《现代大学英语听力2》听力原文及答案Unit 1知识讲解

Unit 1Text A Another School Year—What For?Part 1 BackgroundⅠ. About the author: John Ciardi (1916-1986)A. His life:◆a child of Italian immigrants, Boston◆Began his career teaching English at the University of Kansas City◆Joined the US Air Force in 1942, served as a gunner in fighter planes◆went on to teach at Harvard University in 1946◆in 1953 accepted a position at Rutgers University◆in 1961, gave up teaching and devoted himself to his own literary endeavorsB. His influence:◆Poet, translator, etymologist◆Major works:➢First book of poems, Homeward to America, 1940➢Other Skies, focusing on his war-time experience, 1947➢How Does a Poem Mean, a standard textbook for high school and college poetry courses ➢Translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy (The Inferno, 1954; The Purgatorio, 1961; The Paradiso, 1970)◆Influence:➢ A very popular poet➢Poetry editor of Saturday Review from 1956 to 1972➢Fellow of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member and former president of the National Institute of Arts and LettersII. Genre◆Orientation speechperiod of time at the beginning of the academic year at a university during which a variety of events are held to orient and welcome new students. The orientation helps new students to organize their classes, acclimate to student life, and introduce themselves to other new students. Speeches are often given at orientation by presidents or acclaimed professors of the university.◆Audience: College freshmen◆Style: colloquial, familiar; first humorous, mildly sarcastic; later serious and earnestPart 2 Word Study1．accomplishment n.①achievement 成就；成绩Books are man’s peculiar accomplishment. (para.12) 书本是人类特有的成就。

Task 1News Item 1The United States central bank, the Federal Reserve, has raised interest rates for the third time this year. The Federal Reserve raised the overnight bank lending rate by 0.25 percent (one fourth of one percent) to 5.5 percent. It raised the discount rate also by 0.25 percent to 5 percent. The Federal Reserve said it had no plans to raise interest rates again any time soon. It said the increase today should reduce the danger of inflation.News Item 2The merce Department says the American economy has shrunk for the first time in eight years. The total value of goods and services produced in the United States fell by four tenth of one percent (0.4 percent) in the period of July through September. A recession is monly defined as at least six months where the economy shrinks.News Item 3A fall in the New York market had been widely predicted following Friday's better than expected US employment figures. US bonds from which the government funds long-term borrowing fell nearly two points on the news that more jobs had been created in March than had been expected. The Dow Jones Index was closed on Friday for the Easter holiday, so today was the first chance for the share market to react.News Item 4And we go straight to Wall Street where share prices closed higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up nearly 1 percent or 89 points at 10,205. Shares made up for some of the losses they incurred in the past week, thanks to what was interpreted as "signs the US inflation is under control".Task 2News Item 1China has launched a manned space flight, being the third country to do so 40 years after the Soviet Union and the United States. A single astronaut was on board the Shenzhou V Craft, which took off from the Gobi Desert. It's expected to go round the earth 14 times during a 24-hour period before landing in Inner Mongolia. President Hu Jintao watched the launch, a sign of the importance China attaches to its space programme. Francis Marguez reports from Beijing.Half an hour after the spacecraft blasted off, China's state television showed footage of the launch, the rocket climbing slowly into the clear blue sky. And many Chinese will feel their country has taken a proud step towards modernity.News Item 2China's first man in space has returned to Earth. Reports say Chinese officials declared the space flight a success. Astronaut Yang Liwei is also reported to be in good health. On Tuesday, China became only the third nation to send a person into orbit. Astronaut Yang and his spacecraft landed in China's Inner Mongolia early Thursday. He had orbited the earth 14 times in about 20 hours. The United States and Russia praised China for the launch. Russia and the United States were the first two nations to send people into space.Task 3Negotiators have agreed to the wording of a proposed international treaty on tobacco control. Delegates from more than 170 countries approved the final wording earlier this month in Switzerland. This came after four years of negotiations. The proposed treaty is called the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. It will be presented in May at the yearly meeting of the World Health Organization, a UN agency. The final version approved there will also require individual approval by WHO members. Once 40 nations have approved it, the treaty will go into effect in those countries.Member states cannot make any amendments once the WHO approves a final version of the treaty. They must either accept or reject the agreement as it is written. The proposed Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is part of the efforts to reduce deaths and diseases from smoking.The WHO estimates that almost five million people die each year from lung cancer and other tobacco-related diseases. That number could rise to ten million a year by 2020. Developing nations are the biggest growth areas for tobacco-related diseases. These nations are calling for the strongest laws possible to control tobacco. The treaty would ban advertising and other marketing campaigns for tobacco products, where doing so would not violate a country's constitution. It also calls for high tobacco taxes. It would even require panies to make public all the substances they use to make cigarettes.In addition, tobacco panies would have to place health warnings on at least thirty percent of their products. These warnings could not include information that might lead people to believe that some cigarettes are less harmful than others. In addition, governments would have to support treatment programs to help people stop smoking. And, there would have to be education campaigns to get people not to start. The proposed treaty also calls for measures to protect non-smokers from secondhand smoke, that is, smoke from other people's tobacco.Task 4Thank you. And thank you for asking me to share in your weekly address to the American people.Britain and America have so much in mon: language, values, belief in family and munity, in a real sense of national pride. We share many problems, too. And it has been clear from our discussions thatwe are agreed, in general terms, about some of the solutions.You took the tough decisions needed for long-term economic stability. We are doing so. You have focused on education, welfare reform, a new approach to crime. So are we. Together, we are breaking down boundaries of left and right and creating a new politics of the radical centre.Task 5Each year, the Nobel mittee in Oslo, Norway announces the winners of its famous Nobel Prizes. Most winners of the Nobel Peace Prize have been men. Only ten percent have been women since the prize was first presented in 1901.Now the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the human rights group International Alert have presented a new award to honor women peacemakers. It is called the Millennium Peace Prize for Women. Officials will present the award every three years. The award recognizes women's actions in building peace, protecting women's human rights and supporting munity life during and after war.Experts say women are usually not as involved in the peace process as men are. However, their work to reestablish normal munity life after peace has been reached is very important. Because of this, International Alert says women also need to be recognized as leaders in peace building.Earlier this month, six women and organizations received the Millennium Peace Prize for Women. One of the winners is the Colombian group "Ruta Pacifica de las Mujeres", or Women's Road to Peace. This group has organized protests against the violence between rebel groups and the Colombian government.The group "Leitana Nehan Women's Development Agency" also won the peace prize. It helped in the peace process between the military and rebel forces in Papua New Guinea. Another winner is the group "Women in Black". It is an international organization that organizes protests against violence, aggression and war.Flora Brovina also received the peace prize. She organized the "League of Albanian Women of Kosovo". Doctor Brovina has taught emergency medical skills to people in Kosovo.Asma Jahangir and Hina Jilani are also peace prize winners. They worked to support human rights and women's rights in Pakistan. And the leader of the women's movement in Rwanda also won the Millennium Peace Prize, after her death. Veneranda Nzambazamariya helped rebuild Rwanda after the mass killings in 1994. She died in a plane crash last year.Task 6News Item 1Brazil's new Health Minister Hosein Selar has sacked two senior health officials in Rio de Janeiro amid growing concern about the epidemic of dengue fever. More than 80,000 people in southeast Brazil have caught the mosquito-born disease which causes severe headaches, fever and vomiting. In some cases, it can be fatal. Our Brazil correspondent Steven Switch reports that President Fernando Henrique Cardoso regards the issue of health care as his government's biggest political weakness.News Item 2In agriculture news. The European Union has banned all imports of animal products from the Netherlands. The ban was ordered after the Dutch government confirmed four cases of foot-and-mouth disease there. Dutch officials have had all infected animals destroyed. Until now, only Britain and France have been affected by the animal disease. Also, in the American State of Vermont, officials seized some sheep suspected of having mad cow disease. More than 230 sheep were taken from a farm. The animals will be destroyed and tested for the disease.Task 7Announcer: ... in Garderers' Question Time at 2 o'clock. And now over to Gordon Chartwell in the newsroom.Newsreader: Here is the news, read by Gordon Chartwell. The cruise liner, Princess of Wales , which ran aground last night off the island of St. Catherine in the Caribbean, is reported to be sinking. Here's a report from our correspondent in Jamaica, Graham