全新版大学英语听说教程_4_听力原文

全新版听说教程 4 听力原文Unit 1 One WorldPart BListening TasksA ConversationBirthday Celebrations Around the WorldExercise 1Listen to the conversation and write down answers to the questions you hear. Chairman: Welcome to this special birthday edition of One World. Tonight we have a special program dedicated to birthday celebrations around the world. With us in the studio we have Shaheen Hag and Pat Cane, who have a weekly column on birthdays in the Toronto Daily Star.Shaheen: Good evening.Pat: Good evening.Chairman: Shaheen, perhaps we could begin with you. How are birthdays celebrated in India?Shaheen: Well, perhaps we're all assuming that everyone in the world celebrates their birthday. This just isn't the case. Low-income families in India, for instance, simply can't afford any festivities. And most Muslims don't celebrate their birthdays.Pat: I think Shaheen has raised an interesting point here. The Christian church, too, was actively against celebrating birthdays.Shaheen: Of course some Muslims do celebrate their birthdays. In Egypt, Turkey and Indonesia, for example, the rich people invite friends and families around. But not in small villages.Chairman: Here in England your twenty-first used to be the big one. But now it seems to have moved to eighteen. Is that true?Pat: Yes, in most parts of the West eighteen is now the most important birthday. In Finland, for example, eighteen is the age when you can vote, you know, or buy wines, drive a car and so on. But in Japan I think you have to wait till you're twenty before you can smoke or drink.Shaheen: I know in Senegal, which is another Muslim country, girls get to vote at sixteen and boys at eighteen. And in Bangladesh, girls at eighteen and boys at twenty-one.Chairman: That's interesting. I mean is it typical that around the world girls are considered to be more mature than boys?Shaheen: Yes, I think so, and in Mexico and Argentina, for example, they have enormous parties for fifteen-year-old girls.Pat: You know in Norway they have a great party for anyone who's not married by the time they're thirty. It's kind of embarrassing. I mean you get pepper thrown at you. Chairman: Pepper? Why pepper?Pat: I'm not really sure.Shaheen: So does that mean that on your twenty-ninth birthday you can start thinking "God I better get married"?Pat: Well, I'm not sure how seriously they take it.Chairman: In England we have quite big parties for your fortieth, fiftieth, sixtieth and so on.Pat: Well, in Japan your eighty-eighth is considered ... Chairman: Eighty-eighth? Pat: ... to be the luckiest birthday. Eight is a very lucky number in Japan. Questions1. What is One World?2. What is the topic of the program?3. What do Shaheen Hag and Pat Cane do?4. Why don't some people in India celebrate their birthdays?5. Why is the eighteenth birthday so important in Finland?6. Why can girls in some countries get to vote at an earlier age than boys?7. Which of the countries mentioned in the conversation are Muslim countries? Exercise 2Listen to the conversation again and decide if each of the statements you hear is true (T) or false (F).Statements1. The program is broadcast in Canada every day.2. People everywhere in the world celebrate their birthdays.3. Many Muslims do not celebrate their birthdays for religious reasons.4. In England, the twenty-first birthday is very important, which is unusual in the West.5. The twenty-first birthday is very important in Japan.6. In Norway, young men and women usually get married before thirty to avoid having pepper thrown at them.7. Eighteen is a very lucky number in Japan.8. It can be concluded that our world is made more colorful by the many different ways birthdays are observed in different countries.Speaking TasksPair WorkA. Reflections on the textYou have just heard a program about birthday celebrations around the world. What do you think of the celebrations?Why is it that some people do not celebrate their birthdays?What does your birthday mean to you?Exchange views with your partner. You may mention the following points in your discussion.○ what birthdays mean to you○ how birthdays are observed around the world○ why some people don't celebrate their birthdaysB. Picture talk — Talking about wedding customsA SampleMost people in the world hold a wedding ceremony when they get married. However, like birthday celebrations, wedding celebrations are conducted in different ways, depending on where you live, which religion you believe in, and how good is your financial situation. The following are three groups of pictures showing three wedding ceremonies held in different places and at different times. Give a brief description of each picture and then make a comparison between the three weddings. Possible Description (for reference)Pictures (a) — (c) show a typical wedding ceremony held in a church in a Western country. In the first picture, the bride is seen walking down the aisle, leaning on her father's arm. She is wearing a white wedding gown and holding a bouquet of flowers in her right hand. All eyes turn to her as she slowly moves forward to take her place beside the bridegroom in front of the clergyman.In Picture (b) we can see the clergyman presiding over the wedding ceremony. He is asking the bride and the bridegroom the usual questions on such an occasion.In Picture (c) the parents of the bride and the bridegroom are giving a large party in a garden. Guests arrive in formal evening dress. There is music and dancing. Pictures (d) — (e) present a traditional Chinese wedding held at home.In Picture (d), we can see a hall thronged with people. There are red