新编大学英语视听说第三册听力原文完整版

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New College English视听说教程 3听力原文

第一单元

Mike: Hey, guys. Come and look. I've found an interesting Web site on star signs.

(The others come close to the computer and look at the star signs on the screen.)

Ted: Hey, that's interesting! What's your sign, Sam?

Sam: I'm a Scorpio. What's yours, Ted?

Ted: I have no idea. I've never really thought about that. Let's have a look. I was born on September 5. Oh, I'm a Virgo.

Simon: And I'm a Libra.

Sam: What do they say about Libra, Simon?

Simon: (He reads.) You're a sociable, charming person. You go out of your way to avoid confrontation and do everything in your power to make your life an easy one. Although you're generally likeable, you can be changeable, superficial and critical. But you manage to hide those traits most of the time.

Mike: Do you agree with that? Are you that type of person?

Simon: What do you think? I think there is something in what it says. I am social and outgoing.

But I am not changeable, am I? What's your sign, Mike?

Mike: I'm a Taurus. Ah, what's yours, Lilly?

Lilly: I'm a Cancer.

Ted: Now let's look at Taurus.( He reads.) You're a patient, practical type. Good points include your affectionate, kind nature, your trustworthiness and strength of character. Bad points include your possessiveness, self-indulgence and stubbornness. Do you think your character fits well?

Mike: No, not at all. I'm not patient, and I'm not practical either. I am kind of quick-tempered and ambitious. That's definitely not me! But one thing is right: I AM stubborn.

Simon: Sam, let me read yours. (He reads.) You are secretive, and sexy. You have the worst reputation in the zodiac. Scorpio has a dark side, which includes revengeful and destructive traits. Yet despite this, you can be the wittiest, kindest and most entertaining of all the signs.

Sam: Oh, that can't be true! Are you sure you were reading Scorpio?

Simon: Yes, of course! Look for yourself.

Sam: But that's unfair! I have the worst reputation in the zodiac?!

The others: (They all laugh and say.) Ha ha... Poor Sam!

Sam: Who could believe such silly things! Really, I think I'm intelligent, humorous, and kind-hearted.

Mike: Yes, but those are just your good traits. Don't forget about your bad ones!

Sam: Come on! Oh, Lilly, we haven't looked at your sign yet. Eh, you are a Cancer, right? You want me to read yours?

Lilly: No, thanks. I'm afraid you'll distort what's written there. Let me read it myself. (She reads.) To some people, you appear tough and determined, but that's just a \"front\" you put up to protect the real you, which is rather more sensitive and softer. You can be moody, touchy and irritable, but you make up for those negative traits with your kindness, great intuition and protective nature. That's not bad, is it?

Simon: No. But what counts is not what it says, but how you really are, what you are actually like.

Lilly: (She is a bit defensive.) What do you mean? What are you trying to say about me?

Simon: I think you are much nicer than what it describes.

(Lilly smiles.)

The other boys: Oh, Simon, don't sweet-talk her! We know what you are thinking.

Ted: Hey, I haven't seen mine yet. Now it's my turn.

Mike: Go ahead, Ted! Be our guest!

Ted: It says: Virgo people like order in all things and are neat, clean and precise in their habits.

Virgo people are perfectionists and they sometimes can be critical. They do not like to draw attention to themselves. Virgo people are modest, and careful about what they eat or drink.

Sam: Do you have any objections to that?

Ted: I think the description matches me quite well. I AM a perfectionist. I like things to be in order. Erm, I...I'm careful about what I eat and drink. But it doesn't mention my weak points.

Lilly: Oh! And what are those?

Ted: Well, sometimes I'm so careful I tend to waste a lot of time. I'm not very sociable, and I don't have many friends.

Sam: I think everyone has some undesirable personality traits that could be improved. Don't you think we all could improve our personalities?

Mike: I think we can. For example, my little sister was the youngest girl in our family. My parents loved her very much, but they spoiled her by giving her too much. She was at that time self-centered, selfish, aggressive, bad-tempered, and rude. Her personality didn't change any until she entered primary school. In school, she first acted as she did at home, and she couldn't make a single good friend. For a time, she was even isolated by her classmates. She complained to us, and finally understood her problem. From then on, she made every effort to get rid of her undesirable characteristics both at home and in school. Now she's in middle school and has turned into a popular girl.

Lilly: In my opinion, our personalities are partly inherited and partly shaped by our home environment. As we all know, scientists have found that parents' personality traits can be seen in

their children. Most children have some of their parents' personality traits.

