大学体验英语听说教程听力原文【第四册】

A:This is Tina Lin from HTN news, and we are with Rachel Wu today, a student of Feminist Studies. Rachel, would you say that there is true equality in our society between men and women?B:That’s a good question. On the whole, in most areas, I believe we can speak about real equality between men and women, and that is a very clear sign of social progress. However, the wage gap is still a significant problem: women still earn a lot less money than men who have the same jobsA:Can you give us a specific example of discriminatory wage practices based on sex? B:Most certainly. Research shows that male health professionals, such as doctors and administrators, earn twice as much as female workers doing the same jobs full-time. A:Twice as much! That must be an extreme case.B:Yes, on average, the pay gap is just under 10%. An example of such a gap would be hotel management. Male hotel managers generally earn 9.8% more than their female counterparts.A:Is there any reason to believe things will improve?B:Yes, there is. In fact, the situation is getting better as we speak. 10 years ago, the pay gap was 16.2%. So in the last decade, there has been an improvement of over 6% -- this shows that our society is headed in the right direction.A:Rachel, thank you for speaking with us today.B:You’re very welcome.A:I am reading a compelling book right now. It’s called Fire with Fire.Never heard of her.A:Naomi Wolf.B:Really? In what way?A:She is a feminist writer. Female empowerment is one of the major themes of the book. B:How about you: are you a feminist?A:She wants all women to have a voice that is heard. Like most feminists, she believes in gender equality and equal opportunities for women.B:Language discriminates?B:What’s wrong with that?A:It suggests that women can’t do these jobs. Non-discriminatory language would be terms like: “businessperson”, “police officer” or “sales representative”B:Yes, I see. That language is much more gender neutral.4A:I just had a tiff with my father.B:Cindy, I’m sorry to h ear that. What was it about?A:He was asking me about my career plans and I told him that I want to be a housewife. B:A housewife? I’m somewhat surprised to hear you say that. I mean…why would you want to be a housewife?A:Because I value family more than anything else. I guess I just want to spend my adult life making a warm and loving family home.B:So what was your father’s reaction?A:He got angry. He said he was wasting his money sending me to university if my intention is only to become a housewife.B:Do you think he has a point?A:No, not in the least! I mean, I am extremely grateful that he is paying for my studies, but knowledge is priceless –it’s the key to understanding the world around us. Besides, if I have children, I want to help educate them and get involved with their schooling. And who knows, maybe one day, I might decide that I want to work outside the home and I’ll need a degree to show that I’m qualified.B:Well, if it's worth anything, I support you in your decision. My feeling is that people need to take on responsibilities that give meaning to their lives. Becoming a housewife will definitely give you this sense of purpose.A:Thanks Jane. That means a lot to me. You’re a good friend.A:Did you realize that there is a meeting scheduled for 3:30 this afternoon?B:That should be interesting. Our department is made up of seven men and eight women. My guess is that it will be hard for us to achieve a consensus because men and women define success very differently.A:Elsa wants to see what we can do to run a more successful department.B:Not according to an article I just read. It says that women see being successful at work as being a good team player and collaborator.A:Isn’t the idea of success more or less the same for everybody?B:Well, you are a woman!A:I would agree.B:Men, on the other hand, define being successful at work as being self-sufficient and achieving targets.5A:Julie’s asked me to go to her wedding – I am so excited!B:Julie is getting married –that’s great news! Pleas e congratulate her on my behalf. What will you wear?A:No idea I can't fit in to any of my fancy clothes. I need to lose weight immediately. Any suggestions?B:The recipe for weight loss is simple: exercise and a healthy diet.A:But I can’t stand exercise! Whenever I go jogging I get bored after 5 minutes.B:Well, try to do fun things. There are many other ways to burn off fat. Get involved inteam sports, like volleyball, or group exercise, like aerobics or even something like yoga. A:I suppose I could try.B:I guess it depends on how much you want to fit into a nice dress!A:Alright. I’ll do some exercise, but a diet, no way! I need my chocolatChocolate ice cream, chocolate cake, chocolate brownies –it’s all so scrumptious! The idea of a diet depresses me.B:You don’t have to give up chocolate completely - just don’t overdo it. When you get a craving, eat some fruit or have a salad. You’ll feel refreshed!A:Easy for you to say. You’re not a chocoholic!A:Bob, you’re looking good. Have you been working ou t?B:Yeah, I’ve started this awesome exercise routine. I feel great!A:Well, you certainly look trim and fit. What’s the secret?B:Discipline and dedication. I make sure I stick to a routine.A:Can you walk me through it?B:Would love to. Every morning, before breakfast, I do some stretching to loosen up and make sure that I don’t pull any muscles during the day. Then I go for a 30-minute jog. A:I see what you mean by dedication.I can’t do anything before breakfast.B:Then, before lunch, I hit the gym and d o some weight training and cardio work. It’s normally a 40-minute session.A:You must work up quite an appetite!B:I certainly do. Then, on my way home from work, I stop by the pool and go for a 1000-meter swim. Swimming is truly the best exercise: it works every muscle, including the heart, and is not hard on the joints.A:Well, your routine is impressive. In fact, if you keep it up, you could probably complete a triathlon.B:That’s my goal!6A:What’s in that bag?B:A tent! I just bought it I am going camping next month!A:Wow, how exciting! Where to?B:The Amazon. Mark and I are planning a 6-day hike through the rainforest.We’ll sleep in this tent every night, with the sounds of the jungle as background music.、A:That has got to be the coolest camping trip ever: I’ve always wanted to explore the jungle! You’ll see fascinating birds, reptiles and amphibians!B:I know. I’m actually afraid of snakes so hopefully we won’t come across too many of them! I am hoping we’ll see river dolphins from the shores of the Amazon.A:Oh yes! Pink Amazon river dolphins – those are incredible! Be sure to bring a camera. B:I will. I’ve actually bought a tripod so that I can take good wildlife pictures.A:Great idea. Please do show me your shots when you get back.B:I will. I’ll make a slideshow and invite you over for a viewing and, hopefully, some great storytelling!A:I look forward to it!A:What exactly is ecotourism? It seems to be the latest travel buzzword.B:Well, let me begin with a question. In your view, what are some of the negative effects of tourism on travel destinations?A:So please tell me about it: I’m all ears!A:Hmm. I guess there are two main drawbacks. The first thing is that tourism pollutes: I recently went to the seaside for the weekend, and couldn’t believe how much rubbish from travelers littered the beaches and sea... The second thing is that tourism sometimes disrupts the local cultures and practices.B:These two drawbacks are precisely what ecotourism wants to avoid. For example, TIES –The International Ecotourism Society–promotes responsible travel to tourist areas. TIES wants travel to be environmentally friendly and help improve the well-being of local people.A:How can these improvements be made?B:By providing financial benefits and empowerment for local people, and by raising awareness on environmental and cultural issues that are important to them.A:I think that’s commendable. From now on, I will be an ecotourist!A:Dr. Wang, do you have a moment? I would like to ask you for some advice.B:Of course, Cindy, what can I do for you?A:I wanted to ask you about idioms. I have an IELTS test next month and the public IELTS descriptors show that I can get a higher score on the speaking test if I use idiomatic vocabulary.B:Well, using idioms isn’t always easy. But I could give you one or two that might be helpful.A:I’d appreciate that.B:Hmm, let’s see … If you’re asked to describe yourself, you could answer that you’re a person who doesn’t like to cause problems by saying you don’t like to rock the boat. A:Sure, I can remember that. Thank you... Do you have some other suggestions?B:Well, let me think. If you find something to be easy to do, you can say: it’s a piece of cake.A:Oh yeah, I’ve heard that before. I’ll try to use that idiom during my test. I could say: speaking English is a piece of cake! Ha, ha!B:Ha! Yes, that’s fine. Do make sure that you use these idioms in the appropriate context or they will not make sense.A:I understand. I’ll practice lots during the next few weeks so that I g et the hang of it!A:I am thinking of learning French.B:Ah French, the language of romance and poetry...A:Yes, it is a beautiful language indeed. But I don’t want to become a French poet! I plan to learn French to increase my job prospects.B:I don’t follow you.A:Well, I am very proud to say that I am bilingual. I speak Chinese and English. But in today’s world, to find a good job, it’s better to be trilingual.B:Trilingual? You mean, speak three languages.8A:Hey Dan, thanks for freeing up time to help me.B:Don’t mention it Jane, it’s no problem at all... So what’s up?A:My sister wants to study in America next year but doesn’t know what admissions test to take: SAT or ACT. I thought maybe you could help because you started your university studies in Chicago.A:Yes.B:So why French then?A:It was a tough call: I was thinking French or Spanish, but decided on French because I am interested in working in countries where it is spoken.B:Like Canada, Switzerland and Belgium?A:Yes, and also places in Africa, like Senegal or Cameroon, or in Latin America, like Haiti. B:Yeah, of course I can help. Both tests are very different and measure different skills so I think the best choice comes down to what your sister is good at. Basically, depending on her strengths and weaknesses, she may perform much better on one test than the other.A:Well, she is good at science and wants to study Biology, maybe even Medicine.B:Hmm, it sounds to me like she should take the ACT.A:Why is that?B:It’s more geared tow ards science students: it includes a science-reasoning test whereas the SAT doesn’tB:It’s more geared towards science students: it includes a science-reasoning test whereas the SAT doesn’tA:That’s good to know. Who is the SAT better for then?B:It’s bett er for people interested in subjects that require good problem solving and critical thinking skills.A:Ah, I see; so it’s a test you’d be good at because you’re an expert at solving problems,especially mine!A:I am so nervous, Cindy! I have my IELTS test tomorrow.B:Nervous, you? You have nothing to be worried about.A:You’re just saying that to lift my spirits.B:Jane, I am serious: you’ll be fine.A:What makes you so sure?B:Well, to begin with, your listening skills are terrific, and you have no problems with spelling and grammar. So your listening test should go very smoothly.A:I hope so!B:I also predict strong writing and reading scores. After all, your vocabulary is good and you are a coherent, logical thinker.A:It’s hard. I just get so stress ed before tests. The IELTS interview terrifies me.B:I am just being honest. You need to believe in yourself.A:I sure hope you’re right. If you are, let’s celebrate by eating out!B:Jane, you are a fluent speaker, who expresses opinions clearly and supports them with good evidence. You will ace the interview!B:Sure, it’s a deal!9A:Tina, I saw The King’s Speech yesterday. It’s a marvelous film!B:I really want to see it. The critics are giving it excellent reviews. Come to think of it, I read something on it just yesterday, which described the film as richly enjoyable.A:I couldn’t agree more. The director does a great job of shooting the true-life story of the relationship between King George VI, who was the King of England during World War 2, and his exuberant Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue.B:King George VI needed a speech therapist?A:He sure did. He had a stammer.B:A stammer?A:Yes, he couldn’t speak fluently. In fact, he couldn’t even complete a sentence without making involuntary pauses or repetitions.B:Can you imagine being King and not being able to speak eloquently?A:No, I can’t. But that’s what’s amazing about this story. His speech therapist helped him become a good speaker. This was necessary during a time of war, when the country needed a clear voice of inspiration.B:Will the film win an Oscar?A:I predict it will. Many perhaps, including Best Actor in a Leading Role.A:Cindy, what are you doing here?B:I just had class. In fact, it was the coolest class I’ve ever had! In musi c, we are studying the history of rock & roll.A:The history of rock? Wow, that is pretty cool.B:Yeah, did you know that rock is already more than 70 years old?A:No way! Are you saying it originated in the 1940s?B:Yes, it did. But the interesting thing is that it comes from a combination of other genres of music, like jazz, blues and gospel music.A:That makes sense, cause you can hear jazz and blues rhythms in a lot of rock & roll. Do you listen to music in class?B:Yes, it did. But the interesting thing is that it comes from a combination of other genres of music, like jazz, blues and gospel music.A:I’d love to join the class, it sounds awesome. The only problem is that I can’t play an instrument.B:Don’t worry, Mark. You can sing.A:OK, I’ll enroll to day. Incredible –I’ll be in a rock band!10It is natural for you to be faced with choices in life.My advice is to follow your blissIt means to follow a course in lifethat is most exciting and challenging for you and to follow a directionthat brings you the greatest personal satisfaction. Do you know the story of King Arthur's knights? When they set out on their questfor the Holy Grail,each set out alone.Each entered the woodsat the deepest, darkest point,where there was no way or path.If there is a well-worn path,it is someone else's path, not yours.There was a manwho was determined to become a public servant. He ran for legislature and lost.He ran for Congress and lost.He ran for the Senate twiceand lost both times.After all these failures,he even tried for a political appointmentas a state land officer,something like a Justice of the Peace,and he was flatly rejected.Yet this guy held to his vision of public service,Yet this guy held to his vision of public service,The man, of course, was Abraham Lincoln.Look at this guy.At 40, he tried to establish two car companies.Both went bankrupt,and he was flat broke.Yet the automobile was his bliss.By 50, he was the world's leading automaker,and was well on his way to becoming the first billionaire. That man was Henry Ford.Consider the baseball playerwho held the record for many yearsas having struck out more than any ball player in history. In his career, he struck out 1 330 times.Yet what we remember about Babe Ruthis not the 1 330 times he failed,but the 714 times he hit a home run.A:Doctor, I don’t feel quite like myself these days. I am under a lot of academic pressure and don’t think I can cope with everything for much longer. I need help.B:Jane I’m glad you’re here. Many students struggle with the pressures of study and don’t realize they have a problem until it’s too late… Tell me, why do you say that you don’t quite feel like yourself?A:I’m sleeping very badly – I toss and turn all night long- and I get angry very easily. B:Hmmm, yes, indeed… those are both signs of being under too much pressure.A:So what should I do?B:I would recommend the following 3 steps. First, plan good breaks everyday so that you can clear your mind and recollect yourself.A:How long should a break take?B:10 or 15 minutes is enough. The key is to fill your mind with fresh energy.A:And what are the other two steps?B:The second step is to reduce stress by simplifying the problems or tasks you are dealing with. This will make your problems feel solvable.The third step is to focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses. This will develop your confidence.’s definitely what I need: more self-confidence. Thanks doctor, I’ll give your recommendations my best shot.Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Edgar Allen Poe and Shelly were all expelled from school at one point.People are stumblingwhile following their bliss.Where you stumble, stop and smile,for there your treasure may lie.A:Dr. Wang, I am very concerned about my fu ture. It’s so difficult for university graduates to find jobs these days.B:Phil, it doesn’t have to be difficult. The key to finding a job –the right job- is to search intelligently.A:Can you take me through the steps of an intelligent job hunt?B:Step two is to make a list of companies you would like to work for. This helps you establish specific targets. It will give you more focus.A:should I do research on the companies on my list?B:That is step three. The more you know about a potential employer, the better. The Internet is your best tool for this. Phil, have you written your cover letter and resume? A:Not yet.B:Well, that’s step four. You need to target these to each job you apply for. Be sure to connect your qualifications to the hiring criteria for the jobs you want. This will maximize your chances of being invited to an interview. The interview is step five.A:The hardest step!B:The easiest step, because by then you will have already done good research on the joband you will know the company well.A:Thank you, Dr. Wang. I appreciate the tips.11A:Cindy, can you give me your contact details? Last week, I wanted to see if you could attend a Student Union meeting, but didn’t know how to reach you.B:Sure Mark. My home number is 253-7600A:253-7600. Thanks! Would you mind giving me your mobile number as well?B:I don’t have a mobile.A:You must be kidding? Everybody has a mobile.B:I used to have one but not anymore. I feel people rely too much on their cell phones. In fact, I’d even say that cel l phones are the latest addiction.A:Aren’t you exaggerating a little?B:No, I don’t think I am. People can’t put their phones down for more than a minute. They’re either chatting, texting, playing games or surfing the net. What I hate most is when you go out for dinner with friends, and the meal is interrupted frequently by calls. Cell phones are ruining people’s social skills and experiences.A:Are you suggesting people are controlled by their phones?B:To some extent, yes they are, but…B:Hold on just one sec, Cindy. I have to take this call. I'll be rightback.A:It’s so easy to shop nowadays. E-commerce is the best.B:Well, let’s take books for example. Whenever I log on to my favorite e-store to buy, say, a novel, the site always has recommendations ready for me to look at before I even begin my search for the novel in question!A:Why is that?B:Very good, because they are based on purchases I’ve made before. For instance, if I previously bought book X, then the webstore will suggest more books on the same topic, or of the same genre, or by the same author.A:It doesn’t mean you have to buy them.B:Well, let’s take books for example. Whenever I log on to my favorite e-store to buy, say, a novel, the site always has recommendations ready for me to look at before I even begin my search for the novel in question!A:So you also buy Y and Z!B:Yes! T oo often, when I plan to buy just one book, I end up with six or seven!A:Maybe you should get rid of your computer! You’re not only a bookworm, but an e-shopaholic!12A:Are you Simon?B:Yes, I am.A:I’m Navy, Jane’s sister. It’s so nice to meet you!B:It’s really nice to meet you too!A:I heard that you were born in America. Is that true?B:Yeah, I was, in Dallas. Why do you ask?A:I was born in Chicago.B:Oh? Jane never told me that. How long have you been in China for?A:Just two years. I came on a university exchange program and liked it here so much that I stayed.B:I’ve been living here since I was 15 years old. I remember that when I arrived, I too loved China, but then I started to miss Dallas a lot.A:That’s normal. In fact, I kind of went through the same experience: it’s called culture shock. Usually, people feel really good – they may even enjoy moments of euphoria –when they arrive in a new pla ce: all is new and exciting! It’s called the honeymoon stage. But then, things become a bit difficult: adjusting to a different education system, making new friends, being far away from old friends –that’s not easy.B:Yeah, I remember. But once I finally adjusted, I was so happy to be living in China A:Me too! It’s a great country with friendly and hospitable people. I feel right at home here.B:Those are my thoughts exactly.A:Are nationality and ethnicity the same thing?B:They can be, but actu ally they aren’t.A:Uh?B:For instance, if your parents, culturally, are Chinese, and if you were born and raised in China, then your nationality and ethnicity are the same: Chinese.A:So then why aren’t ethnicity and nationality the same thing?B:Ethnicity refers to your cultural background, whereas your nationality is the country you belong to by birth or naturalization.A:Oh, so an American-born Chinese’s ethnicity is Chinese, but this person’s nationality is American.B:Yep, that’s right. Basically, your nationality is what’s written in your passport, while your ethnicity is the cultural group you belong to.A:I understand. But then, with so many mixed marriages –for example a Chinese marrying a Canadian, or an Italian marrying a Namibian, it must be difficult to define a person’s ethnicity.B:Not really, children of a Namibian-Italian marriage would just define their ethnicity as being half- Italian and half-Namibian.A:What if one parent is half-Italian and half-Namibian, and the other half-Chinese and half-Brazilian? What would the child’s ethnicity be then?B:Multicultural!13A:This is Tina Lin from HTN news, and today we are going to be talking to Phil Fisher, a student at ACE University, about extra-curricular activities. Phil, thanks for being with us today. I’d like to begin by asking you about the benefits of extra-curricular activities for students. What are they?B:First and foremost, an extra-curricular activity provides a great opportunity for astudent to meet people and make friends. Cle arly, it enhances a student’s social life and improves this person’s social skills.A:Is this the most important reason why you partiipate in an extra-curricular activity? B:All reasons are important. Recently, for me, the most useful has been learning to work well with other people and be a positive member of a team.A:Some students argue that taking part in extra-curricular activities distracts from a person’s studies and makes it more difficult to find a job in the future.B:That’s simply not true. On th e contrary, it increases job prospects significantly. Nowadays, employers want well-rounded employees who have good social skills and are good team players. Extra-curricular activities help students meet these expectations. A:Phil, thank you very much.B:My pleasure.A:This is Tina Lin from HTN news, and we are at ACE University today to speak with Phil Fisher, founder of the ACE International Club, about studying overseas. Phil, why is it that an increasing number of students are choosing to study abroad?B:It’s hard today to argue that we don’t live in a global village. We study, work, live and communicate with people from all over the world. It’s important for people from different cultures to understand each other and be successful together. For a student, the best way to acquire this understanding is to study abroad.A:Is it easy, psychologically and academically, to go abroad?B:No it isn’t. A student has to deal with issues like culture shock and making new friends. Just as problematic, academic cultures are very different from one country to the other. It takes time to adjust to a new academic environment.A:So what then is the key to being a successful student overseas?B:A successful student needs to be patient. If you study abroad, don’t e xpect everything to go well immediately. It’s crucial to give yourself time to adapt.A:Phil, many thanks for speaking with us today.B:It’s been a pleasure.14Amy: Wow this place is great!There're so many different smells and bright colors...What's that?Peggy: Homemade sausage.It's great for sandwiches.Let's get some for lunch.Amy: I thought this was a vegetable market.Peggy: Yeah, it is,but you can get all sorts of things here,fruit, eggs, spices, candy...Amy: Can I get batteries here?Peggy: No, but we can get that at the market over there.Let's go.Amy: Why are they all yelling?Peggy: They're telling everyone what they have in their booths. Amy: Can you understand what they're saying?Peggy: Well, some of it.There are people from all over the place:Senegal, Nigeria, Cape Verde...So they're speaking different languages.Amy: What do they sell here?Peggy: Clothing, toiletries, hardware, electronics,you name it.Amy: Is it expensive?Peggy: No, it's pretty reasonable.Amy: OK. I wanna get batteries for my Walkman and a new pair of pants.Peggy: OK, just point to what you want.Oh, one more thing,bargaining is a must.When they tell you a price,offer half of what they ask.Amy: Will they come down that far?Peggy: No, but they'll come down a little. Amy: Wow! Shopping here is so exciting!A:Honey, I’m so glad you’ll come back home for the weekend. How was your trip to Wenchuan?B:It was a very meaningful experience. I was amazed with how well the area has recovered. The earthquake itself was such a devastating natural disaster, but the people are full of hope. All the children I was scheduled to see are very healthy.B:It was a very meaningful experience. I was amazed with how well the area has recovered. The earthquake itself was such a devastating natural disaster, but the people are full of hope. All the children I was scheduled to see are very healthy.B:That was an important part of our trip. The structural engineer in our delegation was asked to inspect houses, apartment complexes, office buildings, hospitals, schools and dams. He said he was impressed with what he saw.A:Have things been rebuilt or reinforced according to higher standards?B:Yes, structurally, buildings are more earthquake-proof than they were prior to the disaster. Better, more flexible materials have been used.A:I believe important lessons have been learned from this disaster.B:Yes, not just in Wenchuan, but throughout China. For example, May 12 has been designated as a "Disaster Prevention and Reduction Day". This is an important step to。

Unit 12Part BOpinion PollsMan: Do you know the thing that's always struck me as odd about opinion polls?Woman: What's that?Man: The percentages. Like recently there was a survey about what people thought about traffic, and petrol prices, and public car parks. In some car parks it now costs something like 5 pounds to park a car for half an hour.Woman: Yeah, but I don't see what you're getting at.Man: What I mean is the percentages in the results. So there might be 70% of people who complained about high petrol prices, and 60% who want to see the traffic reduced, and 65% who think car park charges are too high. Does that mean that there are 35% who actually think the charges are OK and would even be prepared to pay more, and another 30% who think petrol prices are OK? I mean that's absurd. I don't know anyone who doesn't think they're too high.Woman: Well, actually I think we should pay more.Man: Come on, you're joking.Woman: No, seriously. I think we should pay more for petrol, even twice as much maybe, and certainly far more for inner city car parks.Man: But why?Woman: More taxes should be charged on petrol, I think, to discourage people from using cars, and a kind of graded charging system for car parks depending on how far they are from the city center.Man: What do you mean?Woman: Well, if you park your car quite far from the city center then you pay a nominal amount as a kind of reward for not polluting the city center. Well, the closer you get to the center, the moreyou are penalized. Prices in the center should be totally prohibitive. I mean with an efficient bus or tram service there's no excuse for using cars.Man: Yeah, but you can't penalize people who don't use their car to go into town. I mean if you doubled the price of petrol, it would cost people a fortune to go anywhere, even on short trips, and especially on holidays.Woman: Don't use your car then. Use a train.Man: But what about lorries? I mean they use a lot of petrol to transport goods from one place to another.Woman: So what's to stop these goods being transported by train or even via canal?Man: Well, anyway, I still can't believe that 30% of those people who said car park charges were OK all think the same as you.Woman: Well, maybe that's where you are wrong. Just think about what I've said and you'll realize that perhaps it's not so stupid as it sounds.Questions:1. What items are surveyed in the opinion poll mentioned in the conversation?2. What does the man find absurd about the survey?3. Which of the following best reflects the woman's view about car parking?4. Which problem is the woman most concerned about according to the conversation?5. Which of the following describes the man's attitude toward opinion polls?Part CHow These Pollsters Do Those PollsV oters can become weary of polls as a campaign winds down, and in public, candidates invariably declare that they ignore them -- at least, the candidates who are losing. But the fact is, pollsters are good and getting better.Most election-eve polls in 1992 predicted the voting percentages eventually won by Clinton, Bush and Perot well within the sampling margin of error. Of some 300 such polls, none projected Bush or Perot as the winner.Typically, these polls are generated by telephone interviews with 600 to 1,000 "likely voters", who are 18 or older, as determined by answers to initial questions. The phone numbers are selected as random digits by a phone-dialing computer.Hypothetically, almost every person in America has an equal chance of being called since most households have phones. The samples may seem small, but the techniques used in polls are proven enough to be regularly accepted as evidence by the courts when election results are legally challenged. No sample is as accurate as interviewing 100 percent of the people in an election district, of course. A "sampling error" or "margin of error" accompanies every significant result. It is the largest possible difference that could exist between a random national sample and a poll that asked 200 million Americans the same questions. A 3 percent sampling error, for example, means that if a poll predicts that a candidate will get 45 percent of the vote, he may probably get 42 to 48 percent of the vote.Often, after a random sample is collected, it's compared with US Census statistics to determine the degree of agreement before the poll is finalized. This can help polling professionals correct anomalies so that they can get clients that pay them the big bucks.The "exit polls" that play a key part in election night drama in American homes are even more accurate than other forecasts because the specially trained interviewers are using respondents who are known voters.Questions:1. How is a typical election poll conducted in the US?2. How large is the sample for a typical election poll?3. If a poll shows a 50% support for a candidate with a 3% margin of error, what would be the probable percentage of support for him?4. Why are "exit polls" especially accurate?5. What is the passage mainly about?Part DUse of Public Opinion PollsPublic opinion polls are regularly conducted and published in many countries. They measure not only support for political parties but also public opinion on a wide range of social and political issues. They are frequently published in major newspapers and are generally accepted as useful tools by businesses, political organizations, the mass media and government, and academic research groups. Hundreds of public polling firms operate around the world. The Gallup Poll and Harris Poll are among the best known in the US.In business, polls are used to test consumers' preferences and to discover what gives a product its appeal. Responses to commercial polls help businesses in planning marketing and advertising strategies and in making changes in a product to increase its sales.In politics, polls are used to obtain information about voters' attitudes toward issues and candidates, to put forward candidates with winning potential, and to plan campaigns. Polling organizations have also been successful in predicting the outcome of elections. By polling voters on Election Day, it is often possible to determine the probable winner even before the voting booths close.Newspapers, magazines, radio and television are heavy users of public opinion polling information, especially political information that helps to predict election results or measure the popularity of government officials and candidates. The public's attitude toward various social, economic, and international issues is also considered newsworthy.Governments use opinion polls to find out public sentiment about issues of interest. Theyalso use polling methodology to determine unemployment rates, crime rates, and other social and economic indicators.Opinion polls have also been employed extensively in academic research, particularly in the social sciences. They have been valuable in studying delinquency, socialization, political attitudes, and economic behavior. Among the prominent organizations that primarily serve academic research purposes are the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.Questions:1. By whom are public opinion polls generally accepted as useful tools?2. For what are opinion polls used by businesses?3. For what are opinion polls used in politics?4. For what are opinion polls used by governments?5. What new media are heavy users of the information from opinion polls?6. For what are opinion polls used in academic research?。