Smith.Graham Smith: A weak radio signal was received here in Kingston a few hours ago from the radio operator on the 28,000-ton luxury cruise ship, the Princess of Wales. According to this message, the ship is taking in water and is starting to sink. All the passengers have been ordered into the lifeboats and told to make for the nearby island of St. Catherine, the coast of which is some 20 miles from the scene of the accident. In normal circumstances this would be an easy 3-hour trip, but with Hurricane Zelda approaching fast and blowing away from the island, it's feared that some boats may not make it in time to the safety of the island. Once on the island, it would be possible for passengers and crew to shelter from the wind and await rescue. The Royal Navy frigate Steadfast is heading for St. Catherine at full speed but it may take her up to 24 hours to get there. So things look pretty grim for the 700 passengers and 420 crew at the moment. This is Graham Smith in Kingston, Jamaica. Newsreader: As soon as we have any further news we will interrupt our programmes to bring it to you. And now the rest of the news. In Liverpool today the Prime Minister said in a speech...Part TwoAnnouncer: We interrupt this programme to take you over to the newsroom for a newsflash. Newsreader: This is Gordon Chartwell in the newsroom with a further report from our correspondent Graham Smith in Jamaica about the stranded liner, Princess of Wales.Graham Smith: A further signal has been picked up from the Princess of Wales within the past few minutes. According to this, the ship is now out of danger. Apparently the damage to the liner is not as serious as was originally thought and she is still pletely seaworthy and out of danger. However, before this was realized, 5 of the lifeboats had been launched and about 200 passengers and crew had made their way to the island of St. Catherine where they are reported to be safe. For the time being they are likely to remain on the island. The remaining 920 people are still on board the liner and in no danger. Although Hurricane Zelda has reached the island, the wind seems to have blown itself out tosome extent and although there are heavy seas, there is no danger for a ship of the size of the Princess of Wales. The ship is now clear of the rocks. The passengers and crew sheltering on the island will be brought off by the Royal Navy frigate Steadfast, which is now close to the area. Apart from a few minor injuries there are no casualties. This is Graham Smith returning you to the studio. Newsreader: There will be a further report in our main news at one o'clock. And now back to Down Your Way...Task 8News Item 1The European Union has officially approved the Kyoto Treaty on climate change. Officials from all 15 EU states attended a ceremony Friday at the United Nations in New York. However, the treaty still needs the approval of more countries to e into effect. The treaty limits the release by industrial countries of gases blamed for trapping heat in the atmosphere. The United States was one of the first countries to sign the Kyoto Treaty, but has since withdrawn. President Bush says the treaty could harm the American economy.News Item 2Wele to BBC World News, I'm Nick Gowing. Environment ministers from 180 countries will start trying to rescue the Kyoto Treaty on global warming shortly. They join their officials who have been meeting all week in the German city of Bonn. The 1997 Kyoto agreement mits industrialized countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The protocol was undermined in a major way in March when US President George W. Bush said it would weaken America's economy.It's Beethoven who dominates the town square here and it's unlikely that he'll have to give up his place to a monument celebrating a conference which halted global warming. Ministers from over 180 countries have already agreed to global cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases 5 percent below the 1990 levels. But here they must decide how this will be achieved. Since George Bush pulled out of the deal, the argument is between Japan and Europe. The Japanese want flexible rules allowing them to plant more trees in place of steep cuts in pollution and weaker penalties for missing targets. Europe doesn't like it but really wants a deal.News Item 3A major international conference on climate change is to open in Moscow shortly with Russia ing under renewed pressure to sign the Kyoto Protocol. That's the agreement to limit the industrial pollutants that are believed to contribute to global warming. The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 can only e into force when 55 percent of countries have signed up to it. With United States refusing to sign, ratification by Russia is crucial to the treaty's success. From Moscow our environment correspondent Tim Hersch reports.President Putin himself called this conference in his own capital to discuss the latest signs of climatechange and it had been thought he might use the opportunity to announce that his government was finally prepared to sign up to Kyoto, but ments from senior Kremlin officials have played down expectations, saying Russia wanted firm guarantees of foreign investment in clean technology before pressing ahead with ratification. The European Union and UN bodies have been putting pressure on Mr. Putin to end the delays so that international action against global warming could finally start six years after the Kyoto agreement was signed.Task 9The United Nations General Assembly will hold a special session on children beginning September 19th. The meeting will bring together government leaders, child activists, non-governmental organizations and many young people. The three-day gathering will give officials a valuable chance to change how the world thinks about children.Eleven years ago, the UN held a similar meeting called the "World Summit for Children". During that conference, seventy-one heads of state and government signed a treaty aimed at improving the lives of children around the world. Efforts to reach the goals established in that treaty have made the rights of children an important issue.The UN agency for children, UNICEF, is supporting the special session. Officials are expected to produce a plan of action to guarantee that three important goals are reached. The goals are the best possible start in life for all children, a good education for all children and the chance for all children to bee an important part of their munities. The session will also examine progress made since the 1990 World Summit for Children.Former South African President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela is working toward these goals. He is joined by his wife Graca Machel who is an activist for children. They are calling on munity, business and government leaders to form an international movement aimed at improving the world for young people.The movement is hoping to build international support for a public campaign to help children. Several world leaders have joined the movement. Movie stars, professional sports teams, and the creators of children's television programs and books also have joined the movement.The group's public campaign lists ten ways to improve the lives of young people. These include educating children, protecting them from war and fighting the disease AIDS. UNICEF officials say the goal of the movement is for people around the world to get involved, take action and work for change. They say that for every child who es into the world, the hopes and dreams of the human race are reborn.Task 10The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says hunger kills millions of people each year—especially children. The UN organization says millions more people will die unless more money is invested to fight against hunger.This is based on the results of a new UN study called "The State of Food Insecurity in the World, 2002". It found that more than nine million people die each year from hunger. Six million of them are children younger than age five. Researchers also found that the number of starving people is growing in some parts of the world.The report says that about eight hundred and forty million people around the world are not getting enough food to eat. Ninety-five percent of these people are in developing countries.。

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

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

Unit 2 Men, Animals and PetsObjectives:●Understand what animals are being described.●Get to know more about animals.●Get to know more about how man and animals co-exist.●Catch main ideas and supporting details.●Have practice in liaison and contraction.Task 1Script1) They live in Africa and India. They have four legs and a tail. They are very big and very strong. They are intelligent, too. They have a trunk and some of them have tusks. They sometimes live for 70 years.2) They live in Africa and Asia. They are brown. They have arms and legs, but they don't have a tail. Their arms are very long and they have big ears. They are good climbers. They are very intelligent, too.3) They live in Africa. They are very tall. They have four legs, a tail and a very long neck. They eat leaves and twigs. They can run very fast. They are brown and white.4) They live in very cold countries. They have wings, but they can't fly. They are good swimmers. They eat fish. They are blue and white or black and white.5) They live in Australia. They are red or gray. They have short front legs, long back legs and a very long tail. The back legs and the tail are very strong. They can run very fast. The females carry their young in a pouch.6) They live in Africa. They have four legs and a tail. They have a beautiful coat with black and white or brown and white stripes. They eat grass and plants.7) They live in very cold countries. They have four legs. They are very big and very strong. They have a white coat. They can swim. They eat seals and fish.