4 British and American Police Officers
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Passage 1Town and Country Life in EnglandThere is a big difference between town life and country life in England. In the country, everybody knows everybody else. They know what time you get up, what time you go to bed and what you have for dinner. If you want help, you will always get it and you will be glad to help others.In a large town like London, however, it can sometimes happen that you have never seen your next door neighbor and you do not know his name or anything about him. People in London are often very lonely. This is because people go to different places in the evenings and at weekends. If you walk through the streets in the centre of London on Sunday, it is like a town without people. One is sorry for old people living on their own .They could die in their homes and would not be discovered for weeks or even months. (154 words)Useful Words and Expressions:next door n. n.隔壁the neighbors next他 door隔壁邻居lonely adj .孤独的,寂寞的,偏僻的,人迹罕至的lonely life孤单的生活a lonely old man一位孤独的老人a lonely sand一个孤岛the loneliest night最孤独的夜晚on (one's) own独自;独立地;通过自己的努力She lives on her own.她一个人过。
Digital camerasAccording to a standard definition, a digital camera is a camera that produces digital images that can be stored in a computer, displayed on a screen and printed. Years ago, people used to possess two different devices in order to take pictures and make videos. The creation of digital cameras was motivated mainly by two factors. First, need to spare space. Second make it more comfortable for people to do both things with higher quality results. the multi-functionalism of digital cameras and combination of several devices in one make it a popular choice for a modern man. For years a digital camera has been unaffordable for many families. However, the variety of digital cameras and various prices nowadays make it possible for almost every single family to buy a digital camera. With increasingly fierce competition, the digital camera manufactures satisfy customers with lower prices but best quality standards.The migration of birdsThe most obvious feature of birds is that they can fly. This facility gives them great mobility and control over their movements. Many species can travel quickly and economically over long distances, up to thousands of kilometers, if necessary, crossing seas, deserts or other inhospitable areas. They also have great orientation and navigational skills and are able to remember and re-find remote places they have previously visited. Birds can thereby occupy widely separated areas at different seasons, returning repeatedly to the same localities from year to year. Although migration is evident in other animal groups, including insects, mammals and fish, in none is it as widely and well-developed as in birds. The collective travel routes of birds span almost the entire planet. As a result of migration, birds’ distributions are continually changing on regular seasonal patterns and on local, regional or global scales.Benefits of becoming a teacherBecoming a teacher gives you a chance to spend a major portion of your day with children or youngsters. With kids around, you are a part of their world of innocence and purity. It indeed creates a healthy work environment for you. On becoming a teacher, you get a chance to be with children, laughing with them, think their way and enjoy their innocent, silly and hopefully naughty behavior. Apart from this, the nature of your job is that you do not work on weekends and you get your share of holidays. Becoming a teacher entitles you for receiving private scholarships and sponsorships for teaching programs. However, one of the most important benefits of becoming a teacher is that teachers contribute to the shaping of the future generations. They make a difference to society by playing a vital role in nurturing young minds.British and American police officersReal policemen both in Britain and the U.S. hardly recognize any common points between their lives and what they see on TV, if they ever get home in time. Somethings are almost the same, of course, but the policemen do not think much of them. The first difference is that a policema n’s real life deals with the law. Most what he learns is the law. He has to know actually what actions are against the law and what facts can be used to prove them in court. He has to know nearly as much law as a lawyer. And what’s more, he has to put it into practice on his feet, in the dark and running down a narrow street after someone he wants to talk to. Little of his time is spent in talking with beautiful girls or in bravely facing cruel criminals. He will spend most of his working life arranging millions of words on thousands of forms about hundreds of sad ordinary people who are guilty or not of stupid, unimportant crimes.CellphonesNowadays, Cellphon es play a dominant role in people’s life. On the one hand, the mobile phone is portable and convenient. You can reach a person wherever and however far away he is. On the other hand, it is a friend indeed. Whenever you come across trouble, you can call for help immediately. However, some people complain that mobile phones give unpleasant noise on some important occasions, when the owner forgets to turn them off. And it also cuts into peopl e’s spare time. Because with the mobile phone, the boss can easily reach them and call them to duty during their spare time.Privates carsWith the increase in the general standard of living, some ordinary Chinese families begin to afford a car. Yet opinions of the development of a private car vary from person to person. It gives a much greater degree of comfort and mobility1. The owner of a car is no longer forced to rely on public transport, and hence no irritation2 caused by waiting for buses or taxis. They maintain that as more and more cars are produced and run in the street, a large volume of poisonous gas will be given off, polluting the atmosphere and causing actual harm to the health of people. Whether private cars should be developed in China is a difficult question to answer, yet the desire for the comfort and independence a private car can bring will not be eliminated.。
Passage 1Town and Country Life in EnglandThere is a big difference between town life and country life in England. In the country, everybody knows everybody else. They know what time you get up, what time you go to bed and what you have for dinner. If you want help, you will always get it and you will be glad to help others.In a large town like London, however, it can sometimes happen that you have never seen your next door neighbor and you do not know his name or anything about him. People in London are often very lonely. This is because people go to different places in the evenings and at weekends. If you walk through the streets in the center of London on Sunday, it is like a town without people. One is sorry for old people living on their own. They could die in their homes and would not be discovered for weeks or even months.(154 words)Passage 2A Change in Women’s LifeThe important change in women’s life-pattern has only recently begun to have its full effect on women’s economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity, and most of them took a full-time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school-leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards return to full-time or part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfactions of family life and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money, and running the home, according to the abilities and interests of each of them. (154 words)Passage 3A Popular Pastime of the English PeopleOne of the best means of understanding the people of any nation is watching what they do with their non-working time.Most English men, women and children love growing things, especially flowers. Visitors to England in spring, summer, or autumn are likely to see gardens all the way along the railway lines. There are flowers at the airports and flowers in factory grounds, as well as in gardens along the roads. Each English town has at least one park with beautifully kept flower beds. Public buildings of every kind have brilliant window boxes and sometimes baskets of flowers are hanging on them.But what the English enjoy most is growing things themselves. If it is impossible to have a garden, then a window box or something growing in a pot will do. Looking at each other’s gardens is a popular pastime with the English. (144 words)Passage 4British and American Police OfficersReal policemen, both in Britain and the U.S., hardly recognize ay common points between their lives and what they see on TV-if they ever get home in time.Some things are almost the same, of course, but the policemen do not think much of them.The first difference is that a policeman’s real life deals with the law. Most of what he learns is the law. He has to know actually what actions are against the law and what facts can be used to prove them in court. He has to know nearly as much law as a lawyer, and what’s more, he has to put it into practice on his feet, in the dark and, running down a narrow street after someone he wants to talk to.Little of his time is spent in talking with beautiful girls or in bravely facing cruel criminals. He will spend most of his working life arranging millions of words on thousands of forms about hundreds of sad, ordinary people who are guilty-or not of stupid, unimportant crimes. (177 words)Passage 5Living SpaceHow much living space does a person