大学英语听说教程4听力原文Unit8Unit 8Part BA Terrible DiseaseThe phone rang and it was my husband Jack asking me to take some lunch to his office. As I drove off, I noticed a new shopping center. Strange I hadn't noticed it before. Near his office I also saw a fire station I didn't recognize.'When did they build that new shopping center?' I asked Jack. 'And I'm glad to see that new fire station. It'll give a good landmark.''Diana, they've been there for ages,' Jack scolded.Bewildered, I became angry and, starting up the engine, began to pull away. Then I braked. Where was the exit? Suddenly, nothing was familiar. I realized I had no idea how to get home. I had to stop again and again to ask for directions. Eventually, I got home. A 30-minute drive had taken me four hours.Two months later, at the office where I worked as a legal researcher, a smart young man approached me.'Hi, Diana. Good to see you,' he said, smiling.I hesitated, then smiled with resignation. 'Please forgive me, it's one of those days. I simply can't bring your name to mind.' 'Diana, I'm your cousin Richard,' he said very slowly.After that, I was constantly making mistakes and kept forgetting my way around the building. In the end, I made the painful decision to resign from work. I also started pretending to be a tourist when I got lost because residents tend to give much better directions to visitors.Desperate to discover what was wrong with me, I made anappointment with a neurologist. After various tests he told me I had Alzheimer's disease. I felt numb. I'd hoped to find I was worrying about nothing, but now my worst fears were confirmed. And I was only 53!When I told Jack and my three grown-up children about my disease, their reaction was quiet but supportive. 'Stop worrying,' Jack said. 'We'll take good care of you.'That night, I was looking through some papers belonging to my mother, who'd died of cancer years before, when I saw her maps. They were hand-drawn and covered every place my mother went, including my house. As I examined them, I remembered Mother's other eccentric habits. She wouldn't drive out of her neighborhood or at night. One day, she hadn't even recognized me. Could she have had Alzheimer's, too, without anyone realizing?Now at 57, on good days I'm filled with hope and determination, but on bad days I have the worst sense of being alone. I've started a support group for other sufferers, for I know it's essential to have contact with people who are walking through the same maze.Jack's coping well. While he still dreams of waking up to find all this has been a horrible nightmare, he's assured me that I can depend on him. When we married he didn't know 'for better or worse' included Alzheimer's. But neither did I.Questions:1. What does the story mainly tell us?2. Which of the following is one of the symptoms of the speaker's disease?3. What can we learn from the story?4. What do you know about the speaker from the story?5. What can be inferred about the speaker's mother?Part COld Age's Problems and OpportunitiesOld age in the United States presents many problems and opportunities. As a result of improved medical services , people live longer than they used to. This increase in longevity creates a wide range of social needs. The medical specialty of gerontology (老年医学) has opened up new research areas and careers related to the elderly.Because of changes in the family structure from extended to nuclear, the elderly have to create existences apart from basically small family units. This situation is complicated by the fact that many of their friends may have died and their children may have moved away.The elderly must set up a new life. Often, the elderly must rely on a fixed income - Social Security and pensions - and gradually diminished savings. While some live with their children, many more live by themselves, with a friend or in a nursing home.However, the increasing proportion of elderly people in society has given them a new political power. They have formed organizations to voice their own needs and concerns to local state and federal agencies. Lobbying(游说)for such issues as increased Social Security benefits, better health care, income tax benefits and rent controls has brought to the public an increased awareness of the determination of the elderly to assert their ability to deal effectively with their own lives.Part DA Walking MiracleOld age is often accompanied by various kinds of illnesses. When he woke up on a July morning in 2001, Robert Tools, 59,could hardly lift his head off his pillow. He had suffered from heart troubles since a decade ago, which was made worse by his diabetes. The six-foot-three-inch former librarian and teacher became so weak that his weight had dropped from more than 200 pounds to 140. Tools was too sick for a heart transplant. So he agreed to let two surgeons try something that had never been done before. That afternoon T ools became the first person ever to be implanted with a self-contained artificial heart.Eight days later, Tools left the hospital for the first time to take a stroll through a city park, with his artificial heart pumping blood through his body. The heart is powered by a battery implant that holds a 30-to-40 minute charge. The battery is recharged via a coil attached to an external battery pack good for two hours, which T ools wears on a belt. Or the coil recharger can be plugged directly into a wall outlet. A small controller, about the size of a palm, is also implanted in the chest to regulate blood flow. The tiny controller knows how to adjust to his body's need for higher or lower blood flow when he stands, sits, walks, or otherwise. But Tools' mobility is still limited. Most of the time, a mobility transmitter implanted in his chest broadcasts data to a computer in hishospital room so that doctors can continually monitor and fine-tune the blood flow.Tools says living with an artificial heart means adjusting to some strange new sensations. "The biggest thing is getting used to not having a heart beat, except a whirring sound, and that makes me realize that I'm alive because I can hear it without a stethoscope."Statements:1. Robert Tools suffered from several health conditionsbefore his operation.2. Doctors decided to put an artificial heart in Tools' body because there was no suitable donor heart available.3. Tools' artificial heart was implanted in his chest along witha couple of other devices.4. Tools now must carry an external battery pack with him all the time.5. Tools' blood flow can be remote-controlled by doctors in the hospital.6. Tools' artificial heart is made of plastic materials.7. His new heart allows Tools to move about more than two hours at a time.8. Before Tools, a few artificial heart implant operations had been performed on other persons but all of them had failed.。

大学体验英语视听说教程4听力原文UNIT 2Challenges of Understanding a Culturescript―Most people you meet know more about comics than I do,‖ laughs Naif Al-Mutawa, creator of The 99, the world‘s first comic-book series whose superheroes are based on Islamic culture.―Strength, honor, truth, mercy, invention, generosity, wisdom, tolerance—these are some of the superpowers possessed by my heroes,‖ emphasizes Al-Mutawa. ―No one hero has more than a single power, and no power is expressed to the degree that God po ssesses it,‘‘ he adds. There are 99 young heroes from 99 countries, from all walks of life. All of them are Muslim, but not all are Arabs, and the number is almost evenly split between boys and girls. As Al-Mutawa explains, whenever these characters collaborate to solve problems, there is an implicit message of tolerance and acceptance, a theme central to the series.Unlike many comic book heroes, the 99 do not use weapons. ―They use the gifts they have within themselves,‖ Al- Mutawa notes, adding that ―The 99 is not about what kids shouldn‘t be doing. It‘s about learning how to use the power within them to make a difference.‖Although the series is not religious, it aims to communicate Islamic virtues which are, as viewed by Dr. Al-Mutawa, universal in nature. ―The 99 is all about making a conscious choice not to let others define who you are. It is about being proactive in choosing the backdrop against which you are to be judged. Islamic culture and Islamic heritage have a lot to be proud and joyful about. The 99 is about bringing those positive elements into global awareness. Now it does.‖ ScriptHello everyone. Because this is my first time at TED, I‘ve decided to bring along an old friend to help break the ice a bit. Y es. That‘s right. This is Barbie. She‘s 50 years old. And she‘s looking as young as ever. But I‘d also like to introduce you to what may be an unfamiliar face. This is Fulla. Fulla is the Arab world‘s answer to Barbie.Now, according to the proponents of the clash of civilizations, both Barbie and Fulla occupy these completely separate spheres. They have different interests. They have divergent values. And should they ever come in contact ... well, I‘ve got to tell you, it‘s just not going to be pretty.My experience however, in the Islamic world is very different. Where I work, in the Arab region, people are busy taking up Western innovations and changing them into things which are neither conventionally Western, nor are they traditionally Islamic. I want to show you two examples. The first is 4Shbab. It means ―for youth‖ and it‘s a new Arab TV channel.Script(V ideo): Video clips from across the globe. The USA.♫I am not afraid to stand alone ♫♫I am not afraid to stand alone, if Allah is by my side ♫♫I am not afraid to stand alone ♫♫Everything will be all right ♫♫I am not afraid to stand alone ♫The Arab world.(Music)♫ (U rdu) ♫Shereen El Feki: 4Shbab has been dubbed Islamic MTV. Its creator, who is an Egyptian TV producer called Ahmed Abou Haïba, wants young people to be inspired by Islam to lead better lives. He reckons the best way to get that message across is to use the enormously popular medium of music videos.In the world of 4Shbab, it‘s not about bump and grind. But it‘s not about fire and brimstone either. Its videos are intended to show a kinder, gentler face of Islam, for young people to deal with life‘s c hallenges.scriptNow, my second example is for a slightly younger crowd. And it‘s called ―The 99.‖ Now, these are the world‘s first Islamic superheroes. They were created by a Kuwaiti psychologist called Nayef Al Mutawa. And his desire is to rescue Islam from images of intolerance, all in a child-friendly format. ―The 99,‖ the characters are meant to embody the 99 attributes of Allah, justice, wisdom, mercy, among others. So, for example, there is the character of Noora. She is meant to have the power to look inside people and see the good and bad in everyone. Another character called Jami has the ability to create fantastic inventions.Now, ―The 99‖ is not just a comic book. It‘s now a theme park. There is an animated series in the works. And by this time next year the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman will have joined forces with ―The 99‖ to beat injustice wherever they find it.―The 99‖ and 4Shbab are just two of many examples of this sort of Islamic cross-cultural hybridization. We‘re not talking here about a clash of civilizations. Nor is it some sort of indistinguishable mash. I‘d like to think of it as a mesh of civilizations, in which the strands of different cultures are intertwined.ScriptThe Danger of a Single Story (Part I)I‘m a storyteller. And I would like to tell you a few personal stories about what I‘d like to call ―the danger of the single story.‖I was an early writer. And when I began to write stories in pencil with crayon illustrations that my poor mother was obligated to read, I wrote exactly the kinds of stories I was reading. All my characters were white and blue-eyed. They played in the snow. They ate apples. Now, this despite the fact that I lived in Nigeria. I had never been outside Nigeria. We didn‘t have s now. We ate mangoes.I come from a conventional, middle-class Nigerian family. And so we had, as was the norm, live-in domestic help, who would often come from nearby rural villages. So the year I turned eight we got a new house boy. His name was Fide. The only thing my mother told us about him was that his family was very poor. My mother sent yams and rice, and our old clothes, to his family. And when I didn‘t finish my dinner my mother would say, ―Finish your food! Don‘t you know? People like Fide‘s family have nothing.‖ So I felt enormous pity for Fide‘s family.ScriptThen one Saturday we went to his village to visit. And his mother showed us a beautifully patterned basket, made of dyed raffia, that his brother had made. I was startled. It had not occurred to me that anybody in his family could actually make something. All I had heard about them is how poor they were, so that it had become impossible for me to see them as anything else but poor. Their poverty was my single story of them.ScriptThe Danger of A Single Story (Part II)Y ears later, I thought about this when I left Nigeria to go to university in the United States. I was 19. My American roommate was shocked by me. She asked where I had learned to speak English so well, and was confused when I said that Nigeria happened to have English as its official language. She asked if she could listen to what she called my ―tribal music‖, and was consequently very disappointed when I produced my tape of Mariah Carey. She assumed that I did not know how to use a stove.What struck me was this: She had felt sorry for me even before she saw me. Her default position toward me, as an African, was a kind of patronizing, well-meaning, pity. My roommate had a single story of Africa. A single story of catastrophe. In this single story there was no possibility of Africans being similar to her, in any way. No possibility of feelings more complex than pity. No possibility of a connection as human equals.So after I had spent some years in the U.S. as an African, I began to understand my roommate‘s response to me. If I had not grown up in Nigeria, and if all I knew about Africa were from popular images, I too would think that Africa was a place of beautiful landscapes, beautiful animals, and incomprehensible people, fighting senseless wars, dying of poverty and AIDS, unable to speak for themselves, and waiting to be saved, by a kind, white foreigner. I would see Africans in the same way that I, as a child, had seen Fide‘s family.ScriptWhen I learned, some years ago, that writers were expected to have had really unhappy childhoods to be successful, I began to think about how I could invent horrible things my parents had done to me. But the truth is that I had a very happy childhood, full of laughter and love, in a very close-knit family. But I also had grandfathers who died in refugee camps. My cousin Polle died because he could not get adequate healthcare. One of my closest friends, Okoloma, died in a plane crash because our fire trucks did not have water. I grew up under repressive military governments that devalued education, so that sometimes my parents were not paid their salaries. And so, as a child, I saw jam disappear from the breakfast table, then margarine disappeared, then bread became too expensive, then milk became rationed. And most of all, a kind of normalized political fear invaded our lives.All of these stories make me who I am. But to insist on only these negative stories is to flatten my experience, and to overlook the many other stories that formed me. The single story creates stereotypes. And the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity.I would like to end with this thought: That when we reject the single story, when we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise. Thank you.Home ListeningStereotypes: Being Content with MyselfBy Kamaal MajeedWhy don‘t you act black? Since my middle school years, I‘ve been asked this question more than any other. It seems to me that too many people have what society1) programs intotheir brains, what should be expected of me, a black person, before ever interacting with me. But I believe in being who I am, not who others want me to be.On my first day of high school, going into math class, two of my classmates pointed and laughed at me. I initially thought my fly was open, or that something was 2) stuckin my teeth. But as I took my seat, I heard one of the students whisper, why is a black person taking honors? So my fly wasn‘t open. An 3) honors-level classhad simply been joined by a student whose skin was an unsettling shade of brown.Many people think that my clothes should be big enough for me to live in, or expect me to listen exclusively to black music. In seventh grade, a group of my peers4) fixed their cold stareson my outfit. Cargo shorts and a plain, fitting T-shirt. They 5) called out to me, go get some gangster clothes, white boy.I am now in my junior year of high school. I still take all of the honors courses. My wardrobe still 6) consists solely ofclothes that are appropriate to my proportions. My music library spans from rock to pop to techno, and almost7) everything in between. When it comes to choosing my friends, I am still8) colorblind. I continue to do my best work in school in order to reach my goals. And yet, when I look in the mirror, I still see skin of that same shade of brown.My skin color 9) has done nothing to change my personality, and my personality has done nothing to change my skin color.I believe in being myself. I believe that I — not any stereotype — should10) define who I am and what actions I take in life.UNIT 3 CopyrightscyiptThe recent blockbuster Avatar is one among a string of new movies to come out during a period being called the ―3D renaissance‖. But has the 3D for mat cut down on the amount of movie piracy as Hollywood hopes? It doesn‘t look like it.―While Hollywood claims 3D movies will slow piracy, they are only partially right,‖ said Chris Chinnock, president of a U.S.