Mike: That's right. And our early home and school environment also has a big influence on the shaping of our personality. For instance, I've noticed that many children growing up in rich families may become wasteful, lazy, arrogant or cold. On the other hand, I've noticed that many children raised in poor families are hard-working, caring, sympathetic, and helpful.

Sam: Does that mean you think we have to choose our parents wisely?

(The others laugh.)

Interviewer: Angela, you were born in Korea but you've been living in Canada for a long time, haven't you?

Angela: Yes, I was 10 years old when my parents immigrated to Canada and I've been living here for 20 years now.

Interviewer: Do you think that belonging to two different cultures has affected your personality?

Angela: Yes, definitely. There are times when I think that I have two personalities. Depending on where I am and who I'm with, I'm Korean or I'm Canadian.

Interviewer: That sounds complicated. Could you explain what you mean?

Angela: Well, growing up in Canada when I was going to high school, for example, I was known as Angela to the outside world, and as Sun-Kyung at home. I would wave hello to my teachers, but bow to my parents' Korean friends when they visited our home.

Interviewer: Do different cultures have different ideas as to what is polite?

Angela: Yes, definitely. In high school, I was expected to look straight in the eyes of my teachers and to talk openly with them. But when Koreans spoke to me, I was expected to look at my feet and to be shy and silent.

Interviewer: Do you think that having two personalities makes you a richer person?

Angela: Yes, but sometimes I don't know who I am.

I am a very sensitive person, and that's good to a point. I feel everyone should be able to feel or understand what others are going through. But when you hurt, cry, or are unhappy for people you don't know, or for a movie that is not real, then I think that's a little too sensitive. That's the way I am.

I am a very independent person. I must do things for myself. I don't like people doing things for me, or helping me, or giving me things. It's not that I don't appreciate it, because I do. I just feel that when someone does something for you, you owe them, and if there is one thing I don't like to feel, it's that I owe anyone anything.

I think I would be a good friend. I would do almost anything for someone I like, and would

share or give anything I have. I'm very caring and understanding. People trust me with their secrets, and they're right for doing so because I never tell any secret that is told to me. I'm always there to help in any way that I can. All you have to do is ask.

I enjoy life and people, which makes me feel good. I find fun in almost everything I do (except housework). I like to watch people, talk to them, and be around them. It makes no difference whether I agree or disagree with what they feel, or how they live, or what they look like, or what age they are. I just enjoy learning and being aware of everything and everyone around me.

Tom: Hey, Bill. Do you have any plans for this weekend?

Bill: Yeah, Tom. Cindy and I are going ice-skating on Saturday.

Tom: Oh.

Bill: Why do you ask?

Tom: Well, I thought you might want to come over and study for next week's chemistry test.

Bill: Study?! No way. Hey, what if I try to fix you up with Cindy's sister, Kristi. We could double-date. She's really outgoing, bright, and funny too.

Tom: Hey, I still remember the girl you fixed me up with last time. She was very moody and self-centered. She couldn't stop talking about how great she was. I'm not sure if I can trust you, \"Mr. Matchmaker\".

Bill: Oh come on. So I made a mistake last time. Cindy's sister is really different.

Tom: Well, what does she look like?

Bill: Ah. Looks aren't important. She has a wonderful personality.

Tom: Right.

Bill: Okay. She has long wavy blond hair and blue eyes. She's of medium height, just a little shorter than you are.

Tom: Go on.

Bill: She has a great figure, a nice complexion, and she has a sexy voice. Oh, and she has a tattoo of an eagle on her arm.

Tom: A what?

Bill: No, just kidding. By the way, she was the runner-up in the Miss California Beauty Pageant two years ago. Well, you're probably not interested.

Tom: No, wait!

Bill: Ah, just forget I ever mentioned it.

Tom: No, I'm interested!

P10

David: Barbara, before you go, could you tell me about these students that are coming into my class?

Barbara: Oh, yes. Now, let me think, well, there's...er...Paul. He's a tall, slim lad with fair hair. Very friendly face, lovely smile... He's particularly good with group activities, and he's a very helpful person to have in the class and very helpful with the other students. He speaks fluently, but does make a lot of mistakes! He doesn't seem to mind making mistakes. He asks a lot of questions...er...he tends to speak first and think later. But he's got lots of interesting ideas.

David: Good.

Barbara: Ah...Susan...Susan. Now, she's very lively, quick, and very bright. She talks all the time but not always in English.

David: What? Is she difficult or anything?

Barbara: No...she's quite young but she does behave in quite a grown-up way really for her age. It can be a bit difficult to actually shut her up sometimes and make her listen to you.

David: Ah, right.

Barbara: She's very nice. She has dark hair and dark eyes.

David: Right, well...are there any other girls in the class?