need? What happens when his space needs are not met? Scientists are doing experiments on rats to try to determine the effects of overcrowded conditions on man . Recent studies have shown that the behaviour of rats is greatly affected by space .If rats have enough living space, they eat well, sleep well and produce their young well. But if their living conditions become too crowded, their behaviour and even their health change obviously. They can not sleep and eat well, and signs of fear and worrybecome clear. The more crowded they are, the more they tend to bite each other and even kill each other. Thus, for rats, population and violence are directly related. Is this a natural law for human society as well? Is enough space not only satisfactory, but necessary for human survival? These are interesting questions. (147 words)Passage 6The United NationsIn 1945, representatives of 50 nations met to plan this organization. It was called the United Nations. After the war, many more nations joined.There are two major parts of the United Nations. One is called the General Assembly. In the General Assembly, every member nation is represented and has an equal vote.The second part is called the Security Council. It has representatives of just 15nations. Five nations are permanent members: the United States, Russia, France, Britain, and China. The 10 other members are elected every two years by the General Assembly.The major job of the Security Council is to keep peace in the world. If necessary, it can send troops from member nations to try to stop little wars before they turn into big ones.It is hard to get the nations of the Security Council to agree on when this is necessary. But they did vote to try to stop wars. (156 words)Passage 7PlasticWe use plastic wrap to protect our foods. We put our garbage in plastic bags or plastic cans. We sit on plastic chairs, play with plastic toys, drink from plastic cups, and wash our hair with shampoo from plastic bottles!Plastic does not grow in nature. It is made by mixing certain things together. We call it a produced or manufactured material. Plastic was first made in the 1860s from plants, such as wood and cotton. That plastic was soft and burned easily.The first modern plastics were made in the 1930s. Most clear plastic starts out as thick, black oil. That plastic coating inside a pan begins as natural gas.Over the years, hundreds of different plastics have been developed. Some are hard and strong. Some are soft and bendable. Some are clear. Some are many-colored. There is a plastic for almost every need. Scientists continue to experiment with plastics. They hope to find even ways to use them! (160 words)Passage 8Display of GoodsAre supermarkets designed to persuade us to buy more?Fresh fruit and vegetables are displayed near supermarket entrances. This gives the impression that only healthy food is sold in the shop. Basic foods that everyone buys, like sugar and tea, are not put near each other. They are kept in different aisles so customers are taken past other attractive foods before they find what they want. In this way, shoppers are encouraged to buy products that they do not really need.Sweets are often placed at children’s eye level at the checkout. While parents are waiting to pay, children reach for the swe ets and put them in the trolley.More is bought from a fifteen-foot display of one type of product than from a ten-foot one. Customers also buy more when shelves are full than when they are half empty. They do not like to buy from shelves with few products on them because they feel there is something wrong with those products that are there. (166 words)Passage 9Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879. His father owned a factory that made electrical devices. His mother enjoyed music and books. His parents were Jewish but they did not observe many of the religion's rules. Albert was a quiet child who spent much of his time alone. He was slow to talk and had difficulty learning to read. When Albert was five years old, his father gave him a compass. The child was filled with wonder when he discovered that the compass needle always pointed in the same direction--to the north. He asked his father and his uncle what caused the needle to move. Their answers about magnetism and gravity were difficult for the boy to understand.Y et he spent a lot of time thinking about them. He said later that he felt something hidden had to be behind things. (143 words)Passage 10Private CarsWith the increase in the general standard of living, some ordinary Chinese families begin to afford a car. Y et opinions of the development of a private car vary from person to person.It gives a much greater degree of comfort and mobility. The owner of a car is no longer forced to rely on public transport, and hence no irritation caused by waiting for buses or taxis. However, others strongly object to developing private cars. They maintain that as more and more cars are produced and nm in the street, a large volume of poisonous gas will be given off, polluting the atmosphere and causing actual harm to the health of people.Whether private cam should be developed in China is a difficult question to answer, yet the desire for the comfort and independence a private car can bring will not be eliminated. (143 words)Passage 11A Henpecked Husband and His WifeThere was once a large, fat woman who had a small, thin husband. He had a job in a big company and was given his weekly wages every Friday evening. As soon as he got home on Fridays, his wife used to make him give her all his money, and then she used to give him back only enough to buy his lunch in his company every day.One day, the small man came home very excited. He hurried into the living-room. His wife was listening to the radio and eating chocolates there.“Y ou wll never guess what happened to me today, dear,”he said.He waited for a few seconds and then added, “I won ten thousand dollars on the lottery!”“That is wonderful!”said his wife delightedly. But then she pulled a long face and added angrily, “But how could you afford to buy the ticket?”(148 words)Passage 12A Y oung Man’s PromiseOne day a young man was writing a letter to his girl friend who lived just a few miles away in a nearby town. He was telling her how much he loved her and how wonderful he thought she was. The more he wrote, the more poetic he became. Finally, he said that in order to be with her he would suffer the greatest difficulties, he would face the greatest dangers that anyone could imagine. In fact, to spend only one minute with her, he would swim across the widest river, he would enter the deepest forest, and he would fight against the fiercest animals with his bare hands.He finished the letter, signed his name, and then suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to mention something quite important. So, in a postscript below his name, he added:"By the way, I'll be over to see you on Wednesday night, flit doesn't rain."(154 words)Passage 13A Kind NeighborMr. and Mrs. Jones' apartment was full of luggage, packages, furniture and boxes. Both of them were very busy when they heard the doorbell ring. Mm. Jones went to open it and she saw a middle-aged lady outside. The lady said she lived next door. Mrs. Jones invited her to come in and apologized because there was no place for her to sit.“Oh, that's OK,”said the lady.“I just come to welcome you to your new home. As you know, in some parts of this city neighbors are not friendly at all. There are some apartment houses where people don' t know any of their neighbors, not even the ones next door. But in this building everyone is very friendly with everyone else. We are like one big happy family. I'm sure you'll be very happy here.”Mr. and Mrs. Jones said,“But madam, we are not new dwellers in this apartment. We've lived here for two years. We're moving out tomorrow.”( 163 words)Passage 1 4That Isn't Our FaultMr. and Mrs. Williams got married when he was twenty-three, and she was twenty. Twenty-five years later, they had a big party, anda photographer came and took some photographs of them.Then the photographer gave Mrs. Williams a card and said, "They'll be ready next Wednesday. Y ou can get them from studio.""No," Mrs. Williams said, please send them to US,The photographs arrived a week later, but Mrs. Williams was not happy when she saw them. She got into her car and drove to the photographer's studio. She went inside and said angrily, "Y ou took some photographs of me and my husband last week, but I' m not going to pay for them.""Oh, why not?" the photographer asked."Because my husband looks like a monkey," Mrs. Williams said."Well," the photographer answered, "that isn't our fault. Why didn't you think of that before you married him?"