is, independence, over selection of teachers, curriculum, resources, and so on, than regular public schools. The first charter schools came into existence toward the end if the 1980s. By 2003, there were 2,695 charter schools with almost 685,000 students enrolled. This was a 15 percent increase over the year 2003, which shows how fast these schools are growing. There are many issues surrounding charter schools, but a study published in 2003 found that charter school students did a little better than their public school counterparts on a standardized exams.The school voucher concept is a much more controversial one than charter schools. The idea behind school vouchers is that the government provides students with a certain amount of money each year that they can use to attend whatever school they choose, public or private. The idea again is that competition will improve the education students receive. Voucher schools in reality are largely private schools, and most often religiously based schools. They are quite different from charter schools, which as public schools are first of all, nonsectarian, that is, not religious. Second, charter schools cannot apply restrictive admission standards, as publicschools do. To date, voucher programs funded by taxpayers are operating in only three U.S. cities, and there are many court battles over the voucher system. Supporters of the voucher system feel very strongly that private schools offer better education than public schools. Those opposed to the voucher system claim that vouchers rob public schools of needed funding and that voucher schools do not truly provide school choice because of restrictive admissions standards, which can include academic performance, religion, sex, and other factors. Opponents of vouchers also strongly believe that using taxpayer funds for private religious schools violates the separation of church and state built into the U.S. Constitution.The third and final issue I’d like to touch on today is also very controversial. I mentioned earlier that United States does not have a nationwide curriculum nor nationwide exams set by the government. However, in the past fifteen or twenty years, there has been an increased emphasis in various states on raising standards and on giving students standardized exams to monitor their progress. The federal government in 2002 passed a sweeping education bill that requires states that wish to receive certain federal funding to develop and put in place extensive testing programs and other systems to ensure adequate yearly progress of students. Although the percentage of funding for schools from the federal government is relatively small, it still represents a lot of money that schools do not want to lose. Some people support this movement toward standardization and accountability in the educational system, while others see it as a dangerous step away from local control of schools.No one can predict the future of public education in the United States, but it appears that emphasis on educational choice and on accountability of educational system for student results will be with us for a long time.Chapter 10 Postsecondary Education: AdmissionsIn this lecture, I’m going to talk to you about postsecondary education in the United States. Today I’ll give you some facts and figures about colleges and universities in the United States and some general information about admission policies. I will also make a few remarks about community colleges and finish up by giving you an idea of what kinds of students make up the student body on a typical U.S. campus.Let’s begin with some facts and figures. The most recent figures I have reveal there are 4,182 public and private four-year and two-year colleges in the United States. These range from full universities with diverse programs to smaller four-year colleges to two-year community colleges. Most of them are accredited, which means the schools meet certain standards set by institutional and private evaluators. When applying to a school, you would probably want to make sure it was accredited. Even though there are more private colleges than public ones, over three-quarters of students, precisely 78 percent, are enrolled at public colleges and universities. Some of the small private schools may have fewer than 100 students, whereas some of the large state university systems may have 50,000 or more students. Most of these schools are coeducational although some of them are primarily for women and others are primarily for men. Some schools may offer only one program of study and others have a great variety of programs. The total cost for attending one of these schools may be less than $5,000 a year or as much as 30 or 40 thousand dollars a year for one of the prestigious private schools. These schools are located all over—in industrial areas, agricultural areas, large cities, and small towns in a wide variety of climates.With such a wide variety of sizes, kinds, and locations of schools, it probably won’t surpriseyou to find out that admissions requirements at these colleges and universities vary greatly also. Some are relatively easy to be admitted to whereas others are highly competitive. However, most schools will ask undergraduate applicants to submit their high school transcripts with a record of their grades and test results from one of the standardized tests regularly offered to high school students. The most common of these standardized exams is the Scholastic Aptitude Test, commonly known as the SAT. Students who are applying to graduate school are usually asked to take other, more specific standardized exams depending on which college they are applying to. For example, some students are required to take the Graduate Record Exam, or the GRE. Students applying to a business college will probably have to take the GMAT, and students applying to law college will have to take the LSAT. You probably know about the TOEFL exam, which most foreign students have to take before being admitted to American colleges or universities. These exams, including the TOEFL, are all prepared by a company that is independent of the school system. These exams have come under a lot of criticism lately, but they are still widely used as one way to determine who will be admitted to various schools. However, most schools try to look at the whole student and consider factors other than simply grades and test scores. Some of these factors may be extracurricular activities in school, ethnic background, work experience, and so on. Some schools will have personal interviews with students they are considering for admission. Many schools, private as well as public, try very hard to have a student population with a wide variety of backgrounds and ages. Even the most prestigious and most highly competitive colleges and universities will not take only those students with the highest grades and standardized test scores but will consider these other factors. Nevertheless, schools of this type, such as Stanford and Harvard, have so many more people applying than they can possibly accept that students who want to get into such schools take grades and SAT exams very seriously. In general, medical and law colleges, both private and public, are very difficult to get into, and, once again, test scores on standardized exams can be extremely important to those applying to these schools.However, for students who want to attend a state college or university in their own state, it may be enough to graduate from high school in the upper third or even upper half of their high school class. This may surprise those of you who come from an educational system that is highly competitive, a system in which only a small percentage of students who pass a very difficult nationwide standardized high school examination can enter a university. You may be even more surprised by what I have to tell you about community colleges.An interesting feature of education in the United States is the two-year community college. Community colleges that are publicly supported offer somewhat different educational opportunities than those offered by a senior college or a university. First, admissions requirements at public community colleges are usually much more lenient than those at a four-year college or university. It’s usually enough to have graduated from an American high school to be admitted. Second, it is also cheaper to attend a community college. The tuition and fees are usually quite a bit lower. Students often live at home because this type of school does not have dormitories. For these two reasons, many people who are unable to go to a four-year college or university can have an opportunity to take classes for college credit. Finally, community colleges offer two-year programs that can lead to an Associate of Arts degree. Many of these programs, but not all of them, are vocational in nature. People attend community colleges for many different purposes. Some people may be taking on a course or two in some field that particularly interests them and may not be planning on getting a degree. Other people may be going to community collegefull-time and planning to transfer to a four-year college or university upon successful completion of two years at a community college. Well, so much for community colleges.I promised to tell you a little about the actual student body on a typical U.S. campus. Let’s start with some statistics, and then we’ll discuss two items that surprise many foreign students. Among the 2.8 million high school graduates in 2002, 65.2 percent were enrolled in college the following October. More than 90 percent of those attended full time. Young men represented half of the high school graduates, but more women than men went on to college. The exact statistics are:68.4 percent of female high school graduates and 62.1 percent of male high school graduates. If we break down the statistics racially, we find that white students enrolled in college in greater proportions than black or Hispanic students. The figures are 66.7 percent for white graduates, 58.7 percent of black graduates, and 53.5 percent of Hispanic students. My next statistic may be surprising. 42.6 percent of full-time students in 2002 were either employed or looking for work. That number jumps to 75.7 percent for part-time students. That last statistic makes more sense when we consider that besides the students who are from eighteen to twenty-two years old that one expects to find on a college campus, there are also many older married students. They may be people who attend part-time to upgrade their skills, people who are changing careers, or retired people who still have a desire to learn. Also, foreign students are often surprised at how poorly prepare American students are when they enter a university. Actually, at very select schools the students are usually very well prepared, but at less selective schools, they may not be as well prepared as students in your country are. If you will remember the educational philosophy we discussed in the last lecture, you will understand why. Schools in the States simply admit a lot more students than is usual in most other countries. Also, most young American university students have not traveled in other countries and are not very well versed in international matters and do not know a lot about people from other countries. Foreign students usually find them friendly but not very well informed about their countries or cultures.In brief, you can see that educational opportunities and admissions standards vary greatly in the United States. While it may be quite difficult to gain admission to some colleges and universities because of the very large number of applicants, probably any student graduating from high school with reasonable grades can find some accredited university or college to attend. Those students hoping to enter graduate school will often face very stiff competition, whether at private or public schools. Many students who start at a college or university will not finish in four years. Some will drop out to work or travel and may never finish. Others will return to school a few months or a few years later. Some will go to school full-time and others part-time. Some will not work while going to school, but most will work at some time or other during their school years.We’re out of time, I see. In my next lecture, I’ll talk to you about a relatively new development in education, distance learning. It should be of interest to those of you who want to attend college but can’t because of living far from a college, busy schedules, or for other reasons.Chapter 11 Lecture: Distance educationOne of the most exciting changes in education in the United States today is the incredible growth of distance education at the post-secondary level. Let me begin the lecture by asking you a couple of questions. First, can you imagine getting a college, or university, degree, without ever once setting foot on a college campus? Second, would you believe me if I told you thereare a few higher education institutions that grant degrees that don’t even have a campus? Some of these schools even grant graduate degrees, that is, a master’s degree or even a Ph.D.What is distance education? A publication called Distance Education: A Consumer’s Guide defines distance education this way:” Distance education is instruction that occurs when the instructor and student are separated by distance or time, or both,” That sounds a little strange, but it’s not really new.As early as 1840, it was possible to take a correspondence course in shorthand; that is, a student could learn shorthand by mail. And the University of Wisconsin offered the first correspondence catalog in 1892. This meant that a student could take university courses by mail over 100 years ago. So distance education is not really new; however, modern technology, such as audio, video, and computer technology, has changed distance education a great deal. Today almost all distance education programs are online or have an online learning component to take advantage of the technology.As I mentioned, distance education is now growing at an incredible rate, Peterson’s 1994 Guide to Distance Learning listed 93 accredited distance education programs available at community colleges and universities across the United States and Canada, whereas its 1997 guide listed more than 700 programs. In 2003, almost 1,100 programs were listed. According to the U.S. college and universities with 10.000 students or more offer distance education programs with new ones coming online continuously.Distance education is quite a complex subject with many aspects to look at. Today let’s look at the reasons why distance education is growing so rapidly, how distance education works, that is, what the modes of delivery are, and some things people considering distance education need to be aware of.To start with, why is distance education growing at such an incredible rate?First, rapidly changing economic conditions require many professional people to upgrade their knowledge or skills on an almost continuous basis. For example, a person who graduates with a degree in engineering or computer science may find it necessary to take courses to upgrade his or her skills every few year. Or a person who begins his or her career with a B.A. or B.S. degree may find it desirable to pursue an M.A. after some time, or even a Ph.D. Busy working people often find it difficult or even impossible to take courses they need or to pursue degrees on campus. Thus, there are a lot of people wanting post-secondary education who don’t find it convenient to study in the traditional on-campus setting.At the same time that demand for postsecondary education is growing, many U.S. colleges and universities are facing budget crunches; many U.S. colleges and universities are facing budget crunches; that is , they just don’t have as much money as they had in the past, but at the same time they have more students. They have to find ways to deliver instruction in the most economical way possible.The final reason is modern technology, which is the key to making the desired postsecondary education available to the millions of people who have access to audio, video, and computer technology. Many institutions offer distance education courses, certificate programs, and degree programs. How does distance education work at the postsecondary level? What are the usual modes of delivery?The modes of instruction can vary greatly and different courses in a program may use different modes. And any given course may use several different modes. Some of the modes include video,audio, CD-ROM, Internet, bulletin boards, chat rooms, and e-mail. Let’s consider some of the possibilities among these technologies. Video, for example, can be as simple as videotape the student plays on his or her VCR. Or it could involve video conferencing where the student is able to see and interact with the instructor and other students. Audio works similarly. A student may have a set of audiotapes to play on a cassette player or may be connected to an audio conference where he or she interacts with other students and the instructor. When students study on their own, at a time convenient to them to them, from a video-or audiotape, it is asynchronous learning, asynchronous meaning not at the same time. Video and audio conferencing, on the other hand, are called synchronous learning; that is, the instructor and the students are engaged in the teaching and learning process at the same time. Let’s look at two other popular modes used in distance learning: bulletin board anytime of the day and night, read what other students have written, and respond, by either adding his or her ideas or asking a question. Chat rooms, on the other hand, offer a discussion forum where students can interact in real time, that is, synchronously. CD-ROMs may come to the student via mail or the student may download materials from the Internet. E-mail provides a very convenient way for students to submit assignments or to ask the instructor questions. There are many more modes of instruction, but this should give you an idea of the possibilities.Students interested in pursuing distance education degrees need to consider the following six points:Number 1. Many distance education programs have a residency requirement. The students may be required to take two courses on campus, that is, six hours of credit, or students may be required to spend several days on campus several times during the program.Number 2. Distance education courses generally have time limits. Courses and programs must be completed within a certain time limit. Assignments must be submitted on time.Number 3. Admissions requirements are the same as those of an on-campus education.Number 4. Distance education can save students money in terms of not having to travel to campus for classes, and the like, but the academic fees about the same as for traditional education. Fulfilling the residency requirements may be quite costly in terms of travel and lodging for students who live far from the campus.Number 5. Online study requires students to have access to a computer that meets minimum requirements such as the latest version of Windows, a microphone, sound card and speakers, adequate hard drive and RAM, a modern, browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape), and Internet connection. Connection speed is very important and many schools recommend having high-speed Internet access like a cable modern or DSL.And finally Number 6. Distance learning requires that students be disciplined and independent learners. Distance education is not easier than traditional education. Not everyone is temperamentally suited for distance education. The dropout rate from distance education courses and programs is higher than for traditional courses and programs.Before I close today, let me just say that many people are still suspicious of distance education believing that it cannot possibly be equivalent to a traditional classroom education, although there are studies that indicate that distance education can be as effective as traditional education and some times even more effective. However, some suspicions are well founded. There are many unscrupulous and disreputable universities advertising on the Internet with very alluring Web sites. Therefore, it is important for everyone wishing to take a courseor pursue a degree to check out the credentials of the school they are considering very carefully.We have an expression: Let the buyer beware. That means that anyone who wishes to buy something should be very careful! And that includes online or distance eductation.。
Book 2 Chapter 1 The PopulationToday we’re going to talk about population in the United States. According to the most recent government census, the population is 281,421,906 people. Now this represents an increase of almost 33 million people since the 1990 census. A population of over 281 million makes the United States the third most populous country in the whole world. As you probably know, the People’s Republic of China is the most populous country in the world. But do you know which is the second most populous? Well, if you thought India, you were right. The fourth, fifth, and sixth most populous countries are Indonesia, Brazil, and Pakistan. Now let’s get back to the United States. Let’s look at the total U. S. population figure of 281 million in three different ways. The first way is by race and origin; the second is by geographical distribution, or by where people live; and the third way is by the age and sex of the population.First of all, let’s take a look at the population by race and origin. The latest U. S. census reports that percent of the population is white, whereas percent is black. Three percent are of Asian origin, and 1 percent is Native American. percent of the population is a mixture of two or more races, and percent report themselves as “of some other race”. Let’s make sure your figures are right: OK, white, percent; black, percent; Asian, 3 percent; Native American, 1 percent; a mixture of two or more races, percent; and of some other race, percent. Hispanics, whose origins lie in Spanish-speaking countries, comprise whites, blacks, and Native Americans, so they are already included in the above figures. It is important to note that Hispanics make up percent of the present U.S. population, however. Finally, the census tells us that 31 million people in the United States were born in another country. Of the 31 million foreign born, the largest part, percent are from Mexico. The next largest group, from the Philippines, number percent.Another way of looking at the population is by geographical distribution. Do you have any idea which states are the five most populous in the United States? Well, I’ll help you out there. The five most populous states, with population figures, are California, with almost 34 million; New York, with 21 million; Texas, with 19 million; and Florida, with 16 million; and Illinois with million people. Did you get all those figures down? Well, if not, I’ll give you a chance later to check your figures. Well, then, let’s move on. All told, over half, or some 58 percent of the population, lives inthe South and in the West of the United States. This figure, 58 percent, is surprising to many people. It is surprising because the East is more densely populated. Nevertheless, there are more people all together in the South and West. To understand this seeming contradiction, one need only consider the relatively larger size of many southern and western states, so although there are more people, they are distributed over a larger area. To finish up this section on geographical distribution, consider that more than three-quarters of the people live in metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Houston. That means that only 20 percent, or 2 out of 10 people, live in rural areas. An interesting side note is that some 3,800,000 U.S. citizens live abroad, that is, in foreign countries.Before we finish today, I want to discuss the distribution of the U.S. population in terms of age and sex. Just for interest, would you say there are more men or more women in the United States? Well, according to the 2000 census, there are more women. In fact, there are more than five million more women than men in the U.S. population. If we consider that more males than females are born each year, how can this difference be explained? Well, for a variety of complicated reasons that we can’t go into here, there is a progressively higher death rate for males as they get older. This is seen in 2003 life expectancy figures: the life expectancy for women is years whereas for men it is only years. I don’t know how these life expectancy figures compare to those in your countries, but statistically women generally live longer than men worldwide. Now, to finish up, let’s look at the average age of the whole population. Overall, the average age of the population is increasing: from years in 1990 to years in 2000. The average age has been slowly, but steadily, increasing over the past several decades. This trend toward a higher average age can be explained by a decreasing birth rate and an increasing life expectancy for the population as a whole. Well, I’d like to investigate these two subjects further, but I see our time is up, so we’ll have to call it quits for today. You may want to pursue the topic of the aging U.S. population further, so there are some suggestions at the end of the lesson to help you do so. Thank you.Chapter Two Immigration: Past and PresentThe act of immigrating, or coming to a new country to live, is certainly nothing new. Throughout history, people have immigrated, or moved to new countries, for many different reasons. Sometimes these reasons were economic or political. Other people moved because of natural disasters such as droughts or famines. And some people movedto escape religious or political persecution. No matter what the reason, most people do not want to leave their native land and do so only under great pressure of some sort, but a few people seem quite adventuresome and restless by nature and like to move a lot. It seems both kinds of people came to America to live. The subject of immigration is quite fascinating to most Americans, as they view themselves as a nation of immigrants. However, the early Britons who came to what is today the United States considered themselves “settlers” or “colonists,” rather than immigrants. These people did not exactly think they were moving to a new country but were merely settling new land for the “mother country.” There were also large numbers of Dutch, French, German, and Scotch-Irish settlers, as well as large numbers of blacks brought from Africa as slaves. At the time of independence from Britain in 1776, about 40 percent of people living in what is now the United States were non-British. The majority of people, however, spoke English, and the traditions that formed the basis of life were mainly British traditions. This period we have just been discussing is usually referred to as the Colonial Period. Today, we’re a little more interested in actual immigration after this period. Let’s first look at what is often called the Great Immigration, which began about 1830 and ended in 1930. Then let’s consider the reasons for this so-called Great Immigration and the reasons it ended. Finally, let’s talk about the immigration situation in the United States today,As I said, we’ll begin our discussion today with the period of history called the Great Immigration, which lasted from approximately 1830 to 1930. It will be easier if we look at the Great Immigration in terms of three major stages, or time periods. The first stage was from approximate1y 1830 to 1860. Now, before this time, the number of immigrants coming to the United States was comparatively small, only about 10,000 a year. However, the rate began to climb in the 1830s when about 600,000 immigrants arrived. The rate continued to climb during the 1840s with a tota1 of 1,700,000 people arriving in that decade. The rate continued to climb, and during the 1850s 2,600,000 immigrants arrived. During this first stage of the Great Immigration, that is, between the years 1830 and 1860, the majority of immigrants came from Germany, Great Britain, and Ireland. Now let’s consider the second stage of the Great Immigration. The second stage was from l860 to 1890, during which time another 10,000,000 people arrived. Between l860 and 1890 the majority of immigrants continued to be from Germany, Ireland, and Great Britain. However, during the second stage, a smaller but significant number of immigrants came from the Scandinavian nations of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The third stage of the Great Immigration, which lasted from 1890 to 1930, was the eraof heaviest immigration. Between the years l890 and l930, almost 22 million immigrants arrived in the United States. Most of these new arrivals came from the Southern European countries of Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain and the Eastern European countries of Poland and Russia.Now that we know something about the numbers and origins of immigrants who came to the States during the Great Immigration, let’s consider the reasons why most of these people immigrated to the United States. Why did such large numbers of Europeans leave their homes for life in an unknown country? It would be impossible to discuss all the complex political and economic reasons in any depth today, but we can touch on a few interesting facts that might help to clarify the situation for you. First of all, one of the most important reasons was that the population of Europe doubled between the years 1750 and 1850. At the same time that the population was growing so rapidly, the Industrial Revolution in Europe was causing widespread unemployment. The combination of increased population and the demand for land by industry also meant that farmland was becoming increasingly scarce in Europe. The scarcity of farmland in Europe meant that the abundance of available land in the growing country of the United States was a great attraction. During these years, the United States was an expanding country and it seemed that there was no end to land. In fact, in 1862, the government offered public land free to citizens and to immigrants who were planning to become citizens. In addition to available farmland, there were also plentiful jobs during these years of great economic growth. Other attractions were freedom from religious or political persecution. Some other groups also came to the United States as the direct results of natural disasters that left them in desperate situations. For example, the frequent failure of the potato crop in Ireland between the years 1845 and 1849 led to widespread starvation in that country, and people were driven to immigrate. Another factor that affected the number of immigrants coming to the United States was improved ocean transport beginning in the 1840s. At that time, ships large enough to carry large numbers of people began to make regular trips across the ocean. Now let’s summarize the reasons for the high rate of immigration to the United States during the years we discussed: first, the doubling of the population in Europe between 1750 and 1850; second, the unemployment caused by the Industrial Revolution; and third, the land scarcity in Europe, followed by religious and political persecution and natural disaster. These reasons combined with improved transportation probably account for the largest number of immigrants.I would now like to talk briefly about the period of time following the Great Immigration and the reasons for the decline in the rate of immigration. Although immigration continues today, immigration numbers have never again reached the levels that we discussed previously. There are several reasons for this decline. This decline was in part due to various laws whose aim was to limit the number of immigrants coming from different parts of the world to the United States. The first such law that limited the number of immigrants coming from a certain part of the world was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This law was followed by many other laws that also tried to limit the numbers of people immigrating from various countries or parts of the world. In addition to such laws, certainly economic and geopolitical events as important as the Great Depression starting in 1929 and World War II also contributed to the decline in immigration.Let’s conclude our talk by discussing the current situation with respect to immigration, which is quite different from that in the past. To understand some of the changes, it’s important to note that in 1965 strict quotas based on nationality were eliminated. Let’s see how different things are today from the past. As I noted, the greatest number of immigrants to the United States have historically been European. According to . Census figures, in 1860, the percentage of immigrants that were European was 92 percent. But by 1960, the percentage of European immigrants had dropped to percent, and by the year 2002, it had dropped to 14 percent! In 2002, percent of immigrants came from Latin America, that is, from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Mexico is ordinarily considered part of North America, but the . Census Bureau considers Mexico as a Central American country in terms of immigration statistics, and estimates that more than one-third of the total of all immigrants to the United States in 2002 came from Mexico or another Central American country. The next largest percentage, percent, of immigrants came from Asia, mainly from the Philippines, China, and India.Although immigration dropped sharply when the United States entered World War I and remained low throughout the Depression and World War II years, at the end of the l940s, immigration began to increase again and has, in general, risen steadily since then. It might surprise you to know that the actual number of immigrants coming yearly to the States in recent years is about the same as the numbers coming yearly between 1900 and 1910. Keep in mind, though, that the population of the United States is much larger now than at the turn of the century, so that while the yearly numbers may be similar, thepercentage of the population that is foreign-born is considerably smaller today than it was a century ago.It might be interesting to speculate on immigration in the future. Will the trend continue for non-Europeans to immigrate to the United States? The answer is probably yes for the foreseeable future. Do these non-European people come to the United States for the same reasons that Europeans came? Well, land is no longer plentiful and cheap. Industry no longer requires large numbers of unskilled workers. In fact, the government usually tries to restrict immigration to those people who already have the skills to be successful in U.S. society. Still, people come for politica1 and economic reasons and probably will continue to do so.Chapter 3 Americans at WorkWhether you love it or hate it, work is a major part of most people’s lives everywhere in the world. Americans are no exception. Americans might complain about “blue Monday,” when they have to go back to work after the weekend, but most people put a lot of importance on their job, not only in terms of money but also in terms of identity. In fact, when Americans are introduced to a new person, they almost always ask each other, “What do you do?” They are asking, what is your job or profession. Today, however, we won’t look at work in terms of what work means socially or psychologically. Rather, we’re going to take a look at work in the United States today from two perspectives. First, we’ll take a historical look at work in America. We’ll do that by looking at how things changed for the American worker from the beginning to the end of the twentieth century, that is, from the year 1900 to the year 1999. Then we’ll look at how . workers are doing today.As we look at the changes over the last century, we’re going to use a lot of statistics to describe these changes. You will need to write down a lot of numbers in today’s lecture. First, let’s consider how the type of work people were involved in changed. At the beginning of the twentieth century, about 38 percent of the workforce was involved in agriculture; that is, they worked on a farm. By the end of the century, only 3 percent still worked on farms. There was also a large decrease in the number of people working in mining, manufacturing, and construction. The number of workers in mining, manufacturing, and construction went down from 31 percent to 19 percent.While the number of people in these goods producing industries went down, the number of people in the service industries went up. As you may know, a service industry is one that provides a service, rather than goods or products. A few examples include transportation, tourism, banking, advertising, health care, and legal services. I’m sure you can think of more. The service industry workforce jumped from 31 percent of the workforce at the turn of the century to 78 percent in 1999.Let’s recap the numbers: in 1900, 38 percent in agriculture; 31 percent in mining, manufacturing, and construction; and 31 percent in the service industries. That should add up to 100 percent. In 1999, 3 percent in agriculture; 19 percent in mining, manufacturing, and construction; and 78 percent in the service industries. Again, that should add up to 100 percent.The labor force changed in other important ways. For example, child labor was not unusual at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1900 there were 1, 750, 000 children aged ten to fifteen working full-time in the labor force. This was 6 percent of the labor force. Over the years, child labor laws became much stricter and by 1999, it was illegal for anyone under sixteen to work full-time in any of the fifty states. While the number of children in the workforce went down, the number of women went up dramatically. In 1900, only 19 percent of women were employed; in 1999, 60 percent of women were holding down jobs.Let’s see what has happened to wages and salaries. All the numbers I will give you are in terms of 1999 dollars. Let me explain. In 1900 the average per capita income was $4,200 a year. That does not mean that the average worker in 1900 earned $4,200, a year, but that what he or she earned was equal to $4, 200 in 1999. That is, the amount of money the average worker earned in 1900 was worth the same as $4,200 in 1999. The average per capita income in 1999 was $33, 700. Not only did people earn a lot more money at the end of the century, they also received a lot more in benefits than at the beginning of the century. One of the important benefits most workers received later in the century was health insurance. Whereas wages and salaries rose over the century, the average workweek dropped. That is, workers, in general, did not work as long hours in 1999 as they did in 1900.The last area that I’d like to give you a few statistics about is workplace safety. Most of us who go to work every day don’t think a lot about whether we are safe or not, but in 1900 it was a real concernfor a lot of workers. There aren’t many statistics available, but the . government does have statistics on two industries that will give you some idea of the differences today. In 1900 almost 1,500 workers were killed in coal-mining accidents; in 1999, the number was 35. 