Barbara: Yes, there is Maria. She's Susan's sister.

David: Yes.

Barbara: Actually it's quite difficult to tell them apart although...er... Maria is slightly older. She's a bit plumper and has longer hair than Susan. She's not quite as bright as her sister and I think that makes her feel a bit inferior really. Well, you know, she sulks a bit when she gets things wrong or she misunderstands you. But on the whole, a very sensible girl.

David: OK.

Barbara: And then there's Peter, who's older than the others. He's got a sort of moustache, spectacles and wavy dark brown hair. He usually wears a jacket and sometimes a suit. He's very smart and takes notes all the time. He's also very serious and determined to learn as much as possible. He asks quite difficult questions but he doesn't mean to be nasty.

David: Well, thanks, Barbara. It's all up to me now, isn't it? Have a good holiday, won't you?

Barbara: Thanks.

David: Bye.

P11

1. Pedro sleeps only six hours a night. He goes to school full-time and works part-time in the afternoons. At night he plays soccer or basketball. He's seldom tired and his favorite way to relax is to jog two or three miles.

What kind of person is Pedro?

2. Mr. Miller was teaching his fourth grade class how to divide. The students didn't understand. He had to repeat his lesson and explain the idea more slowly. Over the next few days he explained and explained the lesson until almost the whole class understood and knew how to divide.

What kind of teacher is Mr. Miller?

3. People in the High Street neighborhood don't buy their fruits and vegetables in the supermarket. They buy them from Mr. Smith's truck. You can trust Mr. Smith. He never tries to sell any bad or unripe fruit. His prices are fair.

What kind of person is Mr. Smith?

4. Jake and Charles ran into the classroom. Each one saw the chair he wanted to sit on. Unfortunately, it was the same chair. They both sat down at the same time. Each of them had half a chair. Charles said he was there first and tried to push Jake off the chair. Jake said he was first. Both boys refused to move.

\"All right, boys,\" said the teacher. \"If you won't move, then you can sit like that for the whole period.\" Jake and Charles sat like that for the whole period until the bell rang. When they stood up they were stiff and sore.

\"I don't care,\" said Jake. \"I was there first.\"

What kind of person is Jake?

5. Room 46A at Travis High School was always the dirtiest room in the school. Many of the students threw paper on the floor. One day, Mrs. Duke had an idea. She fastened a basketball hoop over the wastebasket. Now the students love to practice throwing their paper into the basket. When they miss, they pick the paper up and try again. And that was the end of the problem.

What kind of person is Mrs. Duke?

P12

A number of visitors to the UK, who had traveled throughout the British Isles, were asked by a newspaper reporter what their impressions of the British people were. Here's a brief summary of what they thought.

There were many different opinions among those interviewed: Some were very flattering, others very critical. The distinction between the English and the British wasn't always understood, but, on the whole, it seemed that the Scots were very popular with visitors. They were thought to be very friendly, even though one Dutch visitor confessed she'd found it hard to understand their English.

A great number found the British generally reserved, particularly the English, although one Australian visitor called the English \"the friendliest people in the world and most hospitable\". But she did admit that speaking the same language was a great help.

Some Asian businessmen, who had traveled widely throughout England, said quite openly that they found North country people \"much nicer\" than people in the South. When asked what exactly they meant by \"much nicer\

mean much more like us!\"

A few continentals praised \"English courtesy\but the majority found it dishonest and dull. \"You're forever saying 'please' and 'sorry' when you don't feel pleased or sorry,\" one explained.

A young student from South Africa had no views on the matter. He hadn't met any Englishmen, he said. The country appeared to be full of foreigners like himself.

Statements:

1. It was easy to tell the English from the British.

2. Speaking the same language helped one Australian visitor a lot.

3. By \"much nicer\people of other countries.

4. The majority of continentals thought highly of English manners.

5. To the young student from South Africa, Britain seemed to have a lot of foreign visitors.

P13

One day, when Mr. Smith came home from work, he found his wife very upset about something. Mr. Smith always thought that he was more sensible than his wife, so he started to give her a lecture on the importance of always remaining calm.

Finally he said, \"It's a waste of your strength to get excited about small things. Train yourself to be patient, like me. Now, look at the fly that has just landed on my nose. Am I getting excited or annoyed? Am I swearing or waving my arms around? No. I'm not. I'm perfectly calm.\"

Just as he had said this, Mr. Smith started shouting. He jumped up and began to wave his arms around wildly and swear terribly. He couldn't speak for some time, but at last he was able to tell his wife: The thing on his nose was not a fly, but a bee.

P14

Tom: Oh, that Mr. Taylor. He is so boring!