-based marketing research and consulting firm. He said if pirates try to use a regular video camcorder to record 3D films, it would result in the images coming back in double. However, those with knowledge of video equipment can get around the 3D deterrent, he said.Chinnock‘s assess ment seems to hold true. More than a week before Avatar was set forits China release, copies of it were shelved in pirated DVD shops throughout Beijing.He also speculated that the lack of impact on the pirate market might be because the film was also released in 2D. The problem with releasing a film strictly in 3D is that many theaters, in both the U.S. and China, are not equipped to handle the new technology. China has roughly 200 mainland theaters equipped to show 3D films. Less availability for movie-goers means more devious minds finding alternative ways to watch blockbusters.Hurvitz of the foreign counsel for intellectual property law firm Kangxin Partners PC pointed out that while filming in the cinema is one of the biggest and easiest ways to contribute to pirated films, there are hundreds of people with industry ‗ins‘ willing to pass along exclusive copies of the film for big bucks.Still the problem persists and, while stringent laws are in place, neither the Chinese gove rnment nor the U.S. filming industry knows what to do. ―They‘re snuck out of the studios, sent overseas, duplicated a million times and then sold on the streets,‖ Hurvitz said.ScriptAnchorThe Motion Picture Association of America, which represents Hollywood‘s major studios, has put aside 150,000 US dollars to reward informers whose tips lead to raids on DVD factories in Asia. But as Mike Chanoi reports in this week‘s ―Look at the Business of Film‖, movie piracy still runs rampant in Asia.Mike Chanoi, CNN correspondentAt a plant near Taipei, InfoDisk is pumping out CDs and DVDs, tens of millions of them. The company is the largest legitimate producer of such products in Taiwan. Its major clients –MGM and Warner Bros. But these days, the label ―Made in Taiwan‖ has acquired a new meaning. The island has become one of Asia‘s leading centers of copyright piracy. A huge underground trade fueled by organized crime, ineffective government and a public more interested in cheap pr oducts than legal ones. Chu Y en Ping is one of Taiwan‘s leading movie directors.Chu Y en Ping―We work hard to shoot a film, but it doesn‘t sell because the pirates get there first.‖MikeBy some estimates, legitimate sales account for barely half of all the movies and music available in Taiwan. The rest is pirated. Even greater quantities of fake goods are exported, to markets from Southeast Asia to South America. The loss, just for American entertainment companies, is believed to be over 750 million dollars a year.ScriptRichard Vuylsteke, American Chamber of CommerceThis is on the front burner of our agenda. And I think a lot of companies will be reexamining their investments in this part of the world, if in fact this issue is not solved forthwith.MikeNight markets like these are at the center of the trade, which thrives in part, because under Taiwan law piracy isn‘t considered a quote, public crime. That is, police are powerless to seize fakes and arrest those involved, unless the copyright holders collect evidence and file a complaint. That job falls to men like these. Private investigators for the Motion Picture Association, who wanted their identities disguised for their own safety. ―It‘s dangerous work,‖ says one investigator. ―These criminal organizations have guns and knives. If you get in their way,you could be attacked.‖MikeThe situation is so bad that top Asian movie and music stars have marched to demand action. The US government, which has placed Taiwan on a copyright piracy watch list, has also stepped up the pressure.Lu W en-HsiangPiracy is not something we can wipe out overnight, we have to do it gradually.MikeBut with losses and complaints mounting almost as fast as legitimate manufacturers turn out discs, the Taiwan legislature now looks set to toughen anti-piracy laws. The critics though, are waiting to see the results. Mike Chanoi, CNN, Taipei.ScriptWhen Dan Brown‘s blockbuster novel ―The Lost Symbol‖ hit stores in September, it may have offered a peek at the future of bookselling.On , the book sold more digital copies for the Kindle e-reader in its first few days than hardback editions. However, less than 24 hours after its release, pirated digital copies of the novel were found on file-sharing sites like Rapidshare. Within days, it had been downloaded for free more than 100,000 times.Digital piracy, long confined to music and movies, is spreading to books. And as electronic reading devices such as Amazon‘s Kindle and the Sony Reader boost demand for e-books, experts say the problem may only get worse. Digital theft may pose a big headache in 2010 for the slumping publishing industry, which relies increasingly on electronic reading devices and e-books to stimulate sales.Piracy is a serious issue for publishers. The company that publishes Stephenie Meyer‘s wildly popular ―Twilight‖ teen-vampire series says it ―considers copyr ight protection to be of paramount importance.‖ Authors are concerned as well. ―With the open-source culture on the Internet, the idea of ownership --- of artistic ownership --- goes away,‖ said novelist and poet Sherman Alexie last month. ―It terrifies me.‖As to how to combat e-book piracy, views vary. Some publishers have tried to minimize theft by delaying releases of e-books for several weeks after physical copies go on sale. Some authors have even gone as far as to shrug off e-book technology altogether.However, some evidence suggests that authors‘ and publishers‘ claims of damage from illegal piracy may be overstated. Recent statistics have shown that consumers who purchase an e-reader buy more books than those who stick with traditional bound volumes. Amazon reports that Kindle owners buy, on average, 3.1 times as many books on the site as other customers. ScriptGoogle wants to be the repository of all of the world‘s information. For five years, users have been able to read classic books that are out of copyright along with shorter previews of more recent titles. But then Google started to scan the full text of millions of books that are out of print but are still in copyright. After a lawsuit in the U.S., it has agreed to a $125 million settlement, sharing sales of books with authors and the rights agency to settle copyright disputes and giving authors just until last Friday to opt out of the service.Now Google wants to bring this model to Europe, today telling a European commission hearing that they want to give new life to old works.Santiago De La Mora, Director, Google Book Partnerships―Win for the authors and publishers who are able to showcase their content, win for us because we‘re satisfying our use rs and of course from the user point of view, much more access, easy access to the world‘s information and our universal heritage.‖But Google‘s U.S. model might not work across the ponds. There, all books published before 1923 are outside copyright, but in Europe books remain in copyright until 70 years after the death of the author.Benjamin Cohen, ITN Technology Correspondent―One day, Google might have scanned as many books as you‘ll find here on theScriptshelves at the British Librar y. And Google is one of the major players in the online books‘ market and they‘ve achieved this primarily because they started scanning books before ever asking the permission of authors, publishers or other rights holders.‖That ultimately led to the U.S. out of court settlement which the Europeans say has given Google an effective monopoly.Jessica Sanger, German Publishers and Booksellers Assoc.―Google is being rewarded for breaking the law in the first place for doing something that wa s at first not permissible and is now gaining an advantage through such actions.‖Simon Bell, Head of Partnerships, British Library―The monopoly, something that concerns the British library, and it concerns everybody else really that‘s in the information world.‖Today, France supported Germany in a court submission which said that the U.S. settlement will have a dramatic and long-range effect of creating a new worldwide copyright regime as it has a hint of an uncontrolled, authoritarian concentration of power. But until an agreement can be reached with the EU, European visitors will be blocked from accessing the books under dispute although there are simple online services just one Google search away that will allow users to circumnavigate the blocks.Home ListeningIndian Film Industry, Bollywood, Steps Up Fight Against PiracyThe Indian Hindi language movie industry - popularly known as Bollywood - is stepping up its fight against film piracy both at home and overseas. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, Bollywood films lose billions of dollars because of infringement of copyright laws.In a busy market in Central Delhi, 1) ___pirated____ CDs and DVDs of popular Hindi movies produced by the Mumbai-based Bollywood film industry are freely available. Ask a shop owner for DVDs of the 2) ___latest____ Hindi movie hits and he produces them from under the counter. A quick 3) __bargain_____ drives down the price from two dollars to just a dollar and a half.A recent study 4) ___estimates_____ that India‘s entertainment industry loses $4 billion, and 800,000 jobs, each year, because of piracy. These losses are not 5) ___unique____ to India. Piracy is also a growing problem in Western countries, like the United States and Britain, which are home to large Indian 6) ____populations_______. Film Federation of India Secretary Supran Sen says tens of thousands of people in these countries buy 7) __illegal______ DVDs of Hindi films. He says these are easily available in smallretail stores, usually owned by Indians.The Western markets have become so big that Bollywood film producers are 8) ____basing____ some of their biggest blockbusters on Indians living overseas. In Mumbai, Komal Nahata, publisher of a Bollywood trade magazine called ―Film Information‖ noted that in some cases, 9) ______the overseas market is almost as huge as the Indian market__________________________ ____________________.The huge scale of the problem has prompted Bollywood to step up the fight against piracy both at home and overseas. On a recent visit to Washington, Indian filmmakers urged American enforcement agencies to help plug the losses suffered by them. An advocacy group, 10) _____the U.S.-India Business Council, and Americanfilm companies are collaborating with Bollywood to combat piracy by raisingawareness of the problem with American authorities__________________________________.UNIT 4Secrets to Win the Chinese MarketscriptChina has changed enormously over the last 20 years. Its economy has been growing at 10% a year. Today, 80% of the world‘s electronic goods are made in China. As a result, more and more western companies want to do business in China. But how easy is it for a westerner to do business there? Here are some tips from the British Embassy in Beijing.Build relationships. In the west, it‘s usual to do business first, and then see if a relationship is possible. In China, it‘s the opposite. Y ou need to build a relationship before you can do bus iness. This leads to the idea of ‗guanxi’. Guanxi means using personal contacts and relationships to do business, and westerners need to understand how real and strong this is in China.It can also be useful to find a reliable Chinese ally to work with you. He or she will be able to help with language or cultural problems and will also be able to understand Chinese body language.Y ou must remember to respect ‗face‘. ‗Face‘ means having high status with your peers. ‗Face‘ can be lost, given or e arned. Never criticize or insult someone in front of others, as losing face will make it impossible to make a deal. On the other hand, if you praise someone by saying good things about him or her, then he or she will gain face, but be careful not to do it too much.All these tricks of the trade can help you to play the game and do business successfully in China. Be prepared, and be patient if you want to be a winner in China.ScriptSam Goodman: By far, the most common is not doing your homework, which, of course, is the whole reason why I wrote Where East Eats West. Because, you know, it‘s not, because it‘s not China books out there. But it‘s not so much that people, everyone can start with millions of dollars or huge corporation behind them. And so what I wanted to do is sort of lay out all the China rookie mistakes that people make. I mean, that‘s, you know, that was the whole purpose of it all within chapters, you know, under three pages long. Y ou know, really, Where East Eats West is for the person who is on the ground and in the trenches, not so much in the boardroom. I mean, specifically, I guess you would say that a lot of the foreigners come here, and they over-mystifyconcepts like ―face‖ or guanxi. Guanxi is really nothing more than your network or your connections. But on the other side of the things, it‘s really underestimating exactly how important both face and guanxi are to doing business in China.ScriptCNN’s Pauline Chiou: A lot of people look at China as a huge market with 1.3 billion people there. But in your book, you actually say don‘t look at China as one market. What do you mean by that?Sam: Well, again, like you said, China is a huge market. Geographically speaking, it‘s bigger than Europe. So most people would not think of going, this is my Europe strategy, in order to come in, and we‘re going to just succeed in this way. Y ou got to understand that China, again, as a vast country has its own nuances. So if you are going to be targeting your market in Shanghai, it‘s going to be very different than if you are going to be in a second or even in a third tier city. And of course, there‘s gonna to be differences in terms of whether it is in the north or in the south, or in the west, or in the east, or again, in the first tier, seco nd tier cities, which, if you don‘t know the differences between the first and second tier cities, you need to do some more homework to understand that.Pauline:Tell us a little bit more about first tier cities and second tier cities, what are they and what is corporate life like in those different tiers.ScriptSam: Okay, that‘s a big question. Let‘s see. First tier cities would be, I guess, what you used to call the most cosmopolitan, the most advanced if you will, the most international. Beijing, Sha nghai, Guangzhou are considered first tier cities. Those are the ones where you‘ll see the most number of western brands. And of course, in that sense, if you are a small entrepreneur, that‘s where you are gonna find the most amount of competition. So if you are doing business from a corporate setting, a lot of the people tend to be in these first tier cities. And of course, now they are expanding into the second tier cities, and some of them are even venturing into the third tier cities.I personally think that the most challenging aspect and therefore the most opportunities are going to be in your second and third tier cities. And you need to understand as a westerner coming to China, that the way of doing business from a corporate setting in the first tier city is going to be very similar to what you are gonna see on the international stage. But as soon as you step out of the corporate setting and go into a second or third tier city, that‘s where it becomes much more the wild wild west in the East.Pauline: And if you are in that wild wild west of the East, how severely disadvantaged are you if you do not speak Mandarin Chinese? Y ou yourself are fluent, so I imagine that‘s very helpful. But if you are a westerner wanting to go into that second or third tier city, do you really need to learn Mandarin Chinese?Sam:Well, I guess the best way I can explain this is when you‘re thinking of a language, it‘s really a tool to communicate. And the more tools that you have that you can use in your utility belt, the m ore chance you have of actually succeeding. Is it critical? That‘s difficult to say. If you are going to be a CEO coming into a second or third tier city, then I would have to say it‘s not necessary to have the language. But if you are a small entrepreneur, you are gonna be building everything from the ground up, not having a language is certainly gonna make it a lot more。