( 148 words)Passage 1 5A Guide's AnswerIn 1861, the Civil War started in the United States between the Northern and the Southern states. The war continued with great bitterness until 1865, when the Northerners were victorious. However, even today, many Southerners have not forgotten their defeat, or forgiven the Northerners.A few years ago, a party of American tourists were going round one of the battlefields of the Civil War with a guide who came from one of the Southern states. At each place, the guide told the tourists stir- ring stories about how a few Southern soldiers had conquered powerful forces of Northerners there.At last, one of the tourists, a lady who came from the North, stopped the guide and said to him, "But surely the Northern army must have won at least one victory in the Civil War?""Not as long as I'm the guide here, madam," answered the Southern guide. (147 words)Passage 16A Qualified PilotThe captain of a small ship had to go along a rocky coast, but he was unfamiliar with it, so he tried to find a qualified pilot to guide him. He went ashore in one of the small ports, and a local fisherman pre- tended that he was a pilot because he needed some money. The captain took him on board and asked him where to steer the ship.After half an hour the captain began to suspect that the fisherman did not really know what he was doing and where he was going."Are you sure you are a qualified pilot?" he asked."Oh, yes," answered the fisherman. "I know every rock on this part of the coast."Suddenly there was a terrible crash from under the ship. At once the fisherman added, "And that's one of them." ( 138 words)Passage 17Living Things ReactY ou and all organisms live in an environment. An environment is made up of everything that surrounds an organism. It can include the air, the water, the soil, and even other organisms.An organism responds to changes in its environment. When an organism responds to a change, it re- acts in certain ways. All living things respond in some way.Have you ever noticed how plants and insects respond to light? Plants bend toward light. Insects fly toward light.Living things also respond in other ways. The leaves on some trees respond to a change in season. In autumn, they change colors and then fall off the branches. Animals also respond to a change in season. Squirrels save nuts for the winter. Bears sleep through the winter in a cave.Y ou respond to your environment in many ways, too. Y ou may shiver ff you are cold. What other ways do you respond to changes in your environment? (156 words)Passage 18Flowering PlantsWhat are the parts of a flower?Flowers can have male parts and female parts. The female parts make eggs that become seeds. The male parts make pollen. Pollen isa powdery material that is needed by the eggs to make seeds. To make seeds, pollen and eggs must come together. The wind, insects, and birds bring pollen to eggs. Many animals love flowers' bright colors. They also like a sugary liquid in flowers. This is called nectar. While they drink nectar, pollen rubs off on their bodies. As they move, some of this pollen gets delivered to the female flower parts.Over time, the female parts turn into fruits that contain seeds. Animals often eat the fruits and the seeds pass through their bodies as waste. The animals do not know they are working for the plants by planting seeds as they travel to different places! (147 words)passage 19Finding the Direction and LocationHow can you tell which direction? By day, look for the Sun. It is in the east in the morning and the west in the afternoon. At night, use the Big Dipper to help you find the North Star. It would be better to bring a compass because its needle always points north.How do you know how far you have gone? Y ou could count every step. Each step is about two feet. Y ou' d better wear a pedometer which is a tool that counts steps. If you know where you started, which direction you are heading, and how far you have gone, you can use a good map to figure out exactly where you are.Today there is a new way for travelers to figure out where they are. It is the GPS. It has 24 satellites that orbit the earth and constantly broadcast their positions. Someday you may carry a small receiver as you hike and use GPS to find out if you are there yet! (167words)Passage 20WavesHow does light get from the sun to the earth? How does music get from the stage to the audience? They move the same way--in waves!Light and sound are forms of energy. All waves carry energy, but they may carry it differently. Light and sound travel through different kinds of matter. For example, light waves cannot move through walls, but sound waves can. That is why you can hear people talking in another room even though you cannot see them. The energy of some waves is destructive. An earthquake produces seismic waves.Catch a wave. Ask a friend to stand a few feet away from you. Stretch a spring between you. Shake the spring to transfer energy to it. What happens? The spring bounces up and down in waves. When the waves reach your friend, they bounce back to you!Light waves travel 300,000 kilometers ( 186,000 miles) per second! They can also travel through a vacuum. That is why light from the sun and distant stars can travel through space to the earth! ( 175 words)Passage 21SoilsThere are many different kinds of soils. Different soils have different types of rock and minerals in them. Some soils have more water in them than others. Some soils might have more plant and animal material in them, too.Different kinds of soils are found in different parts of the world. There are several kinds of soils found in the United States. In some areas, the soil has a lot of clay. Other soils are very sandy. Loam is a kind of soil that has a good mixture of clay and sand.In some places, soil layers are very thick. Lots of plants grow in places with a thick soil layer. In dry and windy places soil layers am much thinner. Layers of soil on mountains am thin because gravity pulls the soil downhill.The type of soil in a particular place affects what kinds of plants can grow there. (150 words)Passage 22CrisisLife is a contest! Who will win? A bluebird and sparrow both compete for space to build their nests. A fast-growing maple tree and slower-growing dogwood compete for the sunlight they both need. Oil competes with coal and nuclear power as an energy source for electric power plants.Them is a problem. There is a limited amount of space for birds, sunlight for flees, and energy for people! If we do not cut back on our uses of some of our resources, someday they will be gone!How can we use energy today and know we will have enough to go around in the future? We can choose alternate, or replacement, energy resources. It takes the earth millions of years to create coal, oil, and gas. They are nonrenewable resources.Solar energy, wind energy and water energy are renewable. What other ways can we conserve our resources? How can we make sure there is always enough to go around? (159 words)Passage 23America's Worst SurpriseDecember 7, 1941 was one of the worst days in American history. Nearly all Americans who are old enough to remember that day can still remember what they were doing at the moment they heard "the news". The news was that America had been attacked!Shortly before 2:00 P.M., a radio dispatch came into Washington from Honolulu, Hawaii. “Air Raid, Pearl Harbor-This is no drill.” Japanese planes had begun an attack on the largest American military base in the Pacific. They first destroyed planes on the ground. Then they bombed the ships in the harbor.No one had expected the attack. So no one was prepared for it. And it did not take long for the Japanese to do their damage. When the smoke cleared, the Navy counted its losses. Eighteen ships had been destroyed. More than 2,400 Americans had been killed and more than 1,200 wounded. (157 words)Passage 24Great Depression in the U.S.In 1929, the bills started to come in. American industry had produced too many goods. Americans could not afford to buy all of them. So factories had to cut down on their production. Many workers lost their jobs. Investors tried to get their money back. But businesses did not have enough money to pay them. Banks tried to get their money back from investors. But the investors could not pay, either. Too many people owed money. And few of them could pay their bills.During the next few years, business got worse and worse. By 1932, more than 12 million Americans were jobless. Millions more were earning barely enough to live on. The country was in a great depression they had never experienced before. (151 words)Passage 25A Place of Our OwnWe are all usually very careful when we buy something for the house. Why? Because we have to live with it for a long time. We paint a room to make it brighter, so we choose the colours carefully.We buy new curtains in order to match the newly decorated room, so they must be the right colour. We move the furniture round so as to make more space or we buy new furniture-and so on. It is an endless business.Rich or poor, we take time to furnish a room. Perhaps some people buy furniture in order to impress their friends. But most of us just want to enjoy our surroundings. We want to live as comfortably as we can afford to. We spend a large part of our lives at home. We want to make a small corner in the world which we can recognize as our own. (151 words)Passage 26Travel for WorkY ou can see them in every airport in the world. They are businessmen and women who have to travel for their work.When they first applied for the job, they may have thought of good food and hotels, huge expense accounts and fashionable cities. Now they have to sit in airport lounges, tired and uncomfortable in their smart clothes, listening to the loudspeaker announce “The flight to Tokyo, or Berlin, or New Y ork is delayed for another two hours”. Some people say to me, “How lucky you are to be able to t ravel abroad in your work! Y ou can go sightseeing without paying any money by yourself!” They thi nk that my job is like a continual holiday. It is not.There are advantages, of course, and I do think I am lucky, but only because I can go to places I would never visit if I was a tourist. (149 words)Passage 27IntelligenceAre some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experience?Strangely enough, the answer to these questions in yes. To some extent our intelligence is given us at birth, and no amount of special education can make a genius out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment willdevelop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus, the limits of a person’s intelligence are fixed at birth, whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This view, held by most experts now, can be supported in a number of ways. As is easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people is, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. (154 words)Passage 28A Free Dress Every WeekThe temptation to steal is greater than ever before especially in large shops and people are not so honest as they once were.A detective recently watched a well-dressed woman who always went into a large store on Monday mornings. One Monday, there were fewer people in the shop than usual when the woman came in, so it was easier for the detective to watch her. The woman first bought a few small articles. After a little time, she chose one of the most expensive dresses in the shop and handed it to an assistant who wrapped it up for her as quickly as possible. The woman simply took the parcel and walked out of the shop without paying. When she was arrested out of the shop without paying. When she was arrested, the detective found out that the shop assistant was her daughter. Believe it or not, the girl “gave” her mother a free dress every week!