Task 1:
【答案】 A.
Event
Kenny G was born.
He toured Europe with his High School band. He made his first solo album.
He won released his most successful album. He won the Best Artist Award.
He broke the world record for playing a single note.
Year 1956 1971 1982 1993 1994 1997
B． 1) F 2) F 3) T
【原文】
Saxophonist Kenny G is now the world's most successful jazz musician. He was born in 1956 as Kenny Gorelick in Seattle, USA, and he learned to play the saxophone at an early age. When he was just 15 years old, he toured Europe with his High School band. After studying at Washington University he started his career as a musician. In 1982 he signed for Arista Records and made his first solo album Kenny G.
Success came slowly at first, but during the 1990s Kenny became well-known on the international scene. He released Breathless, his most successful album so far in 1993, and in 1994 won the Best Artist Award at the 21st American Music Awards held in Los Angeles.
As well as making records, he also found time to play in front of another famous saxophone player—US President Bill Clinton—at the \"Gala for the President\" concert in Washington, and to break the world record for playing a single note (45 minutes and 47 seconds!) at the J & R Music World Store in New York in 1997.
During the last 20 years, Kenny G has played with superstars like Aretha Franklin, Michael Bolton and Whitney Houston, and he has sold more than 36 million albums worldwide... and he hasn't sung a note!
Task 2:
【答案】 1) c 2) d 3) c
【原文】
Senn: Everybody always has this misconception that female policemen don't do the same
thing as men do, you know. I've worked..
Interviewer: That's not true?
Senn: That is not true! I've worked my share of graveyard shifts, and, you know, split
shifts, and double-back and no days off, and...
Interviewer: Uh-huh...
Senn: ...as much as the next guy. There's no distinction used if there's a male or female
officer on duty. Two men on duty—I'll refer to as two men, ‘cause in my field there's no difference between the genders. We're still the same. Okay, if there's two men on duty—just because one's a female, she still gets in on the same type of call. If there's a bar disturbance downtown, then we go too. There's been many times where being the only officer on duty—that's it! It‘s just me and whoever else is on duty in the county. They can come back me up if I need assistance. And it does get a little hairy. You go in there, and you have these great big, huge monster-guys, and they're just drunker than skunks, and can't see three feet in front of them. And when they see you, they see fifteen people, and you know... But still, there's enough...
Interviewer: That's where the uniform is important, I should imagine.
Senn: Sometimes, you know. If somebody is going to…or has a bad day, and they are
out to get a cop, you know, it doesn't matter if you're, you know, boy, girl, infant or anything! When you've got that cop uniform on, they'll still take it out on you.
Interviewer: Yeah...
Senn: But I think there's one advantage to being a female police officer. And that is the fact
that most men still have a little respect, and they won't smack you as easy as they would one of the guys.
Interviewer: Uh-huh...
Senn: But I'll tell you one thing I‘ve learned—I'd rather deal with ten drunk men that one
drunk woman any day of the week!
Interviewer: Well, why is that?
Senn: Because women are so unpredictable. You cannot ever predict what a woman's
going to do.
Interviewer: Hmm...
Senn: Especially, if she's agitated, you know. Interviewer: Emotionally upset.
Senn: Yeah. I saw a lady one time just get mad at the guy she was with
because he wouldn't buy her another drink— take off her high heel and lay his head wide open. Yuch! Oh, they can be so vicious, you know.
Task 3:
【答案】 1) d 2) b 3) b 4) b
【原文】
You are watching a film in which two men are having a fight. They hit one another hard. At
the start they only fight with their fists. But soon they begin hitting one another over the heads with chairs. And so it goes on until one of the men crashes through a window—and falls thirty feet to the ground below. He is dead！
Of course he isn't really dead. With any luck he isn't even hurt. Why? Because the men who fall out of high windows or jump from fast-moving trains, who crash cars of even catch fire, are professionals. They do this for a living. These men are called ―stunt men‖. That is to say, they perform ―tricks‖.
There are two sides to their work. They actually do most of the things you see on the screen. For example, they fall from a high building. However, they do not fall on to hard ground but on to empty cardboard boxes covered with a mattress. Again, when they hit one another with chairs, the chairs are made of soft wood and when they crash through windows, the glass is made of sugar!
But although their work depends on trick of this sort, it also requires a high degree of skill and training. Often a stunt man‘s success depends on careful timing. For example, when he is \"blown up\" in a battle scene, he has to jump out of the way of the explosion just at the right moment.
Naturally stuntmen are well-paid for their work, but they lead dangerous lives. They often get seriously injured, and sometimes killed. A Norwegian stuntman, for example, skied over the edge of a cliff a thousand feet high. His parachute failed to open—and he was killed.
In spite of all the risks, this is no longer a profession for ―men only‖. Men no longer dress up as women when actresses have to perform some dangerous action. For nowadays there are ―stunt girls‖ too！
Task 4:
【答案】
1) He started writing poetry when he was about 14 or 15. 2) He has published four books.
3) His first book came out when he was about 26. It wasn‘t easy. He got a lot of his work rejected at first.
4) The British, or at least the English, are embarrassed by it. They‘re embarrassed by people who reveal personal feelings, emotions, thoughts and wishes. 【原文】
When Thomas Edison was born in the small town of Milan, Ohio, in 1847, America was just beginning its great industrial development. In his lifetime of eighty-four years, Edison shared in the excitement of America‘s growth into a modern nation. The time in which he lived was an age of invention, filled with human and scientific adventures, and Edison became the hero of that age.
As a boy, Edison was not a good student. His parents took him out of school and his mother taught him at home, where his great curiosity and desire to experiment often got him into trouble. When he was six, he set fire to his father‘s barn ―to see what would happen.‖ The barn burned down.
When he was ten, Edison built his own chemistry laboratory. He sold sandwiches and newspapers on the trains in order to earn money to buy supplies for his laboratory. His parents became accustomed, more or less, to his experiments and the explosions which sometimes shook the house.
Edison‘s work as a sales boy with the railroad introduced him to the telegraph and, with a
friend, he built his own telegraph set.
Six years later, in 1869, Edison arrived in New York City, poor and in debt. He went to work with a telegraph company. It was there that he became interested in the uses of electricity.
Task 5:
【答案】
1815， 1914， 35million I.
A. villages，seaport
B. danger，long ocean voyage C. a new land，a new language D. finding a place to live II.
a better life，opportunity，freedom III.
A. England, Germany, Russia, Hungary B. Roman Catholic, Jewish C. customs，languages IV.
A. Americanized，disappeared.
B. haven't disappeared，customs，identities V.
A. were cheated，prejudice，mistreated
B. hardest，least-paid，dirtiest，most overcrowded D. rejected，old-fashioned，ashamed overcome 【原文】
Thousands of people came to American cities before Blacks and Puerto Ricans did. Between 1815 and 1914, more than 35 million Europeans crossed the ocean to find new homes in the United States.
Most of these immigrants were ordinary people. Few were famous when they arrived. Few became famous afterward. Most had lived in small villages. Few had ever been far outside them. Most of them faced the same kinds of problems getting to America: the hardship of going from their villages to a seaport, the unpleasantness—even danger—of the long ocean voyage, the strangeness of a new land, and of a new language, the problem of finding a place to live, of finding work in a new, strange country.
Every immigrant had his own reasons for coming to America. But nearly all shared one reason: They hoped for a better life. They considered America a special place, a land of opportunity, a land of freedom.
Immigrants came from many different countries: England, Germany, Denmark, Finland[, Russia, Italy, Hungary and many others.
They came with many different religions: Roman Catholic, Jewish, Quaker, Greek Orthodox. They brought many different customs and many languages.
Some people have called the United States a \"melting pot\". After immigrants were here awhile—in the melting pot—they became Americanized. Differences were \"melted down\". They
gradually disappeared.
Some people say no. America isn't a melting pot. It's more like a salad bowl. Important differences between groups of people haven't disappeared. Many groups have kept their own ways, their customs, their identities, and this has given America great strength.
Melting pot? Salad bowl? Perhaps there's some troth to both ideas.
In any case, life in America was hard for most immigrants—especially at first. Often they were cheated. Often they met with prejudice. They were often laughed at, even mistreated, by people who themselves had been immigrants.
Most of them soon found that the streets of America weren't paved with gold. They usually got the hardest jobs, and those that paid the least, the dirtiest places to live in, the most overcrowded tenements.
They came to be citizens of a new country; but often they felt like people without a country. They had given up their own, but they didn't understand their new one. They didn't really feel a part of it. And the people of the new one didn't always welcome them.
They came for the sake of their children, but in America their children often rejected them. To the children, their parents seemed old-fashioned. They didn't learn the new language quickly. Some didn't learn it at all. Their parents' customs made children ashamed.
Gradually, however, problems were overcome. For most immigrants, life in America was better. It certainly was better for their children and for their grandchildren.
Task 6:
【答案】 A.
The Life Story of Thomas Edison
Ohio，1847，industrial development, 1931, a modern nation I.
A. curiosity，desire
B. 1857，station master‘s son C. 1863 II.
A. New York City，electricity，report the prices B. New Jersey，invented，produced C. organized industrial research D. 1877 E. 1879 III.
A. 1,000 B. motion-picture machine C. photography
D. streetcars，electric trains IV.
B. turn off all power C. the progress of man B.
1) F 2) F 3) T 4) T 5) F
【原文】
When Thomas Edison was born in the small town of Milan, Ohio, in 1847, America was just beginning its great industrial development. The time in which he lived was an age of invention, filled with human and scientific adventures, and Edison became the hero of that age.
As a boy, Edison was not a good student. His parents took him out of school and his mother
taught him at home, where his great curiosity and desire to experiment often got him into trouble. When he was ten, Edison built his own chemistry laboratory. He sold sandwiches and newspapers on the local trains in order to earn money to buy supplies for his laboratory. His parents became accustomed, more or less, to his experiments and the explosions which sometimes shook the house.
Edison‘s work as a sales boy with the railroad introduced him to the telegraph and with a friend, he built his own telegraph set. He taught himself the Morse telegraphic code and hoped for the chance to become a professional telegraph operator. A stroke of luck and Edison's quick thinking soon provided the opportunity.
One day, as young Edison stood waiting for a train to arrive, he saw the station master's sot wander into the track of an approaching train. Edison rushed out and carried the boy to safety. The thankful station master offered to teach Edison railway telegraphy. Afterwards, in 1863, he became tan expert telegraph operator and left home to work in various cities.
Six years later, in 1869, Edison arrived in New York City, poor and in debt. He went to work with a telegraph company. It was there that he became interested in the uses of electricity. At that time electricity was still in the experimental stages, and Edison hoped to invent new ways to use it for the benefit of people. As he once said: \"My philosophy of life is work. I want to bring out the secrets of, nature and apply them for the happiness of man. I know of no better service to render for the short time we are in this world.\"
The same year, when he was only 22 years old, Edison invented an improved ticker-tape machine which could better report the prices on the New York Market. The ticker-tape machine was successful, and Edison decided to leave his job and concentrate wholly on inventing. When the president of the telegraph company asked how much they owed him for his invention, Edison was ready to accept only $3,000. Cautiously he said: \"Suppose you make me an offer.\"
\"How would $40,000 strike you?\" the president inquired. Edison almost fainted, but he finally replied that the price was fair.
With this money, and now calling himself an electrical engineer, Edison formed his own \"invention factory\" in Newark, New Jersey. Over the next few years he invented and produced many new items, including the mimeograph machine, wax wrapping paper, and improvements of the telegraph.
In 1877 Edison decided he could no longer continue both manufacturing and inventing. He sold his share in the factory and built a new laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. It was the first laboratory of its kind devoted to organized industrial research. One of the first inventions to come from his new laboratory was an improvement of Alexander Bell's telephone. Edison invented a
more powerful mouthpiece which removed the need to shout into the telephone. But his great inventions were still to come.
On August 12, 1877, Edison began experimenting with an instrument which he had designed and ordered to be built. It was a cylinder, wrapped in tinfoil and turned by a handle. As it revolved, a needle made a groove in the foil. Turning the handle, Edison began to shout.
\"Mary had a little lamb
Whose fleece was white as snow!\"
He stopped and moved the needle back in the starting position. Then, putting his ear close to the needle, he turned the handle again. A voice came out of the machine:
\"Mary had a little lamb,
Whose fleece was white as snow!\"
Edison had just invented the phonograph, a completely new concept: a talking machine.
While he was perfecting his phonograph, Edison also worked on another invention. He called it \"an Electric Lamp for Giving Light by Incandescence\". Today we call it the light bulb.
For years other inventors had experimented with electric lights, but none of the lights had proven economical to produce. Edison, in studying the problem, spent over a year experimenting. He tested 1,600 materials (even hairs from a friend's beard) to see if they would carry electric current and glow. Finally, on October 21, 1879, he tried passing electricity through a carbonized cotton thread in a vacuum glass bulb. In his own words Edison described the experiment: \"... before nightfall the carbon was completed and inserted in the lamp. The bulb was exhausted of air and sealed, the current turned on, and the sight we had so long desired to see met our eyes.\" The lamp gave off a feeble, reddish glow, and it continued to bum for 40 hours. Edison's incredible invention proved that electric lighting would be the future light of the world.
Edison was now so famous as an inventor that people thought there was nothing he could not do. They began to call him \"the wizard\as if he could produce an invention like magic. Few people realized how hard Edison worked, often 20 hours a day, and that most of his inventions were the results of hundreds of experiments.
For 60 years Edison was the world's leading inventor. He patented over 1,000 inventions which changed our way of living. He was one of the earliest inventors of the motion-picture machine. His invention of the phonograph was joined with photography to produce talking pictures. He also perfected the electric motor which made streetcars and electric trains possible.
It is no wonder that Edison received many honors during his life for contributions to the progress of mankind. The United States gave him its highest award, a special Congressional Medal of Honor. Yet, in spite of all his fame, Edison remained a modest man. He preferred to continue his work, rather than rest on his achievements. His motto was: \"I find what the world needs; then I go ahead and try to invent it.\" He never considered himself a brilliant man and once remarked that genius was \"2 percent inspiration and 98 percent perspiration\".
When Edison died in 1931, it was proposed that the American people mm off all power in their homes, streets, and factories for several minutes in honor of this great man. Of course, it was quickly realized that such an honor would be impossible. Its impossibility was indeed the real tribute to Edison's achievements. Electric power had become so important and vital a part of America's life that a complete shut-down for even a few seconds would have created chaos. As \"one of the great heroes of invention\great contributors to the progress of man.
Task 7:
【答案】 A. 1) c 2) a 3) d 4) c 5) c 6) a B.
1) That‘s because the explosion robs the fire of oxygen.
2) Once the fire is out, the well still needs to be covered, or capped, to stop the flow of oil. This is the most dangerous part of the process. Any new heat or fire could cause the leaking well and the surrounding area to explode.
3) In March of 1991, Red Adair went to Kuwait. He and his crews were called in to help put out oil well fires.
4) He has spent his 76th birthday in Kuwait working side by side with his crew.
5) At his funeral, many family members and friends honored him by wearing red clothes.
【原文】
Paul Neal Adair was born in Houston, Texas in nineteen fifteen. He was one of five sons of a metal worker. He also had three sisters. While growing up, he became known as Red Adair
because his hair was bright red. The color became a trademark for Adair. He wore red clothes and red boots. He drove a red car, and his crew members used red trucks and red equipment.
During World War Two, Adair served on a trained army team that removed and destroyed bombs. After the war, he returned to Houston and took a job with Myron Kinley. At the time, Kinley was the leader in putting out fires in oil wells. Red Adair worked with Myron Kinley for fourteen years. But in nineteen fifty-nine, Adair started his own company.
During his thirty-six years in business, Red Adair and his crews battled more than two
thousand fires all over the world. Some were on land. Others were on ocean oil-drilling structures. Some fires were in burning oil wells. Others were in natural gas wells.
Red Adair was a leader in a specialized and extremely dangerous profession. Putting out oil well fires can be difficult. This is because oil well fires are extinguished, or put out, at the wellhead just above ground. Normally, explosives are used to stop the fire from burning. The explosion robs the fire of oxygen. But, once the fire is out, the well still needs to be covered, or capped, to stop the flow of oil. This is the most dangerous part of the process. Any new heat or fire could cause the leaking well and the surrounding area to explode.
Red Adair developed modern methods to extinguish and cover burning oil wells.
They became known in the industry as Wild Well Control techniques. In addition to explosives, the techniques involved large amounts of water and dirt. Adair also developed special equipment made of bronze metal to help extinguish oil well fires. The modern tools and his Wild Well Control techniques earned Red Adair and his crews the honor of being called the \"best in the business.\"
Red Adair was known for not being afraid. He was also known for his sense of calm and safety. None of his workers were ever killed while putting out oil well or gas fires. He described his work this way: ―It scares you—all the noise, the rattling, the shaking. But the look on
everyone's face, when you are finished and packing, it is the best smile in the world; and there is nobody hurt, and the well is under control.‖
One of Red Adair's most important projects was in nineteen sixty-two. He and his crew put out a natural gas fire in the Sahara Desert in Algeria. The fire had been burning for six months. This famous fire was called the \"Devil's Cigarette Lighter.\" Fire from the natural gas well shot about one hundred forty meters into the air. The fire was so big that American astronaut John Glenn could see it from space as he orbited Earth.The desert sand around the well had melted into glass from the extreme heat. News reports said Adair used about three hundred forty kilograms of nitroglycerine explosive material to pull the oxygen out of the fire.
Adair's success with the \"Devil's Cigarette Lighter\" and earlier well fires captured the imagination of the American film industry. In nineteen sixty-eight, Hollywood made an action film called Hellfighters. It was loosely based on events in Red Adair's life. Actor John Wayne played an oil well firefighter from Houston, Texas whose life was similar to Adair's. Adair served as an advisor to Wayne while the film was being made. The two men became close friends. Adair said one of the best honors in the world was to have John Wayne play him in a movie.
In nineteen eighty-eight, Adair fought what was possibly the world's worst off-shore accident. It was at the Piper Alpha drilling structure in the North Sea. Occidental Petroleum operated the structure off the coast of Scotland. The structure produced oil and gas from twenty-four wells.
One hundred sixty-seven men were killed when the structure exploded after a gas leak. Red Adair had to stop the fires and cap the wells. He faced winds blowing more than one hundred twenty kilometers an hour, and ocean waves at least twenty meters high.
In March of nineteen ninety-one, Red Adair went to Kuwait following the Persian Gulf War. He and his crews were called in to help put out fires set by the Iraqi army.
The Red Adair Company capped more than one hundred wells. His crews were among
twenty-seven teams from sixteen countries called in to fight the fires. The crews' efforts put out about seven hundred Kuwaiti fires. Their efforts saved millions of barrels of oil. Some experts say the operation also helped prevent an environmental tragedy. The job had been expected to take three to five years. However, it was completed in just eight months.
Red Adair had spent his seventy-sixth birthday in Kuwait working side by side with his crew. When asked when he might retire, he told reporters: \"Retire? I do not know what that word means. As long as a man is able to work, and he is productive out there and he feels good—keep at it.\"
Still, Red Adair finally did retire in nineteen ninety-four. At that time, he joked about where he would end up when he died. He said he hoped to be in Heaven. But he said this about Hell: \"I have made a deal with the devil. He said he is going to give me an air-conditioned place when I go down there—if I go there—so I won't put all the fires out.\"
Red Adair died in two thousand four. He was eighty-nine years old. At his funeral, many family members and friends honored him by wearing red clothes. Many Americans remember Red Adair for his bravery. He lived his life on the edge of danger. He was known for his willingness to risk his own life to save others.
Task 8:
【答案】 A.
1) She was born in New York City in 1884.
2) After she finished school, Eleanor began teaching children to read in one of the poorest areas of New York City. She investigated factories where workers were said to be badly treated. She became involved with other women who shared the same ideas about improving social conditions.
3) She decided she would no longer play the part of a politician's wife. Instead, she began to build a life with interests of her own.
4) Franklin Roosevelt was elected president in 1932. His new economic program was called the New Deal.
5) She was different from the wives of earlier presidents in that she was the first to become active in political and social issues.
6) She publicly resigned her membership to protest the action of the group.
7) She spent the last years of her life visiting foreign countries. She became America's unofficial ambassador. She called on Americans to help the people in developing countries. B. 1) F 2) T 3) T
【原文】
Eleanor Roosevelt was the wife of America's thirty-second president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She helped her husband in many ways during his long political life. She also became one of the most influential people in America. She fought for equal rights for all people -- workers, women, poor people, black people. And she sought peace among nations.
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City in eighteen eighty-four. Eleanor's
family had great wealth and influence. When she was eight years old, her mother died. Two years later, her father died. It was Eleanor's grandmother who raised the Roosevelt children.
After she finished school, Eleanor began teaching children to read in one of the poorest areas of New York City, called \"Hell's Kitchen.\" She investigated factories where workers were said to be badly treated. She saw little children of four and five years old working until they dropped to the floor. She became involved with other women who shared the same ideas about improving social conditions.
Franklin Roosevelt began visiting Eleanor. Franklin belonged to another part of the
Roosevelt family. Franklin and Eleanor were married in nineteen-oh-five. In the next eleven years, they had six children.
Franklin Roosevelt began his life in politics in New York. He was elected to be a state
legislator. Later, President Woodrow Wilson appointed him to be assistant secretary of the Navy. The Roosevelts moved to Washington in nineteen thirteen. It was there, after thirteen years of marriage, that Eleanor Roosevelt went through one of the hardest periods of her life. She
discovered that her husband had fallen in love with another woman. She wanted to end the marriage. But her husband urged her to remain his wife.
She did. Yet her relationship with her husband changed. She decided she would no longer play the part of a politician's wife. Instead, she began to build a life with interests of her own. Eleanor Roosevelt learned about politics and became involved in issues and groups that
interested her. In nineteen twenty-two, she became part of the Women's Trade Union League. She also joined the debate about ways to stop war. In those years after World War One, she argued that America must be involved in the world to prevent another war. \"Peace is the question of the hour,\" she once told a group of women. \"Women must work for peace to keep from losing their loved ones.\"
The question of war and peace was forgotten as the United States entered a severe economic depression in nineteen twenty-nine. Prices suddenly dropped on the New York stock market. Banks lost their money. People lost their jobs.
Franklin Roosevelt was elected president in nineteen thirty-two. He promised to end the Depression and put Americans back to work. Mrs. Roosevelt helped her husband by spreading information about his new economic program. It was called the New Deal. She traveled around the country giving speeches and visiting areas that needed economic aid.
Eleanor Roosevelt was different from the wives of earlier presidents. She was the first to become active in political and social issues. While her husband was president, Missus Roosevelt held more than three hundred news conferences for female reporters. She wrote a daily newspaper commentary. She wrote for many magazines. These activities helped spread her ideas to all Americans and showed that women had important things to say.
One issue Eleanor Roosevelt became involved in was equal rights for black Americans. She met publicly with black leaders to hear their problems. Few American politicians did this during the nineteen thirties and nineteen forties. One incident involving Eleanor Roosevelt became international news.
In nineteen thirty-nine, an American singer, Marian Anderson, planned a performance at Constitution Hall in Washington. But a conservative women's group refused to permit her to sing there because she was black.
Missus Roosevelt was a member of that organization, the Daughters of the American
Revolution. She publicly resigned her membership to protest the action of the group. An opinion study showed that most Americans thought she was right.
Eleanor Roosevelt helped the performance to be held outdoors, around the Lincoln Memorial. More than seventy thousand people heard Marian Anderson sing. Eleanor Roosevelt was always considered one of its strongest supporters of the civil rights movement.
The United States was forced to enter World War Two when Japanese forces attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in nineteen forty-one.
Missus Roosevelt made many speeches over the radio praising the soldiers she saw on her travels. She called on people to urge their government to work for peace after the war was over. Franklin Roosevelt died in nineteen forty-five, soon after he was elected to a fourth term as president.
When his wife heard the news she said: \"I am more sorry for the people of this country than I am for myself.\"
Harry Truman became president after Franklin Roosevelt died. World War Two ended a few months later. The leaders of the world recognized the need for peace. So they joined together to form the United Nations. President Truman appointed Missus Roosevelt as a delegate to the first meeting of the UN.
Eleanor Roosevelt spent the last years of her life visiting foreign countries. She became America's unofficial ambassador. She returned home troubled by what she saw. She recognized that the needs of the developing world were great. She called on Americans to help the people in developing countries.
Eleanor Roosevelt gave the best she had all through her life. People around the world recognized their loss when she died in nineteen sixty-two.
Unit 2
Task 1:
【答案】
June 5th，the United Nations，1972，world leaders and citizens how to protect the environment， San Francisco, California，\"Plan the Planet\"，\"Green Cities\"，most people now live，more than 75 percent，the former vice president，music concerts，parades，tree plantings，representatives from many environmental organizations 【原文】
Every year on June fifth many countries celebrate World Environment Day. The United Nations established this special day in nineteen seventy-two to get people to think about taking care of the planet. Faith Lapidus tells us more.
―Public events for World Environment Day are taking place from June first through June fifth. The events and conferences help teach world leaders and citizens how to protect the environment.
―Every year World Environment Day is celebrated in a different city. This year it is being held in San Francisco, California. This is the first time since the beginning of World Environment Day that the conference is being held in the United States. The main message of World
Environment Day this year is ‗Plan for the Planet‘. The events and conferences will show how to
have ‗Green Cities‘. This means that people will talk about ways that cities can have healthy environments.
―Most people in the world live in cities. This makes them especially important areas of
environmental concern. Cities use more than seventy-five percent of the world's natural resources such as water and gasoline. World Environment Day will center on how people in cities can work together to help save the planet.
―San Francisco is holding public talks to discuss pollution reduction, clean energy sources and the importance of healthy parks and gardens. Special experts are among the speakers. For example, former vice-president Al Gore will talk about climate change. There also are fun events such as music concerts, movies, art shows, parades, bicycle rides and tree plantings. Local farmers and restaurant owners will serve food that has been naturally grown.
―The Mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, invited city leaders from all over the world to attend this conference and share ideas. Representatives from many environmental organizations also are attending. The United Nations hopes to create an international agreement that countries and citizens will follow to help improve the Earth's environment.‖
Task 2:
【答案】 A. 1) d 2) a 3) b 4) c B.
1) Occupational noise 2) Aircraft noise 3) Traffic noise
【原文】
The sense of sound is one of our most important means of knowing what is going on around us. Sound has a wasted product, too, in the form of noise. Noise has been called unwanted sound. Noise is growing and it may get much worse before it gets and better.
Scientists, for several years, have been studying how noise affects people and animals. They are surprised by what they have learned. Peace and quiet are becoming harder to find. Noise pollution—the crashing, squeaking, banging, hammering of people—is no joke. It is a threat that should be looked at carefully. Sound is measured in units called ―decibels‖. At a level of 140 decibels people feel pain in their ears.
Automobiles, trucks, buses, motorcycles, airplanes, boats, factories, bands—all these things make noise. They bother not only our ears, but our minds and bodies as well. There is a saying about it being so noisy that you can‘t hear yourself think. Doctors who study noise believe that we must sometimes hear ourselves think. If we don‘t we may have headaches, other aches and pains, or even worse mental problems. Noise adds more tension to society that already faces enough stress. But noise is not a new problem. In ancient Rome, people complained so much about noise
that the government stopped chariots from moving through the streets at night!
Noise can be separated into a few general groups. The following examples are taken from hearings before the US Senate Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution in 1970.
Occupational noise—Factory workers who always hear noise have poorer hearing than other groups.
Aircraft noise—Around airports or on air routes the noise of airplanes taking off and landing causes the greatest complaints.
Traffic noise—Away from the noise of planes, traffic sounds break in on our peace and quiet. Trucks and motorcycles cause the most problems.
Task 3:
【答案】 1) F 2) F 3) T 4) F 5) T 6) F 7) F 8) T 9) T
【原文】
We usually think of pollution as a harmful waste substance that threatens the air and water. But some people have become concerned about another kind of pollution. It can be everywhere, depending on the time of day. And it was not thought of as a substance. It is light.
The idea of light pollution has developed with the increase of lights in cities. In many areas, this light makes it difficult or impossible to observe stars and in the night sky. In 1998, the International Dark-Sky Association formed. This organization wants to reduce light pollution in the night sky. It also urges the effective use of electric lighting.
There are a number of reasons why light pollution is important. One has become clear at the Mount Wilson near Los Angeles, California. Mount Wilson Observatory was home to the largest telescopes in the world during the first half of 1900.
During that period, Los Angeles grew to become one of America's biggest cities.
Today, light from Los Angeles makes the night sky above Mount Wilson very bright. It is no longer an important research center because of light pollution.
Light pollution threatens to reduce the scientific value of research telescopes in other important observatories. They include Lick Observatory near San Jose, California and Yerkes Observatory near Chicago, Illinois.
Light pollution is the result of wasted energy. Bright light shining into the sky is not being used to provide light where it is needed on Earth. Poorly designed lighting causes a great deal of light pollution. Lights that are brighter than necessary also cause light pollution.
Recently, two Italian astronomers and an American environmental scientist created a world map of the night sky. The map shows that North America, Western Europe and Japan have the greatest amount of light pollution.
Most people in America are surprised to find out that they are able to see our own galaxy, the Milky Way, with their own eyes. But about three fourths of Americans cannot see the Milky Way because of man-made light.
Objects in the night sky are resources that provide everyone with wonder. And light pollution threatens to prevent those wonderful sights from being seen.
Task 4:
【答案】 A.
Israel and Jordan，365，the lowest point，saltiest，are important to Jews, Christians and Muslims，Minerals，The strange beauty of the sea B.
Purpose of the project: To help save the Dead Sea from shrinking. Countries to initiate the project: Israel and Jordan. Cause of the shrinking: Water that used to flow from the Jordan River into the Dead Sea has been redirected for other uses in the area. Specific measures: A pipeline of more than 300 kilometers long will be built to pump water from the Red Sea through both countries into the Dead Sea. Duration of the project: At least three years. Cost of the project: 1,000 million dollars. Message sent by this project: The environment, ecology and nature are more important than borders or political conflicts. C. 1) T 2) T
【原文】
Israel and Jordan recently announced that they would work together to help save the Dead Sea from shrinking. Government officials said the joint project would help the sea, protect the area's unusual wildlife and increase the number of visitors to the area. The announcement was made during the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development earlier this month in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Dead Sea is on the border between Israel and Jordan. It is 365 meters below sea level. That is the lowest point on Earth. The Dead Sea is the saltiest large body of water in the world.
The area around the Dead Sea has ancient places that are important to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Minerals in the Dead Sea are used for health treatments. The strange beauty of the sea brings many visitors to the area.
But the Dead Sea is shrinking by almost one meter each year. Most of the water that flows into the Dead Sea comes from the Jordan River. However, water flowing from the Jordan River has been redirected for other uses in the area. Officials say within the next 50 years, the Dead Sea could shrink to less than half of its current size.
To prevent that, Israel and Jordan plan to build a pipeline more than 300 kilometers long. The pipeline would pump water from the Red Sea through both countries into the Dead Sea. After the pipeline is built, the officials hope to build a canal and a salt removal System that will provide fresh water to Jordanians, Israelis and Palestinians.
The pipeline will take at least three years to build. The project will cost as much as 1,000
million dollars. Israel and Jordan hope to pay for it with help from other countries. The project is expected to begin after a nine-month study is completed.
Israel and Jordan had hoped to cooperate closely on a number of issues after they signed a peace agreement in 1994. However, tensions have increased between them since the current Palestinian uprising began two years ago.
Officials from Israel and Jordan described the water project as a major step forward. Experts say the agreement sends a message that the environment, ecology and nature are more important than borders or political conflicts.
Task 5:
【答案】 A.
1) 27 percent, higher ocean temperatures，activities by people，60 percent 2) developing countries，off the coast of northeastern Australia，off the Philippines，the Caribbean islands，South America B.
Coral reefs support many kinds of sea life.
Coral reefs also protect coastal communities in storms.
Coral reefs support fishing activities and protect inland waterways. Coral reefs also have become popular stops for travelers. Corals are even important for medical research. C. 1) F 2) T 3) T
【原文】
Environmental experts are concerned about the world's coral reefs. A recent study found that twenty-seven percent of all coral reef systems have been destroyed. Experts believe higher ocean temperatures and activities by people are to blame. The study warns that sixty percent of the reef systems could be permanently lost if nothing is done to stop the problem.
Corals are groups of small organisms called polyps. These polyps live within a skeleton made of a substance called limestone.
Corals are found in warm waters. Millions of corals grow together to form coral reefs. Coral reefs are some of the oldest natural systems in the world. The reefs support many kinds of sea life. They can be to important to local and national economies. The reefs also protect coastal communities in storms.
The World Wildlife Fund paid for the independent report. The group warns that the
destruction of coral reefs will result in severe losses to the world economy. Peter Bryant works with the Endangered Seas Program of the World Wildlife Fund. Mister Bryant notes that most of the reef systems are in developing countries. He says the presence of coral reefs produces money for many economies.
Coral reefs support fishing activities and protect inland waterways. They also have become popular stops for travelers. Many people like to swim underwater to see coral reefs. Mister Bryant estimates that the world's coral reefs are worth thirty-thousand-million dollars a year. The largest in the world is the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of northeastern Australia. Coral reefs also are found in waters off the Philippines, Indonesia, the Caribbean islands, the United States and South America.
Corals are even important for medical research. Mister Bryant says more than half of all new cancer drug studies involve sea creatures. For example, he notes there is a reef in the Caribbean with organisms that form the basis of the AIDS drug A-Z-T.
The World Wildlife Fund say coral reefs should be declared protected areas. That way, human activities could be more closely supervised. The group says governments must take responsibility for the future of their coastal communities.
Task 6:
【答案】 A.
The group claims responsibility for hundreds of acts of destruction in the United States in the past five years, with the destruction estimated at more than 30 million dollars. Since 1996, members of the group have claimed to have damaged or burned hundreds of new homes, tree- cutting companies, federal offices and animal and plant research laboratories. They say their goal is to stop development and other activities they consider harmful to nature. They say their property attacks are aimed at industry and rich people who profit from the destruction of the natural environment. The Earth Liberation Front says it will use any direct action necessary to carry out its goals. But it says it is opposed to harming animals or humans. Traditional environmental groups in the United States reject the group's methods. B.
1) a 17-year-old student，the state of New York，cooperate with officials investigating the Earth Liberation Front
2) environmental extremists，the group usually leaves very little evidence behind
【原文】
For years, American law enforcement officials have been trying to solve a series of environmental crimes. The crimes are linked to a group known as the Earth Liberation Front. The group claims responsibility for hundreds of acts of destruction in the United States during the past five years. The destruction has caused more than thirty million dollars worth of damage.
Federal investigators say they are finally closer to solving the crimes. Recently, a seventeen-year-old student reportedly admitted setting a series of fires in the state of New York. He was charged in connection with acts of damage believed to be carried out by the Earth Liberation Front. The student is the son of a New York City police officer. He reportedly made the admission during a secret court hearing. As part of a deal, the student agreed to cooperate with officials investigating the Earth Liberation Front. He could face up to twenty years in prison. This is the first time that a member of the group has admitted being responsible for environmental crimes linked to the Earth Liberation Front. Three other suspects in the property
attacks were negotiating with federal officials.
Since Nineteen-Ninety-Six, members of the group have claimed to have damaged or burned hundreds of new homes, tree-cutting companies, federal offices and animal and plant research laboratories. They say their goal is to stop development and other activities they consider harmful to nature. They say their property attacks are aimed at industry and rich people who profit from the destruction of the natural environment.
The Earth Liberation Front says it will use any direct action necessary to carry out its goals. But it says it is opposed to harming animals or humans. Traditional environmental groups in the United States reject the group's methods.
The Earth Liberation Front includes environmental extremists who operate independently of each other. Federal investigators say their lack of structure has made them difficult to stop. And they say the group usually leaves very little evidence behind.
A few weeks ago, the group claimed responsibility for burning several new homes in Mount Sinai, New York. It has also claimed responsibility for destructive acts in Colorado, Arizona, Oregon and Wisconsin.
Task 7:
【答案】 A.
renewable energy，the next ten years，1 percent，1,500 megawatts，past 20 years，38 cents，3 cents，a 90 percent drop，government support B.
A number of people who live on or visit the Cape say Cape Cod is a national treasure should not be open to industry. They argue that building the windmills would hurt fish and birds in the area, and it would hurt tourism. They say the windmills will ruin the beauty of looking out to sea from the coast. C. 1) T 2) F
【原文】
A study says wind power will lead the growth in the use of renewable energy in the United States and Canada over the next ten years. Renewable energy also includes forms like power from the sun. Navigant Consulting in the United States carried out the study. Energy companies helped pay for much of the research.
The use of wind energy has grown in the United States, but remains less than one percent of all the energy produced.
Lisa Frantzis led the study. She says the researchers expect additions of as much as
one-thousand-five-hundred megawatts from wind power projects each year. That is about equal to the energy production of one nuclear power station.
The study says there have been major improvements in the performance of all renewable energy technologies in the past twenty years. For example, the study reports a ninety percent drop
in the price of electricity produced from wind. In the nineteen-eighties a kilowatt hour of wind power cost about thirty-eight cents. Now, a kilowatt hour is closer to three cents. The study found that government support must continue and grow to permit renewable energies to compete in the power industry.
However, some renewable energy companies face criticism. In fact, wind energy producers usually have to deal with opposition from communities they try to enter.
Currently, a wind energy company is trying to set up business in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. The Cape Wind company wants to place more than one-hundred windmills in nearby waters. The windmills are hundreds of meters tall. Cape Wind says the project could provide Cape Cod with seventy-five percent of its electricity needs. And, it would not create pollution.
But, a number of people who live on or visit the Cape say they do not want the windmills. They say Cape Cod is a national treasure that should not be open to industry. They argue that building the windmills would hurt fish and birds in the area. And, they say it would hurt tourism. They say the windmills will ruin the beauty of looking out to sea from the coast.
Environmental groups, however, look at the situation differently. They ague that a source of energy that does not cause pollution would protect natural environments like Cape Cod.
Task 8:
【答案】 A.
1) For him, pollution is the way environment is being misused, the actions which consume the environment, like the overuse of artificial fertilizers and over-cropping in developing agriculture. And the harmful substances like the waste from motor cars and factories are less important.
2) They see pollution as a social problem, and the root cause of pollution is the way we organize our society and the incredible waste of resources. B.
1) Housewives can avoid buying things that they don't need.
2) They can also cut down on the amount of packaging and try not to buy dyed toilet paper to reduce water pollution.
3) People can avoid buying drinks in non-returnable bottles.
4) They can reduce consumption by making their own food instead of buying it.
【原文】
Matthew: Christopher, most countries now appear to become increasingly concerned with the
issue of pollution and its control. How do you see this problem?
Christopher: What I see as pollution is the way the environment is being mishandled. Um...
obviously there are certain waste products which are vomited out of motor cars or out of factories, either into the sea or into the river ways and so on. But, you know, they are what people say is pollution. More important things, I think, in terms of
pollution, are the way that the environment in general is being misused. Things like agriculture, where artificial fertilizers and over-cropping and so on literally consume the environment. It is all picked up, collected, and transported from the land in terms of food or fibers and then ends tip in the sea at some stage, either through sewage or through waste products. I think that they are probably more significant.
Matthew: Right. Michael, can you tell me though whether.., urn.., as I get the feeling, this is a
problem which has been blown up by the media, because people wish to avoid some of the more difficult problems to do with being a consumer society,...and, in a sensei trying to solve many aspects of the pollution problem is rather a sort of cleaning up process without getting to the root of the problem?
Michael: Well, pollution is a symptom really rather than the cause. Matthew: Mmm.
Michael: But of itself it does produce many quite serious results. In fact we do not really
know what the long-term effects of many pollutants are going to be, but most forms of pollution can be solved.., urn.., fairly easily and usually by technical means. Now the difficulty with other environmental problems is that many of them have no technical solution and this is where the difference arises between those who are advocating technical solutions to problems which they see almost purely in terms of pollution and those who see the real problems of society as a whole, the way we organize it, the incredible waste of resources that is endemic in this society.
Matthew: This seems a very complex problem. Jane, how can individuals of the public,
housewives, children at school, anyone.., help to prevent pollution?
Jane: Well, I think there are lots of things people can do in the home or at school or in
the office. Mm... when it comes to tackling the problems on a major basis, I mean it's question of continual lobbying and pressuring, writing to newspapers, etc. But I think there are many things that people.., particularly housewives can do in the house, like urn.., for instance, just not buying things that have no use after the package has been opened,.., um... to really make a note of the sort of stuff that goes into the rubbish bin, that's very, very important; you can cut down on the amount of packaging.., on the amount of, for instance, water pollution like buying um... toilet paper that's dyed... um.., and all this sort of thing that people can cut down on. You can make a greater .effort not to buy drinks in non-returnable bottles; to make your own food, such as jams and drinks which are quite easy to do, rather than just going out and buying and consuming more and more. And if you put this into practice in all walks of life, in the home and at school and in the office, this is a very, very good, major contribution to helping solve some of the more immediate problems of pollution.