(Length: 2 min. 23 sec.)KeyA. Write down the name of the animal beings described in each case.1) elephants2) chimpanzees3) giraffes4) penguins5) kangaroos6) zebras7) polar bearsB. Complete the following sentences with what you hear on the tape,1) They live in Africa and India. They have four legs and a tail.2) Their arms are very long and they have big ears.Task 2ScriptThe fastest animal on land is the cheetah. It can run at a speed of about 100 kilometres an hour. The fastest bird in the world can fly at 170 km/h, and the fastest fish can swim at more than 100 km/h.Human beings are not very fast. The fastest man in the world can only run at about 40 km/h. Many animals can run faster than this. But most animals run on four legs. Four legs are better than two, aren't they? Why do we only have two legs?Scientists say that we are more intelligent than other animals because we stand on two legs, so we can use our hands for other things. We can pick things up with them. We can use tools. Human beings have used tools for millions of years. That is why our brains have developed. That is why we have become the most intelligent animals in the world.In the past few years, we have made all kinds of machines. We have made cars, ships, aeroplanes and spacecraft. In these machines we can travel faster than any animal--by land, by sea, or by air. We can even go to the moon. No other animal has ever done that!(Length: 1 min. 30 sec.)KeyA. Answer the following questions.1) What is the fastest animal on land?Key: The cheetah.2) What is the speed of the fastest birds?Key: 170 km/h.3) What is the speed of the fastest fish?Kay: More than 100km/h.4) Why can many animals ran faster than human beings?Key: Because most animals run on four legs.5) Why can human beings travel faster than any animals?Key: Because we have machines.B. Decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the tape.1) The fastest man in the world can run at 100 km/h. [ F ]2) Most animals run on two legs. [ F ]3) We have become the most intelligent animals in the world because we have used tools for millions of years. [ T ]Task 3ScriptA: You know, we're studying dinosaurs in science class. It's really interesting.B: Oh, yeah? Hey, have you learned why the dinosaurs disappeared?A: Well, no one knows for sure.B: I thought it had something to do with the climate. The temperature might have gotten cooler and killed them off.A: Yeah, that's one theory. Another idea is that they may have run out of food.B: Uh-huh. And you know, there's even a theory that they could have been destroyedby aliens from outer space.A: That sounds crazy to me!(Length: 48 see.)KeyA. Answer the following questions.1) What are the possible reasons why the dinosaurs disappeared?Key: Climate, lack of food and aliens from outer space might be responsible for their extinction.2) Does the man believe in the theory of alien invasion?Key: No.B. Fill in the missing words with what your hear on the tape.B: I thought it had something to do with the climate. The temperature might have gotten cooler and killed them off.A: Yeah, that's one theory. Another idea is that they may have run out of food.B: Uh-huh. And you know, there's even a theory that they could have been destroyed by aliens from outer space.Task 4ScriptFor the shortest life, the first prize must go to the mayfly, which typically lives only a matter of a few hours after it emerges from its shell. Few mayflies live to see the sun rise again. These creatures devote their whole lives to a single desperate mission: finding a mate and producing young. They don't even have functional mouths and stomachs. They simply have no time to eat. In fact they have no time for anything else.The record-holder for the longest life may be the Arctic clam, one of which lived quietly underwater for 220 years. However it did not have any birth certificate to prove this. One could only judge by its growth rings.If you insist on better documentation, the oldest animal ever was probably a tortoise that died in 1918. It had been captured already full-grown in 1766, nine years before the American Revolution began, and it died 152 years later as World War I came to a close.(Length: 1 rain. 20 sec.)KeyAnswer the following questions.I) What animal has the shortest life? For how long?Kay: The mayfly. A few hours.2) What do mayflies do in their lifetime?Kay: They just do two things: finding a mate and producing young.3) How do we know that one of the Arctic clams lived for 220 years?Key: We could judge by its growth rings.4) How long was the tortoise that died in 1918 kept in captivity?Key: It was kept for 152 years.Task 5ScriptEvery year about 17 million animals are used in laboratory experiments. But in many countries today, a difficult question is being asked: Do we have the right to use animals in this way?People who are for using animals in research argue that the use of animals in medical research has many practical benefits. Animal research has enabled researchers to develop treatments for many diseases, such as heart disease and depression. It would not have been possible to develop vaccines for diseases like smallpox and polio without animal research. Every drug anyone takes today was tried first on animals.Future medical research is dependent on the use of animals. Which is more important: the life of a rat or that of a three-year-old child?Medical research is also an excellent way of using unwanted animals. Last year, over 12 million animals had to be killed in animal shelters because no one wanted them as pets.However those who are against it point out that the fact that humans benefit cannot be used to justify using animals in research any more than it can be used to justify experimenting on other humans. Animals suffer a lot during these experiments. They are forced to live in small cages, and they may be unable to move.Much of the research that is carried out is unnecessary anyway.Animals have the same rights as humans do to be able to move freely and not to have pain or fear forced on them. Researchers must find other ways of doing their research, using cell culture and computer modeling. There should be no animals in research laboratories at all.(Length: 1 min. 50 sec.)KeyA. Answer the following question.What is the main idea of the passage?Key: People have different opinions on using animals for research.B. Complete the following outline of the passage.1) The case for using animals in research:a) Every drug anyone takes today was tried first on animals.b) Future medical research is dependent on the use of animals.c) Medical research is also a good way of using unwanted animals.2) The case against using animals in research:a) Animals suffer a lot during the experiments.b) Much of the research is unnecessary.c) Animals have the same right as humans do.3) Some alternative ways for scientists to do their research:a) Using cell culture.b) Using computer modeling.Task 6ScriptVisitors to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. can see three new young tigers. The rare babies met the public for the first time late last month. Chip O'Neal tells us about them.The mother tiger sat nearby on the grass as her babies rolled, chased and bit each other playfully. Then Korenchy also jumped into the games. Her cubs were born at the zoo four months ago. They are called Mike, Eric and Chrisy. The new young tigers at the National Zoo each weigh about 13 kilograms. Their fur is dark orange with black stripes. They eat horse meat and drink milk from Korenchy.Korenchy and her babies are Sumatran tigers. Sumatran tigers came from the Indonesian island of Sumatra. They are now in danger of disappearing from the earth. Fewer than 500 of these tigers remain in the world. That includes about 60 living in zoos in North America.Korenchy came to the National Zoo from the Jakarta Zoo in Indonesia. The gift was part of the Sumatran Tiger Species Survival Program. Korenchy has given birth to live cubs three times. The father of her new cubs is Rokan, a Sumatran tiger who arrived two years ago from another zoo.Korenchy and Rokan had their babies the natural way instead of the scientific method often used to produce young animals in zoos.A wire fence separates Rokan from his babies. Zoo workers who care for Rokan say he reaches through the fence to wash the cubs with his tongue. They say this means he recognizes Mike, Eric and Chrisy as his cubs. However, zoo officials are hoping that Rokan will produce more cubs with another female Sumatran tiger at the zoo, so they do not want him to become too interested in this family.The National Zoo hopes to keep the Sumatran tiger cubs for at least 18 months before sending them to other zoos. That is about the age when most tiger cubs in the wild leave their mothers. The National Zoo has placed cameras in the Sumatran tigers' living area, so people with computers can see them. To do this, use your computer to find the National Zoo's Website at /natzoo.(Length: 3 min. 40 sec.)KeyA. Answer the following questions.1) Was the mother tiger born in the National Zoo as well?Key: No.2) Why is the father tiger separated from his cubs?Key: Because zoo officials want him to produce cubs with another female tiger, so they don't want him to become too interested in this family.B. Complete the following sentences with what you hear on the tape.1) The young tigers are four months old.2) Each of them weighs about 13 kilograms.3) They eat horse meat and drink their mother's milk.4) People with computers can see the daily life of these tigers by visiting theNational Zoo'sWebsite at www. /natzoo.C. Choose the best answer to each of the following questions.1) How many Sumatran tigers remain in the world? ( c)a) About 60. b) More than 500. c) Less than 500.2) Korenchy has given birth to _______. ( c )a) three cubs b) four cubs c) five or more cubs3) After 18 months, these cubs will be sent_______ (b)a) to the wild b) to other zoos c) to the Jakarta Zoo Cats in AmericaTask 7ScriptAn old expression says, "Man's best friend is his dog." Today, however, it seems that cats have replaced dogs as the most popular pets in American homes.Americans have more than 62 million pet dogs. But even more cats--more than 64 million--live in American homes.These pet cats may have long hair or short hair. They are different colors and sizes. Some are costly animals that take part in competitions. Many more are common American mixtures of several kinds of cats.Most house cats live a good life. They are not expected to work for their food. Instead, they rule their homes like furry kings and queens. They wait for their owners to serve them.Americans are increasingly serious about their cats. These concerns have made the care of cats into big business.Each year, cat owners buy tons of food especially prepared for cats. They buy toys and other equipment. They buy jewelry and clothes for themselves with images of cats on them. Some owners even bury their dead pets in special burial grounds.Humans have loved and respected cats for centuries. Scientists have evidence that cats and people lived together as long as 8,000 years ago. The small house cat was once a highly honored animal. In ancient Egypt for example, people who killed a cat could be punished by death.Early in American history cats were not treated as gods, however. They probably arrived in the United States with settlers and traders from Europe. These cats worked. They killed rats and mice.Sometimes, Americans mistreated their cats. During the early days of the nation, religious extremists believed that some cats were working for the devil. Black cats were especially suspected of being evil.Later, American families who had enough food began taking cats into their homes. People cared for the cats because the animals gave them pleasure. The cats thanked people for feeding them by making a purring sound. This pleasant noise usually means a cat is happy.Animal experts offer several reasons why cats have become so popular as house pets. They say cats need less care than dogs. And cats do not seem to suffer as much as dogs from being alone if the owners are away.Still, millions of other people do not like cats at all. They say dogs are better and more loving pets. They say cats do not have much feeling. They believe cats stay with people only to be fed. Cat owners defend their pets against such criticism. They say cats are just much more independent than dogs.A student of animal medicine explains the situation this way: dogs follow you around they want you to talk to them and play with them a lot of the time. Cats like more space and more privacy--this does not mean they do not love their owners.