专四听写文章

51The success of early railways, such as the lines between big cities, led to a great increase in railway building in Victorian times. Between 1835 and 1865 about 25,000 kilometres of track

were built, and over 100 railway companies were created. Railway travel transformed people's lives. Trains were first designed to carry goods. However,

a law in the 19th century forced railway companies to run one cheap train a day which stopped

at every station and cost only a penny a mile. Soon working class passengers found they could

afford to travel by rail. Cheap Day Excursion trains became popular and seaside resorts grew

rapidly. The railways also provided thousands of new jobs: building carriages, running the railways and

repairing the track.

Railways even changed the time. They need to run the railways on time meant that local time was

abolished and the clocks showed the same time all over the country. 49The 24th of October is celebrated as United Nations Day./It is a day that belongs to everyone,/and it is celebrated in most countries

of the world./Some countries celebrate for a week instead of a

day./

In many parts of the world,schools have special programmes for

the day./Boys and girls in some communities decorate a UN tree./ In other communities,young people put on plays about the UN./Some

libraries exhibit children's art works from around the world./

Schools celebrate with the songs and dances of other countries,/

or give parities where foods of other countiries are served./

No matter how the day is celebrated,/the purpose of these celebrations is to help everyone understand the UN/ and the impo-

rtant roles it plays in world affairs.

The UN encourages people to learn about other lands and their

customs./In this way,people can gain a better understanding and

appreciation of peoples all over the world. 48In 1945, a new type of airplane engine was invented. It was much lighter and more powerful than earlier engines, and enabled warplanes to fly faster and higher than ever. This type of engine

was called the jet engine because it belows a large jet of hot air backwards at high speed. The

first airplane to use the new jet engine was built in Britain and it began carrying passengers in 1952. It had two jet engines and flew much higher than petrol-engine airplanes. At this height

the air is thinner and very cold, and so the airplane can cut through the air more easily. However,

the cabin has to be air-conditioned and has to be at normal pressure so that the passengers may

eat, read and sleep in comfort.

Today all long distance airplanes have jet engines. The modern jet airplanes are very big and can carry hundreds of passengers on two different floors, which makes air travel much cheaper.

英语专业四级听写训练47：House and Home

“House” and “home” are two words that have similar meanings.

“House” and “home” both refer to places where people live. However, there is a difference between them. “Home” is often referred to as the place that we live in with our families. Sadly,

in our society, people can hardly distinguish a home from a house because they often see no

difference between them. This confusion can be traced back to the indifference between the family

members. Therefore, we can say that love is an important factor in a home. A home is a shelter, not only for our bodies but also for our minds. Whenever we are depressed, we can go home for

comfort. Everyone in the family will do his best to take care of each other and share their happiness

as well as sorrow. Without love, a home is merely a house where loneliness is all that can be

found. And a house can never be a home unless there is love. 46：Population Growth It is well-known that there has been a drastic increase in world population. But it is probably

less well-known that the extinction rate of wildlife species is experiencing a parallel trend.

Take the United States for instance. In 1990, U.S. population reached an unprecedented level of

250 million, which is approximately 250 times of that of 1800. On the other hand, wildlife species

are disappearing from the country at an alarming rate. By 1900, about 70 wildlife species would never be seen in U.S.. We are fully justified in declaring that the explosive population growth

has had an adverse effect on the survival of wildlife species and will be a constant threat to

the wildlife resources if no immediate actions are taken.

Nothing has ever equaled the magnitude and speed with which the human species is altering the

physical and chemical world. It has been demolishing the environment we are living in.