Matthew: So in a sense, perhaps you are saying that it's the way we consume things that is
creating pollution, by the litter they cause or perhaps by the fact that we use so much oil, and therefore there will be a number of oil tankers on the sea, and that means there will be accidents and oil spillage and so on, so that we have to stop consuming, is it...or...?
Jane: I think that is a very big part of it actually... Certainly, you know, when you get
down to the more technical sides of pollution, of atmospheric pollution caused by certain industrial processes, there's not a great deal that an individual can do other than cause a fuss about it, which I hope most people, you know, would consider doing. But certainly on a day by day household basis, much of the problems of pollution are certainly caused by either just complete thoughtlessness and waste or by problems of overconsuming natural resources. And in all the products that arrive at the housewife's table, the more refined and pre-packed and disposable it is, the more pollution it will have caused in its manufacture and it's likely to cause in its disposal
Task 9:
【答案】
I. Energy transition (definition)
A change of one major resource of energy to another. II. First energy transition: From wood to coal A. Wood as major fuel
1. Usages: Heat homes, cook food, and produce basic items. 2. Major advantages: It was cheap and easy to get and easy to burn. B. Coal as major fuel 1. Advantages over wood: a. It burns for a long time. b. It burns at a higher temperature. 2. Good effects on many Western countries in the 1800s and the early 1900s: a. The industry developed. b. People lived a better life. 3. Disadvantages revealed after 50 years of use: a. Air pollution. b. High costs, because it is not renewable. III. Second energy transition: From coal to petroleum A. Apparent advantages over the previous fuel: 1. It was cheap. 2. It was easy to get. 3. The supply around the world seemed to be large. B. Reasons for people to favor the new resource: 1. People's need for a better life. 2. Industrial development: The introduction of the internal combustion engine needed liquid fuel. C. Good effects on people's lives;
It allowed people to travel by car, to heat their homes more efficiently, to buy a greater variety of things, and to purchase more things at lower prices. D. Disadvantages disclosed after 50 years of use:
1. As a fossil fuel, it is not renewable. 2. The price goes up. 3. It causes environmental pollution. IV. Conclusion
A. The pattern in the previous energy transitions:
1. The transition is made in order to improve the quality of people's lives. 2. A new energy resource seems to have more advantages than the old energy source, and fewer disadvantages. B. The third energy transition:
1. Time: The late 20th century and early 21st century.
2. The important things to consider: The effects of this energy transition and the advantages and the disadvantages of the new fuel.
【原文】
Most industrialized nations have gone through two major energy transitions, and some nations are now making a third major energy transition. By energy transition we mean a change of one major resource of energy to another.
The first major energy transition was from wood to coal. For many centuries people used wood as a primary source of energy. By burning wood people were able to heat their homes, cook their food, and produce basic items. By using wood societies were able to support themselves and take care of their needs. Most early societies grew up near a sufficient supply of wood. The main advantage of wood was that it was cheap and easy to get and easy to bum.
During the early 1800s, probably around the year 1820, some towns and villages began to make transition from wood to coal as the basic source of energy. About that time, people thought that coal would have more advantages than wood. Wood is a renewable fuel, which means that it grows back. This is, an advantage. But most wood is not as efficient a source of energy as coal. Most wood doesn't burn for very long, and most wood doesn't burn at very high temperatures.
It was found that coal could generally burn longer than wood. And it burned at a higher temperature. These were good points for industry because early in the 1800s industry began to develop very rapidly and a long-burning and hot-burning fuel was needed for the machines that were being used.
Coal seemed to have another advantage. There was a lot of it, and it was easy to get. By digging just below the surface of the ground and by using simple tools, coal could be taken from the ground easily. In the 1800s transportation became more developed too, so coal could be shipped to faraway places. It was no longer necessary to live near a source of energy.
Coal was used as a primary source of energy in many Western countries in the 1800s and the early 1900s. The transition from wood to coal seemed to have an overall effect. Industry developed. People were able to get more things, they were able to build bigger homes, and they were able to spend less time making what they needed for their daily lives. Most people would say that, in general, people's standard of living went up. People seemed to have lived a better life.
After 50 years of using coal some disadvantages seemed obvious. One disadvantage was air pollution. Industrial centers of the early 1900s were often covered with a thick layer of smoke. Using coal was seen as somewhat unsafe and unhealthy.
Another disadvantage of using coal was its rising costs. As more coal was used, it became harder to get. It became necessary to dig farther down in the ground in order to get the coal. Because coal was more difficult to get, the cost went up. And coal is a fossil fuel. It comes from under the ground. It doesn't renew itself. When it's gone, it's gone.
At about the same time some of the disadvantages of coal became clear, petroleum began to reach the market. Petroleum became attractive because it was cheap and easy to get. Most people didn't know of any disadvantages in using petroleum.
So the second transition was made—from coal to petroleum.
The reason for changing from coal to petroleum was that people thought that their standard of living would be better. They thought their lives would be better by changing to this new energy source. And, once again, the change was connected to developments in industry.
In the early 1900s, the internal combustion engine—the kind of engine used in most automobiles-was developed. An internal combustion engine needs liquid fuel. Petroleum was an excellent liquid fuel. It was fairly cheap and easy to get, and the supply around the world seemed to be quite large. In addition, other machinery was developed that used petroleum, so gradually, many industrialized societies changed over to petroleum.
Using petroleum greatly affected people's lives. It allowed people to heat their homes more efficiently, to buy a greater variety of things, and to purchase more things at lower prices because production costs were reduced. And there was less visible pollution. So, in general, the transition from coal to petroleum seemed to be worthwhile.
Of course, like using wood or coal, using petroleum has some disadvantages. And, as in the case of the change to coal, it's easier to see the disadvantages 50 years after the transition. One disadvantage of using petroleum is that it is a fossil fuel—it doesn't renew itself—so eventually—it will run out. There is a limited supply. And, as the supply decreases, the price goes higher.
And, like burning wood or coal, burning petroleum also produces air pollution. This pollution isn't safe for people, particularly in industrial areas and in big cities.
So, if we look at these energy transitions—first, from wood to coal, and then from coal to petroleum, we see a simple pattern. The transition is made in order to improve the quality of people's lives. And the transition is made because a new energy resource seems to have more advantages than the old energy source, and fewer disadvantages.
During the late 20th century and early 21st century, many countries will be making another major energy transition. The transition this time will be from petroleum to another source of energy. As with earlier transitions, it will be important to consider the effects and the advantages and the disadvantages.
Unit 3
Task 1:
【答案】 A.
1) voice signals，video images，computer data
2) 1983，four million，game-playing，educational，financial，budgeting,，accounting 3) 1983，52 percent，16 percent
4) 18—19，25 percent，18 percent，over-60s，3 percent，87 percent B.
1) ISDN stands for the integrated services digital network.
2) Some people attribute this growth industry to the recession which led to redundancies and a shorter working week, and this in turn led to more leisure time. Then people began indulging in
home entertainment in their extra free time. Hundreds of companies have sprung up to fill this gap, and the sports, DIY and home entertainment industries are achieving phenomenal success. 3) Having teenagers in the home was a decisive factor in the purchase of a personal computer. 4) Users become more knowledgeable and want more expensive machines with all kinds of new things.
5) With more time on their hands people tend to spend more time keeping fit with the help of all kinds of new gadgets.
6) Rubik's cube is a famous toy of the early 1980s, which has six sides, each composed of nine rotating faces, with 43 quintillion combinations.
7) Hacker means an enthusiast who breaks into computers. They use their home computers to break into supposedly secure government and business computers, for example in banks, labs and research centers.
【原文】
Just before I give a few details about the fun aspect of computers—that is, for use at home and for entertainment—I'd like to mention a couple of facts about the outlook for ISDN—that's the integrated services digital network—and it foresees a world-wide telecommunications network which could transmit telex and voice signals and, indeed, full-color video images and high-speed computer data. Now, can you just imagine having a meeting with your colleagues around the world without even leaving your office? Well, that's what world-wide video teleconferencing can do, and it's on the cards that internal toll-free telephones may be available and also faster computer transmission with a digital network. And how are all these marvelous things achieved? Well, there are satellite relays, and digital packet switching, and laser devices which transmit over fiber-optic cables. But more about that another time.
And after that slight diversion I'll get back to a totally different aspect of modern technology—home computers, or PCs—that stands for personal computers. First, a bit of
background. Some people attribute this growth industry to the recession which led to redundancies and a shorter working week, and this in turn led to more leisure time. So what are people doing with this extra free time that's on their hands? They're indulging in home entertainment, that's what! Hundreds of companies have sprung up to fill this gap, and the sports, DIY and home entertainment industries are achieving phenomenal success. In 1983 in the US, there were four million PCs, and game-playing was the principal use, with educational use a close second; and in third place was the financial function for things like budgeting, balancing cheque books, accounting and forecasting and so on.
To illustrate this with a few concrete figures, from the States again, in 1983, 52 per cent of the software was for entertainment programs, whereas only 16 percent was educational. Possibly this could be explained by the short life span of computer games, and having teenagers in the home was a decisive factor in the purchase of a personal computer, as households with children in this age-range were 50 per cent more likely to buy them. As far as the interest versus disapproval statistics go, in the 18-19 age-group, 25 per cent expressed interest in PCs and 18 per cent
disapproval; and at the other end of the scale, the over-60s showed only 3 per cent interest and a resounding 87 per cent disapproval!
And this trend towards PCs is likely to continue as users become more knowledgeable and
want more expensive machines with all kinds of new things. And there's a wide range in sizes, too,
as the portable market expands, and now you can buy a featherweight lap-size model that's less than 2 kg, or something larger at around 12 kg but still portable.
Just to digress slightly, I'd like to point out that microtechnology has hit other aspects of the home and leisure industry as well. With more time on our hands it seems we're spending more time keeping fit, and fitness has become a real growth industry, and it seems prone to gadgetry as well! There are all sorts of new things on the market these days. Take, for example, the watches that monitor your pulse rate as you jog or do aerobics, or exercise bicycles with sensors in the handgrips to check your pulse rate and then display it on a screen. And for those of you who remember that famous toy of the early 80s—Rubik's cube, the one with six sides, each composed of nine rotating faces, with 43 quintillion combinations—well, anyway, in a lab in the US they're working on a Cubot—that's a self-contained robot using microprocessors and mechanics—to solve it. But I'm getting off the track again, so back to our home computers with a final warning.
The technical innovations of the last couple of decades have led to a host of new words in our vocabulary, and one of these is hacker—that's H-A-C-K-E-R—and it simply means an enthusiast who breaks into computers. And, not so long ago in the States, teenagers who were hackers used their home computers to break into supposedly secure government and business computers, for example in banks, labs and research centers. They just tried out different passwords until they found the right one. And as one seventeen-year-old said, 'It was like child's play.' And all that's needed is a home computer and a modem—that's M-O-D-E-M—which is a device that allows computers to transmit data over the phone lines—and, of course, a basic knowledge of how to operate a computer! And this has led to tangled legal and ethical problems—but we won't go into that here. But, as you can see, home computers are indeed a handy thing to have around, not only for entertainment but also for educational value. And no doubt in future...
Task 2:
【答案】 A.
Time 7:15 7:45 Name of the Programme Content
Authors Now Interview with Pat Ellison
The second episode of Charles Mystery Hour Richards' exciting thriller She
Died on Monday
8:00 Monday concert Classical music of Beethoven
and Brahms
8:50 Postbag Opinions of the audience Bedtime Reading Pat Ellison's most famous novel 10:30 Book A Cousin from Birmingham will
be read by Catherine Jeavons.
From 11:30 p.m. Caroline Peel will be playing
onwards Swing the Day some of the records the audience tomorrow night Away have requested for relatives and
triends.
Channel Radio 3 Radio 2 Radio 3 Radio 3
Radio 4 Radio 1 B.
1) c 2) b 3) d 4) b 5) d
【原文】 Announcer:
The time now is 5:52 and in 3 minutes here on Radio 4 we have the weather forecast followed at 6 o'clock by the news, which means we have time for a look at programmes for this evening and for the week ahead with Bernard Mitchell. Bernard Mitchell:
For classical music lovers, tonight's Monday concert on Radio 3 will be broadcast live from the Royal Festival Hall and includes works by Beethoven and Brahms, starting at 8 o'clock. In the interval, Peter Simpson will be giving some of your opinions on radio programmes in \"postbag\" at 8:50. Fans of the writer Pat Ellison may be interested to know that she's being interviewed on tonight's edition of \"Authors Now\" at 7:15 on Radio 3 prior to our concert. Pat Ellison's most famous novel A Cousin from Birmingham is also our \"Bedtime Reading Book\10:30 after the news on Radio 4, and will be read by Catherine Jeavons.
In \"Mystery Hour\" on Radio 2 starting at 7:45 you can hear the second episode of Charles Richards' exciting thriller She Died on Monday and that's followed by another edition of \"Sports Desk\" which will bring you an up-to-the-minute report of tonight's Portugal versus England match, as well as details of all today's other main sporting events.
Those of you who enjoyed last month's programme \"The Animals Came to Tea\" on Radio 2 and would like to hear it again, or may have missed the broadcast altogether, may like to know that we are repeating the programme on Radio 4 on Thursday morning at 10:15. In case you don't already know, naturalist and explorer David Woods recounts some of his experiences in the Amazon jungle.
If you fancy a little late-night music, you can \"Swing the Day Away\" with Caroline Peel on Radio 1 from 11:30 p.m. onwards tomorrow night, when she will be playing some of the records you have requested for relatives and friends. Also for pop music lovers, most of Tuesday evening on Radio 1 will be devoted to a rock concert recorded last week in the Albert Hall, featuring many well-known groups, and that will start at 7:30.
If you are thinking of buying a home computer in the near future, in \"Watchout\" this Friday on Radio 4 at 10:45, Michael Sharp will be delving into this world of microtechnology and giving listeners advice on all the latest models available and what to look out for.
And now back to you, Evelyn.
Task 3:
【答案】
1) Yes, but it doesn't exist the same as it used to. It was totally based on the star system before. And now, it is more a matter of the talent and the people that would live to have the exposure. 2) a) They live in a totally different life style than they used to.
b) They work in different motion pictures, but are not necessarily contracted to a studio. So the studios don't have as many contract players now as they used to have.
3) Not as much importance has been placed on the star career of the actors and actresses as there used to be, because their career now can rise and fall with a season on television. It rose and fell with almost their entire lifetime with the studio before.
【原文】
Interviewer: There's an image of Hollywood around the world... Mickennon: Uh-hmm.
Interviewer: Is that uh...image - does it exist anymore? Mickennon: Not as much as it used to.
Interviewer: All the glamour and the rest of it?
Mickennon: I don't think it exists the same as it used to. Uh...it was based on the star system so
totally before. And now, it is more a matter of uh...the talent, and the people and the uh...exposure of uh...those that would like to have the exposure.
Interviewer: What has happened to Hollywood actors and actresses then? Obviously, they're still
making motion picture material for television. Bat it's almost like a different medium, isn't it?
Mickennon: Well, they like in a different life style—totally different life style that they used to. It
used to be they all lived in fabulous mansions, and they had all kinds of uh...servants and that sort of thing. Uh...and their uh...their car status, and their...their beach home status...
Interviewer: Uh-huh...
Mickennon: ...and uh...their status with the studio. It...it no longer is a matter of... Interviewer: It's just different...
Mickennon: ...what studio you're with. It's a matter that you're working in this picture or that
picture, but not necessarily contracted to studio. They don't have as many contract players now as they used to have.
Interviewer: But is it that there is not the need to create as much of an image or something with
the television era as it was with motion pictures? Because a lot of the -
Mickennon: I don't think as much importance has been placed on their... their star career as there
used to be. Because uh...their careers now can rise and fall with a season on television...
Interviewer: Uh-huh.
Mickennon: But it rose and fell with almost their entire lifetime with the studio before...
(To be continued)
Task 4:
【答案】
1) Some people complain that television is not entertainment, but simply a commercial enterprise, which considers what it likes rather than what the masses like.
2) The broadcast stations are granted a license to ensure that they aim to educate as well as entertain. Otherwise, they are likely to lose sight of this fact, and strictly entertain.
3) A fair rating system would be one that the majority could control, rather than the few. Then the rating system would be an indication of what the people really want.
4) That's because he thinks that the cartoon is a less violent medium. And it gives an actor an
opportunity to express himself in a way that he can't do on live action in front of the camera.
【原文】
Interviewer: Some people are very cynical about television as a medium. I've heard it said that it's,
it's not entertainment—it's simply a commercial enterprise.
Mickennon: It has a tendency to make you feel that way, and I think that more and more all the
time, the producers are being made aware of this...
Interviewer: Uhmmm.
Mickennon: That's why the broadcast stations are granted a license--to educate as well as entertain.
And in many cases, they lose sight of this fact, and they strictly entertain. And they don't consider the masses. They consider what they like rather than what the masses like. So, who's going to say what's a fair rating system?
Interviewer: Uh-huh.
Mickennon: I wish somebody could create one that the people could control, rather than the few—
because then it would be an indication of what the people really want.
Interviewer: You would think that they have... People complain about violence.., on... on
television...
Mickennon: No, I don't go for the violent stuff too much. I think that's one of the reasons I like to
work cartoons—they're a less violent medium. And it...it gives an actor an opportunity to express himself in a way that you can't do on live action in front of the camera.
Interviewer: Uh-huh
Mickennon: Because you can do voices, and you can do interpretations—wild characters that you
could never do otherwise, because nobody would ever cast you for that sort of thing. Especially, they cast you for the way you look on camera...
Interviewer: Right.
Mickennon: They cast you for the way you sound on cartoons!
Task 5:
【答案】 A.
single unifying，integrated
a) play，story，interesting，cogent b) songs，dances，carry it forward c) dancing，of equal importance B.
1) It is often said that the modem musical show is America's most original and dynamic contribution to world theater.
2) When Oklahoma! burst into popularity in 1943, Broadway audiences and critics were struck by its originality, vitality, and excitement.
3) It proves that literature need not be coarsened by musicalization nor its spirit distorted. When the music is skillful and inspired and the collaborators well matched, the results are triumphant.
【原文】
It is often said that the modern musical show is America's most original and dynamic contribution to world theater. Certainly in the last quarter of a century, America has produced a spate of musical plays that have been phenomenally popular abroad as well as at home. Yet it is very difficult to explain what is new or characteristically American about them, for the ingredients are centuries old. For hundreds of years, drama and dance, music and verse have been combined in different ways to compose grand and light operas, operettas, musical reviews, and musical comedies.
Perhaps the uniqueness of America's contribution to the genre can best be characterized through brief descriptions of several of the most important and best-known musicals. One of these is surely \"Oklahoma!\" by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. When \"Oklahoma!\" burst into popularity in 1943, Broadway audiences and critics were struck by its originality, vitality, and excitement. This ―new‖ type of musical was conceived as a kind of total theater which the play (or \"book\"), the music and lyrics, the dancing, and the scenic background were assembled not merely to provide entertainment and variety, but to share intimately in a single unifying concept. This meant that the play or story that provides the structure of the piece must be itself an interesting and cogent drama, not merely a skeleton on which to hang a series of unrelated songs and dances and jokes. It also meant that the songs and dances should arise (or seem to arise) naturally out of the situations of the story and should not interrupt the action but carry it forward. At last dancing had become more than an extra and entertaining frill, it had become a partner of equal importance. The choreographer of Oklahoma!, Agnes de Mille, was given free reign to create the dances in an American folk-dance style expanded by all the virtuosity of classical ballet and modern dance. The result was a brilliantly integrated performance by the talented dancers and singing actors.
Oklahoma! also marked a new direction in the choice of story on which a musical is based. No longer were writers and composers content with a simple love story in a sentimentally picturesque or aristocratic setting. After Oklahoma! most musicals were based on plays or novels that had already proven themselves and that contained more realistic stories of young love in authentic social and cultural contexts. \"Oklahoma!\" itself was based on Lynn Rigg's successful and esteemed \"folk play\" Green Grow the Lilacs; its story dealt not only with the vicissitudes of young love, but also with opening of the American West.
As in all genres, the musical has had its share of failures. Some worthy dramas have been pressed into service and musicalized and sometimes butchered in the process, and audiences have had to watch a fine play diluted into a mediocre musical. But the successes have been many and spectacular. Musicals such as My Fair Lady (1956), based on Shaw's delightful Pygmalion, have repeatedly proved that literature need not be coarsened by musicalization nor its spirit distorted. Indeed, when the music is skillful and inspired and the collaborators well matched, the results are triumphant.
Task 6:
【答案】 A.
Speaker
Rosie
About Corrie Clifton’s Latest Novel Tables in White
General Opinion Further Explanation
The plot is pathetic/far-fetched, the Wasn't impressed at all. characters have absolutely no credibility and the settings are just too simplistic/completely unrealistic. Maybe the main character was a bit Rick It was a really good read. wishy-washy, but the pace is fast-moving and it sure kept me up late at night finishing it.
Inclined to agree with Rosie The characterization and the settings are a Toby about the characterization and the bit superficial and lacking the depth of settings; but couldn't put it down. description of the author's previous best-seller, but it's got a fast- moving plot. The author should have done far more Penny So unrealistic. research into the subject of hospitals and medicine and tried to present a more authentic picture.
About the Film Hidden Treasures
Speaker General Opinion Further Explanation It had exactly the right blend of suspense Toby and romance; the music was evocative but Thoroughly enjoyed it. not overpowering, and the photography
was beautiful, especially the underwater scenes. Would heartily recommend It was a fascinating film, both amusing and Rosie it. educational, though the music was a trifle
soppy at times.
Penny Refreshing; quite good fun. Lack of violence and horror. Rick Average. There is little plot, but the music is a pure joy. B. 1) b 2) c
【原文】
Luke: It's our weekly round-up of what's new on the entertainment scene, and our panel will be
giving you their opinions. This is Luke Greatwich, your regular host, and this evening our guests are Rosie Davis, the drama critic of the National Times. Rosie: Good evening!
Luke: And Penny Williams, an up-and-coming British opera star. Penny: Hello!
Luke: And Toby Price, the director of the Grimston Gallery. Toby: Good evening!
Luke: And Rick Sun, who is an agent for several pop groups. Rick: Hi!
Luke: So, a big welcome to all of you! Penny: Nice to be here.
Toby: Glad to be on the programme. Rick: Pleasure.
Luke: I'm sure our listeners are dying to hear your reactions to Corrie Clifton's latest novel Tables
in White, the sequel to last year's blockbuster Rain on the Panes. So let's start with you, Rosie.
Rosie: Frankly, I wasn't impressed at all! The plot is pathetic, the characters have absolutely no
credibility and the settings are just too simplistic!
Rick: Hey, hang on a minute, Rosie! I thought it was a really good read! Maybe the main
character-that young doctor from Rain on the Panes—was a bit wishy-washy, but the pace is fast-moving and it sure kept me up late at night finishing it!
Rosie: That's all very well, Rick, but the plot is so far-fetched and it's totally impossible to identify
with any of the characters; and the descriptions of the places are like something out of a travel brochure for a holiday at rock-bottom prices! Completely unrealistic! Luke: Yes. Well, Toby, perhaps you could give us your comments on this novel.
Toby: Well, I'm inclined to agree with Rosie about the characterization and the settings--a bit
superficial and lacking the depth of description of her previous best-seller but, like Rick, I couldn't put it down It's got a fast moving plot.
Penny: Ah, maybe so, but it's so unrealistic! Can you actually imagine real people getting involved
in situations like that? Seriously, though, as the main character is a doctor, I felt she—Corrie Clifton, that is—should have done far more research into the subject of hospitals and medicine and tried to present a more authentic picture.
Luke: Thanks, Penny. Well, from those controversial opinions let's move on to the film that
everybody's been talking about and queuing up to see as well. Hidden Treasures. Toby... Toby: I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed it—so much that I sat through it twice! It had exactly the
right blend of suspense and romance; the music was evocative but not overpowering, and the photography was beautiful, especially the underwater scenes. Rosie: Here I'm in complete agreement with Toby. Toby: Well, thank you, Rosie.
Rosie: It was a fascinating film, both amusing and educational. I hadn't realized before just how
much treasure can be found at the bottom of the sea, and the historical perspective was well presented. Although I must confess that the music was a trifle soppy at times. But on the whole I'd heartily recommend it.
Luke: Yes, I share your enthusiasm, Rosie. It's certainly a good film for all the family. Penny?
Penny: What I found so refreshing was the lack of violence and horror. So often the papers, video
films, TV and so on are just chock-a-block with nasty scenes of death and destruction, and here you have a delightful story that keeps your attention and doesn't have the slightest hint of murder or violence—quite good fun, I'd call it. Luke: And what about you, Rick?
Rick: Well, I'd just rate it as average. I honestly can't see what you're getting so excited about!
Why would anyone want to queue for hours just to see some underwater scenes of old ships and lost treasure? The plot is a bit thin on the ground and, going back to what Toby mentioned about a blend of suspense and romance, well, for me it was about as exciting as the Siberian weather report on the radio, and the romance seemed to consist of walking hand-in- hand along the beach in the sunset. Now, Toby, you really can't call that a plot, can
you? But just before you all jump to defend your points of view, let me say that I did find the music a pure joy! And not at all over-sentimental as Rosie did.
Luke: Well, you certainly have made your point, Rick! And now I think it's your turn to defend the
plot, Toby.
Toby: With deference to Rick's youth and my advanced age, perhaps he just needs a stronger dose
of blood and thunder before he'll respond to a plot. Penny: I'm inclined to support you there, Toby.
Luke: And back to you, Rosie. Any more comments about the music?
Rosie: Considering Rick is so exposed to the pop environment, it's rather refreshing that he
enjoyed the soundtrack with all those singing violins.
Rick: Now just a minute, Rosie! Surely someone in your position ought to have a little more
respect for the sociological trends of the youth of today! Rosie: Now that's totally unfair, Rick, because I happen to like...
Luke: Ahem, we... before we come to blows, perhaps we should move on to something that's more
in Rick's line--the new disc that's just been released by Dead-Eye Dick and the Grim Den featuring the hit single that's rapidly moving to the top of the charts, called Motive for Melancholy.
Task 7:
【答案】 A. 1) c 2) d 3) a B. 1) F 2) F 3) T C.
landscapes，portraits，take notice，soul
【原文】
Rick: Actually, Luke, it's Dead-Eye Dan, and for anyone who's interested, the name of the album
is The Den Depressed. Rosie: May I get a word in here? Luke: By all means, Rosie...
Rosie: Just because I happen to be over 30, it doesn't mean I'm automatically excluded from
appreciating the pop scene.., and I think this group has got a lot going for it. The lyrics have a message which can appeal to a wide age range, and the music—when it isn't at a deafening volume—gets through to your soul. Rick: Nice one, Rosie!
Luke: Any other comments? Toby?
Toby: Well, I'm afraid this music isn't really what I'd choose to listen to. However, for the sake
Of this programme I must admit I tried to sit through it. But the.., words certainly didn't
manage to—what was it you said, Rosie? Rosie: Penetrate your soul.
Toby: Precisely. The words didn't quite manage to penetrate my soul.
Rick: That's probably because it's buried under too many layers of conventionality! Look,
Toby—these guys have got a message they're trying to get across, and it's not only to young people: Anyone can suffer from depression these days. It's not a monopoly of youth! Luke: Er, now I think it's time we moved on to the exhibition that's now on at the Moore An
Gallery featuring artists and sculptors born after 1950. Penny...
Penny: To tell the truth, I went expecting to see a lot of paintings in the pop style that could have
been produced by a chimpanzee—you know the sort of thing—a huge white canvas with a black blob in the middle.
Rosie: And probably titled Black Blob on White!
Penny: Yes, that's it exactly, Rosie. Well, I was certainly in for a surprise—no black blobs, no
plastic pizzas, no old car parts wired together. The whole exhibit was bright and cheerful and you could actually... 1 suppose \"understand\" is the right word. Yes, you could actually understand what the artists were depicting.
Rosie: Mmm. It did make a welcome change from some of the rubbish that gets passed off as an
these days. There was a real sensitivity in the paintings, especially those by the German artist, Nico Rocholl.
Penny: Yes, his landscapes were beautiful and his portraits had an ethereal quality. They really
made me stop and take notice. They got to my soul, as the saying goes. Rosie: Well, Toby, did they get through to your soul?
Toby: Indeed, for me the sculptures were quite exquisite. That Scottish girl—er, Nora Comer, her
name was—has considerable talent and her marble animals, especially tile cats, were most attractive. But what really caught my eye 'were the bronze works by Charles Vernon—English I believe. He... his appreciation of anatomy is superb, and the faces particularly were, splendid so evocative and reflecting the total expression of the bodies. Luke: Any comments, Rick?
Rick: I'm afraid I'll have to pass on this one as I didn't have time to see it. But I'll definitely pop
in next week. But returning to Penny's comments about chimpanzees and art, 1 think that if the public and the galleries are crazy enough to pay through the nose for creations done by chimps, or cats, or whatever, then we ought to be giving art grants to zoos! It's the gallery directors and the public who are conned by some critics into thinking that this stuff is great!
Rosie: Hear! Hear! You're absolutely right!
Rick: Well, maybe it can be called art but it certainly isn't worth thousands of dollars if a monkey
splashes paint on a canvas!
Luke: Er, um, we're getting a bit sidetracked here... And now, looking at the clock, there's just
time to give you a quick rundown of next week's topics. We'll be discussing the all-Beethoven concert at the Symphony Hall, the exhibition of old coins and stamps at the Antiques Museum, the new production of the well-loved opera Flora Fidelis—the one that's been such a success in Paris and opens here tomorrow at the Opera House—and also the TV programme that everyone's on about—Astra on Astrology. All those are in store for you next week. And now I'd like to thank our panel for their stimulating comments.
Rosie: Not at all. Penny: Pleasure.
Toby: You're welcome.
Luke: And to our listeners, I hope you'll tune in again next week at the same time for another
interesting and perhaps controversial discussion on \"Arts Review\".
Task 8:
【答案】 A. 1) a 2) c 3) c 4) b B.
1) Health and love, crime, secrets from the past are some of the subjects that readers in the United States currently like best.
2) The South Beach Diet suggests ways that people can get thinner while still eating foods they like best.
3) Phillip McGraw is a mental health specialist and television personality known as Doctor Phil. His book is called The Ultimate Weight Solution. It offers seven ways to lose weight. 4) This is a storybook for children aged four to eight, and deals with feelings and emotions.
5) The books get their name from the traditional idea that chicken soup makes people feel better. Some of the stories make readers cry, but others make them smile or laugh. 6) Steven King writes mystery and horror stories.
【原文】
Health and love, crime, secrets from the past—these are some of the subjects that readers in the United States currently like best.
Newspapers and magazines tell us what books people are buying. What the lists of best sellers clearly show is that Americans are worried about their health, especially the risks of being too fat.
Several books of advice about how to lose weight are among America's top selling books. Arthur Agatston and Phillip McGraw are the authors of two of them.
In The South Beach Diet, Doctor Agatston suggests ways that people can get thinner while still eating foods they like best. Phillip McGraw is a mental health specialist and television
personality known as Doctor Phil. His book is called The Ultimate Weight Loss Solution. It offers seven ways to lose weight.
Mitch Albom has written a best-selling novel about an old man named Eddie. Eddie repairs rides in an amusement park. He is bitter that he has not lived a more meaningful life. Then, on his eighty-third birthday, Eddie dies. He loses his own life as he tries to save the life of a little girl.
After the man dies, five people who played a part in his life explain to Eddie his existence on Earth. The book is called The Five People You Meet in Heaven.
People who like mysteries have made several books into best sellers. One is The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. This story tells what happens to an American professor when a museum director in Paris asks to meet with him. Clues linked to works of art by Leonardo da Vinci lead to ancient secrets. James Patterson is another popular author. He wrote the best-selling mystery Four Blind Mice. As the story begins, investigator Alex Cross prepares to resign from his job as a
policeman in Washington, D.C. Just then, Cross learns that an old friend in the military is accused of murder. Cross and the officer he works with, John Sampson, go to work to save the soldier. Many lists of best sellers in America also include books for children. One of these is the first book for young people by Madonna. The singer, and mother, has written the storybook The English Roses. It is for ages four to eight, and deals with feelings and emotions.
Some books continue to sell many copies years after they were first published. The books in the Chicken Soup series are a good example. They are among the best selling books in the history of publishing. The series began in nineteen-ninety-three with Chicken Soup for the Soul. This book of stories was written by Jack Canfield and Mark David Hansen.
The Chicken Soup books get their name from the traditional idea that chicken soup makes people feel better. Some of the stories make readers cry, but others make them smile or laugh. People loved the first Chicken Soup book. Another followed, called A Second Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul. Since then there have been many other books. They have names like Chicken Soup for the Golfer's Soul and Chicken Soup for the Cat & Dog Lover's Soul. Thirty publishers had rejected the first \"Chicken Soup\" book before it was finally printed. Today, about eighty million of these books have been printed in North America. And Chicken Soup books have been translated from English into thirty-five other languages.
Mystery and horror stories by Steven King have also sold millions of copies. Some of his most famous—and most frightening—books are Carrie, The Shining, and The Green Mile. These and many others have been made into films.
Task 9:
【答案】 A.
1) Oprah Winfrey started her book club in the late 1990s.
2) During the first years of her club, Ms. Winfrey often picked books that had not gained huge public interest. Now she is choosing books from the past.
3) East of Eden explores family relations over a long period of time. The story uses themes similar in some ways to the biblical story of the brothers Cain and Abel.
4) Cry the Beloved Country tells what happens when a black clergyman goes to Johannesburg to find his son.
5) a) Book clubs have blossomed in recent years.
b) The publishing industry itself has changed. Many small, independent book sellers are struggling to survive. There are now huge book stores owned by a few national companies. c) Buyers can also order books through the Internet.
6) One thing that has not changed is that people can still borrow books from their local public library. B. 1) F 2) T 3) T
【原文】
In recent years, Oprah Winfrey and her television talk show have greatly influenced reading in America. Mizz Winfrey started a nationwide book club in the late nineteen-nineties. She
suspended it for awhile. But now she is again helping Americans find what she believes is the best literature.
Oprah Winfrey chooses a book she likes. She announces her choice on her show from
Chicago. Then she asks people to read the book. During the first years of her club, Mizz Winfrey often picked books that had not gained huge public interest. That would immediately change, once the books became choices of Oprah's Book Club.
Now Oprah Winfrey is choosing books from the past. For example, she suggests that club members read East of Eden, by the American author John Steinbeck. This huge novel explores family relations over a long period of time. The story uses themes similar in some ways to the biblical story of the brothers Cain and Abel.
Alan Paton was a white man. He was born in South Africa in nineteen-oh-three. He worked as director of a corrections center for boys, where he made many reforms. He opposed colonialism and apartheid, the former system of racial separation in South Africa.
A number of other television programs besides Oprah also have book clubs that reach millions of people. But there are thousands of small book clubs across the country. Members of these discussion groups may gather in homes, libraries, offices or religious centers. Some meet in eating and drinking places. Members of book clubs may read classics like The Odyssey of Homer. They may read poetry, or mystery stories, or love stories. Or, they may read books about politics and current events. There are also books that offer directions for book clubs.
Book clubs are not the only big development in recent years. The publishing industry itself has changed. Many small, independent book sellers are struggling to survive. There are now huge book stores owned by a few national companies. Buyers can also order books through the Internet. One thing that has not changed, though, is that people can still borrow books from their local public library.
Book clubs are more than just reading groups. They are social groups, too. Many book club members become friends. They discuss their families and jobs as well as the books they read. The meetings let people learn what other readers are thinking. As one book club member says, \"It is very satisfying to talk about what you read with good friends.\"
Unit 4
Task 1:
【答案】 A.
1) Temple，Cemetery，Kong Family Mansion. 2) the centre of
3) 33 metres，glazed tiles，stone columns
4) a statue of Confucius，the life story of Confucius B. 1) F 2) F 3) F
【原文】
Qufu is the hometown of Confucius (551BC—479BC), a great thinker, statesman and educator in China's history, and founder of the Confucian school of philosophy, which has had a great influence on Chinese society and on the way Chinese people think. The place abounds in cultural relics, of which the most famous are the Confucian Temple and Cemetery of Confucian and the Kong Family Mansion.
The Confucian Temple, standing in the centre of Qufu City, was first built in 478 BC. Repeated renovations and expansions have turned the temple into a palatial complex with 9 rows of buildings. Today there are 466 halls, pavilions and rooms intact, coveting a total area of 21.8 hectares. The Great Accomplishment Hall, the major structure of the temple, is 33 metres tall and is roofed with yellow glazed tiles. In front of the Hall stand 10 stone columns carved with dragons. The Hall houses a statue of Confucius and a stone inscription of Ming Dynasty, which tells the life story of Confucius in 120 pictures.
The Confucian Cemetery, occupying more than 200 hectares, has served as the graveyard of Confucius and his descendants for more than 2,300 years.
The Kong Family Mansion, standing tight next to the Confucian Temple, was the living quarters of Confucius' descendants. The Family Mansion now houses a large number of documents, files and antiques.
The Temple and Cemetery of Confucian and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu were put on the list of world cultural heritage sites in 1994.
Task 2:
【答案】 A.
1) The kings of ancient Egypt wanted to keep their bodies safe after death and to hold their
treasures.
2) It is located on the west bank of the Nile, not far from Cairo.
3) The ancient Egyptians compared the setting of the sun to the end of life and this is why all the pyramids are on the west bank.
4) They were taken across the river in boats at flood time.
5) The limestone, which used to make the pyramid smooth, is gone. So people can climb the huge stones like steps to the top. 6) The Libyan Desert. B.
Number of blocks of stone: 2,300,000. Average weight of the blocks: 2.5 tons. Number of slaves on the project: 100,000. Number of years taken: 20. The height of the pyramid: over 450 feet. Area covered: 13 acres. Length of each side: 755 feet.
【原文】
The kings of ancient Egypt planned strong tombs to keep their bodies safe after death and to hold their treasures. Over these tombs huge stone pyramids were built. There are over 80 known pyramids in Egypt, but the Great Pyramid is the largest of all.
The Great Pyramid was built thousands of years ago for a king called Khufu. It stands on the west bank of the Nile River not far from Cairo.
In fact all the pyramids along the Nile are on its west bank. The ancient Egyptians compared the rising of the sun to the beginning of life and the setting of the sun to the end of life. This is why their dead bodies were buried on the west bank of the Nile.
It‘s very hard to imagine just how big the Great Pyramid is. It has over 2,300,000 blocks of solid stone. Theses huge stone blocks weigh an average of two and a half tons each, as heavy as a big car. Some even weigh 15 tons. Without machinery, the ancient Egyptians cut and moved and lifted each of these stones. Many of the blocks came from the east bank of the Nile, and they were taken across the fiver in boats at flood time. It took more than 100,000 slaves 20 years to build the Great Pyramid.
The Great Pyramid is over 450 feet high today, and it was once higher. Its base covers 13 acres. Each of the sides of the pyramid is 755 feet long. It takes about 20 minutes to walk all the way around the pyramid.
Every king wanted his tomb to be the best. But Khufu outdid them all. The surface of his pyramid used to shine with smooth white limestone, and its top came to a sharp point. Inside, the body of Khufu rested in a great stone coffin. His body was preserved to last forever, and many treasures were buried with him.
After many years, the shining surface was worn away, and men took some of the huge stone blocks to build other things: Thieves stole the treasures, and the body of Khufu was stolen, too.
Today, the sides of the Great Pyramid are no longer smooth and white. The limestone is gone. The huge stones are exposed and you can climb them, like steps, to the top. When you have reached the top, you can see for miles about you. You can see the smaller pyramids and the Sphinx,
the great stone statue of the lion with a human head. To the west you can see the Libyan Desert, and to the east you can see the green Nile Valley and the modern city of Cairo.
Task 3:
【答案】 A.
1) the joy of the family or the unity of the whole empire 2) the thriving children 3) the rank of an official B. 1) F 2) F 3) T 4) F 5) T
【原文】
In China, people can often see a pair of stone lions, a male and a female, in front of the gates of traditional buildings. The male is on the left with his right front paw resting on a ball, and the female on the right with her left front paw fondling their cub.
The lion is a very special animal to Chinese people. Traditionally, he is regarded as the king of the animal world, the animal that represents power and prestige. The ball the male lion is playing with probably symbolizes the joy of family or the unity of the whole empire, and the cub the female is fondling, the thriving children.
Traditionally, however, the stone lions were only to be found in front of the gates of mansions of powerful officials. In fact, the rank of the officials was indicated by the number of curls on the lion's head. The lion for the highest rank had 13 curls, and the number decreased by one as the rank went down until it reached the 7th rank, because below that no one was allowed to have stone lions guard their house at all.
It is interesting to note that lions were not native to China. It is said that the first lion was brought into the country as a girl from the King of Parthia to the Chinese Emperor of the Eastern Han who reigned the country at around 87 AD. The next year, another lion was given by a country from Central Asia. But it was probably the introduction of Buddhism to China during this period that got sculptors interested in, making stone lions, because according to the legend, when Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, was born, he was seen to \"point to Heaven with one hand and to Earth with the other, mating like a lion.\" In the Buddhist faith, therefore, the lion is considered divine. It is a noble creature sent by the Buddha to protect the Truth and keep off evils.