(Length: 4 min. 27 sec.)KeyA. Answer the following questions.1) Which have become more popular in America, dogs or cats? How do you knowthat?Key: Cats have become more popular, because there are more pet cats in American homes.2) How long have humans had cats in their homes?Key: About 8,000 years.3) Where did American house cats come from?Key: They probably arrived in the United States from Europe.4) Cats have been treated well in the United States all along, haven't they?Key: No.B. Fill in the missing words in the summary.1) The care of cats has become a big business, because cat owners:a) buy tons of food especially prepared for cats.b) buy toys and other equipment.c) buy things with images of cats on them.d) bury their dead pets in special burial grounds.2) People who prefer cats say cats:a) give their owners pleasure.b) need less care.c) suffer less from being alone.d) are more independent.C. Decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the tape.1) Most house cats lived a good life. [ F ]2) Early American cats were treated like gods. [ F ]3) Black cats were once suspected working for the devil. [ T ]4) Cats are treated like fairy kings and queens. [ F ]5) Cats want you to talk to them a lot. [ F ]Task 8ScriptLittle Steve has a pet rabbit, Bunny. He plays with it every day after school. One day his mother sees that her little boy is holding Bunny by the ears. From time to time he gives the poor rabbit an angry shake and says, "How much is two plus two?" "Steve," says his mother, "why do you treat your poor little Bunny that way?""Well," explains Steve angrily, "our teacher says that rabbits multiply very quickly, but this dummy can't even add."(Length: 40 sec.)Task 9ScriptMost mammals live on land, but not all of them. Millions of years ago, some mammals went back to the sea and lived there. The legs of these animals disappeared, and after a long time they looked like fish. These animals became whales and dolphins.Whales and dolphins are still like other mammals in many ways. They are warm-blooded and they breathe air. They also have big brains. That is why they are more intelligent than fish. Whales have the biggest brains in the world. Their brain is bigger than the brain of a human being.(Length: 50 sec.)。

I had two months until my new job began. It was like waiting an entire summer for school to start. I spent those two months talking to figure skating coaches and judges. I read boring rule books. I drove to the rinks where the skaters trained, and made notes about our conversations. I even took a lesson, which made some of the skaters laugh.Unit 6Task 1【答案】A.[d]—[b]—[a]—[e]—[c]B.a【原文】Laura usually leaves the offices of Quest Productions at about 5 o'clock, but last Monday she left at 5:30. She wanted to get home by 6:30 and she ran to the bus stop but she couldn't get on a bus. There were too many people and not enough buses. Laura was desperate to get home so she decided to go by tube.In the station she went to one of the automatic ticket machines but she didn't have enough change, so she had to join the queue at the ticket window. She bought her ticket and ran to the escalator. Laura went to the platform and waited for the tube. It arrived andthe crowd moved forward.Laura was pushed into the train. It was almost full but she was given a seat by a man with a moustache. Laura thanked him and sat down. She started to read her newspaper. In the tunnel the train stopped suddenly and Laura was thrown to the floor together with the man with the moustache. Somebody screamed. The lights went out. It was quarter past 6 on a cold, wet December evening.Task 2【答案】A.1) a 2) b 3) d 4) cB.1) T 2) T 3) FC.wondered; television plays; exciting; every cigarette lighter; tape recorder; held in a certain way; the touch of a gold ring against the hand of; reveal; How wrong they were【原文】X was a secret agent. He had rented a furnished room in a provincial town not far from the public park and had been there two weeks. He was standing at the window looking out at the dull beds of geraniums, the park gates and the cold, uninviting statue of QueenVictoria that stood across the street from him, It was raining hard and the few people who passed by looked wet and miserable. X was miserable, too. How, he wondered, could anybody think there was anything interesting about the life of a secret agent He knew it was because people had seen so many television plays about glamorous spies that they thought the life of a secret agent was exciting. They were convinced that every cigarette lighter concealed a secret tape recorder; that a fountain pen held in a certain way would open a locked door, that the touch of a gold ring against the hand of an enemy would make him reveal all his secrets. How wrong they were! He looked round his room. The wallpaper was in the worst possible taste, the pictures horrible, the carpet worn, dirty and faded; and he was cold. This was the third Monday he had come to the window to look out. He prayed it would be the last.As if in answer to his prayer, a certain meeting he had been sent to investigate was about to take place. He took out his camera. Just beneath the statue two women had stopped to speak. He knew one of them, and it was she who pointed in his direction. The other woman looked up towards him and in that brief moment he photographed her.Task 3【答案】A.B.1) a 2) b 3) c 4) b 5) d【原文】Harry: Well, Robert, have you made up your mind yet what you want to do when you leave collegeNora: Oh Harry. Surely he's a bit young to decide on his career. He hasn't even got to college yet.Harry: Not at all, Nora. It's wisest to decide in good time. Look at me, for example. I really wanted to be a sailor, but nowI spend my days sitting at a desk in an office. Yes, it's sillyto train for the wrong job. And after all, Robert will be going to college soon.Nora: Now if I were a man I'd be a farmer. To see the crops growing--that's my idea of a good life.Harry: Yes, and to see the money rolling in is more important still. Robert: Well, that's not the way I look at it, Dad. It's the job I care about, not the money.Harry: Maybe not; but you'll learn to care about the money too, when you've got a family to keep.Nora: And of course Peter —well, he's keen to be a racing driver, or else an explorer.Robert: Oh, Peter's not old enough to make up his mind about such things.Harry: You haven't answered my question yet, Robert. What would you like to doNora: Are you sure you don't want to be a farmer, Robert Or a market gardenerRobert: No, I'm sorry Mum, but I don't want to at all. I'd rather be a civil engineer. I want to build roads and bridges.Harry: Not ships Isn't it better to be a shipbuilding engineer Robert: Look here, is it my career we're planning, or yoursHarry: All fight, all right, there's no need to lose your temper.But you'd better win that scholarship first.Task 4【答案】I. correspondents; columnistA. may not need eitherB. to go to places where events take place and write stories aboutthemII. first; bigger; better; who will soon leave to work for other peopleIII. working hours; free time; work long hours to begin with【原文】Here are some of the things a young man or woman should not do when he first asks an editor for a job:He should not tell the editor that he wants to be a foreign correspondent or a columnist. Very probably the editor does not need either. He wants a reporter who will go to such places as government offices and police stations and write a true story of what is happening there. Being a foreign correspondent or a columnist will come later.A young person should not tell tile editor that newspaper work is only the first step on the way to bigger and better jobs, such as those in government. The editor must take a lot of time and trouble teaching someone to be a good newspaperman or woman. He does not like the idea of teaching people who are soon going to leave him to work for someone else.A young journalist should accept the working hours and free time the editor gives him. As a new journalist, it is very probable that he will work longer hours than others and work on weekends.The editor did the same when he was a young newspaperman with no experience. He expects a journalist to understand how things are on a newspaper.Task 5【答案】A.1) acd 2) abeB.1) she is the wrong sex 2) she wears the wrong clothes【原文】SYLVIA: We've got a new manager in our department.LARRY: Oh You hoped to get that job, didn't you？SYLVIA: Yes, I did.LARRY: I'm sorry. That's too bad. Who is it Who got the job, I mean？SYLVIA: Someone called Drexler. Carl Drexler. He's been with the company only two years. I've been here longer. And I know more about the job, too!LARRY: Hmm. Why do you think they gave it to him and not to you？SYLVIA: Because I'm the wrong sex, of course !LARRY: You mean you didn't get the job because you're a woman？SYLVIA: Yes, that was probably it! It isn't fair.LARRY: What sort of clothes does he wear？SYLVTA: A dark suit. White shirt. A tie. Why？LARRY: Perhaps that had something to do with it.SYLVIA: You mean you think I didn't get the job because I come to work in jeans and a sweater？LARRY: It's possible, isn't it？SYLVIA: Do you really think I should wear different clothes？