(148 words)Passage 29TimeTime is tangible. One can gain time, spend time, waste time, save time, or even kill time. Common questions in American English reveal this concrete quality as though time were a possession. “Do you have any time?”, “Can you get some time for this?”, “H ow much free time do you have?” The treatment of time as a possession influences the way that time is carefully divided.Generally, Americans are taught to do one thing at a time and may be uncomfortable when an activity is interrupted. In businesses, the careful scheduling of time and the separation of activities are common practices. Appointment calendars are printed with 15-, 30-, and 60-minute time slots. The idea that “there is a time and place for everything” extends to American social life. Visitors who dro p by witho ut prior notice may interrupt their host’s personal time. Thus, calling friends on the telephone before visiting them is gene rally preferred to visitors’ dropping by. (157 words)Passage 30CartoonistsIn a good cartoon, the artist can tell in a few lines as much as a writer can tell in half a dozen paragraphs. The cartoonist not only tells a story but he also tries to persuade the reader to his way of thinking. He has great influence on public opinion. In a political campaign, he plays an important part. Controversial issues in Congress or at meetings of the United Nations may keep the cartoonist well-supplied with current materials.A clever cartoonist may cause laughter because he often uses humour in his drawings. If he is sketching a famous person, he takes a prominent feature and exaggerates it. Cartoonists, for instance, like to lengthen an already long nose and to widen an already broad grin. This exaggeration of a person’s characteristics is called caricature. The artist uses such exaggeration to pu t his message across. (144 words)Passage 31Water PollutionWater is very important to us. Factories and plants need water for industrial uses and large pieces of farmland need it for irrigation. Without water to drink, people die in a short time.Today most water sources are so dirty that people must purify water before drinking. Water becomes dirty in many ways: industrial pollution is one of them. With the development of industry, plants and factories pour tons of industrial wastes into rivers every day. The rivers have become seriously polluted, and the water is becoming unfit for drinking or irrigation. The same thing has also happened to our seas and oceans. So, the problem of water pollution is almost worldwide.Scientists of many countries have done a lot of work to stop pollution. The polluted water in some places has become clean and drinkable again. Perhaps one day the people in all towns and cities will be drinking clean water. That day, we believe, is not very far off. (161 words)。
Town and Country Life in EnglandThere is a big difference between town life and country life in England. In the country, everybody knows everybody else. They know what time you get up, what time you go to bed and what you have for dinner. If you want help, you will always get it and you will be glad to help others.In a large town like London, however, it can sometimes happen that you have never seen your next door neighbor and you do not know his name or anything about him. People in London are often very lonely. This is because people go to different places in the evenings and at weekends. If you walk through the streets in the centre of London on Sunday, it is like a town without people. One is sorry for old people living on their own. They could die in their homes and would not be discovered for weeks or even months.A Change in Women’s LifeThe important change in women’s life-pattern has only recently begun to have its full effect on women’s economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity, and most of them took a full-time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school-leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards return to full-time or part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfactions of family life and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money, and running the home, according to the abilities and interests of each of them.Useful Words and Expressions:1.life-pattern生活方式2.shareA Popular Pastime of the English PeopleOne of the best means of understanding the people of any nation is watching what the do with their non-working time.Most English men, women and children love growing things, especially flowers. Visitors to England in spring, summer or autumn are likely to see gardens all they way along the railway lines. There are flowers at the airports and flowers in factory grounds, as well as in gardens along the roads. Each English town has at least one park with beautifully kept flower beds. Public buildings of every kind have brilliant window boxes and sometimes baskets of flowers are hanging on them.But what the English enjoy most is growing things themselves. If it is impossible to have a garden, then a window box or something growing in a pot will do. Looking at each other’s gardens is a popular pastime with the English.Useful Words and Expressions:1. window box:窗台上的花盆箱2.pastime 消遣,娱乐Swimming is my favorite pastime.British and American Police OfficersReal policemen, both in Britain and the U.S., hardly recognize any common points between their lives and what they se on TV—if they ever get home in time.Some things are almost the same, of course, but the policemen do not think much of themmuch of them.The first difference is that a policeman’s real life deals with the law. Most of what he learns is the law. He has to know actually what actions are against the law and what facts can be used to prove them in court. He has to know nearly as much law as a lawyer, and what’s more, he has to put it into practice on his feet, in the dark and, running down a narrow street after someone he wants to talk to.Little of his time is spent in talking with beautiful girls or in bravely facing cruel criminals. He will spend most of his working life arranging millions of words on thousands of forms about hundreds of sad, ordinary people who are guilty--- or not of stupid, unimportant crimes.Useful Words and Expressions:1.think much of 重视,尊重2.in court 在法庭上3.criminal 罪犯,犯罪者4.guilty 犯罪的,有罪的Living SpaceHow much living space does a person need? What happens when his space needs are not met? Scientists are doing experiments on rats to try to determine the effects of overcrowded conditions on man. Recent studies have shown that the behavior of rats is greatly affected by space. If rats have enough living space, they eat well, sleep well and produce their young well. But if their living conditions become too crowded, their behavior and even their health change obviously. They can not sleep and eat well, and signs of fear and worry become clear. The more crowded they are, and more they tend to bite each other and even kill each other. Thus, for rats, populations and violence are directly related. Is this a natural law for human society as well? Is enough space not only satisfactory, but necessary for human survival? These are interesting questions.The United NationsIn 1945, representatives of 50 nations met to plan this organization. It was called the United Nations. After the war, many more nations joined.There are two major parts of the United Nations. One is called the General Assembly. In the General Assembly, every member nation is represented and has an equal vote.The second part is called the Security Council. It has representatives of just 15 nations. Five nations are permanent members: the United States, Russia, France, Britain, and China. The 10 other members are elected every two years by the General Assembly.The major job of the Security Council is to keep peace in the world. If necessary, it can send troops from member nations to try to stop little wars before they turn into big ones.It is hard to get the nations of the Security Council to agree on when this is necessary. But they did vote to try to stop wars.Useful Words and Expressions:1.representative 代表2.General Assembly 联合国大会3.permanent 永久的,持久的4.Security