lanterns hanging on both sides of the hall. On the lanterns are written the Chinese character "double happiness".In Picture (e) we can see the bridegroom's parents seated in high-backed chairs. The bride and bridegroom are bowing to them. The bridegroom in his long gown looks very respectful. The bride is dressed in bright red but we can't see her face since it is covered with a piece of red cloth. Along the two sides of the wedding hall stand the family members, relatives and friends.Pictures (f) — (h) show a wedding banquet held in a big restaurant in China.In Picture (f), we can see the bride and the bridegroom standing at the entrance greeting the guests. The bride wears a long white dress, and the bridegroom is in a tuxedo. In Picture (g), we find ourselves in a large banquet hall, decorated with the cheerful colors of a wedding party. About a hundred guests are seated around tables that are graced with all kinds of delicious food and drinks. The host, who is the father of the bridegroom, is making a speech, expressing his thanks to the guests for coming to his son's wedding.In Picture (h) the bride has changed to a traditional Chinese red gown, or qipao, which is elegantly cut and shows her fine figure. She and the bridegroom are going round the tables, exchanging toasts and sharing a joyful moment with the guests. Comparing From the pictures, we can see that a wedding is an important event everywhere in the world. It has been so in China, for example, from the old days to the present and the same holds true in Western countries. As a rule, there is a big ceremony, attended by family members, relatives and friends, who have come to share the joy of this special occasion in the lives of two people in love. Foodis plentiful and laughter fills the air. To all those present, the ceremony is both sacred and joyous. However, while sacredness and joy are the spirit of all weddings, the way people observe the occasion varies from place to place and changes over time. This is reflected in various respects. First, in Western countries, many people get married in a church while in China this is rare. Second, Western people often choose a scenic spot to hold wedding parties whereas most people in China give their wedding parties either at home or in a restaurant.Third, in Western countries, the color of the bride's dress is white, which is a symbol of purity, while in China, traditionally, the color of the bride's dress is red, which is a symbol of happiness.***** ***** ***** *****Now use the above sample as your model and carry on similar activities with your partner according to the pictures given below.Part CTest Your ListeningListen to the passage three times and supply the missing information.First ReadingOne World One Minute is a unique film project that invites participants in every country around the globe to record simultaneously one minute of their lives, one minute of our world. Sponsors of this project have chosen 12:48 GMT, September 11th, 2002 as the one minute to record. At that moment exactly a year earlier began the terrorist attacks that led to the deaths of more than 2,000 people from over 60 countries. For many this will be a time of remembrance and reflection. And for others this will be an appropriate time for international communication, cooperation and sharing. This is the idea behind the project One World One Minute. Participants are free to choose what and how to record their One Minute. Some may want to take photographs, some paint or draw pictures, while others may want to write something and record their readings. The material can be submitted to the project organizers in Scotland via or post within 6 weeks of September 11th. All the material will then be made into a feature-length film, which will capture that One Minute of our existence. The film will explore the rich diversity that is both humanity and our world. It will allow a voice to all people regardless of nationality, religion, race, political viewpoint, gender or age. The rich diversity that is Humanity shall be there for all to see. Participants will not only be kept informed of the progress of the film and the release process but will be invited to actively participate through newsletters and discussion forums. When the film is finished, it will be shown in every country of the world, both in cinemas and on TV. Contributors will be invited to attend the first public performance of the film in their respective countries and will receive a full screen credit on the finished production.Second ReadingFinal ReadingUnit 2 Anti-smokingPart BListening TasksA PassageLast Gasp for SmokersExercise 1Listen to the passage and choose the right answers to the questions you hear. It was a normal day and in their New York office, Ken and his colleagues stopped for their coffee break. But while his colleagues were able to sit at their desks and drink their coffee, Ken had to go outside. He couldn't stay inside, because he wanted to smoke. If the smokers of the Big Apple want to enjoy a cigarette, the authorities have decided they must go out into the street or up onto the rooftops. Throughout the United States, the number of places where people are allowed to smoke has gradually dwindled. First it was banned on trains, buses, and planes, then in public places such as theaters and airports. Now you can't smoke in any workplace. Nonsmokers are definitely winning the battle. "Why should we breathe their smoke?" they say. If they're lucky, smokers can still find some bars and restaurants or parks and recreation centers where they can light up a cigarette, but it may soon