LARRY: Well. . . perhaps you should think about it.SYLVTA: Why should I wear a skirt Or a dress？LARRY: I'm not saying you should. I'm saying you should think about it. That's all!SYLVIA: Why should I do that I'm good at my job! That's the only important thing!LARRY: Hmm. Perhaps it should be the only important thing. But it isn't. Not inthis company.Task 6【答案】A.B.1st speaker(bcd) 2nd speaker(ae)C.1) F 2) F【原文】Al: Is this the right line to file a claimBob: Yeah. It's the same line for everything. You just stand here and wait.Al: Oh. Is there always such a long lineBob: Every week. Sometimes longer. Is this your first time here Al: Yes.Bob: What happened Your plant closed downAl: No. I'm a car salesman, or, I was a car salesman. But we just aren't selling cars. It's the interest rates. Two years ago,I averaged ten new cars a month. Do you know how many cars Isold last month One. One car to a lady who had the cash. But the interest rates are up again. The boss let three of us go.How about youBob: I worked at a vacuum cleaner plant with about fifty workers.We put in a good day's work. But the machinery was getting old.As a matter of fact, the whole plant was old. So the management decided to build a new plant. You know where In Singapore. The workers here made about seven dollars an hour, a couple of people made eight or nine an hour. You know how much they're paying the workers in Singapore $ an hour! Anyway, all fifty of us got laid off.Al: How long ago was thatBob: They closed down ten months ago.Al: Any luck finding another jobBob: Nothing. I have one, sometimes two, interviews a week. Last week I thought I had something. They liked my experience with machines. But I never heard from them again.Al: At least you know something about machines. All I can do is talk.Bob: Maybe you'll talk yourself into another job. Good luck. I'll see you here next week.Al: I hope not. I hope I'll have something by then.Task 7【答案】A.1) F 2) F 3) T 4) F 5) T 6) FB.1) According to the first speaker, it is frustrating because the teacher cannot see clearly the results of his efforts.2) According to the second speaker, English language teaching isa good job, because it guarantees a stable income and regular working hours and means less pressure. He also likes the way elderly teacher are.【原文】Interviewer: Do you prefer what you're doing to teaching？John Smith: Yes, one of the things I found a bit frustrating about teaching was that it was rather,very intangible than um, especially if you're teaching in England and most of the students know quite a lot of English before they arrive. They learn a lot of English outside the classroom, in pubs or coffee shops or other places, with the families they're living with. It's very difficult to pin down how much they learn from your actual lesson, whereas in marketing um, again there are lots of areas that are gray rather than black or white, but there are quite a few other areas where one can see quite clearly the results of one's efforts.Interviewer: What did you do after you quit your job in advertising Second Man: In fact, I became a journalist and I worked as a freelance.I didn't have a full-time job with any newspaper. I justhad to contribute things as they came along and 1 wrotefor magazines, and I did quite a lot of broadcasting forthe VOA. Well, this was in a way the opposite ofadvertising because I enjoyed it a lot but I found itvery hard to earn enough money to live on.Interviewer: And then you decided to be a teacherSecond Man: Well, and so I thought. Well, I must do something which produces an income that I can be sure of. While I wasworking as a journalist I had done an article for amagazine about the English language teaching world andm fact I had come to the school where I now teach as ajournalist and interviewed a lot of the people. And Ithought it seemed a very nice place and I thought thatthe classes I visited had a very, very nice feeling aboutthem, and so I thought, well, I'll see if they'll haveme.Interviewer: Why do you prefer teaching to advertisingSecond Man: Well, partly because in teaching you work regular hours.It I advertising you just had to stay at the office untilthe work was finished [I see.] and it could be threeo'clock in the morning. [Oh, dean] Also you were veryoften made to work at weekends. Often some job would comeup that was very important and they said it had to befinished — it had to go into the newspapers next week. Interviewer: So there was a lot mom pressure.Second Man: There was a lot more pressure in advertising. Also, the people I worked with when I was first in advertising wereyoung hopeful people like myself. By the end I wasworking with a lot of old people who quite honestly wereawful. And I kept looking at them and saying, "Am I goingto be like that" And I thought if I am I'd better getout, whereas the English language teachers I saw, whowere older people I thought, well, they seemed quite nice.And I wouldn't mind being like that myself.Task 8【答案】The interview with Michale:The interview with Chris:【原文】Matthew:?? Michael, do you go out to workMichael:?? Not regularly, no. I... I used to; I used to have a job in a publishing company, but Idecided it wasn't really what I wanted to do and that what I wanted to do wouldn't earn me much money, so I gave up working and luckily I had a private income from my family to support me and now I do the things I want to do. Some of them get paid like lecturing and teaching, and others don't.Matthew: What are the advantages of not having to go to work from nine till fiveMichael: Ah... there' re two advantages really. One is that if you feel tired you don't have to get up, and the other is that you can spend your time doing things you want to do rather than being forced to do the same thing all the time.Matthew: But surely that's in a sense very self-indulgent and verylucky because most of us have to go out and earn our livings.Do you feel justified in having this privileged position Michael: Yes, because I think I use it well. I do things which I think are useful to people and the community and which I enjoy doing.Matthew: Chris, what do you think the value of work isChris: Well, I think in our present-day society, for most people, work has very little value at all. Most of us go out to work for about eight to nine hours of our working day. We do things which are either totally futile and totally useless or have very little justification whatsoever, and for most of us the only reason for working is that we need to keep ourselves alive, to pay for somewhere to live, to pay to feed our children. Matthew: But surely people wouldn't know what to do if they didn't have to go to workChris: Well, again this raises the sort of two main aspects of work.Should we think of 'work only as a sort of bread-winning process, and this is very much the role it has in current society, or should we take a much wider perspective on work and think of all the possible sort of activities that human beings could be doing during the day I think the sort of distinction currently is between say, someone who works in acar factory and who produces cars which are just adding to pollution, to over-consumption of vital resources, who is doing something which is very harmful, both to our environment and to, probably society, to contrast his work with someone perhaps like a doctor, who I think in any society could be justified as doing a very valuable job and one which incidentally is satisfying to the person who is doing it. Matthew: What do you do Is your job just a breadwinning process or do you get some satisfaction out of doing itChris: Well, in the job I do find that most of the satisfaction is a mental one; it's coming to grips with the problems of my subject and with the problems of teaching in the University.Clearly this is the type of satisfaction that most people doing what we call in England "white-collar" jobs. This is quite different from the sort of craftsman, who is either working that his hands or with his skills on a machine, or from people perhaps who are using artistic skills, which are of a quite different character. Certainly it's becoming a phenomena that people who do "white-collar jobs during the day, who work with their minds to some extent, people who work on computers, people who are office clerks, bank employees, these people have fairly soul-destroying jobs which nevertheless don'tinvolve much physical effort, that they tend to come home and do "do-it-yourself" activities at home. They make cupboard, paint their houses, repair their cars, which somehow provide the sort of physical job satisfaction that they're denied in their working day.Task 9【答案】A.B.1) No major change. For some→“less paperwork”Some:→less working hoursOthers:→earn more money.2) Most adults→would go on working.Esp. young adults (18 to 24)→9 out of 10 would go on working【原文】Are most workers today feeling bored and dissatisfied with their jobs It is often claimed that they are. Yet a study conducted by Parade magazine more than 20 years ago showed that people at that time felt the opposite.Parade asked questions of a representative sampling of adult Americans from coast to coast. The sampling included different sexes, age groups, and occupations.The interviewees were asked to make a choice from one of the following three to describe their feelings towards their work.A. Like their jobs.B. Dislike their jobs.C. Like their jobs in part,Results showed that 91 percent of the male interviewees and 84 percent of the females chose A, while only 5 percent men and 12 percent women interviewed chose B. The rest said that they liked their jobs in part and they comprised a very tow percentage.In all the three age groups — from 18 to 24, from 25 to 29 and 30 to 39 — those who liked theirjobs made up the majority. 