Stone lions have also been used to decorate bridges for the same reason. The best known is the Lugouqiao (also known as Marco Polo Bridge). Built from 1189 to 1192, the lion stones sculpted on the posts of the bridge have stood on guard for more than 800 years. One funny thing about the stone lions on the bridge is people often 'disagree on the exact number. It is said that there are 485 in all, but there may be 498 or 501. No wonder people often say \"as many as the stone lions on the Lugouqiao\". You cannot count them.
Task 4:
【答案】 A.
1) It's \"Liberty Enlightening the World\".
2) It stands on Liberty Island in Upper New York Bay. B.
Material: mostly copper. Original color: reddish-brown. Color now: green. In her right hand: a torch. In her left hand: a tablet. On her head: a crown. At her feet: a broken chain. C. 1) a 2) b 3) b 4) b 5) a 6) c
【原文】
Americans like to say the Statue of Liberty is in good condition for a woman of her age. She is more than one-hundred-years old. France gave the statue to the United States in Eighteen-Eighty-Four.
For more than thirty years the statue welcomed millions of foreign people arriving by ship to live in the United States. Today more than two-million people visit the statue every year. The Statue of Liberty has become a representation of freedom.
The full name of the statue is \"Liberty Enlightening the World.\" It stands on Liberty Island in Upper New York Bay, about two-and-one-half kilometers from Manhattan Island. It was built in the nineteenth century. But it still remains the tallest metal statue in the world.
The Statue of Liberty is mostly made of copper. Once it was a reddish-brown color. But time and weather have turned it green. The statue wears a loose robe. She raises her right arm high in the air. Her right hand holds a torch -- a golden light. Her left hand holds a tablet. It shows the date of the American Declaration of Independence – July Fourth, Seventeen-Seventy-Six. The statue wears a crown on her head. The crown has seven points. Each of these rays represents the light of
freedom. This light shines on seven seas and seven continents. A chain representing oppression lies broken at her feet.
Twelve-million immigrants from other countries passed the statue by ship between
Eighteen-Ninety-Two and Nineteen Twenty-Four. Then they were taken to the immigration center on nearby Ellis Island. There they went through the processes necessary to live in the United States.
Many immigrants thought of the statue as a welcoming mother for refugees. Emma Lazarus expressed this idea in a poem in Eighteen-Eighty-Three. She called her poem \"The New Colossus.\" She wrote:
\"Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. \"
The people of France gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States in Eighteen-Eighty-Four. Their gift honored freedom. It also marked the friendship between the two nations. This friendship had developed during America's revolution against Britain. France helped the revolutionary armies defeat the soldiers of King George the Third. The war officially ended in Seventeen-Eighty-Three. A few years later, the French rebelled against their own king.
A French historian and politician named Edouard-Rene Lefebvre de Laboulaye started the idea for a statue. Mister Laboulaye was giving a party in his home near Versailles in
Eighteen-Sixty-Five. This was the year the American Civil War ended. Slavery also ended in the United States. It was a time when Mister Laboulaye and others were struggling to make their own country democratic. France was suffering under the rule of Napoleon the Third.
Mr. Laboulaye suggested that the French and Americans build a monument together to celebrate freedom. One of the guests at the party was a young sculptor, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. For years Mister Bartholdi had dreamed of creating a very large statue. By the end of the party he had been invited to create a statue of freedom for the United States. Mr. Bartholdi had
never designed anything taller than four meters. But he planned this statue as the largest since ancient times. Its face would be the face of his mother, Auguste-Charlotte Bartholdi.
In Eighteen-Seventy-Five the French established an organization to raise money for Mister Bartholdi's creation.
Two years later the Americans established a group to help pay for the pedestal. This structure would support the statue. American architect Richard Morris Hunt was chosen to design the pedestal. It would stand forty-seven meters high inside the walls of a fort. The fort had been built in the early Eighteen-Hundreds. It was designed in the shape of a star.
In France, Mister Bartholdi designed a small version of his statue. Then he built a series of larger copies.
Workers created wood forms covered with plaster for each main part. Then they placed three-hundred pieces of copper on the forms. The copper \"skin\" was less than three centimeters thick.
France had hoped to give the statue to the United States on July Fourth,
Eighteen-Seventy-Six. That was the one-hundredth anniversary of the signing of America's Declaration of Independence. But technical problems and lack of money delayed the project by eight years.
At last France presented the statue to the United States. The celebration took place in Paris on July Fourth, Eighteen-Eighty-Four. Americans started building the pedestal that same year. But they had to stop. People had not given enough money to finish the structure.A New York newspaper urged Americans to give more money for the pedestal. People reacted by giving one-hundred-thousand dollars.
Now the huge statue had a pedestal to stand on. In France, the statue was taken apart for shipping to the United States. It was shipped in two-hundred-fourteen wooden boxes.
On October Twenty-Eighth, Eighteen-Eighty-Six, President Grover Cleveland officially accepted Liberty Enlightening the World. He said: \"We will not forget that Liberty has here made her home.\" Mister Bartholdi and representatives of the French government attended the ceremony. People paraded through the streets of New York. Boats filled the harbor.
Over the years Americans shortened the name of the statue. They called it the Statue of Liberty, or Miss Liberty. The statue continued to welcome many immigrants arriving by ship until Nineteen-Twenty-Four. That is when Ellis Island stopped much of its operation. The great wave of immigration to the United States was mostly over.
But millions of visitors kept coming to see the Statue of Liberty. By the Nineteen-Eighties, the statue badly needed repairs. Again people on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean cooperated to raise money. Automobile manufacturer Lee Iacocca led the campaign in the United States. Big companies gave money for the repairs. So did school children. Fireworks lit the sky at the celebration for the restored Statue of Liberty on July Fourth, Nineteen-Eighty-Six.
Thousands of people still visit the Statue of Liberty every day. They reach the statue by boat. Many people climb the three-hundred-fifty-four steps to the crown. Or they ride up to observation areas in an elevator. Or they study the story of the statue in a museum in the monument.
Task 5:
【答案】 A.
1) Their guidelines were too general/unspecific on how to safeguard those artifacts.
2) She thinks that a country is entitled to keep its heritage and with the ownership goes the responsibility to protect it.
3) He was afraid of being accused of selling away the artifacts for personal gain, 4) She suggested having an exhibition abroad. B.
I. Reasons local communities should be involved.
A. Cultural properties can be appreciated and better protected. B. The government is unable to take care of everything itself. II. Education is the key. A. Lobby aggressively to put heritage subjects into the school curriculum. B. Produce awareness-raising materials. C. Build a good distribution system to get the information out to everyone.
【原文】
Interviewer: One of the most basic issues affecting cultural heritage preservation is the question of
ownership. What does current international law allow for? What are the shortcomings of current UNESCO conventions in regard to cultural heritage preservation?
Dupree: That is a question particularly relevant to Afghanistan. When the massive looting of
the Kabul Museum took place, nobody paid much attention, except for the specialists. UNESCO didn't say much of anything. Then the Bamiyan Buddhas were blown up, and immediately UNESCO came out with guidelines. However, their
guidelines—which concerned safe havens for artifacts when the environment
surrounding them was threatening—were so unspecific. They spoke about
safeguarding any Afghan artifacts anywhere in the world. Which is fine, but how? They didn't say. So UNESCO was criticized. The whole question of who owns the national heritage of a country, and who is responsible for it, is very difficult. I personally talked to Commander Ahmed Shah Massoud who was unfortunately later assassinated. I said, “Look, the museum collections are in danger. Is there any chance you would consider sending them out of the country to be held in some safe haven?\" And he said, “Personally I think it would be a good idea to put them in some safe haven, but politically I cannot do this. My opponents would say I am selling away the artifacts for my own personal gain.\" I think that a country is entitled to keep its heritage. But, at the same time, in keeping their heritage they have the responsibility to protect it. This is not always possible.
Interviewer: What more do you think could have been done by the international community to
safeguard the artifacts in the Kabul Museum?
Dupree: Actually, once I was here at the Asia Society, and I asked the director of the galleries,
\"Would you consider having an exhibition?\" That would have been one way to take them out without the critics being able to say they had been sold for personal benefit. This way, they would not only be on display, but they would be gathering income. Look at what happened with the Tutankhamen exhibit: long, long lines all over the world. So this could have been one way of doing it. But the leadership in Afghanistan kept changing so quickly that even if you came to an agreement with one person, he would soon be out, and then you'd have to go through it all over again with another person.
Interviewer: To many people in the non-Western world, cultural heritage does not imply a
collection of artifacts behind glass, but rather objects that are an indiscernible, integral part of their daily lives. What more do you think can be done at the grassroots level to promote cultural resource protection and involve local people in preserving and maintaining the objects that inform their lives? What role does education play in cultural heritage preservation?
Dupree: This is one of my main concerns. Of course, cultural heritage has many components;
some are tangible, some are intangible. Problems in the past existed on many levels. For one, the government has always been responsible for repair and maintenance. The people were not involved; so they felt no responsibility for cultural properties around them. Now we see that monuments that are living parts of the community have suffered less during the war. So I am convinced that we have to involve communities, by forming action committees, so those monuments and other parts of the culture that they are living with can be appreciated. Local people often don't see there is anything unique in some of the things they work with daily. You have to raise their awareness of this, because for a long, long time the government will not be able to take care of everything itself, nor should it. It should be the community acting out of a sense of responsibility for their past. As far as education is concerned, it is the key. In Afghanistan, heritage subjects were not included in an appropriate way in the school curriculum. Now there are two generations of young people who have grown up outside of their own country. They haven't a clue as to what their culture is. They
don't have a clue of the glorious things in their history. And why should they be held accountable for them unless they understand, and understand clearly, that this is part of their past, and it is part of their culture. So the education sector must become involved, and this includes aggressive lobbying. They're going to revise the curriculum in Afghanistan, and we must lobby aggressively to see that these issues are put into the entire curriculum. But that doesn't do all that is necessary. You have to produce reading materials, posters, and other awareness-raising materials. And even that is not enough. Unless you have a good distribution system, this will all be concentrated in the cities. You need to get the information out to everyone, so civil society can be intelligently informed about its heritage and how to protect it.
Task 6:
【答案】 A.
1) People wanted to build ever more impressive structures, but lacked the technology needed for great buildings.
2) They symbolized power and wealth. 3) It began in 1173.
4) They found that the tower was leaning slightly and began to wait for the tower to settle. 5) The soil was too soft to bear the weight.
6) It has leant to different directions. Now it leans to the south. B. 1) F 2) T 3) F 4) F 5) T 6) T 7) F
【原文】
In the world of medieval Europe, buildings were thought to represent humankind's greatest stamp upon the universe. Ambitions for ever more impressive structures sometimes soared, often ignoring the technical knowledge needed for human hands to craft masterpieces out of stone and mortar, and imperfect creations resulted from time to time. One such flawed design, however, produced a structure that not only survived the ages but also achieved great fame, becoming a much-celebrated marvel of human fallibility.
The town of Pisa, in the west-central part of the Italian peninsula, had been a major trading and maritime center for some 300 years when 12th-century builders began constructing a bell tower in its famous piazza. The freestanding bell tower was to be a worthy accompaniment to the piazza's superb cathedral, which was still not finished after a century of construction. Such bell towers symbolized power and wealth, and various republics seemed to compete with one another to construct ever more grand ones. It was only reasonable then that Pisa, whose economic position and power rivaled that of its northern neighbors, Genoa and Venice, should construct a particularly impressive tower.
Conceived in the comparatively elaborate Pisan style, the bell tower would measure 52 feet in diameter at the ground level. The original design called for a relatively tall first level that was to be ornamented by engaged columns and which was to be capable of supporting six additional stories, each embellished with marble arcades. A portal decorated with sculptures of animals and monsters would function as an entranceway to the tower. Inside, 294 steps would lead visitors upward through the successive arcades to an open terrace. Of course, at the very top of the stone tower there would be space devoted to a bell chamber.
In 1173, workers began to construct the tower. After they had completed the first three floors—only about a third of the intended 191-feet height—it became obvious to them and to the designers that the tower was leaning slightly. The sad fact was that the soft soil on which it stood simply was not capable of bearing the weight of the structure.
The townspeople halted the construction project and began a long wait for the tower to settle. But when 100 years had passed and their patience had grown very thin, people finally had to admit that the tilt had only gotten worse. The Pisans nevertheless decided to resume work on the tower, determined to make the remainder of the building straight, even if such an arrangement would create a curve in the tower above its third story.
Work proceeded through the second third of the structure, but by the time it was completed, the builders had made the awful discovery that the tilt had become more noticeable. Again the Pisans brought everything to a halt, pausing for almost a century. Finally, in 1350, the still leaning tower was finished.
Its unfortunate feature did not make it unique, however. Other European towers of that era leaned as well. But the angle of Pisa's Leaning Tower became more and more remarkable as it liter-ally began to screw itself into the soft ground, leaning at first to the northwest, then to the north, to the east, and to the south, where it still slants today. Despite its instability, or perhaps because of it, the tower has risen into the ranks of world-class landmarks.
Today, the tower is a full 17 feet out of plumb, a situation that puts immense stresses on its lower levels. Workers have been strapping steel cables to the tower's lower part in an effort to keep it from becoming crushed under the strain. Numerous international experts also feel the strain while trying—so far in vain—to find a way that will somehow save the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It is unfortunate that these experts are not able to consult one of the city's favorite sons. The great Renaissance scientist Galileo grew up in Pisa and, in fact, climbed the tower to perform his free-tall gravity experiments. As someone who had wanted to understand gravity, perhaps he would have enjoyed trying to combat the very force that at last may topple Pisa's remarkable Leaning Tower.
Task 7:
【答案】 A.
1) a Bronze Age culture was developing 2) it was reserved for vessels B.
1) It seems to have developed in about 2,200 BC. 2) In the Central Plains of the Yellow River valley.
3) They were made to be used in state ritual and ancestor worship.
4) For over 1,000 years.
5) To represent his land which he had divided into nine provinces.
6) They did this to reaffirm their hereditary rights to power and to persuade the ancestors and deities to influence events favorably.
7) They were buried either in storage pits or in tombs. C.
Late Shang Western Zhou The End of the Bronze Dynasty Age
Content of Name of the owner Achievements Inscriptions
the or the ancestor and wish replaced by rich
surfaces
Surface of Bronze Vessels
【原文】
From the first simple wine cup — one of the earliest Chinese bronze vessels yet known — to the extraordinary life-sized terracotta figures buried with the First Emperor of Qin, this exhibition features discoveries that have fundamentally changed our knowledge of ancient Chinese history and art.
At about the same time that Stonehenge was rising in England and Abraham was framing the principles of Judaism in the Middle East, a Bronze Age culture was developing in China that in many respects was seldom equaled and never surpassed. This development seems to have occurred early in the first half of the second millennium B.C. in the fertile Central Plains of the Yellow River valley.
Unlike other cultures, where bronze was first used chiefly for tools and weapons, in China this alloy of copper and tin was reserved for the manufacture of majestic vessels that played central roles in state ritual and ancestor worship for more than 1,000 years, even after the official beginnings of the Iron Age in the fifth century B.C. Representing the wealth and power of the rulers, these ritual utensils show the highest degree of technical and artistic accomplishment in early Chinese civilization.
The legend of the founding of China's first dynasty demonstrates the importance of bronze to the ancient Chinese: After King Yu of the Xia brought the primordial floods under control, in about 2200 B.C., he divided his land into nine provinces, and had nine ding (food cauldrons) cast to represent them. When the Xia dynasty fell, the \"nine ding,\" also called the \"Auspicious Bronzes of the State,\" passed to the Shang dynasty, and, in turn, to the Zhou when they conquered the Shang. Possession of bronze vessels thus became a symbol for the holding of power and prestige.
Changing
Rulers used bronze cauldrons, cups, drinking vessels, and other containers to present offerings of food and wine to royal ancestors and deities. In this way they reaffirmed their hereditary rights to power and attempted to persuade the ancestors to influence events favorably.
After the Shang period, ritual vessels became more important as expressions of personal prestige than as vehicles for pious offerings. This is evident from the changing content of bronze inscriptions. Cast into the surface of a vessel, these inscriptions first appeared during the last Shang dynasty as a terse identification of the vessel's owner or of the ancestor to whom it was dedicated. During the Western Zhou period inscriptions became increasingly common and lengthier, extolling the achievements of the owner and expressing the poignant wish that the piece might not only honor his forebears, but also recall his own merits to his descendants \"for generations without end.\" By the end of the Bronze Age, the vessels became worldly status symbols, more important in celebrations of the living than in rituals for the dead. Inscriptions all but disappeared, replaced by rich surfaces inlaid with gold, silver, and precious stones.
We owe the preservation of these ancient bronzes to their burial, either in storage pits, where they were hastily hidden by fleeing members of a defeated elite house, or, more commonly, in tombs. During the Shang dynasty, members of the royalty were accompanied in the afterlife by their bronzes, ceramics, weapons, amulets, and ornaments, and even the human and animal entourage that surrounded them in life: servants, bodyguards, horses, chariots, and charioteers. During the Zhou and Han periods sumptuous burials continued, but human sacrifice was rarely practiced, although the custom was preserved by the substitution of figurines of wood or clay.
Unit 5
Task 1:
【答案】 A.
It means to do long and steady work. It is a company that makes a certain product or offers certain services. It can refer to many large businesses that manufacture goods for sale. B.
1) make raw materials into finished goods by using machines 2) A country that manufactures and sells many goods 3) 106,000，20，50，2 million 4) one fourth，500 million C.
l) The United States became an industrial nation in the years after the Civil War.
2) Using machines, people could produce many more goods and provide many more services, travel longer distances, and send messages faster than ever before. 3) They used surface sources for building materials, mostly wood.
4) Coal and iron.
5) By 1900, he owned a steel company, coal and iron mines steamboats and railroads.
【原文】
The word \"industry\" has three meanings. People can be praised for their industry. That means long, steady effort to get work done~ People can work in a certain industry. The garment industry makes a certain kind of product. The tourist industry supplies services and promotes trade. A nation can also have a lot of industry. That means it has many large businesses that manufacture goods for sale. The word \"manufacture\" means \"to make by hand\". But to manufacture products is to make raw materials into finished goods by using machines.
A country that manufactures and sells many goods is called an industrial nation. The United States became an industrial nation in the years after the Civil War. Factories were being built everywhere. More and more of the nation's work was being done with machines. Using machines, people could produce many more goods and provide many more services. With machines, they could travel longer distances. They could send messages faster than ever before.
Energy was no longer supplied only by wind and water. Now, engines ran on steam. Before, people used surface sources for building materials. Mostly, they used wood. Now, they began to take fuels and building materials out of the ground. Minerals from the earth were the raw materials of a new industrial age.
People used steam engines to drain water and lift coal out of mines. Coal is mostly carbon. Carbon is a better fuel than wood. It gives off much more heat when it is burned. Coal and iron are also used in making steel. The carbon makes the iron very hard and strong. The eastern United States had a lot of iron ore and coal. So steelmaking became an important industry. Soon, steel bridges replaced wooden bridges. These strong steel bridges could carry railroad tracks over wide rivers and valleys. Steel supports made it possible to build tracks high over city streets. Steel was also used to build factories, machines, and railroad cars.
When work moved from homes to factories, workers moved to cities from farms. The growth of Chicago shows how fast this movement took place. In 1860, Chicago had only 106,000 people. It had 20 times that many people 50 years later, in 1910. That meant over 2 million people were living in one place. They needed homes, schools, and stores. There was work in construction or building. There was work in manufacturing and trade. There was work providing services. There was a lot of money to be made.
Manufacturing and construction were at the heart of the new age. The most important new material was steel. Andrew Carnegie came to Pennsylvania from Scotland when he was a child. His first job was winding thread in a cotton factory. He made $1.20 a week. Later, he worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Since people often had to travel overnight, he introduced sleeping cars. Then he started his own iron and steel business. He realized how important steel was going to be. By 1900, he owned a steel company, coal and iron mines, steamboats, and railroads. His factories were making one fourth of the steel in the United States. His company was worth 500 million dollars. He was the richest steel manufacturer in the world.
Task 2:
【答案】 A.
1) Because this period of great national growth and change provided many business opportunities. Or because with so much growth and change, it was a good time for businesses to start. 2) In 1859.
3) When he was 24, he went into the oil-refining business with partners.
4) He built the family business into an empire of wealth. He controlled banks, steel, and railroads. His banks provided money to run factories and develop mines.
5) They were crowded together. Most had to depend on other people's businesses for jobs, and they had to rely on one another more.
6) Cities grew rapidly. City businesses and services grew: larger schools, hospitals, department stores, fire and police departments, telegraph and telephone companies, and power stations to produce or generate electricity. B.
1) who sees an opportunity and sets up a new business
2) the crude oil from the well，heating it to separate its substances 3) produced，refined，distributed 4) 56,000 kilometers，1900，six times C.
Workers could make many more goods with machines. Large companies could buy more raw materials for less money. Also, it cost less per item to make many goods at one time. That meant large companies could sell their products at a lower price. Since the products were cheaper, more people could buy them. Then more trains and ships were needed to move products around.
【原文】
A person like Carnegie is called an \"entrepreneur\". An entrepreneur is someone who sees an opportunity and sets up a new business. Entrepreneurs have to be good managers. They have to be willing to take risks. The late 1800s were good years for entrepreneurs in the United States. With so much growth and change, it was a good time for businesses to start.
Railroads were one new business in which large fortunes could be made. Three rich and powerful railroad owners were Cornelius Vanderbilt, Collis P. Huntington, and Jay Gould.
Other new industries grew up around petroleum, or oil. In 1859, E. L. Drake drilled the first American oil well. Then the crude oil from the well had to be refined. This is done by heating it to separate its substances. An industry was started to do this work.
At first, petroleum was used to make kerosene. The kerosene was used as an oil for lamps. Then in 1873, George Brayton of Boston built an engine that ran on kerosene. Later, petroleum was used to make gasoline. Not until 1889 did a German, Gottlieb Daimler, build the kind of gasolinc engine we use now.
The Rockefeller fortune was made in petroleum. John D. Rockefeller began working when he was still a child. He earned $3.50 a week as a clerk in a grocery store. Then he started a business selling fruits and vegetables. With partners, he went into the oil-refining business when he was 24. His company was called Standard Oil. By 1911, this company produced, refined, and distributed most of the nation's petroleum. John D. Rockefeller lived to the ripe old age of 98. At the time he died, he was the richest person in the United States.
With so much money being made, people needed banks. The Morgan family of Massachusetts made a fortune by investing money and making loans. J. P. Morgan built the family
business into an empire of wealth. He controlled banks, steel, and railroads. His banks provided money to run facto-ties and develop mines.
Now, cities could grow upward as well as spread out. That meant that people could live closer together than ever before. City people were not like independent farmers, living far apart. They were crowded together. Most had to depend on other people's businesses for jobs. People also had to rely on one another more. As cities grew larger, more services were introduced. Larger schools were needed, Hospitals were built. Some small shops expanded and became department stores. There were fire and police departments. There were also telegraph and telephone companies. There were power stations to produce, or generate, electricity. The 1880s brought the nation's first electric streetcar.
Manufacturing businesses also grew larger. Workers could make many more goods with machines. Large companies could buy more raw materials for less money. Also, it cost less per item to make many goods at one time. That meant large companies could sell their products at a lower price. Since the products were cheaper, more people could buy them. Then more trains and ships were needed to move products around.
Railroads brought distant parts of the country closer together. In 1860, tile United States had 56,000 kilometers of railroad track. By 1900, almost six times as much track had been laid. This was more than in all of Europe. Now the United States had cities, factories, and railroads. It had communications and banking. It had steam engines and electric power. It had petroleum, coal, and steel. By 1900, the United States had become the largest industrial nation in the world!
Task 3:
【答案】 A. 1) F 2) T 3) T 4) T 5) F B.
1) He means \"begin at the beginning of the current account, American industry\".
2) The entry for 1934 sees Oklahoma blowing away; a more recent entry tells how a man lost his homestead, became one of the dispossessed in the city, and never felt at home again. 3) Because on their fourth successful flight that day, they flew 852 feet in 59 seconds.
4) Air travel has shrunk the world dramatically, increased understanding between peoples, and brought every imaginable kind of job. Also mails travel much faster.
【原文】
Big Man: Come in, come in. Shut the door. Please take your seats and we'll get right down to it.
Not a minute to lose. I think you'll agree this conference is long overdue as it is. Let me introduce some members of my staff. Mr. Dunn here is our head accountant, and I'll ask him to give us some general background on the various files. Dunn: Thank you, sir.
Big Man: Mr. Merritt here is our expert on credits evaluation.
Merritt: How do you do?
Big Man: And Miss Scratch is our expert on debits evaluation. We'll call on them whenever
appropriate. Today's session will be 20 minutes, no longer. That means, of course that we can merely touch the surface, but at least we'll have made a start. Now, Mr. Dunn would you proceed?
Dunn: Thank you, sir. General File: America. Subfile: Industry: the Growth of American
Industry. Accountable: the American People. Interested Parties: the People of the World Present and Future; the Animals of the World, Present and Future; the Natural Resources of the World, Present and Future...
Big Man: Yes, yes, Dunn, be brief.
Dunn: Very well, then. Interested Party: the World in General, Present and Future. Big Man: Now, begin at the beginning.
Dunn: At the beginning, sir? Well, that's rather difficult.
Big Man: I don't mean at the beginning of beginnings. Those early ledgers just cover our debts to
Egypt and Greece and Persia for their developments and those accounts are closed. No, I mean \"begin at the beginning of the current account\". American industry.
Dunn: I see, yes, well, then we can begin right here in the A's. Hmm, let's see now.., here's a
nice fat file. Agriculture. Now, you'll notice that in this early entry, dated 1831, a man with that reaper would be able to harvest four times as fast as a man with a cradle and a scythe. Think of it!
Big Man: Sounds like a remarkable achievement. Yes, Mr. Merritt?
Merritt: I just anted to say that from this early reaper came the whole concept of mechanized
agriculture. Where it once took 46 hours to harvest one acre of wheat, it now takes less than half an hour!
Big Man: Remarkable. Then you'd give this a high credit evaluation?
Merritt: Oh yes, certainly. Why, without mechanized agriculture, there's some doubt that the
Middle West could ever have been opened up... without slavery, that is. Indeed, the reaper may have served the cause of abolition. And throughout the years, our vast agricultural expansion hasn't benefited the United States alone. For example, right after World Wars I and II, US agriculture virtually kept Europe alive.
Big Man: And you, Miss Scratch. You've heard all of these benefits of mechanized agriculture.
Have you anything to say against this remarkable achievement?
Scratch: Yes, I have. Look there, please. The entry for 1934. Look across the plains and see
Oklahoma blowing away. The dust bowl, worked to death, and left to blow away. Or this entry, more recent. Follow me down this country road. The farm on the left belongs to a man whose grandfather homesteaded the land back in the 1850s. There's the house, right next to that pepper tree. A nice big verandah and a screen door to bang when kids run through. But there on the verandah porch a hand-lettered sign: FARM FOR SALE. Why are they selling? They can't compete against the big limn combines with their costly equipment and corporate management and all the rest. And where are they going? To the cities, where they will melt in with the other dispossessed and never feel at home again as long as they live where they'll forget the seasons and the soil and forget that things are born new in their season and die in their season mid that this is the way life should be. They'll forget, but worse, their children will never know.
Merritt: Really, Miss Scratch, I think you're romanticizing life on a farm. Life on a farm is hard
life.
Big Man: And life in a city is an easy life?
Merritt: Yes, well, let's move on. What's the next file, Dunn?
Dunn: Uh, aircraft. Aircraft and airlines. The airlines industry alone is worth 88 billion dollars
annually. Now, historically speaking, it really got off the ground in 1903 when a couple of bicycle manufacturers began testing out their airplane. On their fourth successful flight that day, they were elated when they flew 852 feet in 59 seconds.
Merritt: And with those words \"The Eagle has landed\
safely on the surface of the moon.
Big Man: Yes, indeed, most impressive. What else have you on the credit sheet, there, Merritt? Merritt: Nothing as spectacular, of course. Air travel has shrunk the world dramatically, and in so
doing, it has increased understanding between peoples. And then consider the mails A piece of paper with your message on it can be passed from your hand to the hand of a friend 10,000 miles away in a day or two. The first US airmail route was set up as early as l919...
Scratch: But as early as 1909, a plane was being tested for war. Just where did the airplane go
from that sand dune in 19037 To the moon, sure, but also to Pearl Harbor in 1941,to Dresden, to Hamburg. And then, in 1945, an American bomber took off from the island of Tinian. Its destination: Hiroshima.
Merritt: Well, since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, more than 25 years ago, no atom bomb or
hydrogen bomb has been used. Think of the employment the aircraft industry brings, every imaginable kind of job, from stewardess to welder...
Scratch: Okay, let's talk about everyday America. Jets are fouling the air and assaulting our ears
with noise! And they are contributing to the acceleration of our lives, so that we think we've got to get everywhere in a hurry, even though we don't really know where we're going.
Task 4:
【答案】 A.
1) He wanted to build good, low-priced cars for the general public. 2) They considered it the fastest and surest form of transportation.
3) The last step in Ford's production success was to raise his workers' pay from 2 to 5 dollars a day.
4) His idea was that if workers received good wages, they became better buyers. And if manufacturers sold more products, they could lower prices and still cam money.
5) Because whatever Edsel said, people believed he was speaking for his father Henry Ford.
6) Chevrolet had a different look every year and could be paid for over a tong period of time rather than full payment at the time of sale.
7) People mourned its end, and they recognized that the Model T was the last of the first cars in the brave new world of automobile development. B.
1903: A doctor in Detroit, Michigan, bought the frst car from the Ford Motor Company. That sale was the beginning of Henry Ford's dream. 1908: The Model T was ready for sale. 1913: Ford became popular with car buyers when he gave back 50 dollars to each person Who had bought a Ford car. 1916: The price of the Model T had dropped to 345 dollars. 1919: Ford was involved in a dispute with the other people who owned stocks in the Ford Motor Company. 1923: 57 percent of the cars produced in America were Model T Fords. About half the cars produced in the world were Fords. 1926: Finally, even Ford admitted that the age of the Model T was over. A new' Ford was needed 1927: The Model T was gone.
【原文】
In 1903, a doctor in Detroit, Michigan, bought the first car from the Ford Motor Company. That sale was the beginning of Henry Ford's dream. He wanted to build good, low-priced cars for the general public. As he said many times: \"I want to make a car that anybody can buy.\"
To keep prices low, Henry Ford decided that he would build just one kind of car. He called it the \"Model T\". The Model T was ready for sale in October 1908.
The Model T cost 850 dollars. It was a simple machine that drivers could depend on. Doctors bought the Model T. So did farmers. Even criminals. They considered it the fastest and surest form of transportation. Americans loved the Model T. They wrote stories and songs about it. Thousands of Model Ts were built in the first few years. The public wanted the car. And Henry Ford made more and more.
To make the Model T, Ford built the largest factory of its time. Inside the factory, car parts moved to the workers exactly when they needed them. Other factories moved some parts to the workers. But Ford was the first to design his factory completely around this system. Production rose sharply.
As production rose, Ford lowered prices. By 1916, the price had dropped to 345 dollars. The last step in Ford's production success was to raise his workers' pay. His workers had always earned about 2 dollars for 10 hours of work. That was the same daily rate as at other factories.
With wages the same everywhere, factory workers often changed jobs. Henry Ford wan d loyal workers who would remain. He raised wages to 5 dollars a day.
That made Henry Ford popular with working men. He became popular with car buyers in 1913 when he gave back 50 dollars to each person who had bought a Ford car. Henry Ford was demonstrating, his idea that if workers received good wages, they became better buyers. And if manufacturers soldi more products, they could lower prices and still earn money. This system worked for Ford because people continued to demand his Model T, and they had the money to buy it. But what would happen when people no longer wanted the Model T or did not have the money?
In 1919, Henry was involved in a dispute with the other people who owned stocks in the Ford Motor Company. In the end, Henry bought the stocks of the other investors. He gained complete control of the company.
The investors did not do badly, however. An investment of 10,000 dollars when the company was first established produced a return-of 25 milton dollars. A few years later, another group of
investors offered Ford 1,000 million dollars for the company. But he was not interested in selling. He wanted complete control of the company that had his name. In a sense, Henry Ford was the company.
Henry's son, Edsel was named president of the company before 1920. No one truly believed that Edsel was running the company. Whatever Edsel said, people believed he was speaking for his father.
In 1923, 57 percent of the cars produced in America were Model T Fords. About half the cars produced in the world were Fords. Never before--or since--has one car company so controlled world car production.
The success of the Ford Motor Company permitted Henry Ford to work on other projects. He became a newspaper publisher. He bought a railway. He built airplanes. He helped build a hospitalt He even ran for the United States Senate.
Some of Henry's projects were almost unbelievable. For example, he tried to end World War I by sailing to Europe with a group of peace supporters.
While Henry Ford enjoyed his success, a dangerous situation was developing. Other companies began to sell what only Ford had been selling: good, low-priced cars. Ford's biggest competitor was the General Motor Company. General Motors produced the Chevrolet automobile.
Ford's Model T was still a dependable car. But it had not changed in years. People said the Model T engine was too loud. They said it was too slow. The Chevrolet, however, had a different look every year. And you could pay for one over a long period of time. Ford demanded tall payment at the time of sale. Ford's share of the car market began to fall.
Everyone at Ford agreed that the Model T must go. Henry Ford disagreed. And it was his decision that mattered. Finally, in 1926, even Henry admitted that the age of the Model T was over. A new Ford was needed. A year later, the Model T was gone.
Strangely enough, people mourned its end. They did not want to buy it anymore, but they recognized that the Model T was the last of the first cars !n the brave new world of automobile development.
Task 5:
【答案】 A. 1) T 2) T 3) F 4) T 5) F 6) T B.
1) The union executive has decided to ask for a 12 percent increase in basic hourly wage rates in order to make up for inflation.
2) Because the company has made hardly any profit at all this year.
3) Any increase in wages would raise the costs above those of the competitors and would eventually lead to the bankruptcy of this company. 4) If the union could help increase productivity.
5) They'll be forced to resort to industrial action.
6) The management warns that any disruption in production would cause great losses to this company and would result in considerable layoffs of under-productive workers.
【原文】
Mr. Johnson: Good morning, Mr. Evans. What can 1 do for you?
Mr. Evans: The union executive has decided to ask for a 12 percent increase in basic hourly wage
rates in order to make up for inflation.
Mr. Johnson: I'm afraid that would be out of the question. We've made hardly any profit at all this
year.
Mr. Evans: That's no concern of ours, Mr. Johnson. We have to take care of our families and
unless our wages are raised; we'll be unable to make ends meet.
Mr. Johnson: I have my sympathy of course, but you must realize that any increase in wages
would raise our costs above those of our competitors and would eventually lead to the bankruptcy of this company.
Mr. Evans: As a matter of fact, your competitors pay higher wages than you do.
Mr. Johnson: Their wages might be slightly higher, but their workers are more productive than
ours. If you help us to increase labor productivity, we'll gladly raise your wages.
Mr. Evans: We're willing to discuss separately any proposals you may have for raising
productivity, but I'm afraid our wage claim is not open to discussion. If your answer isn't favorable, we'll be forced to resort to industrial action.
Mr. Johnson: Let me warn you that any disruption in production would cause great losses to this
firm and would result in considerable layoffs of under-productive workers. I'm prepared to consider your request, but not under duress. I need several days to discuss the matter with the directors. I can probably give you an answer by next Wednesday.
Mr. Evans: Very well. We can wait until then. But I doubt if we would settle for legs than 12
percent.
Task 6:
【答案】 A. 1) F 2) T 3) F 4) T B.
1) By hand or with simple tools and machines.
2) One in which people did their jobs in their own cottages or homes.
3) British manufactures bought cotton there, made it into finished goods in the UK and sold them back.
4) In big factories.
5) More and more people had to work in factories. They had to move closer to where they were working. So towns and cities grew up around the factories.
6) No longer did they raise their own food or make their own clothing. Often, they lived in rented homes or rooms. If they were unable to work, they had no protection. C.
During the Middle Ages, most families filled their own needs for cloth. With specialization of work, merchants found it could produce more cloth, thus a cottage industry was formed. New inventions also brought new iron looms and steam power, and more and more jobs came to be done in .factories. In the factory industry, people imported raw materials and sold back the finished goods. The changes in British industry affected everyone.
【原文】
Through the Middle Ages and after, people in the British Isles made most things by hand or with simple tools and machines. Then in the 1700s and 1800s, many new inventions brought great changes in the ways things were made. A whole new world began. These changes are called the Industrial Revolution. A revolution is a great political or economic change. The Industrial Revolution gave Britain the world's strongest economy.
We will look at how the Industrial Revolution changed the making of just one product—textiles or cloth. What happened in this one industry is similar to what happened in other industries.
During the Middle Ages, most families filled their own needs for cloth. Families raised their own sheep, sheared the wool, spun the wool into thread, and wove the thread into cloth. This took long time to do. Each family could make only enough cloth for its own needs.
Then, a great change took place. Merchants discovered that more cloth could be produced if people would do just one job. This is called specialization. The merchants organized the families. Each family did a specific part of the task. Some raised sheep. Others sheared the wool from, the sheep. Still others spun the wool into thread. This thread was taken to other families to be woven into cloth. When each family did only one job, they produced much more cloth per family. Now there was extra cloth to sell to other people. People did these jobs in their own cottages, or homes, so this was called a cottage industry.
At first, cloth was woven on looms powered by hand or by waterwheels. These looms worked slowly and could not be very big. To produce more cloth, the looms had to be changed.
New inventions changed the ways in which people made cloth. Looms began to be made of iron instead of wood. These new looms could be much larger than the old ones. In fact, they became so big that they would not fit in people's homes. They had to be moved to special buildings. Such buildings with many machines and many workers are called factories. Instead of working at home, the workers now had to go to the factories to work.
The new iron looms could not be powered by hand. Water power was also not sufficient. Finally, steam power came to be used. Every factory had to have fuel to heat the water to make the steam. Britain had lots of coal, a black mineral that was an excellent fuel.
The new looms were supplied with thread by new spinning machines. More and more jobs came to be done in factories. The textile industry had changed. It was no longer a cottage industry; it was now a factory industry.
The new machines used so much wool that it had to be imported from other nations. Cotton also came to be used for cloth. The wool and cotton were raw materials. These are things that are grown, raised, gathered, or mined. They are then made into useful things, called finished goods.
Typically British manufacturers bought raw materials in other nations. They brought these back to Britain to be made into finished goods. They then sold those goods to the nations from which they had bought the raw materials. Such was the case with the cotton grown in the southern United States.
The changes in British industry affected everyone. Now many people worked in a big factory rather than at home. Each person had to learn to work with people from other families.
People who worked in factories had to live near them. So more and more people moved closer to where they were working. Thus, towns and cities grew up around the factories. These cities became crowded.
People could live m cities only if other people in the country could produce food for them. Farmers began to use new methods that produced more food. This extra food could teed the people in the cities. Many farmers, too, began to specialize in one job like the factory workers.
The lives of the workers were greatly changed. No longer did they raise their own food or make their own clothing. Often, they lived in rented homes or rooms rather than in their own cottages. If they were unable to work, they had no protection. The workers might not be able to pay the rent or feed themselves. At that time, the government did not help people who were out of work.
The Industrial Revolution made it possible for Britain to produce many products quickly. It gave British merchants products to sell all over the world. It made these products cheaper to buy because each worker could produce more. However, the Industrial Revolution also created problems. Some of these problems have still not been solved.
Task 7:
【答案】 A.
1) Nearly One third of the factories in Britain.
2) Industrial conflict was most common in those where workers were organized into unions with full-time shop stewards.
3) Because he thought that it had always been the workers against the management and it wouldn't work any other way. B.
1) union officials often order a strike, a slow-down or an overtime ban in order to put pressure on the management
2) workers often go on strike to protest the dismissal
3) the sudden strikes which begin without warning，trivial issues like demarcation disputes, factory cafeteria prices
4) the traditionally adversary nature of industrial relations in Britain and the predominance
【原文】
According to the results of a survey conducted in 1978 for the British Government, nearly half of the factories in Britain had experienced some form of industrial conflict in the previous two years and nearly one third had experienced all-out strikes. The proportion was even higher for factories in which the workers were organized into unions with full-time shop stewards.
Conflicts between workers and management arise for various reasons. When wage
negotiations break down, union officials often order a strike, a slow-down or an overtime ban in order to put pressure on the management to improve their offer. In declining industries such as shipbuilding and textiles, in which layoffs are very common, workers often go on strike to protest the dismissal of laid-off employees. Less predictable and more disruptive are the so-called \"lightning strikes-sudden strikes which begin without warning--which are often related to trivial issues like demarcation disputes, factory cafeteria prices and so on.
The frequency with which British workers resort to industrial action is probably due to two main factors: the traditionally adversary nature of industrial relations in Britain and the predominance ot1 militant shop stewards. A typical union leader a few years ago rejected an epoch-making offer of union representation in the management of a certain large against them and it won't work any other way.\"
Unit 6
Task 1:
【答案】 A. 1) H 2) H 3) S 4) S 5) H 6) S 7) S 8) H B.