be banned there, too. In fact, smoking in parks and recreation centers is already banned in California. On August 9, 2001, Los Angeles City and County officials announced the implementation of a smoke-free park policy, officially designating smoke-free zones in all 375 parks and recreation centers in the city. And since January 1, 2002 all parks in California have become smoke-free to safeguard children from the harmful effects of secondhand tobacco smoke and dangerous tobacco waste. Anti-smoking groups even think that smoking ought to be banned in people's homes. Under new plans you won't be able to smoke in any house where there are more than ten visitors in a week, or where there are children. In 1996, nicotine was classed as a drug, like cannabis, cocaine or heroin. And scientists all over the world agree that exposure to secondhand smoke poses a serious health risk and there is no safe level of exposure. It is especially dangerous for children because when they are exposed to tobacco smoke, they have much higher rates of lung diseases such as bronchitis and pneumonia and are also at greater risks of developing asthma. In the country that gave tobacco to the world, smoking might one day be illegal. And then Ken will have to give up. Questions1. What is the main idea of the passage you've heard?2. What does the speaker think about banning smoking in public places?3. Where is smoking not banned according to the passage?4. Which of the following is true about nicotine?5. What can be inferred from the sentence "In the country that gave tobacco to the world, smoking might one day be illegal"?Exercise 2Listen to the passage again and complete the answers to the questions you hear.Questions1. Who has won the battle against smoking in the U.S.? How do you know?2. What did authorities in California do to restrict smoking?Speaking TasksPair WorkA. Reflections on the textYou have just heard a passage about the anti-smoking movement in the U.S.Do you agree with the policies mentioned to ban smoking in public places?What do you think about young people smoking?Why do they pick up smoking in the first place?What should we do to help them give up smoking?Exchange views with your partner.You may mention the following points in your discussion.○ importance of banning smoking in public places○ increase in the number of young smokers○ measures to discourage the young from picking up smoking○ finding out and campaigning against the real ca uses of young people smoking B. Debating — Arguments for or against banning smoking in restaurantsA SampleIn our city it is quite common to see diners smoking in restaurants, even when the air-conditioner is on and all the windows are shut. Some people are strongly against it and think the government should put a ban on smoking in all air-conditioned areas. Others either take it for granted or do not care. What is your attitude on this issue? Express and defend your views from the perspectives given below.Topic: Should smoking be banned in restaurants?Perspectives:1. From the perspective of a customer (positive)2. From the perspective of a restaurant manager (negative)Possible Arguments (for reference)From the perspective of a customer (positive)I'm strongly against smoking in restaurants. I hate breathing in cigarette smoke while I'm eating, especially when the air-conditioner is on and all the windows are shut. Toxic tobacco smoke lingers on in the room, gets into my eyes, my hair, and my clothes. It makes me dizzy and even causes me headaches. As the restaurant becomes dangerously polluted with concentrated tobacco smoke, nonsmokers who must share the same enclosed environment with smokers run a higher risk of contracting smoking-related illnesses. Even if people around one table are all nonsmokers, they cannot avoid inhaling smoke from other tables. Statistics show that secondhand smoke is also a cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers. And if a pregnant woman happens to be there, she might run the risk of having a deformed baby. Secondhand smoke is also extremely harmful to young children and can cause asthma and bronchitis. We nonsmokers don't want to sacrifice our health for the selfish enjoyment of smokers. The restaurant, I think, should at least have a smoke-free area. The size of thearea would depend on customer demand. Let the smokers enjoy themselves in a special room. Otherwise, I think I will stop patronizing (光顾) restaurants that do not have a smoke-free area and perhaps this will force them into creating one. From the perspective of a restaurant manager (negative) I know smoking is very harmful. For us who work in air-conditioned restaurants, inhaling secondhand smoke is certainly harmful to our health. But what can I do? How can I say "no" to the smokers in my restaurant? Most likely, they would not listen to me. If I insist, they would surely get very angry at me. Some of them might quarrel or even fight with me. And those who come with them would usually support them and criticize me. They might say: "It's none of your business. There is no regulation against smoking in restaurants. Why can't we smoke?" In that case, what could I say? It's true that there are no regulations banning smoking in restaurants. And other diners, though they are aware of the danger of inhaling secondhand smoke, may be either indifferent or intimidated from speaking out. I would be quite alone, and my effort to dissuade my customers from smoking would be in vain. What is worse, I don't think those customers would come to my restaurant again.And my business would suffer.