70 percent, 88 percent and 92 percent respectively choose A. Those choosing B accounted for 20 percent, 9 percent and 8 percent of different age groups. And the rest, 6 percent, 3 percent and 0 percent respectively claimed that they only liked their jobs in part.The difference in responses among people with different occupations is small. Among the white-collar employees, those choosing A, B and C are 87 percent, 8 percent and 4 percent of the total. And for the blue-collar employees, 91 percent, 5 percent and 3 percent choose A, B and C respectively.It is interesting to note that there are few differences in attitude between men and women, professionals and factory workers. In each group, the largest number reported that they liked their jobs.Next, Parade asked, "If there were one thing you could change about your job, what would it be" It was expected that many would wish to make their jobs less boring, but very few gave this reply. No major changes were reported. Some wished for "less paperwork"; many would shorten their working hours, but others would like more hours in order to earn more money. No serious complaints were made.Most people have to work in order to live. But what would happen if someone had enough money to stop working Parade asked, "If you inherited a million dollars, would you go on working — either at your present job or something you liked better--or would you quit work" The answers showed that most adults would prefer to work, even if they didn't have to. This is true especially of the younger adults aged 18-24. Of these, nine out often said they would go on working, even if they suddenly became millionaires.Task 10【答案】A.B.1) F 2) TC.1) b 2) aD.1. She really enjoyed meeting new people.2. She had good qualifications in English and Maths.3. She did not mind hard work, even if it was not always pleasant.4. She liked living away form home.【原文】Officer: Come in, please take a seat. I'm the careers officer. You're Cathy, aren't you？Mother: That's right. This is Catherine Hunt, and I'm her mother. Officer: How do you do, Mrs. Hunt Hello, Catherine.Cathy: Hello. Pleased to meet you.Officer: And you'd like some advice about choosing a career- Mother: Yes, she would. Wouldn't you, Catherine？Cathy: Yes, please.Officer: Well, just let me ask a few questions to begin with. How old are you, Catherine？Mother: She's nineteen. Well, she's almost nineteen.Officer: And what qualifications have you got？Mother: Well, qualifications from school, of course. Very good results she got. And she got certificates for ballet and for playing the piano.Officer: Is that what you're interested in, Catherine, dancing andmusicCathy: Well...Mother: Ever since she was a little girl, she's been very keen on music and dancing. She ought tobe a music teacher or something. She's quite willing to train for a few more years to get the right job, aren't you, Catherine Cathy: Well, if it's a good idea.Mother: There you are, you see. She's a good girl really, a bit lazy and disorganized sometimes,but she's very bright. I'm sure the careers officer will have lots of jobs for you.Officer: Well, I'm afraid it's not as easy as that. There are many young people these days who can'tfind the job they want.Mother: I told you, Catherine. I told you, you shouldn't wear that dress. You have to look smart toget a job these days.Officer: I think she looks very nice. Mrs. Hunt, will you come into the other office for a momentand look at some of the information we have there. I'm sure you'd like to see how we can help young people.Mother: Yes, I'd love to. Mind you, I think Catherine would be anice teacher. She could work with young children. She'd like that. Or she could be a vet. She's always looking after sick animals.Officer: I'm afraid there's a lot of competition. You need very good results to be a vet. This way, Mrs. Hunt. Just wait a minute, Catherine.(The mother exits.)Officer: There are just one or two more things, Catherine. Cathy: Do call me Cathy.Officer: OK, Cathy. Are you really interested in being a vet Cathy: Not really. Anyway, I'm not bright enough. I'm reasonably intelligent, but I'm not brilliant. I'm afraid my mother isa bit over-optimistic.Officer: Yes, I guessed that. She's a bit overpowering, isn't she, your mumCathy: A bit. But she's very kind.Officer: I'm sure she is. So, you're interested in ballet and music, are youCathy: Not really. My mother sent me to lessons when I was six, so I'm quite good, I suppose. But I don't think I want to do that for the rest of my life, especially music. It's so lonely. Officer: What do you enjoy doingCathy: Well, I like playing tennis, and swimming. Oh, I went to France with the school choir last year. I really enjoyed that.And I like talking to people. But I suppose you mean real interests — things that would help me to get a job Officer: No. I'm more interested in what you really want to do. You like talking to people, do youCathy: Oh yes, I really enjoy meeting new people.Officer: Do you think you would enjoy teachingCathy: No, no, I don't really. I was never very interested in school work, and I'd like to do something different. Anyway, there'sa teacher training college very near us. It would be just likegoing to school again.Officer: So you don't want to go on trainingCathy: Oh, I wouldn't mind at all, not for something useful. I wondered about being a hairdresser —you meet lots of people, and you learn to do something properly—but I don't know. It doesn't seem very worthwhile.Officer: What about nursingCathy: Nursing In a hospital Oh, I couldn't do that, I'm not good enough.Officer: Yes, you are. You've got good qualifications in English and Maths. But it is very hard work.Cathy: Oh, I don't mind that.Officer: And it's not very pleasant sometimes.Cathy: That doesn't worry me either. Mum's right. I do look after sick animals. I looked after our dog when it was run over bya car. My mother was sick, but I didn't mind. I was too worriedabout the dog. Do you really think I could be a nurse Officer: I think you could be a very good nurse. You'd have to leave home, of course.Cathy: I rather think I should enjoy that.Officer: Well, don't decide all at once. Here's some information about one or two other things which might suit you. Have a look through it before you make up your mind.Task 11【原文】I began my career during college, reporting on news stories ata Toronto radio station. The station’s program manager was also a professor who taught one of my classes. I convinced him that she needed a youth reporter because that year was International Youth Year. After graduation, I took a job as a television news reporter and later, news anchor. But sports reporting was something different, so I decided to try it. Figure skating was my first assignment.I had two months until my new job began. It was like waitingan entire summer for school to start. I spent those two months talking to figure skating coaches and judges. I read boring rule books. I drove to the rinks where the skaters trained, and made notes about our conversations. I even took a lesson, which made some of the skaters laugh.。

Unit 1 Social CustomsTask 1A1.She wanted to see St. Paul’s Cathedral.2.She was so surprised because she saw so many Englishmen who looked alike.3.They were all wearing dark suits and bowler hats, carrying umbrellas andnewspapers.4.Because she had often read about them and seen photographs of them, who alllooked as if they were wearing a uniform.5.No, he didn’t.6.He used the English saying “It takes all kinds to make a world”to prove hisopinion.BIf all the seas were one sea, what a great sea it would be! And if all the trees were one tree, what a great tree it would be! And if this tree were to fall in the sea, what a great splash there would be!Task 2A1. people were much busier2. colder than England; minus thirty degrees; last longer3. much more mountainous; much higher and much more rocky; more beautiful4. tend to be more crowded5. the houses; smallerB1.T2. T3. F4. F5. FTask 3A1.In the US, people usually dance just to enjoy themselves; they don’t invite otherpeople to watch them.ually eight people dance together.3.Because people form a square in dancing with a man and a woman on each side ofthe square.B1. F2. T3. F4. F5. TC1.eight people form a square; on each side of the square2.what they should do; makes it into a song; sings it3.don’t have much time to think4.old-fashioned clothesC1. eight people form a square; on each side of the square2. what they should do; makes it into a song; sings it3. don’t have much time to think4. old-fashioned clothesTask 41.It was a time to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of spring.2.They burned the picture of their kitchen god to bring good luck.3.The custom said the brides must wear “something old, something new, somethingborrowed, and something blue” to bring good luck.4.Because they could not eat meat, eggs or dairy products during Lent, so they triedto use up these things before Lent began.5.It was a straw man made by children in Czech; it was a figure of death.6.People brought their animals to church. And before the animals went into thechurch people dressed them up in flowers and ribbons.Task 5A1. F2. T3. F4. T5. F6. T7. TBLife in Victorian timesAdvantages:Lots of servants to do the work; beautiful clothes to wear; lots of tea parties; life being slower; plenty of time to talk to each other, play the piano or play cards together Disadvantages:Terrible life for servants; very uncomfortable clothes; boring and formal tea parties---often no men being invited; much more illness; children left with servants all day; very poor education; no freedom for womenLife todayAdvantages:Lots of machines to help with the housework; a much better life for children; more freedom for womenDisadvantages:People being always rushing, having no time to stop or enjoy themselves; too much time spent in front of the television, no talk to each otherTask 6A1. b2. a3. c4. aB1. family unit; process; change; used to be; the extended; the nuclear2. job patterns; progressed; agricultural; industrial; forced; job opportunities; split up3. traditional; family; expanded; other living arrangementsC1.mother, father, children, and some other relatives, such as grandparents, living inthe same house or nearby2.only the parents and the children3.previously married men and women marry again and combine the children fromformer marriages into a new familyTask 7A1. Both2. Men3. Both4. Women5. Men6. Men7. Women8. Women9. Women 10. Women 11. Men 12. WomenB1. c2. c3. a4. b5. c6. c7. cTask 8A1. a2. c3. b4. c5. c6. b7. c8. bB1.T2. T3. F4. F5. T6. F7. F8. F9. T 10.FTask 9Social customs and ways of behaving change. But they do not necessarily always change for the better. Things which were considered impolite many years ago are now acceptable. Just a few years ago, it was considered impolite behaviour for a man to smoke on the street. No man who thought of himself as being a gentleman would make a fool of himself by smoking when a lady was in the room.The important thing to remember about social customs is not to do anything that might make nobleman who had a very formal dinner party. When the food was served, one f the guests started to eat his peas with a knife. Other guests were amused or shocked, but the nobleman calmly picked up his knife and began eating in the same way. It would have been bad manners to make his guest feel foolish or uncomfortable.Unit 2 