1) California has 43 Representatives and Nevada has only one; but each has two Senators
2) They are small groups which take care of special matters such as education or foreign affairs. The most important work of the Congress is often done in these groups.
3) They were all Representatives and then Senators before becoming President of the United States.
【原文】
In the United States Government, the Congress makes the laws. The Congress has two parts, which are more or less equal in power. They are known as the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives is larger than the Senate. The Senate has only 100 members (known as Senators), two from each state, and they serve for six years. The House, on the other hand, has435 members (known as House Representatives); they are elected every two years, and the number from each state is determined by the population of the state. For example, California, which has a large population, has forty-three representatives, while the state of Nevada has only one.
The House and Senate are divided into small groups which take care of special matters such as education or foreign affairs. The most important work of the Congress is often done in these groups, which are balled committees.
According to the Constitution of the United States, a Senator must be at least thirty years old and he must have been a citizen of the United States for nine years at the time of his election. To be elected to the House, a person must be 25 years old and must have been a United States citizen for seven years. At the present time, members of Congress include businessmen, farmers, teachers, and especially lawyers.
In general, Senators are better known than Representatives because they are fewer in number and serve for a longer time. Many American Presidents served in Congress before they became President. Presidents John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon were all Representatives and then Senators before becoming President of the United States.
Task 2:
【答案】 A.
1) It means that the people rule through representatives they elect.
2) One reason is that the Constitution can be amended, or changed. Another reason is that the Constitution is flexible: its basic principles can be applied and interpreted differently at different times.
3) It is meant to prevent any branch from having too much power. Each branch has certain controls over the other branches.
4) No, he doesn't, because a voter can choose candidates from different parties. For example, they can vote for a Republican President and a Democrat senator.
5) The Republicans tend to be more conservative and to have more support among the upper classes, while the Democrats tend to be more liberal and to have more support among the working classes and the poor.
6) Because candidates today often campaign mainly through brief TV appearances and commercials. Instead of explaining their views in detail, they try to make their opponents look bad. Understandably, in the end many voters do not feel enthusiastic about any candidate. B.
the legislative，executive，judicial
I. the House of Representatives，the Senate，make laws Il. The President，administer the laws，the President，the Vice-President，their staffs，departments and agencies
III. interpret the laws，new laws are in keeping with the Constitution，Supreme Court，nine，for life
【原文】
The United States is an indirect democracy-that is, the people rule through representatives they elect. Over time, the vote has been given to more and more people. In the beginning, only white men with property could vote. Today citizen who is at least 18 years old can vote.
The Constitution
The United States Constitution, written in 1787, established the country's political system and is the basis for its laws. In the 200 years of its history, the United States has greatly grown and changed. Yet the Constitution works as well today as when it was written. One reason is that the Constitution can be amended (for example, the Fifteenth Amendment gave black Americans the right to vote and the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote). Another reason is that the Constitution is flexible: its basic principles can be applied and interpreted differently at
different times.
Federalism
The United States has a federalist system. It means that there are individual states, each with its own government, and there is a federal, or national, government. The US Constitution gives certain powers to the federal government, other powers to the state governments, and yet other powers to both. For example, only the national government can print money; the states establish their own school systems; and both the national and the state governments can collect taxes.
Three Branches of Government
Within the national government, power is divided among three branches: the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch. The legislative branch consists of Congress, which has two parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress's main function is to make laws.
The President is the head of the executive branch and the country. The executive branch administers the laws. In addition to the President, the Vice-President, and their staffs, the executive branch consists of departments and agencies.
The judicial branch interprets the laws and makes sure that new laws are in keeping with the Constitution. The judicial branch is represented by several levels of federal courts. The Supreme Court is the most important body. It has nine members, who are appointed for life.
The system of checks and balances, established by the Constitution, is meant to prevent any of the three branches from having too much power. Each branch has certain controls over the other branches. For example, Congress makes the laws, but the President can veto, or reject, a law and the Supreme Court can decide that the law is unconstitutional.
Two-Party System
The United States has two main political parties: the Democratic and the Republican parties. Many other smaller parties play little if any role.
Voters elect the President, as Senators Representatives Governor, etc. A voter can choose candidates from different parties, For example, a voter may vote for Republicans for President and Vice-President and a Democrat for Senator, so the President does not have to be from the patty has a majority in Congress. In recent years, in fact, voters have tended to choose Republican Pres dents and Democratic people.
There are no clear differences between the Republican and Democratic parties. In general, the Republicans tend to be more conservative and to have more support among the upper classes, while the Democrats tend to be more liberal and to have more support among the working class and the poor.
Recent Trends
In the 20th century, as society has become more complex, government has taken a muck more active role. However, many Americans worry about too much government interference in their lives. Still, compared to many other countries, the role of the US government remains limited.
In recent years, fewer people are voting. In the 1988 presidential election, for example, only 50 percent of people of voting age actually voted. Some experts think television may have contributed to the problem. Candidates today often campaign mainly through brief TV appearances and commercial Instead of explaining their views in detail, they try to make their opponents look bad. Understandably in the end many voters do not feel enthusiastic about any
candidate.
Task 3:
【答案】 A.
1) 659 elected members
2) 669 non-elected members，2，24
3) 750 hereditary peers，they inherited their seats 4) voluntary，75 B. 1) F 2) F 3) T 4) T C.
1) The main purpose of the House of Commons is to make laws by passing Acts of Parliament as well as to discuss current political issues.
2) Parliament can be dissolved either by a royal proclamation or because the maximum term between elections, five years, has expired.
3) All British citizens together with citizens of other Commonwealth countries and citizens of the Irish Republic resident in Britain may vote, provided they are aged 18 years or over and not legally barred from voting.
4) People disqualified include those who are bankrupt, those sentenced to more than one year's imprisonment, members of the clergy, members of the House of Lords, and a range of public servants and officials.
5) The leader of the political party which wins most seats at a general election, or who has the support of a majority of members in the House of Commons, is by convention invited by the Sovereign to form the new government.
【原文】
Parliament, the law-making body of the British people, consists of three elements: the Monarchy, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. They meet together only on occasions of ceremonial significance, such as the state opening of Parliament, although the agreement of all three is normally required for legislation.
The House of Commons consists of 659 elected members called Members of Parliament or MPs. Elections to the House of Commons are an important part of Britain‘s democratic system. The main purpose of the House of Commons is to make laws by passing Acts of Parliament, as well as to discuss current political issues. Some of the liveliest sessions in the Commons debating chamber take place at Prime Minister's Question Time when MPs have the opportunity to quiz the Prime Minister on issues of the day.
The House of Lords consists of around 669 non-elected members, including hereditary peers and peeresses, life peers and peeresses and two archbishops and 24 senior bishops of the Church of England. Its main legislative function is to examine and revise bills from the Commons. It also
acts in a legal capacity as the final court of appeal. The Lords cannot normally prevent proposed legislation from becoming law if the Commons insists on it. The present Government is committed to reforming the House of Lords to make it more democratic and representative. As a first step, it has removed the right of some 750 hereditary peers to sit and vote in Parliament solely on the basis that they inherited their seats. The remaining 92 hereditary peers are allowed to sit temporarily in the transitional chain-her until the full reform programme is in place.
General elections are held after Parliament has been \"dissolved\either by a royal proclamation or because the maximum term between elections, five years, has expired. The decision on when to hold a general election is made by the Prime Minister.
For electoral purposes Britain is divided into constituencies, each of which returns one MP to the House of Commons. The British electoral system is based on the relative majority method, sometimes called the \"first past the post\" principle, which means the candidate with more votes than any other is elected.
All British citizens together with citizens of other Commonwealth countries and citizens of the Irish Republic resident in Britain may vote, provided they are aged 18 years or over and not legally barred from voting. People not entitled to vote include those serving prison sentences, peers and peeresses who are members of the House of Lords, and those kept in hospital under mental health legislation.
Voting is by secret ballot. The elector selects just one candidate on the ballot paper and marks an \"X\" by the candidate‘s name. Voting in elections is voluntary. On average about 75 per cent of the electorate votes.
Any person aged 21 or over who is a British citizen or citizen of another Commonwealth country or the Irish Republic may stand for election to Parliament, provided they are not disqualified. People disqualified include those who are bankrupt, those sentenced to more than one year‘s imprisonment, members of the clergy, members of the House of Lords, and a range of public servants and officials. Approved candidates are usually selected by their political party organizations in the constituency which they represent, although candidates do not have to have party backing.
The leader of the political party which wins most seats (although not necessarily most votes) at a general election, or who has the support of a majority of members in the House of Commons, is by convention invited by the Sovereign to form the new government.
Task 4:
【答案】 A.
1) Marriage is completely controlled by the state and it's very selective and only the best marry the best.
2) On the plus side, all religions are tolerated. No money changes hands, in fact there is no monetary system at all, so there's no love of property and acquisition, therefore there's no greed,
therefore no theft.
3) After you have your children, the State takes them away from you and they take them to this place where they teach them good habits and make them want to learn.
4) Because it is high in Tibet, surrounded by mountains and inaccessible to the whole of the world. B.
Children in Plato's Republic go to school until they're 20 years old and then they do tests. The ones who fail these tests become businessmen, workers, farmers, and they're capitalists who are permitted to own property and to use money. The ones who pass the tests do another 10 years of education and then they do more tests, and the ones who fail these tests become soldiers and they live in a communist society and they own no property and they don't have any money, they share everything. The ones who pass these further tests go on to study philosophy for another 5 years, and then they live practical lives in the real world for another 15 years and then when they're 50, they become \"guardians\ C.
Four Visions of the Perfect Society
Plato’s Thomas H. G. Wells’ James Hilton’s
Republic More’s Utopia Utopia Shangri-La
Position 7 Political Institutions 8 10, 13 6, 17 19 Education 1 People and Society 3 4, 16 2, 12, 15 5, 11, 18 Children 14, 20 9
【原文】
Presenter: I suppose everyone wishes the world could be a perfect place, where everyone lives in
happy harmony. Well, we're going to hear about four visions of the perfect society. Going back to Ancient Greece first, Plato was born in 427 BC and he called his imaginary perfect society \"the Republic\". Philippa?
lippa: Now, Plato's Republic has only got 5,040 citizens and that's the number that can be
addressed by one orator. The political leaders of the Republic are called \"guardians\". Now, children in Plato's Republic go to school until they're 20 years old and they do tests. The ones who fail these tests become businessmen, workers, farmers, and they're capitalists who are permitted to own property and to use money. The ones who pass the tests do another 10 years of education and then they do more tests, and the ones who fail these tests become soldiers and they live in a communist society and they own no property and they don't have any money—they share everything. The ones who pass these further tests go on to study philosophy for another 5 years, and then they live practical lives in the world—in the real world for another 15 years and then when they're 50, they become \"guardians\in fact power. And in the Republic there are 360 guardians and each month 30 of these rules over the Republic.
Um... marriage is interesting: In Plato's Republic, marriage is completely controlled by
the state and it's very selective and only the best marry the best. And children: The... the very.., the superior children are allowed to survive but in fact all the rest are killed at birth. And they're brought up not by their parents, but collectively as a group.
Presenter: Well, thank you, Philippa. Now, Thomas More lived from 1478 to 1535 and he actually
invented the term Utopia, didn't he, Terry?
Terry: Yes. Yes, he took it from the.., from the Greek, and it means \"No place\". Thomas More's
Utopia is on an island 800 kilometers round, somewhere in the Pacific with therefore, I suppose, a reasonably fair climate.
On the political side it's not everything we'd consider right now, but he had it ruled by a king, where slaves did menial work, and where women were inferior to men. On the plus side, however, all religions were tolerated. No money changes hands; in fact there is no monetary system at all, so there's no... no love of... of property and acquisition; there fore there's no greed, therefore no theft.
Every adult male works six hours a day at a job that he likes to do and a job which sepses the needs of the community. He doesn't receive payment, as I said, in money: He receives what he needs from a… a common store—food, drink that sort of thing for his family. Each group of 30 families eject a leader, and every 10 leaders elect a chief; the chief becomes a member of the national council The national council elects one king, who rules for life, so it's a sort of democratically elected king.
Education…well, that emphasizes vocational subjects, obviously subjects which will be useful to the people who work, for the benefit of the community? so it all ties in. And war is only acceptable when it's absolutely necessary; there are to be no common squabbles or little petty rows.
Presenter: Fine! H. G. Wells, who was born in 1866 and died in 1946, also had a vision of Utopia.
Polly?
Polly: Well, Wells' Utopia is a world state, so that means one government for the whole world.
And in this world government the state owns all the land and 31t the sources of power and food. But individuals can still own and inherit property, so you can have some personal things. He's really into high-tech: He has these visions of these amazing electric, trains that go at 300 kilometers per hour and they've got libraries and sofas and reading rooms—it's really just extraordinary. And he thinks that most work should be done by machines, which is a nice idea, so people have a lot of free time.
Now, his world is governed by this special ruling class and you have to take a test to qualify, and if you qualify you're not allowed to smoke or drink or gamble, but you can tell the rest of the world what to do!
Personal details of every person on the planet are kept in what I guess is a huge computer in Paris, and this information is used to control population and labor and tell the underlings how to live their lives. Um... and if you want to have children, you have to produce this record that shows you're healthy, and you have enough money and you're the right age. And after you have your children, the state takes them away from you and they take them to this place where they teach the children good habits and make the children want to learn, except I don't know how they make the children do that.
Presenter: Hm, fine! And finally, Shangri-La. James Hilton wrote about this magic land in his
novel Lost Horizon, which was made into a film in 1937, and I believe, was remade in 1973, wasn't it, Tony?
Tony: Yes, that's right. Shangri-La is high in Tibet, China, and it's surrounded by mountains
and it's inaccessible to the whole of the world, so it's idyllic. Now, in Shangri-La people live to be at least 200 years old or more. They all eat magic berries that keep them young, and they practice yoga and they all follow the teachings of Buddha. The inhabit-ants of Shangri-La devote their entire lives to contemplation, research and the pursuit of wisdom. They're all good-mannered, honest and sober, and very happy.
Task 5:
【答案】 A. 1) T 2) F 3) T 4) F 5) F B.
1) The Federal Government has a Senate and House of Commons, and each province, also has a House of Commons.
2) It has two red bands at either end with a red maple leaf in the middle. 3) Yes, they do. Anyone who does not bother to vote has to pay a fine.
4) The New Zealand Parliament has only one house, which it calls the House of Representatives. New Zealand MPs are elected by proportional representaton, while the UK uses the \"first past the post\" system.
5) The Queen is head of these three governments, but is represented by a Governor-General.
【原文】
The Canadian government is more British in style than American, except that it is a federal government. The head of government is the Prime Minister, often called the \"PM\" am.
The Federal Government has a Senate and House of Commons, and each province also rigs a House of Commons. Canada now belongs to the Commonwealth of Nations—nations which once belonged to the British Empire. Her ties with the mother country are not as strong as they were. She has a new flag which has two red bands at either end with a red maple leaf in the middle. The maple tree is the national tree of Canada. In the fall, maple leaves turn a brilliant red and orange.
Queen Elizabeth Ⅱis still Queen of Canada. She is head of the government, as in Britain, but has a Governor-General to represent her. She is still quite popular among Anglophone Canadians, but she is more popular still in the USA!
Like the USA, Australia is a federation of states, but both federal and state governments are run on British, not American lines. Australian members of Parliament arc elected by proportional representation. Everyone aged 18 and over has to vote in federal and state elections. Anyone who I does not bother to vote has to pay a fine. There are two main parties, Labour, a middle-of-the-road socialist party, and the Liberal Party, which stands for free enterprise.
The New Zealand Parliament has only one use, which it calls the House of Representatives.
MPs re elected by proportional representation. There are two main parties, the Labour Party and the National Party, which is a conservative welfare party. The Queen is head of both the Australian and the New Zealand governments, but is represented in both cases by a Governor-General.
Task 6:
【答案】 A.
1) The Crown represents both the Sovereign--the person on whom the Crown is constitutionally conferred—and the Government, and is the symbol of supreme executive power.
2) Constitutional conventions mean the rules which are not part of the law', but which are regarded as indispensable to the machinery of government. B.
1) In Parliament: The Queen has the power to summon and dissolve Parliament. Before a Bill becomes law the Queen must give it her Royal Assent. 2) In justice: The Queen has the power to pardon or show mercy to those convicted of crimes and she is immune from civil or criminal proceedings and cannot be sued in courts of law. 3) Honours and appointments: The Queen has the power to confer peerages, knighthoods and other honours, and to make appointments to many important state offices. 4) In foreign policy: The Queen has the power to conclude treaties, to declare war and to make peace, to recognize foreign states and governments and to annex and cede territory.
【原文】
The Crown, which represents both the Sovereign (the person on whom the Crown is
constitutionally conferred) and the Government, is the symbol of supreme executive power. The Crown is vested in the Queen, but in general its functions are exercised by Ministers responsible to Parliament and thus Britain is governed by Her Majesty‘s Government in the name of the
Queen. However, the Queen‘s involvement is still required in many important acts of government. The Queen summons, prorogues (discontinues until the next session without dissolving) and dissolves Parliament. She normally opens the new session of Parliament with a speech from the throne which is written for her by the Government and outlines her Government‘s programme. Before a Bill becomes law the Queen must give it her Royal Assent, which is announced to both Houses of Parliament.
The Queen can, on ministerial advice, pardon or show mercy to those convicted of crimes. In law the Queen as a private person can do no wrong: she is immune from civil or criminal
proceedings and cannot be sued in courts of law. This immunity is not shared by other members of the royal family.
The Queen has the power to confer peerages, knighthoods and other honors. She normally does this on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, although a few honors are conferred by the Sovereign personally. The Queen makes appointments to many important state offices, on the advice of the Prime Minister or the relevant Cabinet Minister.
Foreign diplomatic representatives in London are accredited to the Queen, and she has the power to conclude treaties, to declare war and to make peace, to recognize foreign states and governments and to annex and cede territory.
The Queen presides over meetings of the Privy Council. At these, among other things, Orders in Council made under the Royal Prerogative or under statute are approved. The Royal Prerogative mainly comprises executive government powers controlled by constitutional conventions, meaning the rules which are not part of the law, but which are regarded as indispensable to the machinery of government. In nearly all cases acts involving the Royal
Prerogative are performed by Ministers who are responsible to Parliament and can be questioned about policies. Parliament has the power to abolish or restrict a prerogative right.
In addition to being informed and consulted about all aspects of national life, the Queen is free to put forward her own views, in private, for the consideration of her Ministers.
Unit 7
Task 1:
【答案】 A.
6，1420，273 B. b C. 1) F 2) F 3) T 【原文】
The Temple of Heaven is situated in the southern part of Beijing, about 6 kilometres away from the centre of the city. Traditionally, this temple was for imperial use only. It was built in 1420, covering an area of 273 hectares. It is one of the largest parks in Beijing.
The Temple of Heaven was the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped heaven and prayed for good harvests. The emperors visited the temple three times a year: on the 8th day of the first lunar month to pray for a good harvest; during the Summer
Solstice to pray for rain; and during Winter Solstice to give thanks for a good harvest. During each ceremony, the emperors worshipped heaven and prayed for a good harvest. In addition, the emperors also worshipped their ancestors and other natural phenomena such as the Cloud God, Rain God and Wind God.
In imperial days, the Chinese people believed that the sky was circular and the earth was square. On the basis of this traditional concept, the circle was widely adopted in the design of the temple's main building. It is in accord with people's imagination of heaven.
During past ceremonies each year, the emperor left the Forbidden City through the front gate for the Temple of Heaven. No common people or foreigners were allowed to watch the emperor s procession to the temple. They had to remain hidden behind closed doors and windows. No
women, not even the empress, were allowed to take part in the procession.
Task 2:
【答案】 A. 1) c 2) a 3) e 4) d 5) b B.
40，102，1,454，222，410，365,000，40,000,000，32，86th，50，102nd C. 1) F 2) F 3) T 4) T
【原文】
Until the construction of the Sears tower in Chicago and the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan—which unfortunately collapsed in a terrorist attack on September 11,2001—the Empire State Building was for 40 years the tallest building in the world, standing 102 stories and 1,454 feet tall, including a 222 feet television antenna.
The unusual structure of the Empire State Building, built in just 410 days during the depths of the Depression, was planned during the boom years of the 1920s and completed in May 1931. The building cost 40,000,000 dollars and was the product of a competition between Walter Chrysler Corporation and John Jakob Raskob, founder of General Motors, to see who could build the tallest building.
The structure itself weighs 365, 000 tons，less than the weight of the earth that was dug out to build it. Time has shown it to be durable but when it was first opened to the world, the public was worried about the stability of what was then the tallest building ever seen.
A number of curious events have contributed to this famous building, including that an Army Air Corps B-25 bomber plane crashed into the 79th floor on a foggy day in July 1945 at the end of World War II, killing 14 people.
The television antenna was added in 1951. The top 32 floors of the building are lit at night. There is an observatory on 86th floor which gives a 50-mile view of the city and surrounding countryside. There is also a glass-enclosed observatory on the 102nd floor.
Task 3:
【答案】 A. 1) d 2) c B. 1) T 2) T 3) T 4) F
【原文】
Janet Owens' house turned out to be a horrible dream. When she and her engineer husband married a few years ago, they built a $100,000, three-bedroom home in California. Tightly sealed to prevent air leaks, the house was equipped with double-glazed windows and several other energy-saving qualities. Problems began as soon as the couple moved in, however. Janet's eyes burned. Her throat was often dry. She suffered from headaches and could hardly sleep. It was as though she had suddenly developed a strange illness.
Experts finally found the cause of her illness. The level of formaldehyde gas in her kitchen was twice the largest amount allowed by federal standards for chemical workers. The source of the gas? Her new kitchen cabinet and wall-to-wall carpeting.
The Owens suffered the effects of indoor air pollution, which is not given enough attention partly because of the nation's drive to save energy. The problem itself isn't new. It appears to be more troublesome in newly constructed homes rather than old ones. Back in the days when energy was cheap, home builders didn't worry about unsealed cracks. Because of such leaks, the air in an average home was replaced by fresh outdoor air about once an hour. As a result, the pollutants caused, by most households seldom built up to dangerous levels.
Task 4:
【答案】 A.
1) several thousand 2) 700 years ago
3) An 36-meter-wide road, An 18-meter-wide one, 9 meters, 10 meters, 40 centimeters B. 1) T 2) T 3) T 4) F
【原文】
For those who want to experience the local customs as well as the history and culture of Beijing, they must visit the hutong and siheyuan (courtyard house).
A hutong is an alley or lane typical in the old city of Beijing, where hutongs run into the several thousand. Surrounding the Forbidden City, many of the hutongs were built during the Yuan,
Ming and Qing dynasties. In these dynasties the emperors had the city planned and arranged according t, the etiquette systems, with the royal palace—the Forbidden City—standing in the center.
The word hutong originally came from the Mongolian language about 700 years ago, and meant \"water well\
Hutong is in fact the passage formed by lines of siheyuan (courtyard houses) where most Beijing residents used to live. One hutong connects with another, and siheyuans connect with siheyuans, to form a block, and blocks join with blocks to form the whole city.
In old China, there was a clear definition for a hutong. A 36-meter-wide road was called a big street. An 18~meter-wide one was called a small street. Only a lane less than 9 meters wide was called a hutong. The shortest hutong is just 10 meters long, and the narrowest hutong is only about 40 centimeters wide. Most of the hutongs in Beijing run from the east to the west or from the north to the south. That has resulted from the need for houses to take in more sunshine.
There are many stories and fairy tales about the hutongs. Near the Forbidden City, for example, there is a hutong called \"Weaving Girl\Chinese myth who stole out of the Heavenly Palace to come to the earth and fell in love with a shepherd boy. Her enraged father, the Celestial Emperor, seized the girl back and separated the couple with the Milky Way, permitting them to meet only once a year, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, when magpies form a bridge for them to pass over the barrier.
In the life of the people in Beijing, the hutong has a very special and important position. It is more than a style of architecture. It is really the \"encyclopedia of the history and culture of Beijing\".
Task 5:
【答案】 A.
170 meters，white stone，the first president of the United States，50 flags，the Independence Day celebration，new security facilities，an elevator B.
1833，1848，1854，1876，1884，1888 【原文】
The Washington Monument is the tallest structure in the city. It stands almost
one-hundred-seventy meters tall. It is named for the first President of the United States, George Washington. Millions of people from around the world visit the white stone structure every year. The monument is a structure called an obelisk. Its four sides end in a point at the top. Fifty American flags surround it. They represent the fifty states. Lights shine on the Washington Monument at night. It can be seen from far away. Fireworks are launched from near the monument on American Independence Day—July fourth—and at other special celebrations. It took many years to build the Washington Monument. One group started raising money for a memorial in 1833. Officials placed the first stone of the monument on July fourth, 1848.
Roman Catholic Church leader Pope Pius the Ninth gave a piece of marble from Rome for the monument. But the stone was stolen in 1854. After that, the public almost stopped giving money for the structure. Many people believed it would never be finished.
A group called the Know Nothings was suspected of trying to stop the monument from being built. Finally, in 1876, Congress voted to pay for building the Washington Monument. It was finished in 1884 and opened to the public in 1888.
The Washington Monument recently re-opened after being closed for more than a year. Officials used that time to make improvements. New security measures also were added. And a new elevator now carries visitors to the observation area on top of the monument. From there, visitors can look out over the capital city.
Task 6:
【答案】 I.
A. city council
C. putting its model in a wind tunnel II.
A. clear the site，steel balls, mechanical shovels，mechanical grabs B. build the foundation
1. a big concrete slab，digging a deep hole，pouring tons and tons of concrete into it 2. thick pillars of concrete and steel，boring holes in the ground and filling them with concrete，driving ready-made piles into the ground with powerful pile-drivers C. the frame
1. Reinforced concrete 2. Huge cranes D.
1. vibrators
2. Ready-made panels
III.
A. telephone company
B. wire up the rooms for electricity C. Plumbers
D. Heating engineers E. the elevators F. scaffold
G. curtains，carpets，furniture
【原文】
To build a skyscraper, first a piece of land must be bought. Then the architect designs the skyscraper. The city council must give its permission before it can be built. The architect makes model of his design. This shows what the building will look like when it is finished. If the buyer likes it, the architect draws up plans. These show every detail of the new building. Very tall buildings have to be tested before they are built. The model is pat in a wind tunnel. This shows
whether the sky scraper will stand up to high winds.
When the tests are finished, work begins on the building site. First, the site is cleared. Big machines called excavators are often used to do this. They have \"caterpillar\" tracks to stop them from sinking into soft mud. Many different tools can be attached to excavators. A heavy steel ball is swung on the end of a cable to knock down old buildings. Mechanical shovels and \"grabs\" scoop up loose earth and rubble and drop it into trucks.
Skyscrapers are very heavy. They need strong ground to support their weight. They can be built on solid rock, but ordinary soil is much too weak. Strong supports, called foundations, have to be built in the soil.
First, the builders bore into the ground. They take soil from different depths. They test the soil to see if it is strong or weak. If the soil is strong, the builders may use a big concrete slab for the foundations. They dig a deep hole with powerful excavators. The excavators have scoops or shovels that remove the soil in great bites. When the hole has been dug, tons and tons of concrete are poured into it for the foundations. If the soil is weak, \"piles\" are used for the foundations. Piles are thick pillars of concrete and steel. They reach from the surface down to rock or firm soil. Sometimes holes are bored in the ground and then filled with concrete. Sometimes the piles are made on the surface. Then they are driven deep into the ground with powerful hammers, called pile-drivers.
When the concrete foundations have set, the frame is made of strong steel girders. Sometimes it is made of reinforced concrete. Steel bars are put in place first and are boxed in. Then concrete is poured around them. The concrete sets and makes a very strong frame.
Huge cranes lift the girders or the steel bars into place as the building grows. They carry up wet concrete in big buckets, called skips. The cranes are called tower cranes because they stand on tall steel towers. At the top they have a long arm that swings around in a wide circle to deliver the building materials.
When the frame of each level, or storey, is finished, the builders can put in the floors. First they put up a frame of boards around the floor area. Then they pour concrete into it. The vibrator makes the concrete firm and helps to settle it. The walls can be made in the same way. But often they are made of glass or metal. They can be thin because they do not have to bear any weight. The weight of the building is carried by the framework of concrete or steel girders. Walls which do not bear the weight of a building are called \"curtain\" walls.
Ordinary building methods are quite slow. The builders have to wait for the concrete to set in one part before they can move on. It is quicker to use ready-made panels for the walls and floors. The panels are brought to site, lifted into place and then joined together.
The skyscraper must also have \"services\" put in. The telephone company puts in telephones. Electricians wire up the rooms for electricity. Plumbers fit th6 water pipes. Heating engineers put in the heating system. Other engineers put in the elevators. Elevators are important in skyscrapers. In ordinary houses there are not many stairs, but in skyscrapers there are hundreds and hundreds. An-other problem is cleaning the windows. The window cleaners cannot work from ladders on the ground. They have to work from a scaffold that dangles from the roof.
The day arrives when the skyscraper is completely finished from top to bottom. The scaffolding is taken away. The builders remove their cranes and concrete mixers and trucks. The movers arrive to move in the furniture. Curtains are hung and carpets are laid. The electricity and heating are turned on. Then, at last, all is ready for the people to move in.
Task 7:
【答案】 A. 1) c 2) c 3) a 4) a 5) b 6) b B. 1) F 2) T 3) T 4) F 5) T 6) F 7) T
【原文】
Interviewer: What is a home in your understanding?
Rybczynski: A home represents a refuge from the public world. It is a safe place in which people
feel that they can let their minds drift off and dream. Imagining a house, building it and then living inside it is something quite wonderful. Every time you enter that house, you're really entering your own mind. This is equally true whether you are an architect or somebody living in a Mexican slum. An awful lot of what people do with their homes can't be explained by simple function; it has as much to do with communicating an idea of themselves to others. In some countries, even the smallest shacks are constructed by their owners. By contrast, in our society, building a home has become something of a luxury. But some analysts have suggested that as our working lives become less creative we look for the creative act elsewhere, which may explain why people sometimes build several homes in a lifetime.
Interviewer: It's also, you say, a source of almost childlike fun.
Rybczynski: Architecture is not a particularly well-paying profession, yet there is an enormous
interest among young people in the field, in large part because the work is a lot of fun. There is a very lighthearted atmosphere in most architectural offices. A good part of what architects do is thinking in miniature, and working with architectural models is a kind of play. People are always fascinated with these models because they are like toys. The tiny buildings peopled with pocket-size figures recall the dolls' houses and lead soldiers of our childhood. We have all spent hours sprawled on the floor playing with toy blocks and built little houses with construction toys. We have all been little architects.
Interviewer: How does culture shape what is built?
Rybczynski: The search for newness pervades our culture and applies equally to movies, books
and buildings. But books are put on shelves and movies in cans. Buildings, however, surround us. It is kind of mad to have every building trying to outdo every other one. But that's very much the situation we have created. Nobody wants to do the 90 percent of the background buildings that are needed to have one wonderful monument. In part, this reflects the modem movement, dating from the 1920s, which placed importance on originality. The architect was judged by his ability to create new forms or building that solved problems in new ways. An architect who simply repeated somebody else‘s solution was passed over as unimaginative. The current phenomenon also reflects the desire of corporations in a city to have a strong identity. And, finally, there are the media. The architect who wants to succeed has to demonstrate originality; otherwise people won't write about him. But for every architect who skillfully carries out unusual buildings, there are dozens who copy them with less skill. While I don't necessarily admire an architect like Frank Gehry, who has come up with such designs as a building shaped like a fish, I certainly acknowledge his craftsmanship. But when people copy his buildings without his craftsmanship and skill, the end product is too many eccentric buildings not done very well; you end up with a lot of ugliness. When everyone wants to be a star architecturally, the city that is produced can be a very unsatisfying place.
Unit 8
Task 1:
【答案】 A.
1) 37 people were killed and more than 700 injured. 2) During morning rush hour (on Thursday). 3) Islamic terrorists.
4) They were shocked and angry, but determined to carry on with their lives. 5) He was at the Group of Eight summit in Scotland. 6) To keep up their fight against terrorism.
7) Hundreds of thousands of Londoners walked home from work in the rain late Thursday 8) On Friday. B.
1) vast and overwhelming majority，decent and law-abiding，abhor this act of terrorism
2) we will not be intimidated，we will not be changed，we will not be divided，our resolve will hold firm
【原文】
A series of bombings on London's subway and bus network has killed at least 37 people and wounded more than 700. The British government suspects Islamic terrorists are responsible. A massive investigation is under way.
The attacks during morning rush hour Thursday have left Londoners shocked and angry, but apparently determined to carry on with their lives.
As police, fire and ambulance crews grappled with the carnage, Prime Minister Tony Blair rushed backed to London from the Group of Eight summit in Scotland to assess the situation.
After his meetings, Mr. Blair confirmed that Britain suspects Islamic terrorists.
\"We know that these people act in the name of Islam,\" said Mr. Blair. \"But we also know that the vast and overwhelming majority of Muslims here and abroad are decent and law-abiding people who abhor this act of terrorism every bit as much as we do.\"
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw says the bombings bear, in his words, \"all the hallmarks of al-Qaida,\" the terrorist network that attacked the United States on September 11, 2001.
Mr. Blair is appealing to the British public to keep up the fight against terrorism with what he calls their \"stoic resolve.\"
\"When they try to intimidate us, we will not be intimidated,\" added Mr. Blair. \"When they seek to change our country or our way of life by these methods, we will not be changed. When they try to divide our people or weaken our resolve we will not be divided and our resolve will hold firm.\"
Hundreds of thousands of Londoners walked home from work in the rain late Thursday. Bus and subway service was running only sporadically. An empty taxi was hard to find. Streets were gridlocked with vehicles, and police kept traffic away from some of the bombed subway stations. Authorities are hoping to resume normal public transport service on Friday.
Task 2:
【答案】 A.
President Bush Republican Senators They‘ve tried and tried to get a vote on all of the nominees. Democratic Senators What have they He has sent the US Senate done ? the names of men and women he‘d like to appoint as federal judges. What do they do? What do they do? By comfortably winning re-election, the president earned the right to put his choices on the federal The talk and talk and on the Senate floor to stall votes on the nominees. The president is trying to skew judicial decisions by packing the bench. B. 1) F 2) F 3) F 4) T 5) T 6) F
【原文】
courts with conservatives. President Bush has sent the U.S. Senate the names of men and women he'd like to appoint as federal judges. And Republican senators have tried and tried to get a vote, yea or nay—or \"up or down\" as they like to say—on all of them. By comfortably winning re-election, the Republicans say, the president earned the right to put his choices on the federal bench.
But Democratic Party leaders say the president is trying to skew judicial decisions by packing the courts with conservatives. So they talk and talk and talk on the Senate floor to stall votes on the nominees.
It's called \"filibustering‖, and it takes at least 60% of members to stop this delaying tactic and force a vote. The majority Republicans run the show in the Senate, but not by 60%.
\"Filibuster\" is a Dutch term from the days when filibusters were pirates capturing ships on the high seas. Now the word describes holding a bill, or a nomination, hostage—even if it means reading recipes or names from the telephone book for hours on end to block a vote. The gifted orator Huey Long was a master filibusterer in the 1930s. So was fellow southerner Strom Thurmond. He set a record by rambling on for 24 hours straight in 1957.
Classic movie lovers remember the film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, in which Jimmy Stewart filibusters passionately before collapsing. \"You all think I'm licked! Well I'm not licked. And I'm going to stay right here and fight for this lost cause…Somebody will listen to me. So…\" (And he collapses as screams fill the Senate chamber.)
Now let us further explore the long and colorful history of filibustering. \"There will be no filibustering here, sir!\"
The president must wish it were that easy!
Task 3:
【答案】 A.
sleep，memory(or: the ability of the brain to form memories)，the memory process，got to sleep，with no sleep in between， Harvard Medical School，continues to learn，exclusively during sleep， scanned，different parts of the brain were active，off-line memory processing，the brain is quite
busy (or: not dormant) during sleep，20—30，our memory，a biological necessity B. 1) F 2) F 3) T 4) T 5) F 6) T
【原文】
Research just published sheds new light on the surprising relationship between sleep and the ability of the brain to form memories. In fact, sleep may actually be an important part of the memory process.
Piano students may be told that \"practice makes perfect,\" but at least when it comes to memorizing certain finger movements, it seems that practice may be only part of the story. In an experiment conducted by researchers at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, participants practiced tapping out a sequence of numbers on a special keyboard. It's similar to the kind of memory skill a pianist might need in order to learn a piece of music. After 12 hours, the subjects were tested on how well they remembered the number sequence.
In some cases they got to sleep during that 12-hour period; in other cases they were tested later in the day, with no sleep in between. \"And what we found,\" explained lead researcher Matthew Walker, \"is that after you learn a memory task, you improve initially when you practice that memory task, but the brain doesn't stop learning, it turns out. Once you finish practice, the brain actually continues to learn in the absence of any further continued practice. However, that delayed learning, as it were, develops exclusively during sleep, and not during equivalent time periods when you're awake.\"
In the second stage, as they were trying to reproduce the finger movements they had memorized, the participants' brains were scanned using an MRI, to see what parts of the brain were involved. It turns out that different parts of the brain were active, depending on whether the subject had slept during that 12-hour period between learning and testing, or been awake. During sleep, the brain apparently conducts what Dr. Walker calls \"off-line memory processing\"—in this case reorganizing the motor-skill memory for more efficient retrieval the next day.
Matthew Walker says this research is only the latest in a series of studies that has led scientists to recognize that the brain is quite busy during sleep. \"We are starting to abandon the notion in science that the sleeping brain is simply a dormant brain. It turns out to be quite the contrary. In fact, parts of the brain can be up to 20-30% more active during certain kinds of sleep than when we're awake.\"
Dr. Walker says his study adds to an ample body of research that stresses the importance of getting a good night's sleep. \"It's certainly additional evidence to suggest that sleep is critical - firstly in terms of our memory. From a more general perspective, though, I think it again just stresses that sleep is a biological necessity,\" he says. \"Evolution has created sleep for a very specific reason, in fact probably for multiple reasons, and we have to start to learn that we can't shortchange either our brain or our bodies of sleep. Because there are consequences.\"
University students are famous for their poor sleep habits, and Dr. Walker says that includes the ones in his classes, despite their lessons about the importance of getting a good night's sleep. So I had to ask him about his own sleep habits. \"That's a good question,\" he acknowledged, laughing. \"Well, the irony of sleep research, in fact, is that I get very little of what I'm trying to study. But in some ways it's actually a great, subjective insight into the consequences of sleep deprivation. So I actually see it as an academic endeavor and a benefit rather than a hindrance.\"
Task 4:
【答案】 A.
1) At the Paris Air Show in France.
2) It‘s China‘s state-run Aviation Industry Corporation. 3) Medium and short-range commercial aircrafts.
4) The company will first satisfy customers in China and then expand markets in Africa and Southeast Asia.
5) The 70 to 90-seat jet planes.
6) The company will spend 60 million dollars to purchase parts from Chinese companies fot its new 787 Dreamliner and for a new generation of 727 jets. B. 1) F 2) F 3) T 4) T 5) F
【原文】
China's commercial aviation industry is being showcased this week at the Paris Air Show in France. VOA's Chris Simkins reports from the French capital on efforts to promote the
country's aircraft manufacturing industry and to meet the rapid growth of commercial air travel in China.
It's been a busy week at the Paris Air Show exhibition stage of China's state-run Aviation Industry Corporation known as AVIC 1. Potential customers want to see and hear more about the company's medium and short-range commercial aircraft. For the first time the company is marketing several advanced regional jets that are under development.
Ji Hongsheng, a Senior Engineer at AVIC 1, says the company wants to build more planes for China's growing number of air travelers and increase exports of its commercial aircraft worldwide. \"The aviation market in China is big and we must concentrate on our research and design. Our first step is to satisfy our customers in China and then we will expand our markets in Africa and in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia.\" AVIC 1 has had big success with its MA-60 Turbo-prop plane built in Xian. The 50 to 60-seat regional passenger plane is being flown by several small airlines in China, Africa, and the Middle East. Now the company is hoping its 70 to 90-seat jet planes will help Chinese airlines expand point to point passenger service especially in Western sections of the country. AVIC 1 has gotten 15 orders for the new jets from four Chinese airlines. China's aircraft manufacturing industry is taking off at a time when more and more Chinese have the money to fly. With the number rapidly growing, the big airline makers like Airbus and Boeing see China as a huge market to sell their planes. Earlier this year Boeing signed an agreement to sell its new 787 jetliner to six Chinese airlines. Randy Tinseth, is a marketing director with Boeing. \"To Boeing long term that means the potential of a market of two thousand six hundred planes over the next 20 years now most of those aircraft requirements are for 737 type of aircraft so we are working very hard with the airlines in China to ensure that we can meet that demand over the next 20 years.\" While Boeing will build planes for Chinese airlines, the company announced plans at the Paris Air Show to spend 60 million dollars to purchase parts from Chinese companies for it's new 787 Dreamliner and for a new generation of 737 Jets. Task 5:
【答案】 A.
