专四听写文本

四级听写：The African elephantThe African elephant, the largest land animal remaining on earth ,is of great importance to African ecosystem(生态系统) As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna(大草原)surroundings in which it lives, setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat (栖息地).It is the elephant's great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and underbushes, and pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas.What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem. （158 words）2. What is a FatherA father is a person who is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic. He growl s when he feels good, and laughs very loud when he is scared half-to-death.A father never feels entirely worthy of the worship in a child's eyes. He is never quite the hero his daughter thinks. Never quite the man his son believes him to be, and this worries him sometimes.A father is a person who goes to war sometimes and would run the other way except that war is part of his only important job in his life, which is making the world better for his child than it has been for him.I don't know where father goes when he dies, but I've an idea that, after a good rest, wherever it is, he won't just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he's loved and the children she bore. He'll be busy there too, repairing the stars, oiling the gates, improving the streets, smoothing the way. (173 words)3 DepressionThe dictionary describes depression as the state of feeling very sad, anxious and hopeless. The question here is why one gets depressed. Is the inability to deal with the situation or the high stress levels that come with success or failure?Life is full of twists and turns. Some are pleasant and some are not so pleasant, and sometimes even terrible.Seasonal changes are the main reason for depression in nature. Change is unavoidable. It may happen in nature or in life. But the way the change makes us feel is subjective. They differ from person to person, along with the ways we deal with them.Feeling depression is a normal phenomenon, but letting it overtake us completely is not the best thing. There are no specific rules or concepts in dealing with it. A person should adopt whatever way he or she feels is the best, but be sure it will not hurt another person. (159 words)4. D ifferent "Styles" of DirectionsI travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” of directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”In Japan, people use landmarks in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, " Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop."In the countryside of the American Midwest, instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. For example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.(155 words)Useful Words and Expressionslandmark n. 地标a landmark court ruling 深具意义的法庭裁定a landmark decision 一项重大的决定style n. 风格，格调come into style 变得时髦，流行起来cramp sb.'s style 使某人觉得不自由，妨碍某人in style 别具风格地，时髦地in the style of 仿……式out of style 不时髦的，不时新的That's the style. [口]（表示赞同）这正对路；正是如此。

The style is the man. [谚] 文如其人。

5Mistakes Are Good TeachersAfter the birth of my second child，I got a job at a restaurant. Having worked with an experienced waitress for a few days，I was allowed to wait on tables on my own. When Saturday night came，I was luckily given the tables not far from the kitchen. However，I still felt a little hard to carry the heavy trays. So I moved slowly, minding every step. I remembered how happy I was when I saw a tray standing next to the tables. It looked different from the one I was trained on，and it had nice handles which made it easier to move around. I was pleased with everything and began to believe I was natural at this job. Then, an old man came to me and said that was his wife's walker. I stood frozen as ice，but my face was on fire. Since then, I have learned to be more careful and not to be too sure of myself. (164 words)6Time Has the Power to Change AttitudeLast week, my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home.My earliest memories of my father are of a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and family but uncomfortable with his children. As a child, I loved him；as a school girl and young adult, I feared him and felt bitter about him.On the first day of my visit, we did some shopping，ate on the street table，and laughed over my son's funny facial expressions. Gone was my father's critical air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around?The next day, my dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him until that moment. After so many years, I'm at last seeing another side of my father.7. Differences Between Television and Radio AnnouncersWhen television first began to expand, very few of the people who had become famous as radio announcers were able to be equally effective on television. Some of the difficulties they experienced when they were trying to adjust themselves to the new medium were technical. When working on radio, for example, they had become used to seeing on behalf of the listener. This art of seeing for others means that the announcer has to be very good at talking.In the case of television, however, the announcer sees everything with the viewer. His duty, therefore, is completely different. He is there to make sure that the viewer does not miss any point of interest, to help him focus on particular things, and to help him understand the images on the television screen. Unlike his radio colleague, he must know the value of silence and how to use it at those moments when the pictures speak for themselves. (157 words)Useful Words and Expressionsannouncer n. （电视、电台）播音员television announcer 电视播音员train announcer 列车广播员，列车到发通告器on behalf of 代表……Please accept my apology on behalf of the hotel. 请接受我代表酒店向您道歉。