***** ***** ***** *****Now use the above sample as your model and carry on similar activities with your partner.Part CTest Your ListeningListen to the conversation and choose the right answers to the questions you hear. W: Hey, Eric, have you read that letter in the paper about smoking this morning? Don't you think the person who wrote that has gone too far?M: I don't think so, Rose. To my mind the government should do everything it can to discourage people from smoking, especially the youngsters.W: Maybe so. But it seems a law banning cigarettes would do no good.M: No. You can't suddenly make smoking illegal. But the government could prohibit smoking in public places, like cinemas and theatres.W: I quite agree that smoking should be banned in public places. I don't smoke myself and cigarette smoking bothers me. But I don't know if it will work. You know, if you ban smoking in all public places, many smokers will want to do it. People always want to do things that they are not allowed to do.M: Yes, that's true.W: But I think people should be allowed to smoke in the street. Don't you think so? M: Not at all. Frankly I think smoking should be banned altogether in public and private places. In the first place it's a dirty habit. In the second place it's dangerous to your health.Questions1. What does the letter in the paper suggest that the government do?2. What do the two speakers have in common?3. What do you know about the woman?4. Which of the following is true of the man?Unit 3 MemoryPart BListening TasksA PassageHow Our Memory WorksExercise 1Listen to the passage and choose the right answers to the questions you hear. Human beings have amazing memories. Apart from all our personal memories about our own lives, we can recall between 20,000 and 100,000 words in our own language as well as possibly thousands more in a foreign language. We have all sorts of information about different subjects such as history, science, and geography, and we have complex skills such as driving a car or playing a musical instrument. All these things and countless others depend on our memory. How well you remember things depends on many different factors. Firstly, some people naturally have better memories than others, in just the same way as some people are taller than others, or have different color eyes. Some top chess players, for example, can remember every move of every game that they have ever seen or played. Secondly, research shows that different things are stored in different parts of the brain. Ideas, words, and numbers are stored in the left-hand side, while the right-hand side remembers images, sounds, and smells. In most people one side of the brain is more developed than the other, and this may explain why some people can remember people's faces easily, but can't remember their names. Thirdly, we all remember exciting, frightening, or dramatic events more easily. This is because these experiences produce chemicals such as adrenaline, which boost your memory. Fourthly, the context in which you learn something can affect how well you remember it. Tests on divers, for example, showed that when they learned things underwater, they could also remember those things best when they were underwater. Lastly, the more often you recall a memory, the more likely you are to remember it. If you don't use it, you'll lose it. A telephone number that you dial frequently will stay in your memory easily, but you will probably have to write down one that you use only now and again.Questions1. What does the passage mainly tell us?2. What can be inferred from the passage?3. Which of the following is stated to be true?4. Why can we remember exciting, dramatic, or frightening events better? Exercise 2Listen to the passage again and fill in the following blanks with the missing information.Speaking TasksPair WorkA. Reflections on the textYou've just heard a passage about the importance of memory.Have you ever thought about how important your memory is?And have you ever complained that you have a bad memory?Exchange views with your partner. You may mention the following points in your discussion.○ the importance of memory○ factors influencing how well one's memory works○ ways to improve one's memoryB. Describing an unforgettable experienceA SampleIt is mentioned in the passage that exciting, frightening or dramatic events tend to leave a sharp impression on your memory. What is the most unforgettable experience in your life? Describe it to your partner.Possible Description (for reference)It was an extremely hot day in 1980. That night my roommate and I went to bed early. All of a sudden we felt that the whole building was shaking. "It must be an earthquake," cried my roommate. Quickly she put on her dress and her shoes.On hearing what she said, I was frightened to death and my whole body froze, unable to move. Instead of putting on my clothes, I kept crying, "Please wait for me! Please don't leave me!" I was so afraid that she might ignore me and run out of the building to find a safe place for herself. Contrary to what I expected, she returned, stood by my bedside and waited for me patiently. She watched me clumsily put on my blouse and trousers and then we went downstairs together. Once we were out on the playground, my panic was gone and I was able to think. On recalling what I had required my roommate to do, I felt guilty. No one can tell what might happen next during an earthquake. By asking her to wait for me, I might have put her life in danger! She was too smart not to realize that, I think. But she waited for me anyway. How selfish I was! That earthquake and the courageous act of my roommate have always stayed in my mind, long after the event.