Council 联合国安全理事会PlasticWe use plastic wrap to protect our foods. We put our garbage in plastic bags or plastic cans. We sit on plastic chairs, play with plastic toys, drink from plastic cups, and wash our hair withshampoo from plastic bottles!Plastic does not grow in nature. It is made by mixing certain things together. We call it a produced or manufactured material. Plastic was first made in the 1860s from plants, such as wood and cotton. That plastic was soft and burned easily.The first modern plastics were made in the 1930s. Most clear plastic starts out as thick, black oil. That plastic coating inside a pan begins as natural gas.Over the years, hundreds of different plastics have been developed. Some are hard and strong. Some are soft and bendable. Some are clear. Some are many-colored. There is a plastic for almost every need. Scientists continue to experiment with plastics. They hope to find even ways to use them!Display of GoodsAre supermarkets designed to persuade us to buy more?Fresh fruit and vegetables are displayed near supermarket entrances. This gives the impression that only healthy food is sold in the shop. Basic foods that everyone buys, like sugar and tea, are not put near each other. They are kept in different aisles so customers are taken past other attractive foods before they find what they want. In this way, shoppers are encouraged to buy products that they do not really need.Sweets are often placed at children’s eye level at the checkout. While parents are waiting to pay, children reach for the sweets and put them in the trolley.More is bought from a fifteen-foot display of one type of product than from a ten-foot one. Customers also buy more when shelves are full than when they are half empty. They do not like to buy from shelves with few products on them because they feel there is something wrong with those products that are there.Useful Words and Expressions:1.aisle 走廊,过道2.trolley 手推车3.checkout 收款台Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879, His father owned a factory that made electrical devices. His mother enjoyed music and books. His parents were Jewish but they did not observe many of the religion’s rules. Albert was a quite child who spent much of his time alone. He was slow to talk and had difficulty learning to read. When Albert was five years old, his father gave him a compass. The child was filled with wonder when he discovered that the compass needle always pointed in the same direction—to be north. He asked his father and his uncle what caused the needle to move. Their answers about magnetism and gravity were difficult for the boy to understand. Yet he spent a lot of time thinking about them. He said later that he felt something hidden had to be behind things.Useful expressions and words:1.device 装置,设备leave to one’s own devices 听任某人自行其是,允许某人按自己的意愿做事She left the child to her own devices for an hour in the afternoon.她允许孩子在下午有一个小时的自由支配时间。
CONTENTSPassage 1 Town and Country life in England Passage 2 A Change in Women's LifePassage 3 A Popular Pastime of the English People Passage 4 British and American Police Officers Passage 5 living SpacePassage 6 The United NationsPassage 7 PlasticPassage 8 Display of GoodsPassage 9 Albert EinsteinPassage 10 Private CarsPassage 11 A Henpecked Husband and His Wife Passage 12 A Young Man's PromisePassage 13 A Kind NeighborPassage 14 That Isn't Our FaultPassage 15 A Guide's AnswerPassage 16 A Qualified PilotPassage 17 Living Tilings ReactPdssage 18 Flowering PlantsPassage 19 Finding the Direction and Location Passage 20 WavesPassage 21 SoilsPassage22 CrisisPassage 23 America's Worst SurprisePassage 24 Great Depression in the U.S. Passage 25 A Place of Our OwnPassage 26 Travel for WorkPassage 27 IntelligencePassage 28 A Free Dress Every WeekPassage 29 TimePassage 30 CartoonistsPassage 31 Water PoUutionPassage 32 Making a ComplaintPassage 33 Where Do the British LivePassage 34 Will Computers Replace Human Beings Passage 35 SoccerPassage 36 ArtistsPassage 37 Professional Sports in the U.S. Passage38 "Howto" BooksPassage 39 Don'tGive UpPassage 40 How High Can You JumpPassage 41 Apology HelpsPassage 42 SleepPassage 43 Our ConcernPassage 44 Gardening in AmericaPassage 45 The Influence of LifePassage 46 AutomobilesPassage 47 House and HomePassage 48 Population GrowthPassage49 Natural ResourcesPassage50 Reading附录1:练习评分标准附录2:自我评估表1自我评估表2自我评估表3附录3:《四级考试大纲》的相关规定附录4:听写备考的技巧听写Listen to the following passages. Each passage will be read to you four times. During the first reading, which will be read at normal speed ,listen and try to understand the meaning. For the second and third readings, the passage will be read sentence by sentence, or phrase by phrase, with intervals of 12 seconds. The last reading will be read at normal speed again and during this time you should check your work. You will then be given 2 minutes to check through your work once more.Passage 1Town and Country Life in EnglandThere is a big difference between town life and country life in England. In the country, everybody knows everybody else. They know what time you get up, what time you go to bed and what you have for dinner. If you want help, you will always get it and you will be glad to help others.In a large town like London, however, it can sometimes happen that you have never seen yournext door neighbor and you do not know his name or anything about him. People in London are often very lonely. This is because people go to different places in the evenings and at weekends. If you walk through the streets in the centre of London on Sunday, it is like a town without people. One is sorry for old people living on their own .They could die in their homes and would not be discovered for weeks or even months. (154 words)Useful Words and Expressions:next door n. n.隔壁the neighbors next他door隔壁邻居lonely adj .孤独的,寂寞的,偏僻的,人迹罕至的lonely life孤单的生活a lonely old man一位孤独的老人a lonely sand一个孤岛the loneliest night最孤独的夜晚on (one's) own独自;独立地;通过自己的努力She lives on her own.她一个人过。
第一部分同义词辨析1.看see, watch, observe, look, perceivelook v. 看侧重短暂的看的动作,但并不一定能看见,有时用来唤起别人的注意。
Look at the blackboard.看黑板。
She covered her eyes, afraid to look. 她蒙上眼睛,不敢看。
observe v. [正式] 观察(到),观看指注意到某事物,或为了解某人、某事而对其进行仔细观察。
The far side of the moon is difficult for us to observe.我们难以观察到月亮的另一面。
这名科学家仔细观察标本。
perceive v. [正式] 察觉,注意到;[书] 看待指发现或意识到难以发现的某事I perceived a change in his behaviour.我发觉他的行为有些变化。
see v. 看见,看到,观看侧重看的结果;也指眼睛看得见或观看比赛、电视节目等。
He looked but saw nothing. 他看了看,但什么也没有看见。
Did you see that programme last night?你昨晚看那个节目了吗?watch v. 注视,观看指在一段时间内关注某人或某事。
watch television 看电视Next time you visit the zoo, watch the tigers carefully.下次你们参观动物园,要仔细观察老虎。
2.小心的cautious, carefulcautious adj. 小心谨慎的指人因担心某事危险或不明智而缓慢行事或小心谨慎。
(反义词为rash)On this account we should be more cautious on this voyage.以此,我们应该在这次航行中格外小心谨慎。
careful adj. 仔细的指人并非担心害怕,但为确保万无一失而做事小心仔细。
Passage 1Town and Country Life in EnglandThere is a big difference between town life and country life in England. In the country, everybody knows everybody else. They know what time you get up, what time you go to bed and what you have for dinner. If you want help, you will always get it and you will be glad to help others.In a large town like London, however, it can sometimes happen that you have never seen your next door neighbor and you do not know his name or anything about him. People in London are often very lonely. This is because people go to different places in the evenings and at weekends. If you walk through the streets in the centre of London on Sunday, it is like a town without people. One is sorry for old people living on their own. They could die in their homes and would not be discovered for weeks or even months. Passage 2A Change in Women’s LifeThe important change in women’s life-pattern has only recently begun to have its full effect on women’s economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity, and most of them took a full-time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school-leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards return to full-time or part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfactions of family life and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money, and running the home, according to the abilities and interests of each of them.Passage 3A Popular Pastime of the English PeopleOne of the best means of understanding the people of any nation is watching what they do with their non-working time.Most English men, women and children love growing things, especially flowers. Visitors to England in spring, summer, or autumn are likely to see gardens all the way along the railway lines. There are flowers at the airports and flowers in factory grounds, as well as in gardens along the roads. Each English town has at least one park with beautifully kept flower beds. Public buildings of every kind have brilliant window boxes and sometimes baskets of flowers are hanging on them.But what the English enjoy most is growing things themselves. If it is impossible to have a garden, then a window box or something growing in a pot will do. Looking at each other’s gardens is a popular pastime with the English.Passage 4British and American Police OfficersReal policemen , both in Britain and the U.S. , hardly recognize any common points between their lives and what they see on TV—if they ever get home in time .Some things are almost the same, of course, but the policemen do not think much of them.The first difference is that a policeman’s real life deals with the law. Most of what he learns is the law. He has to know actually what actions are against the law and what facts