Unit4PartBHow to Use an OHPM: I want to use the overhead projector for my presentation. Could you show me how to use it?W: OK, let me show you. Just watch what I do. I... I'll talk you through the procedure.M: Thanks.W: Right, well. First of all, you put the OHP on the table here, about 2 meters from the wall or the screen. Er...do you have a screen?M: Er...no. I thought I'd just use the wall.W: Oh, er...well, a screen's better, but I suppose this wall will be all right. It is sort of white. Anyway, let's try it. So, the next thing you have to do is press these buttons in and lift this part up until it snaps into place.M: I see.W: And then turn it round so the head is facing towards the screen, I mean the wall, and now we can plug it in.M: Right, and you switch it on?W: Yeah. Then I press the switch here on the front...M: Right.W: There! And the light should come on.M: Right, OK.W: Yeah, there we are. So, you just place your transparency here on the glass.M: OK, there, oh!W: Oh, no! No, the other way up.M: Oh yes, of course.W: That's right, yeah. And to raise or lower the image you move this flap up or down... There, that's better.M: Right, OK.W: And finally, to focus the image you turn this wheel to make it sharp. There we are, that's not too bad.M: Oh, that's great, yeah. OK, thanks.W: Oh, one more thing: whatever you do, don't keep switching it on and off. I'm going to switch it off now. Now, when you use it in your presentation, you should leave it switched on, with a piece of paper over the glass.M: Right, I...er... I don't understand why you have to leave it on.W: Well, the reason why you have to do that is that you don't want the bulb to fail. The bulb fails easily if the machine is on and off frequently. If it does, you'll have to replace the bulb, which will be very hot and you may not have a spare anyway. So that's about it. Any questions?M: Erm...no, that seems all very clear. Thank you very much.W: You're welcome. Oh, and I really do think you need to get a screen, by the way. The picture would be much brighter than on that wall, you know.M: Oh, OK. Well, I'll ask Jim if he's got one.W: Oh, good idea! And make sure he shows you how to put it up!M: I will. Thanks again.PartCAdditional ListeningsHow to Send an E-mailM: I would like to send an e-mail to a friend of mine. Could you tell me how to do it?W: Certainly. First, you choose the e-mail program on your computer and click New Message.M: All right.W: OK? Well, then you start typing the name of the recipient. The program remembers the name and completes the e-mail address. Well, if not, you look up the name in the address book or contact list. OK? Well, if you want other people to get copies of the same message, you send them 'CCs', which are copies of the message. OK? Then you press Return on the keyboard and then you type the subject of the message. Now, there's no need to put the date because that goes in automatically when you send the message, together with the time. OK?M: Oh, yeah.W: Well, then you press Return again and start writing the message. Now, if you make a mistake, you just press Backspace to delete the previous letter or word and then type it again correctly.M: I see.W: Now, when you've finished, you read the whole message through to make sure it looks right and contains the right information. Now, if you decide you want to change sentences around, you can copy sentences and paste them in other places.M: And...er...er...how about spelling and punctuation, er...that can be corrected automatically, can't it?W: Well, yes and no. You can run your spell checker and that may bring up some mis-typings and things like that. But it definitely won't catch them all, so you must read it through to check your spelling, too. And check your punctuation at the same time. Now if you notice a misspelt word, or if you want to change a word or something like that, double-click on the word and type the new word over it.M: Fine. That's easy.W: Hmm. And then it's ready to send. You just click on Send and it'll go off immediately. And the other person will find your message in their Inbox when they next go online to get their messages.M: Right. Well, that sounds much easier than handwriting a message and faxing it.W: Sure it does.Questions:1. Where does the computer store the e-mail addresses of your friends?2. What does "CCs" stand for? When do you use "CCs"?3. What can you do if you want to change sentences around?4. What can you do if you want the computer to check mis-typings?5. What do you do if you want to change a word?PartDLayout of a LetterAs we go through, I'm going to tell you the layout of a formal letter in English -- you might want to note this information down on a separate piece of paper. OK, the first thing is to write the sender's address in the top right-hand corner. OK. This has a set order with the number of the house or flat followed by the name of the street; and then underneath that, perhaps the district if it's a big town, then under that the name of the town or city, with the postcode. And it's now common, quite acceptable, to write all this without any punctuation at all. And the address -- please write it now in the top right-hand corner -- is 12 Greenwood Avenue.And the next line is West Ealing (that's E-A-L-I-N-G). Next line: London W5-then a small gap -- 6RJ. London W5 6RJ.Now leave a line, and then write the date directly underneath the address. Now you can do this in several different ways. You can put 10 September, or September 10, or just 10 dot 9 dot 2003. So use one of these methods and put today's date in the correct place.And now, if you want, you could write the address of the person you are writing to. If you do that, you put it on the left-hand side of the paper, and you would usually start the address at roughly the same level as the date which is on the right-hand side.The next thing we write is the salutation. Our letter is to Sean White, and we begin Dear Mr. White -- please note exactly where it goes.Now, if you don't know the person's name you just put Dear Sir, or Dear Madam, or Dear Sir or Madam. In an informal letter you still use "Dear", but you start with the person's first name -- for example, Dear Maria or Dear Stephen or whatever.And at the end of the letter you sign off "Yours sincerely" -- capital "Y", but small "s". Socould you write that now at the end of the letter, leaving a line first?Now, we put "sincerely" if we know the name of the person that we are writing to. But if you don't know the name, the traditional ending is "Yours faithfully". Now, this is the custom in Britain, although it is true to say that not everyone keeps to it, and I think in America they use different endings -- for example, they may finish a letter with "Truly yours".OK, if you are writing to a friend, then it's usually something like "best wishes", or often "love" if it's a member of your family or a very close friend, but not so common between two friends who are men. After the ending, in this case "Yours sincerely", leave a line, and then put your signature directly underneath. If your name is Maria Lee, write M. Lee underneath "Yours sincerely" Then type your full name below your signature. So do that now -- write your signature at the end of the letter. And that's it.Questions:1. According to the speaker, what should be included in the sender's address in a formal letter in English?2. Which of the following is not an acceptable way to date an English letter?3. What does the speaker say about addressing the receiver in a formal letter if we don't know the person's name?4. What does the speaker say about the ways to end a letter?5. When is it not advisable to end a letter with the word "love"?6. What is usually placed below the writer's signature at the end of a letter?。

全新版大学英语听说教程第四册听力原文（Part B，C 部分）Unit 1Part BBirthday Celebrations Around the WorldChairman: Welcome to this special birthday edition of One World. Yes, folks, we've been on the air for exactly one year now, and we thought it would be a nice idea to have a special program dedicated to birthday celebrations around the world. With us in the studio tonight we have Shaheen Hag and Pat Cane, who have a weekly column on birthdays in the Toronto Daily Star.Shaheen: Good evening.Pat: Good evening.Chairman: Shaheen, perhaps we could begin with you. How are birthdays celebrated in India?Shaheen: Well, perhaps we're all assuming that everyone in the world celebrates their birthday. This just isn't the case. Low-income families in India, for instance, simply can't afford any festivities. And most Muslims don't celebrate their birthdays.Pat: I think Shaheen has raised an interesting point here.The Christian church, too, was actively against celebrating birthdays, and in any case most people, until a couple of hundred years ago, couldn't even read and wouldn't have even been able to spot their birthday on a calendar anyway.Shaheen: Of course some Muslims do celebrate their birthdays. In Egypt, Turkey and Indonesia, for example, the rich people invite friends and families around. But not in small villages.Chairman: Here in England your twenty-first used to be the big one. But now it seems to have moved to eighteen. Is that true?Pat: Yes, in most parts of the West eighteen is now the most important birthday. In Finland, for example, eighteen is the age when you can vote, you know, or buy wines, drive a car and so on. But in Japan I think you have to wait till you're twenty before you can smoke or drink.Shaheen: I know in Senegal, which is another Muslim country, girls get to vote at sixteen and boys at eighteen. And in Bangladesh, girls at eighteen and boys at twenty-one. Chairman: That's interesting. I mean is it typical that around the world girls are considered to be more mature thanboys?Shaheen: Yes, I think so, and there are some countries, particularly in South America, which have a big party only for girls. In Mexico and Argentina, for example, they have enormous parties for 15-year-old girls.Pat: You know in Norway they have a great party for anyone who's not married by the time they're thirty. It's kind of embarrassing. I mean you get pepper thrown at you. Chairman: Pepper? Why pepper?Pat: I'm not really sure.Shaheen: So does that mean that on your 29th birthday you can start thinking 'God I better get married'?Pat: Well, I'm not sure how seriously they take it. Chairman: In England we have quite big parties for your fortieth, fiftieth, sixtieth and so on.Pat: Well, in Japan your eighty-eighth is considered ... Chairman: Eighty-eighth?Pat: ... to be the luckiest birthday. Eight is a very lucky number in Japan.Part CUnit 2Part BLast Gasp for SmokersIt was a normal day and in their New York office, Ken and his colleagues stopped for their coffee break. But while his colleagues were able to sit at their desks and drink their coffee, Ken had to go outside. He couldn't stay inside, because he wanted to smoke. If the smokers of the Big Apple want to enjoy a cigarette, the authorities have decided they must go out into the street or up onto the rooftops. Throughout the United States, the number of places where people are allowed to smoke has gradually dwindled. First it was banned on trains, buses, and planes, then in public places such as theaters and airports. Now you can't smoke in any workplace. Nonsmokers are definitely winning the battle. "Why should we breathe their smoke?" they say. If they're lucky, smokers can still find some bars and restaurants or parks and recreation centers where they can light up a cigarette, but it may soon be banned there, too. In fact, smoking in parks and recreation centers is already banned in California. On August 9, 2019, Los Angeles City and County officials announced the implementation of a smoke-free park policy, officially designating smoke-free zones in all 375 parks and recreation centers in the city.And since January 1, 2019 all parks in California have become smoke-free to safeguard children from the harmful effects of secondhand tobacco smoke and dangerous tobacco waste. Anti-smoking groups even think that smoking ought to be banned in people's homes. Under new plans you won't be able to smoke in any house where there are more than ten visitors in a week, or where there are children.In 1996, nicotine was classed as a drug, like cannabis, cocaine or heroin. And scientists all over the world agree that exposure to secondhand smoke poses a serious health risk and there is no safe level of exposure. It is especially dangerous for children because when they are exposed to tobacco smoke, they have much higher rates of lung diseases such as bronchitis and pneumonia and are also at greater risks of developing asthma.In the country that gave tobacco to the world, smoking might one day be illegal. And then Ken will have to give up.Part CUnit 3Part BHow Our Memory WorksTry to imagine a life without a memory. It would be impossible. You couldn't use a language, because you wouldn't remember the words. You couldn't understand a film, because you need to hold the first part of the story in your mind in order to understand the later parts. You wouldn't be able to recognize anyone - even members of your own family. You would live in a permanent present. You would have no past and you wouldn't be able to imagine a future. Human beings have amazing memories. Apart from all our personal memories about our own lives, we can recall between 20,000 and 100,000 words in our own language as well as possibly thousands more in a foreign language. We have all sorts of information about different subjects such as history, science, and geography, and we have complex skills such as driving a car or playing a musical instrument. All these things and countless others depend on our memory. How well you remember things depends on many different factors. Firstly, some people naturally have better memories than others, in just the same way as some people are taller than others, or have different color eyes. Some top chess players, for example, can remember every move of every game that they have ever seen or played.Secondly, research shows that different things are stored in different parts of the brain. Ideas, words, and numbers are stored in the left-hand side, while the right-hand side remembers images, sounds, and smells. In most people one side of the brain is more developed than the other, and this may explain why some people can remember people's faces easily, but can't remember their names. Thirdly, we all remember exciting, frightening, or dramatic events more easily. This is because these experiences produce chemicals such as adrenaline, which boost your memory. They say that anyone who is old enough to remember knows exactly where they were on Tuesday, September 11, 2019, when radio and TV programs around the world were interrupted with the shocking news that the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York were hit.Fourthly, the context in which you learn something can affect how well you remember it. Tests on divers, for example, showed that when they learned things underwater, they could also remember those things best when they were underwater.Lastly, the more often you recall a memory the more likely you are to remember it. If you don't use it, you'lllose it. A telephone number that you dial frequently will stay in your memory easily, but you will probably have to write down one that you use only now and again.Part CUnit 4Part BEmbarrassing ExperiencesInterviewer: Rob, you went to Brazil, didn't you?Rob: Yes, I did.Interviewer: So, what happened?Rob: Well, I went into this meeting and there were about, er... seven or eight people in there and I just said 'Hello' to everybody and sat down. Apparently, what I should have done is to go round the room shaking hands with everyone individually. Well, you know, it's silly of me because I found out later it upset everyone. I mean, I think they felt I was taking them for granted.Kate: Well, I know that because when I was in France the first time, I finished a meeting , with 'Goodbye, everyone!' to all the people in the room. There were about half a dozen people there but I was in a hurry to leave, so I just said that and left. Well, I later found out thatwhat I should have done is shake hands with everyone in the group before leaving. Now, apparently, it's the polite thing to do.Interviewer: Well, people shake hands in different ways, don't they?Rob: Oh, yes, that's right, they do. See, normally I shake hands quite gently when I meet someone. So when I went to the US for the first time, I think people there thought my weak handshake was a sign of weakness. Apparently, people there tend to shake hands quite firmly.Kate: Oh, gosh, you know, that reminds me: on my first trip to Germany, it was a long time ago, I was introduced to the boss in the company when he passed us in the corridor. Well, I wasn't prepared, and I mean, I had my left hand in my pocket. And when we shook hands I realized my left hand was still in my pocket. Well, that was, you know, very bad manners and I was quite embarrassed.Interviewer: And how about using first names? Have you made any mistakes there?Rob: Oh, yes, I have! When I first went to Italy I thought it was OK to use everyone's first name so as to seem friendly. And I later discovered that in business you shouldn't usesomeone's first name unless you are invited to. Oh, and you should always use their title as well.Kate: Hm, yeah, well, when I met people in Russia, you know, they seemed to be puzzled when I shook hands with them and said 'How do you do?' Well, what they do when they greet a stranger is to say their own names, so I had that all wrong!Rob: Oh, yes, I agree with that. Remembering names is very important.Interviewer: Shall we take a break? When we come back we'll move on to our next topic.Kate & Rob: OK.Part CUnit 5 FriendshipPart BThe Hospital WindowJack and Ben, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. Jack, whose bed was next to the room's only window, was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. But Ben had to spend all day and night flat on his bed. To kill time the two men began to talk. They talked for hours about theirwives, families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, and where they had been on vacation. As days went by, a deep friendship began to develop between them.Every afternoon when Jack could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to Ben all the things he could see outside the window. And Ben began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees beautified the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.As Jack described all this in exquisite detail, Ben would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scenes. One warm afternoon Jack described a parade passing by. Although Ben couldn't hear the band -- he could see it in his mind's eye as Jack portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed. One morning the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find thelifeless body of Jack, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.Ben was heart broken. Life without Jack was even more unbearable. How he longed to hear Jack's voice and his melodious descriptions of the outside world! As he looked at the window, an idea suddenly occurred to him. Perhaps he could see for himself what it was like outside. As soon as it seemed appropriate, Ben asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself! He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall!'What could have compelled my roommate to describe such wonderful things outside this window?' Ben asked the nurse when she returned.'Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you to live on,' she said. 'You know, he was blind and could not even seethe wall.' Part C。