***** ***** ***** *****Now use the above sample as your model and describe an unforgettable event to your partner.Part CTest Your ListeningListen to the passage and choose the right answers to the questions you hear. To many people advancing age means losing your hair and your memory. But is it true that the older you get, the less you remember? Actually, in healthy people, memory doesn't deteriorate as quickly as many of us think. As we age, our memory mechanism isn't broken, it's just different. The brain's processing time slows downover the years. Recent research suggests that nerve cells lose efficiency and that there's less activity in the part of the brain that decides whether to store information or not. There are steps you can take to improve your memory, though you have to work to keep your brain in shape. Some memory enhancement experts suggest we pay attention to what we want to remember. Then give some meaning to it. We remember things when we focus on them, whether we intend to or not. Basic organization helps us remember the boring stuff. For example, rather than trying to recall a random list of groceries, we can divide them into categories, such as dairy, meat, and produce. For important things like keys and money, we can set up a "forget-me-not" spot where we always keep them. We can also eat to aid our memory power. Whole grains, fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of glucose, the brain's preferred fuel. To get adequate rest is a low-tech way to improve memory. Sleep may allow our brain time to encode memories. Interest in friends, family and hobbies does wonders for our memory. A sense of passion or purpose helps us remember. Memory requires us to pay attention to our lives, allowing us to discover in them everything worth remembering.Questions1. Which of the following can we learn from the passage?2. Which of the following can help improve our memory according to the passage?3. What should we do to aid our memory power according to the passage?Unit 4 Dealing with Cultural Differences Part BListening TasksA ConversationEmbarrassing ExperiencesExercise 1Listen to the interview and choose the right answers to the questions you hear. Interviewer: Rob, you went to Brazil, didn't you?Rob: Yes, I did.Interviewer: So, what happened?Rob: Well, I went into this meeting and there were about, er ... seven or eight people in there and I just said "Hello" to everybody and sat down. Apparently, what I should have done is to go round the room shaking hands with everyone individually. Well, you know, it's silly of me because I found out later it upset everyone. I think they felt I was taking them for granted.Kate: Well, I know that because when I was in France the first time, I finished a meeting with "Goodbye, everyone!" to all the people in the room. Well, I later found out that the polite thing to do is shake hands with everyone in the group before leaving.Interviewer: Well, people shake hands in different ways, don't they?Rob: Oh, yes, they do. See, normally I shake hands quite gently when I meet someone. So when I went to the US for the first time, I think people there thought my weak handshake was a sign of weakness. Apparently, people there tend to shake hands quite firmly.Kate: Oh, gosh, that reminds me of my first trip to Germany many years ago. I was in troduced to the boss in the company when he passed us in the corridor. Well, I wasn't prepared, and I had my left hand in my pocket. And when we shook hands I realized my left hand was still in my pocket. Well, that was, you know, very bad manners and I was quite embarrassed.Interviewer: And how about using first names? Have you made any mistakes there? Rob: Oh, yes, I have! When I first went to Italy I thought it was OK to use everyone's first name so as to seem friendly. And I later discovered that in business you shouldn't use someone's first name unless you are invited to. Oh, and you should always use their titles as well.Kate: Hm, yeah, well, when I met people in Russia, you know, they seemed to be puzzled when I shook hands with them and said "How do you do?" Well, what they do when they greet a stranger is say their own names, so I had that all wrong!Rob: Oh, yes, I agree with that. Remembering names is very important. Interviewer: Shall we take a break? When we come back we'll move on to our next topic. Kate & Rob: OK.Questions1. What is the conversation mainly about?2. Who might be the people Rob and Kate met in various countries?3. What can we infer about Kate and Rob from the conversation?4. Which countries has Kate visited, according to the conversation?5. Which countries has Rob visited, according to the conversation?6. What is the main message that the speakers want to tell us?Exercise 2Listen to the interview again and fill in the table below.Speaking TasksPair WorkA. Reflections on the textYou've just heard Rob and Kate talking about the experiences they had in some foreign countries. They made a number of mistakes in behavior because they were unaware of cultural differences. Do you think it is important to be aware of cultural differences? Why? How can we avoid misunderstanding in international communication? Exchange views with your partner.You may mention the following points in your discussion.○ awareness of cultural differences — to avoid misunderstanding○ importance of learning about other cultures○ importance of knowing how to deal with cultural differences —key to successful international business and cultural exchangeB. Picture talk — Describing Chinese and Western ways of eating。