2,555 railroad workers were killed in 1900, compared to 56 in 1999.People often tend to romanticize the past and talk about “the good old days,” but I think it’s fair to say that by the end of the twentieth century, . workers in general made more money, they enjoyed more benefits, and their working conditions had improved greatly.Now let’s turn our attention to the current situation for . workers. The picture is not so rosy as the one drawn by comparing U.S. workers at the beginning and the end of the twentieth century. I’m going to focus on the current situation in terms of productivity, working hours, and wages and salaries.First let’s consider the number of hours worked. According to a 2003 study released by the United Nations International Labor Organization, U.S. workers are the most productive in the world among industrialized nations, but they work longer hours than European workers to achieve this productivity. Europeans typically have four to six weeks of vacation a year, whereas the average American worker has only about two weeks. This study points out that the longer working hours in the United States is a rising trend, while the trend in other industrialized countries is the opposite.Workers in some European countries actually outproduce American workers per hour of work. It has been suggested that this higher rate of productivity might be because European workers are less stressed than U.S. workers.At any rate, there seems to be general agreement that U.S. productivity has greatly increased over the last thirty years. However, workers have not seen their wages rise at the same rate. A group of sociologists in their book Inequality by Design point out that there is a growing gap between rich Americans and everyone else in the United States. They write that between 1949 and 1974, increases in productivity were matched by increases in wages for workers in both manufacturing and the service industries, but since 1974, productivity increased 68 percent in manufacturing and 50 percent in services, but real wages stagnated. That is, wages moved up little or not at all. So, where does all the money generated by the increased productivity go then? According to the authors of this book, the moneygoes to the salaries for CEOs, to the stock market, and to corporate profits. Workers play a great role in increasing productivity, but no longer see their wages connected to increased productivity. In other words, CEOs’ salaries, the stock market, and the corporate profits go up as work productivity goes up, but workers’ wages don’t.What are the reasons why . workers, who are the most productive in the world, have to work longer hours, have fewer vacation days, and see their wages stagnate and not rising at the same rate as productivity? The answer to this question is complex and controversial, but there are two reasons most people who speak or write about these issues mention: The first is that labor unions in the United States have lost great power since the beginning of the 1980s, and the second is that the government has passed laws that favor the rich and weaken the rights of the workers.I see our time is up. So, I’ll see you next time.Chapter 4 Family in the United StatesA hundred years ago, one heard the same kind of comments about the American family that one hears today --- in short, that the American family is disintegrating. Proof of this disintegration at the end of the nineteenth century included three points: the declining birth rate, a rising divorce rate, and evidence that women were not completely content with their domestic role. It’s a little surprising to me that the same claim about the family is being made today --- that it is disintegrating. And often the same points are mentioned as proof: declining birth rates, increasing divorce rates, and discontent of women with domestic roles. Now, in no way do I mean to imply that cultural, demographic, and economic conditions are the same now as they were 100 years ago. On the contrary, the very nature of the family has changed drastically in the last 50 years, not to mention the last 100 years. But I don’t think the average person’s concept of the family has changed very much over the years. A lot of people have on fixed idea of the family: a married couple where Mother stays home to care for the children and Father works. But this idea is challenged by what we see every day in U.S. society. To be sure, the family is a very sensitive barometer for what is happening in the society, the culture, and the economy of the United States. To make this point clearer, we’ll take a look at how the American family has changed in the last 50 years by looking at three different time periods: there are the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s; the mid-60sto the mid-80s; and finally the present. Sociologist Barbara Dafoe Whitehead labels these three periods: the period of traditional familism, the period of individualism, and the period of the new familism. I will try for each period to show how economic, demographic, and cultural elements interact and, in turn, affect the family.Well, let’s proceed in chronological order and start with traditional familism. We’re talking here of the twenty years from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s. This was the period after World War II, a period characterized by a very strong economy. This gave the United States a rising standard of living and a growing middle class. Demographically, the predominant configuration of the family from these years was the traditional one: a married couple with children. Some women worked, but divorce rates were low, and birth rates were high. I guess you could say that the country idealized the family in these years. And what I mean is, there was a commitment to the family from its members and a reverence for it from society. TV programs of the era depicted the family in the classical configuration: working father, housewife, and children. Culturally, three characteristics stand out in this period: conformity to social norms, greater male domination of the family than in the later periods, and clear-cut gender roles, that is, clear and separate roles for men and women at home and at work. Well, things changed quite a bit after this period.Let’s move on to the second period, the period of individualism. This period is from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. Now, because individualism is so often mentioned in our discussion of U.S. culture and people, I should make a little detour here before we discuss it. Individualism brings to mind two other words: independence and self-reliance. Individualism conveys the idea that one should think and act for himself or herself, according to what one feels is right. Individualism is easily confused with egotism or selfishness, but in its best sense, it is much more. Individualism implies that one has the freedom to decide what is best rather than allowing that decision to be made by a group such as the community or society. Individualism does, of course, conflict with the concept of community, which implies that the group shares in making decisions. And this conflict between the individual and the community is one that comes up again and again in our lecture series about the United States. All right, let’s get back to our discussion about the family.The second period, the period of individualism, saw three important social and political movements. Do you have any idea which movements I might be talking about? Keep in mind that these decadeswere characterized by a lack of conformity to social norms. Well, the movements have in mind are the sexual revolution, in which sex was clearly no longer reserved for marriage; the women’s liberation movement; and the movement against the war in Vietnam. All three movements---the sexual revolution, woman’s liberation, and the antiwar movement --- were typical of the nonconforming nature of these decades. Now, culturally, it is in this period where we see two important developments: one the idealization of one’s career and work and, two, the drive for self-expression and self-fulfillment. In this period, the feminist movement challenged traditional gender roles and male domination of society. Women began to enter professions previously closed to them like medicine, law, and management. Men, for their part, began at least to consider a more active role in raising their children.These cultural changes occurred during a time of economic changes, too. This was a time of rapidly rising cost of living. Together, these forces changed the demographics of the family. The former picture of the family had only one configuration: a married couple with children where Mother stayed home. The new picture of the family had to include new configurations, like families in which the husband and wife both worked, families of single parents with children, and families of cohabiting couples with or without children. With more women pursuing careers and making money, there was less economic pressure for them to stay in an unsuitable marriage. Therefore, divorce rates doubled in a decade. Rising divorce rates and more financial independence for women made marriage a less attractive arrangement for many women. Consequently, the number of single-parent households tripled. Less conformity to social norms paved the way for cohabitation. So the number of unmarried couples living together in this period quadrupled. Can you see how economic, cultural, and demographic aspects of the society interact with each other? I hope so. Well, let’s continue with our agenda.The third period, the new familism, is harder to see because we are living in this period now. And because we are constantly informed by the media about the deteriorating American family, it’s hard to get an objective view of the state of the family. I think that today most people applaud the social changes that came about in the second period of individualism. They are not willing to give up gender equality, the freedom to leave an unsuitable marriage, or the self-fulfillment of an interesting job. At the same time, most experts, if not most people, admit that children paid a high price for the social changes that took place in the second period. It was the。
新标准大学英语视听说教程2 听力原文Unit 1 College cultureInside viewConversation 1Janet ：So this is the Cherwell Boathouse –it’s lovely! And look at those people punting! It looksquite easy.Mark ：I’m not so sure about that! Janet, there’s something Kate and I wanted to discuss with you.Some people in college are organizing charity events this term. We’ve decided to get involved. Janet ：Raising money for charity? Right. In China, people raise money for charity but students don’t usually do that.Mark ：Students often do that here. Anyway, we’re thinking of doing sponsored punting. Janet ：Sponsored punting! What’s that?Kate ：Sponsoring is when people pay you to do something –like run a long distance. So peoplewould be sponsoring students to punt.Janet ：What a great idea! I’d love to join you!Mark ：That’s why we’re telling you about it. So that’s decided then. Let’s make a list of things we need to do.Kate ：I’ll do that. One of the first things we should do is choose the charity.Mark ：Yes. And choose a day for the event. And we need to design the sponsorship form. I’ve gotone here.Kate ：That looks fine, but we must change the wording. Who wants to do that?Mark ：I’ll do that. What have we got so far?Kate ：Choose a charity. Also a day for the event. Change the wording on the sponsorship form …Um …We have to decide where the punt will start from.Mark ：Cherwell Boathouse, no question! It's a very beautiful route from here, apparently. Kate ：I’m with you on that.Janet ：Me too …Conversation2Janet ：I’m not used to boats –Woah!Mark ：Whoops!Kate ：Watch out! You nearly hit me with that thing!Mark ：Sorry! I didn’t mean to. …OK, we’re off!Kate ：Maybe I should do the punting.Mark ：It’s fine. I’ve got the hang of it now –give me a chance.Kate ：Well, I’d like to have a go.Mark ：Supposing I do the first hour. Then you can take over for a while, if you want to. Kate ：Yes, great.Janet ：You’re really good at it, Mark! This is fantastic! It’s exactly how I imagined lifehere! Look over there –isn’t it lovely!Kate ：Yes, it is.…Janet ：Kate, everything’s organized, isn’t it, for collecting the sponsorship money?Kate ：Yes, I’ve arranged for people to get the money to me by next Friday –if they haven’t paidonline. I’ll count it all up.Janet ：Good. We’d better have a meeting soon after that, don’t you think? How much have we raised?Kate ：About 600.Janet：Fantastic! I’m so enjoying this!Mark ：Hey guys, I’ve got a suggestion –how about moving over to the bank and we can have ourpicnic! Hey, look, there’s Louise and Sophie!Mark ：Whoo …Girls：Mark!Janet ：Are you all right?Mark ：Er …Of course I’m all right. Kate, I think it’s your turn to punt!Outside viewV/O （画外音）Harvard University in Cambridge is one of the best universities in the world. We spoke to Alex Jude, the university’s Head of Communications. He explained that Harvard looks for the best and most talented students from around the world.AlexHarvard actually seeks students from around the world, the best students that we can find, to study chemistry, or study literature, or study government, or business. Our business school is particularly well-known around the world, as is the medical school and law school, so, um, and, and the Kennedy School of government, for the John F. Kennedy School of Government, so, er, we do seek very, very talented students and we have open doors for them.V/O （画外音）We asked five students at Harvard to tell us what kind of social life they have.AshleyUm, well relaxing is a little hard to do around here, but basically, I mean, I still, I, I live nearby anyway, so I see a lot of my friends, and …Um, there’s a good social life here if you look for it. I go to the gym, run. So that’s what I do.AdamIt is whatever you want it to be. It’s good. If you wanna go out party, do anything you can. If you wanna sit in your room and study all night like my friend over here, you can also do that. Brian Socially, like you said, it’s, it’s a lot of what you make it. Um, we don’t have fraternities here, and so, you know, that’s, it’s obviously not as social. There’s not as many parties as there would be on another campus. Um, but on a Friday or Saturday night, there, there, there will be a party. Usually we end up studying until about 10 o’clock. And then we, and then we’ll go out and have fun maybe, or just watch a movie with friends, or, you know, whatever is going on for the night. JodieNot everyone would agree with me, obviously, but it’s, I think it’s a fun place to be. Interviewer: Have you made a lot of friends?Jodie : Oh, definitely.Interview. ：Mm.Jodie: Many.Interviewer: What, what do you do with your friends?Jodie: Um, well, I like to go to concerts. I’m in three music groups, so I have lots of rehearsals during the week for that. Um, just do, you know, some fun things, on the weekend.V/O （画外音）We asked the Harvard students if they use the Internet.Ashley: Um, I, I use it a fairly good amount. Um, our library system is online, so I use that a lot. And a lot of my classes, you know, have to do research papers. You can find a lot of information on there, so.Interviewer: So how often do you use it, a week, a day?Ashley: Um, I use it probably on more of a weekly basis. Maybe three or four times a week. Brian: Oh yes, definitely. We live through the Internet actually. Well, I do a lot of research through the Internet, follow my stocks on the Internet. Um, well, even though e-mail is not officially Internet, we, that’s how we communicate a lot at college, so, through the e-mail. John: Um, I use the internet mostly for, er, I’d say, sort of leisure purposes. I mean, I play, um, I use it for a lot of, I don’t, we don’t have TV in my room, so I use it, uh, uh, go to the CNN website, keep up on current events, things like that. Uh, I also, uh, you know, there’s some little games to play over the Internet. Um, just um, I go to to see what’s happening, follow the Boston Red Sox, things like that. Um, I think a lot of courses use it to post things, but I, I don’t usually use it that much for research, or things. I tend to use the libraries for such things, so.Listening inPassage 1Voice-overHi, I’m Nick Carter, and this is SUR, your university radio station. This morning we went around campus to ask freshers –now half-way through their first year –the question, ―How are you finding uni?‖Here are some of the answers we got.Speaker 1It’s cool. It’s everything I hoped it would be. I’m very ambitious, I want to be a journalist and I want to get to the top of the profession. I’ve started writing for the university newspaper so I’ve got my foot on the ladder already.Speaker 2I’m working hard and the teaching is as good as I expected. And I’ve made some good friends. But I’m very homesick. I’m Nigerian and my family’s so far away. I went home at Christmas for a month –that really helped, but man, I miss my family so much.Speaker 3“How am I finding uni?‖It’s great. It’s not perfect, nothing is, but, like, I’ve got a brilliant social life, just brilliant, and I’ve made lots of friends. For the first few months I just didn’t do, really enough work. But I –I talked about it with my parents and I’m working harder now and getting good grades.Speaker 4Actually, I’ve been quite lonely to be honest. I’m a bit shy …everyone else seemed to find it so easy to make friends straight away. But things have been better recently –yeah, they have. I’ve joined a couple of clubs and like, it really helps to get to know people when you have shared interests. So, yeah –I’m feeling a lot happier now.Speaker 5Uni’s great, I love it. My only problem –and it’s quite a big problem –is money. My parents are both unemployed so, you know, they can’t help me financially. My grant just isn’t –it’s just not enough for me to live on, so I’ve taken a part-time job as a waitress –a lot of people I know, like a lot, have had to do the same. I don’t want to have huge debts at the end. Speaker 6I love my subject, History, and I’m, I’m getting fantastic teaching here. I want to be a university lecturer and that means I have to get a first. I have a good social life but work definitely comes first for me.Passage 2Oxford and Cambridge –two universities so similar that they are often spoken of together as “Oxbridge‖. They’re both in the UK, fairly near London, and both regularly come top in any ranking of the world’s best universities.The two universities began within a century of each other. Oxford University, now 900 years old, was founded towards the end of the 11th century. In 1209 there was a dispute between the university and the townspeople of Oxford. As a result, some of the Oxford teachers left and founded a university in the town of Cambridge, some 84 miles away. Ever since then, the two institutions have been very competitive.Unlike most modern universities, both Oxford and Cambridge consist of a large number of colleges. Oxford has 39 and Cambridge 31. Many of these colleges have old and very beautiful architecture, and large numbers of tourists visit them.In all UK universities, you need good grades in the national exams taken at 18. But to get into Oxford and Cambridge, it’s not enough to get A grades in your exams. You also have to go for a long interview. In these interviews, students need to show that they are creative and capable of original thinking.Through the centuries, both universities have made huge contributions to British cultural life. They have produced great writers, world leaders and politicians. Cambridge, in particular, has produced scientists whose discoveries and inventions have changed our lives.Among the great university institutions is the world’s most famous debating society, the Oxford Union, where undergraduates get a chance to practise speaking in public. Cambridge’s comedy clubFootlights has produced many first-class comedians, while some of the UK’s most famous actors and actresses began their careers at The Oxford University Dramatic Society, known as OUDS. Then there’s the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, which takes place every year in March or April, and is watched on television all over the UK.So with all this excellence in so many fields, it’s not surprising that the ambition of clever students all over the world is to attend either one of these great universities.Unit 2 Mixed feelingsInside viewConversation 1Kate ：Come in. Hey, Janet.Janet ：Hi Kate, are you busy?Kate ：Yes, I’m just doing an essay. But it’s great to see you. So what’s new?Janet ：Well, nothing much.Kate ：You look a bit fed up. What’s bugging you?Janet ：Well, I had a phone call from my parents and it made me feel homesick. It happens every time they call, and it gets me down.Kate ：I’m sorry to hear that. I know how you feel. I love speaking to my mum and dad, but I always feel miserable after the call.Janet ：My dad doesn’t say much, and I want to speak to him, but I wish I knew what to say. Kate ：Don’t let it get to you. My dad doesn’t say much on the phone either. I call, he answers the phone, and says, ―Hi, I’ll pass you to your mother.‖It’s really irritating.Janet ：But I miss him and my mother a lot, and I like to hear his voice.Kate ：Just tell him what you’re up to.Janet ：Sometimes I feel as if I made a mistake leaving home and coming to Oxford. Sometimes I feel like a moody teenager.Kate ：Try not to worry about it, Janet. It’s normal to feel like that. I understand how you feel, butI bet everything will be fine next term. You’ll get used to it. Hey, why don’t you do what I do? Janet ：What’s that?Kate ：When my dad calls, I ask him for more money! He usually says no, but at least I getto hear his voice!Janet ：Maybe. I’m sorry to take up your time, Kate, but I must go now. Bye!Kate ：Wait a minute …!Conversation 2Kate ：I think I may have upset Janet last night.Mark : What happened?Kate ：She came to see me. I was busy doing an essay but I was really pleased to see her. She’d had a call from home, and said she was feeling homesick.Mark : Poor kid! It must be tough on you guys, living so far away from home.Kate ：I tried to make her laugh, told her not to worry about it, and that it was normal to feel miserable. Suddenly she looked miserable, and then she got up and said, ―I must go now‖and left my room. It was really sudden. I felt as if I’d said something wrong.Mark ：Maybe she was just being polite. It was probably because she realized you were workingand didn’t want to disturb you.Kate ：I just wonder if she found it difficult to talk about her feelings with me. Maybe I shouldn’thave tried to make her laugh? Perhaps she thought I wasn’t taking her seriously.Mark ：I wouldn’t worry about it. Put yourself in her shoes. How would you feel if you were a student at college in China?Kate ：I know. That’s why I feel bad. If only she had stayed longer! I wish I could have helped her more.Janet ：Hey, everyone!Mark ：Hi Janet, you look cheerful!Janet ：Yes, I’ve just got my essay back. I got an alpha minus!Kate ：What an amazing grade! Well done.Mark ：I’m really happy for you, Janet.Janet ：I feel on top of the world!Outside viewSebastienHi. I’m Sebastien. I’m from Germany. Um, the idea of IQ of a measure of your brain power has been around for a while, but recently there’s been this new idea of the EQ –your emotional quotient. And by now, it’s actually almost being regarded as more important. If you look at it, businesses will ...Well, they will prefer employing people with great EQ. Well, of course, IQ cannot be disregarded, but um, EQ does have its importance as well. Uh, I believe that, um, (I)mean, people, most people will have, um, their basic means of communicating with other people. Most people are somewhat socially adept, and just like most people have, you know, a basic general knowledge. But then, what I think really is the difference betweenIQ and EQ, I mean, you can have a ―brainiac‖, and they will be great at most things they do, but if you just can’t get along with him, if you just can’t communicate with him, I mean, you know, he’s not really that useful.KimHi. This is Kim. I’m originally from Korea, and I was raised in California. And today, we are going to talk about the differences between IQ and EQ –IQ meaning your intelligence, EQ meaning your emotions. Now, in ...When I was, when I was a little, little boy in Korea, I had to take (I)think I’d taken like two or three IQ tests before the age of ten, which is when I moved to California. So, I guess we stress a lot of importance on intelligence, on having great IQ scores. But after I moved to the States, I learnt how to associate with people, and along the lines that this word EQ came up, you know, emotional, caring about …It’s basically how you deal with people, how you make people feel, and how people make you feel. I think they’re equally as, as important, but it seems that in the Eastern world they kind of stress on that a lot more back in the days. But I think again, you know, now that with Internet and people are communicating so much faster, there’s a better mixture of the two I think. There’s a stress on EQ in Korea as well, and a stress on IQ in the States. Thank you.TedHello. My name is Ted, and I’m from the United States of America. Today, I’m going to talk a little bit about IQ or EQ –which is most important, or which is more important. Now, for a long time when I was growing up, people said, ―IQ. What’s your IQ? Take an IQ test.‖But then EQ, your emotions, how you interact with people, that became very important. And I think they’re …that people might be onto something with that, because your EQ –how you deal with people, how you interact with people –is important. Now, a big part of this, in my opinion, is listening. I know I’m talking a lot right now, but if you want to get along well with people, you have to listen to them, so just take a minute, maybe shut your mouth for a minute, and listen to others, and then you can understand and communicate with them in a better way. So, part of EQ, I think, is listening –listening to others –and it can be more important than IQ.Listening inPassage 1Presenter: We’re fortunate to have as our guest today Dr Jenna Hudson, who has just written a book about how colours affect us in our surroundings, especially in the world of advertising. It’s called Market Colours. Dr Hudson, which are the most common colours in advertising andmarketing?Dr Hudson :Well, of course, it depends what image the marketing team wish to project with their products. So for example, we often think of blue as a cold colour, but it also makes you feel peaceful, quiet, and it doesn’t suggest strong emotions. So it’s a favourite for banks and insurance companies, who wish to suggest the image that they are trustworthy. And for selling products, it’s often used to suggest something is pure and fresh.Presenter: What about red?Dr Hudson: You can sell almost anything with red. It’s a hot colour, which suggests a feeling of energy and even passion. It grabs your attention, and can make people buy almost anything. You often see red on magazine covers. But if you use it too much, it looks cheap and may make people tired. And orange has a similar effect to red, it’s upbeat and happy, it suggests pleasant feelings and images. Most people react well to orange, and it’s especially popular in advertising and on packaging for baked food.Presenter: What about yellow, for instance?Dr Hudson: Yellow is the colour of sunshine and it’s a positive, happy colour, so it’s used a lot in advertising. But it’s also often used for warning signs, direction signs, and so on, where you have to read the message quickly and at a distance.Presenter: What about less popular colours for advertising?Dr Hudson: Surprisingly, green isn’t used much in advertising except for garden products. It’s friendly and restful. It can be cool and soothing, the colour of apples and mint, but it can also be quite strong and many people associate it with unpleasant ideas of decay or slimy creatures. But most colours are not primary colours, they’re a combination. Absolutely. So yellow-orange is common, and often used to give animpression of style and class, it looks like gold. But it’s not often used in letters because it’s not very strong. And yellow-green reminds people of feeling sick. Blue-green works well as a cool colour, suggesting freshness, and is sometimes used for toothpaste products, bathroom products, food and household cleaning products. It has many of the advantages of blue without the disadvantages of green.Presenter: Fascinating！Thank you very much, Dr Hudson. Market Colours by Dr Jenna Hudson is on sale from next week, priced ￡15.99 …Passage 2Presenter ：What makes you embarrassed, Sally?Sally ：Oh, I’m easily embarrassed. If anybody notices me or looks at me, I get very embarrassed. When people sing me Happy Birthday on my birthday, I get very embarrassed.Presenter ：And what makes you upset?Sally ：When people are selfish, people who think only of themselves. And cruelty –I can’t bear people who are cruel, especially to animals or children.Presenter ：Jake, what makes you depressed?Jake ：I hate it when it rains, and I don’t like people who look down on me, who think they’re superior to me without any reason.Presenter ：And what makes you angry?Jake ：When people don’t behave properly in public, bad behaviour like dropping litter or people pushing each other on the bus or the train.Presenter ：Andrew, what makes you cheerful?Andrew ：I like to see everyone around me being happy and having a positive attitude towardsthefuture, optimistic people.Presenter ：And what makes you jealous?Andrew ：Well, to be honest, I just never feel jealous. I can’t see the point of it.Presenter ：Monica, what makes you proud?Monica ：I’m proud when I’m successful, especially in my work. Being recognized by my boss for what I can do makes me feel really proud. Oh, and my family. I’m very proud of them. Presenter ：And what makes you nervous?Monica ：Every time I teach a new class. The night before I’m very nervous. You don’t know what the kids are going to be like and how they might behave, or if they’re going to like you. Presenter ：Anything else?Monica ：Doing interviews like this.Unit 3 Crime watchInside viewConversation 1Kate ：So, what did you think of the movie?Mark ：It was good but I thought it was too long.Kate ：Yes, me too.Kate ：Hey, where’s my bike? I don’t believe it! It’s gone!Mark ：It was next to mine, you chained it up!Kate ：Someone’s stolen it! Oh, how could they!Mark: Oh, Kate!Kate ：How could someone have done this! The creep!Mark ：It’s a really mean thing to do, steal a bike.Kate ：It was a mountain bike and it cost a fortune –I don’t have the money to buy another one. Mark ：Listen, I’ll go down the street and see if I can see anyone with it. Why don’t you go intothat shop and see if they’ve seen anything suspicious? I’ll be back in a minute.Kate ：OK.…Kate ：Well?Mark ：No luck. What did they say in the shop?Kate ：I asked the shopkeeper if she’d seen anything –Mark ：And?Kate ：She said she hadn’t. I guess it was a long shot. She advised me to report it to the police. But according to her, bikes get stolen all the time around here.Mark ：Listen, let’s get back so you can report it.Kate ：I’ve got no bike. I’m just so upset!Mark ：It’s not far to college. Come on!Conversation 2Mark ：So did you ring the police?Kate ：Yes. I went to the police station to report it.Mark ：What did they say?Kate ：No one’s found it. This woman said that Oxford has the fifth highest rate of bike theftin the country!Mark ：You’re joking!Kate ：That’s what she said.Mark ：What else did she say?Kate ：She told me that sometimes you do get bikes back –the thieves use them and then abandonthem, apparently, and then people find them and report them.Mark ：So you might get it back.Kate ：I hope so, Mark, I really do. It’s just too much you know? But …um …what else? She told me to go to this sale they have of abandoned bikes. She thinks I might find it there. But it’s only every two months, I can’t wait till then! Honestly, Mark, I’m really furious! Mark ：You can always buy a cheap bike on eBay.Kate ：Hello …Speaking …You found it! Where was it? Is it …? Oh, that’s fantastic news! There was a lamp and a basket on it …Right …OK, thank you, I’ll be in tomorrow morning to pick it up. Unbelievable! This guy found it!Mark ：Brilliant! Was that the police?Kate ：Yes. What they said was, someone dumped it outside this guy’s backyard.Mark ：That’s so strange!Kate ：The lamp’s been stolen and the basket.Mark ：Forget about it! You’re lucky to get it back!Outside viewPart 1Presenter: Dodgy deals aren’t the only problems associated with doorstep sellers. Your doorstep presents these unannounced visitors with a real opportunity to undertake distraction burglary where they often pose as bogus officials to gain access to your home.I’m joined now by Ian Holt, from Thames Valley Police. Ian, just outline for me what does distraction burglary actually entail?Ian Holt: Well basically what happens is, somebody uses a story to get inside somebody’s house and then they steal items, usually cash or small items of jewellery.Presenter: And what are the different techniques that are commonly used?Ian Holt: Well basically the er …the people that commit this crime move from area to area, er …they will look at an area, they will try and pick a particular target and they can find that by looking at property, it may beer, an uncut garden, it may be repairs that need doing to the property. Something that indicates that there’s, there’s a vulnerable person in there. It …usually, it’s an elderly person that lives there.Presenter: Is this quite a common problem now?Ian Holt: It is becoming more common. To get it in perspective, of the 14,000 burglaries that were in Thames Valley last year, we had reported 800 crimes of distraction burglary. But, it …there’s a slight increase this year over last year’s figures.Presenter: OK, you mentioned some of the victims being elderly. What other people are targeted? Ian Holt: Well, unfortunately, with this type of offence, it is the vulnerable in society and the elderly. The, the national average, if there’s such a thing as a, a victim for this type of crime, is a white female aged 81 years.Part 2Presenter: And what about things that people can do to prevent it happening, basically?Ian Holt: Well the things they can do are very, very simple. The difficulty comes, is that some of these people, er …it’s very difficult for them to remember what to do. But the three things we, we always say is: stop, chain and check. And that’s stop before you open the door to make sure who’s on the other side. Always apply a chain. If you haven’t got a chain, fit a chain to the door, or a door bar if you’ve got difficulty in handling a chain with arthritic fingers.But also when you answer the door, check the identity of the person there. Generally the offenders say they are from the Water Board or from utilities. They may say they’re from a charity or even from local authority. But generally, a utility will be in uniform.Ask for their identification. A genuine person will not mind you doing that and will wait until you can check them out. If you do need to check them, phone the number on, on your last bill. What won’t happen is that if it is a bogus caller, they will become unnerved by this reaction and they will leave.Presenter: OK and there’s also a couple of gadgets new on the market that also can help as well. Just talk us through that.Ian Holt:Certainly, yes. The …a spy er …viewer is fairly standard. But for elderly who may have poor eyesight there’s a spyscope which actually makes it a lot easier for them to see who’s outside. As I mentioned before about the door bar, again, it can be easier to apply than the chain. Very reasonable priced er, and something that is fairly new …as I mentioned before it’s very difficult for some of these people to remember what they have to do when they go to the door and that’s why they become victims. And this item is called a Memo Minder and actually you can record a message on there and it’s nice to have a grand-daughter or somebody to record a message, but every time the person approaches the door it reminds them with a voice to say ―Put your chain on.‖Listening inPassage 1Patrick ：I read a funny story today in the paper –true story.Steve ：Go on, then.Patrick ：OK. This 72-year old guy stole a pair of trousers from a department store in Paris. A security man saw him and alerted the police and they were waiting for him when hecame out of the shop. The shoplifter started running, but the policeman soon caughtup with him. The man then bit the policeman on his arm several times.Steve ：He bit the policeman?Patrick ：Yes –you have to remember, he was 72.Steve ：I’d forgotten that.Patrick ：Problem was, it didn’t hurt the policeman at all, ’cause the guy had forgotten to put hisfalse teeth in before he left home.Steve ：Very funny!Patrick ：And the moral of the story is –Steve ：Always remember to wear your false teeth if you’re going to bite someone.Patrick ：That’s good. I read a funny crime story the other day. Let’s see …yeah …this guy …this guy robbed a supermarket somewhere in America –I can’t remember where exactly –anyway, he got away with about 4,000 dollars. The next week the local newspaper。