Members of the International Whaling Commission have voted down a Japanese effort to overturn a 19-year ban on hunting whales for profit. B.
Number of member states in International Whaling Commission: 66 Results: 29 to 23 uphold the ban on commercial whaling Venue of this year's meeting: Ulsan, South Korea C. Chris Carter Shigeko Misaki Title/Affiliation New Zealand Environment Minister Japan Whaling Association Reaction to the vote Delighted A little surprised Views on Revised Is a \"return to the dirty old days\" Disputes environmentalists' Management Scheme of whale killing claims that all whale species (RMS) remain endangered Implications of the Helps protect the profitable whale ban on commercial watching industry in both New whaling
Further actions to be taken
Zealand and Australia Japan will press forward with plans to double its scientific whale kills in the coming years. D.
1) It would have been a first step toward allowing commercial whale hunting. 2) Japan kills about 500 whales a year for what it says is scientific research. 3) $120 million.
4) Anti-whaling countries and whale conservation still have an upper hand in the commission.
【原文】
Members of the International Whaling Commission have voted down a Japanese effort to overturn a 19-year ban on hunting whales for profit. The vote shows the commission remains, for now, under the control of anti-whaling nations.
The 66-nation International Whaling Commission voted 29 to 23 to uphold the ban on commercial whaling at its annual meeting in Ulsan, South Korea.
If it is passed, a Japanese-backed proposal called the Revised Management Scheme, or RMS, would have changed the way whale-killing limits are set. Whaling opponents say it would have been a first step toward allowing commercial whale hunting.
Whale meat is a delicacy in Japan. Japan kills about 500 whales a year for what it says is scientific research, but the meat is then marketed to consumers.
New Zealand Environment Minister Chris Carter, who called the Japanese proposal a \"return to the dirty old days\" of whale killing, says he is delighted with the vote.
\"Great loss of face for Japan,\" he said. \"No doubt a lot of effort, resources and time went into garnering support. [It has] collapsed completely.\"
Mr. Carter says the ban on commercial whaling helps protect the profitable whale watching industry in both his country and Australia. He says whale tourism brings in $120 million a year in New Zealand.
Shigeko Misaki, with the Japan Whaling Association, disagrees the vote is an embarrassment for Japan.
\"This was expected,\" said Ms. Misaki. \"We thought we probably had even numbers. But then, a lot of nations turned around and started to abstain, and this was a surprise to us.\"
Ms. Misaki disputes environmentalists' claims that all whale species remain endangered. She says Japanese and international research has shown a surge in whale populations, particularly the
minke whale, during the past 20 years. She says Japan will press forward with plans to double its scientific whale kills in the coming years.
Whaling opponents are also celebrating another victory. While it was widely expected that Japan would fail to win the two-thirds majority necessary to enact the proposal, there were fears it would win a simple majority. That would have indicated that the balance of the commission had tilted toward the pro-whaling camp. In failing to get a simple majority, pro-whaling nations may find they still need to take a back seat to nations that support whale conservation.
Task 6:
【答案】 A. 1) T 2) F 3) F 4) T 5) T B.
1) trebled，week on week comparison，modest boost，eight-fold increase，remarkable fourteen times more copies
2) rock stars use charity to disguise self promotion
3) generous donor，he can afford it，maintaining the moral high-ground，principled campaign against poverty
【原文】
Last weekend's Live 8 concerts, organized to draw attention to poverty in Africa, have had the effect of increasing record sales in Britain for several of the artists involved. This report from Lawrence Pollard:
No one knows what the effect of the weekend's concerts will be on the leaders about to gather for the G8 in Gleneagles in Scotland or on the millions living in poverty in Africa. But we do know what the effect has been on the record sales of several of the rock n roll millionaires who played. They've soared. Sales of Madonna's greatest hits have trebled according to a week on week comparison by one of Britain's biggest chains of record shops. But this is a modest boost compared to an eight fold increase for the veteran rockers The Who and a remarkable fourteen times more copies sold of the latest compilation by Pink Floyd.
This is potentially embarrassing for those involved in the concerts, as the cynics' favourite accusation has always been that rock stars use charity to disguise self promotion.
Perhaps aware of this one of the stars of the London concert has announced that he will not profit from the surge in sales and will donate his royalties to charity. David Gilmour, the guitarist of Pink Floyd is known as a generous donor - again cynics will point out he can afford it, but his is an important gesture in maintaining the moral high-ground of those involved in what was
presented as a principled campaign against poverty. Gilmour urged other musicians - as well as their record companies - to make similar donations.
Task 7:
【答案】 A.
1) Less than 2 minutes after a lift-off in the Barents Sea, Cosmos I suddenly stopped sending data. Scientists say it could take days to figure out what happened to it.
2) The Volna booster rocket carrying Cosmos 1 had failed just 83 seconds after launch. 3) It was privately funded by US groups and built in Russia. 4) Solar sail technology. B.
1) unmanned spacecraft，separated from the booster rocket，8 giant sails，unfurled，blades of a ten-story windmill，catch light particles called photons，110-kilogram
2) windsail，near vacuum of space，large reflective sail，a wind pushing on you 3) science fiction novels，$30 million，to the sun and beyond
【原文】
Scientists say it could take days to figure out what happened to the $4 million spacecraft. Less than 2 minutes after a lift-off in the Barents Sea, Cosmos 1 suddenly stopped sending data. Faint signals were picked up late Tuesday, but on Wednesday, the Russian space agency confirmed the V1na booster rocket carrying Cosmos 1 had failed just 83 seconds after launch.
An agency spokesman says the booster's failure means the solar sail vehicle was lost.
But Planetary Society co-founder Bruce Murray hasn't given up hope. \"We do not have evidence, direct evidence, of its failure. It's worrisome, and it's not what we'd hoped to have happened.\"
The spacecraft, which was privately funded by US groups and built in Russia, was intended to showcase solar sail technology. The unmanned spacecraft would have separated from the booster rocket 800 kilometers above the earth, after which 8 giant sails would have unfurled. The sails, resembling the blades of a ten-story windmill, are designed to move independently to catch light particles called photons, which propel the 110-kilogram spacecraft through space.
The Planetary Society's Bruce Betts says it works like a windsail. \"Once you get in the near vacuum of space, and you get the light pushing on a large reflective sail with a very light spacecraft, you actually can use that to push you just like a wind pushing on you.\"
Space enthusiasts have big hopes for the project, but Ann Druyan, widow of the late astronomer Carl Sagan and founder of Cosmo Studio, says space exploration has never been an easy science. \"You know, whatever we discover from this mission, if it's not a success, we'll still learn from it. You know, the way to the stars is hard.\"
Before Cosmos 1, space sail technology was something that existed only in science fiction novels. NASA has already invested $30 million on the new technology, which scientists say could power missions to the sun and beyond within a decade.
Task 8:
【答案】
A.
Program: Day to Day Host: Madeleine Brand
Discussant: Stephen Beard, host of \"Marketplace\" Subject under discussion: performance of the dollar I. How well is the dollar doing?
It's doing very well. It's at a 13-month high, or up 12 percent, against the euro, continuing a trend that started at the beginning of the year. II. Why is the dollar so strong? A. Higher interest rates in the US After the Federal Reserve raised interest rates last week, the dollar rose to its highest value in more than a year against the euro. B. One of depressed conditions in Europe C. A fairly buoyant economy in the US The manufacturing data published last week indicates that manufacturing in the US appears to be rebounding. III. What's the bad news to a rising dollar?
It's not going to do anything to improve America's huge trade deficit. It's not going to make American exports cheaper abroad, but instead will make imports coming into the US less expensive and therefore widen the huge trade deficit. B. 1) T 2) F 3) T 4) F
【原文】
Brand: Back now with ―Day to Day‖. I'm Madeleine Brand.
Even the dollar is celebrating American independence today. After the Federal Reserve raised interest rates last week, the dollar rose to its highest value in more than a year against the euro. Joining me from London is \"Marketplace's\" Stephen Beard to explain
why. And it all sounds pretty good for the dollar, Stephen, so how well is the dollar doing? Beard: It's doing very well, indeed. As you say, it's actually at a 13-month high against the euro,
and this continues a trend that started at the beginning of the year. It's now up 12 percent against the European single currency. And it's pretty surprising, that, since if you recall at the beginning of this year, almost everyone was predicting very sharp declines for the dollar so great is the US trade deficit. Brand: Well, we mentioned interest rates as one reason. What are some other reasons the dollar
might be so strong? Beard: But the other side of the equation, the American side, the US is doing better than most
people predicted at the start of the year. And the latest upward impulse, if you like, to the dollar came from this manufacturing data published last week indicating that
manufacturing in the US appears to be rebounding. So the general picture is one of depressed conditions in Europe but a fairly buoyant economy in the US and that means
very probably higher US interest rates, which makes the dollar more attractive, lower euro interest rates, which makes the euro less attractive.
Brand: So this all sounds like good news for the US, especially for tourists who want to go abroad
from the US, but any bad news to this? Beard: Of course, the one thing that is not so good about this is that it's not going to do anything to
improve America's huge trade deficit. It's not going to make American exports cheaper abroad. It's, on the other hand, going to make imports coming into the US less expensive and so this huge trade deficit looks set to widen. So in \"Marketplace\" today we'll be taking a look at the dollar and where it's likely to go in the future as well as taking a look at some of the murky waters the cruise industry sails through. That's an expose on the cruise industry. Brand: Thank you, Stephen. Beard: Thank you, Madeleine.
Task 9:
【答案】 A.
Researcher Institution Opinion
Bill Frey Center for Strategic Demographic changes may
and International Studies determine which countries
remain great powers in the future.
Richard Jackson New America Foundation The aging crisis is far worse in most
of Europe and in Japan than in the US.
Phil Longman Brookings Institution In today's society, it doesn't make
economic sense to have children.
B. 1) c 2) b 3) a 4) a 5) c C.
1) global economics，security
2) pension，health care，nursing homes，social services for the elderly
3) divert resources from defense and international affairs，recruiting for their militaries
4) the rise and fall of civilizations，demographic trends，contracting populations，military， economically，culturally，expanding populations 5) the united states，grow significantly
【原文】
Almost everywhere in the world, people are having fewer and fewer babies. How will Europe, Japan and the United States cope with providing for the elderly? And how might demographic changes reshape developing countries in the Middle East and Africa?
In the year 2000, fertility rates in Europe and other parts of the developed world fell to levels never before recorded. Europe's population is now expected to shrink significantly in coming decades.
The United Nations says that birth rates of 2.1 children per woman are needed to replace the population. Yet only four developed countries in the world have birth rates above the replacement level.
Fertility in the United Kingdom has dropped to 1.6 children per woman. Germany's is now 1.4. And women in Italy have an average of just 1.2 children.
Bill Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution research group in Washington D.C., projects that European labor forces and economies will soon shrink along with the population.
\"I've always used this metaphor that Europe was going to become this geriatric ghetto among countries of the world. They're going to become increasingly smaller; the continent of Europe is going to lose 100 million people over the next 50 years. It's going to become increasingly aged,\" he said.
Mr. Frey projects that in 2050, Europe will have a median age of about 52. In the United States, by contrast, the median age will be under 40 because of comparatively high fertility and immigration levels.
In 30 or 40 years, Mr. Frey says that there will only be a 1:1 ratio between each worker and retiree in Europe. He says that by mid-century in the United States, the ratio of working-age people supporting each retiree will still be just over 2:1.
As the Bush administration warns of a looming emergency in the U.S. retirement program known as social security, Mr. Frey argues that the aging crisis is far worse in the rest of the developed world.
\"We're much better off here in the United States than in most of Europe and in Japan simply because we have a bit more breathing room, I guess you could say. So if the
administration thinks we have a crisis here, I don't know what they should be thinking in Italy or in England or in Germany. Because they have a catastrophic crisis there,\" Mr. Frey said.
Many European countries have introduced incentives to encourage residents to have more children. This small town of Laviano in Italy is offering couples almost $12,000 for each newborn baby.
But these bonuses appear to have little effect on birth rates. Some analysts argue that more comprehensive social programs are needed to offset the expense of having a child.
Phil Longman is a demographer at the New America Foundation research group in
Washington D.C. \"We live in a society in which more and more it really doesn't make economic sense to have children. That's not only unfair, it's imprudent in a society that's increasingly consuming more human capital than it's producing,\" he noted.
Some analysts believe that shrinking populations in Europe and other developed countries will profoundly affect global economics and even security.
Richard Jackson is head of the global aging initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS, in Washington D.C. \"Graying means paying more for pensions, more for health care, more for nursing homes, more for social services for the elderly.\"
Mr. Jackson says by the 2030s, developed countries will have to spend almost a quarter of their gross domestic product on services for the elderly, up from about 12 percent today. The fiscal strain will be especially great in Japan and Europe. He says rising retirement costs will divert resources from defense and international affairs, and developed countries may have difficulty recruiting for their militaries.
Mr. Jackson says that demographic changes may well determine which countries remain great powers in the future. \"Historians have observed that the rise and fall of civilizations is often linked to demographic trends, and that contracting populations give way not just militarily but economically and ultimately culturally to expanding populations.\"
While the population of Europe will soon begin to contract, Mr. Jackson says that
populations in the Middle East and Central Asia will expand for decades to come. Fertility has declined in these areas, but demographic momentum will keep the population relatively young until mid-century.
One of the only regions in the world to maintain high fertility rates is sub-Saharan Africa, with more than five children per woman on average. But the AIDS and HIV pandemic have ravaged populations there.
The only large, developed country to maintain stable fertility levels is the United States, where the population is expected to grow significantly in coming decades.
Unit 9
Task 1:
【答案】 A. 1) F 2) T 3) F 4) F 5) T 6) F 7) T 8) F 9) T 10) T B.
1) trade and economic growth，resorting diplomatic ties
2) integrate，the global economy，membership，the World Trade Organization
3) democracy，human rights，religion，nationalities，introduce great achievements 4) shared interests，present or past differences 【原文】
On Tuesday, U.S. President George W. Bush meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai. Topping the agenda will be economic issues. But 30 years after the end of the
Vietnam War, many believe the visit will symbolically turn a page and begin a new era of trade and cooperation.
The vivid images of the Vietnam War still produce strong emotions in the United States and Vietnam 30 years after the conflict's end. Despite those memories, the two countries have forged a new relationship built on trade and economic growth over the past 10 years, since restoring diplomatic ties.
Today, the United States is Vietnam's largest trading partner. Dana Dillon, a Southeast Asia analyst at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, credits the bilateral trade agreement signed four years ago.
―As a consequence of signing that bilateral trade agreement and the implementation of the bilateral trade agreement, Vietnam's economy has grown by leaps and bounds and our trade relationship with Vietnam has also grown considerably,\" said Mr. Dillon.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai wants to further integrate his nation into the global economy and is seeking membership in the World Trade Organization. During his talks with President Bush at the White House on Tuesday, Mr. Khai will seek accelerated negotiations to make membership possible by the end of the year, with U.S. help. \"The relationship has gone a long way and this meeting will cap what has been a tremendous 10 years as far as the development of the U.S.-Vietnam relationship.\"
Despite growing commercial ties, differences remain between the two nations, most
notably U.S. criticism of Vietnam's record on human rights. Mr. Khai believes his government has made progress on this issue.
\"We are also ready to discuss with the U.S. leaders the issues like democracy, human rights, religion and nationalities and to have the opportunity for us to introduce great achievements we have recorded so far in this area.\"
Mr. Khai is the first Vietnamese leader to visit the United States since the end of the
Vietnam War. His visit may indicate that the United States and Vietnam now base relations on shared interests, not present or past differences.
Task 2:
【答案】 A.
They are the leaked British documents that suggest that President Bush told Prime Minister Tony Blair as early as April 2002 of his intention to topple Saddam Hussein by force and was having the intelligence cooked to support his plan. B.
1) Because the republicans had refused the use of a hearing room.
2) Whether Mr. Bush deliberately misled Congress to make the most important decision a
president has to make.
3) On May 1st in the Sunday Times of London.
4) Blair would support military action to bring about regime change in Iraq.
5) A resolution that would require Mr. Bush to announce by the end of the year a plan to withdraw American troops from Iraq. C.
1) through military action，being fixed around the policy
2) late-blooming issue，the whole buildup for war against Iraq，the search for weapons of mass destruction，the links to terrorists，pretext，an invasion already decided 【原文】
They are the leaked British documents that suggest that President Bush told Prime Minister Tony Blair as early as April 2002 of his intention to topple Saddam Hussein by force and was having the intelligence cooked to support his plan. The issue seems not about to go away in this country. On Thursday, Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee held a forum on the subject in the Capitol basement. The Republicans had refused the use of a hearing room. And at this forum, Charles Rangel of New York raised the question of whether Mr. Bush deliberately misled Congress to make the most important decision a president has to make.
The highly classified memos were an issue in last month's British election campaign, used by conservatives to support their claim that Blair was Bush's poodle. The memos surfaced on May 1st in the Sunday Times of London, owned by the conservative media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. One document quoted Blair as having told the American president in Crawford, Texas, in April 2002 that he would support military action to bring about regime change in Iraq. In July 2002, the prime minister sent an emissary to Washington, who returned with word—and here I quote the memo—that \"Bush wanted to remove Saddam through military action and the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy,\" unquote.
The memos became a late-blooming issue in American politics, seized upon by Democrats to assert that the whole buildup for war against Iraq, the search for weapons of mass destruction, the links to terrorists, were all simply a pretext to justify an invasion already decided. A small bipartisan group of House members, two Democrats, two Republicans, have introduced a resolution that would require Mr. Bush to announce by the end of the year a plan to withdraw American troops from Iraq. That resolution has little chance at this point, but in the debate over it, we're likely to hear about the Downing Street memos all over again.
Task 3:
【答案】 A. 1) F 2) T 3) T 4) T B. I.
A. 3
B. 175 million，190million II.
A. 35，25
B. Africa, Latin America，the Caribbean，Europe，Oceania，North America，the former Soviet Union
C. the United States，Russia，Germany，China，India，the Philippines III.
A. high population growth，high HIV/AIDS incidence，armed conflict，civil wars
B. African emigrants in other countries can be of use for the development of their own countries IV.
A. huge amounts of money B. $93 million，$100 million
【原文】
The 2005 World Migration Report says too many myths and misperceptions exist about the millions of people who migrate to other countries. The Geneva-based International Organization for Migration says common perceptions that migrants cause job losses, lower wages and increase welfare costs are exaggerated, and contrary to the evidence.
The report says the belief that migration is spiraling out of control is contradicted by the facts. It says migrants represent less than three percent of the global population.
The editor-in-chief of the report, Irena Omalaniuk, says migration is growing, but it is not growing at a huge pace.
\"Roughly, 175 million persons in the year 2000 were migrants and we think that by now it is closer to 190 million, if we extrapolate on the statistics around 2000. It is not a large and dramatic growth,‖ she noted.
The report finds nearly half of all migrants are female. It says global migration has decreased practically everywhere.
Although the number of Asian migrants has increased, it says their share of the global number of migrants has decreased from nearly 35 percent in 1970 to 25 percent in 2000. In addition, the report says more and more Asians are finding job opportunities within Asia itself.
It notes the number of international migrants have decreased in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Oceania. The report says only North America and the former Soviet Union have seen a sharp increase in migration.
According to the report, the top three migrant-receiving countries are the United States, Russia, and Germany. The top three sending countries are China, India, and the Philippines.
Ms. Omalaniuk says that, for several reasons, Africans will continue to seek to migrate to other regions.
\"… high population growth, high HIV/AIDS incidence, deteriorating education and health systems and armed conflict, civil wars and large displaced person populations. The African
Union has placed the diaspora at the center of its vision and strategic plan for the years 2004 and 2007. There is a lot of emphasis for the African Union, there is a lot of importance being placed on how African emigrants in other countries can be of use for the development of their country,\" she explained.
Ms. Omalaniuk says governments increasingly are looking at migrants as a force for development because they send home huge amounts of money.
The report notes in 2003, remittances through official channels totaled $93 billion
dollars. And, that grew to more than $100 billion last year. It says this exceeds the amount of money many countries receive in official development aid.
Task 4:
【答案】 A.
1) Aid to Africa 2) Help for the Palestinians 3) A vow to seek consensus on global warming 4) Unity in the face of terrorism B. 1) F 2) F 3) F 4) F 5) T 6) T 7) F C.
1) They hoped to address the hopelessness and poverty that could create a breeding ground 2) A substantial package up to $3 billion in the years to come.
3) In addition to an already completed agreement on debt cancellation, the G8 promised a $50 billion aid package, steps to boost trade, and efforts to dramatically increase access to AIDS treatment.
4) It is designed to reduce emissions of gases that pollute the air and warm the atmosphere. 5) Slowing down and then in time reversing the rise in harmful greenhouse gas emissions 6) On the 1st of November with a meeting in Britain.
【原文】
The G8 summit has ended with agreement on aid to Africa, help for the Palestinians, and a vow to seek consensus on global warming. This meeting to the world's leading industrialized
nations and Russia may be best remembered for its unity in the face of terrorism.
The final image of this summit sent a strong message, the sight of the G8 leaders standing as one' to condemn terrorism, along with a group of presidents and prime ministers from Africa.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who left the summit for several hours Thursday to go to the scene of the London bombings, walked to the podium.
\"We speak today in the shadow of terrorism, but it will not obscure what we came here to achieve.\"
Mr. Blair said the G8 will address the hopelessness and poverty that can create a breeding ground for terrorism. He made specific mention of a significant increase in aid to the Palestinians.
\"Yesterday evening, the G8 agreed to a substantial package of help for the Palestinian Authority amounting to up to $3 billion so that two states, Israel and Palestine, two peoples and two religions can live side-by-side in peace.\"
The Palestinian assistance was a surprise. The summit was expected to focus mainly on aid to Africa. In addition to an already completed agreement on debt cancellation, the G8 promised a $50 billion aid package, steps to boost trade, and efforts to dramatically increase access to AIDS treatment.
\"It isn't the end of poverty in Africa, but it is the hope that it can be ended. It isn't all everyone reed, but it is progress, real and achievable progress.\"
The leaders of Algeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania joined the G8 members for their deliberations on Africa. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said the meeting was a success, adding he could not understand what the terrorists hoped to achieve by staging attacks in London as the G8 was beginning its work.
\"Africa needs the undiverted attention and commitment of the G8. We are pleased that our interlocutors have affirmed their resolve not to be diverted by these terrorist acts.\" The G8 continued to meet throughout the crisis, with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw assuming the chair while Prime Minister Blair returned to London.
More than a dozen statements and agreements were put out by the G8 leaders, including a caret fully worded document on climate change.
President Bush is the only G8 member who has not signed onto the Kyoto Protocol, which is designed to reduce emissions of gases that pollute the air and warm the atmosphere. The sure, hit acknowledged this split on Kyoto and said it is time for all countries to do what they can to address the problem. Prime Minister Blair said they all realize they have a responsibility to be good stewards the environment.
\"We do not hide the disagreements of the past. But we have agreed to a process with a plan of action that will initiate a new dialogue between the G8 countries and the emerging economies of the world to slow down and then in time to reverse the rise in harmful greenhouse gas.\"
He said that dialogue would begin on the 1st of November with a meeting in Britain.
Task 5:
【答案】 A. 1) a 2) c 3) b
4) a 5) b 6) c B.
1) He said it would harm the US economy.
2) They have made commitments to cap their emissions and start to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to global warming. 3) About eight years.
4) The different programs on the state level, because eventually the country needs to come up with one single consistent set of rules. 【原文】
Brand: The Kyoto agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions goes into effect today minus the
biggest polluter, the United States. President Bush has rejected the agreement, saying it would harm the US economy. But dozens of other countries have pledged to reduce carbon dioxide from power plants, cars and other sources. NPR's Richard Harris is here to explain. And, Richard, tell us a bit about this Kyoto agreement. What does it compel countries who have signed on to it to do?
Harris: Well, there are about 140 countries, or a little more than that, who've signed on to it, and
most of them actually don't have to do anything at ail. Developing countries just sort of have signed on to the concept that it's a good thing to think about the global climate and ultimately maybe to do something about it. But about 35 industrialized countries actually have taken on commitments to cap their emissions and start to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to global warming.
Brand: And so will it have the desired effect in reducing greenhouse gases worldwide?
Harris: Well, we will see how much effect it has in terms of whether people can reach their targets
is the first question. They have till 2012 to do so. And targets range from—actually, some countries say they re going to actually experience small increases, and some countries say that they re hoping to reduce their emissions fairly significantly. But even if everyone reaches the targets that they have proclaimed they are going to reach, it actually will not make much of a difference. And that's for a couple of reasons, one of which is that some of the world's biggest contributors are not on board. Beyond that, even if everyone reaches those limits, the point of fact is, these gases are building up so much in the atmosphere, you'd actually have to cut them back by about 60 percent or maybe more globally before you really would stabilize the atmosphere and that is a tough, tough target. Brand: Sixty percent. Wow. Harris: Yeah.
Brand: It was negotiated eight years ago. Why did it take so long to go into effect?
Harris: Well, the treaty requires a certain percentage of the world's emitters to sign on to it. And
Europe was very eager to do so, and Japan signed on quite rapidly, as did a lot of the non emitting countries or countries that didn't have any obligations under the treaty, I should say. But getting that last signature took a long time. It had to either be the United States or Russia in order to put the treaty into effect. And the US decided not to sign on to it, and Russia took its time trying to make some deals, I think, with Europe about what else it could get in exchange for signing the Kyoto Protocol. Russia finally signed on to the treaty
in November and now, 90 days later, the Kyoto Protocol goes into effect. Brand: Any chance the US will sign on to a similar treaty in the future?
Harris: It's hard to anticipate exactly what's going to happen. I think US businesses are
recognizing that eventually they will be called upon to cut emissions and to find ways to produce energy and products with less carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to global warming. The question is whether it's going to be in the form of a global treaty like this or some other mechanism, I think, is really up in the air right now. What we are seeing is a lot of action on the state level. Many, many states are undertaking programs, and they're all different from one another. And that as much as anything might compel the federal government to come in and say, \"Whoa, whoa, whoa, too much going on here. Let's come up with one single consistent set of rules.\" And that ultimately might be what pushes us into something like Kyoto down the road.
Brand: NPR's Richard Harris speaking to us from Washington. Thank you. Harris: My pleasure.
Task 6:
【答案】 A.
1) He‘s the new president of the World Bank.
2) At the Corporate Council on Africa's four-day summit in Baltimore, Maryland on Thursday, after returning from his recent seven-day trip to Africa.
3) He urged them to seek out investment opportunities on the continent. B. I.
end corruption and government waste II.
the rule of law，good governance measures，Domestic investment III.
Infrastructure IV.
highly subsidized agricultural products，the United States, Canada and Europe World Trade Organization talks V.
the problems of poverty，the need for economic development in Africa VI.
urge a doubling of aid from the industrialized countries to Africa C.
【原文】
The new president of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, says his recent trip to four African nations opened his eyes to the growing opportunities in the region, long plagued by poverty and violence. Mr. Wolfowitz urged American and African business leaders to seek out investment opportunities on the continent.
World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz says changes in Africa, including stepped-up efforts to end corruption and government waste, are a sign that Africa is open for business.
\"Corruption is a disease… It's a threat to development everywhere in the world and I think in the past it has done enormous damage to Africa's development prospects,\" he said. \"But to see African leaders saying it's a problem, and not just saying it's a problem, but doing something about it, is one of the major reasons for feeling we're in a new era and at a turning point.\" Mr. Wolfowitz delivered his first public remarks about Africa after returning from his recent seven-day trip to the continent. The new president of the World Bank on Thursday addressed a gathering of U.S. and African business leaders and government officials at the Corporate Council on Africa's four-day summit in Baltimore, Maryland.
According to Mr. Wolfowitz, there is a growing recognition that Africa's success depends on more than development assistance from the industrialized world.
Instead, he said the continent's long-term success depends on African governments implementing the rule of law and good governance measures, which will encourage more foreign and domestic investors to take another look at Africa.
\"Of course the real goal is not just foreign investment in Africa, it's domestic investment in Africa,\" he stated. \"The real goal is not just foreign corporations operating in Africa. It's African companies growing from small businesses to medium size businesses to big businesses.\" He added that there are critical things to be done that the private sector cannot do alone. Mr. Wolfowitz said the World Bank is ready to help African governments with the challenges of infrastructure such as roads and ports and reliable, affordable energy - some of the major obstacles for African businesses.
The World Bank president also spoke of the need to eliminate trade barriers to African goods.
\"Unfortunately in too many cases the products that Africans are producing or could
produce face enormous obstacles in the international markets, including the challenge presented by highly subsidized agricultural products from the United States and Canada and Europe,\" said Mr. Wolfowitz.
He urged governments to tackle the difficult issue of farm subsidies and come up with a solution at the upcoming World Trade Organization talks scheduled for Hong Kong this December.
Mr. Wolfowitz's remarks to the summit come at a time of increasing focus on the problems of poverty and the need for economic development in Africa. British Prime Minister Tony Blair met with President Bush in Washington earlier this month to urge a doubling of aid from the industrialized countries to Africa.
Task 7:
【答案】 A.
1) China and India. 2) 3 percent.
3) The factors include ageing populations, rigid labor laws and saturated home markets.
4) The most favored sectors are energy and telecoms, while the least favored are retail and mining. B. 1) T 2) T 3) F 4) F C.
1) increasingly important，investment population，sophisticated，international 2) 300,000，Middle East，Far East，millions，pin down 3) 81，beaten，matched，market indices
【原文】
China and India are the favoured markets of investors living outside their home countries, while fears about corporate governance standards in emerging markets have waned, according to a brokerage firm's survey on Monday.
Some 56% of investors said they were confident about putting money to work in China, up from 38% a year ago, while 43% of them said they were confident about India, unchanged from last year, according to a poll of 400 expatriate investors in June by Luxembourg-based brokerage internaxx.
Concerns about lax corporate governance standards in some emerging market economies also fell over the past 12 months, the survey found. Only 3% of respondents said they had concerns, down from 16% a year before.
Expatriate investors living away from their countries of origin are an increasingly important part of the investment population and typically take a more sophisticated and international approach to managing money, said Robert Glaesener, general manager at internaxx..
There are about 300,000 expatriate Britons living in areas such as the Middle East and Far East, for example, while the total number of expat employees and investors can be counted by the millions although exact figures are hard to pin down, Glaesener said.
Among other findings, the survey showed that 81% of investors claim to have either beaten or matched performance by market indices.
The most favoured sectors are energy and telecoms, while retail and mining were the least favoured.
Investors turned less confident about the British, US and Euro zone economies as places to put money, citing ageing populations, rigid labour laws and saturated home markets as reasons for their caution.
Unit 10
Task 1:
【答案】 A. 1) T 2) F 3) F 4) T 5) T 6) F B.
1) engaging
2) phenomenon，myth 3) ferment，burgeoning
4) history plays，comedies，fantasies，tragedies 5) theatre，companies 6) linguistic C.
1) each of his plays has its own individuality
2) this sense of language，the importance of words themselves 【原文】
Presenter: It's hard to know where to begin talking about Shakespeare. No other writer in the story
of the world has succeeded so well in engaging the imaginations of different generations. He is a cultural phenomenon, a kind of myth; yet behind that there is the reality of a man, who lived and wrote and felt, 400 years ago. Who was he? Here's Professor Stanley Wells from the Shakespeare Institute who is one of the leading authorities on Shakespeare.
Wells: Shakespeare was a genius who was fortunate in that he was born at exactly the right time.
He was born at a time, for one thing, when the English language was in a state of ferment, when it was burgeoning, when new words were entering the language at an extraordinary rate. He himself introduced many of them. He was born at a time when the theatre was developing with extraordinary speed; when he was born, there were no public theatres in England at all, but by the time he died, the English theatre had started on a renaissance of quite amazing power of virtuosity.
Presenter: Shakespeare was born on 26th April, 1564, the son of a glover and wool dealer in the
town of Stratford-on-Avon, in central England. When he was 18 he roamed a local woman Anne Hathaway, but sometime soon after this, he moved to London and became an actor in one of the leading theatre companies of the time. Dr. David Starkey teaches
18th-century history at the London School of Economics. London, as he points out, was an exciting place to be.
Starkey: There was a shift taking place, in the quite dramatic growth of London. One of the things
that's striking about Shakespeare is where his plays were written. Some of them, of coupe, were produced at court, but they were essentially produced for this very remarkable city, the city of London--which at the beginning of the 16th century was an ordinary, big European city of about 50,000 inhabitants. But by the time you re getting towards about 1600, its population is multiplying at the rate of a modem Bombay.
Presenter: When Shakespeare began to write for the stage isn't known. His first play was probably
performed in the early 1590s and may well have been The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Over the next 20 years, a cascade of masterpieces—history plays, comedies, fantasies, and tragedies—flowed from his pen. As Stanley Wells says, their variety is astonishing. Wells: Shakespeare wrote at the rate of about two plays a year. This is a good rate, but it's not
the rate of somebody who is expanding all his energy at extraordinary speed and therefore is in danger of repeating himself. To me, one of the great things about Shakespeare is that each of his plays has its own individuality. He's constantly experimenting. It's astonishing that the same man, for example, could have written the light, delicate comedy of The Comedy of Errors and also the profound, thoughtful tragedy of King Lear. And yet those two plays have things in common. This range is one of his greatest characteristics.
Presenter: In performance, most of Shakespeare's plays take between two and three and a half
hours They're written in a mixture of prose and poetry, in a great range of styles: some very wordy and artificial, others much plainer. Every linguistic technique seems to be found Shakespeare: bawdy sexual jokes, intellectual puns and beautiful romantic metaphors. It's as if the language is being squeezed like clay into lots of different shapes. As David Starkey points out, words and the meaning of words were becoming enormously important to people in the late 16th century.
Starkey: For them, there was a single medium that dominated, which is words. Their world was
a verbal world. It was a world that existed through words, through language. And so words are everywhere, everything is in words. And it's this sense of language, the importance of words themselves, which is the key to Shakespeare.
Task 2:
【答案】 A.
1) Shakespeare in his plays is very deeply concerned with moral issues.
2) Shakespeare clearly valued Christian virtues like honesty and love and trust. 3) People learn about Shakespeare's own views by looking at his sonnets. 4) The Tempest is the last play that Shakespeare wrote. B. 1) c 2) a 3) b 4) c C.
twofold，works，great performances，over the centuries，a part of culture，extending far beyond the West，a great writer，a great presence，dominating status 【原文】
Wells: Shakespeare in his plays is very deeply concerned with moral issues. We're constantly
invited to think about the reasons why people do what they do, about the justification for them.., but I think one of Shakespeare's greatnesses is that he doesn't attempt to solve these moral questions in any way. And this is one of the reasons for the warmth we feel in Shakespeare, for the deep humanity we feel in Shakespeare—that we feel all the time, with his greatest characters, that he's more concerned with understanding them than judging them. So that these plays don t end in moral judgments: They end having given us fully rounded portraits of people who have the same sorts of difficulties in living as everybody else does at any time in human existence.
Presenter: Although Shakespeare clearly valued Christian virtues like honesty and love and trust
none of his plays conveys a neat moral; They seem to emerge from life itself, with all its complexities, and it's very hard indeed to gain any sense from them of what Shakespeare's own views were. We know that while he was writing plays he also had a career as a leading actor, but no biography of him was written, and the tributes to him after his death shed no light on his personality. In trying to probe this mystery, people have usually looked not at his plays, but at his poems—in particular, at a sequence of highly elaborate poems called \"sonnets\
Wells: They're very varied. Some of them are very formal; some of them are beautiful and have
become appreciated in anthologies of verse, as some of the greatest love poetry in the language. But some of them are deeply tortured utterances that could almost be the soliloquies of a suffering character in one of the plays. Some of them seem to take us into the heart of Shakespeare himself, as a man who suffered a very great deal from emotions turbulence, from a struggle in his affections between his love, on the one hand, for young man who is always portrayed in a very idealized manner, and on the other hand for a woman, the woman known as \"the Dark Lady\a curious mixture of love and scorn. He hated himself for being so emotionally entangled with her. So think the sonnets, if one regards them as autobiographical documents, are the place in which we get closest to Shakespeare himself.
Presenter: When he was in his mid 40s, Shakespeare seems to have decided to write less for the
theatre. We don't know why this is. It may be that he needed to spend time looking after his business interests in Stratford; it may be that he was unwell; or he may have simply felt that his amazing creative energies were slackening. After The Tempest, he spent more and more time in Stratford, and died there in 1616.
Wells: I think Shakespeare's greatness is twofold. It's partly in the works themselves, the plays
themselves, the opportunities for great performances that they give. It's also what's happened as a result of Shakespeare over the centuries. Shakespeare has become very mull a part of culture in England, in the West generally, and extending far beyond the West. now, in many other countries, too. So I think Shakespeare is both a great writer and a great presence. So I think he does deserve his dominating status.
Presenter: Shakespeare was buried in the local church at Stratford. His grave has never been
opened because of a poem he wrote, inscribed on the tombstone, stating that anyone
who disturbed his bones would be cursed. But nearby in the church there's his statue: that of a man with a little pointed beard and neat moustache, holding a quill pen. He doesn't look that exceptional. But Shakespeare is the greatest writer in the English language; and many great poets, novelists and playwrights in the West stand in his shadow.
Task 3:
【答案】 A. 1) F 2) F 3) T 4) T 5) T 6) T B.
1) a hole under a hedge 2) into a long passage
3) in a long hall of many doors, all locked 4) through a deep wood 5) to a little white house 6) beside a mushroom to rest
【原文】
Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland
Alice sat nodding sleepily on a mossy bank beside her big sister, who was reading.
Presently a pink-eyed white Rabbit ran by, looking at its watch and crying, \"Oh dear-I shall be late!\" Alice bounded after the Rabbit, across a field and into a hole under a hedge. After running through the hole a distance she suddenly stepped off into space and began to fall. She fell slowly, and it was a very pleasant sensation. Alice was wondering whether she would stop at the earth's center when, bump!-she landed on a heap of leaves, unhurt.
The Rabbit was scampering down the passage. Springing to her feet, she pursued, but it disappeared around the next corner and Alice found herself in a long hall of many doors, all locked. On a table was a golden key which fitted the smallest door, only fifteen inches high. Unlocking this, she be-held a beautiful flower-garden, but could not squeeze through the door. Beneath the table in a glass dish she found a cookie on which were the words, \"Eat Me.\" She ate this and soon grew nine feet tall. Presently the Rabbit entered and, seeing Alice, fled in dismay, dropping his gloves and fan. Alice picked them up and began to fan herself. Soon she was only two feet high and dropped the fan in a fright. Thereupon she stopped growing smaller and knew it was a magic fan.
Hearing footfalls, she turned to see the Rabbit standing near. It was nearly as tall as she and seemed very angry. \"You go to my house and bring me a pair of gloves and a fan!\" commanded the Rabbit, sternly. Alice, badly frightened, started to obey. Strangely enough, the hall vanished and she found her-self running through a deep wood. Soon she came to a little white house. The
door-plate said \"W. Rabbit.\" Entering, she hurried up-stairs to the Rabbit's bedroom and found, not gloves and a fan, but a bottle on the bureau. It was not labeled, but Alice drank the contents. She grew so rapidly that the room was hardly big enough to contain her, although she was lying on the floor with her head drawn up to her chin.
While in this predicament some one threw a handful of pebbles through the window into the room. These turned into bits of candy. Alice ate several of them and soon shrank until she could escape from the house. Running into the wood, she sat down beside a mushroom to rest.
\"What can I do for you?\" asked a voice. Alice looked up, and on top of the mushroom sat a blue Caterpillar, smoking a pipe.
\"Oh, please, sir,\" replied Alice, \"make me larger!\"
\"That's easy,\" said the Caterpillar; \"one side of this mushroom will make you taller, and the other side shorter.\"
Before Alice could ask more the Caterpillar disappeared.
Alice broke off a piece from each side of the mushroom. After eating a bit of one she grew so short her chin struck her foot. Hastily eating some of the other, she grew so tall her head was among the tree-tops. \"Oh dear, shall I never be my regular size again!\" she cried, nibbling from the first piece and shrinking down to only nine inches.
In despair she started to walk through the wood, and soon came to a little house about four feet high. Without knocking, Alice walked into the kitchen. The Duchess sat rocking a little pig in her lap, the Cook was sprinkling quantities of pepper into a kettle of soup, and a Cheshire Cat on the hearth grinned from ear to ear at her. All three sneezed violently from time to time. \"Please go away-I don't like your grin,\" said Alice to the Cat.
\"All right,\" replied the Cat, and vanished, beginning with the tail and ending with the grin-but the grin remained after the rest had disappeared.
Task 4:
【答案】 A.
1) escape from the horrid grin of the Cheshire Cat 2) did not fancy white roses 3) Alice played croquet
4) live hedgehogs，the arches 5) stealing some tarts
6) to have a sentence before a verdict B.
1) People: The King and Queen of Hearts The gardeners who were painting the white roses red Soldiers with clubs Courtiers bedecked with diamonds The royal children ornamented with hearts The Royal Executioner 2) Animals and birds: The Cheshire Cat who grinned from ear to ear The White Rabbit The flamingo The hedgehogs C.