can be used to prove them in court. He has to know nearly as much law as a lawyer, and what’s more, he has to put it into practice on his feet , in the dark and , running down a narrow street after someone he wants to talk to .Little of his time is spent in talking with beautiful girls or in bravely facing cruel criminals. He will spend most of his working life arranging millions of words on thousands of forms about hundreds of sad , ordinary people who are guilty—or not of stupid , unimportant crimes .Useful Words and Expressionsthink much of 重视,尊重in court 在法庭上guilty 罪犯,犯罪者guilty look 犯罪的,有罪的the guilty party犯罪一方a guilty conscience 犯罪感have a guilty conscience 问心有愧;做贼心虚be found guilty 被判决有罪be guilty of a crime 犯了罪Passage 5Living SpaceHow much living space does a person need? What happens when his space needs are not met? Scientists are doing experiments on rats to try to determine the effects of overcrowded conditions on man. Recent studies have shown that the behaviour of rats is greatly affected by space. If rats have enough living space, they eat well, sleep well and produce their young well. But if their living conditions become too crowded, their behaviour and even their health change obviously. They can not sleep and eat well, and signs of fear and worry become clear. The more crowded they are, the more they tend to bite each other and even kill each other. Thus, for rats, population and violence are directly related. Is this a natural law for human society as well? Is enough space not only satisfactory, but necessary for human survival? These are interesting questions.Useful Words and Expressionsdetermine 测定;决心;决意determine the velocity 测定速度He determined to go 他决意要去。
CONTENTSPassage 1 Town and Country life in England Passage 2 A Change in Women's LifePassage 3 A Popular Pastime of the English People Passage 4 British and American Police Officers Passage 5 living SpacePassage 6 The United NationsPassage 7 PlasticPassage 8 Display of GoodsPassage 9 Albert EinsteinPassage 10 Private CarsPassage 11 A Henpecked Husband and His Wife Passage 12 A Young Man's PromisePassage 13 A Kind NeighborPassage 14 That Isn't Our FaultPassage 15 A Guide's AnswerPassage 16 A Qualified PilotPassage 17 Living Things ReactPassage 18 Flowering PlantsPassage 19 Finding the Direction and Location Passage 20 WavesPassage 21 SoilsPassage22 CrisisPassage 23 America's Worst SurprisePassage 24 Great Depression in the U.S.Passage 25 A Place of Our OwnPassage 26 Travel for WorkPassage 27 IntelligencePassage 28 A Free Dress Every WeekPassage 29 TimePassage 30 CartoonistsPassage 31 Water PollutionPassage 32 Making a ComplaintPassage 33 Where Do the British LivePassage 34 Will Computers Replace Human Beings Passage 35 SoccerPassage 36 ArtistsPassage 37 Professional Sports in the U.S. Passage38 "How to" BooksPassage 39 Don't Give UpPassage 40 How High Can You JumpPassage 41 Apology HelpsPassage 42 SleepPassage 43 Our ConcernPassage 44 Gardening in AmericaPassage 45 The Influence of LifePassage 46 AutomobilesPassage 47 House and HomePassage 48 Population GrowthPassage49 Natural ResourcesPassage50 Reading1 Town and Country Life in EnglandThere is a big difference between town life and country life in England. In the country, everybody knows everybody else. They know what time you get up, what time you go to bed and what you have for dinner. If you want help, you will always get it and you will be glad to help others.In a large town like London, however, it can sometimes happen that you have never seen your next door neighbor and you do not know his name or anything about him. People in London are often very lonely. This is because people go to different places in the evenings and at weekends. If you walk through the streets in the centre of London on Sunday, it is like a town without people. One is sorry for old people living on their own .They could die in their homes and would not be discovered for weeks or even months. (154 words)Useful Words and Expressions:next door n. n.隔壁the neighbors next他 door隔壁邻居lonely adj .孤独的,寂寞的,偏僻的,人迹罕至的lonely life孤单的生活a lonely old man一位孤独的老人a lonely sand一个孤岛the loneliest night最孤独的夜晚on (one's) own独自;独立地;通过自己的努力She lives on her own.她一个人过。
Unit 8Task 1【原文】1) Now that we're making every effort to keep criminals from getting guns through the front door of a gun shop, we're turning our attention to locking the back door, too. We have started to crack the code of the black market in illegal weapons. We are tracing the guns, targeting the traffickers, taking more of our children out of harm's way. (Bill Clinton)2) We will be marching today for common sense gun laws, but we will not stop with just marching. We will keep walking; we will keep running; we will keep marching; we will keep fighting and we will keep organizing until we are successful in our fight to keep our children safe. (Hillary Clinton)3) Police officers of course, are not the only people who die. Ten thousand other Americans are dead because of the misuse of our right to bear arms. People who argue for guns are fond of saying that guns don't kill; people do. But guns do kill. (Robert di Grazia)4) Registration of cars has nothing to do with the incidence of car accidents which, of course, is the greatest killer of people in the United States, including children. And you don't see anyone turning around and say, "Let's outlaw automobile." (Victoria Bingham)Task 2【答案】News Item 1A.1) F 2) F 3) T 4) T 5) F 6) FNews Item 2B.WHO: more than one hundred thousand mothers across the United States WHAT: gathered to push for tougher gun control lawsWHERE: WashingtonWHEN: SundayC.1) b) 2) a) 3) c) 4) b)D.1) Gun control, Now2) shed, river of votes, raging, out of, stricter gun control【原文】News Item 1British police say thousands of gun owners have surrendered their small calibre weapons as part of legislation banning some types of handgun. The deadline to hand in the weapons which has just passed is the final stage in the clampdown on gun ownership following the massacre of 16 school children and a teacher at Dunblane in Scotland in 1996. The police estimate that 40,000 weapons have been surrendered, meaning that the vast majority of legally held guns have been given up. But as Inspector Paul Brightwell, a policeman from southern England, points out, many owners are still angry about the bans. Although Britain now has some of the strictest firearms laws in the world, correspondents say the government may still look to introduce further restrictions.News Item 2More than one hundred thousand mothers across the United States gathered here in Washington Sunday to push for tougher gun control laws. Organizers of the so-called Million Mom March are hoping to harness growing outrage at the number of children killed by handguns here in the United States."What do we want? Gun control! When do we want? Now! What do we want? Gun control! When do we want? Now! What do we want? Gun control! When do we want? Now! What do we want? Gun control!..."The protesters—mothers, victims of gun violence and families—came from across the United States to hear heartbreaking stories of children who had been gunned down. One mother described the pain she felt after her young son received a crippling gunshot wound to the chest. In an emotional appeal, she urged the crowd to vote for members of Congress who support gun control."Mothers, we have shed tears for our children. Let's make our tears the river of votes. Let's make our tears become a raging river of votes, and we need to get our legislators out of office if they do not want stricter gun control."Organizers of the Washington rally and others held in cities across the United States say at least 12 children a day are killed by guns. They want Congress to enact laws that will require registration of handguns and some type of licensing system. US gun control laws vary from state to state. Ant nationwide registration is strongly opposed by the National Rifle Association, a wealthy and powerful nationwide group of firearms owners who reject any type of gun control.Task 3【答案】A.1) a) 2) a) 3) b) 4) b) 5) c)B.Column 1 Column 2Soccer Roland GarrosEquestrian events Longchamp racetrackTennis Stade de FranceC.1) The dossier will show locations of sporting events, media centers, and an Olympic village.2) The tried and tested quality of Paris’ famous sporting infrastructure is a big advan tage. Moreover, it’s been many years since France hosted the Olympic Games in 1924.