听力教程第二册u n i t4听力原文(总17页)--本页仅作为文档封面，使用时请直接删除即可----内页可以根据需求调整合适字体及大小--Unit4Section One Tactics for ListeningPart 1 Phonetics-Stress, Intonation and Accent1 . A: Excuse me. Could you tell me where the secretary's office is pleaseB: Yes. It's up the stairs, then turn left, ... ↗2. A: Excuse me. Can you tell me where the toilets areB: Yes, they're at the top of the stairs.↘3. A: What did you do after work yesterdayB: Ah, well, I went for a drink in the pub opposite the car-park. ↘4. A: What did you do after work yesterdayB: Oh, I ran into Jane and Tom ..... ↗5. A: Excuse me, can you tell me how the machine worksB: Certainly. Erm, first of all you adjust the height of the stool, and then put four 10 pence pieces there, ...↗6．A：Excuse me, can you tell me how the machine worksB：Yes. You put 30 pence in the slot and take the ticket out here. ↘Exercise:Part2 Listening and Note-takingFrog legsPeople want frogs mostly for food. Many Asian cultures have included frog legs in their diets for centuries -- or at least until they have run out of frogs. But the most famous frog-eaters, and the people who inspired frog-eating in Europe and the United States are the French. By 1977 the French government, so concerned about the scarcity of its native frog, banned commercial hunting of its own amphibians. So the French turned to India and Bangladesh for frogs.As happened in France, American frog-leg fanciers and restaurants also turned increasingly to frozen imports. According to figures collected from government agencies, the United States imported more than million pounds of frozen frog meat each year between 1981 and 1984.So many frozen frog legs were exported from India to Europe and the United States. One of the attractions of Indian frogs, apart from the fact that they have bigger legs than French frogs, was the price. In London, a pound of frozen frog's legs from India cost about ￡, compared with ￡ for the French variety.Indian scientists have described as "disastrous" the rate at which frogs are disappearing from the rice fields and wetlands, where they protect crops by devouring damagingsince the India and Bangladesh frog-export bans, Indonesia has becomethe major exporter of frog legs to the United States and Europe. But no matter what country the legs come from, one thing is usually constant: The legs once belonged to frogs are taken from the wild, not from farms. Frogs are nearly impossible to farm economically in the countries where frogs are commercially harvested from the wild.Exercise A:1.Many Asian cultures have included frog legs in their diets for centuries.2.By 1977 the French government banned commercial hunting of its ownamphibians.3.Indian scientists have described as "disastrous" the rate at which frogsare disappearing from the rice fields and wetlands.4.The United States imported more than million pounds of frozen frog meateach year between 1981 and 1984.5.One of the attractions of Indian frogs was the price.Exercise B:Frog legsPeople want frogs mostly for food. Many Asian cultures have included frog legs in their diets for centuries, The most famous frog-eaters, and the people who inspired frog-eating in Europe and the United States are the French. By 1977 the French government banned commercial hunting of its own amphibians. So the French turned to India and Bangladesh for flogs. And the United States imported more than million pounds of frozen frog meat each year between 1981 and 1984. One of the attractions of Indian frogs was the price.Indian scientists have described as "disastrous" the rate at which frogs are disappearing from the rice fields and wetlands, where they protect crops by devouring damaging insects.Since the India and Bangladesh frog-export bans, Indonesia has become the major exporter of frog legs to the United States and Europe. But no matter what country the legs come from, one thing is usually constant: The legs once belonged to frogs that are taken from the wild, not from farms.Section Two Listening ComprehensionPart 1 DialoguesDialogue 1 Health ClubInterviewer: Lorna, you and your husband opened this health club here last summer. Can you tell me something about the club Lama: Yes, well we offer a choice of facilities -- gym, sunbed*, sauna* andJacuzzi* -- that's also from Scandinavia -- as well as our regularfitness classes, that is. And there's a wholefood bar for refreshmentsafterwardsInterviewer: And does it cost a lot I mean, most people think health clubs are reallyexpensive.Lama: Actually our rates are really quite competitive. Since we only startedlast July, we' ve kept them down to attract customers. It's only ￡30 ayear to join. Then an hour in the gym costs ￡ -- the same as halfan hour on the sunbed. Sauna and Jacuzzi are both ~ for half an hour.Interviewer: And is the club doing wellLama: Well, so far, yes, it's doing really well. I had no idea it was going to be such a success, actually. We're both very pleased.The sunbed's so popular, especially with the over 65s, thatwe're getting another one in August.Interviewer: What kind of people join the clubLama: We have people of all ages here, from small children to old-age pensioners, though of course the majority, about three-quartersof our members, are in their 20s and 30s. They come in theirlunch hour, to use the gym, mostly, or after work, while theYoungsters come when school finishes, around half past three orfour. The Jacuzzi's very popular with the little ones. Interviewer: What about the old-age pensionersLoma: They're usually around in the mornings, when we offer them special reduced rates for the Jacuzzi or sauna, plus sunbed,it's only ￡2, which is half price, actually. It doesn't affectour profits really -- only about 5% of our members are retired.Dialogue 2 skiingSimon: This one shows the view from the top of the mountain. Sally: Oh, it's lovely!Teresa: That's me with the red bobble hat.Sally: Is itTeresa: Yet, it looks kind of silly, doesn't itSally: Yes, it does rather.Teresa: Oh, don't worry. I know it looks ridiculous. Simon: Look. That's our instructor, Werner.Teresa: Yeah, we were in the beginners' class.Sally: Well, everyone has to start somewhere.Simon: Ah, now, this is a good one.Sally: What on earth is thatSimon: Can't you guessSally: Well, it looks like a pile of people. You know, sort of on top of each other.Teresa: It is!Sally: How did that happenSimon: Well, you see we were all pretty hopeless at first. Every day Werner used to take us to the nursery slope* to practise, and to get to thetop you had to go up on a ski lift.Teresa: Which wasn't really very easy.Simon: No, and if you fell off you'd start sliding down the slope, right into all the people coming up!Sally- Mmm.Simon: Well, on that day we were all going up on the ski lift, you know, we were just getting used to it, and, you see there was this one womanin our class who never got the hang of* it. She didn't have any sortof control over her skis and whenever she started sliding, she wouldsort of stick her ski sticks out in front of her, you know, likeswords or something.Teresa: I always tried to avoid her, but on that day I was right behind her on the ski lift* and just as she was getting to the top, sheslipped and started sliding down the slope.Sally: Did she ~Simon: Mmm, with her ski sticks waving around in front of her!Teresa: So of course everyone sort of let go and tried to jump off the ski lift to get out of the way.Simon: And that's how they all ended up in a pile at the bottom of the slope -- it was lucky I had my camera with me.Sally: I bet that woman was popular!Simon oh,yes. everybody's favourite!Exercise A:1. They are looking at some pictures.2. A ski class for beginners.3. Two.Exercise B:Everyday the coach took them to a nursery slope. They got to the top on a ski lift. In their class there was one woman who could never learn how to ski. She couldn't control her skis and whenever she started sliding, she would stick her ski sticks out in front of her. People always tried to avoid her.One day as she was getting to the top, she slipped and started sliding down the slope. Everyone let go and tried to jump off the ski lift to get out of the way and they all ended up in a pile at the bottom of the slope.Passage 2 The Truth about the French!Skiing in France is heaven on Earth for a dedicated skier. There are resorts where you can access skiing terrain that is larger than all the ski resorts in Utah* and Colorado* combined.The larger resorts have an adequate number of restaurants and discos. It is a good idea to eat a good lunch because the mountain restaurants are normally much better than the restaurants in the ski stations.French resorts are mostly government owned and operated. The social system puts a high percentage of money back into the areas. This provides state-of-the-art* lifts, snow making and snow grooming. In general, an intermediate skier who can read a lift map will easily be able to ski all day avoiding lift lines and crowds, even during the busiest season.The French school systems have a staggered* two-week winter vacation period. When the snow is good, nearly all of France migrates to the mountains for this period. The break usually covers the last two weeks of February and the first week of March. The time to absolutely avoid is the "Paris school holiday week" which will always be in the middle period of the vacation time but alternates starting the first or second week of the break. No one has a more undeserved* reputation about his or her character than the French. The French are not generally arrogant and rude. Tree, in large tourist centers there are unpleasant people and if you're looking for or expecting rudeness, you may just provoke* it. Generally the French, especially in the countryside, are as kind as you wish and you will find warmth and acceptance. The most fractious* Frenchman is easily disarmed by a little sincerity*.When greeting someone or saying good-bye, always shake hands. Don't use a firm, pumping handshake, but a quick, slight pressure one. When you enter a room or a shop you should greet everyone there. If you meet a person you know very well use their first name and kiss both cheeks. Men don't usually kiss unless they are relatives. Good topics of conversation include food, sports, hobbies and where you come from. Topics to avoid are prices, where items were bought, what someone does for a living, income and age. Questions about personal and family life are considered private. Expect to find the French well-informed about the history, culture and politics of other countries. To gain their respect, be prepared to show some knowledge of the history and politics of France.France is generally a very safe country to visit. Pickpockets, however, are not unheard of. In large cities particularly, take precautions againsttheft. Always secure your vehicles, leave nothing of value visible and don't carry your wallet in your back pocket. Beware of begging children!Exercise A:Exercise B:2. A3. A4. A5. B6. C7. D8. D Exercise C:1.Because there are resorts where you can access skiing terrain that islarger than all the ski resorts in Utah and Colorado combined.2.Because an intermediate skier who can read a lift map will easily be ableto ski all day avoiding lift lines and crowds, even during the busiest season.3.This staggered two-week winter vacation period usually covers the last twoweeks of February and the first week of March.4.The French are not generally arrogant and rude. Generally they are as kindas you wish.5.In large cities in France, always secure your vehicles, leave nothing ofvalue visible and don’t carry your wallet in your back pocket. Beware of begging children.Part 3 NewsNews Item 1France's busiest airport will reopen part of a terminal that was not damaged when a segment of the roof collapsed in May, killing four people.The Transport Minister Gilles de Robien said a segment of the three-building 2E terminal at Charles de Gaulle airport would return to service on July 15. In the May 23 disaster, failing glass, steel and masonry* killed four travelers -- two Chinese,one Czech* and one Lebanese*. Three others were injured.A preliminary report by experts said Tuesday that a weakness in the concrete that formed the futuristic terminal's vaulted roof may have contributed to the collapse.Officials are still unsure about what exactly caused it to collapse. Exercise A:This news item is about the new information Of France Charles de Gaulle airport where a segment of the roof collapsed in May.Exercise B:News Item 2An Antonov 26 plane crashed in northwestern Congo shortly after take-off on Saturday, killing all 22 Congolese passengers and the crew.It was not known how many crew members were on the plane when it crashed near the town of Boende, more than 600 km northeast of the capital Kinshasa. The cause of the crash was unknown.A string of accidents this week has underlined the parlous* state of Democratic Republic of Congo's transport infrastructure* after five years of war and decades of misrule.More than 160 people drowned when a ferry sank during a storm on LakeMai-Ndombe, north east of Kinshasa, on Tuesday.On Saturday, 18 people were killed or injured when a small truck experienced brake trouble and crashed near the eastern town of Goma.Exercise A:This news item is about a string of accidents this week in Congo.Exercise B:A String of Accidents This WeekNews Item 3In the United States lawyers for Raed jarrar, an airline passenger forced to cover his T-shirt because it displayed an Arabic script, say he has been awarded a total of $240,000 in compensation.Lawyers representing Raed Jarrar say the payout* is a victory for free speech and a blow to the practice of racial profiling*. Back in 2006 Mr Jarrar was waiting to board a flight at New York's JFK airport wearing a T-shirt that read 'We Will Not Be Silent" in English and Arabic. His lawyers claim he was ordered to remove the item of clothing by staff who said other passengers felt uncomfortable with the Arabic slogan. He eventually agreed to cover the shirt and boarded the plane, but says he was made to sit at the back.Exercise A:This news item is about the practice of racial profiling in the United States.Exercise B:Raed Jarrar, an airline passenger, has recently been awarded a total of $ 240,000 in compensation.Back in 2006 Mr Jarrar was waiting to board a flight at New York’s JFK airport wearing a T-shirt that read “ We Will Not Be Silent” in Englishand Arabic. Later he was ordered to remove the printed words on his T-shirtby staff who said other passengers felt uncomfortable with the Arabic slogan. He eventually agreed to cover the shirt and boarded the plane, but he was made to sit at the back.Lawyers representing Raed Jarrar say the payout is a victory for free speech and a blow to the practice of racial profilingSeetion three oral workRetellingThere is a street called "The Strand" in Galveston, where hundreds of thousands of touristsvisit today. This street was Mama's stomping* ground as a kid. Before Mama died, we took a streetcar around Galveston to see all the lovely, restored homes. What a great day. She knew morethan the tour guide. As we sat enjoying the sights, Mama said, "Liz, do you know why my nose is a little crooked*" (I thought, "Where did that come from") "No, Mama, you haven't ever mentioned it," I replied."Well," said mother, "one day I followed my brothers to The Strand, and a streetcar ran overme. I put myself flat down between the rails and pushed my face in theground so hard, I broke mynose! It sure caused a lot of chaos*. People screamed, the police came, andI just crawled out,brushed myself off and went home. The only thing 1 ever noticed differentabout me was a crookedI just looked at her nose and looked at Mama in utter disbelief!Section Four Supplementary ExercisesBabies and IntelligenceSome people thought babies were not able to learn things until theywere five or six months old. Yet doctors in the United States say babiesbegin learning on their first day of life.Research scientists at the National Institute of Child Health and Development note that babies are strongly influenced by their environment.They say a baby will smile if her mother does something the baby likes. Ababy learns to get the best care possible by smiling to please her mother or other caregiver. This is how babies learn to connect and communicate withother humans. This ability to learn exists in a baby even before birth. Theysay newborn babies can recognize and understand sounds they heard while they were still developing inside their mothers.The Finnish researchers used devices to measures the babies' brainactivity. The researchersplayed recordings of spoken sounds for up to one hour while the babies slept.The head of the study believes that babies can learn while asleepbecause the part of their brains called the cerebral cortex* remains activeat night. The cortex is very important for learning. This part of the brainis not active in adults while they sleep.Many experts say the first years of a child's life are important forall later development. AnAmerican study shows how mothers can strongly influence social developmentand language skills in their children. The study involved more than 1,200 mothers and children. Researchers studied the children from the age of onemonth to three years. They observed the mothers playing with their childrenfour times during this period.The researchers attempted to measure the sensitivity of the mothers.The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children'sactivities and did not interfere unnecessarily. They tested the children for thinking and language development when they were three years old.The children of depressed women did not do as well on tests as the children of women who did not suffer from depression. The children of depressed women did poorly on tests of language skills and understandingwhat they hear. These children also were less cooperative and had more problems dealing with other people.Another study suggests that babies who are bigger at birth generallyare more intelligent later in life. It found that the intelligence of achild at seven years of age is directly linked to his or her weight at birth. Study organizers say this is probably because heavier babies received more nutrition* during important periods of brain development before they were born.The study involved almost 3,500 children. Researchers in New York City used traditional tests to measure intelligence. Brothers and sisters were tested so that the effects of birth weight alone could be separated from the effects of diet or other considerations.The researchers found that children with higher birth weights generally did better on the intelligence tests. Also, the link between birth weightand intelligence later in life was stronger for boys than for girls.Exercise A:1. Some people thought babies were able to learn things when they were fiveor six months old.2. Doctors think babies begin learning things on their first day of life.3. Babies communicate with other people by smiling.4. They can recognize and understand sounds they heard while they were stilldeveloping inside their mothers.5. Babies can learn while asleep.6. They are important for a child's all later development.Exercise:BStudy 1Exercise C:Your opinionDirections: Listen to the passage again and give your opinion on the following topics,"Many experts say the first years of a child's life are important for all later development."1. What should mothers do in the first year of a child's life2. What might affect a child if his parents get divorced in his first year of lifeFatigueFatigue is a feeling of weariness, tiredness, or lack of energy.Fatigue is different from drowsiness. In general, drowsiness is feeling the need to sleep, while fatigue is a lack of energy and motivation. Drowsiness and apathy (a feeling of indifference or not caring about what happens) can be symptoms of fatigue.Fatigue can be a normal and important response to physical exertion, emotional stress, boredom, or lack of sleep. However, it can also be a nonspecific sign of a more serious psychological or , physical disorder. Fatigue that is not relieved by enough sleep, good nutrition, or a low-stress environment should be evaluated by your doctor. Because fatigue is a common complaint, sometimes a potentially serious cause may be overlooked.The pattern of fatigue may help your doctor determine its underlying cause. For example, if you wake up in the morning rested but rapidly develop fatigue with activity, you may have an ongoing pysical condition like an underactive thyroid*. On the other hand, if you wake up with a low level of energy and have fatigue that lasts throughout the day, you may be depressed. Here are some tips for reducing fatigue:Get adequate, regular, and consistent amounts of sleep each night.Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet and drink plenty of water throughout the day.Exercise regularly.Learn better ways to relax. Try yoga* or meditation*.Maintain a reasonable work and personal schedule.Change your stressful circumstances, if possible. For example, switchjobs, take a vacation, and deal directly with problems in a relationship.Take a multivitamin. Talk to your doctor about what you need and what is best for you.Avoid alcohol, nicotine*, and drag use.If you have chronic* pain or depression, treating either often helps address the fatigue. However, some antidepressant* medications may cause or worsen fatigue. Your medication may have to be adjusted to avoid this problem. Do not stop or change any medications without instruction from your doctor.Stimulants* (including caffeine) are not effective treatments for fatigue, and can actually make the problem worse when the drugs are discontinued. Sedatives* also tend to intensify fatigue in the long run. Exercise A:Fatigue is a feeling of weariness, tiredness, or lack of energy. Fatigue is different from drowsiness. In general, drowsiness is feeling the need to sleep, while fatigue is a lack of energy and motivation. Drowsiness and apathy can be symptoms of fatigue.Exercise B:1. D2. A3. B4. D5. A6. B7. C8. C Exercise C:1. Fatigue is a normal and important response to physical exertion,emotional stress, boredom, or lack of sleep.2. Drowsiness and apathy can be symptoms of fatigue.3. Enough sleep, good nutrition, or a low-stress environment can usuallyrelieve fatigue.4. Treatment for chronic pain or depression often helps address fatigue.。
视听说教程第二册答案Unit 1. Lesson A2. Listening: B 1. She lives in 2A.2. They live in 3B.3. They are classmates.4. She’s related to Nora. Shelives in 3C.Lesson B Part 12. A 2. True3. False; grandfather, not grandmother4. False, friends, not brothersB. 1. Memories2. collected3. favorite4. One of my happiest memories5. my first day of school6. I wanted the mostPart 2. 1.B. c a a c b2. A. b d f e a h g cC 1. it should be OK2. Too bad3. a souvenir from4. hanging on to it5. I’m keeping it for the memories6. my favorite keepsake7. things were rough8. make it9. helped out10. as a reminder11. You know12. Here goesUnit 2. Lesson A. 2. B.1 bored2. sad3. happyLesson B.Part 1. 2. A. c a b e f dB. 1. greeting 2 kissing3. big hug4. kiss on the cheek5. Bowing6. shake handsPart 2. 1. B. 1. teaching 2. trip3. nervous4. has5. having2. A. 2 what they are doing3. Tokyo4. nervous5. nothing6. joking7. funC. 1. like this2. That’s cool3. That’s great4. I’ m a little nervous about5. though6. There’s no need to benervous7. I’m a kind of worriedabout8. Don’t worry9. Everything’s going to befine10. Let’s see11. like this12. You’re a natural13. come on14. You guysUnit 3. Lesson A. 2. A Mississippi mud pieB. 1. delicious, crispy, juicy2. bland3. oily, good4. tasty, too sweetLesson B. Part 1. 2. A. 1. True 2. True3. False; doesn’t like4. True5. False; steak6. False; doesn’t like7. False; enjoysB. 1. I like 2. serve3. My favorite dish4. I love that5. the most popular food6. You name it 7 deliciousPart 2. 1. B. c b c b b2. A 1. True. 2. True.3. True4. False; added too much5. True.6. True7. False; hot8. False; wonC. 1. This looks delicious2. crispy3. oily4. juicy5. in my opinion6. how about7. man8. Is it hot9. Buttery10. Quite tasty11. A little sweet, but still crunchy12. Delicious13. Born and raisedUnit 4. Lesson A2. A. Dan: takes care of the baby;Courtney: goes to work everydayJamal: takes care of the girls,works at home;Tia: takes care of the girls, worksat home.B. 1 True. 2 True. 3. True 4. False. Lesson BPart 1. 2. A. 1.c 2. e 3. b 4. a 5. f 6. dB. 1. independent2. fashion3. stylish4. admire5. change6. lose weight7. appearance Part 2. 1.B. 1.b 2. c 3.b 4.a 5.c2. A. 3 1 4 2 5C. 1. You ought to2. More and more3. I should4. The majority of5. no one6. a few7. some8. 28 percent9. one third10. Not necessarily11. Such as12 that’s true13. None14. come on15. All of16. most of17.some of Unit 5. Lesson A2. A. Sherlock Holmes is a famous imaginary detective who appeared in sixty stories written by the Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.B. 1. doctor 2.1887 3.intelligent4.Dr. Watson5.Engliand Lesson B Part 12. A. 1.e 2.d3.b4.c5.f6.aB. 2.a strong 3.sneaky 4.real5. how6.offPart 2. 1. B. 1.a 2.b 3.b 4.b 5.a2. A. 4 2 1 6 5 3C. 1. Does anybody know2. Come on3. What are you talking about4. Well5. who knows6. Go on7. It’s very likely8. Now9. calmly10. quietly11. neatly12. Note13. Slowly14. carefully15. quietly16. What’s upUnit 6. Lesson A.2. A. rememberB. picture 1 and 4Lesson B. Part 1.2. A 1. images, numbers2. numbers3. numbers, languages4. names5. namesB. 1 True2. False; forest, not city3. True4. False; dinosaurs, not birds5. False; bird, not dinosaursPart 2 1. B. 1. night 2. pajamas3. a man4. liked5. understands2. A. 5.1.3.4.2C. 1. What’s the matter2. Really3. I think so4. maybe5. I’m not sure6. He reminded me of7. Do you remember8. I’m sure of it9. I got it10. like thisUnit 7. Lesson A2. A. bB. 1.b 2.a 3.cLesson B. Part 1.2. A. 1 True2. False; summer or casual clothes, notformal3. False; 38 people, not 284. True5. False; Dennis cooked the food, nothis friendsB. 1. Thanksgiving 2. get tighter3. thankful for4. New Year’s Day5. money6. unique7. celebrate Part 2. 1. B. 1.a 2.b 3.b 4.c 5.c2. A. 6 1 5 4 2 3C. 1. It’s me2. What’s up3. Would you like to4. Sure5. it’s fun, you know6. Sounds great7. I’d love to8. Great9. I’d like to10. wait11. Hey listen12. Would you be interested in13. That sounds interesting14. I’ll call him right away。
Unit 6Video scriptNarrator: In the country of Argentina, cowboy life has scarcely changed over the past three centuries. The gaucho is a hero here; for most people, he is a legendary figure that is larger than life. But in the far reaches of the country, there are still men for whom the gaucho is more than a legend. For them, it is their life; they are the gauchos of Argentina.The cowboy life of the gaucho came to Argentina from Spanish culture. It created a unique type of men who were as hardy and self-reliant as the animals for which they cared. The word “gaucho” means “outcast”, or one who doesn’t belong to a specific society or group.There are as many kinds of gauchos as there are varied terrains in Argentina. There are gauchos on the soft flat pampas of Corrientes, on the windswept plains of Patagonia, and in the wooded hills of Salta.Don JoséAnsola, a 76-year-old horseman, seems to be the “classic gaucho”, and one who treasures his residence in a remote region of Corrientes. He believes solitude helps to keep gaucho life in its purest form.Don José Ansola, Corrientes Gaucho: “If I couldn’t live in the campo, the countryside—an unthinkable thought—I don’t know what I’d do.”Narrator: According to Don José, he would rather live in a poor little house in the country than in a palace in the city. Don José’s 400-square-kilometer ranch in Corrientes is far from everything, so Don Josédepends entirely on his horses to travel. As a result, he and his three sons spend much of their time finding and catching the wild horses that run free in the countryside. The horses must then be “broken” so that they’ll allow people to ride them. Ansola: “Breaking a horse is a slow process, taking more than a year. This is something the horse learns to put up with.”Narrator: The gaucho explains that the horse must adjust to using a saddle and reins so the riders aren’t thrown off later. The treatment seems cruel, but according to Don José it’s actually not. The training, he says, often seems harsher than it is.Ansola: “We love our horses, and in the end, they love us in return. This is the traditional way of training a horse in Argentina—the gaucho way.”Narrator: Being a gaucho, though, is more than a life of solitude and caring for horses and cattle. The gaucho way of life has its own strict code of ethics. Hospitality and respect for others are as much a part of this lifestyle as the art of breaking horses. Argentina is nearly the last place where this code of ethics and the demanding lifestyle of the gaucho still exist. The country is home to nearly 150,000 gauchos who are very much a part of the national identity. There are gauchos in all parts of the country, even 2,000 kilometers south of Buenos Aires, on the edge of Antarctica in Patagonia.The harsh terrain of this region has its own type of gaucho as well. Here, the gauchos raise sheep, not cattle, and even more surprisingly, many speak English. Many of the ancestors of Patagonian gauchos were immigrants fromScotland. Several of these settlers came to the area during the 19th century, including the ancestors of Eduardo Halliday and his father, Jimmy. These two gauchos run a ranch in Patagonia, and for them, this strange terrain seems like the perfect place to live.The Hallidays enjoy living in the region for a number of reasons. For Jimmy, the most refreshing aspect about living in Patagonia is that there’s space everywhere so he can see far in all directions. The land is also rich, he says, and produces everything that he and his family need. Life on the plains of Patagonia is difficult, even harsh, but the gauchos here have learned how to adjust and succeed.Eduardo has lived his entire life on the family ranch and has learned the traditional ways from his father. The goal of every gaucho is self-reliance, and these gauchos of Patagonia are no different. Because the ranch is so remote, father and son have to utilize everything they have available. This also means they don’t abandon anything quickly and often use and reuse everything they have, including thei r bags and their boots. After all, it’s a long way to go to buy new ones.Gauchos are experts at adjusting to their surroundings. Here, they’ve learned to use a local weapon called a “boleadora”. Made of leather and small stones, boleadoras are still used to hunt rhea. Pursuing the small flightless birds is no problem, but hitting them can be tough. As the gauchos fly like the wind along the plains on their strong horses, the rheas run swiftly ahead of them. It’s an exciting chase, but the rheas get away—this time.Narrator: Twenty-nine hundred kilometers north of Patagonia is the region of Salta. Here the stony hills and rough terrain have produced yet a different kind of gaucho. The gauchos here were once fierce soldiers for Argentina, and they won recognition and respect in the Argentine war of independence from Spain. They’re famous for their huge leather chaps and red ponchos, and often celebrate their proud traditions in an annual parade.One of the best horsemen in the area is Rudecindo Campos. Rudecindo loves being a gaucho and says that it’s the life he’s always wanted. Rudecindo Campos, Salta Gaucho: “In life there are all kinds of people: engineers, doctors, and gauchos. I knew I had to choose one or the other. I have always had a gaucho soul and I like being a gaucho.”Narrator: However, choosing the life of a gaucho means more than just working with horses. Just as it is in Corrientes, a strict code of ethics and principles is essential to the gaucho lifestyle in Salta as well.Don Coco Campos, R udecindo’s Father: “It’s not only knowing how to catch an animal with a rope, use a saddle or ride a horse. It’s also about being good and kind. When you ask a gaucho a favor, he must not refuse. He does it.”Narrator: At times, it’s difficult to make enou gh money working as a gaucho. In order to survive, Rudecindo must work at a part-time job so he can continue training horses. He specializes in training a strong little horse from the area called a criollo. It’s one of the few animals that can round up cat tle in this roughterrain covered with thorns. To protect themselves from the environment, horse and rider rely on their special leather chaps. The thick leather protects the pair from injuries as they round up the last of the cattle.In Salta, each time the gauchos successfully return the cattle safely back to the ranch, there’s a lively fiesta, a celebration in which women have always had an important role. Rudecindo’s wife, who comes from the city, talks about life on the ranch.Rudecindo’s Wife: “It’s very difficult to adapt to the slower pace of the campo. In the city, you live faster and you are less attentive to nature. We’ve lost that in the city. We’ve lost some of our humanity, which my husband hasn’t lost. He’s not caught up in the trivia of everyday life. You can really get consumed by small things, and you forget what’s important.”Rudecindo: “If I go into town for two weeks, I can’t wait to get home to the horses, to the smell of the countryside, and the wet earth after a rain. I love this life.”Narrator: In the end, the story of today’s gaucho may be one of adaptation: to climate, to landscape, and to traditional ways of life that sustain them. Ansola: “For Argentina, it’s very important for people to treasure this proud and honorable legacy. We must be sure that whatever else happens to us, we never lose our heritage, our gaucho way of life.”Narrator: Don Joséis not alone in his dream. The proud and self-reliant gauchos of Corrientes, Patagonia, and Salta are all helping to retain the traditional lifestyle of the gauchos of Argentina.Key:Part 1 P.85Ｉ. ACDⅡ. Age: 76 years oldResidence: In a remote region of CorrientesLifestyle : Leading a life of solitudeRanch size: 400 square kilometersMeans of transportation: HorsesDaily work: Finding and catching the wild horses in the countryside;“breaking” / training horsesIII. Oral work. Work with a partner. First ask questions about the underlined part of each sentence. Then talk about the scene of breaking a horse using the questions and answers.1. Why must the horses be "broken ?The horses must be "broken”so that they'll allow people to ride them.2. How long does it take to break a horse?It takes more than a year.3. What must a horse adjust to (in training)?The horse must adjust to using a saddle and reins.4. What is the training like?The training often seems harsher than it is.5. What is the relationship between gauchos and the horses?They love their horses, and in the end, the horses love them in return.Part 2P86Ｉ. ACEGPart 3P87Ｉ. Complete the summary with the missing words.The (1) rough terrain of Salta has its own type of gaucho. The gauchos here used to be (2) soldiers in the Argentine War of Independence from (3) Spain. They wear huge leather chaps and red (4) ponchos. They're proud of their traditions and often celebrate them each year in a (5) parade. As in Corrientes and Patagonia, the gaucho lifestyle here has its own strict code of ethics and principles, such as being (6) kind and not rejecting requests for help. To celebrate the safe return of the cattle back to the ranch, there is a lively (7) fiesta in which (8) women have always played an important role.II. Watch again. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).___F___ 1. Salta is located in the south of Patagonia.___T___ 2. For Rudecindo being a gaucho is like pursuing any other career.___F___ 3. Choosing the life of a gaucho only means dealing with horses and other animals.___T___ 4. Rudecindo takes a part-time job to make enough money to support his family.___F___ 5. Criollo is a kind of cattle.___F___ 6. According to Rudecindo's wife, city dwellers pay more attention to nature.Ⅲ. P88Rough terrain (崎岖不平的)Win recognition and respect (赞誉和尊重)Argentine “War of Independence” (独立战争)An annual parade(一年一度的游行)Love being a gaucho(做个牛仔)work at a part-time job (兼职)specialize in a strong horse (擅长于)round up cattle (驱拢)the terrain covered with thorns (荆棘密布)cannot wait to get home (迫不及待)Reading comprehension P961. C2. A3. B4.D5.B6. C7.B8. outside of the limits of society9. holding on to tradition10. use the reinsHOME LISTENINGAudio scriptAmazing ArgentinaDear Lee, April 3rdHow are things back home? Things here are great! We’ve only been in Argentina for a few days, but we’ve already had so many remarkable experiences! We arrived in Buenos Aires last Saturday and spent a couple of days just exploring this fascinating city. The first evening we visited Puerto Madero. Prior to this visit, it was a rather unattractive neighborhood, but there’s been an astonishing transforma tion in the past ten years. It’s now full of wonderful places to eat. We had a delicious dinner in an outdoor cafe and relaxed for hours just watching people walk by.The next morning we visited several of the famous squares in downtown Buenos Aires. To me the most striking one was the three-block-long Plaza del Congreso. They say the whole thing was constructed in less than a year, which I find to be an unbelievable achievement! We also visited the residence of the president, the nearby Casa Rosada, whic h means “pink house” in English. The most interesting thing about the city for me is the people; everyone is absolutely beautiful—both men and women. They could all be movie stars! It must be something special about the lifestyle here.On Tuesday we decided to visit the gaucho museum in San Antonio de Arico. However, on our way there, we were lucky enough to come across a traditional Argentinean gaucho event—complete with a horse show. We stopped to take advantage of the opportunity to see Argentinean gauchos in action. They did some really amazing things that showed off their excellent riding skills. I have to admit, I was cheering as loudly as the next person.Later in the week we flew down to Iguazu National Park to see the waterfalls. The falls were incredibly impressive, but what I enjoyed most was a side trip we took. Our guide led us down a three-kilometer path deep into rain forest terrain. It was the loveliest, most exotic and peaceful place I’ve ever seen. It really felt like I was in another wo rld. Here’s a picture so you can see how wonderful it is—I’ll send more pictures and info later when I update my journal!See you soonMarcoHome listening P97Ⅱ. Listen again. Complete the table below with the missing information.Marco's Travel Journal(1)Saturday evening(2)Transformation(3)delicious dinner(4)(4) people walk by(5)achievement(6)Tuesday(7) riding skills(8) in action(9) impressive(10) saw the waterfalls(11) a rain forest terrain(12) exotic(13) in another worldUnit 8Video scriptNarrator: O nce a year, the people of Shirone, Japan, leave their quiet lives behind them and take part in an activity about which they are absolutely passionate. They become so enthusiastic about a competition, that local residents have given it a name. They call it Tako Kichi: Kite Crazy.Kazuo Tamura, Kite Enthusiast: “‘Kite Crazy’ refers to people who really love kites. People who think more about kites than getting their three meals a day. Even when they go to bed, they can’t fall asleep because they see kites flyi ng over their beds.”Narrator: N ormally Shirone is a quiet and peaceful place, like many other towns that are found in northern Japan. Farmers work hard through the spring to plant their rice, but when the work is done, they’re ready to have some fun at a five-day festival that celebrates the open sky—the Great Shirone Kite Fight.The Great Kite Fight began 250 years ago. According to legend, a giant kite was given to a village leader by the local lord. The kite was so huge that it damaged houses and crops when it came crashing down. Soon after, villagers who were angry or upset started using kites to fight one another. Eventually, these battles evolved into a festival where people rid themselves of some stress every spring.Kite madness comes to Shirone every June, and affects people of all ages. Residents both old and young join the fun and just about anybody who can cling to a piece of kite rope gets involved. The town is transformed into a giant kite factory as rival teams prepare for battle. Playgrounds, parking lots, driveways, and even schools become work areas.Kazuo Tamura is an internationally known kite-flying team leader.Tamura: “This event is very important to me. It’s not just a question of having a good time. Somehow, underneath a sky t hat’s full of kites, everyone seems equal. And no one flies a kite in times of war. So the festival is like a sign that we’re at peace.”Narrator: S hirone festival kites are made by hand and put together carefully and precisely. Teams spend hours designing, constructing, and painting their creations. Each kite has a distinct colorful design to capture the special look that symbolizes a particular team.Finally, opening day arrives. Fifteen hundred kites are designed, decorated, andready to be flown. The bigge st kites are called odako. They’re difficult to get into the air, but 13 different teams have come to try their best. Other teams prefer the smaller kites called rokako, which are much easier to fly—more like fighter jets while the odako are like heavy bombers.For centuries, the battle of the kites has taken place along Shirone’s central river, the Nakanokuchi. The competing teams stand on opposite sides of the river. The goal is for one team to capture another team’s kite and pull it from the sky.Once one team has captured another team’s kite, it’s time for the real competition to begin. Team members desperately cling to their kite ropes, doing everything they can to keep their grip.Unfortunately, in the tug of war, both of the kites are twisted, pulled, and basically destroyed. Finally, when one team’s rope breaks, a winner is declared. Extra points are given to the winning side for every inch of rope it captures from the losing team.All along the river, teams get involved in clashes that quickly lead to open war. The battles often spread to the town, and almost everyone gets involved.Narrator: B y the end of day one, thousands of the smaller kites have been destroyed, but not everyone has been able to enjoy the competition. The large odako kites are still not flying. The teams can’t even get the huge odakos into the air. Without a stable northern wind, the larger kites are helpless. The odako teams must wait for a change in the weather, and hope that they’re ready when the north wind finally arr ives.While they wait, the teams step back from the excitement of the riverside to ensure that their ropes are strung correctly. These ropes are made by hand, which makes them extremely strong so they can serve two purposes: controlling the kite, and standing up to the tugs of war. Teamwork constitutes another important part of the kite competition. Tamura: “The most important thing is teamwork. Everyone runs around clinging to the same rope, so they have to work together. This is very important. Without teamwork, these kites won’t fly; they’ll fall right to the ground.”Narrator: O n the third day of this five-day festival, there’s still no northern wind, and everyone’s very disappointed. But when evening falls the kite fighters still manage to have a good time. Everyone welcomes the chance to relax, have some fun, and go a little crazy.On the fifth and final day of the competition, the wind continues to deliver disappointment, but at the last minute something wonderful happens. With just one hour remaining, a northern wind comes down along the river. At last, the oversized kites are released from their earthly imprisonment.Now, finally, Tamura’s team will have its only chance to compete before the festival ends. The young men on Tamura’s team have manage d to capture the competing team’s kite. Now the tug of war begins. It’s a situation that requires both skill and passion; luckily Tamura’s team has plenty of both.Tamura: “People call me a kite maniac. I am a kite enthusiast. That’s just me. They call me a kit e maniac, but I don’t think I’m all that crazy.”Narrator: T he two teams are nearly exhausted, but the battle continues. Neither will stop until the war is won, but the ropes remain firmly tied together across the river. One set of kite ropes finally break s and it belongs to the rival team. It looks like Tamura’s team is the winner!Narrator: S o are the people of Shirone really Kite Crazy? Most of the residents become very excited at this time of year. But if it’s some type of craziness, it’s not a dan gerous one.In a good year every kite is destroyed, but the people of Shirone never seem to feel sorry. They know that next spring, the kites will live again. For now, there are no signs that the “Kite Craziness” will disappear any time soon. In fact, amo ng everyone who appears affected by it, no one seems to want to take the cure.Part 1I. Watch Part 1. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). P117___F___ The kite fight is held once a month in Shirone.___T___ The kite fight festival lasts five days in Shirone.___F___ The kite fight is held to show people's anger and worries.___F__ People will fight with kites in playgrounds, parking lots, schools and so on.___T__ The kite fight means a lot to Kazuo Tamura.II. Watch again. Complete the table with the missing words.When did the Great Kite Fight start? _250_ years ago.In which season does the festival take place? In _spring___.How often is the festival held? _Once_ a year.Who gets involved in the kite madness? Almost _anybody__ who can cling to a piece of kite rope.What does the event mean to Kazuo Tamura? It means enjoyment, equality for everybody and a sign of __peace _.Part 2P118ＩWatch part 2. Put the following events in the correct order. P118A. Capturing another team's kiteB. One team's rope breakingC. Arriving at the bank of Shirone's central river, the NakanokuchiD. Flying kitesE. Declaring a winner( C )→( D )→( A )→( B )→( E )II. Watch again. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).___F___ The kites are made by machines carefully.___T__ Each kite has its special look.___F__ The smaller kites are called odako.___F__ In the tug of war, kites won't be destroyed.___T__ The fight will be scored.