1) She realized that her wonderful journey had been only a wonderful dream. 2) She is a nice, kind-hearted, honest, and adventurous girl.
【原文】
To escape from this horrid grin Alice ran out of the house and into the wood, closely pursued by the grin. Seeing a little door open leading into a big tree, Alice slipped through and slammed the door behind her, shutting out the grin.
Turning about, she at last found herself in the beautiful garden. Standing about a rose-tree near the entrance were three gardeners painting the white roses red. \"Why are you doing that?\" asked Alice.
\"Because,\" replied one, \"the Queen does not fancy white roses.\" \"Hush!\" said another; \"here comes the Queen now!‖
Alice turned eagerly to behold the royal procession. There were soldiers with clubs, courtiers bedecked with diamonds, and the royal children were ornamented with hearts, while in and out among them hopped the White Rabbit. Last of all came the King and Queen of Hearts.
When the Queen came to Alice she stopped and asked, \"My child, do you play croquet?\" \"Y - y - y - yes,\" stammered Alice, much confused.
\"Then here is your mallet,\" replied the Queen, handing Alice a live flamingo. Then the game began, and such a crazy game of croquet Alice had never seen.
The croquet balls were live hedgehogs and the soldiers bent over to make the arches. Besides, the ground was full of hummocks and ridges. All played at once. When Alice would get ready to hit her ball with the flamingo's head, either the hedgehog would walk off, or the soldier making the arch would stand up to rest his back.
\"How do you like the game?\" asked a voice. Looking up, Alice beheld the grin of the Cheshire Cat. Before she could answer the Cat's head appeared, but no more of it.
\"I don't like it at all,\" replied Alice, drop-ping her mallet, which at once flew off. The Cat turned to look at the King, who did not like being grinned at, and complained to the Queen, who ordered the Cat beheaded on the spot.
\"That is all very well,\" said the King, \"but I should like to know how it is possible to behead a cat which has no body?\" While they were arguing the Cheshire Cat vanished, head, grin, and all. Alice went to look for her flamingo, but could not find it. When she returned, all the players had gone to the Palace. Alice followed and, entering, found a trial in progress. The King and Queen sat on their throne hearing the evidence. The Knave of Hearts was being tried for stealing some tarts the Queen had made. Several witnesses testified, but they talked of everything else except the stolen tarts.
\"What a silly trial ! \" thought Alice, nibbling absent-mindedly at a piece of mush-room she had left. Almost before she knew it she grew so tall her head bumped against the ceiling. \"Call the next witness!\" commanded the King. \"ALICE!\" cried the White Rabbit.
\"But I don't know anything about the stolen tarts,\" protested Alice. \"That's very important,\" remarked the King.
\"It's against the rules for a witness over a mile high to testify,\" said the Queen.
\"Leave this court at once!\" ordered the King, addressing Alice. \"I sha'n't leave until I hear the verdict,\" retorted Alice.
\"In that case,\" said the King, \"let the jury consider the verdict.\" \"Sentence first and verdict afterward,\" objected the Queen.
\"How absurd to have a sentence before a verdict!\" said Alice, scornfully. \"Off with that girl's head!\" shouted the Queen, pointing at Alice.
\"Will you please stoop down so I can carry out the Queen's orders?\" asked the Royal Executioner, politely.
\"No, I won‘t!‖ cried Alice; \"you are all nothing but a naughty pack of cards, anyhow, and I am not afraid of you!\"
Thereupon the whole pack rose up into the air and flew straight into Alice's face.
\"Come, Alice dear, wake up,\" said her big sister, shaking her gently; \"you've been sleeping nearly an hour and it's time to go home.\"
Then little Alice knew that her wonderful journey had been only a wonderful dream.
Task 5:
【答案】 A. 1) b 2) a 3) c 4) c 5) a 6) b B.
1) President John Kennedy.
2) He wrote mainly pastoral poems.
3) It is located in the northeastern United States. 4) In England.
5) It is called A Boy’s Will. C. 1) d 2) a 3) d 4) b 5) c 6) d
【原文】
In 1961, John Kennedy was sworn in as president of the United States. He asked one of America's best-known writers to read a poem on the President's inauguration. Robert Frost stood in the cold sunlight that day, his white hair blowing in the wind. He read the lines from his poem, The Girl Outright.
Robert Frost was one of America's leading 20th-century poets and a four-time winner of the
Pulitzer Prize. An essentially pastoral poet often associated with the land of cold winters in the north-eastern United States, the area called New England, Frost wrote poems whose philosophical dimensions transcend any region. Although his verse forms are traditional—he often said that he would as soon play tennis without a net as write free verse—he was a pioneer in the interplay of rhythm and meter and in the poetic use of the vocabulary and inflections of everyday speech. His poetry is thus both traditional and experimental, regional and universal.
Frost was born in San Francisco, California. After his father's death in 1885, when young Frost was 11, the family left California and settled in Massachusetts. Frost attended high school in that state, entered Dartmouth College, but remained less than one semester. Returning to Massachusetts, he taught school and worked in a mill and as a newspaper reporter. In 1894 he sold his poem My Butterfly to The Independent, a New York literary journal. From 1897 to 1899, he attended Harvard University as a special student but left without a degree. Over the next 10 years he wrote (but rarely published) poems, operated a farm in Derry, New Hampshire and supplemented his income by teaching at Derry's Pinkerton Academy.
In 1912, at the age of 38, Frost decided to try to make a new start. He sold the farm and used the proceeds to take his family to England, where he could devote himself entirely to writing. His efforts to establish himself and his work were almost immediately successful. His first book of poems A Boy's Will was accepted by a London publisher and brought out in 1913, followed a year later by another one North of Boston. Favorable reviews on both sides of the Atlantic resulted in American publication of Frost's books and in the establishing of Frost's transatlantic reputation. As part of his determined efforts on his own behalf, Frost had called on several prominent literary figures soon after his arrival in England. One of these was Ezra Pound, another American poet living in Britain, who wrote the first American review of Frost's verse.
In 1915, both of Frost's books were published 'in the United States. He felt that his books had ―gone home‖, and he should go home, too. When he reached America, he was surprised by the praise he received and the acceptance of American publishers. In the words of the poem he read at President Kennedy's inauguration many years later: The land was his before he was the land.
Frost's importance as a poet derives from the power and memorability of particular poems. The Death of the Hired Man combines lyric and dramatic poetry in blank verse. After Apple-Picking is a free-verse dream poem with philosophical undertones. Mending Wall demonstrates Frost's simultaneous command of lyrical verse, dramatic conversation, and ironic commentary. The Road Not Taken and Birches and the off-studied Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening exemplify Frost's ability to join the pastoral and philosophical modes in lyrics of unforgettable beauty.
Robert Frost died in 1963. He had lived for almost 100 years, and over the years he received an unprecedented number and range of literary, academic, and public honors. He unquestionably succeeded in realizing his life's ambition: to write \"a few poems it will be hard to get rid of\".
Task 6:
【答案】 A. 1) b 2) c 3) c
4) b 5) a B.
1) revealing her name，a locket and ring，in attendance 2) cruel neglect and semi-starvation，his unheard-of act
3) snuff-boxes, jewelry, watches, and handkerchiefs，in imaginary store-windows 4) efforts，in some safe refuge，rewards
【原文】
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist was born about seventy-five miles from London, in the lying-in room of the almshouse. His mother, worn and exhausted from a long and painful journey on foot, had been found unconscious in the road, and had been carried to the only place of refuge for such as she seemed to be. The unhappy mother died without revealing her name, and the only proofs of the boy's identity, a locket and ring, kept even at the price of starvation, were stolen from the corpse before it was cold by the old crone who had been in attendance.
The orphan's childhood, passed in cruel neglect and semi-starvation, was brought to an abrupt close by his own unparalleled act. Desperate through hunger, he and his companions determine that some one of them shall secure for all an extra helping of the thin and watery gruel which is their principal diet. The lot falls upon Oliver. Nineyear-old child though he was, he was \"reckless with misery.\" He rose from the table, and, advancing to the workhouse-master, basin and spoon in hand, he said, \"Please, sir, I want some more ! \" Such unheard-of daring receives speedy treatment. The next morning a bill, posted upon the gate, offers five pounds to any one who will take Oliver Twist off the hands of the parish.
Then there follows a brief stay as the apprentice of a coffin-maker and undertaker. His master is, on the whole, treats him well, but a fight with a bullying older apprentice brings him into unmerited disgrace and punishment and he runs away.
On the outskirts of London he chances upon the fascinatingly droll Artful Dodger, pickpocket and pupil of Fagin. The curious behavior of his new associates is only a game to the innocent boy, when Fagin places snuff-boxes, jewelry, watches, and handkerchiefs in his pockets, and then stands looking in imaginary store-windows while (in an unbelievably short time) every one of the things is taken from him. The true meaning of it all bursts upon the horrified Oliver when he is taken on an expedition and sees the \"game\" in full operation. Dazed and con-fused, he is the only one captured and taken before a magistrate. His innocence is established, but he faints in the court-room, and is taken home by the remorseful Mr. Brown-low, the man whose pocket he was supposed to have picked. In his new friend's house Oliver is nursed through a serious illness, and better days seem to have dawned for him, when he again falls into the hands of Fagin. Dreading the information which the boy may give, Fagin has Oliver kidnapped while on an errand for Mr. Brownlow, by Nancy, a wretched girl of the streets, pupil of Fagin, and mistress of Bill Sikes, the greatest ruffian of the whole gang.
In order to close Oliver's mouth, by making him also a criminal, he is taken along on a housebreaking attempt. Protesting, he is put through a small window that he may open the door to his companions. He is firmly determined to warn the people of the house, but the burglary is a failure, and Oliver, wounded by a stray shot, is left in a ditch by the fleeing gangsters. The next
morning he crawls, injured as he is, to the same house, where his story is believed and he finds new and lasting friends.
Again the lad is sought out by Fagin, aided by a mysterious man who has shown great emotion at a chance sight of Oliver in the street, and who now plots with Fagin, not merely for the possession of the boy, but for his moral ruin, which seems to be desired especially by this so-called Monks.
Their whispered plottings are overheard by Nancy, who atones for her former kidnapping of Oliver by risking her life to inform his new friends of his true parentage. Then comes the startling account of what Nancy had overheard: Monks has secured, by clever inquiry and bribery, the locket and the ring; he recognized Oliver; he alludes to his father's will and speaks of the gratification it will be to him (Monks) to make a common felon of his young brother, Oliver. He also says with a laugh that there is some comfort in the fact that his identity has been kept from his latest friends, \"since how many thousands and hundreds of thousands of pounds they would give to know who their two-legged spaniel is.
Rejecting all Rose's efforts to place her in some safe refuge from her horrible associates, and refusing all rewards, the weeping girl returns to the only life she has ever known. Nancy‘s kindness, however, costs her her life, as suspicious Fagin has had her followed and watched. Sikes, insane with rage, brutally disregards her protestations that she has shielded him and has remained faithful to him. Disbelieving her, he beats her to death with a club, then flees vainly from the terrors of his own memory of the deed, and dies by an accident as he is trying to escape arrest.
Task 7:
【答案】 A. 1) F 2) T 3) F 4) T 5) T 6) T 7) F B.
1) tragic，heroic，against certain fears and terrors，to the end 2) instability，uncertainty，the surface of order C.
1) His view on mid-18th-century England: It is often depicted as an age dominated by ideas of reason and order. But beneath the surface of genteel life lay an enormous amount of hidden tension, with widespread poverty and crime. 2) His view on Dr. Johnson: Dr. Johnson stands as a vast, magisterial figure. But in fact, he was not nearly as confident and assured a presence as he sometimes appears.
【原文】
Looking back 200 years, over the landscape of English literature, Dr. Samuel Johnson stands as la vast, magisterial figure. Dr. Johnson the man is much more famous than his work. English
people who have never read a single word he wrote nonetheless have a distinct sense of his presence: confident, commanding, oratorical, that of a man whose voice rings with authority, whose sayings are often quoted in today's newspapers as peculiarly English examples of common sense.
Mid-18th-century England is often depicted as an age dominated by ideas of reason and order. Yet the picture is not entirely accurate. True, England was at peace, but beneath the surface of genteel. life lay an enormous amount of hidden tension, with widespread poverty and crime. Dr. Johnson was, equally, not nearly as confident and assured a presence as he sometimes appears. Born in 1709 in the town of Lichfield, some 150 kilometers northwest of London, Johnson suffered from lifelong depression and melancholy. He went to Oxford University but was too poor to complete his degree. For several years in his 20s he was a desperately unsuccessful teacher; and finally at the age of 27 he went down to London to seek his fortune. When he arrived in London he had no money and no lob. Arid for several years he worked in what was known as Grub Street, a particular part of London where the penniless authors and journalistic hacks or freelance writers worked, living from hand to mouth. Dr. Johnson learned a lot about life here. He saw life from the bottom level up, and it formed him very much as a writer.
But his fortunes were to change, for he had been commissioned to write a new dictionary of the English language. Conquering what he saw as his own laziness, he toiled away for years in a garret near London's River Thames. The Dictionary is an extraordinary work for a man who is reputed to be slothful. It took him approximately 8 years to write. Johnson employed 6 part-time clerks, who didn't do the work but simply copied down what he directed. By the end he had defined 40,000 separate words, and he did this in a very particular way: He read through the entire bulk of English literature, including a considerable amount of scientific and philosophical literature, and he picked out quotations which illustrated the meanings of certain words. But it is the width of the Dictionary, its solidity, is fantastic coverage, which was such an achievement; and when it was published in 1755 Johnson was given an honorary M.A. from the University of Oxford where he had failed to complete his degree, and he almost immediately became famous as a literary man.
By 1767, Johnson's eminence was such that he was offered a state pension. Free from financial worries, acknowledged as a leading essayist and critic, he was able to work as he wished. It was at this Joint that he met a young man named James Boswell, who was to become his close friend—though the friendship was never that of equals. Boswell would eventually write two books about Dr. Johnson—one an account of a trip they made together round Scotland, the other a full-length biography. Boswell's biography has been described as the best biography ever written in English, and certainly it gives us an intimate picture of the late Dr. Johnson, who in his 50s and 60s had edited an edition of Shakespeare and written a series of volumes on the lives of English poets. This is the confident, magisterial Dr. Johnson, by turns serious or sarcastic or witty. But scholars and biographers have begun to draw back the curtain, revealing a somewhat different man. His melancholy, his loneliness, his fear of madness, his strong romantic streak, his unhappy marriage, the way his poetry and his essays grew it of great and intense private suffering—all this has given us a much deeper and more complicated se of Johnson. And in many ways, there is a sense of him as a tragic but heroic figure a man who is always fighting against certain fears and terrors, but fights to the end. He is a figure almost of tragic courage.
Dr. Johnson's statue stands in London's Fleet Street, and nearby is the house in which he
lived while laboring over his Dictionary. Now a Johnson museum, it contains among much else a striking oil painting of him in his mid 60s. The face is not that of a man at ease with himself: the expression sullen, truculent, the powerful eyes seeming to glare with a certain suspicion. Dr. Johnson is a key to the 18th century, a time when instability and uncertainty were never that far below the surface of order. Five years after his death in 1784, the French revolution was to transform the course of European history, and also the way writers, composers and artists looked at the world.
Task 8:
【答案】
1) He had come to the House of Usher in response to a written plea from his boyhood friend. 2) The letter had told of an illness of body and mind suffered by Usher. 3) The Usher family, unlike most, had left only a direct line of descent.
4) Usher's eyes were liquid, and his lips pale. His web-like hair was untrimmed and floated over his brow. All in all, he was a depressing figure.
5) He believed that the house itself exerted great influence over his morale, and even over his spirit. What was worse, he was terribly worried about his dying sister, the only living relative he had.
6) They carried the encoffined body down into the burial vault beneath the house and deposited it upon a trestle.
7) Lady Madeline returned to find her brother. The two fell to the floor in death.
8) The house of horror split asunder in a zigzag manner, down the line of the visitor had seen before.
【原文】
The Fall of the House of Usher
As the visitor approached the House of Usher, he was forewarned by the appearance of the old mansion. The fall weather was dull and dreary, the countryside shady and gloomy, and the old house seemed to fit perfectly into the desolate surroundings. The stone was discolored and covered with fungi. The building gave the impression of decay, and a barely discernible crack extended in a zigzag line from the roof to the foundation.
The visitor had come to the House of Usher in response to a written plea from his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher. The letter had told of an illness of body and mind suffered by the last heir in the ancient line of Usher, and although the letter had strangely filled him with dread, the visitor had felt that he must go to his former friend. The Usher family, unlike most, had left only a direct line of descent, and perhaps it was for this reason that the family itself and the house had become one—the House of Usher.
The visitor entered the house, gave his things to a servant, and proceeded through several dark passages to the study of the master. There he was stunned at the appearance of his old friend. Usher's eyes were liquid and lips pallid. His web-like hair was untrimmed and floated over his brow. All in all, he was a depressing figure. In fact, he was haunted incessantly by unnamed fears. Even more strangely, he was imbued with the thought that the house itself exerted great influence over his morale and that it had obtained influence over his spirit. Usher's moodiness was
heightened by the approaching death of his sister, Lady Madeline. His only living relative, she was wasting away from a strange malady that baffled the doctors. Often the disease revealed its cataleptic nature. The visitor saw her only once, on the night of his arrival. Then she passed through the room without speaking, and her appearance filled him with awe and foreboding.
For several days, the visitor attempted to cheer the sick master of Usher and restore him to health, but the visitor was helpless to dispel Usher‘s fear. One day Usher informed his friend that Madeline was no more. It was his intention to bury her in one of the vaults under the house for a period of two weeks. The strangeness of her malady, he said, demanded the precaution of not placing her immediately in the exposed family burial plot. The two men took the encoffined body into the burial vault beneath the house and deposited it upon a trestle. Turning back the lid of the coffin, they took one last look at the lady, and the visitor remarked on the similarity of appearance between her and her brother. Then Usher told him that they were twins and that their natures had been singularly alike. The man then closed the lid, screwed it down securely, and ascended to the upper room.
A noticeable change now took possession of Usher. He paced the floors with unusual vigor. He became more pallid, while his eyes glowed with even greater wildness. His words were utterances of extreme fear. He seemed to have a ghastly secret that he could not share.
One night, during a severe storm, the visitor heard low and unrecognizable sounds that filled him with terror. Then he heard a soft knock at his door. Usher entered, carrying a lamp. His manner was hysterical and his eyes those of a madman. The visitor picked up the first book that came to hand and tried to calm his friend by reading a story. As he read he seemed to hear the echo of a cracking and ripping sound described in the story. Usher sat facing the door, as if in a trance. His head and his body rocked from side to side in a gentle motion. He was murmuring something, as if he were not aware of his friend's presence.
At last, his ravings became intelligible. He spoke louder and louder until he reached a scream. Madeline was alive. For days, he had heard her feebly trying to lift the coffin lid. Now she had escaped her tomb and was coming in search of him. At that pronouncement, the door of the room swung back and on the threshold stood the shrouded Lady Madeline of Usher. There was blood on her clothing and evidence of superhuman struggle. She ran to her terrified brother, and the two fell to the floor in death.
The visitor fled from the house in terror. He gazed back as he ran and saw the house of horror split asunder in a zigzag manner, down the line of the crack he had seen as he first looked upon the old mansion. There was a loud noise, like the sound of many waters, and the pond at its base received all that was left of the ruined House of Usher.
Unit 11
Task 1:
【原文】
1)\"In fact,\" said the attorney with sarcasm, \"you were so frightened at the rune mat you honestly cannot testify whether it was an automobile or something resembling an automobile that struck you.\"
\"Well,\" replied the plaintiff \"I can only say that I was struck by the resemblance.\" 2) And the other story from that area is about the native who noticed the epitaph on a tombstone:
\"Here Lies a Lawyer and an Honest Man.\" \"Mighty small grave for two men,\" commented the native. 3) This is supposed to have happened in a Western courtroom. One lawyer rose and shouted that his opponent was a crook, a shyster and a disgrace to the legal profession. The opposing attorney responded that the first was guiltier than his client and should be the one on trial. The judge calmly noted: \"Now that both of the learned counsels have identified themselves, let us proceed with this case.\"
4) A story that lawyers and law students never appreciate is the one about the two pickpockets who were working in the crowd in front of a downtown office building. They noticed one man who took a fat wallet out of his pocket, counted the contents and went into the elevator. They followed him into the elevator but weren‘ t able to reach him before he got off and entered a lawyer's office. In few minutes they saw the man come out Then one pickpocket said to the other \"What'll we do now?\" the other replied, \"You know what to do. We'll wait for the lawyer to come out.\" 5)\"No doubt about it,\" said the lawyer. \"This is one of the strongest cases I've ever heard. There isn't a chance of losing in court.\" \"Thanks,\" said the client, grabbing for his hat and coat. \"I guess I'll settle this out of court.\" \"But I said you can't lose,\" cried the lawyer.
\"I know, but what I told you was the other man's side of the case.\"
Task 2:
【答案】
Main Idea: The importance of jury trial in the US legal system and the contemporary challenges it faces I. The jury trial is the central element in the American conception of justice. A. The right to trial by an impartial jury. is one of the oldest and least controversial guarantees in the Constitution. B. America is distinctive among all nations for the central role accorded the jury trial in its justice system. C. To American citizens, participation in government is represented by voting and jury service. II. The future of jury trial is uncertain due to the rapid changes in American society. A. Increases in the volume of civil and criminal trials have put great pressure on the jury system. B. There have been dramatic increases in the length and complexity of trials. C. In civil cases, it sometimes seems impossible for jury members to have the special knowledge needed due to the advance in science and technology. D. Changes in trial method and greater public access have altered the nature of the trial jury.
【原文】
The jury trial is the central element in the American conception of justice. The fight to trial by an impartial jury, insulated from influence by oppressive political powers, is one of the oldest and least controversial guarantees in the Constitution. America is distinctive among all nations for the central role accorded the jury trial in its justice system. The more than 300,000 jury trials a year are of enormous practical and symbolic significance to those who are involved in them and to
those who see or hear about them. To the typical American citizen, participation in government is represented by voting and jury service.
Despite the long history of the jury trial and despite its current significance in the legal system, its future is uncertain. Changes in American society have created new demands for justice which may not be met by traditional jury trials. Increases in the volume of civil and criminal trials have clogged the court system and placed unprecedented strains on the ability of the jury system to dispense high quality justice. There have been dramatic increases in the length and complexity of trials. In some jurisdictions, jury selection alone may last as long as a week in a typical criminal case. Although not common, civil and criminal cases lasting months and even years place a burden on the system. On the civil side, advances in science and engineering have created complexities in disputes that challenge the experts in the field and would seem to require an unattainable level of sophistication on the part of jury members. Technological developments are also changing some of the conventions of evidence and procedure at trial and providing opportunities for public access through media reportage, which has altered the nature of the trial jury.
Task 3:
【答案】 A. 1) T 2) F 3) T 4) F 5) T 6) T 7) F 8) F B.
1) Every witness must swear an oath, with his hand on the Bible, \"To tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth\".
2) Cross-examination is the examination of a witness by his opponent. For example, every witness called by the prosecuting counsel may be examined by the defending barrister, and vice versa. 3) It is a question that suggests something instead of asking for information. 4) ―Hearsay‖ evidence is what one has heard others say about an event. 【原文】
While you were staying with us during the summer, I remember you asked me a lot of questions about law in this country. I'm afraid I wasn't able to help you much. We read in our papers about trials in the law courts, but few law-abiding citizens are experts on the subject.
You asked me to tell you how criminal trials in England differ from criminal trials in Europe, and I couldn't tell you much—except, I remember, that I said that in England a person accused 26 crime must always be supposed innocent until he has been proved guilty. Newspapers mustn't describe the accused as ―the murderer; he's ―the accused‖ or ―the prisoner‖. Last month I served as a member of the jury at an important criminal trial, so I learnt quite a lot. I thought you'd be interested, and that's why I'm writing.
The prisoner was accused of robbing a bank and of wounding the night watchman who
tried to stop him. He pleaded \"Not Guilty\speeches and a lot of evidence.
I'm over 50 and this was my first experience of serving as a juror. We're liable for jury service between 21 and 60, so you see I might have been called on many years ago. Of the 12 members of the jury, three were women. Two of the men were small shopkeepers, one was a motor mechanic, and another was a school teacher. I didn't find out what the others were, but you can see we were a mixed lot.
We had three stories to listen to. First there was the story told by the counsel for the prosecution, then the story told by the defending counsel, and lastly the story told by the judge, a summing up of what was said by counsel and witnesses. By \"counsel\" 1 mean the barrister or barristers employed on either side.
The prosecuting counsel began by telling the court what he intended to prove by evidence. Then he called his witnesses. These people can say what they know only in answer to questions, so the examination of witnesses is very important. Every witness may be examined by the barrister who is defending the prisoner. This is the cross-examination. The judge can interfere if he thinks any of the questions are unfair. He always objects to what are called \"leading questionshat suggest something instead of asking for information. (Perhaps you know the old example: \"When did you stop beating your wife?\") Leading questions are allowed, however, in cross-examination.
The defending counsel then had his turn. He called new witnesses, including the accused man himself. These witnesses were then cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel.
The law of evidence is very strict. Every witness must, before he goes into the witness box, swear an oath, with his hand on the Bible, \"To tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth\". A witness may tell only what he himself knows to be true. \"Hearsay\" evidence is not allowed. If, for example, Mr. X saw a man forcing a way into a building, he can describe what he saw, and this is evidence. If he tells his wife about it, a description of what happened, given by the wife, is not evidence. She heard her husband's story, but she herself did not see what happened.
When all the evidence had been given, and the examination of the witnesses was finished, counsel for both sides made further speeches. Counsel for the prosecution tried to show that, from the evidence they had heard, the jury could only find the accused person guilty. Counsel for the defence tried to show that the accused was not guilty. Then the judge summed up.
Task 4:
【答案】 A. 1) b 2) a 3) b 4) c B.
1) The judges are responsible for summing up the evidence, and call the jurymen's attention to all the important points in the evidence and in the speeches made by counsel for both sides. 2) The judge usually gives a more severe sentence to the accused.
3) No. This is based on the principle of the division between the forces of the law who keep order,
and the forces who conduct trials. 【原文】
There are quite a lot of people in England who think that 12 ordinary men and women are not capable of understanding properly all the evidence given at criminal trials. I had doubts about this myself until I served as juror last month. I don't feel so doubtful now. Our judges are expert in summing up the evidence. They take notes during the trial. The judge, in the case I'm writing about, called our attention to all the important points in the evidence and in the speeches made by counsel for both sides. He favored neither prosecution nor defense. He told us what crime the accused would be guilty of, if the evidence supplied by the prosecution was true.
The members of the jury have to decide only the questions of fact. Questions of law are for the judge. So when the judge had finished his summing up, he said to us, \"Will you please consider your verdict?\"
We retired to a private room to do this. I was elected foreman (or chairman). You probably know hat if at least 10 jurymen cannot agree, the jury must be discharged, and that then there is a new trial with a fresh jury. In this case we were not long in reaching a decision. The evidence against the accused man was so strong that we had no need to discuss it for long. English law requires that the guilt of an accused man must be proved \"beyond reasonable doubt\". We had no doubt at all, so when we returned to the court and I was asked, \"Do you find the accused 'Guilty' or 'Not Guilty'?\" I gave the answer \"Guilty.\"
Here's another interesting point about the law of evidence. The police may know quite a lot about the previous life of the accused man. They may have records to show that he is a habitual criminal, that he has often been accused of crime and proved guilty. But this information cannot be given in court until after the jury has brought in their verdict.
In this case the police records showed that the accused had served three terms of imprisonment for robbery, one of them being robbery with violence, lf we had known this before we considered out verdict, and if the evidence against the man had been weak, we might have been inclined to declare him guilty, in spite of weak evidence against him.
The accused's past record of crime, if he has one, is given after the verdict so that the judge may know better what sentence to pass. If the accused has never before been convicted of crime, the sentence is not likely to be severe, unless the crime is one of violence. First offenders are usually treated with sympathy. If, on the other hand, the accused man has a long record of convictions, the judge will pass a more severe sentence.
There's one more point worth mentioning. The police officers who find and arrest an accused man may appear as witnesses at the trial. But they appear only as witnesses. They have no share in the examination of the accused. There is a clear division between the forces of the law who keep order, and the forces who conduct trials in courts.
Task 5:
【答案】 A. 1) b 2) a 3) c 4) c
B.
The Sentencing Systems in the US and Europe
The US System The European System Characteristics Punishments are Punishments are low:
high/harsh/severe—more
long-term imprisonments are Fines or short-term
imprisonments are used.
commonly used.
Rationales 1) It is adversarial in many 1) The purpose of the Behind the ways. Not only the prosecutor, sentences is to cure the System but also the state is the offender of his deviant
adversary of the defendant. ways and to reintegrate
him into society as soon
2) Heavy criminals are treated as possible. as “permanent outcasts” because Americans don’t 2) The state assumes a consider “reintegration” as parental role with the realistic possibility. offender.
【原文】
Crane: As I understand it, your sentences are pretty reasonable compared to ours. You mostly use
fines, and when you do incarcerate people, it's usually for short terms. In the United States, our potential sentences are extremely high, and sometimes the legislature fixes the punishment and gives the judge no discretion to lower it for a particular defendant who doesn't deserve that much. So plea bargaining is our way of reaching a just result.
Becker: Why are your sentences so low? Don't you want to stop crime?
Schmrz: Of course we do. But we do it by curing the offender of his deviant ways and
reintegrating him into society as soon as possible. The state assumes a parental role with the offender. By contrast, your system seems to be adversarial in more ways than one. Not only is the prosecutor the adversaxy of the defendant, so is the state itself. We prefer to see offenders as potentially decent citizens who have temporarily gone astray.
Becker: We used to see them that way, but at some point we gave up. These days, heavy criminals
are treated as permanent outcasts. We don't see \"reintegration\" as a realistic possibility, so we pretty much lock 'em up and throwaway the key.
Schmrz: Do 'you think this is an effective way to reduce crime?
Becker: Sure. If they're crimes-at least community. in jail, they can't commit not on the
law-abiding community.
Schmrz: But they will eventually get out. When they are released, do their punishments make
them less likely to commit more crimes?
Crane: No way. They'll be more likely to commit new crimes. We don't spend much effort trying
to teach prisoners to adjust to society and earn their way honestly, so they just learn more about being criminals. And sentences being as long as they are, often these guys are pretty angry when they get out. We treat them as outcasts, so that's what they become.
Schmrz: It seems odd. You punish your defendants more severely than we do, in order to reduce
crime, and yet your crime rates are much higher than ours. What conclusions may we draw from this?
Crane: It's pretty obvious, isn't it? Harsh punishments don't work.
Becker: That's ridiculous. You could just as logically conclude that because of our high crime
rates, we need harsher punishments to prevent them from going even higher.
Task 6:
【答案】 A.
Thesis: Factors in both the physical environment and the social environment are causes of crime.
but the latter are more important. I. The causes in physical environment: relatively unimportant, yet worthy of note A. Two factors that have influence on crimes: 1. Climate 2. Season B. Two general rules that may indicate the influence
1. More crimes against the person in warm climate than crimes against property 2. More crimes against the person in summer than in winter II. The causes in the social environment: the most important causes
A. Conditions connected with the family: greater influence on crimes than other set of causes 1. Undue proportion of criminals from demoralized families
e.g. most children in reform schools are from demoralized families
2. Influence of domestic conditions on adults B. Industrial conditions 1. Conditions that may produce crimes a. Economic crises b. Hard times c. Strikes 2. Quetelet's theory:
As the price of food increases, crimes against property increase, while crimes against persons decrease. 3. Different rates of crimes among various classes
a. Least crimes committed by the agricultural classes b. Most crimes committed by the unemployed or those with no occupation C. Urbanization and other conditions concerning the distribution and density of the population In general, more crimes in the cities than in the country areas D. Educational conditions
1. More crimes caused by defective educational conditions
e.g. illiterates who are more likely to commit crimes 2. Defects in educational system
a. Lack of facilities for vocational education b. Lack of physical education c. Lack of specific moral instruction E. The press and the motion picture
Excessive use of crime in them as an important stimulus to crime F. Certain social institutions Lack of opportunities for healthy social recreation among poorer people, particularly in large cities
【原文】
The objective causes of crime may be divided into causes in the physical environment and causes in the social environment. The causes in the physical environment are relatively
unimportant, but are worthy of note. Climate and season seem to be the two chief physical factors that influence crime; and in connection with these we have two general rules, abundantly verified by statistics; namely, crimes against the person are more numerous in southern climates than crimes against property; and again crimes against the person are more numerous in summer than in winter, while crimes against property are more numerous in winter than in summer. All this is of course simply an outcome of the effect of climate and season upon general living conditions. Many researchers believe that the causes of crime in the social environment are of course much the most important causes of crime in general. Let us briefly note some of the more important social conditions that give rise to crime.
1. Conditions connected with the family life have a great influence on crime. Since the family is the chief agency in society for socializing the young, perhaps domestic conditions are more important in the production of crime than any other set of causes. We have already seen that demoralized homes contribute an undue proportion of criminals. It is estimated by those in charge of reform schools for delinquent children that from 85 to 90 percent of the children in those institutions come from more or less demoralized or disrupted families. Domestic conditions also have an influence on adults. This is best shown perhaps by the fact that so large a proportion of criminals in our prisons are unmarried. 2. Industrial conditions also have a profound influence upon criminal statistics. Economic crises, hard times, strikes, lockouts, are all productive of crime. Quetelet, the Belgian statistician, thought that the general rule could be laid down that, as the price of food
increases, crimes against property increase, while crimes against persons decrease. At any rate, increase in the cost of the necessities of life is very apt to increase crimes of certain sorts. The various industrial classes show a different ratio of criminality. In general among industrial classes the least crime is committed by the agricultural classes, while the most crime is committed by the unemployed or those with no occupation. A recent prison census showed that 31 percent of all prisoners were unemployed at the time their crimes were committed, or were people with no occupation.
3. Urbanization and other conditions concerning the distribution and density of the
population, have an influence upon crime. In general there is more crime in the cities than
in the country districts. The statistics of all civilized countries seem to show about twice as great a percentage of crime in their large cities as in the rural districts.
4. Educational conditions have undoubtedly a great influence upon crime. While education in the sense of school education could never in itself stamp out crime, still defective
educational conditions greatly increase crime. This is shown sufficiently by the fact that illiterates are much more liable to commit crime than those who have a fair education. The defects in our educational conditions which especially favor the development of crime in certain classes are, chiefly, lack of facilities for vocational education, lack of physical education, and lack of specific moral instruction. The influence of the press as a popular educator must here be mentioned as one of the important stimuli to crime under modern conditions. The excessive exploitation of crimes in the modern sensational press no doubt conduces to increase criminality in certain classes, for it has been demonstrated that crime is often a matter of suggestion or imitation. 5. The influence of certain social institutions in producing crime must be mentioned. Poorer people lack opportunities for wholesome social recreation, particularly in our large cities. Lacking these, they resort to the bars, gambling dens, cheap music and dance halls, and vulgar theatrical entertainments, while their children have to play in the streets. The influence of all of these institutions is undoubtedly to spread the epidemic of vice and crime.
Task 7:
【答案】 A.
1) An incurable nerve disease made her paralyzed.
2) She wanted her husband to assist her suicide. But her husband could face criminal charges if he helped her die according to the British law.
3) Judge Silber said that a full court review should decide if Mr. Pretty can be exempted from prosecution.
4) Supporters of assisted suicide hailed the ruling, while opponents decried it. 5) If euthanasia became legal, they would face greater pressure to commit suicide. 6) The goal of the society is to make euthanasia legal in Britain. B.
1) affect，dependent，care，elderly，this kind of way 2) full hearing，full hearing，legislation，safeguards 【原文】
A paralyzed British woman has won the first round in a court battle to allow her husband to legally assist her suicide. The case has sparked controversy between opponents and supporters of euthanasia. Diane Pretty is a 42 year-old British woman who is terminally ill with a nerve disease that has left her paralyzed. She wants to commit suicide, but she is physically unable to do so. Therefore, Mrs. Pretty wants her husband Brian to assist her suicide. However,
prosecutors have told the couple Mr. Pretty could face criminal charges if he helps her die.
Against that backdrop, the Prettys went to London High Court on Friday to seek judicial relief. Judge Stephen Silber granted Mrs. Pretty an initial victory, saying a full court review should decide if Mr. Pretty can be exempted from prosecution. Mrs. Pretty, sitting in her
wheelchair, burst into tears upon hearing Judge Silber's decision. Outside the court, supporters of assisted suicide hailed the ruling, while opponents of euthanasia decried it.
Paul Tully leads a campaign against abortion and euthanasia. He fears that if Britain
establishes the right to die, pressure will mount on the terminally ill to commit suicide. \"What they are trying to achieve could affect thousands of other people who are entirely dependent on others for their care - people who are very elderly, with degenerative diseases,\" he said. \"There are many, many people around the country who are suffering in this kind of way.\"
Deborah Annetts represents the Voluntary Euthanasia Society, which supports the Pretty's court battle. She says the eventual goal is to get Britain to legalize assisted suicide. \"This is
about an individual, Diane, making a decision about when she's had enough suffering,\" she said. \"What we would say is, if this goes all the way through for a full hearing and we are successful for that full hearing, we would ask the government to put in place legislation with appropriate safeguards as the Dutch have.\" The debate will resume at the next court hearing, expected in about one month.
Task 8:
【答案】 A.
1) She is a poor white girl, and the Chief Witness in the case. 2) He is accused of beating and raping Ewell.
3) The evidence suggests that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone with his left hand. However, Tom Robinson's left arm is useless.
4) She tempted and kissed Tom Robinson, a black man. Thus she broke the rigid code in her family and community. She wants to conceal her offense by destroying Tom.
5) They believe that all Negroes lie; all Negroes are basically immoral beings; all Negroes are not to be trusted around white women.
6) He is an upright man who represents conscience and morality in the society. He is also a good lawyer. In his strong lecture, he gives a lesson to everyone in the courtroom. He criticizes them for their ignorance, prejudice and hypocrisy. This needs courage, but to Atticus, it is worth it because the truth will be told.
7) In the speech, Finch gives similar idea in these words:
In our courts, all men are created equal. I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and of our jury system. That's no ideal to me. That is a living, working reality!
Here he argues that the jury system itself cannot guarantee the fairness and objectivity of court decisions. Only when all the members of the society are aware that all men are created equal can such, prejudice, discrimination and injustice be eliminated. B.
1) somebody in this courtroom
2) created equal，no idealist，integrity，jury，no ideal，living, working reality 【原文】
To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. The State has not produced one iota of medical evidence that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place. It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross examination, but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. Now there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led, almost exclusively, with his left [hand]. And Tom Robinson now sits before you, having taken \"The Oath\" with the only good hand he possesses—his right.
I have nothing but pity in my heart for the Chief Witness for the State. She is the victim of cruel poverty and ignorance. But, my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a man's life at stake, which she has done in an effort to get rid of her own guilt. Now I say \"guilt,\" gentlemen, because it was guilt that motivated her. She's committed no crime. She has merely broken a rigid and time-honored code of our society, a code so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with. She must destroy the evidence of her offense. But, what was the
evidence of her offense? Tom Robinson, a human being. She must put Tom Robinson away from her. Tom Robinson was to her a daily reminder of what she did. Now what did she do? She
tempted a negro. She was white and she tempted a negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: She kissed a black man. Not an old uncle, but a strong, young negro man. No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards.
The witnesses for the State, with the exception of the sheriff of Lincoln County, have presented themselves to you gentlemen—to this Court—in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted; confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption, the evil assumption, that all negroes lie; all negroes are basically immoral beings; all negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption that one associates with minds of their caliber, and which is in itself, gentlemen, a lie—which I do not need to point out to you. And so, a quiet, humble, respectable negro, who has had the unmitigated temerity to feel sorry for a white woman, has had to put his word against two white peoples. The defendant is not guilty. But somebody in this courtroom is.
Now, gentlemen, in this country our courts are the great levelers. In our courts, all men are created equal. I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and of our jury system. That's no ideal to me. That is a living, working reality!
Now I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence that you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this man to his family.
In the name of God, do your duty. In the name of God, believe Tom Robinson.
Unit 12
Task 1:
【答案】 I.
A. 1960s，a vast wasteland
B. sound，pictures，use our imaginations，the essence of creativity C. violent behavior，acceptable within society D. desire，need，afford E. folk and ethnic cultures II.
A. expands the world B. entertainer，informer
C. homes，common experiences III.
Individual development，social change，political life，the evolution of a democratic society 【原文】
Television has always been a controversial factor in US life. Newton Minow, chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the early 1960s, called television % vast wasteland\". Critics have argued that television provides not only sound, but also pictures in our heads and that those images destroy our ability to use our imaginations, which is the essence of creativity. Others have long worded that television presents violent behavior as acceptable within society. Some believe that television advertising creates a desire for products and services that people may not need and cannot afford. Some believe that television is replacing the vitality and diversity of folk and ethnic cultures with a bland, homogeneous, consumer culture.