WeatherTask 11. b2. a3. dTask 2A1.T2. F3. FB1. d2. c3. cC1.climate2. reputation3. extraordinary4. unreliable5. dry6. wet7. clear8. dull 9. hot 10. cold 11. bad 12. mildTask 31.the country; Trees, grass, lakes and steams2.concrete; take in the heat during the day and throw off heat into the air at night;Warmer winters, car engines; electrical appliance3.air pollution may stop sunlight from reaching the earth; Ice near the North andSouth poles to melt; to be slowly flooded and people living in these cities to move to higher landTask 4A1. b2. cB1.night2. delight3. morning4. warning5. gray6. way7. red8. head C1. F2. T3. FTask 51. c2. b3. d4. c5. cTask 6A1. F2. T3. F4. T5. F6. TB1. incredible2. one minute3. one kilometer4. destroyed5. lifted up6. carried away7. killed8. injuredTask 7A1. b2. a3. bB1.For today: It has been nice weather during the day, but it is going to change atnight.2.For the weekend: Fine weather in southern Europe and not so nice in northernEuropeCFor todaySoutheast England---26 degrees Celsius by mid-afternoonSouthern Scotland---Maximum temperatures of around 21 degreesBrighton---15 hours of lovely sunshineMidlands---23 degrees Celsius by early afternoonNorthwest of Scotland---Light showers around middayFor the weekendSpain---34 degrees CelsiusGreece---32 degrees CelsiusFrance---Cloudy with rain, maximum temperatures of 22 degreesNorthern Ireland---Heavy rain, 17 degrees CelsiusMost of England---Cloudy but mainly dry with sunny periods, 23 degrees CelsiusTask 8Natural Phenomena Air Pressure Causes(Rise or Fall)Faraway objects are Fall The dust particles begin to settle to the more sharply focused. ground in thinner air and the air clears. Birds’ calls become Fall Instead of traveling upward and Sharper. outward into the atmosphere they arebent back to the earth and their rangeextended.Swamp doesn’t Rise The methane is trapped in the bottom smell very strong. of the swamp because of the thick air. Bird fly high. Rise Birds prefer to fly where the air is thedensest and they can get greater liftwith their wingsSmoke rise high in the air Rise Smoke rises with thicker air.Elderly people’s joints ache. Fall The gas in our bodies expands in lowerair pressure.Task 9AStatements 3, 6, 7 are true.Bf—c—a—d—b—eC1. F2. T3. F4. FD1. d2. bTask 10Undoubtedly, Tibet is one of the harshest places for human existence. It is cool in summer but freezing cold in winter. In Lhasa, the mildest city in Tibet, temperatures may exceed 29 degrees Celsius in summer while plummeting to -16 degrees Celsius in winter! Sun radiation is extremely strong in Tibet. The sunlight in Lhasa is so intense that the city is called Sunlight City. The thin air can neither block off nor retain heat so that there are great temperature extremes on the same day! The average temperature in northern Tibet is subzero and winter arrives in October until the following May or June. July or August are the best time to visit the area, enjoying warm temperatures, intense sunshine, beautiful scenery and festive events. May, June and September represent the tourist season in east Tibet. In winter, roads are blocked by heavy snow. Land slides and rock falls frequently occur, which will make travel difficult.Unit 3 Social IssuesTask 1A1.Stress on the job costs American companies as much as $150 billion a year inlower productivity, unnecessary employee sick leave, and higher medical costs. 2.The most stressful professions are those that involve danger and extreme pressureand those that carry a lot of responsibility without much control.3.The best way to deal with stress is through relaxation, but sometimes the onlyanswer is to fight back or walk away.B1. Three- quarters2. psychologists, doctors3. nervousness, anger, frequent illness, forgetfulness, mental problemsTask 2A1.give in so easily to hijackers’ demandsa)threaten to blow up a plane, commit some other outageb)hold out against this kind of blackmail, always have terrorists, Start executingterrorists automaticallyc)be prepared to face the consequences of evil2a)It’s the lesser of two evils. Terrorists have proven often enough that they reallymean business.b)Innocent lives, threatening the innocent will achieve its ends.B1.She implies that if the first speaker was one of the victims of terrorism, she wouldwant the government to give in to the demands so that she wouldn’t die.Task 3A1. thirty-five, natural light, a small window, hot, airless, very noisy2. Mexico3. ought to, shouldn’tB1.It is located in a narrow street with five-and six-storey buildings eight kilometersfrom downtown Los Angeles.2.This factory makes shirts and jeans3.She’s already been working for ten hours, but won’t stop for another two hours.4.She can’t complain about those things because she is an illegal immigrant.Task 4AEvery year the British government publishes statistics about social trends. Their findings show definite patterns in the British way of life.1.marked differencesa)one hour more every day, three hours more every weekb) 1 percent, cleaning and ironing, keep household accounts, do repairs orimprovementsc)30 percent2.leisure activities, watching television, 20 hours a week, going for walks,Swimming, British womenB1.Unlike the other couples, Carla has always kept her won accounts and Adrian hasalways done his own housework. Neither of them like watching television very much and they both like swimming.Task 5ATopic: How a city in Japan solve the problem of garbage disposal.Supporting details: 160 million, every year, 10 percent, 10 percent, the rest, public cooperation1.garbage that can be easily burned, kitchen and garden trash2.electrical appliances, plastic tools, plastic toys3.are poisonous, cause pollution, batteries4.bottles and glass containers that can be recycled5.metal containers that can be recycled6.furniture and bicycledon different days, on request, fertilizer, to produce electricity, recycled, cleaned, repaired, resold cheaply, give awayB1.The garbage will be taken to a center that looks like a clean new office building orhospital. Inside the center, special equipment is used to sort and process the garbage.2.official from cities around the world visit Machida to see whether they can usesome of these ideas and techniques to solve their own garbage disposal problems. Task 61.They were talking about Mrs. Carter.2.She was a tall, handsome woman who used to come into the shop at least twice aweek.3.She lived alone in a large house on an old farm---about three miles from the shop.4.He was absolutely certain, otherwise he would never call the police. His evidencewas this: First, he saw her do it; second, he found the things in her bag; third, she had done it before.5.Because two young people saw her. The shopkeeper believed that if they didn’tpunish her, young people would think that stealing didn’t matter.6.The judge thought that it was difficult case from a humanitarian point of view. Theexcuses her found for her were: First, the woman was old and she lived alone---she was lonely. Second, she wasn’t poor---she was well-known for her generosity to charities and she didn’t need to steal. Te items were only worth a pound or two. Third, she pleaded not guilty and she didn’t know that she had done it.Task 7ATopic: According to the urban planner, not all modern cities are alike. There seem to be two types of modern city.1. a single high-density center, skyscrapers, motorways, as far as you can see2.the low-density multi-center city, a large collection of a number of small centers,shopping centers, factories, businesses, skyscrapersB1.He thinks that the second type( the Los Angeles model) is more sensible.2.He considers it highly likely that the kind of city we know now will completelydisappear.Task 8A1.He thinks that this country’s problems all come from inflation, which is the resultof the Democrat’s careless spending.2.No, she doesn’t agree with Ned. She believes that the problem is unemployment.If the government cuts spending too much, people will fall into a vicious circle of more unemployment and fewer taxpayers to share the burden.3.She agrees with Barbara. She believes that unemployment is a big problem,especially in the big industrial cities. And the government isn’t doing very much to help the big industries out.4.He believes in the free market system rather than government regulation orprotection. He thinks that without a lot of government interference everything will be okay.5.No, they think it’s bad for the weak, the poor and the unprotected/ it’s bad for theunderprivileged.B1.more and more money2. come from somewhere3. higher taxes and higherpricesTask 9A1.The problem is whether or not the inner city---the core of most urban areas---willmanage to survive at all.2.They moved to the suburbs in search of fresh air, elbow room, and privacy.3.As a result, suburbs began to sprawl out across the countryside. Many cities beganto fall into disrepair. And many downtown areas existed for business only.4.The result was that urban centers declined even further and the suburbs expandedstill more.5.Because from the decision of the Taylors and many other young couples, we cansee that some people may be tired of spending long hours commuting, and they may have begun to miss the advantages of culture and companionship provided by city life.B1. F2. T3. F4. F5. T6. TC1.middle-class, tax money, neighborhoods2. Crime, public transportation3. housing construction costs, was allowed to, constructedTask 10A1. 54. 20. 1980, 70,0002. 30, 19803. a newspaper article, to research the market4. another few months, in April 1981, a 1,500 sq ft5. third, Canada, America, 20 percent, ￡1 million6. 