___F__ Kids mustn't get involved in the kite fight because it's dangerous.Part 3ＩWatch Part3. Choose the true statements about Kazuo Tamura and his team.D FII. Watch again. Answer the following questions in less than five words. P1191. Why can't the teams get the huge odakos into the sky?Because there's not __a stable northern wind___.2. What do the teams do while they are waiting for the wind?They step back from the riverside to ensure that their ropes are strung correctly.3. Why should the ropes be extremely strong?Because they must control the kite and stand up to the tugs of war.III. Watch again. Fill in the blanks with the missing words.On the third day of this five-day festival, there's still no northern wind, and everyone's very disappointed. But when evening falls the kite fighters still manage to have a good time. Everyone _welcomes the chance to relax, have some fun, and go a little crazy.On the __fifth and final__day of the competition, the wind continues to _deliver_ disappointment, but at the last minute something wonderful happens. With just one hour remaining_, a northern wind comes down along the river. At last, the ___oversized__ kites are released from their earthly imprisonment.Now, finally, Tamura's team will have its only chance to ___compete___before the festival ends. The young men on Tamura's team have managed to __capture_ the competing team's kite. Now the tug of war begins.IV. Listen and repeat. You are going to hear five sentences selected from the video. Repeat each sentence after it is spoken twice. Then write the sentences. P1201. But not everyone has been able to enjoy the competition.2. Team work constitutes another important part of the kite competition.3. Lucky Tamura’s team has plenty of both.4. But I don’t think I’m all that crazy.5. It looks like Tamura’s team is the winner.Part 4P120I. Watch part 4. Choose the best answer to each of the following questions.1. What conclusion does the narrator make in this part? __B____A. Kite flying should become the national sport of Japan.B. The people of Shirone are proud of their kite tradition.C. No one can understand why the festival is popular.D. After the festival, competitors should go to the hospital.2. What kind of attitude does the narrator hold towards the kite fight? ___C___A. Indifferent.B. Impartial.C. Positive.D. Negative.II. Watch again. Complete the following sentences according to what you have learned in this part.1. If it is some type of ___craziness___, it's not a ___dangerous___ one.2. In a good year every kite is __destroyed__.3. No one seems to want to ___take the cure__.Reading comprehension P1281. B2. A3. C4.D5. B6. A7.D8. a dangerous one9. are destroyed10. will live againHOME LISTENINGAudio scriptCompeting with Kites Around the WorldKite FightsHistorians believe that people first started to fly kites thousands of years ago either in India, Afghanistan, or any other Asian country, depending upon the source. Somewhere in the early history of kite flying, the idea of having battles in the sky was born. One area well known for its fighter kites is India. There, kites called “patang” or “guda” are flown, and the rope used to fly them is coated with broken bits of glass. The winner is the one who is able to cut the ropes of all of the other competitors. Afghan fighter kites are much larger than their Indian cousins with some being up to five feet wide. They are usually constructed of different materials, and competitors use very lightweight paper for their creations.The sport of kite fighting is also popular in such places as Japan, Korea, Thailand, parts of Europe, Cuba, and Brazil. Brazilian kites are often smaller constructions, but the competition between rivals is still just as enthusiastic. Part of the fun of kite fighting in Brazil involves cutting away someone else’s kite and then stealing it. Trees and power lines in Brazilian cities are often full of lost or abandoned kites.Kite-Building CompetitionsKite-building competitions offer a totally different approach to the sport of kite flying. Each year, hundreds of festivals are held around the world in which people build their own kites and bring them to be judged by experts in the field. The American Kitefliers Association was formed over 40 years ago and today it is the largest such organization in the world with over 4,000 members in 35 countries. During the annual competitions, kites are judged on four characteristics: appearance, flight capability, construction technique, and design.The kite’s “appear ance” is simply a measure of how good the kite looks on the ground. The “flight capability” category measures how well the flier is able to handle it. “Construction technique” refers to how neatly and carefully the kite was made, and the “design” cat egory is a measure of how strong the structure of the kite is. Judges carefully assess all attributes when making their decisions. Although it’s a fun sport, competitors take it very seriously and work extremely hard on their entries. You can research possible kite-building competitions in your area by going to the American Kitefliers Association website.Home ListeningI. Listen to the passage. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). P129__F____ This passage is mainly about an international kite festival.___T___ Kite fight is now popular in many countries.___T__ Different countries have different kite styles.___F__ Kite-building competition is another form of kite fight.___T__ Four characteristics are taken into consideration in kite-building competition.II. Listen again. Choose the best answer to each of the following questions.1. According to historians, which continent first started to fly kites?A. America.B. Asia.C. Europe.D. Australia.2. What is the main difference between Indian and Afghan fighter kites?A. Indian kites are stronger than Afghan ones.B. Afghan kites are stronger than Indian ones.C. Indian kites are smaller than Afghan ones.D. Afghan kites are smaller than Indian ones.3. In which of the following countries, kites can be cut away and stolen by the rival during the competition?A. Japan.B. Korea.C. China.D. Brazil.4. When was the American Kitefliers Association formed?A. Over 35 years ago.B. Over 40 years ago.C. Over 45 years ago.D. Over 50 years ago.5. What does the "design characteristic of kites refer to?A. It refers to how reasonable the structure of the kite is.B. It refers to how beautiful the structure of the kite is.C. It refers to how strong the structure of the kite is.D. It refers to how practical the structure of the kite is.III. Listen and repeat. You are going to hear five sentences selected from the audio. Repeat each sentence after it is spoken twice. Then write the sentences. P1301. T he idea of having battles in the sky was born2. They are usually constructed of different materials .3. The competition between rivals is still just as enthusiastic.4. It’s the largest such organization in the world5. Judges carefully assess all attributes when making their decisions.Unit9Video scriptMartha Schaum, Program Coordinator: “Let’s get this stuff out and see what we’ve got here.”Narrator: In a classroom at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, ten high。
新世纪大学英语2 optional listeningUnit One, Book 2Listening 1Boy: Hey, Grandma, what’s in this box?Grandma: Oh, nothing really… Just a few old keepsakes.B: Keepsakes?G: Young man, you know what a keepsake is !B: No, I don’t. I really don’t.G: Well, it’s something you keep. It’s something that gives you a lot of memories.B: Oh. What’s this?G: Now don’t go just digging around in there! ... Hmmm, let’s see…. that’s my first diary.B: Can I….?G: No, you can’t read it! It’s personal! I wrote about my firs t boyfriend in there. He became your grandfather!B: Oh, ok…. Well then, what’s that? It has your picture in it.G: That’s my passport. YOU can see, I traveled to Europe by ship.B: What’s that big book?G: My yearbook. It’s my high school book of memories.B: Class of 1961! Boy, that’s old!G: That’s about enough out of you, young man. I think it’s time we put this box away and…Listening 2At the age of thirteen, I took my first trip alone. I went to visit my grandparents in Los Angeles. I felt very nervo us about traveling so far, but my mother said, “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.” I got on the airplane and talked for a long time to a very nice woman who sat next to me. My grandparents met me at the airport and took me to their home. I stayed there for two weeks, and I had so much fun with them! It was my first time in Los Angeles, and I saw lots of really interesting places. In the end, I didn’t want to go home!Listening 3Making memoriesA popular new hobby is scrapbooking---making beautiful books to hold special memories. Scrapbook pages can include photos, drawings, journal entries. It’s not hard to make a scrapbook that you will enjoy for many years. Here are the steps..1. Choose a theme for your scrapbook pages. Some examples: “School days,” “ Family travel,” “Memories of my grandparents,”“ Baby’s first year.”2. Select photos for each page. Two or three really good photos are better than ten so-so photos.3. Find other paper keepsakes to use with your photos. Look for old newspaper clippings, postcards, tickets, report cards, letters--- anything made of paper. Use your imagination!4. Design the pages. Put photos and keepsakes together on each page and move them around until you find a layout that you like.5. Glue your photos and keepsakes into place. Then decorate your pages with felt pens, paint, and stickers. Use your imagination!6. Label your pages. This is the most important step! Remember to write down the “5 Ws” of your photos: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. This will make your scrapbook much more interesting and valuable in the future.Listening 4Yearbooks in the United StatesMost high schools in the United States publish a yearbook. The yearbook comes out once a year, usually in the spring. It is a record of the school year---- a “book of memories” for the students. Inside a yearbook is each student’s photo. The seniors are graduating soon, and their photos appear first. Next are the juniors. They are one year behind the seniors. Next come the sophomores, or second-year students. The last photos are the first-year students, the freshmen. The yearbook is not only about students. The teachers have photos, too.The yearbook also has photos and descriptions of sports teams, academic subjects, and extracurricular activities. These are activities students do after school, such as the chess club and Spanish club. There is even a yearbook club. Students in this club write, design, and take photos all year for the yearbook. At the end of the year, the book is printed.In the yearbook, some students receive special titles. The seniors vote and choose the “class clown”( a funny student), the “ most likely to succeed” ( a student everyone thinks will be successful), and the “ best dressed” (a student with a good fashion sense). There are also other awar ds and categories. Students typically sign each other’s yearbooks. This is especially important for the seniors, because they are graduating. Students write notes to each other, such as, “ We had a lot of fun,” or “ I’ll never forget you.” They also write about all the fun and funny experiences they shared in school together. Keys:OL1: A. 2-passport; 1-diary; 3-yearbook B. 1. boyfriend 2. Europe, ship 3. sixtiesOL2: B. 1.13; 2. To vist his grandparents; 3. Yes. He talked for a long time to a nice woman; 4. He had lots of fun with his grandparents and he saw lots of interesting places. In the end, he even didn’t want to go home.OL3: B. 1. Scrapbooking is making beautiful books to hold special memories. Photos, pictures, etc. can be included in scrapbooks. 2. Old newspaper clippings, postcards, tickets, report cards, letters. 3. The “5 Ws” of the photos: who, what, where, when and why. 4. “School days”, “Family travel”, “Memories of my grandparents”，“Baby’s first year”. 5. Use imagination to design the pages, and then decorate them with felt pens, paint and stickers.OL4: A 1. Most high school in the US; 2. Because they are graduating soon. 3.Yes; 4. At the end of the year. 5.It means a student with a good fashion sense.B. 2. photo; 3. seniors; 4. sports; 5. yearbook; 6. titles; 7. sign; 8. memoriesOL51. choose;2. wear;3. bracelet;4. ring;5. favorite keepsake;6. pendant;7. she was in college;8. had no friends;9. remind her to be strong; 10. perfect jewelry.Unit 2, Book 2Optional Listening 11Man: Where are you running to, Paula?Woman I have Connie’s wallet. I need to give it to her.M: Come on. I’ll help you.W: I don’t see Connie anywhere.M: Look! She’s over there. Standi ng at the bus stop.W: Oh yeah, I see her. Connie! Connie!M: She doesn’t see us.W: You’re right, It’s too noisy, and she’s talking to someone.2M: Well, here we are. This is my mom’s house.W: It’s beautiful.M: Hey, Jen. Are you okay?W: I’m just a little nervous. It’s my first time meeting your motherM: Come on. Don’t worry. Here she is now.W2: Hi, Tim!M: Hi, Mon. I’d like you to meet Jen.W2: Hi, Jen. It’s very nice to meet you.W: It’s nice to meet you, too. Mrs. Harris.3M: Hey, Anne. Where are you going?W: I’m going to the library to study.M: For what? It’s only 7:00 a.m.!W: My final exams. They’re next week.M: Wow, well, good luck!W: Thanks!4.W: Bill, it’s late. Where’s the theater? M: Hmmm… I think it’s near here. W: Are you sure? What street is this? M: Uhm… I don’t know.W: Where’s the map? I want to check.Optional Listening 2Paula: So, Jane, what are you doing these days?Jane: I’m working in an office. And I’m studying computer science in the evening.P: You’re real ly busy!J: That’s for sure! And in my free time, I’m learning Spanish for my vacation. I’m planning a trip to Mexico next year.P: What about your brothers? How are they doing?J: They’re doing great! Alex is helping our father in his business, and Adam i s going to Pacific University.P: How nice!J: Paula, how about you? How are you doing these days?P: I’m doing great, too. I’m working on a project about community safety.J: Community safety?P: Yeah. We’re planning a campaign against theft, fire ,AIDS a nd drugs in our community.J: Oh, that sounds interesting!P: Yes, indeed it is interesting, and it is very important to the community.Optional Listening 3Know before you go!In Bangladesh people greet their friends by shaking hands softly and then putting their hands over their heart. People in Bangladesh don’t use many gestures. Waving at people and winking are very rude. Don’t touch people on the head. Don’t point with your foot---Bangladeshi people think feet are very dirty.Indonesians greet people with a long handshake, and they bow at the same time. At a meeting, give every person your business card, but use your right hand----using your left hand is very rude in Indonesia.In Thailand, the traditional greeting is called wai----people put their hands together and bow. Men and women don’t often touch each other in public. Thai people don’t use their hand for gestures, but they love to smile a lot. They sometimes laugh when they feel nervous or embarrassed.People in the United Arab Emirates have some special gestures. When two men meet, they shake hands. Sometimes old men touch noses together. Women kiss their friends on the cheek. If a man meets a woman, he doesn’t shake hands with her. He just smiles. When you give your friend something, give it to h im with your right hand. Don’t use your left hand. And don’t point at peopole with your finger. Use your hand to gesture towards them.Optional Listening4World greetingsIn Brazil men often shake hands when they meet for the first time. When women meet, they kiss each other on the cheek. Women also kiss male friends to say hello. When you shake hands, look at the person in the eyes. This shows interest and friendliness.In New Zealand, usually, both men and women shake hands when they meet someone for the first time. Fun fact: If you see two people pressing their noses together, they are probably Maori. The Maori are the native people of New Zealand. This is their traditional greeting.In Japan when people meet for the first time, they usually bow. In business, people also shake hands. In formal situations, people often exchange business cards. When you give a business card, give it with both hands. This is polite. Special note: In Japan, a smile can have different meanings. It usually means that the person is happy. or that the person thinks something is funny. But it also mean that the person is embarrassed.Keys:OL1: A. 1. waving to; 2. shaking hands; 3. crossing his fingers; 4. shruggingB. 1. wallet; 2. nervous; 3. studying for a test; 4.the theater.OL 2: B. 1. That’s for sure; 2. vacation; 3. They’re doing great; 4. project; 5. AIDS; 6. drugs.OL 4: B 1. shake hands; 2. Japan, bow; 3. Maori; 4. Brazil, kiss(each other on the cheek); 5. in the eyes; 6. Japan, embarrassed.OL 5: 1. traditional; 2.greetings; 3.learning; 4.trip; 5. nervous; 6. business card; 7. jump and nod; 8. for luck; 9. start laughing; 10. relax and have funUnit 3, Book 2Optional listening 1Today our lives are busier than they were 10 or 20 years ago. For some people, this is a problem. They think we should slow down and enjoy life. The Slow Food movement was started to celebrate and support the local food traditions of the worlds. Its members don’t like fast food or instant foods because they think those foods are unhealthy.The Slow Food movement started in Europe, but now it is an international movement. There are more than 65,000 members in 45 countries. The Slow Food movement’s members think we need to slow down and appreciate delicious traditional foods. They also believe in protecting the environment. In addition, they believe in supporting local farmers and their products.Optional Listening 2Adam: I’m about 20 pounds overweight. I went on a diet. There’s only one problem: I just love buttery foods. Everyone says that I sho uld eat less butter. It’s hard.Janet: I lived in Thailand for six months. It was really fun. I really like Thai food! It’s too spicy for some people, but not for me. I love the peppers. I came home a month ago. The food here tastes so bland--- I don’t lik e it anymore.Abby: My mother says that I have a “sweet tooth.” That means I like to eat sweet foods. Dessert is my favorite part of any meal. I like anything with chocolate in it!Minh: I’m training for a swimming competition. I have to eat healthy foods all the time. At first I didn’t like it, but now I do. I actually prefer healthy foods to sweet or buttery foods. And I feel better, too!Optional Listening 3Hot, hotter, hottest! Surprising facts about chile peppers.1. Chile peppers are one of the oldest food crops in the world. Farmers grew the first chile peppers more than 9,000 years ago.2. The first chile peppers probably grew in Bolivia. From there, the plant spread through South America and the Caribbean. Christopher Columbus brought the first chile peppers to Europe.3. The heat in the chile comes from a chemical called capsaicin. Capsaicin has no smell or flavor, but it mikes your mouth fee “hot.”4. Scientists believe that chile peppers are a very healthy food because they are rich in vitamins. Research shows that chiles do not damage the stomach, and Indian scientists discovered that eating chiles can help people lose weight.5. Indian food is well-known for using lots of chile peppers, but Thai food spicier. The average person in Thailand eats five grams of chile pepper everyday---the most in the world.6. The Aztec Indians of Mexico loved chile peppers so much that they gave them to their king as a gift.7. The hottest chile pepper in the world is the habanero. It is bright orange and grows in the Caribbean.8. There are chile sauce factories on every continent except Antarctica.Optional Listening 4In many countries of the world, people are living longer than before. People have healthier lifestyles, and healthcare is better, too.Okinawa is an island off the coast of Japan. The people on Okinawa, the Okinawans, may have the longest lives and healthiest lifestyles in the world.Researchers did a study. They started their study by looking at city and town birth records from 1879. They didn’t exp ect to find many centenarians in the records. They were very surprised to find so many old and healthy people living in Okinawa. The United States, for example, has 10 centenarians per 100,1000 people. In Okinawa there are 34 centenarians per 100,100 people!What is the Okinawans’ secret? First, they eat a healthy diet. They eat many fresh fruits and vegetables. They also eat fish often and drink a lot of water and green tea. But researchers think that the Okinawans have other healthy habits as well. They d on’t do hard exercise such as weightlifting orjogging--- instead, they prefer relaxing activities like gardening and walking. Researchers say thatolder Okinawans also have a good attitude about aging. They sit quietly and relax their minds with deep breathing exercised. They also enjoy massage.Keys:OL1: A. We should support and celebrate local food tradition; B. 1. fast; 2.life; 3. farmers; 4. Europe;5. members.OL2: A. Adam: buttery; Janet: spicy; Abby: sweet; Minh: healthy.OL3: A. F T F F T F; B Capsacin is a chemical in the chile that produces heat and makes your mouth feel hot. It has no flavor or smell. Habanero is the hottest chile pepper in the world. It it bright orange and grows in the Caribbean.OL4: A. What they eat: fresh fruits and vegetables, fish; What they drink: water, green tea; How they exercise: gardening, walking How they relax: deep breathing exercises, massage.OL5: 1. contest; 2. tomatoes; 3. adding; 4. spicier; 5. comes off; 6. gets covered with; 7. judging starts;8. tastes the other dishes; 9. has ever tasted; 10. win the test.Unit 4, Book 2Optional Listening 11.Interviewer (Int): Hi, what’s your name?Gio: Gio.Int: Hi, Gio, Where are you from?G: Milan, Italy.I: Welcome to New York, them!G: Thank you.I: Where are your clothes from?G: My brother. I’m always borrowing clothes.I: How would you describe your style?G: Casual, I guess. I’m not very innovative. I just wear the same thing all the time.2.I: Hi, there.Elena: Hi,I: Who are you?E: I’m Elena.I: And where are you from?E: I’m from right here in New York.I: A hometown girl. And your clothes are from…?E: A store in my neighborhood. There was a sale.I: Great! How would you describe your personal style?E: Retro. It’s fashionable now.I: It looks old-fash ionable now. ….in a good way, of course.3.I: Good evening. What is your name?V: Vicki.I: You look beautiful.V: Thank youI: That dress is very stylish.V: My mother gave it to me. It was tailor-made!I: Wonderful. Where are you from, Vicki!V: I’m fr om Hong Kong.I: How would you describe your personal sense of style?V: Classic, I suppose. I like to dress up.Optional Listening 21A: I’m new in town and I’d like to make some friends. What should I do?B: You ought to join a sports club.A: But I don’t like sports.B: You could look for friends on the Internet.2A: I don’t know what to wear to the party tonight. What should I wear?B: You could wear your new jeans or your black pants.A: It’s a formal dress party.B: Oh, then you shouldn’t wear pa nts after all. You definitely ought to wear a dress.3A: I still don’t understand this grammar. What should I do?B: You had better get some help or you will fail the test. It’s on Thursday.A: Maybe I could take the test on Friday. That would give me extra time.B: Well, you had better not delay. There’s not much time!Optional Listening 3A--A sense of style1. I’m a salesclerk in a woman’s clothing store. My boss is great, but she has a very strict dress code. We have to wear long skirts, black shoes, no jewelry, and on and on. It’s really boring, so I’m planning to dye my hair red. What do you think?2. I love my girlfriend, but she complains a lot about my clothes. She doesn’t want to go anywhere with me because I always wear old jeans and a T-shirt. I don’t care about looking like a fashion magazine. I just want to be comfortable! What’s your advice?B1. I’m a salesclerk in a woman’s clothing store. My boss is great, but she has a very strict dress code. We have to wear long skirts, black shoes, no j ewelry, and on and on. It’s really boring, so I’m planning to dye my hair red. What do you think?Expert’s opinion: Sorry, but I have to side with your employer. A business wants to have a particular look, so they tell you what to wear. If you want to show off your individual style, you had better do it in your free time.2. I love my girlfriend, but she complains a lot about my clothes. She doesn’t want to go anywhere with me because I always wear old jeans and a T-shirt. I don’t care about looking like a fashion magazine. I just want to be comfortable! What’s your advice?Expert’s opinion: I think you ought to have a serious talk with your girlfriend and explain how you feel. We all have our own style and taste. In my opinion, she thinks too much about appearances.Optional Listening 4Today I started my new part-time job as a trendspotter. I was nervous and didn’t know what to expect. Well, guess what? It was a lot of fun! I’m telling all my friends, “You should think about becoming a trendspotter, too”On Saturday morning, we had to report to a recording studio by 10 a.m. The “Trends Coordinator,” Mandy, explained the schedule. Then she gave us a tour. That was really cool!Next we sat around a big table in a room. They gave each person three cards. One card said “Yes—All the way!” Another said, “It’s OK.” The third one said, “No way!” We listened to about 10 different songs. After each song we had to hold up a card. They played some hip hop, rock, heavy metal; and dance music. The heavy metal was “No way” for me.Do you know the rock group called “Gifted”? They’re really popular right now. Well, they have a new CD coming out. We saw six different CD covers. (I guess they are trying to choose one.) This time, we didn’t have cards. Instead, we just talked abo ut the covers we liked. Mandy asked us questions, “Which ones do you like?” “Why do you like them?” “Would you buy a CD with this cover?”We finished at 12:30. We will meet again next week at a boutique downtown. We will look at some new fashions. Each week we go to a different location. Oh yes, we also received a free CD for our tour. This “job” doesn’t pay, but we get a free stuff!That’s all for now!KeysOL1:A Elena: New York Vicki: Hong KongB. Gio: brother/usual Elena: store in neighborhood /retro, old-fashioned Vicki: mother, classic OL2：A. f c b B. 1. You could look for friends on the internet.2. You shouldn’t wear pants. You definitely ought to wear a dress.3. You had better get some help or you will fail the test. You had better not delay taking the test. OL3 A. b a B. Sorry, but I have to side with, want to show off, in your free time.have a serious talk, style and taste, too much about appearance.OL4 B. 1. She was nervous and didn’t what to do. 2. She had to report to a recording studio by 10 a.m. 3. They had to dec ide which song was “OK”, and which one was “No way”. 4. They just talked about the covers they liked. 5. They are going to look at some new fashions.C.1. doesn’t pay, Not a good salary 2. week, Not month 3. six CD covers, not one CD cover 4. a “ No way” card, Not an “It’s OK ” cardOL5: 1. jogging; 2.more and more; 3. disagrees; 4. increase; 5. gets tired; 6.stop to rest; 7. had better; 8. get some ice cream; 9. of all athletes; 10.afer a workout.Unit 5, Book 2Optional Listening 1Mike: …So,we can look forward to warmer temperature. It’ll be a good weekend for the beach. Over to you, Alexa.Alexa: Thank you for that weather report, Mike. And finally, this story just in. … We have a report that a local man, Nick Brown, saw some strange lights. He was driving home at about 10 p.m. He said the lights were bright and they moved across the sky. He stopped at a gas station and talked to a police officer about the lights. The police officer had seen the lights, too.M: Hmmm, … that’s strange story. What happened next?A: Well, Mr. Brown took some pictures, but there was no film in his camera. Finally, he called his wife on his cell phone. But by that time, the lights were gone.M: Well, I know that there is a legend around here about mysterious ligh ts … a lot of local people have seen the lights. It’s starting to seem like those lights really exist.. What do you think, Alexa? A: I don’t believe it. I think it’s some kind of hoax!Optional Listening 2It was raining heavily. I couldn’t see clearly. I drove slowly. Suddenly, I saw a young girl. She was dressed neatly and standing in the middle of the road. I was surprised! Somehow, I stopped the car quickly. “What are you doing?” I asked. She looked at me strangely but didn’t answer. “Are you OK?” I asked. “I’m fine,” she answered. Then she smiled happily and walked away quietly. Nervously, I drove to my hotel and checked in. I told the clerk about the little girl. “Do you know her?” I asked. “Oh yes,” he said calmly. “That’s Mary Anne. She died five yea rs ago on that road. It was a car accident during a rainstorm.”Optional Listening 3A. The Tunguska mysteryIt was early morning, June 30, 1908, in eastern Russia. Suddenly, a terrible explosion rocked the forest in Tunguska. People fell to the ground, and all the trees for 2000 square kilometers were down. People heard the explosion 800 kilometers away, and the fire burned for many weeks.B. What caused this terrible explosion? A century later, scientists are still trying to find the answer. Here are some possible explanations.1. An asteroid: Asteroids are very large pieces of rock that goes around in space and sometimes hit the planet. They can cause lots of damage. Some of them weigh as much as 100,00 tons. If an asteroid hit the earth, it would cause a huge explosion.2. A comet: Comets are giant balls of gas, ice., and rock with long tails. They travel through space in a regular pattern. Encke’s Comet was near Earth in1908, and it’s possible that a part of it broke off and hit the earth.3. An UFO accident: Some people believe that a spaceship crashed into the ground in Siberia and its engine exploded.4. An extraterrestrials might have wanted to destroy the earth, so they aimed their weapons at Earth and set fire to the forest.5. A scientific experiment: Another idea is that scientists made a mistake during an experiment with electricity. A man named Nikola Tesla tried to build a “supergun” that used electricity. Maybe it was a test of his gun and it didn’t work correctly.Optional Listening 4Q. Where is Marfa and what exactly is it famous for?A. Marfa is a small town in west Texas in the United States. It’s famous for the “Marfa mystery lights”Q. What are the mystery lights exactly?A. No one knows for sure. There are many different ideas about that.Q. Can you describe them?A. That’s a difficult question. Different people see different lights. They are not always the same. I can say that they appear after sunset in the sky. They dance mysteriously in air and vanish. Then they suddenly reappear.Q. Some people say they are car headlights. Do you think so?A. No. I don’t. A man first saw the mystery lights over 100 years ago. The man was Robert Ellison and the year was 1883. Of course we didn’t have cars in 1883.Q. What do you think causes the lights?A. There are many theories. The Native Americans thought the lights were stars falling to Earth. Some people think uranium gas causes the lights. Other people suggest that ball lightning does it. Ball lightning is lightning in the shape of circle. It often appears just after a rainstorm.Q What are some of the weirdest ideas about the lights?A. Well, some people call them “ghost lights”. They think ghosts do it. That’s the strangest idea. Some say they are UFOs. I don’t think so.Q. What do the experts say?A. They can’t figure it out. Some engineers even came from Japan one time. They studied the lights, but couldn’t solve the mystery.Q. Are the local people scared?A. No, actually, they aren’t. They like the lights. And every year in early September th ere is a big town festival to celebrate the mystery lights.KeysOL1: A. 从左至右：4-5-1-2-3 B. Nick Brown, police officer, local peopleOL 2:A. 1. A young girl standing in the middle of the road; 2. Because it was raining heavily3. He stopped the car quickly;4. She said “I’m fine.” and walked away quietly.5. He said the girl was Mary Anne and was killed in a car accident five years ago.B. heavily; clearly; slowly; neatly; quickly; strangely; happily; quietly; Nervously; calmly;OL3A. 1. A terrible explosion; 2. In eastern Russian; 3. June 30, 1968.B. (first row) 4, 1, 3 (second row) 5, 2C. 1. a part of it broke off 2. lots of damage 3. its engine exploded 4. used electricity 5. set fire to the forestOL 4A. 2. a 3. h 4. d 5. g 6. e 7. b 8. cB. 1. different people see different lights 2. Robert Ellison saw the lights in 1883.3. The Native Americans thought the light were stars failing to the Earth4. A team from Japan studied the lights, but couldn’t solve the mystery.OL 5 1. solve; 2. it’s very likely; 3. stole; 4. apartment; 5. showing; 6. has an alibi; 7. it isn’t true;8. walks in; 9. take out; 10. thief.Unit 6, Book 2Optional Listening 1Conversation 1Woman: Morning, Simon. Wow, you look tired.Man: Oh, I didn’t sleep very well last night. I had a weird dream. I was in a classroom at school, b ut I didn’t have any clothes on. No one looked at me, but I was really embarrassed. Conversation 2Woman: Jesse, Jesse, Wake up. You’re having a nightmare.Male child: Oh, what a terrible dream. I dreamed I was on a dark street. Suddenly, there was a large dog behind me. It ran toward me, but I couldn’t move.Woman: Don’t worry, Jesse. It was only a dream. Go back to sleep.Conversation 3Man1: Morning Tim.Man2: Morning. Hey, I had an amazing dream last night. I was on a beautiful boat. The sun was warm and the ocean was really blue. I jumped into the water, and I began to swam with the fish. The thing is, I can’t swim. But in the dream, I could. It was pretty cool.Optional Listening 2I had an amazing dream last night. I was standing outside of an strange big house. The house was painted pink, a very rare color for a house. It had a lot of big windows, either round or rectangular. The house had large square pillars and twisted columns. I was thinking there must be a big living room, several bedrooms, a kitchen, and a guest room in such a big house. I was wondering whose house this was when I suddenly heard a voice from somewhere: “My lord, welcome home.” Wow, this was my dream house.I went inside and walked into my living room. It was spacious. There were sofas, a table, abig-screen TV, and a stereo system. It was pretty cool. All my best friends were there, too. But somehow they didn’t speak, didn’t smile, and didn’t even move. And then suddenly they all disappeared. I was scared. What a terrible dream.I then went to the kitchen. It was also spacious. There were all kinds of kitchen equipment, including a gas stove, a refrigerator, and an oven. There also many electric appliances, such as a。
高级英语视听说教程第二册听力文本SANY标准化小组 #QS8QHH-HHGX8Q8-GNHHJ8-HHMHGN#Book 2 Chapter 1 The PopulationToday we’re going to talk about population in the United States. According to the most recent government census, the population is 281,421,906 people. Now this represents an increase of almost 33 million people since the 1990 census. A population of over 281 million makes the United States the third most populous country in the whole world. As you probably know, the People’s Republic of China is the most populous country in the world. But do you know which is the second most populousWell, if you thought India, you were right. The fourth, fifth, and sixth most populous countries are Indonesia, Brazil, and Pakistan. Now let’s get back to the United States. Let’s look at the total U. S. population figure of 281 million in three different ways. The first way is by race and origin; the second is by geographical distribution, or by where people live; and the third way is by the age and sex of the population.First of all, let’s take a look at the population by race and origin. The latest U. S. census reports that 75.1 percent of the population is white, whereas 12.3 percent is black. Three percent are of Asian origin, and 1 percent is Native American. 