Television has a positive side as well. It expands the world of people who have limited opportunities to experience faraway places and events. For many, television is the great entertainer and informer. Television also brings the world to our homes and can create common experiences among Americans. These range from entertaining spectacles such as the Super Bowl to tragedies such as the shooting at Columbine High School.
Changing technologies affect how people watch television as well as what they watch. At times, programming pushes cultural boundaries; at other times, it reinforces the status quo. But television content and the amount of television being watched remain concerns for people who are interested in individual development, social change, political life, and the evolution of a democratic society.
Task 2:
【答案】 A.
3500BC，2500BC，western Asia，Egyptians，1800BC，the firs century BC，the sixth century AD China，600 AD，Korea，1234，Germany，1455 B.
1) The portability of books and their wider distribution after the development of printing gave rise to the earliest form of mass media.
2) Copying and illustrating books by hand was extremely time consuming, and creating parchment was expensive, so books were generally not widespread up to and throughout the Middle Ages.
3) The publication of the Gutenberg Bible in 1455 is considered the beginning of mechanical printing.
4) The combination of a printing press and existing technology such as book binding made it possible to begin the mass production of books at a fraction of the time and cost it took to produce an equal number of hand-copied books. C． 1) T 2) F
【原文】
Since the Sumerians of 3500 BC pressed marks into wet clay tablets to create what some scholars consider the first form of books, authors have been writing long-form text narratives to record and convey their ideas in packages more portable than clay tablets. By 2500 BC writers in western Asia were using animal skins to publish books in scroll form. The ancient Egyptians wrote the Book of the Dead in 1800 BC on papyrus. Between the first century BC and the 6th century AD the codex, or manuscript made of bound individual pages, began replacing the scroll-form book and established the modern book form. Book publishing continued to evolve, with paper and block printing being invented in China by 600 AD; movable type, a copper-alloy type, invented in Korea in 1234; and the Western world's first mechanical printing press in Germany in 1455. The portability of books and their wider distribution after the development of printing gave rise to the earliest form of mass media. They have had profound effects on culture and society in disseminating new ideas and building a common body of knowledge that can be shared across generations.
Until the invention of printing, books had to be laboriously hand-copied In thc Middle Ages, this work was done by specially trained monks called scribes, who copied religious and classical works. Many of the books published in the Middle Ages were written in bcautiful calligraphy and are richly illustrated.
Early books were published in scroll format, but eventually the codex, or bound manuscript, replaced scrolls. Until paper arrived from China via the Middle East in the later Middle Ages, scribes wrote on parchment or specially treated hides of either goats, sheep, or calves. Copying and illustrating books by hand was extremely time consuming, and creating parchment was expensive, so books were generally not widespread up to and throughout the Middle Ages.
As the Christian church grew in Europe, the need for religious texts grew as well. It was out of this need that Johannes Gutenberg found his inspiration for the invention of printing with lead, using movable type in 1455 AD in Mainz, Germany. Gutenberg's invention employed oil-based ink on paper using a converted wine press. The publication of the Gutenberg Bible in i455 is considered the beginning of mechanical printing.
In the early years of printing, illustrators would embellish printed pages with drawings and artistic flourishes in order to more accurately represent handwritten manuscripts. By combining printing press with existing technology such as book binding, it was possible to begin the mass production of books at a fraction of the time and cost it took to produce an equal number of hand-copied books. The printing press spread rapidly after the conquest of the city of Maine by Adolf of Nassau in 1462 and was initially met with enthusiastic reception by the Church and in the culture throughout Europe.
Task 3:
【答案】 A.
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
New England Primer 1836 A reaction to the textbooks imported
from England
A Grammatical Institute
of the English Language 1783 Standard reading books for
schoolchildren throughout the 19th century
McGuffey Readers 1690 One of the first textbooks published
in America
B. 1) c 2) b 3) c 4) c C.
One way is to publish a book that many people want to buy and read, which usually means publishing books that entertain people.
Another way is to make the book affordable enough for many people to buy. The invention of the dime novel and later the creation of mass-market paperbacks satisfied both these criteria.
【原文】
The printing press had an important role in the growth of Renaissance culture, the sharing of scientific discoveries, and the spread of religious beliefs--some of which challenged the authority the Catholic Church. Greater numbers of books and other printed materials helped increase literacy among the populace and laid the foundation for the rise of mass communication in the Western world. Many books, especially scientific works, were printed in Latin, which effectively reduced readership to elites educated in the classics. Books and other material such as broadsheets printed in the local vernacular usually found a much wider audience. They had entered the bustling commercial world of: printmakers and the average person.
Despite a greater number of books and printed materials from the Renaissance onward, large numbers of Europeans and Americans remained illiterate until the 19th century. In the American colonies and early years of the United States, education was largely available only to the wealthy, who could afford to hire and house private tutors for their children. Increased public education in the early 1800s helped reduce illiteracy among the general populace, and textbooks played a crucial ro1e in the public education system.
One of the first textbooks published in America was the New England Primer, published initially in about 1690 by Benjamin Harris. The textbook introduced children to the English alphabet, the rudiments of reading, and basic Christian religious values.
Noah Webster, known today for his Webster’s Dictionary, wrote his 1783 textbook, A
Grammatical Institute of the English Language, as a reaction to the textbooks imported from England that were commonly used and that taught English cultural values. Known popularly as the \"Blueback Speller\domestic economy. McGuffey Readers, first published in 1836, became standard reading books for schoolchildren throughout the 19th century.
Textbooks of the 1800s often reflected the power structure of contemporary society, just as modem textbooks do. In order to appeal to the widest cross-section of society, textbooks generally avoid controversial subjects and embrace perspectives and bodies of knowledge in which there is general agreement among members of the dominant group.
Changes in technology since Gutenberg's time have radically altered the production and printing of books. However, the very same forces that helped drive the invention of the printing press—wider distribution of printed materials and lower cost to produce books have confinucd to play, major roles in successful publishing ever since 1455. To some extent, books entering the digital realm can be seen as a continuation of the same historical forces on publishing.
One way to make money from publishing is to publish a book that many people want to buy and read, which usually means publishing books that entertain people. Another way is to make the book affordable enough for many people to buy. The invention of the dime novel and later the creation of mass-market paperbacks satisfied both these criteria.
The dime novel was the first paperback book form and, as its name suggests, sold for ten cents. This made it accessible even to tile poor. Introduced in 1860 by Irwin P. Beadle & Company, the dime novel initially featured stories of Indians and pioneer tales that were often nationalistic in tone. The 1870s saw an expansion of dime novels to include melodramatic fiction, adventures, detective stories, romances, and rags-to-riches tales.
Mass-market paperbacks were introduced in the United States in 1939 by Robert de Graft's company, Pocket Books. Pocket Books published a line of books priced at 25 cents each that were mall enough to be carried in a back pocket. It ushered in the paperback revolution by offering the public an alternative mass distribution network, as the books were sold in places like drugstores and supermarkets. Among Pocket Books' early successes were paperback editions of The Good Earth and Emily Bronte's classic, Wuthering Heights.
Task 4:
【答案】 A.
Technology，the last half of the 20th century I.
A. a change to a largely suburban society，increased use of automobiles
B. radio，television，ease of use，entertainment value，afternoon papers，the second half of the 20th century II.
news，advertising
A. selecting newsworthy topics marketing polls focus groups content tone
C. online news operations，geographical，political，cultural，linguistic，October 24, 2001，The New York Times
B.
1) Brightly colored photos and graphics can help readers digest the news more easily when they are done properly. However, when done poorly they can trivialize the news and at worst be confusing or misleading.
2) In the late 1970s, the Toronto Globe and Mail allowed public access to their news database. Most of these early efforts were not very successful, however, as many people at the time did not have computers or Internet access and the state of technology with screens made reading text on the computer tiring.
【原文】
Just as improvements in technology helped in driving the rise of newspapers as a mass medium technology has also played a role in the decline and transformation of newspapers m the last half of the 20th century. A combination of sociological forces in post-World War I I America, including a change to a largely suburban society and increased use of automobiles, along with electronic media such as radio and later television, helped draw audiences away from newspapers as their primary sources of news.
Television's ease of use and entertainment value contributed to the continuing decrease of American newspapers, especially afternoon papers, in the second half of the 20th century. Where previously cities usually had two or more competing daily newspapers, now many cities have only one newspaper or a morning and evening paper, which are ostensibly competitors operating under a joint operating arrangement that leaves virtually monopolistic control over the circulation area.
Modem newspapers are still undergoing significant changes, including marked change in their news and advertising content. As newspaper circulation numbers become more important in an increasingly competitive market, even leading newspapers are more likely to pander to popular taste. Departing from the established editorial tradition of selecting newsworthy topics regardless of general appeal, many newspapers are deferring to marketing polls and focus groups when setting standards for content, tone, and layout.
Brightly colored photos and graphics like those pioneered in USA Today, created to emulate TV viewing, can actually help readers digest the news more easily when they are done properly. However, when done poorly they can trivialize the news and at worst be confusing or misleading.
How newspapers reach the reader is changing dramatically, especially with the rise of the Internet. Newspapers have been in the forefront of experimenting with the electronic delivery of news to news consumers since the late 1970s, when newspapers like the Toronto Globe and Mail allowed public access to their news database. Most of these early efforts were not very successful, however, as many people at the time did not have computers or Internet access and the state of technology with screens made reading text on the computer tiring,
As. the Internet has grown as a medium of public communication, most daily newspapers have launched online news operations and have increasingly used this new medium as a vehicle for serving an audience no longer limited to or defined by geographical, political, or even cultural or linguistic boundaries.
One of the most interesting developments occurred on October 24, 2001, when The New York Times began delivering its electronic edition. The New York Times electronic edition is an exact digital replica of the printed paper, but it is delivered to readers via the Internet and downloaded onto their computers. It uses what is called the NewsStand Reader, which includes keyword
searching of the full text, zooming in for closer views of photos, one-click jumping on article continuations, and saving of past issues for easy reference. Importantly for the business of The New York Times, the electronic edition costs 65 cents a copy, raising revenue to support the enterprise.
Task 5:
【答案】 A. 1) c 2) b B.
1) NPR debuted on April 19, 1971, with live coverage of the Senate Vietnam hearings.
2) NPR first broadcast \"All Things Considered\" on May, 1971. This established NPR as an important provider of news and information programming.
【原文】
National Public Radio (NPR) was incorporated in 1970 and is a not-for-profit membership organization with 490 member public radio stations nationwide and a weekly audience of 17 million. It produces and distributes news, cultural, and informational programs for public radio in the United States, linking the nation's noncommercial radio stations into a national network. Public Radio Inter-national (PRI) produces and distributes additional public radio programming, such as \"Marketplace\" and Garrison Keillor's \"A Prairie Home Companion\" to nearly 600 affiliate stations in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Guam, as well as international programs including the BBC World Service.
NPR debuted on April 19, 1971, with live coverage of the Senate Vietnam hearings and a month later first broadcast \"All Things Considered\news and information programming. Today, NPR broadcasts 100 hours of original programming each week.
Public radio distinguishes itself from commercial radio in a number of ways, including more extensive, impartial, and original audio news, especially long-form audio reporting, as is featured on \"Morning Edition\" and \"All Things Considered\". Also defining NPR's coverage is its in-depth cover-age of the arts and commercial-free programming. NPR also offers extensive music programming in classical and folk music, jazz, and opera, featuring a variety of live transmissions of the performing arts in theaters and concert halls, as well as radio dramas.
Task 6:
【答案】 A. 1) a 2) c 3) b 4) c 5) b B.
Some people believe that splashy, high-tech videos emphasize style over substance and that videos have increased the special effects on concert tours. And this downplays the music in favor of visuals.
【原文】
Music Television (MTV) changed television in 1981 when it initiated the first 24-hour music channel. The mission was simple: to capture cable viewers between the ages of 12 and 135 by adding video to music. The result was a form of television that spread throughout the world and continues to make money and to influence world culture.
The idea of combining video and music existed long before MTV. Rock 'n' roll .joined television early with dance programs such as Dick Clark's \"American Bandstand\". Later, documentaries about musicians combined video and music. Frank Zappa's 1971 movie 200 Motels visually represented his surreal music, and other short videos were used to promote music. However, MTV changed the music industry by widely distributing promotional videos through satellite and cable transmission.
Within six years, MTV was creating channels to provide music to the world outside the United States. MTV, now owned by Viacom, provides music television to Australia, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Dozens of competing music satellite networks are available around the world.
Initially, MTV's ratings rose quickly. In 1986, however, they started to fall, and the network added nonmusic programming. The strategy worked. Even though MTV only averages about a million households at any given time, some programs, such as \"Real World VIII\more than 4 million households in 1999. As a result, MTV became the most profitable cable network, and its ratings are growing. The greatest growth in profits was a result of its international business.
The movement toward more nonmusic programming did not reduce MTV's influence on recording sales. \"Total Request Live\" has become the equivalent to the 1960s \"American Bandstand\" in its influence.
MTV exerts this type of power around the world. MTV Latin America increased its emphasis on local programming during 1999 by creating production units in Argentina and Mexico. This allows MTV to take advantage of music trends in both the United States and Latin America
Some music observers criticize the impact of video promotion. They argue that splashy, high-tech videos emphasize style over substance and that videos have increased the special effects on concert tours. This, they contend, downplays the music in favor of visuals.
Task 7:
【答案】
1) The World Wide Web allows the convergence of text, visual, and audio content on demand within the home, instead of just the combination of visual and audio content.
2) A central issue shaping the future of digital information is how active the consumer will be in using technology.
3) Participation and interactivity.
【原文】
Four decades ago, families gathered around radios to listen, over the snap, crackle, and pop
of f static, to Comedians such as Jack Benny, George Bums, and Gracie Allan. That audio center for family entertainment eventually faded as television allowed the convergence of visuals and audio within the home. Now, television faces just as radical a change. The World Wide Web allows the convergence of text, visual, and audio content on demand within the home. A person can go to any one of more than 200 web sites devoted to the Canadian rock group Bare Naked Ladies to download music, see videos, read about the group's music, and look at photographs.
A central issue shaping the future of digital information is how active the consumer will be in using technology. Will people delight in simply watching movies if they have greater choice of con-tent and viewing times? Will they use digital technology to access video games or communicate with others?
Media involvement requires varying levels of activity. If you are seeing, touching, feeling, smelling, thinking, or listening, you are participating in an activity. Watching Adam Sandier may not require as much thought as watching Kenneth Branagh perform Shakespeare on screen, but all media use requires some mental processing,
A second level of activity--interactivity--represents two-way communication. A computer game is interactive because you must continually manipulate computer games. You must respond in order for the game to continue.
In the future, people will be able to make choices about the levels of media involvement the want. The evolution of technology, therefore, has not only to do with invention but also with how people express what they want and need. Technology may continue along anticipated lines, or different forms may arise somewhat spontaneously.
Task 8:
【答案】 A. 1) d 2) a 3) b 4) b B. 1) T 2) F
【原文】
Americans get some of their news and entertainment from public television and radio. These public media receive money to operate from private citizens, organizations and government. Many of their programs are educational.
But most of the American media are run by businesses for profit. These privately owned media have changed greatly in recent years. Newspapers, magazines and traditional broadcast television organizations have lost some of their popularity. At the same time, online, cable and satellite media have increased in numbers and strength. So have media that serve ethnic groups and those communicating in foreign languages.
In general, more media than ever now provide Americans with news and entertainment. At the same time, fewer owners control them. Huge companies have many holdings. In some areas, one company controls much of the media.
One dramatic change in American media is the increased success of cable television. It comes into most homes over wires. It does not use the public airwaves, as broadcast television does. Like broadcast television, most cable television programs include sales messages. This is true although people must pay to see cable television in their homes.
Thirty years ago, few people had cable. Today, about sixty-eight percent of American homes have cable television. Television by satellite also is gaining popularity.
Over the years, traditional broadcast organizations have tried to appeal to as many watchers as possible. Many cable companies, however, present programs for one special group of viewers. For example, there are stations for people who like books, cooking, travel, golf or comedy. Some cable channels also launched programs with sexual material or language that could not be used on broadcast television. American law considers that the broadcast airwaves belong to the public. So broadcast networks traditionally guarded against offensive content. But the networks have reacted to the popularity of cable by also showing more suggestive material.
In the past few years, \"reality\" television programs have become extremely popular. They show situations as they happen, without a written story. They cost less to produce than other kinds of programs.
In the United States, CBS Television started reality programs in two-thousand with
\"Survivor.\" Sixteen people who did not know each other lived together on an unpopulated island for thirty-nine days. They had few supplies. They formed alliances. They also plotted against one another.
The cameras recorded the action as they competed to stay on the island. Each week the
group voted one of the people off the island. The last one to remain took home one million dollars.
Task 9:
【答案】 A. 1) c 2) c 3) a 4) c B. 1) F 2) T 3) F 4) F 5) F
【原文】
The computer has also changed American media. By 2000, the government said more than half of American homes had computers. At least one person used the Internet in more than eighty percent of these homes. Other people use the Internet in schools, at work and at libraries. The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released a study of Internet use. The center's Internet and American Life Project found that forty-four percent of Internet users share their thoughts on the Internet. Some write commentaries about politics and other issues on Web logs, or blogs.
The Pew Center says some young people today learn about politics in another non-traditional way. Earlier this year, the center questioned more than one thousand five hundred people. One in five who were younger than thirty said they usually get political information from television comedy programs. That is two times as many as four years ago. They watch programs like \"The Daily Show\" with Jon Stewart and \"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.\"
The studies also show that thirty-three percent of both young and older people said they sometimes learn about politics on the Internet. Their answers showed a nine percent increase in Internet use for this purpose since the last presidential election.
The Internet is also playing a financial part in political campaigns. For example, the
candidates for president have received millions of dollars in gifts over the Internet. The Project for Excellence in Journalism says almost forty-one million Americans watched nightly network news in 1994. By last November, that had dropped below thirty million. Tom Brokaw of NBC, Peter Jennings of ABC and Dan Rather of CBS are the main reporters, or anchors, on these shows. Mister Brokaw, however, plans to leave the position after the presidential election.
And just last week, CBS launched an independent investigation into a report on another news program on which Dan Rather appears. The recent report added to questions about President Bush's military service during the time of the Vietnam War.
Dan Rather presented some documents given to CBS News. Last week, however, he apologized. He said he could no longer trust that the documents were real.
The Project for Excellence in Journalism reports that eleven percent fewer people buy daily newspapers than in 1999. It also says many people no longer believe what they read in the
newspapers. The project says that in 1985, eighty percent of readers trusted newspapers. In 2002, only fifty-nine percent said they believed what they read.
In May of last year, a reporter was forced to leave The New YorkTimes. Jayson Blair invented facts in some stories or copied from other newspapers. And in January of this year, a top reporter at USA Today, Jack Kelly, resigned for similar reasons.
More recently The New York Times apologized for some of its reporting before the Iraqi war. It said it depended too much on information from unidentified officials and Iraqi exiles. Also, the Washington Post found weaknesses in its own reporting.
Another media story recently has involved some newspapers that lied about their circulation. The Chicago Sun-Times admitted misrepresenting its number of readers during the past two years. Inaddition, The Tribune Company reported that two of its publications had overstated the number of copies they sell.
It is natural for owners and investors to expect to make a profit, though some media owners say they would be happy just not to lose money. They say they are operating a newspaper or radio station mainly as a public service. But media organizations usually depend on money from businesses that advertise their products and services.
Reporters often express concern about pressure from media owners. Reporters sometimes say they cannot write some stories for fear of loss of advertising. But there are also many examples of aggressive reporting that serves the public interest.
Many people, though, say they do not believe they are always getting fair reporting. They often accuse journalists of supporting only one set of political beliefs.
The Pew Center reports that about twelve percent of local reporters, editors and media officials questioned say they are conservatives. This compares with thirty-four percent who identify themselves as liberals. The difference found between conservatives and liberals is even wider on the national level. But most journalists say they do not let personal opinion interfere with their reporting.
In the United States, newspapers serving ethnic groups and speakers of foreign languages are doing better than many others. Their popularity demonstrates America's big gains of people of foreign ancestry, especially Hispanics and Asians. These groups are also watching and listening to an increasing number of television and radio stations in their own languages.
Unit 13
Task 1:
【答案】 A.
1) In Brazil.
2) It intended to create and exchange social and economic projects. B. 1) F 2) T 3) T 4) T C. 1) c 2) b
【原文】
The World Social Forum met for the first time at the end of last month in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The World Social Forum is a new international conference that will meet every year. Its goal is to create and exchange social and economic projects. The projects will support human rights, social justice and development that does not waste natural resources.
Most of the representatives at the recent World Social Forum oppose globalization. They do not agree with the economic theory of a worldwide economy. That theory says ending trade restrictions to help international business also helps the most people. Some people attending the forum wanted to end the movement toward a global economy. Others wanted to reform it. Activists at the World Social Forum say globalization policies have caused a greater inequality between the poorest and the richest people in the world. The Forum met to find ways to support economic policies based on the needs of poor people and the environment.
United Nations studies show that the poorest twenty percent of the world's people have lost half their share of the world's income since Nineteen-Sixty. Their share of total world income dropped from two-point-four percent to one-point-one percent. During the same years, income increased for the richest twenty percent of the population. The richest people increased their share of world income from sixty-nine percent to eighty-six percent.
The World Social Forum brought together non-governmental groups, local government leaders, students and professors. The meeting organizers invited everyone who wanted to take part. About ten-thousand people from all over the world attended the five-day meeting.
The main idea for the conference was \"Another world is possible\". The organizers planned three kinds of discussions. Some discussions were very large and included everyone. Other discussions were for economists, labor leaders, environmental activists and others to compare methods and experiences. Still other discussions were designed for people to plan ways to keep strong communication links and to begin work on the next World Social Forum.
Task 2:
【答案】 A. 1) a 2) d B. 1) F 2) T 3) F 4) F 5) T
【原文】
I needed to get some money, so, after Christmas, I took a job in the clothes department at Graham‘s for the first fortnight of the January sale. I can‘t say that I enjoyed it, but it was an experience I‘ll never forget.
I could never understand why there were many things in the sales; where did they come from? Now I know the secret! Firstly, there is the special winter sack and the stock that people buy all the year round; some of these things are slightly reduced. Secondly, there are the summer clothes they couldn‘t sell last year; these are heavily reduced to clear them. Thirdly, there are cheap clothes bought in especially for the sales; these are put at high prices ten days before the sale
begins and then are reduced by 60% in the sale. Clever! Lastly, they buy in ―seconds‖( clothes not in perfect condition) for the sale and they are sold very cheaply.
When I arrived half an hour before opening on the first day of the sale, there were already queues around three sides of the building. This made me very nervous.
When the big moment arrived to open the doors, the security guards, looking less confident than usual, came up to them, keys in hand. The moment they had unlocked the doors, they hid behind the doors for protection as the noisy crowd crowded in. I couldn‘t believe my eyes: this wasn‘t shopping, it was a battlefield. One poor lady couldn‘t keep her feet and was knocked over by people pushing from behind.
Clothes were flying in all directions as people searched for the sizes, colors and styles they wanted. Quarrels broke out. Mothers were using their small children to craw through people‘s legs and get hold of things they couldn‘t get near themselves.
Within minutes I had half a dozen people pushing under my nose, each wanting to be the first served. Where had the famous queue gone? The whole day continued like that, but I kept my temper! I was taking money hand over fist and began to realize why, twice a year, Graham‘s is happy to turn the expensive store into a battlefield like this.
In the sale fever, people were spending money like water without thinking whether they needed what they were buying. As long as it was bargain it was OK.
You won‘t believe this, but as soon as I got home I crashed out for four hours. Then I had dinner and went back to bed, feeling the sound of the alarm which would tell me to get ready for the second day of the sale.
Task 3:
【答案】
A.
Accepted(Yes/ Reason Given
No)
\"Jumbo\" rain gauge Yes Easy to read from the
house
Self-balancing drinks Yes Would appeal to people holder
Car-shaped slippers Yes Fun item Aerated jeans No Wouldn't sell Spectacles for dogs No Kept falling off Luminous animal No Material dangerous to
Name of Product
collars
Jumping balloon Motor-powered roller-skates B.
No No
animals
Too dangerous Too dangerous
a，b，c，e 【原文】
A: At home we all look forward to receiving the latest catalogue from Eureka! We love reading it. Is that deliberate?
B: Oh yes! We write it so that it is humorous and fun to read. A: What do you look for in a product?
B: Well, basically we look for several things. Often it is a case of a new way of looking at an existing problem. A: Such as?
B: All kinds of things, but one I particularly like, because it is so English, is the \"jumbo\" rain gauge. As you know, a rain gauge allows you to measure the amount of rain that falls on your garden. However, this one made the catalogue because we loved the idea of a gauge which was so big that it would be easy to read from the house when it was raining. We also try to use innovative thinking from the past in a lot of new inventions. A: Can you give us an example?
B: Er, yes. One of our newer products is a really clever drinks holder for the car. The inventor used the idea of a self-balancing mechanism which is often used in ships, to create something that always keeps your can, glass, or cup steady, even if you are braking or turning sharply. It fixes to any convenient surface in the car. We thought it would appeal to people who were tired of the kind of mess you get when your passengers spill drinks.
A: What other criteria do you use for deciding which products to include?
B: Well, 1 suppose the main consideration is whether the product will sell or not However, we do like to include fun items, such as a pair of car-shaped slippers which have headlights that switch on when you step in. The light provides safety, but basically we thought the slippers might appeal to people looking for a bit of fun! A: Do you get lots of ideas'?
B: We get thousands each year, and we can't include all of them.
A: Can you remember any examples of things failed to make the catalogue? B: Oh, yes. There was the man who came in with the idea of aerated jeans A: What did they look like?
B: They looked like jeans with holes in them! We didn't think anyone would buy them. Another guy came in with spectacles for dogs, and we had to reject those as well. A: Why?
B: Well, they were basically a fashion item and they kept falling off when we tried them on some dogs. We don't include anything that we don't test thoroughly. A: Are all these ideas that you reject silly ones?
B: No, far from it. We also had to mm down some luminous animal collars which were designed to reflect lights in the dark. This was a good idea, because the majority of cats and dogs which
are lit by cars are victims of drivers who don t see them until it s too late. However, we discovered that the material used to reflect the light was radioactive and dangerous to animals, and at the moment the inventor is trying to find a safe alternative. A: Is safety an important consideration?
B: Oh, yes. We can't market products that are likely to be unsafe. For example, one man came to with a jumping balloon that is filled with a special gas. You can jump up to 30 meters high with and we thought this would be far too dangerous. We also had to turn down some motor-power, roller-skates for the same reason.
Task 4:
【答案】 A.
1) Leaflets and free offers.
2) They do this in order to give a first impression of freshness and brightness. 3) So that shoppers can be tempted by other goods they pass on the way.
4) They do this so that shoppers have to spend more time looking for the things they want to buy. This means more potential buying. B.
1) impulse buying
2) extra clean and hygienic 3) hot spots，more quickly 4) use trolleys 5) near checkouts 【原文】
A: Have you ever entered a store and come away with more than you intended to buy? With the help of John Ellsworth from the Consumer's Action Group, Streetwise reveals the selling techniques that are designed to make you spend, spend, spend!
B: Well, some of the techniques such as leaflets, free offers and other sales promotions are very obvious, but others are less apparent. A: For example...
B: Well, supermarkets know from their research that the idea of \"freshness\" is important to customers even though most of the things they sell, such as soap powders and tins, are clearly quite different from this image. So they place their fruit and vegetables near the entrance to give a first impression of freshness and brightness. In addition, many larger stores have an in-store bakery because the smell of fresh bread makes you hungry, and encourages impulse buying. The smell also attracts you into the store! They also use high intensity lights which make the shop seem extra clean and hygienic.
A: I get annoyed because I have to go through the whole store to get the things I want.
B: That's deliberate. Supermarkets are laid out to make you pass as many shelves as possible. This is why the entrance corridor usually goes straight to the back of the store, blocking any short-cuts to the check-outs.
A: Why does it take me so long to get the things I really need?
B: When people go to a supermarket their plan is often to buy things like bread, butter, eggs and so on, so these staples and other cheaper items are separated and placed throughout the store—
often a long way from the entrance so that shoppers can be tempted by the other goods they pass on the way.
A: I've noticed that they often place bargains at the, end of aisles.
B: Ah yes. The end of aisles are called' hot spots because products here sell twice as quickly as anywhere else. Supermarkets use these to display products they want to sell quickly. They work because shoppers have to slow down in order to mm into the next aisle so there is more time to catch their attention.
A: I find I get used to the layout and then they change it.
B: Some shoppers get into a routine and walk past tempting goodies, and that is why some supermarkets change the layout from time to time, so that shoppers have to spend more time looking for the things that they came in, to buy. You see, the longer you spend in the shop, the higher your bill will be. Of course this doesn‘t always work because some people get annoyed and impatient. They may even leave!
A: It is so difficult wheeling a huge trolley around when the store is crowded.
B: The trolleys are about a third bigger than they were ten years ago Supermarkets like people to use trolleys rather than baskets, because most people stop when the basket is full. Larger trolleys encourage you to buy more.
A: I see! Do you approve of these sales techniques?
B: I think we can all benefit from some of them. I mean shopping is a lot more pleasant than it was a few years ago, isn't it? However, it's worth being aware of what's happening so that you can get some of the worst practices changed. For example, in some supermarkets you will find chocolates and sweets placed near check-outs so that parents bay them for bored children. In others, they have been removed because customers complained. If you know what they are up to, it might help you to resist temptation the next time, or at least inject some fun into your next visit. See how many techniques you can spot in your local store!
Task 5:
【答案】 A.
1) They always came up with some suggestion.
2) They wanted to show that they had done what they had been asked to and the proposal was important to them.
3) They thought that their Japanese counterparts were finding fault in their proposals. 4) She doesn‘t think that there are such things as universal management ―truths‖. B. I.
an individual，a collectivity II.
holistic，break
【原文】
Patricia: There are numerous cases of culture getting in the way of ordinary business practices.
Even the ways in which meetings are run, decisions made, memos written and titles used will vary depending on the culture. Sam Heltman, head of human resources for Toyota
Motor Manufacturing in Kentucky (USA), explained how American managers initially misinterpreted the behavior of Japanese managers they worked with.
Heltman: Initially some people thought that the Japanese managers were picking apart their
proposals and even perhaps being overly critical. But what we didn't realize at the time was that if you go to Japanese managers and ask their opinion about a proposal you've given them, if they don't give you something, they're going to feel that they haven't done what you‘ve asked of them. so even if they have to struggle to think of something they'll come up with a suggestion. As a manager, I was more accustomed that if someone brought mc a recommendation and ill was 95 percent OK with it, I bought it just to make them feel good. It‘s just the opposite for them. If they didn't say something, they would think that you would feel that it wasn't important to them.
Patricia: Tadao Taguchi, chairman and chief executive officer of Toshiba America Inc., explains
that even the difference between Japan and the USA in addressing business letters reveals a great deal about their ways of viewing the world.
Taguchi: In the USA, you first put the individual's status (Mr. or Ms., and so on), then their first
name and then last name. The next line is the company name, then the person's title. Next comes the address, city, state and finally the country. In Japan, it is the opposite. First comes the country, then the city and address. Next you put the company name, followed by the last name of the individual to whom you are writing. The last thing is the individual's name.
Patricia: This example is illustrative on two levels, in the USA, individuals identify primarily with
being an individual and then with their family, company, religion or some other larger group. In Japan, it is the opposite. Individuals identify primarily with a collectivity—their larger national group, the company they work for, their family—and then with being an individual. Consider the fact that the nearest word to 'T' in the Japanese language translates roughly as \"self among others\". Mr. Taguchi's example also illustrates another difference in the two cultures' approaches to solving problems. The Japanese tend to be more holistic in approaching problems, whereas Anglo-Saxon cultures tend to break a problem down into pieces and then work back toward a whole. The ineffectiveness of ordinary business practices in a different culture casts doubt on the usefulness of thinking about management as a set of \"truths\" that can be applied uniformly anywhere in the world. If everyday business practices are so culturally dependent, how universal can other, more sophisticated management practices be?
Task 6:
【答案】 A. 1) a，c 2) a，b B.
1) It will focus on the role of government in the Information Age economy.
2) The changes, especially in the global economy and in the technologies of the information revolution.
3) It cannot hope to keep up/survive/succeed.
4) He wants to show that the information revolution is reaching every corner of the globe. 5) Half or more of the cost. 【原文】
Good morning and welcome to this \"first of its kind\" 21st Century hearing on the 21st Century economy.
America and the world are embarking on a journey into a new age of human endeavor and achievement. This era will experience tremendous change in every aspect of our lives. We are
already witnessing unparalleled change in the global economy, in technology and communications, in business and industry, and in communities and families.
These changes mean that Industrial Age government is obsolete. Government in the
Information Age must become dramatically smarter, smaller, and simpler. An Information Age government shouldn't just be more efficient in meeting Industrial objectives, as some propose. Instead, government must be redesigned and its policies reformed to maximize freedom for
innovators and entrepreneurs, and to build new avenues for individual creativity and prosperity. If we can successfully redesign our government, especially its economic policies, then the new technologies of today and tomorrow will help create a world of unprecedented economic opportunity and prosperity for future generations.
Today, we will explore society's transition into this new era and focus on the role of
government in the Information Age economy. Maybe the most fundamental and profound fact of the technological change we are witnessing is that the power of the compute chip now doubles every year and a half. That pace will get even faster. In the next ten years, micro chip power will increase by a million times. And the power of global computer networks increases geometrically as millions of new users are linked together every month.
What does that mean for government? It means a bureaucratic, heavy-handed, Industrial Age government can't hope to keep up. Today's government is trying to manage yesterday's economy. That is not only a waste of increasingly scare resources, it creates barriers to future growth and prosperity. Clearly, a government built on old notions of regulation and control cannot hope to survive, much less succeed in an environment of ever-expanding individual freedom in the Information Age.
Today's hearing is a modest example of how the technologies of the information revolution are changing American government. This is the first Congressional hearing to make full use of the interactive video conference technology. Seven out of ten witnesses are testifying from remote locations around the nation and abroad over an interactive audio/video network. We are being transcribed onto the Internet and invite the C-SPAN and on-line audience to submit questions to the Committee.
I'd especially like to note the locations of two of our witnesses: Paul Johnson is testifying from London, England and Congressman Bob Walker from Ephrata, Pennsylvania. I point these out to emphasize that the information revolution is already reaching ever corner of the globe, from
the biggest cities to the smallest towns. As long as we avoid creating artificial barriers to the information transformation, no one will be left behind as we embark on this exciting journey into the Information Age.
I can foresee future hearing in which all the witnesses testify from their homes and all Americans will be able to participate. And we'll cut the costs of these hearings by half or more compared to the traditional way. For example, we‘ve cut the cost of today's hearing in half by using interactive technology rather than bringing everyone to the nation's capital.
Task 7:
【答案】 A.
1) Microeconomic and macroeconomic policies. 2) He covers two main areas: efficiency and equity. B.
I. efficiency
A. help，regulate B. goods and services 1. non-commercial 2. Nationalizing
3. Privatizing/Denationalizing II.
A. Redistributing B. at less than cost C. 1) T 2) F 3) T 4) F 5) T 6) F 7) T 8) T 9) T 10)T
【原文】
Economic policy in the UK should be considered within the framework provided by economic theory. There are two distinct sets of policies that the government operates: One is microeconomic policies. These relate to the allocation of resources, from the viewpoints of efficiency and equity. The other is macroeconomic policies. These relate to the economy as a whole and concern one or more bf the following: general level of unemployment, general level of prices, rate of economic growth, and balance of payments.
The instruments of economic policy used by the UK government are many and varied. Today would mention some of the major policy areas here. First, let s look into the measures that are
related to efficiency.
Many of the policies in this category are directed to the private sector of the economy, where the state engages in interventionist actions to help certain industries and to regulate others. For example there are subsidies for industries in need of special assistance (e.g. agriculture); loans, grants and subsidized consultancy services for small businesses; taxes to control pollution and discourage the smoking of cigarettes, measures to influence the regional location of industry; agencies for the investigation of monopolies, mergers and restrictive business practices which diminish industrial competitiveness. There are also specialized agencies, e.g. for regulating financial services; maintaining quality standards—especially in the case of dangerous products.
A major policy for economic efficiency is where the state itself engages in the provision of certain goods and services because, for one reason or another, private sector production is considered to be inappropriate. Examples under this head include the provision of the army, navy and air force for national defense, of the police and law courts for the administration of justice, and extensive parts of health and education services. These are, in the main, non-commercial activities financed by the state out of general revenues and provided free to the community.
However, there is another group, known as the nationalized industries, which are owned and operated by the state and which levy charges for their services. In the UK, nationalized industries, which possess some characteristics of commercial enterprises, have been run by specialized agencies called public corporations. They enjoy a considerable degree of independence in the conduct of their day-to-day affairs, though they are subject to ultimate ministerial control.
The first nationalized industries appeared well before the Second World War, but the major period of extension of public ownership of industry in Britain occurred between 1945 and 1951. This was the first time that the Labor Party had held a majority, of seats in the House of Commons, and coal, electricity, gas, the railways and steel were taken into public ownership.
Nationalization was, of course, a matter with strong political implications. It was, nevertheless accepted by both Conservative and Labor governments from 1945 until the 1970s. From that time on, a dramatic shift in emphasis took place. Three Conservative governments under the premiership of Margaret Thatcher and a fourth under John Major began to place much greater reliance on the working of market forces. They set off a major policy reversal with a programme for returning many of the nationalized industries to private ownership.
Such denationalization formed part of the policy better known as privatization. The largest transfers have been of telecommunications (British Telecom), gas, airlines (British Airways), steel, water and electricity, with railways and coal on the agenda for the present decade. Several of the privatized industries retained elements of natural monopoly and their transfer to private ownership was accompanied by the establishment of entirely new agencies to oversee their activities in the public interest, especially with regard to the prices of their products. Quantitatively, the effects of the policy can be illustrated by the fact that employment in the nationalized industries fell from a figure representing 8 percent of the labor force to less than 3 percent during the decade 1980—1990.
Second, the UK government adopts measures that are related to equity. It tries to make the allocation of resources among individuals fairer, i.e. more equitable. Two types of instrument are available. One is directed to redistributing income, leaving people free to decide how to spend it in their own best interests. The other provides certain goods and services free, or at less than cost, to all who want them, regardless of income. Two ways of redistributing are of prime importance:
One is the levying of taxes, especially on income earned and capital owned by individuals. Redistribution is enhanced if taxes are progressive—taking higher proportions of income of the rich than of the poor. The other is to provide so-called transfer benefits to persons in cash—e.g. retirement pensions, unemployment benefit, and in kind—e.g. education and health. Some benefits aim to redistribute resources in the direction of greater equality by being targeted at the poor, though this necessarily requires them to be \"means-tested\". Third, since the Second World War, governments...
Unit 14
Task 1:
【答案】
R&D Expenditure at US Universities and Colleges (2002)
Field Engineering Physical sciences Environmental sciences Mathematical sciences Computer sciences Life sciences Life sciences Psychology Social sciences Other sciences Funds (in US dollar)
36,332,641,000 5,504,227,000 3,008,466,000 2,022,423,000 386,584,000 1,125,931,000 21,404,172,000 670,662,000 1,582,888,000 627,328,000
【原文】
In fiscal year 2002, the total R&D expenditure at US universities and colleges was 36,332,641,000 dollars, which included: ·$5,504,227,000 for engineering,
·S3,008,466,000 for physical sciences,
·$2,022,423,000 for environmental sciences, ·$386,584,000 for mathematical sciences, ·$1,125,931,000 for computer sciences, ·$21,404,172,000 for life sciences, ·$670,622,000 for psychology,
·$1,582,888,000 for social sciences, and ·$627,328,000 for other sciences.
Task 2:
【答案】 A.
Speaker
Institution Affiliated
Field
Description of His Current
Research
Dr. Chabrol
The
University of Marseilles
Botany Experiment subject: rice Place: Senegal Purpose/Outcome:
a) Research for the UN, as part of a project to increase world food production b)
To produce a disease-resistant variety of rice
Place: Ethiopia Purpose/Outcome:
Dr. Powers
The
University of Birmingham
Physics & aeronautics
(Intermediate
technology) a) To find how to use wind
power for all sorts of purposes, for example,
—to generate electricity —to pump water for irrigating crops
b) To develop a type of windmill to generate power
B.
1) addressing
2) details，purpose
3) millions of，starve，do fail 4) particular，wind power 5) luck，project
【原文】
Radio Programme 1
Chairperson: Now I have great pleasure in introducing Dr. Pierre Chabrol from the University of
Marseilles. As many of you know, Dr. Chabrol is an agricultural botanist and is at the moment carrying out research in Senegal for the United Nations, as part of a project to increase world food production. He is here tonight to talk to us about his current research. Dr. Chabrol...