Mother: What do you mean?

Tom: His lessons put me to sleep. And he's so quick-tempered, Mum.

Mother: Quick-tempered? Mr. Taylor? Are you sure darling?

Tom: Yes, he gets angry very quickly.

Mother: That doesn't sound like Mr. Taylor at all!

Tom: And do you know, he spends all the time looking at his reflection in the window, admiring himself.

Mother: Really? And why does he do that?

Tom: Because he's vain, that's why! And conceited! He thinks he knows everything.

Mother: Oh, Tom. Be reasonable. I'm sure you're exaggerating. Mr. Taylor seems such a nice, kind man.

Tom: Well, he isn't. He is mean and cruel.

Mother: Cruel? Now how can a history teacher be cruel?

Tom: Because he only gave me two out of ten points in my history test.

Mother: Oh, now I understand. Tom, I think you'd better get on with your homework!

P15

(S1 = the first speaker; S2 = the second speaker; S3 = the third speaker; S4 = the fourth speaker)

S1: In this week's edition of Up with People we went out into the streets and interviewed a number of people. We asked a question they just didn't expect. We asked them to be self-critical...to ask themselves exactly what they thought they lacked or—the other side of the coin—what virtues they had. Here is what we heard.

S2: Well...I...I don't know really...it's not the sort of question you ask yourself directly. I know I'm good at my job... At least my boss considers me hard-working, conscientious, and efficient. I'm a secretary by the way. When I look at myself in a mirror as you sometimes do in the privacy of your own bedroom...or at your reflection in the shop windows as you walk up the street... Well...then I see

someone a bit different. Yes...I'm different in my private life. And that's probably my main fault I should say... I suppose I'm not coherent in my behavior. My office is always in order...but my flat! Well...you'd have to see it to believe it.

S3: Well...I'm retired, you know. Used to be an army officer. And...I think I've kept myself...yes, I've kept myself respectable the whole of my life. I've tried to help those who depend on me. I've done my best. I am quite self-disciplined. Basically I'm a good guy, fond of my wife and family... That's me.

S4: Well...when I was young I was very shy. At times I...I was very unhappy...especially when I was sent to boarding school at age seven. I didn't make close friends till later...till I was about...fifteen. Then I became quite good at being by myself. I had no one to rely on...and no one to ask for advice. That made me independent. My wife and I have two sons. We...we didn't want an only child because I felt...well I felt I'd missed a lot of things.

第二单元

King: What's in your hand?

Noname: The swords that used to belong to Sky, Sword and Snow, Your Majesty.

King: How did you get them?

Noname: I had a fight with Sky. I killed him and took his sword.

King: Who are you?

Noname: My name is Noname. I was born in Qin. I've been practicing with my sword for more than twenty years, Your Majesty.

King: I heard Sky was a very good swordsman.

Noname: Yes, he was, but not as good as me. We met in a chess house and I knew he was one of the killers Your Majesty wanted. We fought all day and finally I killed him, breaking his sword in two pieces.

King: Good. You will get your reward... Then what about Sword and Snow? I heard they were lovers. They were never apart. I heard they were the best with the sword in their kingdom. And few people ever saw them and nobody knew them. How did you find them?

Noname: It took me three years. Three years after they failed to kill you they returned to their own kingdom and lived in a house where they practiced calligraphy all day long. They no longer practiced with their swords. I also learned a secret of them.

King: And what was that?

Noname: They had not talked to each other for three years.

King: That's strange. Why not?

Noname: Snow believed Sword had betrayed her. No one else knew it. When I heard about it and heard where they were, I went to the calligraphy house and asked Sword to write the word \"sword\" for me.

King: Why did you ask for the word \"sword\"?

Noname: If I could find a weakness by the way he wrote the word, I might find a way to beat him.

King: And did he write the word for you?

Noname: Yes, he did.

King: Did you find his weakness that way?

Noname: No, I didn't find any weakness in his writing, Your Majesty. However, I realized that the art of swordsmanship lies in a man's heart. Even without a sword, a true master can make people around him feel that they are facing a man with a sword.

King: How did you manage to kill him then?

Noname: I did not kill him. He was defeated by his own love towards Snow. I made Snow believe that he had already fallen in love with one of his maids. Snow was very angry. She killed Sword.

King: And then you killed Snow?

Noname: Nobody could have beaten those two if they had worked together. But, left alone, Snow was very easy for me to beat. Besides, she was also wounded during a fight with the maid who wanted revenge for her master's death.

King: Thank you for killing the three people who were the greatest threat to my life. Your story is beautiful, but you have underestimated one person.

Noname: Who, Your Majesty?

King: Me!