2.4 percent of the population is a mixture of two or more races, and 5.5 percent report themselves as “of some other race”. Let’s make sure yourfigures are right: OK, white, 75.1 percent; black, 12.3 percent; Asian, 3 percent; Native American, 1 percent; a mixture of two or more races, 2.4 percent; and of some other race, 5.5 percent. Hispanics, whose origins lie in Spanish-speaking countries, comprise whites, blacks, and Native Americans, so they are already included in the above figures. It is important to note that Hispanics make up 12.5 percent of the present U.S. population, however. Finally, the census tells us that 31 million people in the United States were born in another country. Of the 31 million foreign born, the largest part, 27.6 percent are from Mexico. The next largest group, from the Philippines, number 4.3 percent.Another way of looking at the population is by geographical distribution. Do you have any idea which states are the five most populous in the United States Well, I’ll help you out there. The five most populous states, with population figures, are California, with almost 34 million; New York, with 21 million; Texas, with 19 million; and Florida, with 16 million; and Illinois with 12.5 million people. Did you get all those figures downWell, if not, I’ll give you a chance later to check your figures. Well, then, let’s move on. All told, over half, or some 58 percent of the population, lives in the South and in the West of the United States. This figure, 58 percent, is surprising to many people. It issurprising because the East is more densely populated. Nevertheless, there are more people all together in the South and West. To understand this seeming contradiction, one need only consider the relatively larger size of many southern and western states, so although there are more people, they are distributed over a larger area. To finish up this section on geographical distribution, consider that more than three-quarters of the people live in metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Houston. That means that only 20 percent, or 2 out of 10 people, live in rural areas. An interesting side note is that some 3,800,000 U.S. citizens live abroad, that is, in foreign countries.Before we finish today, I want to discuss the distribution of the U.S. population in terms of age and sex. Just for interest, would you say there are more men or more women in the United States Well, according to the 2000 census, there are more women. In fact, there are more than five million more women than men in the U.S. population. If we consider that more males than females are born each year, how can this difference be explainedWell, for a variety of complicated reasons that we can’t go into here, there is a progressively higher death rate for males as they get older. This is seen in 2003 life expectancy figures: the life expectancy for women is 80.4 years whereas for men it is only 74.5years. I don’t know how these life expectancy figures compare to those in your countries, but statistically women generally live longer than men worldwide. Now, to finish up, let’s look at the average age of the whole population. Overall, the average age of the population is increasing: from 33.1 years in 1990 to 35.3 years in 2000. The average age has been slowly, but steadily, increasing over the past several decades. This trend toward a higher average age can be explained by a decreasing birth rate and an increasing life expectancy for the population as a whole. Well, I’d like to investigate these two subjects further, but I see our time is up, so we’ll have to call it quits for today. You may want to pursue the topic of the aging U.S. population further, so there are some suggestions at the end of the lesson to help you do so. Thank you. Chapter Two Immigration: Past and PresentThe act of immigrating, or coming to a new country to live, is certainly nothing new. Throughout history, people have immigrated, or moved to new countries, for many different reasons. Sometimes these reasons were economic or political. Other people moved because of natural disasters such as droughts or famines. And some people moved to escape religious or political persecution. No matter what the reason, most people do not want to leave their native land and do so only under great pressure of some sort, but a few people seemquite adventuresome and restless by nature and like to move a lot. It seems both kinds of people came to America to live. The subject of immigration is quite fascinating to most Americans, as they view themselves as a nation of immigrants. However, the early Britons who came to what is today the United States considered themselves “settlers” or “colonists,” rather than immigrants. These people did not exactly think they were moving to a new country but were merely settling new land for the “mother country.” There were also large numbers of Dutch, French, German, and Scotch-Irish settlers, as well as large numbers of blacks brought from Africa as slaves. At the time of independence from Britain in 1776, about 40 percent of people living in what is now the United States were non-British. The majority of people, however, spoke English, and the traditions that formed the basis of life were mainly British traditions. This period we have just been discussing is usually referred to as the Colonial Period. Today, we’re a little more interested in actual immigration after this period. Let’s first look at what is often called the Great Immigration, which began about 1830 and ended in 1930. Then let’s consider the reasons for this so-called Great Immigration and the reasons it ended. Finally, let’s talk about the immigration situation in the United States today,As I said, we’ll begin our discussion today with the period ofhistory called the Great Immigration, which lasted from approximately 1830 to 1930. It will be easier if we look at the Great Immigration in terms of three major stages, or time periods. The first stage was from approximate1y 1830 to 1860. Now, before this time, the number of immigrants coming to the United States was comparatively small, only about 10,000 a year. However, the rate began to climb in the 1830s when about 600,000 immigrants arrived. The rate continued to climb during the 1840s with a tota1 of 1,700,000 people arriving in that decade. The rate continued to climb, and during the 1850s 2,600,000 immigrants arrived. During this first stage of the Great Immigration, that is, between the years 1830 and 1860, the majority of immigrants came from Germany, Great Britain, and Ireland. Now let’s consider the second stage of the Great Immigration. The second stage was from l860 to 1890, during which time another 10,000,000 people arrived. Between l860 and 1890 the majority of immigrants continued to be from Germany, Ireland, and Great Britain. However, during the second stage, a smaller but significant number of immigrants came from the Scandinavian nations of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The third stage of the Great Immigration, which lasted from 1890 to 1930, was the era of heaviest immigration. Between the years l890 and l930, almost 22 million immigrants arrived in the United States. Most of thesenew arrivals came from the Southern European countries of Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain and the Eastern European countries of Poland and Russia.Now that we know something about the numbers and origins of immigrants who came to the States during the Great Immigration, let’s consider the reasons why most of these people immigrated to the United States. Why did such large numbers of Europeans leave their homes for life in an unknown countryIt would be impossible to discuss all the complex political and economic reasons in any depth today, but we can touch on a few interesting facts that might help to clarify the situation for you. First of all, one of the most important reasons was that the population of Europe doubled between the years 1750 and 1850. At the same time that the population was growing so rapidly, the Industrial Revolution in Europe was causing widespread unemployment. The combination of increased population and the demand for land by industry also meant that farmland was becoming increasingly scarce in Europe. The scarcity of farmland in Europe meant that the abundance of available land in the growing country of the United States was a great attraction. During these years, the United States was an expanding country and it seemed that there was no end to land. In fact, in 1862, the government offered public land free tocitizens and to immigrants who were planning to become citizens. In addition to available farmland, there were also plentiful jobs during these years of great economic growth. Other attractions were freedom from religious or political persecution. Some other groups also came to the United States as the direct results of natural disasters that left them in desperate situations. For example, the frequent failure of the potato crop in Ireland between the years 1845 and 1849 led to widespread starvation in that country, and people were driven to immigrate. Another factor that affected the number of immigrants coming to the United States was improved ocean transport beginning in the 1840s. At that time, ships large enough to carry large numbers of people began to make regular trips across the ocean. Now let’s summarize the reasons for the high rate of immigration to the United States during the years we discussed: first, the doubling of the population in Europe between 1750 and 1850; second, the unemployment caused by the Industrial Revolution; and third, the land scarcity in Europe, followed by religious and political persecution and natural disaster. These reasons combined with improved transportation probably account for the largest number of immigrants.I would now like to talk briefly about the period of time following the Great Immigration and the reasons for the decline inthe rate of immigration. Although immigration continues today, immigration numbers have never again reached the levels that we discussed previously. There are several reasons for this decline. This decline was in part due to various laws whose aim was to limit the number of immigrants coming from different parts of the world to the United States. The first such law that limited the number of immigrants coming from a certain part of the world was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This law was followed by many other laws that also tried to limit the numbers of people immigrating from various countries or parts of the world. In addition to such laws, certainly economic and geopolitical events as important as the Great Depression starting in 1929 and World War II also contributed to the decline in immigration.Let’s conclude our talk by discussing the current situation with respect to immigration, which is quite different from that in the past. To understand some of the changes, it’s important to note that in 1965 strict quotas based on nationality were eliminated. Let’s see how different things are today from the past. As I noted, the greatest number of immigrants to the United States have historically been European. According to U.S. Census figures, in 1860, the percentage of immigrants that were European was 92 percent. But by 1960, the percentage of European immigrants had dropped to74.5 percent, and by the year 2002, it had dropped to 14 percent! In 2002, 52.2 percent of immigrants came from Latin America, that is, from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Mexico is ordinarily considered part of North America, but the U.S. Census Bureau considers Mexico as a Central American country in terms of immigration statistics, and estimates that more than one-third of the total of all immigrants to the United States in 2002 came from Mexico or another Central American country. The next largest percentage, 25.5 percent, of immigrants came from Asia, mainly from the Philippines, China, and India.Although immigration dropped sharply when the United States entered World War I and remained low throughout the Depression and World War II years, at the end of the l940s, immigration began to increase again and has, in general, risen steadily since then. It might surprise you to know that the actual number of immigrants coming yearly to the States in recent years is about the same as the numbers coming yearly between 1900 and 1910. Keep in mind, though, that the population of the United States is much larger now than at the turn of the century, so that while the yearly numbers may be similar, the percentage of the population that is foreign-born is considerably smaller today than it was a century ago.It might be interesting to speculate on immigration in thefuture. Will the trend continue for non-Europeans to immigrate to the United States The answer is probably yes for the foreseeable future. Do these non-European people come to the United States for the same reasons that Europeans cameWell, land is no longer plentiful and cheap. Industry no longer requires large numbers of unskilled workers. In fact, the government usually tries to restrict immigration to those people who already have the skills to be successful in U.S. society. Still, people come for politica1 and economic reasons and probably will continue to do so.Chapter 3 Americans at WorkWhether you love it or hate it, work is a major part of most people’s lives everywhere in the world. Americans are no exception. Americans might complain about “blue Monday,” when they have to go back to work after the weekend, but most people put a lot of importance on their job, not only in terms of money but also in terms of identity. In fact, when Americans are introduced to a new person, they almost always ask each other, “What do you do?” They are asking, what is your job or profession. Today, however, we won’t look at work in terms of what work means socially or psychologically. Rather, we’re going to take a look at work in the United States today from two perspectives. First, we’ll take ahistorical look at work in America. We’ll do that by looking at how things changed for the American worker from the beginning to the end of the twentieth century, that is, from the year 1900 to the year 1999. Then we’ll look at how U.S. workers are doing today.As we look at the changes over the last century, we’re going to use a lot of statistics to describe these changes. You will need to write down a lot of numbers in today’s lecture. First, let’s consider how the type of work people were involved in changed. At the beginning of the twentieth century, about 38 percent of the workforce was involved in agriculture; that is, they worked on a farm. By the end of the century, only 3 percent still worked on farms. There was also a large decrease in the number of people working in mining, manufacturing, and construction. The number of workers in mining, manufacturing, and construction went down from 31 percent to 19 percent.While the number of people in these goods producing industries went down, the number of people in the service industries went up. As you may know, a service industry is one that provides a service, rather than goods or products. A few examples include transportation, tourism, banking, advertising, health care, and legal services. I’m sure you can think of more. The service industry workforce jumped from 31 percent of the workforce at the turn of the century to 78percent in 1999.Let’s recap the numbers: in 1900, 38 percent in agriculture; 31 percent in mining, manufacturing, and construction; and 31 percent in the service industries. That should add up to 100 percent. In 1999, 3 percent in agriculture; 19 percent in mining, manufacturing, and construction; and 78 percent in the service industries. Again, that should add up to 100 percent.The labor force changed in other important ways. For example, child labor was not unusual at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1900 there were 1, 750, 000 children aged ten to fifteen working full-time in the labor force. This was 6 percent of the labor force. Over the years, child labor laws became much stricter and by 1999, it was illegal for anyone under sixteen to work full-time in any of the fifty states. While the number of children in the workforce went down, the number of women went up dramatically. In 1900, only 19 percent of women were employed; in 1999, 60 percent of women were holding down jobs.Let’s see what has happened to wages and salaries. All the numbers I will give you are in terms of 1999 dollars. Let me explain. In 1900 the average per capita income was $4,200 a year. That does not mean that the average worker in 1900 earned $4,200, a year, but that what he or she earned was equal to $4, 200 in 1999. That is,the amount of money the average worker earned in 1900 was worth the same as $4,200 in 1999. The average per capita income in 1999 was $33, 700. Not only did people earn a lot more money at the end of the century, they also received a lot more in benefits than at the beginning of the century. One of the important benefits most workers received later in the century was health insurance. Whereas wages and salaries rose over the century, the average workweek dropped. That is, workers, in general, did not work as long hours in 1999 as they did in 1900.The last area that I’d like to give you a few statistics about is workplace safety. Most of us who go to work every day don’t think a lot about whether we are safe or not, but in 1900 it was a real concern for a lot of workers. There aren’t many statistics available, but the U.S. government does have statistics on two industries that will give you some idea of the differences today. In 1900 almost 1,500 workers were killed in coal-mining accidents; in 1999, the number was 35. 2,555 railroad workers were killed in 1900, compared to 56 in 1999.People often tend to romanticize the past and talk about “the good old days,”but I think it’s fair to say that by the end of the twentieth century, U.S. workers in general made more money, they enjoyed more benefits, and their working conditions had improvedgreatly.Now let’s turn our attention to the current situation for U.S. workers. The picture is not so rosy as the one drawn by comparing U.S. workers at the beginning and the end of the twentieth century. I’m going to focus on the current situation in terms of productivity, working hours, and wages and salaries.First let’s consider the number of hours worked. According to a 2003 study released by the United Nations International Labor Organization, U.S. workers are the most productive in the world among industrialized nations, but they work longer hours than European workers to achieve this productivity. Europeans typically have four to six weeks of vacation a year, whereas the average American worker has only about two weeks. This study points out that the longer working hours in the United States is a rising trend, while the trend in other industrialized countries is the opposite.Workers in some European countries actually outproduce American workers per hour of work. It has been suggested that this higher rate of productivity might be because European workers are less stressed than U.S. workers.At any rate, there seems to be general agreement that U.S. productivity has greatly increased over the last thirty years. However, workers have not seen their wages rise at the same rate. Agroup of sociologists in their book Inequality by Design point out that there is a growing gap between rich Americans and everyone else in the United States. They write that between 1949 and 1974, increases in productivity were matched by increases in wages for workers in both manufacturing and the service industries, but since 1974, productivity increased 68 percent in manufacturing and 50 percent in services, but real wages stagnated. That is, wages moved up little or not at all. So, where does all the money generated by the increased productivity go thenAccording to the authors of this book, the money goes to the salaries for CEOs, to the stock market, and to corporate profits. Workers play a great role in increasing productivity, but no longer see their wages connected to increased productivity. In other words, CEOs’salaries, the stock market, and the corporate profits go up as work productivity goes up, but workers’ wages don’t.What are the reasons why U.S. workers, who are the most productive in the world, have to work longer hours, have fewer vacation days, and see their wages stagnate and not rising at the same rate as productivity The answer to this question is complex and controversial, but there are two reasons most people who speak or write about these issues mention: The first is that labor unions in the United States have lost great power since the beginning of the1980s, and the second is that the government has passed laws that favor the rich and weaken the rights of the workers.I see our time is up. So, I’ll see you next time.Chapter 4 Family in the United StatesA hundred years ago, one heard the same kind of comments about the American family that one hears today --- in short, that the American family is disintegrating. Proof of this disintegration at the end of the nineteenth century included three points: the declining birth rate, a rising divorce rate, and evidence that women were not completely content with their domestic role. It’s a little surprising to me that the same claim about the family is being made today --- that it is disintegrating. And often the same points are mentioned as proof: declining birth rates, increasing divorce rates, and discontent of women with domestic roles. Now, in no way do I mean to imply that cultural, demographic, and economic conditions are the same now as they were 100 years ago. On the contrary, the very nature of the family has changed drastically in the last 50 years, not to mention the last 100 years. But I don’t think the average person’s concept of the family has changed very much over the years. A lot of people have on fixed idea of the family: a married couple where Mother stays home to care for the children and Father works. But this idea is challenged by what we see every dayin U.S. society. To be sure, the family is a very sensitive barometer for what is happening in the society, the culture, and the economy of the United States. To make this point clearer, we’ll take a look at how the American family has changed in the last 50 years by looking at three different time periods: there are the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s; the mid-60s to the mid-80s; and finally the present. Sociologist Barbara Dafoe Whitehead labels these three periods: the period of traditional familism, the period of individualism, and the period of the new familism. I will try for each period to show how economic, demographic, and cultural elements interact and, in turn, affect the family.Well, let’s proceed in chronological order and start with traditional familism. We’re talking here of the twenty years from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s. This was the period after World War II, a period characterized by a very strong economy. This gave the United States a rising standard of living and a growing middle class. Demographically, the predominant configuration of the family from these years was the traditional one: a married couple with children. Some women worked, but divorce rates were low, and birth rates were high. I guess you could say that the country idealized the family in these years. And what I mean is, there was a commitment to the family from its members and a reverence for it from society. TVprograms of the era depicted the family in the classical configuration: working father, housewife, and children. Culturally, three characteristics stand out in this period: conformity to social norms, greater male domination of the family than in the later periods, and clear-cut gender roles, that is, clear and separate roles for men and women at home and at work. Well, things changed quite a bit after this period.Let’s move on to the second period, the period of individualism. This period is from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. Now, because individualism is so often mentioned in our discussion of U.S. culture and people, I should make a little detour here before we discuss it. Individualism brings to mind two other words: independence and self-reliance. Individualism conveys the idea that one should think and act for himself or herself, according to what one feels is right. Individualism is easily confused with egotism or selfishness, but in its best sense, it is much more. Individualism implies that one has the freedom to decide what is best rather than allowing that decision to be made by a group such as the community or society. Individualism does, of course, conflict with the concept of community, which implies that the group shares in making decisions. And this conflict between the individual and the community is one that comes up again and again in our lecture seriesabout the United States. All right, let’s get back to our discussion about the family.The second period, the period of individualism, saw three important social and political movements. Do you have any idea which movements I might be talking about Keep in mind that these decades were characterized by a lack of conformity to social norms. Well, the movements have in mind are the sexual revolution, in which sex was clearly no longer reserved for marriage; the women’s liberation movement; and the movement against the war in Vietnam. All three movements---the sexual revolution, woman’s liberation, and the antiwar movement --- were typical of the nonconforming nature of these decades. Now, culturally, it is in this period where we see two important developments: one the idealization of one’s career and work and, two, the drive for self-expression and self-fulfillment. In this period, the feminist movement challenged traditional gender roles and male domination of society. Women began to enter professions previously closed to them like medicine, law, and management. Men, for their part, began at least to consider a more active role in raising their children.These cultural changes occurred during a time of economic changes, too. This was a time of rapidly rising cost of living. Together, these forces changed the demographics of the family. Theformer picture of the family had only one configuration: a married couple with children where Mother stayed home. The new picture of the family had to include new configurations, like families in which the husband and wife both worked, families of single parents with children, and families of cohabiting couples with or without children. With more women pursuing careers and making money, there was less economic pressure for them to stay in an unsuitable marriage. Therefore, divorce rates doubled in a decade. Rising divorce rates and more financial independence for women made marriage a less attractive arrangement for many women. Consequently, the number of single-parent households tripled. Less conformity to social norms paved the way for cohabitation. So the number of unmarried couples living together in this period quadrupled. Can you see how economic, cultural, and demographic aspects of the society interact with each other I hope so. Well, let’s continue with our agenda.The third period, the new familism, is harder to see because we are living in this period now. And because we are constantly informed by the media about the deteriorating American family, it’s hard to get an objective view of the state of the family. I think that today most people applaud the social changes that came about in the second period of individualism. They are not willing to give up。
14视听说原文unit2Directions: In this section, you will hear several conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversations and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A), B), C) and D), and decide which is the best answer.A: How are you getting along, Julie?B: After the vacation? Much refreshed.A．It is interesting.B．It is tiring.C．It is exciting.D．It is refreshing.A: Why are you so cheerful while I'm so stressed all day?B: Well, you should work off your stress.A．work not so hardB．work on easier problemsC．eat healthyD．get rid of her stressQuestions 3 to 5 are based on the conversation you have just heard.1.Three months ago, a friend gave Penny _____ when she was in low spirits. （岭师分享群391337364发布）A．a flowerB．a comic bookC．a comic DVDD．a hat2.Eric is working on his _____.A．final examinationsB．novelC．master's thesisD．family problem3.What happens at the end of the conversation?A．Penny lends Eric a comic book.B．Eric lends Penny a comic book.C．They go to the library.D．They read the book together.Directions: In this section, you will hear several short passages. At the end ofeach passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questionswill be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the bestanswer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D).Passage OneThe gestures are used to emphasize an idea or emotion, especially while speaking. Gestures are of great help as people are in a lack of words while trying to express their thoughts, emotions and feelings. While one is talking, he or she considers every sentence and word. Before one says some words, he thinks them over in order not to hurt someone or say something wrong. The vocabulary of a person is rather broad and contains millions of words that help us to express anything we want. According to the scientists, the average person uses about thirteen thousand of words in his everyday communication. One may say that thirteen thousand is a rather big number, but consider the fact that the average dictionary of a certain language contains about 600,000 words. That means we don't use even a half of the words in our language. So, it is common that sometimes we are in a lack of words to express something. As it happens, we start to express our feelings through different gestures. Gestures are the reflection of inner feelings we have but not able to express or try to hide. So, the gestures are a silent language. During our entire life we are wearing masks that help us to hide the feelings and thoughts. But, no matter what a skilful liar a person is, no one is able to control his gestures.Questions 6 to 10 are based on the passage you have just heard.1.Gestures will help people _____ to express theirthoughts and feelings.A．who cannot speak a foreign languageB．who are not well educatedC．who are not good speakersD．who are in a lack of words2.Before one says some words, _____.A．one makes sure they won't hurt peopleB．one tries to use the simplest wordsC．one makes sure that the grammar is correctD．one uses gestures to tell what is to be said3.On average, how many words does one use in hisdaily communication?A．13,000.B．16,000.C30,000.D．60,000.4.Gestures are the reflections of _____.A．spoken languageB．daily problemsC．our moodsD．hidden feelings5.What can't be controlled no matter how skillful one is?A．Manners.B．Behaviors.C．Gestures.D．Pronunciations.Passage TwoIt may be a question whether work is a cause of happiness. There is certainly much work which is troublesome, and too much work is always very painful. But I think that even the most boring work is less painful to most people than no work at all. There are different kinds of work, according to the nature of the work and the abilities of the worker. Most of the work that most people have to do is not in itself interesting, buteven such work has certain great advantages. To begin with, it fills the day without the need of deciding what one shall do. Most people, when they are left free to fill their own time, are at a loss to think of anything pleasant to be worth doing. And whatever they decide on, they are troubled by the feeling that something else would have been more pleasant. What's more, always having to make a choice is very troublesome. For many common people, it is better to be told what to do at each hour of the day. Most of the rich people who have no work to do suffer a kind of boredom. At times they may find relief by hunting in Africa, or by flying round the world, but the number of such experiences is limited. So the clever rich people work as hard as if they were poor to kill the bad feelings.Questions 11 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.1.To most people, the most boring work is _____than no work at all.A．more painfulB．no more painfulC．as painful asD．less painful2.What is TRUE about most work that most peopledo?A．They are not very interesting.B．They cause unhappiness.C．They are troublesome.D．They are exciting.3.For most people, when they are free to fill theirown time, they will probably _________.A．not know what is worth doingB．know how to kill the timeC．fill their time wellD．get lost in the streets4.Work has certain advantages because _____.A．it keeps people healthyB．people can be told what to do at every hour ofthe dayC．people find a reason to enjoy their vacationsD．everyone should work5.What do the clever rich people do to kill the badfeelings of boredom?A．They travel around the world.B．They seek adventures in Africa.C．They work hard.D．They watch others work.可跳过不做：（Directions: In this section, you will hearseveral sentences. Listen carefully and then repeat.Stop yawning. This is serious!I’m stressed. I have an important test tomorrow.I’m doing my Ph.D Programme. It’s takin g ages tofinish and it’s pretty stressful.I’m a sales manager at an American company. It’spretty exciting.I wish I were working already. I’m sick ofstudying.Directions: There is a short text shown on the computer screen (as is shown below). You are required to read the text aloud. Your voice will be recorded into the system. You'll have 1 minute for preparation and then you are required to begin reading when hearing the beginning signal sound and stop it when hearing the ending signal sound. Your reading should be limited within 1.5 minutes. Now you have 1 minute to prepare.I'm a freshman in a Chinese university. I'm justhappy to spend the next four years of my life here,with so many interesting guys. In my eyes,everything about the campus is cool: tall buildings,large libraries, big classrooms, clean paths,playgrounds and tracks, trees, lakes, birds. And ofcourse there're the people, I mean my roommates.We tell jokes and make fun of each other every day.We're a happy family. Study is also apart of college life. But I'm not worried. Notworried at all. Now I learn for myself, not for thegrades. So it's better that I enjoy the days in collegeand not to worry about my grades.Directions: Look at the picture below, which is aboutJack. Why is he feeling that way? Suppose you are hiscousin and you want to help him feel better. Firstdiscuss his problem with him and then make specificsuggestions as to how he can feel better. You'll have 1minute to prepare and another 2 minutes to completeyour presentation. Now you have 1 minute toprepare.）<b>Directions:</b> True or False. Watch the video clipand decide whether the following statements are True (T)or False (F).Cell Phones Catherine: I think these days you can't live without a cell phone. Brad: I always have my cell phone with me so I can call myfriends. I also can browse the Internet and download music. Jackie: My cell phone has a camera on it. It's very useful when I don't have a camera with me and if there's something funny happening, there I can take a picture. Dayanne: I think that sometimes cell phones are unnecessary, however, they're very good for business. Alex: What I like about cell phones is you can contact anybody you want anytime you want. Calvin: I feel like I lost some privacy because of cell phones. Lourdes: I don't like cell phones that much. They're necessary ... and they're very useful in emergencies ... but in general, I think that they're not a good thing. Dennis: I like cell phones because they connect you with people. Wherever you are, people can reach you. What I don't like about cell phones is when they ring at the most unexpected times. Alejandra: I like cell phones because they allow me to call people when I'm running late and let them know that I'm running late. I don't like when cell phones ring in theaters, or movie theaters, or important talks, or even in the classroom. That's ... I think ... a lack of respect, so that's when I hate cell phones. Catherine thinks we cannot live without a computer these days.TFJackie can take a picture with her cell phone.TFDayanne thinks that cell phones are not always necessary.TFAlex thinks he can contact anybody anytime with his cell phone.TFCalvin doesn't like cell phones.TFFill in the blanks. Watch the video clip a and fill in the blanks with the words you hear.Brad: I always have my cell phones with meso I can call my friends. I also can browse the Internet and download music . ... Lourdes: ... They're necessary... and they're very useful in emergencies ... but in general , I think that they are not a good thing. ... Dennis: ... Whereveryou are, people can （岭师分享群391337364发布）reach you. What I don't like about cell phones is when they ring at the most unexpected times ... Alejandra: ... That's ... I think ... a ack of respect, so that's when I hatecell phones.。
U校园&大学英语视听说教程21. Which of the following is a cybercrime?B terrorist threat using emojis on Facebook.2. What is the expert's opinion of emojis?D It's helpful to use emojis to avoid misunderstanding.1. Why was English Language Day settled on April 23?C To celebrate William Shakespeare's birthday.2. Which of the following is not an aim of creating Language Days?C To memorize Shakespeare's 400th anniversary.1. What is the finding of the study?D. The more languages you speak, the less likely you will develop cognitive problems.2. Who took part in the study?C.230 men and women with an average age of 73.3. What will be the focus of further studies?B. Whether the protection is applied to other areas of cognition.1. What is the probable relationship between the two speakers?A.They are classmates.2. How many aspects of the differences are mentioned in the conversation?C.Three aspects: words, spellings and idioms.3. What would Americans say when they mean that "don't waste time and energy in doing something"?B.Don't beat a dead horse!1. Why was Ming arrested by the cops?D.He was mistaken to "hijack" the plane.2. What did the waiter think "ASAP" meant?A new order.3. What are the two speakers talking about?D.Misunderstandings caused by words.1. What is the speaker talking about?D.The job of a dialect coach.2. How do the actors manage to have a proper accent in the movies?C.They have a dialect coach to help them.3. What do we learn about dialect coaches?D.A degree in linguistics may be a must to them.1. Which of the following statements best expresses the speaker's view?A.The words people use can influence their behavior.2. Why are there harmful actions during games?B.Because the players treat their opponents as enemies.3. What did the player do when his way was blocked?C.He threw the ball at the one blocking his way.4. How does the speaker hope to improve the current situation in sports?A.To use positive language on the sports field.1. What language do people in a Doha airport most probably speak, according to the news report?C.English.2. What is many Arabs' opinion of the wide use of English in their country?D.They are worried that English is colonizing their own language.3. What do many immigrants in the Middle East expect to do?D.They want the locals to understand their culture.1. Where does the conversation most probably take place?A.At a theater.2. What does "a wild goose chase" mean now?C.A hopeless search for something.3. Which play does "to eat someone out of house and home" come from?B.Henry IV.4. What does "a green-eyed monster" mean now?A.Being sick with jealousy.1. Why do people express similar ideas in different ways?B.They are in different situations.2. What are the two general levels of usage for language?C.Formal and informal language.3. According to the passage, whom are we speaking to when we say "Would you mind closing the door"?C.A stranger.1. What's the news report mainly about?C.Earning potentials of young adults.2. What do we know about college graduates?A.They were less likely to lose jobs.1. What's the news report mainly about?A.The returns of college education in America.2. According to the survey, who often have difficulty in finding jobs?B.Those who major in subjects with low vocational demands.1. What did the African university leaders meet to discuss?B.Problems higher education is facing.2. What is the problem mentioned by Pinkie Mekgwe, administrator at the University of Johannesburg?A.African universities are lacking funding.3. What should the governments do, according to Ousmane Sene, director of West African Research Center?A.Offer more job opportunities.1. What is the biggest challenge for Chinese students, according to Rebecca?D.Their communication skills.2. Which is not the reason for Chinese students' biggest challenge?A.They don't work hard enough.3. Why do lecturers want students to ask questions, according to Rebecca?C.They want them to understand the subject better.4. Which of the following is the tip Rebecca gives to Chinese students?D.They need to go out and communicate with others.1. How long does Elaine spend on after-class activities in a week?A.10 hours.2. What was the percentage of part-time students employed last year?C.76%.3. What does making a detailed timetable mean?A.Having every detail put into a calendar.4. Which of the following is Dr. Steven's advice?D.To keep one day a week to herself to enjoy her free time.1. According to the speaker, what is the society's attitude toward the humanities?C.The humanities are less important than STEM.2. What does the speaker think of the humanities and STEM?B.They are equally important.3. According to the speaker, why are the humanities important?B.They provide us with social workers, teachers and artists.1. What is this passage mainly about?B.How to solve roommate conflicts.2. How can you deal with your feelings?B.Write down how you feel objectively.3. After the two of you talk, what should you do?A.Be patient and wait.1. What is the news report mainly about?C.American college's failure in achieving its major goals.2. How many college graduates made no obvious gains in the three thinking skills?C.36%.3. How much time do students spend on social activities and out-of-school activities?C.51% of their time.1. Why did Emmanuel sign up for the University of the People?B.Because he had no other options.2. Why is the University of the People tuition-free?A.Its teachers work on a voluntary basis.3. How much is the application fee?D.$50.4. What course does it offer currently?puter science and business administration.1. What does the term "Ivy League" officially refer to?D.An athletic conference in which the eight colleges' sports teams compete.2. How much is the tuition cost for those Ivy League universities each year?A.