【原文】The last time Paris had the honor of hosting the Olympic Games was way back in 1924. Having lost out to Beijing for the right to stage the Games in 2008, the French capital is now optimistic it can win the bid for the 2012 Olympics. The nine cities in contention have until mid-January to give details of their proposed venues. And the organizers in Paris can point to the fact that most of their facilities are already in place.Competition is fierce among the nine cities bidding for the 2012 Games who all have until January the 15th to give the IOC a dossier showing locations of sporting events, media centers, and an Olympic village. London, New York, Moscow, Madrid, Istanbul, Rio de Janeiro, Leipzig and Havana are all hopeful of staging the world's greatest sporting festival. But experts reckon that Paris is the early favorite.Preparation is key when it comes to hosting the Olympic Games. Barcelona and Sydney both proved how to stage one. It's been almost 70 years since the summer Olympic experience took place on French soil. Having lost out to host the Games in 2008, the organizers within Paris are optimistic about their chances for hosting the 2012 Olympics.Integral to Paris' bid is the tried and tested quality of its renowned sporting infrastructure. Soccer matches, for instance, would be held in the northeast suburb of Saint-Denis, home of the 78,000-seat Stade de France, where France beat Brazil three nil in 1998 to win the World Cup. The stadium is also the likely setting for the Olympic track and field events, with the media center being erected alongside it. Tennis matches would be well catered for at the famous red clay courts of Roland Garros, home to the French Open, the most likely location. Whilst the equestrian events could be held within the famous Longchamp Racetrack, which hosts the prestigious Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe each year. With around 150 acres of Pads real estate available in the city's Seventeenth District, the Athletes' Village could easily be adapted, not far from Longchamp.Paris city authorities estimate the cost of hosting the 2012 Games at $6.9 billion. That’s nearly twice as much as estimated for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. But i f that generates just a fraction of the enthusiasm—and money—raised when France won the European Championships in 2000, it’ll be money well spent.Task 4【答案】A. 1) c) 2) a) 3) b) 4) a) 5) b)B.1) 2,200, two thirds, confrontation2) appreciate, foundation, cooperation, trust, Russia【原文】Darren Jordon: A new era of relations has been declared between the United States and Russia. This morning, Presidents Bush and Putin met in Moscowto sign a nuclear arms treaty. Mr. Bush said suspicions of the ColdWar had been cast aside. The two Presidents met inside the Kremlinto approve what they both called a historic agreement. They promisedto reduce their nuclear stockpiles by two thirds so that each would bedown to below 2,200 over the next ten years. President Bush said theagreement marked the end of a long chapter of confrontation betweenthe two countries. Well, our Moscow Correspondent Caroline Wyatthas been following the morning's events. Caroline.Caroline Wyatt: Well, it's taken us ten long years for Russia and America to reach this stage. But it does seem that at the Kremlin here behind me in Moscow,that Vladimir Putin and George Bush have finally managed to banishthe mistrust of the Cold War era, and start a new chapter in relations.The day began with a sombre ceremony as President Bush paid hisrespects at the Tomb of Unknown Soldier, honoring Russia's sacrificeas an ally in the Second World War. The American President lookedslightly awestruck as he entered the Kremlin to praise Russia'scontribution in the new war, the fight against terror. Vladimir Putin'ssupport for Mr. Bush since September 11th has cemented anunexpectedly warm relationship between their two countries, turningcold war enemies into friends. Amid the splendor of St. Catherine'sHall, both leaders prepared to sign the treaty they say will make theworld a safer place, the solemnity of the moment only slightly dentedwhen the cameras caught Mr. Bush removing his boiled sweat. Thenthe two men put their names to a deal agreeing to scrap two-thirds oftheir nuclear arsenals over the next decade. Yet it’s not a treatyRussia's military leaders are happy with. They complain Washingtonwill simply store the weapons for later use. So Mr. Bush tried toreassure his audience here.George Bush: I appreciate the fact that we have now laid the foundation for not only our governments, but future governments to work in a spirit ofcooperation and a spirit of trust. It's good. It's good for the people ofRussia. It's good for the people of the Untied States.Caroline Wyatt: For his part, Mr. Putin said he has no doubt they were entering a new era in relations. Despite the smiles, much still divided their twonations. America fears Russia is selling nuclear technology to Iran.But at least now they say they can address those issues as friends andallies. The two men do have the rest of the day and then a relaxingweekend in Mr. Putin's hometown, St. Petersburg, to iron out of allthose issues.Task 5【答案】A.1) The US military sent an interceptor into space to hit a missile with a mock warhead2) 60 billion dollars.3) It was the first test of new technology that could become a key component of the Missile Defense Network. After the test, the pentagon would likely recommend that US President order deployment of the Missile Defense System.4) Earlier tests produced mixed results: Two failed and one succeeded.5) He said the nature of the security threats facing the United States has changed since the end of the Cold War, and old treaties ju st don’t fit any more.B.Responses from Parties ConcernedParties Concerned Relations to the TestUS President Pleased with the result, President Bush said hewas convinced the system should and could bebuilt.US Congress It criticized the plan for its high cost.Russia and some NATO member states They disagreed with the US position and warned of the danger of a new arms race.Greenpeace Its activists tried to disrupt the test.【原文】News Item 1A crucial test of the US Missile Defense System is set to begin within hours as the US military tries to destroy a dummy warhead in space over the Pacific Ocean. An interceptor missile fired from an island in the Pacific Ocean will try to hit the warhead launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. If the intercept succeeds, the Pentagon will likely recommend that the President Clinton order deployment of the 60-billion-dollar Missile Defense System. In a bid to disrupt today's test, the environmental group Greenpeace has sent a ship to an off limits zone near Vandenberg. Spokesman Steve Shohan says its activists had infiltrated the facility. "Itis the objective of the Greenpeace activists on the base to chain themselves to the apparatus immediately adjacent to the missile silo, so that the missile could not be launched," Greenpeace says, with people in the part of the base, the missile cannot be fired. But the Pentagon insists it has the means to deal with such attempted disruptions.News Item 2President Bush's hopes for a missile defense system got a big boost this weekend when the Pentagon staged a successful test of key technology. A missile interceptor successfully hit a mock nuclear warhead over the Pacific Ocean. White House officials say Mr. Bush was pleased with the result.Mr. Bush was at his presidential retreat outside Washington when a flash of light faraway over the Pacific signaled the successful test. An interceptor sent into space from a tiny Pacific island neatly hit its target, an intercontinental range missile with a mock warhead launched minutes earlier from an air force base in California. It was the first test of new technology that could become a key component of the Missile Defense Network. Earlier tests of other elements produced mixed results. Two failed and one succeeded. The president said he is convinced the system can and should be built. He says the nature of the security threats facing the United States has changed since the end of the Cold War, and old treaties just don’t fit any more. But Russia and some NATO allies think otherwish and warn of a new arms race. And the notion of spending billions to develop Missile Defense has drawn some criticism on Capitol Hill.Task 6【答案】1) We will try to avoid a worldwide nucleate war, for there are no winners in such a war.2) The US and other countries should refrain from tests, and sign and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.3) The US is withdrawing from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.4) We should start a new arms race by deploying Missile Defense System.【原文】1) We will not prematurely or unnecessarily risk the cause of worldwide nuclear war, in which even the fruits of victory will be ashes in our mouth. (J. F. Kennedy)2) Today I say again, on behalf of the United States, we will continue the policy we have maintained since 1992 of not conducting nuclear test. I call on Russia, China, Britain, France and all other countries to continue the refrain from testing. I call on nations that have not done so to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. (Bill Clinton)3) We reviewed what I've discussed with my friend President Vladimir Putin over the course of many meetings and many months, and that is the need for America to move beyond the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Today, I have given formal notice to Russia, in accordance with the Treaty, that the United States of America is withdrawing from this almost 30-year-old treaty. (G. W. Bush)4) Are we really prepared to raise the starting-gun in a new arms race in a potentially more dangerous world? Because, make no mistakes about it, folks, if we deploy Missile Defense System as being contemplated, we could do just that. Step back from the ABM treaty, go full steam ahead and deploy Missile Defense System, then we'll be raising the starting-gun. Let's stop this nonsense before we end up pullingthe trigger. (Senator Biden)Task 7【答案】A.1) They had hoped to settle an agenda ahead of the WTO ministerial meeting in Seattle next week. But they failed to achieve that goal.2) They were disputes over agricultural issue between major trading nations, and demands from developing countries for more time to implement existing trade accords.3) They have heavily subsidized their agricultural products. Farmers benefit a lot from these policies.4) They pressed the EU and Japan to remove the subsidies.5) Yes, he was confident that some agreement could be reached in Seattle.B.1) c) 2) a) 3) b) 4) a) 5) d)C.1) Developing countries demand more access to the European market for their agricultural products, but the EU still wants to maintain its subsidies for exports and barriers to imports.2) Yes. Because their markets are also flooded with cheap goods from other countries.3) On the whole, the rich countries benefit more from the WTO rules.