Unit 1Dr. Zhang: What’s so funny Lisa?Lisa: Ha, ha! I’ve just read an article about a Scottish tourist who had his passport stolen in New Zealand, by a parrot.Dr. Zhang: A parrot? A bird? That’s impossible! Are you pulling my leg?Lisa: No, I am dead serious: it’s a true story!Dr. Zhang: What happened?Lisa: According to the article, the Scottish tourist had put his passport in a little bright bag. But the brightness of the bag drew the attention of a parrot, which swooped down, grabbed it, and flew away!Dr. Zhang: Oh my! The poor tourist! What’s he going to do?Lisa: Well, he can’t travel home. In fact, he will now have to spend an extra six weeks in New Zealand.Dr. Zhang: Six weeks?Lisa: Yeah. The article says that’s how long it will take him to get his passport renewed.Dr. Zhang: How inconvenient!Lisa: Indeed. That’s why, when I travel, I always keep important documents in a safe in my hotel room. I would never lose an ID card or passport!Lisa: Tina, I am in a panic. I can’t find my ID card .I’ve lost it! Tina: It’s probably just misplaced. I am sure it will turn up.Lisa: No it won’t. I’ve looked everywhere for it .it’s nowhere to be found. I think I somehow threw the card out with the rubbish. I did a big house clean on Sunday and may have gotten a bit careless.Oh my, what have I done?Tina: Lisa, take it easy .it’s not the end of the world! You’ll just have to get it replaced.Lisa: How? Will I be fined?Tina: No, of course not. It’s a simple two-step process. I had to do it last year. The first thing is to report the card lost or stolen to your local police station.Lisa: That’s fairly straightforward. Then what?Tina: Take a copy of the police report to the Public Security Bureau opposite the National Library. They will issue a new card immediately.Lisa: That’s it?Tina: That’s it.Lisa: So I’ll have a new card by the end of the week?Tina: Yep. It’s no big deal, really.Lisa: You’re a star. Thanks for the help!Tina: No worries.Unit2Jack: Eric, I hope I meet the woman of my dreams sooner rather than later. I want to settle down and have a family before I am thirty.Eric: Well, I’ve always thought that you and Rachel would make a wonderful couple!Jack: Rachel? She’d never go for me.Eric: I wouldn’t be so sure. You should see the way she looks at you.What year were you born in?Jack: What year was I born in? What’s that got to do with anything?Eric: Lots. The year you were born says a great deal about your personality and who you would be compatible with as a mate.Jack: You’re kidding, right?Eric: No. I am perfectly serious.Jack: I was born in 1985.Eric: That’s the year of the ox. That makes sense, because you’re down to earth, caring and loyal, just like ox people. Are you aware that Rachel was born in 1987?Jack: Yes, I am, but what’s your point?Eric: That’s the year of the rabbit.Rabbit people are usually sweet natured, sociable and romantic.Jack: Just like Rachel…Eric: You know, it is said that an ideal match for a rabbit is an ox…Cindy: Lisa, you’re such an extroverted person, while I am much more introverted. You’re outgoing, whereas I am soft spoken. You’re very social, while I am very reserved. What do you think it is that makes our personalities so different? After all, we’re sisters!Lisa: I think it all has to do with the nature versus nurture debate?Cindy: Nature versus nurture?Lisa: Yes, some scientists think that people are born with their personalities. That’s the “nature” theory of human behavior. Other scientists claim that the environment people grow up in shapes their personalities. That’s the “nurture”theory of human behavior.Cindy: Hm. Interesting. I tend to think that the environment determines a person’s character. I guess that means I subscribe to the “nurture” theory.Lisa: Me too. I suppose that’s why we are so different. We went to different schools, you played sports while I studied music, and we hung out with different types of friends.Cindy: Nonetheless, I do think nature plays a role in shaping personality too. After all, we’re both intelligent, talented in what we do and very caring towards others. These are probably all traits that we inherited.Lisa: Maybe. I am no expert. The important thing to me is that we get along so well, enjoy being together and love each other.Cindy: You’re right. I couldn’t ask for a better sister!Unit3Tina: This is Tina Lin from HTN news, and we are with Rachel Wu today, a student of Feminist Studies. Rachel, would you say that there is true equality in our society between men and women?Rachel: That's a good question. On the whole, in most areas, I believe we can speak about real equality between men and women, and that is a very clear sign of social progress. However, the wage gap is still a significant problem women still earn a lot less money than men who have the same jobs.Tina: Can you give us a specific example of discriminatory wage practices based on sex?Rachel: Most certainly. Research shows that male health professionals, such as doctors and administrators, earn twice as much as female workers doing the same jobs full-time.Tina: Twice as much! That must be an extreme case.Rachel: Yes, on average, the pay gap is just under 10%. An example of such a gap would be hotel management. Male hotel managers generally earn 9.8% more than their female counterparts.Tina: Is there any reason to believe things will improve?Rachel: Yes, there is. In fact, the situation is getting better as we speak. 10 years ago, the pay gap was 16.2%. So in the last decade, there has been an improvement of over 6% 'this shows that our society is headed in the right direction.Tina: Rachel, thank you for speaking with us today.Rachel: You're very welcome.Mary: I am reading a compelling book right now. It's called Fire with Fire.Dan: Who's the author?Mary: Naomi Wolf.Dan: Never heard of her.Mary: She is a feminist writer. Female empowerment is one of the major themes of the book.Dan: Really? In what way?Mary: She wants all women to have a voice that is heard. Like most feminists, she believes in gender equality and equal opportunities for women.Dan: How about you: are you a feminist?Mary: I am in the sense that I support the idea of men and women having equal rights. I am also sensitive to how language sometimes discriminates against women.Dan: Language discriminates?Mary: Yes, you know, people often use terms like businessman, policeman or salesman'.Dan: What's wrong with that?Mary: It suggests that women can't do these jobs. Nondiscriminatory language would be terms like businessperson, police officer or sales representative'.Dan: Yes, I see. That language is much more gender neutral.Unit4Cindy: I just had a tiff with my father.Jane: Cindy, I'm sorry to hear that. What was it about?Cindy: He was asking me about my career plans and I told him that I want to be a housewife.Jane: A housewife? I'm somewhat surprised to hear you say that.I mean… why would you want to be a housewife?Cindy: Because I value family more than anything else. I guess I just want to spend my adult life making a warm and loving family home.Jane: So what was your father's reaction?Cindy: He got angry. He said he was wasting his money sending me to university if my intention is only to become a housewife.Jane: Do you think he has a point?Cindy: No, not in the least! I mean, I am extremely grateful that he is paying for my studies, but knowledge is priceless, it's the key to understanding the world around us. Besides, if I have children, I want to help educate them and get involved with their schooling. And who knows, maybe one day, I might decide that I want to work outside the home and I'll need a degree to show that I'm qualified.Jane: Well, if it's worth anything, I support you in your decision. My feeling is that people need to take on responsibilities that give meaning to their lives. Becoming a housewife will definitely give you this sense of purpose.Cindy: Thanks Jane. That means a lot to me. You're a good friend.Lisa: Did you realize that there is a meeting scheduled for 3:30 this afternoon?Tim: No, I didn't. Any reason given for the meeting?Lisa: Elsa wants to see what we can do to run a more successful department.Tim: That should be interesting. Our department is made up of seven men and eight women. My guess is that it will be hard for us to achieve a consensus because men and women define success very differently.Lisa: Isn't the idea of success more or less the same for everybody?Tim: Not according to an article I just read. It says that women see being successful at work as being a good team player and collaborator.Lisa: I would agree.Tim: Well, you are a woman!Lisa: Tell me about men then.Tim: Men, on the other hand, define being successful at work as being self-sufficient and achieving targets.Lisa: I would agree with that too an employee needs to be able to take initiative without always being told what to do. At the meeting, I think we need to aim to create a balance between men and women's views of success.Unit5Cindy: Julie’s asked me to go to her wedding — I am so excited!Jane: Julie is getting married — that’s great news! Please congratulate her on my behalf. What will you wear?Cindy: No idea: I can’t fit in to any of my fancy clothes. I need to lose weight immediately. Any suggestions?Jane: The recipe for weight loss is simple: exercise and a healthy diet.Cindy: But I can’t stand exercise! Whenever I go jogging I get bored after 5 minutes.Jane: Well, try to do fun things. There are many other ways to burn off fat. Get involved in team sports, like volleyball, or group exercise, like aerobics or even something like yoga.Cindy: I suppose I could try.Jane: I guess it depends on how much you want to fit into a nice dress!Cindy: Alright. I’ll do some exercise, but a diet, no way! I need my chocolate. Chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake, chocolate brownies ,it’s all so scrumptious! The idea of a diet depresses me.Jane: You don’t have to give up chocolate completely just don’t overdo it. When you get a craving, eat some fruit or have a salad. You’ll feel refreshed!Cindy: Easy for you to say. You’re not a chocoholic!Tim: Bob, you’re looking good. Have you been working out?Bob: Yeah, I’ve started this awesome exercise routine. I feel great!Tim: Well, you certainly look trim and fit. What’s the secret?Bob: Discipline and dedication. I make sure I stick to a routine.Tim: Can you walk me through it?Bob: Would love to. Every morning, before breakfast, I do some stretching to loosen up and make sure that I don’t pull any muscles during the day. Then I go for a 30-minute jog.Tim: I see what you mean by dedication. I can’t do anything before breakfast.Bob: Then, before lunch, I hit the gym and do some weight training and cardio work. It’s normally a 40-minute session.Tim: You must work up quite an appetite!Bob: I certainly do. Then, on my way home from work, I stop by the pool and go for a 1000-meter swim. Swimming is truly the best exercise: it works every muscle, including the heart, and is not hard on the joints.Tim: Well, your routine is impressive. In fact, if you keep it up, you could probably complete a triathlon.Bob: That’s my goal!Unit6Mary: What’s in that bag?Jack: A tent! I just bought it: I am going camping next month!Mary: Wow, how exciting! Where to?Jack: The Amazon. Mark and I are planning a 6-day hike through the rainforest. We’ll sleep in this tent every night, with the sounds of the jungle as background music.Mary: That has got to be the coolest camping trip ever. I’ve always wanted to explore the jungle! You'll see fascinating birds, reptiles and amphibians!Jack: I know. I’m actually afraid of snakes so hopefully we won’t come across too many of them! I am hoping we’ll see river dolphins from the shores of the Amazon.Mary: Oh yes! Pink Amazon river dolphins — those are incredible! Be sure to bring a camera.Jack: I will. I’ve actually bought a tripod so that I cantake good wildlife pictures.Mary: Great idea. Please do show me your shots when you get back.Jack: I will. I’ll make a slideshow and invite youover for a viewing and, hopefully, some great storytelling!Mary: I look forward to it!Jack: What exactly is ecotourism? It seems to be the latest travel buzzword.Eric: Indeed. Ecotravel, ecolodges, ecotourism all three terms are very popular in the travel industry nowadays. I myself am a big fan of ecotourism.Jack: So please tell me about it: I’m all ears!Eric: Well, let me begin with a question. On your view, what are some of the negative effects of tourism on travel destinations?Jack: Hmm. I guess there are two main drawbacks. The first thing is that tourism pollutes. I recently went to the seaside for the weekend, and couldn’t believe how much rubbish from travelers littered the beaches and sea... The second thing is that tourism sometimes disrupts the local cultures and practices.Eric: These two drawbacks a re are precisely what ecotourism wants to avoid. For example, TIES —The InternationalEcotourism Society promotes responsible travel to tourist areas. TIES wants travel to be environmentally friendly and help improve the well-being of local people.Jack: How can these improvements be made? Eric: By providing financial benefits and empowerment for local people, and by raising awareness on environmental and cultural issues that are important to them.Jack: I think that’s commendable. From now on, I will be an ecotourist!Unit7Cindy: Dr. Wang, do you have a moment? I would like to ask you for some advice.Dr. Wang: Of course, Cindy, what can I do for you?Cindy: I wanted to ask you about idioms. I have an IELTS test next month and the public IELTS descriptors show that I can get a higher score on the speaking test if I use idiomatic vocabulary.Dr. Wang: Well, using idioms isn’t always easy. But I could give you one or two that might be helpful.Cindy: I’d appreciate that.Dr. Wang: Hmm, let’s see …If you’re asked to describe yourself, you could answer that you’re a person who doesn’t like to cause problems by saying you don’t like to rock the boat.Cindy: Sure, I can remember that. Thank you...Do you have some other suggestions?Dr. Wang: Well, let me think.If you find something to be easy to do,you can say: it’s a piece of cake.Cindy: Oh yeah, I’ve heard that before.I’ll try to use that idiom during my test.I could say: speaking English is a pieceof cake! Ha, ha!Dr. Wang: Ha! Yes, that’s fine. Do make sure that you use these idioms in the appropriate context or they will not make sense.Cindy: I understand.I’ll practice lots during the next few weeks so that I get the hang of it!Simon: I am thinking of learning French.Sherly: Ah French, the language of romance and poetry...Simon: Yes, it is a beautiful language indeed.But I don’t want to become a French poet!I plan to learn French to increase my job prospects.Sherly: I don’t follow you.Simon: Well, I am very proud to say that I am bilingual. I speak Chinese and English. But in today’s world,to find a good job, it’s better to be trilingual.Sherly: Trilingual? You mean, speak three languages. Simon: Yes.Sherly: So why French then?Simon: It was a tough call I was thinking French or Spanish, but decided on French because I am interested in working in countries where it is spoken.Sherly: Like Canada, Switzerland and Belgium?Simon: Yes, and also places in Africa, like Senegal or Cameroon, or in Latin America, like Haiti.Sherly: I agree, those would be fascinating places to work in. Good luck!Unit8Jane: Hey Dan, thanks for freeing up time to help me.Dan: Don’t mention it Jane, it’s no problem at all... So what’s up?Jane: My sister wants to study in America next year but doesn’t know what admissions test to take: SAT or ACT. I thought maybe you could help because you started your university studies in Chicago.Dan: Yeah, of course I can help. Both tests are very different and measure different skills so I think the best choice comes down to what your sister is good at. Basically, depending on her strengths and weaknesses, she may perform much better on one test than the other.Jane: Well, she is good at science and wants to study Biology, maybe even Medicine.Dan: Hmm, it sounds to me like she should take the ACT.Jane: Why is that?Dan: It’s more geared towards science students it includes a science-reasoning test whereas the SAT doesn’t.Jane: That’s good to know. Who is the SAT better for then?Dan: It’s better for people interested in subjects that require good problem solving and critical thinking skills.Jane: Ah, I see so it’s a test you’d be good at because you’re an expert at solving problems, especially mine!Jane: I am so nervous, Cindy! I have my IELTS test tomorrow. Cindy: Nervous, you? You have nothing to be worried about. Jane: You’re just saying that to lift my spirits.Cindy: Jane, I am serious: you’ll be fine.Jane: What makes you so sure?Cindy: Well, to begin with, your listening skills are terrific, and you have no problems with spelling and grammar. So your listening test should go very smoothly.Jane: I hope so!Cindy: I also predict strong writing and reading scores. After all, your vocabulary is good and you are a coherent, logical thinker.Jane: Why all the compliments?Cindy: I am just being honest. You need to believe in yourself.Jane: It’s hard. I just get so stressed before tests. The IELTS interview terrifies me.Cindy: Jane, you are a fluent speaker, who expresses opinions clearly and supports them with good evidence. You will ace the interview!Jane: I sure hope you’re right. If you are, let’s celebrate by eating out!Cindy: Sure, it’s a deal!。