$35,000.3. In terms of donations, which university ranks the second?B.Yale.4. Which of the following is not the benefit of an Ivy League education?D.Low student-to-professor ratio.1. What is the EU planning to do to EU citizens when they are 18?D.Give them a free Interrail pass.2. What is the reason behind such a move?B.To build a "sense of belonging" among young people in Europe.1. According to the police officer, what percentage of jail inmates are high school dropouts?C.81.2%.2. According to the survey, what jobs are available to those dropouts?B.Jobs that are low-paying and boring.1. What does the study show about Generation Y?A.They occupy over a third of the Indian workforce.2. What is the characteristic of Generation X, according to the study?C.They lay stress on gaining knowledge and loyalty.3. What is important for Generation Y, according to the news report?D.Growth and learning opportunities.1. What will Diane do for the weekend?C.To go to the shore with some colleagues.2. How does the father treat Diane?C.Like a little kid.3. How does the daughter feel about her college?B.She dislikes her college life.4. Why does the daughter want to go out?A.She wants to get away from her father.1. What is Michael's problem?C.He can't decide on taking a gap year or going to university.2. What is Michael's concern about taking a gap year?A.He is worried about not having much money.3. What is Dr. Mary Clagett's suggestion to Michael?B.Joining a volunteer program that doesn't cost much.4. What will Michael decide to do?C.Attend the gap year program because he can learn by doing.1. What does the speaker think of 30-year-old guys?C.They are different.2. Who belongs to the motleyest part among the 30-year-old guys?D.30-year-old single guys.3. What do the first type of 30-year-old single guys expect their girl to be like?C.She has a great career and many friends.1. Why did the speaker quit the part-time job of house-painting?A.He wanted to be a poet.2. What happened to the speaker in Afghanistan?C.He blacked out and had a liver problem.3. What did the speaker finally settle down to do?B.Being a teacher.4. What is the speaker's attitude toward uncertainty and settling down?D.It is not necessary for people to avoid uncertainty.1. What is the news report mainly about?D.Different attitudes toward hard work and success.2. Who are likely to see themselves as "masters of their fate"?A.Americans.3. What might influence young people's opinions and beliefs?C.Economic conditions.1. What is Paula complaining about?D.The old ladies thought young people were too lazy.2. How many jobs does Paula have to do now?B.2.3. What is the major problem the young generation is facing?B.There are too many young people with too few jobs.4. What was uncommon in the old ladies' time?A.Attending college.1. What is the speaker's attitude toward volunteering abroad?D.It may affect people in need in a wrong way.2. What caused the rise in the number of orphanages in Cambodia?A.The rise of tourism.3. What can we encourage young people to do?B.To learn how to serve.4. What should a volunteer learn?B.To avoid being too much of a distraction.1. What does the news report say about Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal?C.They are on a national tour for their play Love Letters.2. What do we learn about the film Love Story?D."Love means never having to say you're sorry" is often used nowadays.1. How many couples were present at the Saturday ceremony?D.1,201.2. Why did the couples come to Western Michigan University?B.To set a Guinness World Record.1. What's the news report mainly about?C.Changes in the ways of dating.2. Which of the following was a common way to find a partner in the US in 1940?B.Through family connections.3. When had the Internet changed the way people got together?C.By 2000.1. What are the three speakers talking about?C.Whether it is important to date in college.2. What happened to Sophia?B.She broke up with her high school boyfriend.3. Which of the following is true of Jane?C.It's all right for her to lead her own life without dating someone.1. What are the two speakers talking about?B.A piece of news.2. Whose wedding does the Burger King wedding refer to?B.A couple who fell in love at Burger King.3. Why did the wedding draw national attention?B.Because the Burger King company paid for the wedding expenses.4. When did the couple get the nickname Burger King?A.When they were in fifth grade and helped to set up a yo-yo event.1. What is the passage mainly about?C.Campus love.2. Where did Margaret and Archie get to know each other?D.In the zoology lab.3. What can Archie remember clearly about Margaret?A.Her neat drawings.4. When does campus love usually take place, according to the speaker?B.When the two people are both pursuing the same goal.1. What kind of women do most Indian men marry?A.Women less educated than themselves.2. What was the percentage of never-married women aged 45-49 in 2010?A.0.07%.3. According to the passage, what might be a barrier to marriage in 2050?A.Age and education.4. Who will find it difficult to find a partner in 2050?C.Highly educated women and little educated men.1. Whom does "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" apply to?C.Long-distance couples.2. What did Cornell University ask the 63 couples to do besides completing questionnaires?A.Keep a communication diary.3. What are the findings of the survey on the couples in a long-distance relationship?D.They have longer, more meaningful conversations.1. What's the probable relationship between the speakers?D.Brother and sister.2. What is Peter confused about?C.Why his date blew him off.3. What was Peter's answer to "who should invite or plan a date — the man or the woman"?A.The man4. What advice did Mary give to Peter?B.To make dating plans with the girl.1. Why is dating rare in Afghanistan?D.Because most marriages are arranged by parents.2. What do we know about slumber parties?B.Teenagers gather for parties at a home and sleep there.3. In which country is dating against the law?A.Iran.4. Which of the following is the dating custom in Japan?C.Only boys do the asking and pay for the dates.1. Why did most Americans aged 18-29 choose not to use credit cards?C.Credit cards may cause problems.2. What was Rivera advised to do?D.Put off getting a credit card as long as possible.1. What will the UK government do according to the new strategy?B.Charge graduates who fail to pay back their loans.2. Why did the government issue the new strategy?D.The government need to ensure the sustainability of the student finance.1. What was once used as money in American prisons?C.Cigarettes.2. What do the prisoners use ramen to do?B.Hire services from other prisoners.3. Why is ramen replacing traditional cigarettes as money in American prisons?A.It is cheap and easier to get.1. What are the two speakers talking about?D.How to spend a million-dollar lottery.2. How would Tom spend the money?D.Pay back his student loans first.3. What does "hard up for cash" mean?C.Struggling with money.4. What would Li Hua do with the money?A.Buy her parents a big house.1. What is Bob's problem?B.He ordered too many takeaways.2. What is Lily's suggestion to Bob?C.To do more cooking at home.3. According to Lily, why do supermarkets often discount food after 4 p.m.?B.The food is going to expire.4. According to Lily, what do most stores do with their own store brand food?A.They sell them at relatively lower prices.1. Why is Burned writing this letter?A.To ask for some advice.2. What was Burned's problem?B.His friend didn't return the money borrowed from him.3. What does Sugars suggest borrowers do when they can't return the money on time?C.Make a new schedule.4. What is Sugars' suggestion to Burned?D.Write a new email to remind his friend of the money.1. What will a realistic optimist do?C.Keep a budget.2. What is an idealistic optimist comfortable with?B.Living above their earnings.3. What is the characteristic of emotional spenders?C.They lack confidence.1. What information was released by the survey?A.About 3/4 of Americans are living with little or no emergency savings.2. What is the percentage of adults that had no savings at all?D.27%.3. Which is more disappointing according to the news?B.The savings rates haven't changed for several years.1. What do the two speakers want to do for Tom?B.Buy him a skiing video game.2. How much do they plan to spend on the gift?D.$40.3. Why don't they want to ask the store clerk for help?C.The store clerk may recommend something very expensive.4. What will they do in the end?B.Buy a $40 coupon for Tom to buy what he likes.1. What is the passage mainly about?A.American college students' buying power.2. What do American college students spend most of their income on?puters.3. How much do American college students spend on movies, music and video games in a year?B.$3 billion.4. How can marketers achieve loyal purchasing from the young adults?C.By providing them quality products.1. What is the news report mainly about?D.The effect of exercise on middle-aged, overweight men and women.2. What kind of exercise is more valuable?B.Doing moderate intensity exercise every day.1. What is the result of the major oil explorers' change in exploration?A.Improved returns at lower prices.2. What is the new strategy more aware of?D.Costs.1. Which aspect does the "Teach Less, Learn More" policy tend to improve?D.Innovation.2. What are the signs of success in students for the policy?A.They are more confident in engaging in class discussion.3. What are the signs of success in teachers for the policy?C.They are showing increased levels of innovation in the classroom.1. What is Juliet going to do?B.Attend a workshop.2. When did Juliet get interested in minimalism?D.When she was packing for university.3. What is minimalism, according to Juliet?C.The ability to move without many possessions to carry.4. Why does minimalism bring happiness?A.Minimalism reduces our attachment to things and makes us free.1. Which of the following is the symptom of decidophobia?D.Feeling worried about making decisions.2. Why does decision-making scare some people?A.They fear making the wrong decision.3. Which of the following is the cause of decidophobia?A.Certain personality disorders.4. What assistance can people suffering from decidophobia seek?B.Therapy.1. What may be the consequence of not being brief in an interview?B.You will be thought of as not prepared.2. What will people do if they receive long emails?B.Delete or ignore them.3. Which word does McCormack suggest to use to make a mind map?C.BRIEF.4. What does the letter E refer to?D.Decide on what note you want to end a conversation.1. What do we know about Ludwig Mies?C.He was born in Germany.2. What made Mies widely respected in Europe?A.His innovative structures.3. What is significant about Mies and his buildings?C.He focused on the essential elements of the environment and people.1. What does the news report say about being bald?A.Being bald has advantages.2. What were the students asked to do after looking at the images of men?C.Rate their attractiveness and personality.3. What are bald men viewed as?D.Well-educated.1. What's the project "Life Edited" about?C.The idea that less might actually equal more.2. What does "edit decisively" mean?D.Think before we buy.3. What did Graham mean when he said "small is sexy"?A.We need to use space wisely.4. What is the woman's attitude toward Graham's idea?A.She completely agrees with him.1. What did the expert suggest the family restaurant do?B.Reduce their menu to just one page.2. What did the speaker learn from his experience with the website?D.More content does not necessarily lead to a successful website.3. What does the speaker suggest we do when we don't have much time to spend?A.Establish our priorities.4. What is the purpose of the speaker in sharing the stories?D.To show people how doing less can be more.1. What did the study find about the effect of having more job authority?B.It increases symptoms of depression in women.2. Why do women in authority positions suffer from chronic stress?C.They are viewed as either being indecisive or unfeminine.1. What is the right account of "Perez y Martina"?B.It is a tale about a cockroach and a mouse.2. What's the news report mainly about?C.Pura Belpré and her influence.1. What do one third of young Japanese women want to do?B.Be a full-time housewife.2. What's the experts' argument about women?D.They may rescue Japan's economy.3. What do younger women tend to look for?C.A stable lifestyle.1. What was argued about in Tom's class?C.Whether to be a stay-at-home mom.2. What does Feifei's sister do on Fridays?A.Host her kids' playmates.3. Why doesn't Feifei's sister give up her job?D.She finds satisfaction in her job.4. What will Feifei most probably do when she has a baby?C.Apply for a part-time job.1. What did Stella do for the 2016 Olympics?C.She designed the sportswear for the British delegation.2. What did Stella say about sportswear?D.Women athletes didn't have nice sportswear.3. What do the roses, the lions and the other elements in Stella's design represent?D.The different parts of the British Isles.4. What's attractive about taking on an Olympic-related project for Stella?C.The idea of doing something different.1. Why was Nicola Thorp fired on her first day as a corporate receptionist?A.She was not properly dressed as required.2. What is the speaker's opinion about Thorp being fired?A.It's a kind of gender inequality.3. What is the speaker's attitude toward dress policies?C.Clients' expectations should be considered in making a dress policy.4. What was the public's reaction to Thorp being fired?A.Many people appealed to the government to withdraw this decision.1. What do we know about Katharine Meyer Graham?C.She led The Washington Post to success.2. What do we know about The Washington Post?A.It was a failing newspaper in 1933.3. What did The New York Times newspaper publish in 1971?D.American involvement in the Vietnam War.4. Why did The Washington Post become famous around the world?C.Because of its two major reports.1. What do we know about the study?D.It found that working women are more likely to be overweight.2. Which of the following is the worst thing, according to obesity researchers?A.Sitting.3. What is a challenge for the working women?D.Balancing work with a healthy diet.1. What did Abubakar's Instagram show?A.Everyday life of Borno State.2. What do the local and international media fail to see in Borno State?D.Life.3. Why did Abubakar take pictures of a gorgeously-dressed older man?C.She likes very traditional Borno State dressing.4. Why did Abubakar take pictures of children?B.She wanted to show they are happy despite their sufferings.1. Who were among the NASA researchers that few knew about?B.A group of black women.2. What do we know about Katherine Johnson?D.She did calculations for space flight.3. How did Katherine Johnson feel about her work?D.She was just doing her work.4. What's the passage mainly about?D.The black women behind space flights.1. What's the news report mainly about?B.A dog elected mayor of a town.2. What is Duke's most remarkable contribution to the town?B.He helps to slow down the traffic.1. Why is there a common fear of snakes according to the new research?D.Because people are born with the ability to learn to fear snakes.2. Which of the following is the finding of the psychologists?C.Babies are skilled at noticing images of snakes.1. What is the news report mainly about?izens' reactions to a girl weeping next to a dead dog.2. What do we know about the dog in the picture?D.It was killed.3. What is the influence of the picture?C.Many people called for a ban on the consumption of dog meat.1. What are the two speakers talking about?C.The factors that determine which pets to keep.2. What pets are most popular in the US and Canada?B.Dogs and cats.3. Why is a goldfish thought to bring good luck?B.Its gold color is thought to be a symbol of wealth.4. Which animals are taken as examples of lifestyle difference factors?C.Bunnies and songbirds.1. What is in dispute according to the speaker?B.Who should be the author of the photos.2. What was the British photographer's opinion toward the dispute?C.He owns the camera and he owns the photos.3. What is the federal judge's opinion toward the lawsuit?C.The monkey shouldn't own the copyright because it isn't human.4. What is the legal affairs reporter's opinion on this issue?A.Copyright law doesn't apply to non-humans.1. When did Bob's date turn unhappy?A.When he ordered beef.2. What is Bob's opinion of eating meat?D.People can eat beef but dogs are man's friends.3. What is most Americans' opinion of eating meat?B.It's normal, natural, and necessary.4. What does the girl Bob dated think of eating meat?C.It's selfish and cruel.1. Why is Khanzir famous?C.He is the only pig in Afghanistan.2. What happened to Khanzir in 2006?C.He was attacked by a bear.3. What is the zoo officials' opinion on keeping pigs in the zoo?C.It would be good to have more pigs.1. What is the news report mainly about?C.Seven animal rights activists were sentenced to prison.2. How did the activists blackmail the companies and individuals?D.They used emails, electro-form and coded messages.3. What is the judge's opinion on this issue?panies had the right to conduct lawful trading.1. Where do the two guests come from?B.The US and South Africa.2. What pet does Tom have?C.A duck called Star.3. How did the hippo come to her owners?A.They saved her from floodwaters.4. What can we find on Jessica's website?D.Jessica is fond of Fred in particular.1. What do we know about whale hunting in Japan?D.Several Japanese towns have a long history of whaling.2. What did the Japanese government say they hunt whales for?B.For scientific research.3. What shouldn't foreigners do, according to the Japanese government?C.To tell Japanese people what they can or cannot eat.4. Why is it difficult to stop Antarctic whaling, according to a whaler?B.There are important political reasons.。
听力教程第二册u n i t4听力原文-CAL-FENGHAI.-(YICAI)-Company One1Unit4Section One Tactics for ListeningPart 1 Phonetics-Stress, Intonation and Accent1 . A: Excuse me. Could you tell me where the secretary's office is pleaseB: Yes. It's up the stairs, then turn left, ... ↗2. A: Excuse me. Can you tell me where the toilets areB: Yes, they're at the top of the stairs.↘3. A: What did you do after work yesterdayB: Ah, well, I went for a drink in the pub opposite the car-park. ↘4. A: What did you do after work yesterdayB: O h, I ran into Jane and Tom ..... ↗5. A: Excuse me, can you tell me how the machine worksB: Certainly. Erm, first of all you adjust the height of the stool, and then put four 10 pence pieces there, ...↗6．A：Excuse me, can you tell me how the machine worksB：Yes. You put 30 pence in the slot and take the ticket out here. ↘Part2 Listening and Note-takingFrog legsPeople want frogs mostly for food. Many Asian cultures have included frog legs in their diets for centuries -- or at least until they have run out of frogs. But the most famous frog-eaters, and the people who inspired frog-eating in Europe and the United States are the French. By 1977 the French government, so concerned about the scarcity of its native frog, banned commercial hunting of its own amphibians. So the French turned to India and Bangladesh for frogs.As happened in France, American frog-leg fanciers and restaurants also turned increasingly to frozen imports. According to figures collected from government agencies, the United States imported more than million pounds of frozen frog meat each year between 1981 and 1984.So many frozen frog legs were exported from India to Europe and the United States. One of the attractions of Indian frogs, apart from the fact that they have bigger legs than French frogs, was the price. In London, a pound of frozen frog's legs from India cost about ￡, compared with ￡ for the French variety.Indian scientists have described as "disastrous" the rate at which frogs are disappearing from the rice fields and wetlands, where they protect crops by devouring damaging since the India and Bangladesh frog-export bans, Indonesia has become the major exporter of frog legs to the United States and Europe. But no matter what country the legs come from, one thing is usually constant: The legs once belonged to frogs are taken from the wild, not from farms. Frogs are nearly impossible to farm economically in the countries where frogs are commercially harvested from the wild.Exercise A:1.Many Asian cultures have included frog legs in their diets for centuries.2.By 1977 the French government banned commercial hunting of its own amphibians.3.Indian scientists have described as "disastrous" the rate at which frogs are disappearingfrom the rice fields and wetlands.4.The United States imported more than million pounds of frozen frog meat each yearbetween 1981 and 1984.5.One of the attractions of Indian frogs was the price.Exercise B:Frog legsPeople want frogs mostly for food. Many Asian cultures have included frog legs in their diets for centuries, The most famous frog-eaters, and the people who inspired frog-eating in Europe and the United States are the French. By 1977 the French government bannedcommercial hunting of its own amphibians. So the French turned to India and Bangladesh for flogs. And the United States imported more than million pounds of frozen frog meat each year between 1981 and 1984. One of the attractions of Indian frogs was the price.Indian scientists have described as "disastrous" the rate at which frogs are disappearing from the rice fields and wetlands, where they protect crops by devouring damaging insects.Since the India and Bangladesh frog-export bans, Indonesia has become the major exporter of frog legs to the United States and Europe. But no matter what country the legs come from, one thing is usually constant: The legs once belonged to frogs that are taken from the wild, not from farms.Section Two Listening ComprehensionPart 1 DialoguesDialogue 1 Health ClubInterviewer: Lorna, you and your husband opened this health club here last summer. Can you tell me something about the clubLama: Yes, well we offer a choice of facilities -- gym, sunbed*, sauna* andJacuzzi* -- that's also from Scandinavia -- as well as our regularfitness classes, that is. And there's a wholefood bar for refreshmentsafterwardsInterviewer: And does it cost a lot I mean, most people think health clubs are reallyexpensive.Lama: Actually our rates are really quite competitive. Since we only startedlast July, we' ve kept them down to attract customers. It's only ￡30 ayear to join. Then an hour in the gym costs ￡ -- the same as halfan hour on the sunbed. Sauna and Jacuzzi are both ~ for half anhour.Interviewer: And is the club doing wellLama: Well, so far, yes, it's doing really well. I had no idea it was going to be such a success, actually. We're both very pleased. The sunbed's so popular, especially with theover 65s, that we're getting another one in August.Interviewer: What kind of people join the clubLama: We have people of all ages here, from small children to old-age pensioners, though of course the majority, about three-quarters of our members, are in their 20sand 30s. They come in their lunch hour, to use the gym, mostly, or after work,while the Youngsters come when school finishes, around half past three orfour. The Jacuzzi's very popular with the little ones.Interviewer: What about the old-age pensionersLoma: They're usually around in the mornings, when we offer them special reduced rates for the Jacuzzi or sauna, plus sunbed, it's only ￡2, which is half price, actually.It doesn't affect our profits really -- only about 5% of our members are retired. Exercise:Dialogue 2 skiingSimon: This one shows the view from the top of the mountain.Sally: Oh, it's lovely!Teresa: That's me with the red bobble hat.Sally: Is itTeresa: Yet, it looks kind of silly, doesn't itSally: Yes, it does rather.Teresa: Oh, don't worry. I know it looks ridiculous.Simon: Look. That's our instructor, Werner.Teresa: Yeah, we were in the beginners' class.Sally: Well, everyone has to start somewhere.Simon: Ah, now, this is a good one.Sally: What on earth is thatSimon: Can't you guessSally: Well, it looks like a pile of people. You know, sort of on top of each other.Teresa: It is!Sally: How did that happenSimon: Well, you see we were all pretty hopeless at first. Every day Werner used to take us to the nursery slope* to practise, and to get to the top you had to go up on a ski lift. Teresa: Which wasn't really very easy.Simon: No, and if you fell off you'd start sliding down the slope, right into all the people coming up!Sally- Mmm.Simon: Well, on that day we were all going up on the ski lift, you know, we were just getting used to it, and, you see there was this one woman in our class who never got thehang of* it. She didn't have any sort of control over her skis and whenever shestarted sliding, she would sort of stick her ski sticks out in front of her, you know,like swords or something.Teresa: I always tried to avoid her, but on that day I was right behind her on the ski lift* and just as she was getting to the top, she slipped and started sliding down the slope.Sally: Did she ~Simon: Mmm, with her ski sticks waving around in front of her!Teresa: So of course everyone sort of let go and tried to jump off the ski lift to get out of the way.Simon: And that's how they all ended up in a pile at the bottom of the slope -- it was lucky I had my camera with me.Sally: I bet that woman was popular!Simon oh,yes. everybody's favourite!Exercise A:1. They are looking at some pictures.2. A ski class for beginners.3. Two.Exercise B:Everyday the coach took them to a nursery slope. They got to the top on a ski lift. In their class there was one woman who could never learn how to ski. She couldn't control her skis and whenever she started sliding, she would stick her ski sticks out in front of her. People always tried to avoid her.One day as she was getting to the top, she slipped and started sliding down the slope. Everyone let go and tried to jump off the ski lift to get out of the way and they all ended up in a pile at the bottom of the slope.Passage 2 The Truth about the French!Skiing in France is heaven on Earth for a dedicated skier. There are resorts where you can access skiing terrain that is larger than all the ski resorts in Utah* and Colorado* combined.The larger resorts have an adequate number of restaurants and discos. It is a good idea to eat a good lunch because the mountain restaurants are normally much better than the restaurants in the ski stations.French resorts are mostly government owned and operated. The social system puts a high percentage of money back into the areas. This provides state-of-the-art* lifts, snow making and snow grooming. In general, an intermediate skier who can read a lift map will easily be able to ski all day avoiding lift lines and crowds, even during the busiest season.The French school systems have a staggered* two-week winter vacation period. When the snow is good, nearly all of France migrates to the mountains for this period. The break usually covers the last two weeks of February and the first week of March. The time to absolutely avoid is the "Paris school holiday week" which will always be in the middle period of the vacation time but alternates starting the first or second week of the break.No one has a more undeserved* reputation about his or her character than the French. The French are not generally arrogant and rude. Tree, in large tourist centers there are unpleasant people and if you're looking for or expecting rudeness, you may just provoke* it. Generally the French, especially in the countryside, are as kind as you wish and you will find warmth and acceptance. The most fractious* Frenchman is easily disarmed by a little sincerity*.When greeting someone or saying good-bye, always shake hands. Don't use a firm, pumping handshake, but a quick, slight pressure one. When you enter a room or a shop you should greet everyone there. If you meet a person you know very well use their first name and kiss both cheeks. Men don't usually kiss unless they are relatives. Good topics of conversation include food, sports, hobbies and where you come from. Topics to avoid are prices, where items were bought, what someone does for a living, income and age. Questions about personal and family life are considered private. Expect to find the French well-informed about the history, culture and politics of other countries. To gain their respect, be prepared to show some knowledge of the history and politics of France.France is generally a very safe country to visit. Pickpockets, however, are not unheard of. In large cities particularly, take precautions against theft. Always secure your vehicles, leavenothing of value visible and don't carry your wallet in your back pocket. Beware of begging children!Exercise A:Exercise B:2. A3. A4. A5. B6. C7. D8. DExercise C:1.Because there are resorts where you can access skiing terrain that is larger than all the skiresorts in Utah and Colorado combined.2.Because an intermediate skier who can read a lift map will easily be able to ski all dayavoiding lift lines and crowds, even during the busiest season.3.This staggered two-week winter vacation period usually covers the last two weeks ofFebruary and the first week of March.4.The French are not generally arrogant and rude. Generally they are as kind as you wish.5.In large cities in France, always secure your vehicles, leave nothing of value visible anddon’t carry your wallet in your back pocket. Beware of begging children.Part 3 NewsNews Item 1France's busiest airport will reopen part of a terminal that was not damaged when a segment of the roof collapsed in May, killing four people.The Transport Minister Gilles de Robien said a segment of the three-building 2E terminal at Charles de Gaulle airport would return to service on July 15. In the May 23 disaster, failing glass, steel and masonry* killed four travelers -- two Chinese,one Czech* and one Lebanese*. Three others were injured.A preliminary report by experts said Tuesday that a weakness in the concrete that formed the futuristic terminal's vaulted roof may have contributed to the collapse.Officials are still unsure about what exactly caused it to collapse.Exercise A:This news item is about the new information Of France Charles de Gaulle airport where a segment of the roof collapsed in May.Exercise B:News Item 2An Antonov 26 plane crashed in northwestern Congo shortly after take-off on Saturday, killing all 22 Congolese passengers and the crew.It was not known how many crew members were on the plane when it crashed near the town of Boende, more than 600 km northeast of the capital Kinshasa. The cause of the crash was unknown.A string of accidents this week has underlined the parlous* state of Democratic Republic of Congo's transport infrastructure* after five years of war and decades of misrule.More than 160 people drowned when a ferry sank during a storm on Lake Mai-Ndombe, north east of Kinshasa, on Tuesday.On Saturday, 18 people were killed or injured when a small truck experienced brake trouble and crashed near the eastern town of Goma.Exercise A:This news item is about a string of accidents this week in Congo.Exercise B:News Item 3In the United States lawyers for Raed jarrar, an airline passenger forced to cover his T-shirt because it displayed an Arabic script, say he has been awarded a total of $240,000 in compensation.Lawyers representing Raed Jarrar say the payout* is a victory for free speech and a blow to the practice of racial profiling*. Back in 2006 Mr Jarrar was waiting to board a flight at New York's JFK airport wearing a T-shirt that read 'We Will Not Be Silent" in English and Arabic. His lawyers claim he was ordered to remove the item of clothing by staff who said other passengers felt uncomfortable with the Arabic slogan. He eventually agreed to cover the shirt and boarded the plane, but says he was made to sit at the back.Exercise A:This news item is about the practice of racial profiling in the United States.Exercise B:Raed Jarrar, an airline passenger, has recently been awarded a total of $ 240,000 in compensation.Back in 2006 Mr Jarrar was w aiting to board a flight at New York’s JFK airport wearing a T-shirt that read “ We Will Not Be Silent” in English and Arabic. Later he was ordered to remove the printed words on his T-shirt by staff who said other passengers felt uncomfortable with the Arabic slogan. He eventually agreed to cover the shirt and boarded the plane, but he was made to sit at the back.Lawyers representing Raed Jarrar say the payout is a victory for free speech and a blow to the practice of racial profilingSeetion three oral workRetellingThere is a street called "The Strand" in Galveston, where hundreds of thousands oftouristsvisit today. This street was Mama's stomping* ground as a kid. Before Mama died, we took a streetcar around Galveston to see all the lovely, restored homes. What a great day. She knew morethan the tour guide. As we sat enjoying the sights, Mama said, "Liz, do you know why my noseis a little crooked*" (I thought, "Where did that come from") "No, Mama, you haven't ever mentioned it," I replied."Well," said mother, "one day I followed my brothers to The Strand, and a streetcar ranoverme. I put myself flat down between the rails and pushed my face in the ground so hard, Ibroke mynose! It sure caused a lot of chaos*. People screamed, the police came, and I just crawled out, brushed myself off and went home. The only thing 1 ever noticed different about me was a crookedI just looked at her nose and looked at Mama in utter disbelief!Section Four Supplementary Exercises Babies and IntelligenceSome people thought babies were not able to learn things until they were five or sixmonths old. Yet doctors in the United States say babies begin learning on their first day of life.Research scientists at the National Institute of Child Health and Development note thatbabies are strongly influenced by their environment. They say a baby will smile if her motherdoes something the baby likes. A baby learns to get the best care possible by smiling to pleaseher mother or other caregiver. This is how babies learn to connect and communicate withother humans. This ability to learn exists in a baby even before birth. They say newborn babies can recognize and understand sounds they heard while they were still developing inside their mothers.The Finnish researchers used devices to measures the babies' brain activity. Theresearchersplayed recordings of spoken sounds for up to one hour while the babies slept.The head of the study believes that babies can learn while asleep because the part of their brains called the cerebral cortex* remains active at night. The cortex is very important for learning. This part of the brain is not active in adults while they sleep.Many experts say the first years of a child's life are important for all later development. An American study shows how mothers can strongly influence social development and language skills in their children. The study involved more than 1,200 mothers and children. Researchers studied the children from the age of one month to three years. They observed the mothers playing with their children four times during this period.The researchers attempted to measure the sensitivity of the mothers. The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children's activities and did not interfere unnecessarily. They tested the children for thinking and language development when they were three years old.The children of depressed women did not do as well on tests as the children of women who did not suffer from depression. The children of depressed women did poorly on tests of language skills and understanding what they hear. These children also were less cooperative and had more problems dealing with other people.Another study suggests that babies who are bigger at birth generally are more intelligent later in life. It found that the intelligence of a child at seven years of age is directly linked to his or her weight at birth. Study organizers say this is probably because heavier babies received more nutrition* during important periods of brain development before they were born.The study involved almost 3,500 children. Researchers in New York City used traditional tests to measure intelligence. Brothers and sisters were tested so that the effects of birth weight alone could be separated from the effects of diet or other considerations.The researchers found that children with higher birth weights generally did better on the intelligence tests. Also, the link between birth weight and intelligence later in life was stronger for boys than for girls.Exercise A:1. Some people thought babies were able to learn things when they were five or six months old.2. Doctors think babies begin learning things on their first day of life.3. Babies communicate with other people by smiling.4. They can recognize and understand sounds they heard while they were still developing inside their mothers.5. Babies can learn while asleep.6. They are important for a child's all later development.Exercise:BExercise C:Your opinionDirections: Listen to the passage again and give your opinion on the following topics, "Many experts say the first years of a child's life are important for all later development."1. What should mothers do in the first year of a child's life2. What might affect a child if his parents get divorced in his first year of lifeFatigueFatigue is a feeling of weariness, tiredness, or lack of energy.Fatigue is different from drowsiness. In general, drowsiness is feeling the need to sleep, while fatigue is a lack of energy and motivation. Drowsiness and apathy (a feeling of indifference or not caring about what happens) can be symptoms of fatigue.Fatigue can be a normal and important response to physical exertion, emotional stress, boredom, or lack of sleep. However, it can also be a nonspecific sign of a more serious psychological or , physical disorder. Fatigue that is not relieved by enough sleep, good nutrition, or a low-stress environment should be evaluated by your doctor. Because fatigue is a common complaint, sometimes a potentially serious cause may be overlooked.The pattern of fatigue may help your doctor determine its underlying cause. For example, if you wake up in the morning rested but rapidly develop fatigue with activity, you may have an ongoing pysical condition like an underactive thyroid*. On the other hand, if you wake up with a low level of energy and have fatigue that lasts throughout the day, you may be depressed. Here are some tips for reducing fatigue:Get adequate, regular, and consistent amounts of sleep each night.Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet and drink plenty of water throughout the day.Exercise regularly.Learn better ways to relax. Try yoga* or meditation*.Maintain a reasonable work and personal schedule.Change your stressful circumstances, if possible. For example, switch jobs, take a vacation, and deal directly with problems in a relationship.Take a multivitamin. Talk to your doctor about what you need and what is best for you.Avoid alcohol, nicotine*, and drag use.If you have chronic* pain or depression, treating either often helps address the fatigue. However, some antidepressant* medications may cause or worsen fatigue. Your medicationmay have to be adjusted to avoid this problem. Do not stop or change any medications without instruction from your doctor.Stimulants* (including caffeine) are not effective treatments for fatigue, and can actually make the problem worse when the drugs are discontinued. Sedatives* also tend to intensify fatigue in the long run.Exercise A:Fatigue is a feeling of weariness, tiredness, or lack of energy. Fatigue is different from drowsiness. In general, drowsiness is feeling the need to sleep, while fatigue is a lack of energy and motivation. Drowsiness and apathy can be symptoms of fatigue.Exercise B:1. D2. A3. B4. D5. A6. B7. C8. CExercise C:1. Fatigue is a normal and important response to physical exertion, emotional stress, boredom, or lack of sleep.2. Drowsiness and apathy can be symptoms of fatigue.3. Enough sleep, good nutrition, or a low-stress environment can usually relieve fatigue.4. Treatment for chronic pain or depression often helps address fatigue.。