20, 70, 3B1. F2. T3. F4. F5. TC1.He was deeply involved in the present job and rather enjoyed himself. He thoughtthe shop was his own little baby and thought it was fun to serve behind the counter.However, he also thought that there was a lot more hard work than he was used to;he was working over the weekend doing his books. He called his old job “boring trips to Manchester to sell vast quantities of PVC.”2.He thought that there was far more job satisfaction; and believed that he wasmaking money, rather than making money for other people.3.He’s about to diversify into commercial distribution of imported and domesticallyproduced wine and wines he’s producing himself.Task 11I could hear the guard blowing his whistle, so I ran onto the platform and up to the train. Luckily, someone saw me coming, a door opened, and I jumped on while the train was moving out of the station. “Phew!” I thought. “That was hard work!” I was sure the other passengers could hear my heart beating; it was so loud, and I was in a cold sweat.After a while, I recovered, and had a look at the other passengers. Thecompartment was full, but I was the only one standing. The people in the carriage turned their eyes away as they noticed me liking at them. All except one, a beautiful woman sitting in the corner. I saw her watching me in the mirror. Automatically, I adjusted my tie. She had seen me running for the train: maybe this was my lucky day after all. I prepared to say hello.She spoke first, however. “Would you kike my seat?”she asked. “You look rather ill.” That was the day on which I realized I was getting middle-aged.Unit 4 LiteratureTask 11.They were orphans and had nobody to support them.2.Each boy was given only one bowl of gruel for supper and no more---far fromenough.3.They boys were so hungry that they could not bear it any more. They decidedthat tone of them must ask the master for more gruel. Olive Twist was chosen by casting lots.4.He never thought that any boy would dare to ask for more food than the givenportion. Therefore, he was both surprised and angry on hearing Oliver’s request.5.He was struck on the head by the master and pushed out of the room. And fora week Olive remained prisoner in the cellar.Task 2A1. F2. F3. TB1. d2. bTask 3AName: Lewis Carroll; Occupation: mathematics; Oxford UniversityLiterary works: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; 1865;Through the Looking-Glass; 1871B1.These stories are about a dream world in which Alice meets strange creatures andhas interesting adventures.Task 41. the Greeks2. closed the gates of the city and stayed behind the walls3. the Greeks4. a huge wooden horse5. hide inside it6. the horse7. they stopped 8. hid their ships 9. Greek prisoner 10. the horse11. The Greek soldiers 12. the wooden horseTask 5A1. c2. aB1.All the animals thought that he was the king of beasts. Actually he was a coward.He was afraid of human beings and other big animals. He roared only to scare them away and never really hurt them.2.Dorothy and her dog wanted to get back to Kansas. The Scarecrow wanted somebrains and the Tinman wanted a heart. The Lion wanted to have courage.Task 6A1.civil war2. first; equality3. battlefields; bloodiest4. ordinaryB1. d2. cTask 7A1. A red, red rose that’s newly spring in June and the melody that’s sweetly played intune.2.He will love her till all the seas are dried and the rocks melt in the sun. his lovewill last as long as the sands of life run(there is life on earth).3.Yes, he is, and he will come back no matter how far it is.BJune---tune I---dry sun---run while ---mileTask 81.Tall stories, that is, unlikely ones.2.Because he wanted to be a member of a certain club.3.he went there because he was told that a lion came there each evening to drinkwater.4.Sixteen times.5.He killed sixteen lions.Task 91. a young prince who lived on land; rose to the surface of the sea and waited for theprince to come to her; never came2. a witch; changed her fish’s tail into a pair of human legs; she gave the witch hertongue3.the prince’s palace; her feet hurt terribly; didn’t love herTask 10A1. b2. c3. b4. a5. aB1. e2. b3. a4. d5. cTask 111.stuck a rock and began to break up; sank too; had survived2.he was tied very firmly by a large number of fine ropes; about forty little men shotat him with their arrows, which hurt like needles; the little men gave him all the bread, meat and wine they had3. 3. was seven feet by three feet, equipped with twenty-two wheels and pulled byfifteen hundred little horsesTask 12Aesop was a very clever man who lived in Greece thousands of years ago. He wrote many good fables. He was known to be fond of jokes. One day, as he was enjoying a walk he met a traveler, who greeted him and said, “Kind man, can you tell me how soon I shall get to town?”“Go,” Aesop answered.“I know I must go”, said the traveler, “but I should Like you to tell me how soon I shall get to town.”“Go,” Aesop said again angrily.“This man must be mad,” the traveler thought and went on.After he had gone some distance, Aesop shouted after him, “You will get to town in two hours.” The traveler turned around in astonishment. “Why didn’t you tell me that before?” he asked.“How could I have told you before?” answered Aesop. “I did not know how fast you could walk.Unit 5 EducationTask 1A1.People’s ideas on permanent education.2.One is an ordinary “man in the street”. The other is an educational psychologist.3.The first person thinks this idea of permanent education is crazy. He can’tunderstand people who want to spend all their lives in school. The second person thinks the idea of permanent education is practical because people are never really too old to go on learning.B1.was; hated; stand; got out2. all their lives3. certain limits; age limitsTask 2AAge SchoolingFour Nursery SchoolFive The Infants’ SchoolSeven The Junior SchoolB1.He stayed there for a year.2.He has faint, but very pleasant memories of it. He had fun and playedgames---including story-telling, drawing, singing and dancing.3.He began t have more formal lessons and even worry about exams.4.The exam was called the “Eleven Plus”. Students took the exam to see what kindof secondary school they would get into.Task 3Apulsory; the ages of 5 and 16; state-funded; independent2.available; at a nursery school; in the nursery class at a primary school3.preparatory; primary; aged 5 to 134.enter the state education system; at the age of 5; secondary school5.7, 11, 13 or 16; gain admission at 11 or 13; the Common Entrance Examination6.one further year; Advanced Supplementary Examinations; Advanced LevelExaminations7.classroom; laboratory; work independently; undertake research for projects8.vocational; conventional9.secondary education; with A-levels; further; higherB1.GCSE stand for the General Certificate of Secondary Education. It is normallytake at the age of sixteen.2.Students usually study form 8 to 12 subjects over two years.3.Some subjects take account of the work students do throughout the year, whileothers are assessed entirely by examination.Task 4ATopic of This Discussion: Corporal PunishmentInterviewees Position onThis Topic Arguments/ReasonsFor/AgainstKate For It’s difficult to teach children these days, whenmany of them know they won’t get jobs. It’s hardto control the class if you can’t punish them. Somechildren need discipline.Rolf Against It always has been difficult to be a teacher. But youdon’t have to use violence. It’s impossible to teachstudents about nonviolence and being good citizenswhen you are violent yourself.Jane AgainstRaoul For Its’ impossible to teach the rest of the class of youhave one student who constantly misbehaves. It’sbad for the others.B1.. F2. FTask 5A1.Because the television program by that name can now be seen in many partsof the world.2.This program is very popular among children. Some educators object tocertain elements in the program. Parents praise it highly. Many teachers also consider it a great help, though some teachers find that problems arise when first graders who have learned from “Sesame Street”are in the same class with children who have not watched the program.3.In order to increase the number of children who can watch it regularly.4.1) The reasons may include the educational theories of its creators, thesupport by both government and private businesses, and the skillful use of avariety of TV tricks2) Perhaps an equally important reason is that mothers watch “Sesame Street”along with their children. This is partly because famous adult stars oftenappear on “Sesame Street”.3) The best reason for the success of the program may be that it makes everychild watching it feel able to learn. The child finds himself learning, and hewants to learn more.B1.six million; regularly; half; economic; racial; geographical2.fifty; Spanish; Portuguese; German; one hundred thousand; English; every twoweeks3.songs; stories; jokes; pictures; numbers; letters; human relationshipsTask 6A1.It is to have all public schools connected to the Internet computer system and havecomputers available for all students.2.Its web site provides information about the school, the teacher and their mailaddresses. It also lists student events and organizations.3.They learn numbers and letters. They also learn how to use the computers theywill need later in their education.B1.1994; 35%; Last year; 89%2.universities; colleges; urge; requireTask 7A1.spoken; written; saying poetry aloud; giving speeches; advanced degrees; field ofstudy; custom; candidates; doctor’s degree2.written; nineteenth; the great increase in population; the development of modernindustry; objective; personal opinions; memory of facts and details; range of knowledge; a fairer chance; easier; quicker; learning; essay; ling answers; broad general questions; the element of luck; put facts together into a meaningful whole;really knowing much about the subject; have trouble expressing their ideas in essay form; examiner’s feelings at the time of reading the answer.3.unsatisfactory; along withB1. bTask 8Americans know that higher education is the key to the growth they need to lift their country, and today that is more true than ever. Just listen to these facts. Over half the new jobs created in the last three years have been managerial and professional jobs. The new jobs require a higher level of skills.Fifteen years ago the typical worker with a college degree made 38 percent more than a worker with a high school diploma. Today that figure is 73 percent more. Two years of college means a 20 percent increase annual earnings. People who finish two years of college earn a quarter of a million dollars more tan their high school counterparts over a lifetime.Unit 6 WorkTask 1A1.d—b---a---e---cB1. aTask 21. a2. b3. d4. cB1.T2. T3. FCwondered; television plays; exciting; every cigarette lighter; tape recorder; held in a certain way; the touch of a gold ring against the hand of; reveal; How wrong they were!Task 3AHarry---Sailor Nora---Farmer(if she were a man)Robert---Civil engineer Peter---Racing driver or explorerB1. a2. b3. c . b 5. dTask 41.correspondents; columnist; may not need either; to go to places where events takeplace and write stories about them2.first; bigger; better; who will soon leave to work for other people3.working hours; free time; work long hours to begin withTask 5A1.acd2. abeB1.she is the wrong sex2. she wears the wrong clothesTask 6Former Jobs When Laid-off Why Laid-off1st man Car salesman Recently Low sales, due to the increaseof interest rates2nd man Worker at a vacuum 10 months ago Plant moved to Singapore where cleaner plant worker are paid much lessB1st speaker---bcd 2nd speaker---aeC1. F2. F。