新编⼤学英语视听说教程4听⼒原⽂与答案视听说4 听⼒原⽂及答案Unit 1 Leisure activitiesPart 1 listening oneEver wish you could do magic tricks, or introduce yourself as “magician” at a party? Imagine, everybody wants to have fun, but nothings’ really happening, it’s time for you to show one of your ne w tricks. Here, you can learn how, and without any need for special materials or much practice.A trick with a coin, a handkerchief and a friend:Put the coin on your palm. Cover the coin with the handkerchief. Ask several people to put their hands beneath the handkerchief and feel the coin, to make sure that it is still there. Then take the corner of the handkerchief and pull it rapidly off your hand. The coin has gone! How? You must make sure the last friend who feels the coin knows the trick and removes the coin when he seems to be just feeling it. And nobody knows where it has gone!A trick with a piece of paper and a pencil:Tell your friend that you can communicate your thoughts without speaking to other people. Write on the piece of paper the word No. Don't let your friends see what you have written. Say, "Now I will communicate this word into your minds." Pretend to concentrate. Ask them if they know what is written on the paper. They will say, "No!" And you say, "Quite correct! I wrote No on the paper!"A trick with an egg and some salt:Ask your friends to stand the egg upright on the table. They won't manage to do it. Say that you can speak to the chicken inside. Say, "Chicken! Can you hear me? Get ready to balance your egg!"When you first get the egg back from your friends, pretend to kiss the egg at the base. Make the base wet. Then put the base into salt which is in your other hand. The salt will stick to the egg. Then put the egg on the table. Twist the egg around a few times as this will arrange the grains of salt. Then it will stand up. Don't forget to thank the chicken.Questions:1.What does the magician ask people to do in the first trick2.What happens to the coin?3.How does the magician prove that he can communicate histhoughts to the audience in the second trick?4.What is the first step to make the egg stand upright?5.What else is needed to make the egg stand upright?Keys: 1. B 2. C 3. C 4. A 5. DPart 1 listening two(The following is an interview from a weekly sports program.) Presenter: Good morning, listeners. Welcome to our weekly sports programaimed at all those underactive youngsters with time on their hands!Listen to what our two guests have to say about their hobbies andhow their hobbies have made a difference to their lives. Adriennefirst, then, Jonathan.Adrienne: I collect very interesting jewelry. I tend to travel a lot as most of my family do, so whenever I have a holiday, I like to go traveling.Whenever I travel somewhere, I like to pick up something to remindme of the place that I visited. And, the easiest thing to do is to pickup a small piece of jewelry instead of getting a poster or a T-shirtthat won’t last. I like the idea of having something small and also, Ifind whenever I wear jewelry from somew here, it’s a goodconversation piece. Usually people ask you, “Where did you getthis?” I then have a story to tell, and it’s a good way to meet and talkto people. It’s just interesting. I have jewelry that I picked up when Itraveled to Thailand, when I traveled to Africa and when I traveled toEurope.Presenter: Wow! Sounds nice. You’ll have to show your collections to us. Adrienne: I’d love to.Presenter: Thank you, Adrienne. Now Jonathan.Jonathan: I prefer canoeing because you've always got the water there for support. If you're a good swimmer, have a good sense of balanceand strong arms, you'll like canoeing! The main trouble istransporting your canoe to the right places—my father takes it onthe roof of the car—or sometimes I put it on the roof of the club’sLand Rover. What it has taught me most is to be independent. It'sjust you and the canoe against the wind, the weather and the water.It gives you a lot of self-confidence and it can be really exciting aslong as you don't mind getting soaked, of course! It makes you feelclose to nature somehow. Last year, when I was qualified, I began torun my own canoeing center.Presenter: So you are making your hobby work for you.Jonathan: People are usually very skilled at their hobbies. The combination of interest and skills is a very compelling reason to choose a particularcareer.Presenter: Then, Adrienne, do you have a similar plan?Adrienne: Yes, I love making beaded jewelry. I’ve decided to get some formal training. I want to learn how to be a jewelry designer. Questions:1. Who is the target audience in the program?2. What is Adrienne’s hobby?3. What does Adrienne usually buy when she visits a place?4. How does Jonathan benefit from canoeing?5. What should be the major concern in choosing a career according to Jonathan?Keys: 1. A 2. B 3. D 4. C 5. BPart 1 listening threeGerry: I've just been to see Gone with the Wind. It was fantastic. Well worth seeing. Have you ever seen it?Judy : No, but I've read the book. I don't think I would like to see the film really. It would spoil the story for me.Gerry: Really? Oh, give me a film any day. Honestly, if I had to choose between the film of a story and the book of it, I'd go for the film. Judy : Would you?Gerry: Yes. It's much more real. You can get the atmosphere better. You know, the photography and location shots, period costumes, theright accents. Don't you think so?Judy : Not really. I much prefer to use my own imagination. I can imagine how I want it, rather than how someone makes me see it. Anyway, I think you get much more insight into the characters when you read a book. Part of a person's character is lost on film because you never know what they are thinking.Gerry: True, but I don't know. It's much easier going to the cinema. It takes less time. I can get the whole story in two hours but it might take mea week to read the book.Judy : I know, but it's so expensive to go to the cinema nowadays.Gerry: I know, but it's a social event. It's fun. You can go with your friends.When you read a book you have to do it on your own.Judy : All right. Let's agree to differ. I'll get some coffee.Keys:1.1.s poil the story 1.2. and day1.3. Honestly choose the film1.4.Atmosphere photography location period1.5.insight into the characters 1.6. social event1.7. agree to differ2.Films: get the atmosphere better---photography/locationshots/period costumes/right accenteasiertake less time: two hoursan social event: fun, go with friendsBooks: take more time: one weeknot a social event: do it on your ownbooks: use readers’ own imaginationget much more insight into the charactersfilms: spoil the storyexpensivePart 1 listening fourSally Marino gets married. After the wedding, there is a big party—a wedding reception. All the guests eat dinner. There is a band and, after dinner, everyone dances. Sally's mother and father pay for everything. At the end of the reception, Sally andher new husband cut the wedding cake and all the guests get a piece.Pete and Rose buy a new house. After moving in, they invite their friends and family to a party—a housewarming party. Everybody comes to see the new house. They look at the bedrooms, the dining room, even the garage. Pete and Rose serve drinks, sandwiches, and snacks. The party is on a Saturday afternoon.It is Christmas time. Ted and Sarah Robinson want to see many of their friends over the holiday. So they invite their friends to an open house. The hours of the party are from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. The guests arrive and leave whenever they want. The Robinsons serve sandwiches, drinks, and snacks. Some guests stay for just 20 minutes, others stay for 3 hours. About fifty people come to the open house.Mr. and Mrs. Todd ask their neighbors to come to an evening party. They don't serve much food, just snacks—pretzels, chips, peanuts and many types of drinks. No one dances. Conversation is important with people asking questions like "What's new with you?".。

大学英语听说教程4听力原文Unit5Unit5PartBHow Our Memory WorksTry to imagine a life without a memory. It would be impossible. You couldn't use a language, because you wouldn't remember the words. You couldn't understand a film, because you need to hold the first part of the story in your mind in order to understand the later parts. You wouldn't be able to recognize anyone - even members of your own family. You would live in a permanent present. You would have no past and you wouldn't be able to imagine a future.Human beings have amazing memories. Apart from all our personal memories about our own lives, we can recall between 20,000 and 100,000 words in our own language as well as possibly thousands more in a foreign language. We have all sorts of information about different subjects such as history, science, and geography, and we have complex skills such as driving a car or playing a musical instrument. All these things and countless others depend on our memory.How well you remember things depends on many different factors. Firstly, some people naturally have better memories than others, in just the same way as some people are taller than others, or have different color eyes. Some top chess players, for example, can remember every move of every game that they have ever seen or played.Secondly, research shows that different things are stored in different parts of the brain. Ideas, words, and numbers are stored in the left-hand side, while the right-hand side remembersimages, sounds, and smells. In most people one side of the brain is more developed than the other, and this may explain why some people can remember people's faces easily, but can't remember their names.Thirdly, we all remember exciting, frightening, or dramatic events more easily. This is because these experiences produce chemicals such as adrenaline, which boost your memory. They say that anyone who is old enough to remember knows exactly where they were on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, when radio and TV programs around the world were interrupted with the shocking news that the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York were hit.Fourthly, the context in which you learn something can affect how well you remember it. Tests on divers, for example, showed that when they learned things underwater, they could also remember those things best when they were underwater.Lastly, the more often you recall a memory the more likely you are to remember it. If you don't use it, you'll lose it. A telephone number that you dial frequently will stay in your memory easily, but you will probably have to write down one that you use only now and again.Questions:1. What does the passage mainly tell us?2. What can be inferred from the passage?3. Which of the following is stated to be true?4. Why can we remember exciting, dramatic, or frightening events better?PartCAdditional ListeningsTechniques to Help Us Remember BetterWe all have problems remembering things, but there are some techniques that you can use to help you remember.First of all, remember the names and jobs of the people and where they come from. Here, the best thing is to imagine images of the people and the names that you want to remember. And you should try to think of funny images as they are easier to remember. For example, we have Tom the student from Australia. Well, for Tom you might imagine a tomato. Then Australia has a shape a bit like a dog. Now let's imagine it's a very clever dog and is studying. So imagine Tom's face as a tomato and he's with a dog and the dog is reading a book. So now we have a picture of Tom the student from Australia.Now let's take the numbers. The best thing to do here is to break a large number up into smaller numbers and then think of things that the numbers remind you of, such as a birthday, a particular year, the number of a house. Or with a number like 747 you might think of a jumbo jet -- a Boeing 747.With the directions, the best thing is to imagine yourself following the directions. Create a picture in your mind of yourself going down the street. Count the turnings 1, 2, ... Then turn left. Now imagine going past a supermarket and a cinema and so on.When you have to remember lists of words, try to build them into a story. So with our words we might start with, 'The sun was shining, so I went for a walk. I saw a horse wearing trousers. It was kicking some bananas over a television. The bananas landed in a bag.' And so on. Again the funnier the story, the better.Try some of these techniques and you'll be amazed at what you can remember.Questions:1. How many techniques are mentioned in the talk?2. Why should we imagine a dog in order to remember that Tom is from Australia?3. What should we do to remember a large number?4. How can we remember the directions to a certain place?5. How can we remember lists of words?PartDImprove Your MemoryTo many people advancing age means losing your hair, your waistline and your memory. But is it an inescapable fact that the older you get, the less you remember? Well, as time goes by, we tend to blame age for problems that are not necessarily age-related.When a teenager can't find her keys, she thinks it's because she's distracted or disorganized, but a 70-year-old blames her memory. In fact, the 70-year-old may have been misplacing things for decades -- like we all do from time to time.In healthy people, memory doesn't deteriorate as quickly as many of us think. According to psychologists, as we age, our memory mechanism isn't broken, it's just different. The brain's processing time slows down over the years, though no one knows exactly why. Recent research suggests that nerve cells lose efficiency and that there's less activity in the part of the brain that decides whether to store information or not. But it's not clear that less activity is worse. A beginning athlete is winded more easily than a trained athlete. In the same way, as the brain gets more skilled at a task, it spends less energy on it.There are steps you can take to improve your memory, though you have to work to keep your brain in shape. It's like having a good body. You can't go to the gym once a year and expect to stay in top form.Some memory enhancement experts suggest using the AM principle. Pay attention to whatyou want to remember. Then give some meaning to it. We remember things when we focus on them, whether we intend to or not. That helps explain why jingles stick in our minds. They are played on loud, flashy TV commercials. They also use rhyme and music to help us remember better.Basic organization helps us remember the boring stuff. For example, rather than trying to recall a random list of groceries, we can divide them into categories, such as dairy, meat, and produce. For important things like keys and money, we can set up a "forget-me-not" spot where we always keep them.We can also eat to aid our memory power. Whole grains, fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of glucose, the brain's preferred fuel. Another low-tech way to improve memory is to get adequate rest. Sleep may allow our brain time to encode memories.Interest in friends, family and hobbies does wonders for our memory. A sense of passion or purpose helps us remember. Memory requires us to pay attention to our lives, allowing us to discover in them everything worth remembering.Statements:1. It is not always true that the older you get, the less you remember.2. It can be inferred from the passage that memory problems are not really age-related.3. As we get older, our memory mechanism is broken, and so cannot be the same as it was before.4. Scientists have discovered that memory loss is caused by lack of activity in the part of the brain that decides whatinformation to store.5. You must work hard to keep your brain active, just as you work hard to keep yourself in shape.6. In the AM principle, the letters A and M most likely refer to attention and memory respectively.7. A right choice of food and plenty of rest help improve our memory.8. Memory requires us to have purpose or passion in what we do.。