Book 2Chapter 1 The PopulationToday we’re going to talk about population in the United States. According to the most recent government census, the population is 281,421,906 people. Now this represents an increase of almost 33 million people since the 1990 census. A population of over 281 million makes the United States the third most populous country in the whole world. As you probably know, the People’s Republic of China is the most populous country in the world. But do you know which is the second most populous? Well, if you thought India, you were right. The fourth, fifth, and sixth most populous countries are Indonesia, Brazil, and Pakistan. Now let’s get back to the United States. Let’s look at the total U. S. population figure of 281 million in three different ways. The first way is by race and origin; the second is by geographical distribution, or by where people live; and the third way is by the age and sex of the population.First of all, let’s take a look at the population by race and origin. Th e latest U. S. census reports that 75.1 percent of the population is white, whereas 12.3 percent is black. Three percent are of Asian origin, and 1 percent is Native American. 2.4 percent of the population is a mixture of two or more races, and 5.5 percent report themselves as “of some other race”. Let’s make sure your figures are right: OK, white, 75.1 percent; black, 12.3 percent; Asian, 3 percent; Native American, 1 percent; a mixture of two or more races, 2.4 percent; and of some other race, 5.5 percent. Hispanics, whose origins lie in Spanish-speaking countries, comprise whites, blacks, and Native Americans, so they are already included in the above figures. It is important to note that Hispanics make up 12.5 percent of the present U.S. population, however. Finally, the census tells us that 31 million people in the United States were born in another country. Of the 31 million foreign born, the largest part, 27.6 percent are from Mexico. The next largest group, from the Philippines, number 4.3 percent.Another way of looking at the population is by geographical distribution. Do you have any idea which states are the five most populous in the United States? Well, I’ll help you out there. The five most populous states, with population figures, are California, with almost 34 million; New York, with 21 million; Texas, with 19 million; and Florida, with 16 million; and Illinois with 12.5 million people. Did you get all those figures down? Well, if not, I’ll give you a chance later to check your figures. Well, then, let’s move on. All told, over half, or some 58 percent of the population, lives in the South and in the West of the United States. This figure, 58 percent, is surprising to many people. It is surprising because the East is more densely populated. Nevertheless, there are more people all together in the South and West. To understand this seeming contradiction, one need only consider the relatively larger size of many southern and western states, so although there are more people, they are distributed over a larger area. To finish up this section on geographical distribution, consider that more than three-quarters of the people live in metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Houston. That means that only 20 percent, or 2 out of 10 people, live in rural areas. An interesting side note is that some 3,800,000 U.S. citizens live abroad, that is, in foreign countries.Before we finish today, I want to discuss the distribution of the U.S. population in terms of age and sex. Just for interest, would you say there are more men or more women in the United States? Well, according to the 2000 census, there are more women. In fact, there are more than five million more women than men in the U.S. population. If we consider that more males than females are born each year, how can this difference be explained? Well, for a variety of complicated reasons that we can’t go into here, there is a progressively higher death rate for males as they get older. This is seen in 2003 life expectancy figures: the life expectancy for women is 80.4 years whereas for men it is only 74.5 years. I don’t know how these life expectancy figures compare to those in your countries, but statistically women generally live longer than men worldwide. Now, to finish up, let’s look at the average age of the whole population. Overall, the average age of the population is increasing: from 33.1 years in 1990 to 35.3 years in 2000. The average age has been slowly, but steadily, increasing over the past several decades. This trend toward a higher average age can be explained by a decreasing birth rate and an increasing life expectancy for the population as a whole. Well, I’d like to investigate these two subjects further, but I see our timeis up, so we’ll have to call it quits for today. You may want to pursue the topic of the aging U.S. population further, so there are some suggestions at the end of the lesson to help you do so. Thank you.Chapter Two Immigration: Past and PresentThe act of immigrating, or coming to a new country to live, is certainly nothing new. Throughout history, people have immigrated, or moved to new countries, for many different reasons. Sometimes these reasons were economic or political. Other people moved because of natural disasters such as droughts or famines. And some people moved to escape religious or political persecution. No matter what the reason, most people do not want to leave their native land and do so only under great pressure of some sort, but a few people seem quite adventuresome and restless by nature and like to move a lot. It seems both kinds of people came to America to live. The subject of immigration is quite fascinating to most Americans, as they view themselves as a nation of immigrants. However, the early Britons who came to what is today the United States considered themselves “settlers” or “colonists,” rather than immigrants. These people did not exactly think they were moving to a new country but were merely settling new land for the “mother country.” There were also large numbers of Dutch,French, German, and Scotch-Irish settlers, as well as large numbers of blacks brought from Africa as slaves. At the time of independence from Britain in 1776, about 40 percent of people living in what is now the United States were non-British. The majority of people, however, spoke English, and the traditions that formed the basis of life were mainly British traditions. This period we have just been discussing is usually referred to as the Colonial Period. Today, we’re a little more interested in actual immigration after this period. Let’s first look at what is often called the Great Immigration, which began about 1830 and ended in 1930. Then let’s consider the reasons for this so-called Great Immigration and the reasons it ended. Finally, let’s talk about the immigration situation in the United States today,As I said, we’ll begin our discussion today with the period of history called the Great Immigration, which lasted from approximately 1830 to 1930. It will be easier if we look at the Great Immigration in terms of three major stages, or time periods. The first stage was from approximate1y 1830 to 1860. Now, before this time, the number of immigrants coming to the United States was comparatively small, only about 10,000 a year. However, the rate began to climb in the 1830s when about 600,000 immigrants arrived. The rate continued to climb during the 1840s with a tota1 of 1,700,000 people arriving in that decade. The rate continued to climb, and during the 1850s 2,600,000 immigrants arrived. During this first stage of the Great Immigration, that is, between the years 1830 and 1860, the majority of immigrants came from Germany, Great Britain, and Ireland. Now let’s consider the second stage of the Great Immigration. The second stage was from l860 to 1890, during which time another 10,000,000 people arrived. Between l860 and 1890 the majority of immigrants continued to be from Germany, Ireland, and Great Britain. However, during the second stage, a smaller but significant number of immigrants came from the Scandinavian nations of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The third stage of the Great Immigration, which lasted from 1890 to 1930, was the era of heaviest immigration. Between the years l890 and l930, almost 22 million immigrants arrived in the United States. Most of these new arrivals came from the Southern European countries of Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain and the Eastern European countries of Poland and Russia.Now that we know something about the numbers and origins of immigrants who came to the States during the Great Immigration, let’s consider the reasons why most of these people immigrated to the United States. Why did such large numbers of Europeans leave their homes for life in an unknown country? It would be impossible to discuss all the complex political and economic reasons in any depth today, but we can touch on a few interesting facts that might help to clarify the situation for you. First of all, one of the most important reasons was that the population of Europe doubled between the years 1750 and 1850. At the same time that the population was growing so rapidly, the Industrial Revolution in Europe was causing widespread unemployment. The combination of increased population and the demand for land by industry also meant that farmland was becoming increasingly scarce in Europe. The scarcity of farmland in Europe meant that the abundance of available land in the growingcountry of the United States was a great attraction. During these years, the United States was an expanding country and it seemed that there was no end to land. In fact, in 1862, the government offered public land free to citizens and to immigrants who were planning to become citizens. In addition to available farmland, there were also plentiful jobs during these years of great economic growth. Other attractions were freedom from religious or political persecution. Some other groups also came to the United States as the direct results of natural disasters that left them in desperate situations. For example, the frequent failure of the potato crop in Ireland between the years 1845 and 1849 led to widespread starvation in that country, and people were driven to immigrate. Another factor that affected the number of immigrants coming to the United States was improved ocean transport beginning in the 1840s. At that time, ships large enough to carry large numbers of people began to make regular trips across the ocean. Now let’s summarize the reasons for the high rate of immigration to the United States during the years we discussed: first, the doubling of the population in Europe between 1750 and 1850; second, the unemployment caused by the Industrial Revolution; and third, the land scarcity in Europe, followed by religious and political persecution and natural disaster. These reasons combined with improved transportation probably account for the largest number of immigrants.I would now like to talk briefly about the period of time following the Great Immigration and the reasons for the decline in the rate of immigration. Although immigration continues today, immigration numbers have never again reached the levels that we discussed previously. There are several reasons for this decline. This decline was in part due to various laws whose aim was to limit the number of immigrants coming from different parts of the world to the United States. The first such law that limited the number of immigrants coming from a certain part of the world was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This law was followed by many other laws that also tried to limit the numbers of people immigrating from various countries or parts of the world. In addition to such laws, certainly economic and geopolitical events as important as the Great Depression starting in 1929 and World War II also contributed to the decline in immigration.Let’s conclude our talk by discussing the current situation with respect to immigration, which is quite different from that in the past. To understand some of the changes, it’s important to note that in 1965 strict quotas based on nationality were elimin ated. Let’s see how different things are today from the past. As I noted, the greatest number of immigrants to the United States have historically been European. According to U.S. Census figures, in 1860, the percentage of immigrants that were European was 92 percent. But by 1960, the percentage of European immigrants had dropped to 74.5 percent, and by the year 2002, it had dropped to 14 percent! In 2002, 52.2 percent of immigrants came from Latin America, that is, from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Mexico is ordinarily considered part of North America, but the U.S. Census Bureau considers Mexico as a Central American country in terms of immigration statistics, and estimates that more than one-third of the total of all immigrants to the United States in 2002 came from Mexico or another Central American country. The next largest percentage, 25.5 percent, of immigrants came from Asia, mainly from the Philippines, China, and India. Although immigration dropped sharply when the United States entered World War I and remained low throughout the Depression and World War II years, at the end of the l940s, immigration began to increase again and has, in general, risen steadily since then. It might surprise you to know that the actual number of immigrants coming yearly to the States in recent years is about the same as the numbers coming yearly between 1900 and 1910. Keep in mind, though, that the population of the United States is much larger now than at the turn of the century, so that while the yearly numbers may be similar, the percentage of the population that is foreign-born is considerably smaller today than it was a century ago.It might be interesting to speculate on immigration in the future. Will the trend continue for non-Europeans to immigrate to the United States? The answer is probably yes for the foreseeable future. Do these non-European people come to the United States for the same reasons that Europeans came? Well, land is no longer plentiful and cheap. Industry no longer requires large numbers of unskilled workers. In fact, the government usually tries to restrict immigration to those people who already have the skills to be successful in U.S. society. Still, people comefor politica1 and economic reasons and probably will continue to do so.Chapter 3 Americans at WorkWhether you love it or hate it, work is a major part of most people’s lives everywhere in the world. Americans are no exception. Americans might complain about “blue Monday,” when they have to go back to work after th e weekend, but most people put a lot of importance on their job, not only in terms of money but also in terms of identity. In fact, when Americans are introduced to a new person, they almost always ask each other, “What do you do?” They are asking, what is your job or profession. Today, however, we won’t look at work in terms of what work means socially or psychologically. Rather, we’re going to take a look at work in the United States today from two perspectives. First, we’ll take a historical look at work in America. We’ll do that by looking at how things changed for the American worker from the beginning to the end of the twentieth century, that is, from the year 1900 to the year 1999. Then we’ll look at how U.S. workers are doing today.As we look at the changes over the last century, we’re going to use a lot of statistics to describe these changes. You will need to write down a lot of numbers in today’s lecture. First, let’s consider how the type of work people were involved in changed. At the beginning of the twentieth century, about 38 percent of the workforce was involved in agriculture; that is, they worked on a farm. By the end of the century, only 3 percent still worked on farms. There was also a large decrease in the number of people working in mining, manufacturing, and construction. The number of workers in mining, manufacturing, and construction went down from 31 percent to 19 percent.While the number of people in these goods producing industries went down, the number of people in the service industries went up. As you may know, a service industry is one that provides a service, rather than goods or products. A few examples include transportation, tourism, banking, advertising, health care, and legal services. I’m sure you can think of more. The service industry workforce jumped from 31 percent of the workforce at the turn of the century to 78 percent in 1999.Let’s recap the numbers: in 1900, 38 percent in agriculture; 31 percent in mining, manufacturing, and construction; and 31 percent in the service industries. That should add up to 100 percent. In 1999, 3 percent in agriculture; 19 percent in mining, manufacturing, and construction; and 78 percent in the service industries. Again, that should add up to 100 percent.The labor force changed in other important ways. For example, child labor was not unusual at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1900 there were 1, 750, 000 children aged ten to fifteen working full-time in the labor force. This was 6 percent of the labor force. Over the years, child labor laws became much stricter and by 1999, it was illegal for anyone under sixteen to work full-time in any of the fifty states. While the number of children in the workforce went down, the number of women went up dramatically. In 1900, only 19 percent of women were employed; in 1999, 60 percent of women were holding down jobs.Let’s see what has happened to wages and salaries. All the numbers I will give you are in terms of 1999 dollars. Let me explain. In 1900 the average per capita income was $4,200 a year. That does not mean that the average worker in 1900 earned $4,200, a year, but that what he or she earned was equal to $4, 200 in 1999. That is, the amount of money the average worker earned in 1900 was worth the same as $4,200 in 1999. The average per capita income in 1999 was $33, 700. Not only did people earn a lot more money at the end of the century, they also received a lot more in benefits than at the beginning of the century. One of the important benefits most workers received later in the century was health insurance. Whereas wages and salaries rose over the century, the average workweek dropped. That is, workers, in general, did not work as long hours in 1999 as they did in 1900. The last area that I’d like to give you a few statis tics about is workplace safety. Most of us who go to work every day don’t think a lot about whether we are safe or not, but in 1900 it was a real concern for a lot of workers. There aren’t many statistics available, but the U.S. government does have statis tics on two industries that will give you some idea of the differences today. In 1900 almost 1,500 workers were killed in coal-mining accidents; in 1999,the number was 35. 2,555 railroad workers were killed in 1900, compared to 56 in 1999.People often te nd to romanticize the past and talk about “the good old days,” but I think it’s fair to say that by the end of the twentieth century, U.S. workers in general made more money, they enjoyed more benefits, and their working conditions had improved greatly.No w let’s turn our attention to the current situation for U.S. workers. The picture is not so rosy as the one drawn by comparing U.S. workers at the beginning and the end of the twentieth century. I’m going to focus on the current situation in terms of productivity, working hours, and wages and salaries.First let’s consider the number of hours worked. According to a 2003 study released by the United Nations International Labor Organization, U.S. workers are the most productive in the world among industrialized nations, but they work longer hours than European workers to achieve this productivity. Europeans typically have four to six weeks of vacation a year, whereas the average American worker has only about two weeks. This study points out that the longer working hours in the United States is a rising trend, while the trend in other industrialized countries is the opposite.Workers in some European countries actually outproduce American workers per hour of work. It has been suggested that this higher rate of productivity might be because European workers are less stressed than U.S. workers.At any rate, there seems to be general agreement that U.S. productivity has greatly increased over the last thirty years. However, workers have not seen their wages rise at the same rate. A group of sociologists in their book Inequality by Design point out that there is a growing gap between rich Americans and everyone else in the United States. They write that between 1949 and 1974, increases in productivity were matched by increases in wages for workers in both manufacturing and the service industries, but since 1974, productivity increased 68 percent in manufacturing and 50 percent in services, but real wages stagnated. That is, wages moved up little or not at all. So, where does all the money generated by the increased productivity go then? According to the authors of this book, the money goes to the salaries for CEOs, to the stock market, and to corporate profits. Workers play a great role in increasing productivity, but no longer see their wages connected to increased productivity. In other words, CEOs’ salaries, the stock market, and the corporate profits go up as work productivity goes up, but workers’ wages don’t.What are the reasons why U.S. workers, who are the most productive in the world, have to work longer hours, have fewer vacation days, and see their wages stagnate and not rising at the same rate as productivity? The answer to this question is complex and controversial, but there are two reasons most people who speak or write about these issues mention: The first is that labor unions in the United States have lost great power since the beginning of the 1980s, and the second is that the government has passed laws that favor the rich and weaken the rights of the workers.I see our time is up. So, I’ll see you next time.Chapter 4 Family in the United StatesA hundred years ago, one heard the same kind of comments about the American family that one hears today --- in short, that the American family is disintegrating. Proof of this disintegration at the end of the nineteenth century included three points: the declining birth rate, a rising divorce rate, and evidence that women were not completely content with their domestic role. It’s a little surprising to me that the same claim about the family is being made today --- that it is disintegrating. And often the same points are mentioned as proof: declining birth rates, increasing divorce rates, and discontent of women with domestic roles. Now, in no way do I mean to imply that cultural, demographic, and economic conditions are the same now as they were 100 years ago. On the contrary, the very nature of the family has changed drastically in the last 50 years, not to mention the last 100 years. But I don’t think the average person’s concept of the family has changed very much over the years. A lot of people have on fixed idea of the family: a married couple where Mother stays home to care for the children and Father works.But this idea is challenged by what we see every day in U.S. society. To be sure, the family is a very sensitive barometer for what is happening in the society, the culture, and the economy of the United States. To make this point clearer, we’ll take a look at how the American family has changed in the last 50 years by looking at three different time periods: there are the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s; the mid-60s to the mid-80s; and finally the present. Sociologist Barbara Dafoe Whitehead labels these three periods: the period of traditional familism, the period of individualism, and the period of the new familism. I will try for each period to show how economic, demographic, and cultural elements interact and, in turn, affect the family.Well, let’s proceed in chronological order and start with traditional familism. We’re talking here of the twenty years from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s. This was the period after World War II, a period characterized by a very strong economy. This gave the United States a rising standard of living and a growing middle class. Demographically, the predominant configuration of the family from these years was the traditional one: a married couple with children. Some women worked, but divorce rates were low, and birth rates were high. I guess you could say that the country idealized the family in these years. And what I mean is, there was a commitment to the family from its members and a reverence for it from society. TV programs of the era depicted the family in the classical configuration: working father, housewife, and children. Culturally, three characteristics stand out in this period: conformity to social norms, greater male domination of the family than in the later periods, and clear-cut gender roles, that is, clear and separate roles for men and women at home and at work. Well, things changed quite a bit after this period.Let’s move on to the second period, the period of individualism. This period is from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. Now, because individualism is so often mentioned in our discussion of U.S. culture and people, I should make a little detour here before we discuss it. Individualism brings to mind two other words: independence and self-reliance. Individualism conveys the idea that one should think and act for himself or herself, according to what one feels is right. Individualism is easily confused with egotism or selfishness, but in its best sense, it is much more. Individualism implies that one has the freedom to decide what is best rather than allowing that decision to be made by a group such as the community or society. Individualism does, of course, conflict with the concept of community, which implies that the group shares in making decisions. And this conflict between the individual and the community is one that comes up again and again in our lecture series about the United States. All right, let’s get back to our discussion about the family.The second period, the period of individualism, saw three important social and political movements. Do you have any idea which movements I might be talking about? Keep in mind that these decades were characterized by a lack of conformity to social norms. Well, the movements have in mind are the sexual revolution, in which sex was clearly no longer reserved for marriage; the women’s liberation movement; and the m ovement against the war in Vietnam. All three movements---the sexual revolution, woman’s liberation, and the antiwar movement --- were typical of the nonconforming nature of these decades. Now, culturally, it is in this period where we see two important de velopments: one the idealization of one’s career and work and, two, the drive for self-expression and self-fulfillment. In this period, the feminist movement challenged traditional gender roles and male domination of society. Women began to enter professions previously closed to them like medicine, law, and management. Men, for their part, began at least to consider a more active role in raising their children.These cultural changes occurred during a time of economic changes, too. This was a time of rapidly rising cost of living. Together, these forces changed the demographics of the family. The former picture of the family had only one configuration: a married couple with children where Mother stayed home. The new picture of the family had to include new configurations, like families in which the husband and wife both worked, families of single parents with children, and families of cohabiting couples with or without children. With more women pursuing careers and making money, there was less economic pressure for them to stay in an unsuitable marriage. Therefore, divorce rates doubled in a decade. Rising divorce rates and more financial independence for women made marriage a less attractive arrangement for many women. Consequently, the number of single-parent households。
—－可编辑修改，可打印——别找了你想要的都有！精品教育资料——全册教案，，试卷，教学课件，教学设计等一站式服务——全力满足教学需求，真实规划教学环节最新全面教学资源，打造完美教学模式Book 2 Chapter 1 The PopulationToday we’re going to talk about population in the United States. According to the most recent government census, the population is 281,421,906 people. Now this represents an increase of almost 33 million people since the 1990 census. A population of over 281 million makes the United States the third most populous country in the whole world. As you probably know, the People’s Republic of China is the most populous country in the world. But do you know which is the second most populous? Well, if you thought India, you were right. The fourth, fifth, and sixth most populous countries are Indonesia, Brazil, and Pakistan. Now let’s get back to the United States. Let’s look at the total U. S. population figure of 281 million in three different ways. The first way is by race and origin; the second is by geographical distribution, or by where people live; and the third way is by the age and sex of the population.First of all, let’s take a look at the population by race and origin. The latest U. S. census reports that 75.1 percent of the population is white, whereas 12.3 percent is black. Three percent are of Asian origin, and 1 percent is Native American. 2.4 percent of the population is a mixture of two or more races, and 5.5 percent report themselves as “of some other race”. Let’s make sure your figures are right: OK, white, 75.1 percent; black, 12.3 percent; Asian, 3 percent; Native American, 1 percent; a mixture of two or more races, 2.4 percent; and of some other race, 5.5 percent. Hispanics, whose origins lie in Spanish-speaking countries, comprise whites, blacks, and Native Americans, so they are already included in the above figures. It is important to note that Hispanics make up 12.5 percent of the present U.S. population, however. Finally, the census tells us that 31 million people in the United States were born in another country. Of the 31 million foreign born, the largest part, 27.6percent are from Mexico. The next largest group, from the Philippines, number 4.3 percent.Another way of looking at the population is by geographical distribution. Do you have any idea which states are the five most populous in the United States? Well, I’ll help you out there. The five most populous states, with population figures, are California, with almost 34 million; New York, with 21 million; Texas, with 19 million; and Florida, with 16 million; and Illinois with 12.5 million people. Did you get all those figures down? Well, if not, I’ll give you a chance later to check your figures. Well, then, let’s move on. All told, over half, or some 58 percent of the population, lives in the South and in the West of the United States. This figure, 58 percent, is surprising to many people. It is surprising because the East is more densely populated. Nevertheless, there are more people all together in the South and West. To understand this seeming contradiction, one need only consider the relatively larger size of many southern and western states, so although there are more people, they are distributed over a larger area. To finish up this section on geographical distribution, consider that more than three-quarters of the people live in metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Houston. That means that only 20 percent, or 2 out of 10 people, live in rural areas. An interesting side note is that some 3,800,000 U.S. citizens live abroad, that is, in foreign countries.Before we finish today, I want to discuss the distribution of the U.S. population in terms of age and sex. Just for interest, would you say there are more men or more women in the United States? Well, according to the 2000 census, there are more women. In fact, there are more than five million more women than men in the U.S. population. If we consider that more males than females are born each year, how can this difference be explained? Well, for a variety of complicated reasons that we can’t go into here, there is a progressively higher death rate for males as they get older. This is seen in 2003 life expectancy figures: the life expectancy for women is 80.4 years whereas for men it is only 74.5 years. I don’t know how these life expectancy figures compare to those in your countries, but statistically women generally live longer than men worldwide. Now, to finish up, let’s look at the average age of the whole population. Overall, the average age of the population is increasing: from 33.1 years in 1990 to 35.3 years in 2000. The average age has been slowly, but steadily, increasing over the past several decades. This trend toward a higher average age can be explained by a decreasing birth rate and an increasing life expectancy for the population as a whole. Well, I’d like to investigate these two subjects further, but I see our time is up, so we’ll have to call it quits for today. You maywant to pursue the topic of the aging U.S. population further, so there are some suggestions at the end of the lesson to help you do so. Thank you.Chapter Two Immigration: Past and PresentThe act of immigrating, or coming to a new country to live, is certainly nothing new. Throughout history, people have immigrated, or moved to new countries, for many different reasons. Sometimes these reasons were economic or political. Other people moved because of natural disasters such as droughts or famines. And some people moved to escape religious or political persecution. No matter what the reason, most people do not want to leave their native land and do so only under great pressure of some sort, but a few people seem quite adventuresome and restless by nature and like to move a lot. It seems both kinds of people came to America to live. The subject of immigration is quite fascinating to most Americans, as they view themselves as a nation of immigrants. However, the early Britons who came to what is today the United States considered themselves “settlers” or “colonists,” rather than immigrants. These people did not exactly think they were moving to a new country but were merely settling new land for the “mother country.” There were also large numbers of Dutch, French, German, and Scotch-Irish settlers, as well as large numbers of blacks brought from Africa as slaves. At the time of independence from Britain in 1776, about 40 percent of people living in what is now the United States were non-British. The majority of people, however, spoke English, and the traditions that formed the basis of life were mainly British traditions. This period we have just been discussing is usually referred to as the Colonial Period. Today, we’re a little more interested in actual immigration after this period. Let’s first look at what is often called the Great Immigration, which began about 1830 and ended in 1930. Then let’s consider the reasons for this so-called Great Immigration and the reasons it ended. Finally, let’s talk about the immigration situation in the United States today, As I said, we’ll begin our discussion today with the period of history called the Great Immigration, which lasted from approximately 1830 to 1930. It will be easier if we look at the Great Immigration in terms of three major stages, or time periods. The first stage was from approximate1y 1830 to 1860. Now, before this time, the number of immigrants coming to the United States was comparatively small, only about 10,000 a year. However, the rate began to climb in the 1830s when about 600,000 immigrants arrived. The rate continued to climb during the 1840s with a tota1 of 1,700,000 people arriving in that decade. The rate continued to climb, and during the 1850s 2,600,000 immigrants arrived. During this first stage of the Great Immigration, that is, between the years 1830 and 1860, the majority of immigrantscame from Germany, Great Britain, and Ireland. Now let’s consider the second stage of the Great Immigration. The second stage was from l860 to 1890, during which time another 10,000,000 people arrived. Between l860 and 1890 the majority of immigrants continued to be from Germany, Ireland, and Great Britain. However, during the second stage, a smaller but significant number of immigrants came from the Scandinavian nations of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The third stage of the Great Immigration, which lasted from 1890 to 1930, was the era of heaviest immigration. Between the years l890 and l930, almost 22 million immigrants arrived in the United States. Most of these new arrivals came from the Southern European countries of Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain and the Eastern European countries of Poland and Russia.Now that we know something about the numbers and origins of immigrants who came to the States during the Great Immigration, let’s consider the reasons why most of these people immigrated to the United States. Why did such large numbers of Europeans leave their homes for life in an unknown country? It would be impossible to discuss all the complex political and economic reasons in any depth today, but we can touch on a few interesting facts that might help to clarify the situation for you. First of all, one of the most important reasons was that the population of Europe doubled between the years 1750 and 1850. At the same time that the population was growing so rapidly, the Industrial Revolution in Europe was causing widespread unemployment. The combination of increased population and the demand for land by industry also meant that farmland was becoming increasingly scarce in Europe. The scarcity of farmland in Europe meant that the abundance of available land in the growing country of the United States was a great attraction. During these years, the United States was an expanding country and it seemed that there was no end to land. In fact, in 1862, the government offered public land free to citizens and to immigrants who were planning to become citizens. In addition to available farmland, there were also plentiful jobs during these years of great economic growth. Other attractions were freedom from religious or political persecution. Some other groups also came to the United States as the direct results of natural disasters that left them in desperate situations. For example, the frequent failure of the potato crop in Ireland between the years 1845 and 1849 led to widespread starvation in that country, and people were driven to immigrate. Another factor that affected the number of immigrants coming to the United States was improved ocean transport beginning in the 1840s. At that time, ships large enough to carry large numbers of people began to make regular trips across the ocean. Now let’s summarize the reasons for the high rate ofimmigration to the United States during the years we discussed: first, the doubling of the population in Europe between 1750 and 1850; second, the unemployment caused by the Industrial Revolution; and third, the land scarcity in Europe, followed by religious and political persecution and natural disaster. These reasons combined with improved transportation probably account for the largest number of immigrants.I would now like to talk briefly about the period of time following the Great Immigration and the reasons for the decline in the rate of immigration. Although immigration continues today, immigration numbers have never again reached the levels that we discussed previously. There are several reasons for this decline. This decline was in part due to various laws whose aim was to limit the number of immigrants coming from different parts of the world to the United States. The first such law that limited the number of immigrants coming from a certain part of the world was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This law was followed by many other laws that also tried to limit the numbers of people immigrating from various countries or parts of the world. In addition to such laws, certainly economic and geopolitical events as important as the Great Depression starting in 1929 and World War II also contributed to the decline in immigration.Let’s conclude our talk by discussing the current situation with respect to immigration, which is quite different from that in the past. To understand some of the changes, it’s important to note that in 1965 strict quotas based on nationality were eliminated. Let’s see how different things are today from the past. As I noted, the greatest number of immigrants to the United States have historically been European. According to U.S. Census figures, in 1860, the percentage of immigrants that were European was 92 percent. But by 1960, the percentage of European immigrants had dropped to 74.5 percent, and by the year 2002, it had dropped to 14 percent! In 2002, 52.2 percent of immigrants came from Latin America, that is, from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Mexico is ordinarily considered part of North America, but the U.S. Census Bureau considers Mexico as a Central American country in terms of immigration statistics, and estimates that more than one-third of the total of all immigrants to the United States in 2002 came from Mexico or another Central American country. The next largest percentage, 25.5 percent, of immigrants came from Asia, mainly from the Philippines, China, and India.Although immigration dropped sharply when the United States entered World War I and remained low throughout the Depression and World War II years, at the end of the l940s, immigration began to increase again and has, in general, risen steadily since then. It might surprise you to know that the actual number of immigrants comingyearly to the States in recent years is about the same as the numbers coming yearly between 1900 and 1910. Keep in mind, though, that the population of the United States is much larger now than at the turn of the century, so that while the yearly numbers may be similar, the percentage of the population that is foreign-born is considerably smaller today than it was a century ago.It might be interesting to speculate on immigration in the future. Will the trend continue for non-Europeans to immigrate to the United States? The answer is probably yes for the foreseeable future. Do these non-European people come to the United States for the same reasons that Europeans came? Well, land is no longer plentiful and cheap. Industry no longer requires large numbers of unskilled workers. In fact, the government usually tries to restrict immigration to those people who already have the skills to be successful in U.S. society. Still, people come for politica1 and economic reasons and probably will continue to do so.Chapter 3 Americans at WorkWhether you love it or hate it, work is a major part of most people’s lives everywhere in the world. Americans are no exception. Americans might complain about “blue Monday,” when they have to go back to work after the weekend, but most people put a lot of importance on their job, not only in terms of money but also in terms of identity. In fact, when Americans are introduced to a new person, they almost always ask each other, “What do you do?” They are asking, what is your job or profession. Today, however, we won’t look at work in terms of what work means socially or psychologically. Rather, we’re going to take a look at work in the United States today from two perspectives. First, we’ll take a historical look at work in America. We’ll do that by looking at how things changed for the American worker from the beginning to the end of the twentieth century, that is, from the year 1900 to the year 1999. Then we’ll look at how U.S. workers are doing today.As we look at the changes over the last century, we’re going to use a lot of statistics to describe these changes. You will need to write down a lot of numbers in today’s lecture. First, let’s consider how the type of work people were involved in changed. At the beginning of the twentieth century, about 38 percent of the workforce was involved in agriculture; that is, they worked on a farm. By the end of the century, only 3 percent still worked on farms. There was also a large decrease in the number of people working in mining, manufacturing, and construction. The number of workers in mining, manufacturing, and construction went down from 31 percent to 19 percent.While the number of people in these goods producing industrieswent down, the number of people in the service industries went up. As you may know, a service industry is one that provides a service, rather than goods or products. A few examples include transportation, tourism, banking, advertising, health care, and legal services. I’m sure you can think of more. The service industry workforce jumped from 31 percent of the workforce at the turn of the century to 78 percent in 1999.Let’s recap the numbers: in 1900, 38 percent in agriculture; 31 percent in mining, manufacturing, and construction; and 31 percent in the service industries. That should add up to 100 percent. In 1999, 3 percent in agriculture; 19 percent in mining, manufacturing, and construction; and 78 percent in the service industries. Again, that should add up to 100 percent.The labor force changed in other important ways. For example, child labor was not unusual at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1900 there were 1, 750, 000 children aged ten to fifteen working full-time in the labor force. This was 6 percent of the labor force. Over the years, child labor laws became much stricter and by 1999, it was illegal for anyone under sixteen to work full-time in any of the fifty states. While the number of children in the workforce went down, the number of women went up dramatically. In 1900, only 19 percent of women were employed; in 1999, 60 percent of women were holding down jobs.Let’s see what has happened to wages and salaries. All the numbers I will give you are in terms of 1999 dollars. Let me explain. In 1900 the average per capita income was $4,200 a year. That does not mean that the average worker in 1900 earned $4,200, a year, but that what he or she earned was equal to $4, 200 in 1999. That is, the amount of money the average worker earned in 1900 was worth the same as $4,200 in 1999. The average per capita income in 1999 was $33, 700. Not only did people earn a lot more money at the end of the century, they also received a lot more in benefits than at the beginning of the century. One of the important benefits most workers received later in the century was health insurance. Whereas wages and salaries rose over the century, the average workweek dropped. That is, workers, in general, did not work as long hours in 1999 as they did in 1900.The last area that I’d like to give you a few statistics about is workplace safety. Most of us who go to work every day don’t think a lot about whether we are safe or not, but in 1900 it was a real concern for a lot of workers. There aren’t many statistics available, but the U.S. government does have statistics on two industries that will give you some idea of the differences today. In 1900 almost 1,500 workers were killed in coal-mining accidents; in 1999, the number was 35. 