【原文】News Item 1Ambassadors to the World Trade Organization have failed to agree on a common text for the next global trade round of talks. During three months of negotiations in Geneva, the ambassadors had hoped to settle an agenda ahead of the WTO ministerial meeting in Seattle next week. From Geneva Claire Doole reports.The major sticking point is agriculture, pitting the big trading nations against each other. The US and major agricultural countries such as Australia wanted the EU and Japan to slash their export subsidies, which they say prices their producers out of the market. But this is unpopular with both trading powers, reluctant to incur the rows of their heavily subsidized but politically influential farmers. The other problem area is the demand from developing countries for more time to implement existing trade accords. The WTO Director-General remains confident that the agreement will be found in Seattle, but trade envoys are not so optimistic.News Item 2Trade ministers from 18 nations and political entities are meeting behind closed doors in Mexico City to seek consensus on the agenda for a new round of world trade talks. The meeting is taking place in a luxury hotel under tight security. Around two dozen anti-globalization protesters tried to demonstrate near the hotel, but they were outnumbered by Mexican riot police, who kept them far from the site. The goal of the meeting is to work out a framework for talks to be held in Qatar in November. The last round of world trade talks ended in 1994 and led to the creation of the World Trade Organization the next year. But efforts to launch a new round of talks in the city of Seattle in 1999 ended in failure.The trade ministers meeting here are trying to work out basic agreements on such divisive issues as antidumping rules and agricultural subsidies. Developing nations are demanding more access to Europe for such commodities as beef and grain, butEuropean Union nations have maintained subsidies for exports and barriers to imports. The developing nations also want rules against dumping, whereby their markets are flooded with cheap goods from other nations. Poorer nations say the benefits of free trade have mostly been seen in the rich countries and they are looking for a new round of trade talks to address the current inequalities.Although the gap remains wide, World Trade Organization officials say they are hopeful that these informal discussions here in Mexico City will lead to an agreement that can be embraced at the larger meeting in November. The representatives at this meeting are only a small fraction of the organization's 142 members, but they are thought to be representative of the various points of view within the larger body. The meeting is to conclude on Saturday.Task8:【答案】A.1) Working with UNICEF—one of the most direct and effective ways to help childrenwho need it2) Top issue on the agenda—mobilizing artists and other intellectuals in the efforts for child survival and health in Africa3) How and why artists can help the campaign for universal child immunization.4) How and why artists enjoy high esteem in AfricaB.1) b) 2) a) 3) c) 4) b) 5) c)C.1) society, governments, political, economic processes2) the mobilization of entertainers/artists3) immunize, the six major child-killing diseases4) immunized【原文】Extract 1Narrator: As we heard in a previous edition of this programme, Harry Belafonte has become the latest goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, the United NationsChildren's Fund. In the tradition of Danny Kaye, Liv Ullmann, PeterUstinov and others, the popular entertainer who has worked with UNICEFin the past will tour the world in support of UNICEF initiatives for childsurvival. According to Mr. Belafonte, working with UNICEF is one of themost direct and expedient ways to get help to children who need it. Belafonte: It has been over the last four years that I have become more intensely aware of the whole role of children in the global process as it affects societyand as it affects governments and as it affects the political process and as itaffects the economic process. And also, with USA for Africa, UNICEFbecame a very, very important conduit for the dissemination anddistribution of our resources. When we looked around as anon-governmental organization for how to ensure that much of the $52million that we raised and…certainly all of the other areas that werestimulated with financial returns based upon our effort. UNICEF wasalways at the center of everyone's choice for who to rely on and what to dowhen we went into places for which we knew very little about in order tomeet head on the problems of the drought and the famine and the death andthe pestilence and all of the various health problems.Extract 2Narrator: One of the first projects Mr. Belafonte will work on as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador is the mobilization of entertainers for child survival and healthin Africa. During the United Nations General Assembly's special session onthe critical situation in Africa in May of last year, African nations discussedthe state of health care on the continent and its importance to the economicand social well-being of each country. According to Mr. Belafonte, this is atopic high on the agenda of UNICEF as well.Belafonte: One of the first things that Jim and I talked about was how to in fact define methodologies and ways in which we can begin to engage artists inparticular, intellectuals in general, to be able to have some on-goingunderstanding, on-going programme, to help change the course of humanhistory as it relates to children and as it relates to children particularly inthe Third World, and on this first leg of our journey, specifically in Africa. Extract 3Narrator: UNICEF has set the goal of universal child immunization to encourage nations to immunize their young against the six major child-killing diseases.While many countries are making steady progress toward these goals, Mr.Grant points out that the campaign can be greatly aided by the support ofartists and the entertainment community.Grant: Our dilemma with immunization is that the easiest part almost is to get the vaccines out. Granted, we need refrigeration—what we call the coldchain—you've got to get the vaccinators. But the really difficult thing is howyou convince somebody who has never had immunization before, is illiterate,never gone to school, that they should bring their children to be immunizedthree times, a month apart. Usually most children will run a fever after thefirst round. So a mother who's brought the child in healthy then has got to beconvinced to come back the second time. And here's where the intellectuals,the artists, the singers—there's a massive communication job to tell parentsthat they do have this power, symbolized in the vaccination appeal bybringing their children in. But it's really the artists, the intellectuals, thepeople who set the ambiance of all this that determines really what peopledo.Extract 4Narrator: And Mr. Belafonte adds that artists are held in high esteem throughout Africa.Belafonte: I think that in Africa, where communication vis-a-vis radio and television is far less than it is in industrialized nations and therefore there is a greatercommunity involvement almost directly with artists, one on one. Whenartists walk through the streets of any major city or any village in Africa, thepied piper role they play—the way people follow them down the streets, thelove and the reverence with which they’re held—is something to be envied.I think most American artists think we have it made because we have theMercedes, the swimming pool and Beverly Hills. But they miss an awful lotwhen they don’t understand how that direct relationship to the communityand to the people, what that direct relationship means.Task 9【原文】The British government has said that Queen Elizabeth has no objection to plans to overturn the tradition of the eldest-born son succeeding to the throne by givingequal rights to whoever is the oldest prince or princess. The announcement in the Upper House of Parliament, the House of Lords, is part of the Labour Government's moves to modernize the British constitution. The change, if approved, will make no difference to the right of Prince Charles and his eldest son to succeed to the throne. The Queen herself took over as monarch only because her father King George VI died without sons.。
英语专业四级听写50篇前言听写在英语专业四级统考中占有15%的比重,是考试的重要组成部分。
说起听写,正在准备和已经参与过英语专业四级考试的同学会说:“我能明白听写的内容,可写的时候就是跟不上!”“短文大意我明白,可是有的语我不会写。
”这只反映出了问题的两个方面。
一是听写速度不够快。
二是词汇量不够或词汇掌握得不够准确。
这些无疑是影响听写成绩的重要因素。
但是,这些不是问题的所有。
在从事听写教学及听写问卷过程中,很容易发现学生失分的具体问题:(1)没听懂,没听好,听写速度跟不上,写出的内容断断续续不连贯,学生因此大量失分;(2)有的词汇没听懂,拼写不够准确,这导致听写失分;(3)时态错误导致失分;(4)单复数不准确导致失分;(5)没有注意断句或专有名词,句子开头单词或专有名词错误使用大小写导致失分;(6)没有注意原文冠词的使用,书写时漏掉冠词导致失分;(7)没有注意单数第三人称形式导致失分;(8)没有注意单数复数名词的形式导致失分。
上述问题的产生有的是缺少训练导致的,如书写速度跟不上。
有的则是语言基础较差导致的,如听力较差没有完全听懂或没有掌握好词汇。
而单复数、大小写、冠词漏写等则多是粗心大意导致的。
听写部分能提高吗?当然能!并且提高的空间很大。
笔者从事英语专业基础教学与研究,从一开始所带的教学班参与四级考试超过全国院校平均通过率28.2个百分点,超过全国专业外语院校平均通过率12.5个百分点开始,所带的教学班在全国英语专业④级统考中通过率始终ito%,平均成绩、优秀率始终名列前茅。
最近一次所带的教学班参与四级统考,又考出了很好的成绩,通过率超过全国院校平均水平26石个百分点,超过全国专业外语院校13.6个百分点,并且在十几个平行班中平均成绩是最高的,优秀人数也是最多的。
在四级考试中,听写一项的成绩也不例外,每次均位居第一,本项目满分15分,所带班级平均成绩可以达成14分。
是不是学生基础很好?登记表白,和平行班相比所带班级入学时并不存在什么特别优势。