Dr. Chabrol: Thank you very much. It is indeed a great pleasure lo have the opportunity of
addressing such a large audience this evening. Before I get on to the details of my research, would like to explain briefly the purpose behind it. Quite simply, my subject is rice. As you all know, rice is the staple food for millions of people in the world. So if rice crops fail, millions of people starve and die. And they do fail. Very often through disease. Now what my colleagues and I have been doing out in the field in Senegal? as well as in the university laboratories, is to try to produce a disease-resistant variety of rice--a particular kind of rice which will resist disease, in other words a stronger type of rice. Now what exactly do we mean...
Radio Programme 2
Interviewer: And now continuing our series \"The World of Science\". We have in our studio Dr.
Brian Powers to talk about his current research in the area of intermediate technology. Dr. Powers, you're a physicist, in fact, aren't you'?
Dr. Powers: Yes, that's true. But I've also studied aeronautics.
Interviewer: An interesting combination. You say you're working in tile field of intermediate
technology. Could you be more precise about that'?
Dr. Powers: Yes, yes. Well, my particular interest in this area is wind power. Interviewer: Wind
power?
Dr. Powers: Yes. In my work, I'm trying.., to find out how to use the power you get from wind for
all sorts of purposes. Interviewer: Like?
Dr. Powers: Well, for instance, wind power can be used to generate electricity instead of oil-fired
engines. Or it can be used to pump water for irrigating crops without using an electric motor.
Interviewer: Yes. And how do you plan to do this?
Dr. Powers: Well, for example, in Ethiopia, which is where I'm working at the moment, we're
trying to develop a type of windmill to generate power—a windmill that is easy, and cheap to build and easy to look after.
Interviewer: I see. And this is your current research projects then? Dr. Powers: Yes. My base is, in fact, the University of Birmingham Interviewer: Really? Birmingham University? But how...?
Dr. Powers: Yes, and I spend most of the time working in Ethiopia.
Interviewer: Dr. Powers, I wish you the best of luck with the project. And thank you for coming
along today to talk about it.
Dr. Powers: Not at all. My pleasure.
Task 3:
【答案】 A. 1) d 2) c 3) b 4) b B.
1) Automation will do more and more that used to be done by people. Moreover, some trades will
not be needed any more.
2) He uses motor cars to illustrate how automation will affect people's life in a broader sense—as technology changes, some skills will not be needed.
3) Anyone who has worked in the same job for at least two years will be given a payment by his employer. The longer he has had the job, the more he gets.
4) He speaks in an objective, impartial tone. It seems that he believes that automation is something inevitable in our world, and what we can do today is only to accept it with patience and adapt ourselves to the rapidly changing realities.
【原文】
Years ago, when a man left school—if he went to school—he learned a job. He did this job all his life. Things moved more slowly then. He could be sure that his job would still be needed forty years later.
Nowadays, he could not be sure. There is so much change in factories, work and methods that what looks like a very good job now may not be needed in ten years. You have only to think of what the motor car did to people who bought and sold horses to realize what this can mean in human terms. Suddenly no one wanted horses any more. The people who worked with them were suddenly without work or ‗redundant as we say today. Methods change and skills become redundant.
Redundancy is the biggest problem the working man has to face today. Some experts think that the working man of the future must expect to learn three or four different skills in his working life. This is because, increasingly, automation will take over or some trades will cease to be needed.
You cannot blame anyone for finding yourself in this position. If your job simply disappears, it is not your fault and you are not stupid. Losing your job like this can cause problems for you: you may have to move to find work again; there may simply be no work that you can do.
The British government recognizes that redundancy is not the fault of the man who is redundant. So today there is a system of payment to men who are declared redundant. Any man who has worked in the same job for at least two years is given a payment by his employer when he becomes redundant. The longer he has had the job, the more he gets. This money is a kind of compensation for being in the wrong job at the wrong time.
In addition, there are now Government Training Centers all over Britain. They are especially for men who cannot find work in their own skill or who wish to become skilled. The government does not guarantee you a job afterwards, but the centers are successful. Courses at the centers are free. In fact, you actually get paid for attending a course. There is a wide choice of different skills you can learn. They are mainly practical, like heating engineering or building, but some quite complicated things are taught, like electronics. Every man is interviewed and the officials recommend a course for him.
The trouble is that many men will not accept that they have to learn a new skill. As one director of a government centre said, \"Our main problem is to persuade a 50-year-old French polisher, that he must learn a new job because nobody wants French polishers.\"
As automation progresses and the pattern of industry changes, more and more people will be affected. More and more people will need help. Perhaps you will in a few years.
Task 4:
【答案】 I.
A. firm belief，ambivalent
B. inevitability，did not fully welcome it II.
Survey Statements/Questions “Yes” Responses (percent) Computers were improving our quality of 72 percent life.
Everyone should be taught how to use Approximately 67 computers.
percent (two thirds)
Knowing how to use a computer would help Approximately 67 people find a job.
percent (two thirds)
Is it a good or bad thing that more and Good 15 percent more things people used to do are done by Bad 28 percent machines?
Computers would increase unemployment. Nearly 67 percent (two
thirds)
III.
A. Yong people are being realistic
1. job opportunities in some traditional occupations 2. the opportunities in other more desirable occupations B. Post-materialism
1. industrialism，materialism，green environmentalism 2. be against/oppose new technology C. a natural conservatism 【原文】
The young people in our survey had firm beliefs about the place of new technology in the world, though, perhaps as one would expect, their attitudes were rather ambivalent. For instance, 72 percent agreed that computers were improving our quality of life. Two thirds of the sample believed that everyone should be taught how to use computers, and roughly that number believed that knowing how to use a computer would help them find a job.
On the other hand, these results suggested that a third of the sample were against new technology. When we asked specifically whether they thought it a good or bad thing (or both) that today more and more things that people used to do are done by machines, only 15 percent thought it a good thing and 28 percent a bad thing. Similarly, nearly two thirds thought that computers would increase unemployment. In this sense, the young people appeared to admit or accept the inevitability of new technology, even if they did not fully welcome it.
There are a number of possible explanations for this hesitation about the benefits of new technology. First, one could simply argue that young people are being realistic: New technology will reduce the number of jobs available, particularly in some traditional occupations, though it could also, perhaps, increase the number of jobs in other, much more desirable, occupations.
Secondly, one could argue that these beliefs are evidence of a growing post-materialism among young people, a learning back to the simple good life (if it ever existed).Technology is associated with industrialism, alienation and materialism, all of which are antithetical to green environmentalism\". It would be fascinating to compare young people s attitudes to new technology in different counts with the gross national products of those countries: I suspect that those in the richer countries would be against it.
Thirdly, the negative or at least cautious attitude of young people towards new technology may simply reflect a natural conservatism in a section of the population, which finds everything new bad and all change undesirable.
Task 5:
【答案】 A. 1) c 2) b 3) c 4) d 5) d 6) a B.
Project The American Stores
The Sugar Plantation
Description of the Project
Grain Purpose: Designed to rationalize grain production
in the country, i.e. to store surplus grain
to help out in bad years Problems:
1) No surplus grain to put in them a) Half empty
b) The rest used as warehouses 2) Not rat-proof/no measures to prevent rats getting in Cane Purpose:
To reduce imports and save on foreign exchange
Problems at the beginning stage: Hi-tech machinery did not work because of 1) No local people trained to use it,
and
2) No spare parts or personnel to repair
if they broke down Current conditions: 1) A new manager appointed
2) Hi-tech machines replaced with people/local labor
3) More job opportunities for the local people
【原文】
Gabriel Ndong: No, but that's the whole point. It's far easier to get the World Bank or the IMF to
invest in some grand, large-scale project bursting with high technology than it is to get just a couple of million dollars out of them for a small scheme.
Jean Martenne: OK, I agree, but surely these small-scale projects could be financed by the
governments themselves, or local enterprise?
Gabriel Ndong: What with? There s no spare capital at all in these countries now. It all goes to pay
off the massive debts they've already built up. No, I might be cynical, but I feel that a lot of these projects are not really designed for the benefit of the African countries but for the big multinational companies and high-tech producers? they just recycle the money.
Jean Martenne: Come on. That's hardly fair.
Gabriel Ndong: Maybe not. But they've dreamed up some pretty crazy schemes that have cost
millions and have never worked.
Jean Martenne: Such as?
Gabriel Ndong: Well, I can give you two examples here in Senegal. First of all, USAID decided to
rationalise grain production for us. So they had these wonderful grain stores designed and erected all over the country so that we could store surplus grain to help out in bad years.
Jean Martenne: Sounds a very reasonable idea to me.
Gabriel Ndong: Fine, yes. But there's no grain to put in them. Half of them are standing empty and
the rest have been taken over by local merchants as warehouses. And if they did use them, the rats would get in and eat the lot.
Jean Martenne: OK. I admit that sounds a bit of a waste of money. What was the other example? Gabriel Ndong: The sugar cane plantation. Up in the north at Richard Toll.
Jean Martenne: What's wrong with that? I heard that that was a fairly successful operation.
Gabriel Ndong: Well, it is now, more or less. Mind you, it would still be cheaper to import the
sugar from the West Indies.
Jean Martenne: But why is that a crazy scheme then?
Gabriel Ndong: Yes, the scheme itself is OK, apart from the fact that they can import sugar
cheaper—but they do save on foreign exchange. No, the crazy part was when they
first set it
Jean Martenne: Go on.
Gabriel Ndong: Well, they had this international funding, see. So what do they do? They buy all
the latest sugar harvesting technology. Wonderful machines. You can still see them up there, rusting in the fields.
Jean Martenne: What happened?
Gabriel Ndong: Well, you can't suddenly impose new machinery and techniques and expect the
local people to use them straight away. There wasn't enough training and of course when the things broke down, there were no spare parts and no one to repair them.
Jean Martenne: So why is it doing so well now'?
Gabriel Ndong: Because they nearly went bust and had to bring in a new manager. He threw all
the machines out and used local labor. They're now the biggest single employers in the country. Jobs for all the people in the area, a reasonable price, and no need to import.
Jean Martenne: But you were talking about intermediate technology, lf they throw all the
technology out and do everything by hand, where's the technology?
Gabriel Ndong: Come on, technology isn't just the latest, biggest, best machine. It can be little
practical things—like, for example, the simple siphon method they use to irrigate the sugar cane. No big dams. Just short lengths of hose. It's labor-intensive, but it does the job. And they haven't thrown it all out of the window. They use lasers to grade the new fields.
Jean Martenne: That seems like going from one extreme to the other.
Gabriel Ndong: No, no, no. It's a question of the best tool for the job in the circumstances. It's
really important to have the fields at just the right gentle slope. Now one laser guided machine does it in a fraction of the time at a fraction of the cost.
Joan Martenno: But you said it was still cheaper to import the sugar anyway?
Gabriel Ndong: Yes, but that's only because it's not a sugar country. It's really too dry and the soil's
too poor. They do a pretty good job in the circumstances.
Jean Martenne: But to come back to what you were saying earlier. If there's no new technology,
not much investment required, why should international agencies be interested?
Jeabriel Ndong: Hey, now who's being cynical? You invest in poor countries to make them riche
countries so they can buy your exports. Then everybody's happy. Simple, isn't it?
Task 6:
【答案】 A.
1) He took a practical approach to science, i.e. serving others through science and invention. 2) He advised them to wear clothes of light color in summer, and dark color in winter. 3) Science, politics, literature and philosophy. 4) He made his fortune from his printing business. B.
1) advantages，serve others，private interest，the least profit 2)
a) Great curiosity
b) broad interests c) mechanical skills
d) the ability to continue with a task until completed e) a practical view of life
f) a sense of the valuable uses of science for the benefit of his fellow men 3)
a) fellow men，religion or profession b) holding any opinion c) for the sake of truth
d) showing favor，communicate
【原文】
\"As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad to serve others by any inventions of our own... I have no private interest in the acceptance of my inventions by the world. I have never made, nor propose to make, the least profit by any of them.‖
Benjamin Franklin spoke these words in the year 1742. Today his philosophy of serving others through science and invention still influences the history of science in the United States.
Franklin's practical approach to science was shown by an early experiment in which he studied file heat of the sun. Using different colored pieces of cloth, he found that the darker the color of the material, the greater the amount of heat it would absorb. The lighter the color, the greater it would reflect heat. In reporting these findings more than two centuries ago, he said: \"We learn from this that black clothes are not as fit to wear in a hot, sunny climate as white ones. Summer hats for men and women should be white to reduce the heat.\"
It took almost a century for this advice to be generally followed by millions of people around the world. But this was only one of Franklin's many contributions based on his desire to make practical use of facts gathered from personal observation and experiment. This desire made him a better inventor than a scientist.
Franklin had many of the qualities of an inventor. They included great curiosity, broad interests, mechanical skills, the ability to continue with a task until completed, and a practical view of life. But, eyen more than these, he also had a sense of the valuable uses of science for the benefit of his fellow men.
At the age of 21, for example, while living in Philadelphia, Franklin formed a club. It was a discussion group which met each week. At the meetings, each member presented a question of science, politics, literature, or philosophy which was discussed by the entire group. Franklin's social philosophy is clearly seen in the promise he required of each new member. He asked that they love their fellow man regardless of what religion or profession they followed; that they see that no person was armed for holding any opinion; that they love truth for the sake of truth and try, without showing favor, to find troth and communicate it to others.
At the same time he also began the printing business which was to make his fortune. For the next 20 years, he prospered in Philadelphia. By the time he was 42 years old, he was wealthy enough to retire from business. He then turned his interest to public and private affairs. The record of his great role in public affairs, especially in the American Revolution, is the story of the period in which the United States was born.
Task 7:
【答案】 A. 1) c 2) b 3) a 4) b B.
1) take their chance，truth and experience，proved，set aside
Franklin never argued openly with other scientists in defense of his own scientific opinions. These words explain why he held such an attitude towards different opinions in his scientific career.
2) rapid progress，too soon，height，power of man，overcome，large objects，labor，double，by sure means，lengthened
Franklin spoke these words before he died, which showed his strong faith in the steady progress of science. 【原文】
Our interest here, however, is with Franklin's other story—that of a man of science. In spite of his, desire to gain practical results from his many experiments, Franklin never argued openly with other scientists in defense of his own scientific opinions. When writing about his opinions, he said: \"I leave them to take their chance in the world. If they are right, truth and experience will support them. If they are wrong, they ought to be proved wrong and set aside.\"
The generations which followed Franklin were the ones that mainly benefited from his scientific efforts. His experiments in the field of electricity, for instance—especially his adventure with the kite and lightning—were perhaps his most famous. In them he sought to find the connection between the man-made electrical charge produced by rubbing silk with a cloth and the natural lightning that came with summer thunderstorms. By flying a kite during one such storm, Franklin was able to attract an electrical spark to a piece of metal tied to the kite‘s string. By comparing the characteristics of the natural spark with the man-made charge, Franklin was able to prove the similarity of electric matter and lightning.
As an experimenter and practical user of scientific facts, Franklin saw an immediate and important use for this discovery. Why could not homes, barns, and other buildings be protected against the fire and destruction caused by lightning? Why could not the lightning flash be controlled? Inspired by these ideas, in 1752 Franklin developed a practical lightning rod. It was an upright metal pole attached to the roof of a house by a material that would not conduct electricity. To the rod he fastened a wire which led to the ground. When lightning struck the house, it followed the best way, through the rod and wire, to reach the ground. The rest of the building was left unharmed, when news of Franklin's invention spread, people adopted it in large numbers.
In the years that followed, Franklin continued an active life. While adding to his record of scientific experiments, he played a leading role in the conflicts of his time in defense of liberty and human rights. Then in 1776, when colonial America began its struggle for independence, Franklin went to France as the nation's first ambassador. In his nine years in France, he found time to establish close relations with European scientists. He even became interested in the early work of men trying to conquer the air and saw one of the first flights of a hydrogen balloon.
Franklin always had faith in the steady progress of science. His vision of things to come was never more clear than when he remarked, shortly before his death in 1790 at the age of 84: \"The rapid progress of science makes me regret sometimes that I was born too soon. It is impossible to imagine the height to which the power of man over matter may be carded in a thousand years. We may perhaps learn to overcome gravity and lift large objects for the sake of easy transport. Agriculture may reduce its labor and double its produce. And diseases may by sure means be prevented or cured—and our lives lengthened.\"
Task 8:
【答案】 A.
I. avoidable errors in the actions of men II.
A. The (mis)use of words
1. Different understanding of what a word means
a. One word having different meanings b. oxygen
2. Confusing a word or a name with a fact
b. Giving the assumed substances a name
c. Implying that the phenomenon has been satisfactorily explained B. Mistakes in logic
1. An unreasonable inference 2. Confusing cause and effect a) insufficient experimentation B.
1) Students may use the examples in the text—the errors or misunderstandings caused by words such as intelligence, oxygen, accurate, and average. They may also give examples from their own experience in using both Chinese and English.
2) This is a typical case of unreasonable inference. The given facts about females and literacy cannot guarantee that his conclusion is true. It can be easily falsified. Let's suppose 51 percent of the population are females, and the literacy rate in the whole population is 52 percent. If the literacy rate for men is higher (for instance 60 percent), it is still very likely that most females are illiterate.
3) They confuse the cause and effect in their reasoning process. The inhabitants discovered that the body parasites left him whenever an individual had a fever, and concluded that the parasites kept them healthy. But they ignored another possibility that the parasites caused some disease with a fever, and the rise in body temperature made them leave the human body. In fact, the latter explanation is the real reason for the phenomenon.
【原文】
If we observe the actions of men, whether as individuals or as groups, and whether scientists or non-scientists, we find that they frequently fall into avoidable errors because of a failure to reason correctly. There are many reasons for this, though only a few can be dealt with here.
The first difficulty is related to the use of words. It frequently happens that what one person
means when he uses a certain word is different from what others mean. Consider, for example, the words intelligence, oxygen, accurate and average. In intelligence we face the problem that a word may not mean only one thing, but many—in this instance a very complicated set of abilities whose number and characteristics are not agreed upon by the specialists who study the phenomenon, and are even less understood by the laymen. In oxygen we have a different problem, for although both a research chemist and a chemical manufacturer identify the word theoretically with the element labeled O, in practice they have different concepts about it. Thus if the researcher performed a delicate experiment, using the manufacturer's oxygen, it might easily be a failure since the so-called oxygen, whether used as a solid, liquid or gas, would almost certainly contain other substances. Hence, another difficulty about words is that they often do not distinguish clearly enough between the several varieties of the \"same\" thing.
Another common error connected with words consists in confusing a word or a name with a fact. The course of scientific progress has been frequently slowed down by1) assuming the existence of something to account for a certain phenomenon, 2) giving the assumed substance a name, and 3) implying that the phenomenon has been satisfactorily accounted for.
Apart from the misuse of words, mistakes in logic can occur. Thus an example is recorded of a young sociologist, investigating literacy in a certain community, who discovered from the official records that over 50 percent of the population were females. Later, he found that approximately 70 percent of the population were literate. When he had obtained this data he summed it up and drew conclusions as follow:
Most of the population are females; Most of the population are literate; Therefore, most females are literate.
This was, of course, an unreasonable inference, as the investigator himself realized as soon as he had re-examined his chain of reasoning more carefully.
Another mistake is to confuse cause and effect. This may easily occur at the beginning of an investigation, but if it remains uncorrected it can be considered as primarily a by-product of insufficient experimentation. To illustrate this, the following case can be quoted. The inhabitants of a certain community had noted over the ages that whenever an individual became ill with a fever, the body parasites left him. They therefore made the correlation that the parasites kept the body healthy. Later, however, properly-controlled scientific investigation showed that the reverse was true: In fact thy parasites transmitted several kinds of fever, and then left the sick people when the latter‘s bodies became too hot to live on.
Unit 15
Task 1:
【答案】 A.
1) 39 percent a fifth/20 percent 2) 5 percent 10 percent 3) $9,000 4) 1 percent 5) 110 B.
1) 3.5 million 2) 3 million
3) 3 million US dollars 4) about 40 percent 5) 2.1 million 6) 700,000 7) 100,000 【原文】 News Item 1
But today's survey of the class of 2002 found confidence has fallen, partly because of September 11th. Now only 39% of students expect to start a job when they finish university. That's down a fifth from 1998. Experts are predicting there'll be 5% fewer vacancies, although applications are up 10%. The uncertainty means students are playing safe. Applications for stable jobs like accountancy and law are up, but IT and investment banking are down. The big new factor for students is the amount of debt they're ranking up. The average is now a whopping $9,000— that's nearly double last year's figure. But despite the growing debt, graduates are only expecting a small increase in their first salary—just 1%. But big employers like Marks & Spencer are still recruiting graduates, 110 this year, although there's fierce competition for the jobs.
News Item 2
The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is in urgent need of three million dose of vaccine to prevent what it calls a catastrophic outbreak of yellow fever in Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast. The WHO is appealing for three million US dollars so that it can buy the needed vaccine. The World Health Organization says rapid action is essential to prevent this worrying outbreak of yellow fever from becoming a humanitarian disaster.
WHO spokesman, Gregory Hartl, says the disease could spread like wildfire if it is not quickly contained. He says Abidjan has a population of 3.5 million. Only about 40 percent of the population bas been vaccinated against yellow fever.
\"That means that there are probably still 2.1 million people at risk of contracting yellow fever. Of 2.1 million, if the normal infection rate witnessed in previous outbreaks of yellow fever is attained, that means there could be 700,000 people with yellow fever, the potential of contracting virulent yellow fever of up to 100,000 active cases, the likes of which we have not seen in ages.\"
Task 2:
【答案】 A. 1) c 2) c B. 1) d 2) b C. 1) a 2) d
D. 1) d 2) b
【原文】 News Item 1
In Vienna the meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has adjourned for tile night but later today oil ministers will resume their debate over what action they will take in response to soaring oil prices. Since OPEC cut oil production back last year, the price of crude has tripled. So it is under pressure from oil consuming nations, particularly the United States, to get the price down. With a look at the likely outcome of the meeting, here is John Iserks:
\"If OPEC countries do reach an agreement on raising oil output, it won't be as a result of any special pleading by the United States. A unifying theme with the OPEC meeting has been hostility towards America's pressure in favor of increased production, Iraq‘s Oil Minister Amir Mohammed Rasheed makes it quite clear that this is a decision OPEC ministers will reach all by themselves.\"
News Item 2
Delegates from the 147 members of the World Trade Organization have approved a draft agreement to open up global trade. Under the deal reached after five days of talks in Geneva, 300 billion dollars of subsidies paid to farmers in wealthy countries will be reduced. The United States has agreed to cut subsidies for crops such as corn, rice and cotton following a similar decision by the European Union. In exchange, developing nations will have to cut their tariffs on manufactured goods. The European Union Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said the deal will be beneficial for everyone.
\"Of course, the difficult question about this sort of deal is always who won and who lost. Well, the charm of the trade negotiations is that I can win, you can win. Trade is growth-creating; trade is job-creating; and if you want to find the right balance, that works.
The Director General of the WTO Supachai Panitchpakdi said the breakthrough was a historic moment for the organization. The World Bank says that an agreement could inject hundreds of billions of dollars into the world economy. The talks aimed at helping developing countries launched three years ago appeared to have stalled when negotiations broke down in the Mexican resort of Cancun last September.
News Item 3
The French media giant Vivendi is planning to sell its American entertainment businesses, which include a Hollywood film studio, theme parks and a cable television. Vivendi has been saddled with billions of dollars of debt after buying assets during the economic boom of the late 1990s. Our business correspondent Mark Gregory reports.
\"It's the end of an extraordinary dream. At the height of the 1990s fad for media and technology shares, Vivendi, a French water company, turned itself into the world s second largest media empire by buying the Hollywood movie group Universal Studios, but the deal rapidly went sour. Vivendi struggled to repay about 20 billion dollars of debt and the value of its expensively acquired, assets plunged as the media boom gave way to bust. Now a new management has wound up the mistake.‖
News Item 4
Government inspectors in Europe, Canada and the US have carried out simultaneous raids on the offices of copper mining companies as part of an investigation into alleged price fixing. Some of the industry's biggest names, including Rio-Tinto and BHP Billiton were among those targeted. Here is Alex Erickson of our business staff.
\"Under EU roles, companies found guilty of fixing prices can be fined up to 10 percent of worldwide annual sales. In the case of the copper industry, that would be 10 percent of 24 billion dollars. The world's top ten copper concentrate producers account for more than half of the global market. European Union antitrust officials are investigating the affair in cooperation with the US Department of Justice and the Canadian Competition Bureau.\"
Task 3:
【答案】 A.
Country Sri Lanka Indonesia Southern India
Total Estimated Deaths in the Report
At least 4,000 More than 4,000 More than 2,000 More than 11,000
B.
1) It occurred underneath the sea in the Indian Ocean.
2) Countries around the Indian Ocean such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, the Maldives and Thailand.
3) It was to treat the injured and find shelters for the homeless.
4) It had appealed for more than $6,000,000 to help lessen the harm of the disaster 5) It would send medical supplies to 100,000 people to Sri Lanka. C.
1) be re-established，more remote communities，true scale
2) the international community，massive offers of support，dry rations，fresh water，fresh water，unaffected areas，homes，destroyed
3) dark，the sea，signs of devastation，closed，shanty towns 【原文】
More than 11,000 people are now known to have been killed by a massive earthquake underneath the sea in the Indian Ocean, which sent giant waves crashing into populated coastlines across a wide area. The waves hit thousands of kilometers of coast in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Southern India, the Maldives and Thailand. And in all of these countries the result was the same--whole communities swept away without warning. In Bangkok:
\"As rescue efforts continued throughout the hours of darkness, officials in the countries worst affected were still trying to get a more accurate picture of what needs to be done now. The fear is that, as communications begin to be re-established and the emergency services reach the more remote communities, the true scale of the devastation will prove much worse than they had feared. As the flood waters begin to recede, the horror of what's happened is now apparent. Foreign disaster relief teams have begun work in the countries around the Indian Ocean. Those efforts will
continue throughout Monday. The priority—treating the injured and finding shelter for those whose homes and livelihoods have been washed away.\"
In Sri Lanka alone, at least 4,000 people are known to have been killed. President Chandrika Kumaratunga said her country had never known such a disaster in all its history. \"We have appealed to the international community, our friends, and they have come up with the, massive offers of support. We need support; we even need doctors, medicine, dry rations... They don t have fresh water, but we are sending them fresh water from the unaffected areas. We have to then start building the homes—hundreds of thousands that have been destroyed.\"
The authorities in Indonesia say more than 4,000 people have been killed on Sumatra. Most of them are believed to be in the city of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh Province. In Southern India more than 2,000 people are known to have died.
Police have recovered hundreds of bodies from the city, and along the coast, Others have been washed ashore. Some were thrown into lorries, while others were carried to hospital on carts. It's now dark in Madras, and most of the water's gone back out to the sea but along the coast there're still signs of devastation. Many of the roads there are closed, and strewn with debris. Some of the Shanty towns by the beaches are completely destroyed. And out to sea, hundreds of fishermen are still be-lived to be missing.\"
The Red Cross has issued what it called an initial and immediate appeal for more than $6,000,000 to help alleviate the effects of the earthquake and tidal waves. The Federation of Red Cross and Red, Crescent Societies said in Geneva, reliable information was still very hard to come by across the whole affected region. But, among its first moves, would be to send medical supplies to 100,000 people to Sri Lanka.
Task 4:
【答案】 A.
I. lives in the thousands
II. shortcomings in the country‘s health system，make improvements III. the after-effects of the heat wave B. 1) b 2) c 3) b 4) a C.
Country
France
Portugal
Officially Responses from the Government and/or Announced Opposition Parties Casualties 10,000 President Chirac admitted the defects
in the French health system and promised to make changes.
more than 1,300
Spain
46
The government defended its handling of the crisis.
Political opposition criticized the government for its inadequate response to the crisis.
1) The Health Ministry failed to take
needed precautions. 2) The government failed to coordinate
policy among the country's different autonomous regions.
【原文】
The heat wave that has swept Europe has claimed lives estimated in the thousands. French President Jacques Chirac has acknowledged shortcomings in his own country's health system during the crisis and pledged to make improvements. While temperatures have cooled, Europe is still feeling the after-effects of the devastating heat spell.
One government estimate places the number of heat-related deaths at up to 10 thousand in France alone. That prompted President Chirac, in his first comments on the crisis, to promise that everything will be done to correct the inadequacies in France's health system.
In a nationally televised address on Thursday, Mr. Chirac promised the emergency services would be given the means to better deal with such catastrophes—and he expressed compassion for the victims' families.
It was France's secretary of state for the elderly, Hubert Falco, who announced to reporters that it was likely that up to 10 thousand people in France had died from the heat.
This is twice the previous government estimate. Earlier this week Health Minister
Jean-Francois Mattei said up to five thousand people may have died. Temperatures in parts of France hit 40 degrees Celsius every day for almost two weeks earlier this month.
Elsewhere in Europe, Portuguese media say more than 13 hundred people had died in the heat wave that gripped that nation, sparking its worst forest fires in more than 20 years.
Portugal's Lusa news agency quoted figures from a preliminary health ministry report for the period between late July and August 12th.
In neighboring Spain the political opposition has criticized the government for what it says was an inadequate response to the heat wave. A Socialist party official told the El Pais daily newspaper that the Health Ministry failed to take needed precautions.
In addition, an official of the United Left grouping said the government also did not coordinate policy among Spain's many autonomous regions.
The official death toll in Spain has been put at 46, but the Barcelona newspaper La
Vanguardia says several hundred deaths may be linked to the heat. The Spanish government has defended its handling of the crisis.
Task 5:
【答案】
Subject: Impact of technological change on rail and air transport I. the automation and computerization of jobs A.
1. a totally automated/unmanned railway that has transported passengers for over two
years without accident B.
2. Fiercer/stiffer competition 3. Higher operational costs C.
electronic data processing，cut costs and improve efficiency II. A.
1. a continuous process
2. To replace 50 manual workers with the re-ballasting machine operated by 2 persons 3. To use robots (esp. in welding) for cost cutting and improvement in work quality B.
1. To use modern technology to reduce the cost of cockpit crews
2. To replace radio operators with reliable automated communications equipment
3. To make flight navigators unnecessary due to the development of other technologies III.
A. The decline in overall employment levels 1. eliminated 2. created B.
1. Decline in the demand of unskilled jobs
2. Demands for laborers with more advanced skills in newly created jobs
C. news jobs being created in some areas in the medium and long term IV.
To find ways to adapt the work force in a smooth and timely manner to the needs of the age of high technology 【原文】
Narrator: Passenger trains without drivers transporting thousands of commuters in major
city centers of the world are no longer a science fiction fantasy. The application of new technology has brought about revolutionary changes in the manning levels of rail way systems and the air transport industries of many countries. According to a study from the International Labor Organization, ILO—a specialized agency of the United Nations--the trend toward the automation and computerization of jobs in rail and air transport is clearly established. We hear more from Randy
Cline-Thomas and Reena Bhandari of United Nations Radio.
Cline-Thomas: In the French town of Lille, a totally automated railway has been transporting
passengers totally unmanned for over two years without accident. The experiment has been such a great success that another French town, Toulouse, has decided to build a similar metro system. Avishai Gil of the International Labor Organization notes in the January/February issue of The International Labor Review, an ILO publication, that falling revenues, stiffer competition and higher operational costs have made railways and airlines increasingly more economy-minded. In recent years, staff costs alone have reached between 60 and 90 percent of the operational costs in the labor-intensive railways, while those in commercial air transport have doubled.
Bhandari: In trying to cut costs and improve operational efficiency, the railways and airlines
have turned more and more to new technologies, particularly the latest advances in electronic data processing. In the railways, the traditionally manual and separate tasks of railway welding, sleeper laying, tamping and ballasting have all been mechanized and combined into a continuous process. The re-ballasting machine manned by two persons can advance at a speed of 1.6 kilometers per hour, replacing 50 manual workers which, in a country like France, means annual savings of 7.5 million francs. Robots used in the United States have cut costs and improved the quality of work, especially welding.
Cline-Thomas: As in the case of railways, airlines have also been able to apply modem technology
to achieve substantial savings in the cost of cockpit crews. Reliable automated communications equipment has already obviated the need for radio operators. The development of other technologies has led to the phasing out of the flight navigator.
Bhandari: Unless traffic shows significant increases, new technologies will create fewer jobs
than they eliminate. Overall, employment levels will decline. The structure of the work force will also change with the phasing out of unskilled jobs and the requirement of more advanced skills in those newly created.
Cline-Thomas: The International Labor Organization is currently engaged in exploring the impact
and implications of new technology on the world of work. Its initial research findings tend to substantiate the view, that while new technology may destroy jobs in certain industries and sectors, there are prospects of new jobs being created else where in the medium and long term. The main thrust of ILO efforts is to explore ways of smooth and timely adaptation of the work force to the needs of the age of high technology.
Narrator: Randy Cline-Thomas and before him Reena Bhandari of United Nations Radio,
reviewing an International Labor Organization report on the impact of technological change on rail and air transport.
Task 6:
【答案】 A. 1) c
2) a 3) b 4) c 5) d B.
1) One reason is the lack of good public transportation. Moreover, many Californians who drive long distances own oversized sport utility vehicles. 2) They blocked a Los Angels freeway for several hours.
3) They are urging President Bush to release millions of barrels of oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
4) Since September 11th, some people have put off their travel plans. Now they don't want to put them off any longer. Moreover, there is a growing sense of optimism about the economy. C.
1) gas station，back and forth，grocery store，killing 2) driving habits，pump
3) investigations，solid answers，control，opinion 4) demand，put off，ready，plans，mode
【原文】
With the New York commodity market price for oil at more than $40 a barrel, gasoline has reached record prices throughout the United States. The pain is being felt most strongly in California.
The national price of gasoline averages just over 53 cents per liter or $2 a gallon. It's more than 10 percent higher in California because the state has stringent requirements on fuel emissions, which make the processing of petroleum more expensive. 53 cents a liter for gas would be a dream in many countries, where the cost is double that. But California driver Nver Dilanian, who spends a lot of time in her car, is getting angry. \"I don't like it. I don't like it at all. It's ridiculous. It's outrageous.\"
California driver Jayne Vicens agrees that gas is too expensive. \"If there are seven days in a week, I'm at the gas station at least three or four days now because of the back and forth with my kids, going back and forth to school, the grocery store. It's really killing me.\"
One reason the hike hits hard in Los Angeles is the lack of good public transportation.
Another reason: many Californians, who drive long distances, own oversized sport utility vehicles.
\"What do I drive? I drive a Ford Bronco.\" It costs him $50 each time he fills his gas tank. This driver agrees that the price of gas, in his words, is \"outrageous.\" \"However, I haven't changed my driving habits yet. But every time I fill up at the pump, it hurts more and more,\" says another driver.
California truckers have taken some action. They blocked a Los Angeles freeway for several hours recently to protest the rising cost of diesel fuel. This trucker says he and other commercial drivers are losing money. \"We're not making it any more. It's too expensive for us to keep working.\"
In Washington, Democratic senators are urging President Bush to release millions of barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
And in California, a bipartisan state commission is studying the oil market to see if the industry is pushing up retail prices. This driver is skeptical that the commission will change anything.
\"It just seems that the government always likes to do investigations, but they never seem to come up with any solid answers as to why they keep going up. And I don't think they have any control over it. That's my opinion,\" he says.
Owners of several resorts in the mountain town of Big Bear are offering a free tank of gas to hotel guests.
They may not need to do that, according to several studies on the travel plans of Americans, which say people are planning more travel for the coming summer season despite the higher costs. A survey by the American Automobile Association says more than 30 million Americans will travel on the Memorial Day weekend in late May. Allen Kay of the Travel Industry
Association of America says his group has also found that people are tired of staying at home, as some have done since the terror attacks of September 2001.
\"There is a great pent-up demand for travel,\" he said. \"There are a lot of people who have put off trips that they have wanted to take, and they're ready to go. And they don't want to put those plans off any longer. And that holds for travel by car, by plane, no matter the mode.\" He adds that there is a growing sense of optimism about the economy.
This man says he's not driving any less today, but the rising cost of gas may fuel some changes. \"I'm thinking about buying a new car, and I'm thinking about buying something that's fuel efficient,\" he said.
California state officials note that gasoline costs have been higher in the past, adjusted for inflation. They say in 1981, the inflation-adjusted price of gas was nearly three cents a liter higher than the cost today.
Task 7:
【答案】 A. 1) F 2) F 3) T 4) F B.
1) Extending detention periods for terror suspects 2) The establishment of secret trials without juries 3) Wider use of phone tap evidence
4) A lower standard of proof for convictions C.
1) challenge，post-September 11th，debating，circumstance，discouragement，actions being taken，no fear
2) experience，a fair trial，extremists，their own hands，no law，injustice，solve 【原文】
Britain's Home Secretary David Blunkett called Wednesday for tougher new powers to combat terrorism. But he acknowledged in parliament that finding the right balance between greater vigilance and safeguarding civil liberties would not be easy.
David Blunkett said he believes a terror attack in Britain is inevitable. He said it is not a question if such an attack will happen, but rather when it might occur.
In the House of Commons, the home secretary outlined a number of options he would like to see debated in the coming months aimed at reducing the chances of a terror attack taking place. Among the measures he proposed are extending detention periods for terror suspects, the establishment of secret trials without juries, wider use of phone tap evidence, and a lower standard of proof for convictions.
Mr. Blunkett says these measures are necessary. \"The challenge that I think we were faced with post-the 11th of September, 2001, and we are faced again with, in debating this in the months ahead, is how we can deal with a circumstance where we are not picking up prosecution and punishment as a way of discouragement. But we are actually trying to get in at the beginning to prevent actions being taken by those for whom prosecution and punishment hold no fear.\" But civil rights campaigners say Mr. Blunkett's proposed measures will be counter-productive. Shami Chakrabarti from the London-based human rights group, Liberty, is one of them.
\"The experience of Northern Ireland shows that when you detain people without a fair trial, you send a signal to extremists that they are right, that they should take the law into their own hands because there is really no law. And that injustice actually breeds terrorism. It does not solve it.\"
She said Britain is holding 14 foreign terror suspects without trial at Belmarsh prison under existing laws.
Mr. Blunkett said the new anti-terrorism measures will be debated for the next six months before they will be placed before parliament for enactment.
Task 8:
【答案】 A.
Purpose/Outcom
e
1) To guarantee high standards and accountability in American education;
2) To put more children on the path to success in
school and life;
3) To raise test scores in math and reading.
States are required to make every public school
accountable for student achievement. If test scores
Main Contents do not measure up/meet the standard, parents may move
their children to better schools, and get money for tutoring.
1) The reforms rely excessively on standardized
tests, and not enough on individual needs.
2) The plan is not practical in several aspects.
a) No enough money is provided to meet all demands
Criticism for tutoring.
b) Better schools may not have enough space to
accept students who want to switch schools. 3) The under-funded plan has placed a great burden on educators and local school taxes.
【原文】 Part I
President Bush starts the new year campaigning on some of the domestic programs he hopes will help him win re-election. Mr. Bush says his education reforms have raised test scores in math and reading.
President Bush says the changes have put more children on the path to success in school and in life. He said the biggest changes in education in a generation are working.
\"We expect schools to do their job, and we're helping them to do their job. So there's no excuse for failure. When we set a high standard, we are showing our belief in the capacities of every child.\"
The so-called No Child Left Behind reforms require states to hold every public school accountable for student achievement. If test scores do not measure up, the plan allows parents to move their children to better-performing schools, and provides money for tutoring.
\"We will no longer write off some children as hopeless. We will no longer accept or excuse schools that do not effectively teach the basics. We will insist on high standards and accountability, because we believe that every school should teach and every child can learn.\"
Critics say the president's reforms rely too much on standardized tests and not enough on individual needs. They say that forces teachers to focus on material they know will be on the test, instead of offering a broader view of the subject.
There is not yet enough money in the plan to meet all demands for tutoring, and switching schools often depends on better schools having enough space to accept new students.
In the weekly Democratic radio address, New York Congressman Tim Bishop said the president must increase school funding. \"Improving education is an American priority. But last year, it was left under-funded by more than $8 billion. This gap has placed a great burden on our educators and local school taxes.\"
Democrats say the federal grading system is unfair in some cases, because it requires yearly progress from every subgroup of students, including those with disabilities, or those who speak English as a second language.
President Bush says it is not unfair to hold all students to the same standards. \"Our reforms insist on high standards, because we know every child can learn. Our reforms call for testing because the worst discrimination is to ignore a school's failure to teach every child. And our reforms identify underperforming schools, because we need to direct our help to the schools that need it most.\" Part II Extract 1
\"We expect schools to do their job, and we're helping them to do their job. So there's no excuse for failure. When we set a high standard, we are showing our belief in the capacities of every child.\" (President Bush) Extract 2
\"We will no longer write off some children as hopeless. We will no longer accept or excuse schools that do not effectively teach the basics. We will insist on high standards and accountability, because we believe that every school should teach and every child can learn.\" (President Bush) Extract 3
\"Improving education is an American priority. But last year, it was left under-funded by more than $8 billion. This gap has placed a great burden on our educators and local school taxes.\" (Democrat Congressman Tim Bishop) Extract 4
\"Our reforms insist on high standards because we know every child can learn. Our reforms call for testing because the worst discrimination is to ignore a school's failure to teach every child. And our reforms identify underperforming schools, because we need to direct our help to the schools that need it most.\" (President Bush)
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