全新版大学英语听说教程第四册听力原文TEST1PartAConversation 1:W: Have you got a job, Phil?M: Yeah, I do yard work for the people in the neighborhood, cutting grass, raking fallen leaves, planting trees and pulling out weeds, things like that.Q: What does Phil do?Conversation 2:M: The trees on our campus are really beautiful.W: You're right, and they are useful, too. They cut down on our need for air conditioning, don't you think?Q: What does the woman mean?Conversation 3:W: Professor Webster has a class this afternoon from 2:30 to 4. But he won't be able to make it because he's lost his voice.M: Does he want me to try to find somebody else to take his place?Q: What does the man mean?Conversation 4:M: Can you come to the concert with me this weekend, or do you have to prepare for the exams next week?W: Frankly speaking I still have a lot to do for the exams but maybe a break would do me good.Q: What will the woman probably do?Conversation 5:M: Have you heard the weather report for today?W: Yes. It says that the sandstorm is going to be very bad and we're advised to stay indoors. Q: What is the woman talking about?Part2DialogueW: Hello, University of Sidney. May I help you?M: Yes. I'm looking for information on courses in computer programming.W: Do you want a day or evening course?M: Well, it would have to be an evening course since I work during the day.W: Uh-huh. Have you taken any courses in data processing?M: No.W: Oh, well, data processing is a prerequisite course. You have to take that course before you can take computer programming.M: Oh, I see. Well, when is it given? I hope it's not on Tuesdays.W: There's a class that meets on Monday evenings at seven.M: Just once a week?W: Right. But that's almost three hours -- from seven to nine forty-five p.m.M: Oh. Well, that's all right. I could manage that. How many weeks does the course last?W: Let me see... oh, yes, twelve weeks. You start the first week in September and finish... oh... just before Christmas. December twenty-first.M: And how much is the course?W: That's 300 dollars, and that includes the necessary computer time.M: OK. By the way, is there anything that I should bring with me?W: No. Just your checkbook.M: Thank you so much.W: You're very welcome. Bye.M: Bye.PartCHealth experts have warned for many years that cigarette smoking can lead to heart disease, cancer and other medical problems. But smokers still find it extremely difficult to stop. The American Cancer Society decided to do something to help them kick this bad habit.Every year the group organizes a national non-smoking day in an attempt to get smokers to quit smoking. The organization is asking all smokers to stop smoking at least for 24 hours. They hope this will eventually enable many people to permanently kill the habit.The cancer society officials will give telephone callers advice on how to stop smoking. Smokers also can call a special telephone number to hear recorded messages by doctors.Some businesses will offer their workers candy or chewing gum to help them fight down the crave for smoking. Some companies are offering special gifts and lower prices to people who sign an agreement to stop smoking. And Americans who do not smoke are being asked to help just one person quit smoking during the 24-hour-campaign.PartDPassage 1Office systems are equipment used to create, store, process, or communicate information in a business environment. This information can be manually, electrically, or electronicallyproduced, duplicated, and transmitted.The rapid growth of the service sector of the world economy beginning in the mid-1970s has furnished a new market for sophisticated office automation.Most modern office equipment, including typewriters, dictation equipment, facsimile machines, photocopiers, calculators, and telephone systems as well, contains a microprocessor. With the increasing incorporation of microchips into office equipment, the line between the computer and other equipment has blurred.At the same time, computers, either stand-alone or as part of a network, and specialized software programs are taking over tasks such as facsimile transmission or fax, voice mail, and telecommunications that were once performed by separate pieces of equipment. In fact, the computer has virtually taken the place of typewriters, calculators, and manual accounting techniques and is rapidly taking over graphic design, production scheduling, and engineering design.The use of computers and other modern equipment has enabled links to be established far beyond the walls of a building. Electronic links allow people in a modern office to communicate with workers at home or in satellite offices. This capability has led to a sharp increase in telecommuting. Since the early 1990s workers have worked at least part of the time outside the main office. Managers and professional employees are the major participants in this trend. As they no longer have to spend hours traveling from home to office, their work productivity has increased.As technology advances further, new equipment will be invented and introduced into the modern office, which will result in even greater efficiency in office work.Questions:1.What do office systems refer to according to the passage?2. What has furnished a new market for sophisticated office equipment since the mid-19703. How have electronic links benefited professionals and managers?Passage 2When it comes to leisure activities, Americans aren't quite the fun-seekers they've been supposed to be. For one out of five, weekends and vacations are consumed by such drudgeries as house-cleaning, yard-working and cooking; only one-third of them enjoy the luxury of relaxing in the sun, going camping, playing sports, or simply relaxing.These are among the conclusions reached by a recent poll in which more than 1,120 employed Americans were asked how they occupy themselves on days they are not at work. According to the poll, older people, the rich, and the well-educated are most apt to spend their spare time doing the things they 'want to do' rather than those they 'have to'. Overall, high-salaried people were more active then those with lower incomes -- they reported watching less television and were more likely to engage in social and cultural activities. Furthermore, those with college degrees were about twice as likely as those with no more than a high school education to spend time playing sports (42% compared with 23%). On the subject of vacations, the study found that college graduates were more likely than those with only high school degrees to have vacation plans (80% versus 60%). Of those who did intend to take some time off, 46% planned a sightseeing vacation (34% in the UnitedStates, 12% abroad), 34% expected to visit friends or relatives, 22% headed for the beach or lake, and 12% intended to relax at home.People who are divorced, widowed, or separated, the survey concluded, are the least likely of any group to take a vacation -- and the least likely to attach any importance to it.Questions:1. What is the passage mainly about?2. How do most people in the US spend their vacation according to the passage?3. Which of the following adjectives best describes the passage?4. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?Passage 3A movement to make US hotels smoke-free got a boost on Thursday when Woodfin Suite Hotels, owner of 18 hotels in 11 states, said its six California properties will go smoke-free starting September 1st.The announcement followed a similar move by Howard Johnson International Inc., which said in June that its hotel on Pocahontas Trail in Williamsburg, Va. would become the chain's first smoke-free property. And on August 1, Apple Core Hotels turned its 80-room Comfort Inn Midtown in New York City's Theater District into a no-smoking property.Hotel owners said they hope to make up for any lost business by winning over guests who prefer a smoke-free environment, but most admitted the move is largely experimental and traveler reaction will be closely watched before any major expansion of their programs. Apple Core Chief Operating Officer said his company decided to take the no-smoking plunge for a simple reason: demand."It has nothing to do with public policy," he said. "There's tremendous demand. People are very upset when they've been promised a smoke-free room and they get a smoked-in room instead."The handful of hotel owners who have taken the no-smoking plunge say the move will also help them save money in their housekeeping departments.The process of "de-smoking" a room -- eliminating all the negative effects when a room has been smoked in -- typically costs about $500 per room. Smoking rooms also face higher costs associated with more frequent carpet shampooing, curtain cleaning and minor repairs for such things as cigarette burns in fabrics, according to hotel managers.Furthermore, smoking rooms often take longer to clean than their no-smoking counterparts because they must be deodorized each day.It is also a benefit to the employees who can clean the rooms much faster. And employees who don't smoke won't get the smell. Even smokers complain when they walk in and get the smell of stale smoke.Despite the benefit of going smoke-free, however, many hotels may be reluctant to completely do away with smoking rooms in the near future. It will be more the personalpreference of the owner doing it, whereas the public company has to be more careful because it limits the demand.Questions:1. What does the passage mainly tell us?2. What do we know about Woodfin Suite Hotels?3. What is the main reason why some owners want to ban smoking in their hotels?TEST2PartAConversation 1:M: I have never heard such a fascinating lecture on solar energy. But you don't seem impressed. Don't you like it, Sally?W: Well, I must admit that I dozed off most of the time. I think it's too difficult for me to understand.Q: How did the woman feel about the lecture?Conversation 2:W: Thank goodness! You've finally arrived. The presentation started ten minutes ago. And I was just beginning to panic.M: Sorry I'm late. The traffic was extremely bad.Q: How did the woman feel when she saw the man?Conversation 3:W: I hear that you work part-time at a supermarket. What do you do there?M: I work in the produce section. I also stock shelves. Sometimes when it really gets busy, I help at the checkout counter.Q: What does the man occasionally do at his supermarket?Conversation 4:M: Mary, I've finally decided about my history paper. I'm going to focus on World War II.W: That's good, but you need to concentrate on one particular area. What about looking at thecourse of events in the Pacific?Q: What does the woman think of the man's topic?Conversation 5:M: To get an MA, you'll need thirty-six credit hours. Fifteen must be from the Education Department and fifteen from the Psychology Department. For the remaining six credit hours you have to write a thesis in about two thousand words.W: Hmm, that seems a lot, but I'm sure I'll manage.Q: What are the two speakers talking about?PartBFast ReadingAt 6:45 p.m. on the evening of Thursday 9th October, Miss Allen was returning from work to her home at 79 Winston Avenue. She had left work at 5:30 p.m. and stopped at the Fox and Goose public house in Market Street for a drink with a colleague. Miss Allen and her colleague had left the pub at 6:30 p.m. and Miss Allen had walked to the No.13 bus stop at the end of Market Street. While awaiting the arrival of the bus, she noticed a group of three youths loitering on the corner. The youths started to approach her, and she started to walk in the opposite direction. The footsteps behind her accelerated and a youth of about 19 years of age stopped her and asked her the time. As Miss Allen stopped and looked at her watch the youth seized her wrist, twisted her arm behind her back and forced her at knifepoint to surrender her handbag and her ring and bracelets. The two accomplices were encouraging their friend at this point. After Miss Allen gave the youth her handbag and her ring and bracelets the three quickly disappeared. Miss Allen was very shaken, but decided to walk to her home, a distance of about three miles, where she would alert the police. She arrived home at 7:40 p.m., only to discover that her flat had been hurriedly burgled. Clearly the muggers had found Miss Allen's keys in her handbag and had arrived before her to ransack her flat. Miss Allen later called the police to report the mugging and the burglary. In her handbag, there were 65 pounds in cash, her credit cards and checkbook and her keys. Two necklaces, several pairs of earrings, a camera and a portable CD player were stolen from her flat.PartCFor years almost everyone has believed that people lose some of their mental powers as they age. We have believed that old people have difficulty remembering and they think more slowly. Some even believe that old people have a reduced number of brain cells.Doctors are now saying that the loss of mental powers is not a sign of old age but of diseases. But Warner Shan, an expert on aging, says that some healthy elderly people seem to lose mental powers because they expect to lose some. They accept the idea that old people always lose intelligence, but studies have shown that if a person refuses to accept this idea and remains healthy, active and interested in life, his mental powers will not be affected. In fact, some kinds of intelligence continue to grow.The studies also show that old people who live with their families and have active lives increase in intelligence. People who live alone and withdraw from any kind of social life seem to lose mental ability.PartDPassage 1Lifestyle is the way a person lives; it includes work, leisure time, hobbies, other interests, and personal philosophy. One person's lifestyle may be dominated by work with few social activities. Another's may involve hobbies, recreational activities or personal philosophy. There is little doubt that lifestyles are changing and that these changes will have an impact on the way business operates in the years ahead. Several cases are causing lifestyle changes in some developed countries.First, there is more leisure time than ever before. The workweek is now less than forty hours, as compared with seventy hours a century ago. Some experts believe it will be twenty-five hours or less in a few decades. Several firms have adopted four-day workweeks with more hours per day. Others have cut down on the number of working hours each week. Reduced work schedules mean increased leisure time.Second, families have fewer children than before -- and young couples are postponing childbirth instead of having children early in the marriage. This trend has forced many businesses to modify their competitive strategies. Gerber Products Company used to advertise 'babies are our business -- our only business'. Now Gerber products include infant and toddler clothing, stuffed animals and accessories such as bottles, baby powder and so on. Third, people are better educated and more prosperous now than they were earlier. These advantages bring with them the freedom to question current lifestyles and examine new ones. Inquiries of this nature have sometimes led to personal lifestyle changes. Today's youth, for example, are not only better educated but more independent and individualistic than past generations.The business world is only beginning to realize how people's lifestyles can influence their behavior as employees, consumers and members of society.Questions:1. What does the passage mainly tell us?2. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?3. What does the speaker say about today's youth?Passage 2Mountain climbers around the world dream about going up Mount Qomolangma. It is the highest mountain in the world. But many people who have climbed the mountain had left waste material that is harming the environment. The pollution is affecting populated areasnear the mountain.A team of Americans is planning the largest clean-up effort ever on Mount Qomolangma. They will make the risky trip up the mountain next month. The team of eight Americans will be guided by more than twenty ethnic Sherpas of Nepal. Their goal is to remove all the trash they see and send most of it back to the United States. They will spend two months moving up the mountain gathering oxygen bottles, fuel containers, batteries, drinks cans, human waste and other trash. They are expected to remove at least three tons of trash in large bags. Team leader Robert Hoffman is making his fourth trip up the mountain. He says he hopes to return Mount Qomolangma to the condition it was in before the first successful climb fifty years ago. He says he hopes the effort will influence other people to clean up the environment closer to home.Human waste on Mount Qomolangma is a major concern. So the clean-up team will take along with them newly developed equipment to collect and treat human waste. Over the years, the waste particles have polluted the mountain. In the warm season when the ice melts, the polluted water flows to Nepalese villages below. The problem has gotten worse in recent years because climbing Mount Qomolangma has become more popular.Since 1992 the government of Nepal has required climbers to bring down what they take up. But those rules were never fully carried out. And no one has ever been required to bring back their trash from the highest part of the mountain.Mount Qomolangma is part of the Himalayan mountain range. It is on the border between Nepal and Tibet, China. Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Sherpa Tensing Norgay made the first successful climb in 1953. Since then, more than eight hundred people have successfully climbed the mountain. Some people who reached the top died on their way down. Many other people died before reaching the top, which is almost nine thousand meters high.Questions:1. Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?2. Which of the following is true?3. What's the American team's goal in going up Mount Qomolangma?4. What can be concluded from the passage?Passage 3According to popular belief, eccentrics are wealthy people who can afford to indulge their eccentricities on a grand scale. But nowadays eccentrics are just as likely to work at ordinary jobs. One man, for example, works in a bank from 9 to 5, but in his spare time carries a bow and arrow and thinks of his home as a leafy corner of Sherwood Forest. Another eccentric is a social worker but lives in a cave and does long charity walks wearing pajamas. A third spends all his time in bed and a fourth lives only on potatoes.Dr. David Weeks has found that such oddballs often have certain features in common. They are often the only or eldest child raised in strict homes. Many have strange eating or sleepinghabits. And although they are frequently impatient with other people, they are generally not competitive and hate sports. They are poor conversationalists, but are often highly educated and read far more than ordinary people. They are often creative and inventive, especially in the scientific field. Not surprisingly, eccentrics tend to live alone and they are more likely to be men. They outnumber women by two to one.If you're an eccentric, you'll be encouraged by Dr. Weeks' study. Eccentrics are less likely to be mentally ill than more conventional people are. And, in his view, they provide some harmless, welcome relief from ordinary people.Questions:1. Why does the speaker give three examples of eccentrics at the beginning of his talk?2. What can we learn about eccentrics from Dr. Weeks' study?3. What's Dr. Weeks' attitude toward eccentrics?。