2,555 railroad workers were killed in 1900, compared to 56 in 1999.People often tend to romanticize the past and talk about “the good old days,” but I think it’s fair to say that by the end of the twentieth century, U.S. workers in general made more money, they enjoyed more benefits, and their working conditions had improved greatly.Now let’s turn our attention to the current situation for U.S. workers. The picture is not so rosy as the one drawn by comparing U.S. workers at the beginning and the end of the twentieth century. I’m going to focus on the current situation in terms of productivity, working hours, and wages and salaries.First let’s consider the number of hours worked. According to a 2003 study released by the United Nations International Labor Organization, U.S. workers are the most productive in the world among industrialized nations, but they work longer hours than European workers to achieve this productivity. Europeans typically have four to six weeks of vacation a year, whereas the average American worker has only about two weeks. This study points out that the longer working hours in the United States is a rising trend, while the trend in other industrialized countries is the opposite.Workers in some European countries actually outproduce American workers per hour of work. It has been suggested that this higher rate of productivity might be because European workers are less stressed than U.S. workers.At any rate, there seems to be general agreement that U.S. productivity has greatly increased over the last thirty years. However, workers have not seen their wages rise at the same rate. A group of sociologists in their book Inequality by Design point out that there is a growing gap between rich Americans and everyone else in the United States. They write that between 1949 and 1974, increases in productivity were matched by increases in wages for workers in both manufacturing and the service industries, but since 1974, productivity increased 68 percent in manufacturing and 50 percent in services, but real wages stagnated. That is, wages moved up little or not at all. So, where does all the money generated by the increased productivity go then? According to the authors of this book, the money goes to the salaries for CEOs, to the stock market, and to corporate profits. Workers play a great role in increasing productivity, but no longer see their wages connected to increased productivity. In other words, CEOs’ salaries, the stock market, and the corporate profits go up as work productivity goes up, but workers’ wages don’t.What are the reasons why U.S. workers, who are the most productive in the world, have to work longer hours, have fewer vacation days, and see their wages stagnate and not rising at the same rate asproductivity? The answer to this question is complex and controversial, but there are two reasons most people who speak or write about these issues mention: The first is that labor unions in the United States have lost great power since the beginning of the 1980s, and the second is that the government has passed laws that favor the rich and weaken the rights of the workers.I see our time is up. So, I’ll see you next time.Chapter 4 Family in the United StatesA hundred years ago, one heard the same kind of comments about the American family that one hears today --- in short, that the American family is disintegrating. Proof of this disintegration at the end of the nineteenth century included three points: the declining birth rate, a rising divorce rate, and evidence that women were not completely content with their domestic role. It’s a little surprising to me that the same claim about the family is being made today --- that it is disintegrating. And often the same points are mentioned as proof: declining birth rates, increasing divorce rates, and discontent of women with domestic roles. Now, in no way do I mean to imply that cultural, demographic, and economic conditions are the same now as they were 100 years ago. On the contrary, the very nature of the family has changed drastically in the last 50 years, not to mention the last 100 years. But I don’t think the average person’s concept of the family has changed very much over the years. A lot of people have on fixed idea of the family: a married couple where Mother stays home to care for the children and Father works. But this idea is challenged by what we see every day in U.S. society. To be sure, the family is a very sensitive barometer for what is happening in the society, the culture, and the economy of the United States. To make this point clearer, we’ll take a look at how the American family has changed in the last 50 years by looking at three different time periods: there are the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s; the mid-60s to the mid-80s; and finally the present. Sociologist Barbara Dafoe Whitehead labels these three periods: the period of traditional familism, the period of individualism, and the period of the new familism. I will try for each period to show how economic, demographic, and cultural elements interact and, in turn, affect the family.Well, let’s proceed in chronological order and start with traditional familism. We’re talking here of the twenty years from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s. This was the period after World War II, a period characterized by a very strong economy. This gave the United States a rising standard of living and a growing middle class. Demographically, the predominant configuration of the family from these years was the traditional one: a married couple with children. Some women worked, but divorce rates were low, and birth rates werehigh. I guess you could say that the country idealized the family in these years. And what I mean is, there was a commitment to the family from its members and a reverence for it from society. TV programs of the era depicted the family in the classical configuration: working father, housewife, and children. Culturally, three characteristics stand out in this period: conformity to social norms, greater male domination of the family than in the later periods, and clear-cut gender roles, that is, clear and separate roles for men and women at home and at work. Well, things changed quite a bit after this period.Let’s move on to the second period, the period of individualism. This period is from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. Now, because individualism is so often mentioned in our discussion of U.S. culture and people, I should make a little detour here before we discuss it. Individualism brings to mind two other words: independence and self-reliance. Individualism conveys the idea that one should think and act for himself or herself, according to what one feels is right. Individualism is easily confused with egotism or selfishness, but in its best sense, it is much more. Individualism implies that one has the freedom to decide what is best rather than allowing that decision to be made by a group such as the community or society. Individualism does, of course, conflict with the concept of community, which implies that the group shares in making decisions. And this conflict between the individual and the community is one that comes up again and again in our lecture series about the United States. All right, let’s get back to our discussion about the family.The second period, the period of individualism, saw three important social and political movements. Do you have any idea which movements I might be talking about? Keep in mind that these decades were characterized by a lack of conformity to social norms. Well, the movements have in mind are the sexual revolution, in which sex was clearly no longer reserved for marriage; the women’s liberation movement; and the movement against the war in Vietnam. All three movements---the sexual revolution, woman’s liberation, and the antiwar movement --- were typical of the nonconforming nature of these decades. Now, culturally, it is in this period where we see two important developments: one the idealization of one’s career and work and, two, the drive for self-expression and self-fulfillment. In this period, the feminist movement challenged traditional gender roles and male domination of society. Women began to enter professions previously closed to them like medicine, law, and management. Men, for their part, began at least to consider a more active role in raising their children.These cultural changes occurred during a time of economic changes, too. This was a time of rapidly rising cost of living. Together, theseforces changed the demographics of the family. The former picture of the family had only one configuration: a married couple with children where Mother stayed home. The new picture of the family had to include new configurations, like families in which the husband and wife both worked, families of single parents with children, and families of cohabiting couples with or without children. With more women pursuing careers and making money, there was less economic pressure for them to stay in an unsuitable marriage. Therefore, divorce rates doubled in a decade. Rising divorce rates and more financial independence for women made marriage a less attractive arrangement for many women. Consequently, the number of single-parent households tripled. Less conformity to social norms paved the way for cohabitation. So the number of unmarried couples living together in this period quadrupled. Can you see how economic, cultural, and demographic aspects of the society interact with each other? I hope so. Well, let’s continue with our agenda.The third period, the new familism, is harder to see because we are living in this period now. And because we are constantly informed by the media about the deteriorating American family, it’s hard to get an objective view of the state of the family. I think that today most people applaud the social changes that came about in the second period of individualism. They are not willing to give up gender equality, the freedom to leave an unsuitable marriage, or the self-fulfillment of an interesting job. At the same time, most experts, if not most people, admit that children paid a high price for the social changes that took place in the second period. It was the children who spent long days in day care or after-school hours home alone while both parents worked. And it was the children who grew up with only one parent or with stepparents in many cases.Some experts see changes occurring now in U.S. society, changes that affect the family. They see a continuing decline inn divorce rates since the 1980s but also a decline in birth rates after an initial increase in 1980s. The decline in divorce rates could be due to families’ better financial situations. Despite the decline in divorce, a quarter of U.S children today live with only one parent. The birth rate is probably declining because an increasing life span results in fewer women of childbearing age. A more encouraging reason is the reduction in unmarried teen pregnancies. Experts also report an attempt by people to balance work with family obligations, especially the care of children. They see the individualism of the middle period changing somewhat; the concern seems in many cases to be shifting from one’s career to one’s family, from individualism to the new familism. The most optimistic view of this third period would be that Americans have learned from past mistakes: they want。
Book 2 Chapter 1 The PopulationToday we’re going to talk about population in the United States. According to the most recent government census, the population is 281,421,906 people. Now this represents an increase of almost 33 million people since the 1990 census. A population of over 281 million makes the United States the third most populous country in the whole world. As you probably know, the People’s Republic of China is the most populous country in the world. But do you know which is the second most populous? Well, if you thought India, you were right. The fourth, fifth, and sixth most populous countries are Indonesia, Brazil, and Pakistan. Now let’s get back to the United States. Let’s look at the total U. S. population figure of 281 million in three different ways. The first way is by race and origin; the second is by geographical distribution, or by where people live; and the third way is by the age and sex of the population.First of all, let’s take a look at the population by race and origin. The latest U. S. census reports that 75.1 percent of the population is white, whereas 12.3 percent is black. Three percent are of Asian origin, and 1 percent is Native American. 2.4 percent of the population is a mixture of two or more races, and 5.5 percent report themselves as “of some other race”. Let’s make sure your figures are right: OK, white, 75.1 percent; black, 12.3 percent; Asian, 3 percent; Native American, 1 percent; a mixture of two or more races, 2.4 percent; and of some other race, 5.5 percent. Hispanics, whose origins lie in Spanish-speaking countries, comprise whites, blacks, and Native Americans, so they are already included in the above figures. It is important to note that Hispanics make up 12.5 percent of the present U.S. population, however. Finally, the census tells us that 31 million people in the United States were born in another country. Of the 31 million foreign born, the largest part, 27.6 percent are from Mexico. The next largest group, from the Philippines, number 4.3 percent.Another way of looking at the population is by geographical distribution. Do you have any idea which states are the five most populous in the United States? Well, I’ll help you out there. The five most populous states, with population figures, are California, with almost 34 million; New York, with 21 million; Texas, with 19 million; and Florida, with 16 million; and Illinois with 12.5 million people. Did you get all those figures down? Well, if not, I’ll give you a chance later to check your figures. Well, then, let’s move on. All told, over half, or some 58 percent of the population, lives in the South and in the West of the United States. This figure, 58 percent, is surprising to many people. It is surprising because the East is more densely populated. Nevertheless, there are more people alltogether in the South and West. To understand this seeming contradiction, one need only consider the relatively larger size of many southern and western states, so although there are more people, they are distributed over a larger area. To finish up this section on geographical distribution, consider that more than three-quarters of the people live in metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Houston. That means that only 20 percent, or 2 out of 10 people, live in rural areas. An interesting side note is that some 3,800,000 U.S. citizens live abroad, that is, in foreign countries.Before we finish today, I want to discuss the distribution of the U.S. population in terms of age and sex. Just for interest, would you say there are more men or more women in the United States? Well, according to the XXXX census, there are more women. In fact, there are more than five million more women than men in the U.S. population. If we consider that more males than females are born each year, how can this difference be explained? Well, for a variety of complicated reasons that we can’t go into here, there is a progressively higher death rate for males as they get older. This is seen in XXXX life expectancy figures: the life expectancy for women is 80.4 years whereas for men it is only 74.5 years. I don’t know how these life expectancy figures compare to those in your countries, but statistically women generally live longer than men worldwide. Now, to finish up, let’s look at the average age of the whole population. Overall, the average age of the population is increasing: from 33.1 years in 1990 to 35.3 years in XXXX. The average age has been slowly, but steadily, increasing over the past several decades. This trend toward a higher average age can be explained by a decreasing birth rate and an increasing life expectancy for the population as a whole. Well, I’d like to investigate these two subjects further, but I see our time is up, so we’ll have to call it quits for today. You may want to pursue the topic of the aging U.S. population further, so there are some suggestions at the end of the lesson to help you do so. Thank you.Chapter Two Immigration: Past and PresentThe act of immigrating, or coming to a new country to live, is certainly nothing new. Throughout history, people have immigrated, or moved to new countries, for many different reasons. Sometimes these reasons were economic or political. Other people moved because of natural disasters such as droughts or famines. And some people moved to escape religious or political persecution. No matter what the reason, most people do not want to leave their native land and do so only under great pressure of some sort, but a few people seem quite adventuresome and restless by nature and like to move a lot. It seems both kinds of people came to America to live. The subject ofimmigration is quite fascinating to most Americans, as they view themselves as a nation of immigrants. However, the early Britons who came to what is today the United States considered themselves “settlers” or “colonists,” rather than immigrants. These people did not exactly think they were moving to a new country but were merely settling new land for the “mother country.” There were also large numbers of Dutch, French, German, and Scotch-Irish settlers, as well as large numbers of blacks brought from Africa as slaves. At the time of independence from Britain in 1776, about 40 percent of people living in what is now the United States were non-British. The majority of people, however, spoke English, and the traditions that formed the basis of life were mainly British traditions. This period we have just been discussing is usually referred to as the Colonial Period. Today, we’re a little more interested in actual immigration after this period. Let’s first look at what is often called the Great Immigration, which began about 1830 and ended in 1930. Then let’s consider the reasons for this so-called Great Immigration and the reasons it ended. Finally, let’s talk about the immigration situation in the United States today, As I said, we’ll begin our discussion today with the period of history called the Great Immigration, which lasted from approximately 1830 to 1930. It will be easier if we look at the Great Immigration in terms of three major stages, or time periods. The first stage was from approximate1y 1830 to 1860. Now, before this time, the number of immigrants coming to the United States was comparatively small, only about 10,000 a year. However, the rate began to climb in the 1830s when about 600,000 immigrants arrived. The rate continued to climb during the 1840s with a tota1 of 1,700,000 people arriving in that decade. The rate continued to climb, and during the 1850s 2,600,000 immigrants arrived. During this first stage of the Great Immigration, that is, between the years 1830 and 1860, the majority of immigrants came from Germany, Great Britain, and Ireland. Now let’s consider the second stage of the Great Immigration. The second stage was from l860 to 1890, during which time another 10,000,000 people arrived. Between l860 and 1890 the majority of immigrants continued to be from Germany, Ireland, and Great Britain. However, during the second stage, a smaller but significant number of immigrants came from the Scandinavian nations of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The third stage of the Great Immigration, which lasted from 1890 to 1930, was the era of heaviest immigration. Between the years l890 and l930, almost 22 million immigrants arrived in the United States. Most of these new arrivals came from the Southern European countries of Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain and the Eastern European countries of Poland and Russia.Now that we know something about the numbers and origins ofimmigrants who came to the States during the Great Immigration, let’s consider the reasons why most of these people immigrated to the United States. Why did such large numbers of Europeans leave their homes for life in an unknown country? It would be impossible to discuss all the complex political and economic reasons in any depth today, but we can touch on a few interesting facts that might help to clarify the situation for you. First of all, one of the most important reasons was that the population of Europe doubled between the years 1750 and 1850. At the same time that the population was growing so rapidly, the Industrial Revolution in Europe was causing widespread unemployment. The combination of increased population and the demand for land by industry also meant that farmland was becoming increasingly scarce in Europe. The scarcity of farmland in Europe meant that the abundance of available land in the growing country of the United States was a great attraction. During these years, the United States was an expanding country and it seemed that there was no end to land. In fact, in 1862, the government offered public land free to citizens and to immigrants who were planning to become citizens. In addition to available farmland, there were also plentiful jobs during these years of great economic growth. Other attractions were freedom from religious or political persecution. Some other groups also came to the United States as the direct results of natural disasters that left them in desperate situations. For example, the frequent failure of the potato crop in Ireland between the years 1845 and 1849 led to widespread starvation in that country, and people were driven to immigrate. Another factor that affected the number of immigrants coming to the United States was improved ocean transport beginning in the 1840s. At that time, ships large enough to carry large numbers of people began to make regular trips across the ocean. Now let’s summarize the reasons for the high rate of immigration to the United States during the years we discussed: first, the doubling of the population in Europe between 1750 and 1850; second, the unemployment caused by the Industrial Revolution; and third, the land scarcity in Europe, followed by religious and political persecution and natural disaster. These reasons combined with improved transportation probably account for the largest number of immigrants.I would now like to talk briefly about the period of time following the Great Immigration and the reasons for the decline in the rate of immigration. Although immigration continues today, immigration numbers have never again reached the levels that we discussed previously. There are several reasons for this decline. This decline was in part due to various laws whose aim was to limit the number of immigrants coming from different parts of the world to the UnitedStates. The first such law that limited the number of immigrants coming from a certain part of the world was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This law was followed by many other laws that also tried to limit the numbers of people immigrating from various countries or parts of the world. In addition to such laws, certainly economic and geopolitical events as important as the Great Depression starting in 1929 and World War II also contributed to the decline in immigration.Let’s conclude our talk by discussing the current situation with respect to immigration, which is quite different from that in the past. To understand some of the changes, it’s important to note that in 1965 strict quotas based on nationality were eliminated. Let’s see how different things are today from the past. As I noted, the greatest number of immigrants to the United States have historically been European. According to U.S. Census figures, in 1860, the percentage of immigrants that were European was 92 percent. But by 1960, the percentage of European immigrants had dropped to 74.5 percent, and by the year XXXX, it had dropped to 14 percent! In XXXX, 52.2 percent of immigrants came from Latin America, that is, from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Mexico is ordinarily considered part of North America, but the U.S. Census Bureau considers Mexico as a Central American country in terms of immigration statistics, and estimates that more than one-third of the total of all immigrants to the United States in XXXX came from Mexico or another Central American country. The next largest percentage, 25.5 percent, of immigrants came from Asia, mainly from the Philippines, China, and India.Although immigration dropped sharply when the United States entered World War I and remained low throughout the Depression and World War II years, at the end of the l940s, immigration began to increase again and has, in general, risen steadily since then. It might surprise you to know that the actual number of immigrants coming yearly to the States in recent years is about the same as the numbers coming yearly between 1900 and 1910. Keep in mind, though, that the population of the United States is much larger now than at the turn of the century, so that while the yearly numbers may be similar, the percentage of the population that is foreign-born is considerably smaller today than it was a century ago.It might be interesting to speculate on immigration in the future. Will the trend continue for non-Europeans to immigrate to the United States? The answer is probably yes for the foreseeable future. Do these non-European people come to the United States for the same reasons that Europeans came? Well, land is no longer plentiful and cheap. Industry no longer requires large numbers of unskilled workers. In fact, the government usually tries to restrict immigration to those people who already have the skills to be successful in U.S. society.Still, people come for politica1 and economic reasons and probably will continue to do so.Chapter 3 Americans at WorkWhether you love it or hate it, work is a major part of most people’s lives everywhere in the world. Americans are no exception. Americans might complain about “blue Monday,” when they have to go back to work after the weekend, but most people put a lot of importance on their job, not only in terms of money but also in terms of identity. In fact, when Americans are introduced to a new person, they almost always ask each other, “What do you do?” They are asking, what is your job or profession. Today, however, we won’t look at work in terms of what work means socially or psychologically. Rather, we’re going to take a look at work in the United States today from two perspectives. First, we’ll take a historical look at work in America. We’ll do that by looking at how things changed for the American worker from the beginning to the end of the twentieth century, that is, from the year 1900 to the year 1999. Then we’ll look at how U.S. workers are doing today.As we look at the changes over the last century, we’re going to use a lot of statistics to describe these changes. You will need to write down a lot of numbers in today’s lecture. First, let’s consider how the type of work people were involved in changed. At the beginning of the twentieth century, about 38 percent of the workforce was involved in agriculture; that is, they worked on a farm. By the end of the century, only 3 percent still worked on farms. There was also a large decrease in the number of people working in mining, manufacturing, and construction. The number of workers in mining, manufacturing, and construction went down from 31 percent to 19 percent.While the number of people in these goods producing industries went down, the number of people in the service industries went up. As you may know, a service industry is one that provides a service, rather than goods or products. A few examples include transportation, tourism, banking, advertising, health care, and legal services. I’m sure you can think of more. The service industry workforce jumped from 31 percent of the workforce at the turn of the century to 78 percent in 1999.Let’s recap the numbers: in 1900, 38 percent in agriculture; 31 percent in mining, manufacturing, and construction; and 31 percent in the service industries. That should add up to 100 percent. In 1999, 3 percent in agriculture; 19 percent in mining, manufacturing, and construction; and 78 percent in the service industries. Again, that should add up to 100 percent.The labor force changed in other important ways. For example,child labor was not unusual at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1900 there were 1, 750, 000 children aged ten to fifteen working full-time in the labor force. This was 6 percent of the labor force. Over the years, child labor laws became much stricter and by 1999, it was illegal for anyone under sixteen to work full-time in any of the fifty states. While the number of children in the workforce went down, the number of women went up dramatically. In 1900, only 19 percent of women were employed; in 1999, 60 percent of women were holding down jobs.Let’s see what has happened to wages and salaries. All the numbers I will give you are in terms of 1999 dollars. Let me explain. In 1900 the average per capita income was $4,200 a year. That does not mean that the average worker in 1900 earned $4,200, a year, but that what he or she earned was equal to $4, 200 in 1999. That is, the amount of money the average worker earned in 1900 was worth the same as $4,200 in 1999. The average per capita income in 1999 was $33, 700. Not only did people earn a lot more money at the end of the century, they also received a lot more in benefits than at the beginning of the century. One of the important benefits most workers received later in the century was health insurance. Whereas wages and salaries rose over the century, the average workweek dropped. That is, workers, in general, did not work as long hours in 1999 as they did in 1900.The last area that I’d like to give you a few statistics about is workplace safety. Most of us who go to work every day don’t think a lot about whether we are safe or not, but in 1900 it was a real concern for a lot of workers. There aren’t many statistics available, but the U.S. government does have statistics on two industries that will give you some idea of the differences today. In 1900 almost 1,500 workers were killed in coal-mining accidents; in 1999, the number was 35. 2,555 railroad workers were killed in 1900, compared to 56 in 1999.People often tend to romanticize the past and talk about “the good old days,” but I think it’s fair to say that by the end of the twentieth century, U.S. workers in general made more money, they enjoyed more benefits, and their working conditions had improved greatly.Now let’s turn our attention to the current situation for U.S. workers. The picture is not so rosy as the one drawn by comparing U.S. workers at the beginning and the end of the twentieth century. I’m going to focus on the current situation in terms of productivity, working hours, and wages and salaries.First let’s consider the number of hours worked. According to a XXXX study released by the United Nations International Labor Organization, U.S. workers are the most productive in the world among industrialized nations, but they work longer hours than Europeanworkers to achieve this productivity. Europeans typically have four to six weeks of vacation a year, whereas the average American worker has only about two weeks. This study points out that the longer working hours in the United States is a rising trend, while the trend in other industrialized countries is the opposite.Workers in some European countries actually outproduce American workers per hour of work. It has been suggested that this higher rate of productivity might be because European workers are less stressed than U.S. workers.At any rate, there seems to be general agreement that U.S. productivity has greatly increased over the last thirty years. However, workers have not seen their wages rise at the same rate. A group of sociologists in their book Inequality by Design point out that there is a growing gap between rich Americans and everyone else in the United States. They write that between 1949 and 1974, increases in productivity were matched by increases in wages for workers in both manufacturing and the service industries, but since 1974, productivity increased 68 percent in manufacturing and 50 percent in services, but real wages stagnated. That is, wages moved up little or not at all. So, where does all the money generated by the increased productivity go then? According to the authors of this book, the money goes to the salaries for CEOs, to the stock market, and to corporate profits. Workers play a great role in increasing productivity, but no longer see their wages connected to increased productivity. In other words, CEOs’ salaries, the stock market, and the corporate profits go up as work productivity goes up, but workers’ wages don’t.What are the reasons why U.S. workers, who are the most productive in the world, have to work longer hours, have fewer vacation days, and see their wages stagnate and not rising at the same rate as productivity? The answer to this question is complex and controversial, but there are two reasons most people who speak or write about these issues mention: The first is that labor unions in the United States have lost great power since the beginning of the 1980s, and the second is that the government has passed laws that favor the rich and weaken the rights of the workers.I see our time is up. So, I’ll see you next time.Chapter 4 Family in the United StatesA hundred years ago, one heard the same kind of comments about the American family that one hears today --- in short, that the American family is disintegrating. Proof of this disintegration at the end of the nineteenth century included three points: the declining birth rate, a rising divorce rate, and evidence that women were not completely content with their domestic role. It’s a little surprisingto me that the same claim about the family is being made today --- that it is disintegrating. And often the same points are mentioned as proof: declining birth rates, increasing divorce rates, and discontent of women with domestic roles. Now, in no way do I mean to imply that cultural, demographic, and economic conditions are the same now as they were 100 years ago. On the contrary, the very nature of the family has changed drastically in the last 50 years, not to mention the last 100 years. But I don’t think the average person’s concept of the family has changed very much over the years. A lot of people have on fixed idea of the family: a married couple where Mother stays home to care for the children and Father works. But this idea is challenged by what we see every day in U.S. society. To be sure, the family is a very sensitive barometer for what is happening in the society, the culture, and the economy of the United States. To make this point clearer, we’ll take a look at how the American family has changed in the last 50 years by looking at three different time periods: there are the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s; the mid-60s to the mid-80s; and finally the present. Sociologist Barbara Dafoe Whitehead labels these three periods: the period of traditional familism, the period of individualism, and the period of the new familism. I will try for each period to show how economic, demographic, and cultural elements interact and, in turn, affect the family.Well, let’s proceed in chronological order and start with traditional familism. We’re talking here of the twenty years from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s. This was the period after World War II, a period characterized by a very strong economy. This gave the United States a rising standard of living and a growing middle class. Demographically, the predominant configuration of the family from these years was the traditional one: a married couple with children. Some women worked, but divorce rates were low, and birth rates were high. I guess you could say that the country idealized the family in these years. And what I mean is, there was a commitment to the family from its members and a reverence for it from society. TV programs of the era depicted the family in the classical configuration: working father, housewife, and children. Culturally, three characteristics stand out in this period: conformity to social norms, greater male domination of the family than in the later periods, and clear-cut gender roles, that is, clear and separate roles for men and women at home and at work. Well, things changed quite a bit after this period.Let’s move on to the second period, the period of individualism. This period is from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. Now, because individualism is so often mentioned in our discussion of U.S. culture and people, I should make a little detour here before we discuss it. Individualism brings to mind two other words: independence andself-reliance. Individualism conveys the idea that one should think and act for himself or herself, according to what one feels is right. Individualism is easily confused with egotism or selfishness, but in its best sense, it is much more. Individualism implies that one has the freedom to decide what is best rather than allowing that decision to be made by a group such as the community or society. Individualism does, of course, conflict with the concept of community, which implies that the group shares in making decisions. And this conflict between the individual and the community is one that comes up again and again in our lecture series about the United States. All right, let’s get back to our discussion about the family.The second period, the period of individualism, saw three important social and political movements. Do you have any idea which movements I might be talking about? Keep in mind that these decades were characterized by a lack of conformity to social norms. Well, the movements have in mind are the sexual revolution, in which sex was clearly no longer reserved for marriage; the women’s liberation movement; and the movement against the war in Vietnam. All three movements---the sexual revolution, woman’s liberation, and the antiwar movement --- were typical of the nonconforming nature of these decades. Now, culturally, it is in this period where we see two important developments: one the idealization of one’s career and work and, two, the drive for self-expression and self-fulfillment. In this period, the feminist movement challenged traditional gender roles and male domination of society. Women began to enter professions previously closed to them like medicine, law, and management. Men, for their part, began at least to consider a more active role in raising their children.These cultural changes occurred during a time of economic changes, too. This was a time of rapidly rising cost of living. Together, these forces changed the demographics of the family. The former picture of the family had only one configuration: a married couple with children where Mother stayed home. The new picture of the family had to include new configurations, like families in which the husband and wife both worked, families of single parents with children, and families of cohabiting couples with or without children. With more women pursuing careers and making money, there was less economic pressure for them to stay in an unsuitable marriage. Therefore, divorce rates doubled in a decade. Rising divorce rates and more financial independence for women made marriage a less attractive arrangement for many women. Consequently, the number of single-parent households tripled. Less conformity to social norms paved the way for cohabitation. So the number of unmarried couples living together in this period quadrupled. Can you see how economic, cultural, and demographic aspects of the。