Noname: Why did you say that?

King: I had met those people and I would never believe that they could be so foolishly jealous. No one with a jealous mind could become the master of the sword. I would never believe that they could be as narrow-minded as you've described. Now let me tell you my story. Sky, Sword and Snow were good friends. They wanted us to meet because they knew you were a better swordsman than any one of them. They persuaded you that you were the only person who could kill me. Each one of them fought with you to make you believe that. And that's why you are here with their broken swords.

Noname: How do you know all this?

King: Your eyes tell me that. You must be the greatest swordsman in the world to have killed all three of them. Is this to be my last day? Where are you from?

Noname: I was born in Zhao. My parents were killed by your soldiers when I was a baby. I have not forgotten how they died. I made up my mind long time ago that I would kill you one day. I've been practicing with my sword for more than twenty years now, and I know I can kill you if I'm within ten steps of you. However, you have also underestimated one person.

King: Who's that?

Noname: Sword. Before I killed Sword he told me he had already given up trying to kill you. He could see that ordinary people suffered most when kingdoms fought. They lost their homes, their parents, their children and their land. There was no peace anywhere. And then he wrote another word for me.

King: What was that word?

Noname: WORLD. He wanted me to think of the whole world and peace. He realized that there could only be peace when the seven kingdoms were united.

King: (He sighs.) I didn't expect the person wanting to kill me would actually know me better than my own people. But, that's my fate! If my life is to end here today, kill me now.

Noname: I have to do this, but remember all those people that have died because of you...

(Noname purposely missed the King because he realized that a united kingdom is more important than his personal revenge.)

(In 221 BC, the King of Qin united the seven kingdoms in China and became the Emperor of China. Wars came to an end.)

P21

Mart Moody from Tupper Lake used to tell this tale. \"I went out one day and there was a big flock of ducks out on Tupper Lake. And I had this good dog. I shot at the ducks, and then I sent the

dog out there. She was heavy with pups at the time, and I didn't know whether I should send her out there. It was a cold day in the fall. Well, she took right off and away she went. But she didn't show up when it got dark. I began to worry about her. She was a good dog, a really good retriever. She'd get anything I shot at.

\"So the next morning I woke up and I thought I'd better go and see if I could find her. And I got down to the shoreline of the lake and I looked out. Suddenly I saw something coming. It was this dog. She came into the shore! She had three ducks in her mouth. And behind her she had seven pups. And each of the pups had a duck in his mouth.\"

P22

There was an old man who had a daughter. He told his daughter that he had invited a preacher to his house. He said, \"Daughter, I'm going down to the train to meet the Reverend, and I've roasted two ducks and left them there for him in the other room. Don't you touch them!\" The daughter said, \"No, I won't touch them.\" So her papa went to the train to meet the Reverend, and the girl began to taste the ducks. The ducks tasted so good that she kept on tasting them until she had eaten them all up, every bit of them.

After the old man came back, he didn't even look in the place where he had left the ducks. He went directly into the other room to sharpen his knife on the oilstone so he could carve the ducks. The preacher was sitting in the room with the girl. She knew that her papa was going to punish her, and she started crying and shedding tears. The preacher asked, \"What is the matter with you, girl?\" She said, \"Papa has this one bad fault: He invites preachers to his house and goes to sharpen his knife to cut off both their ears.\" And the Reverend asked, \"What is that you say, daughter?\" The girl said, \"Yes, Papa invites preachers here all the time and cuts off both their ears.\" The preacher said,

\"Daughter, hand me my hat. Quick!\" The girl gave him his hat and he ran out of the door quickly. The daughter called her papa and said, \"Papa, the preacher got both the ducks and has gone.\" The old man ran to the door and yelled to the preacher, \"Hey, where are you going in such a hurry? Come back here right now!\" But the preacher just kept running and shouted back over his shoulder, \"Damned if you'll get either one of these.\"

P23

Jack Storm was the local barrel maker and blacksmith of Thebes, Illinois. He had a cat that stayed around his shop. The cat was the best mouse catcher in the whole country, Jack said. He kept the shop free of rats and mice. But, one day, the cat got caught in a piece of machinery and got a paw cut off. After that, he began to grow weak and thin and didn't take any interest in anything, because he wasn't getting enough to eat.

So, one day, Jack decided to make a wooden paw for the cat. He made it with his pocket knife and fastened it on the injured leg. After that, the cat began to grow sleek and fat again. Jack decided to stay at the shop one night to see how the cat managed with his wooden paw.

After dark, the cat got down in front of a mouse hole and waited. Pretty soon a mouse peered out cautiously. Quick as a flash the cat seized it with his good paw and knocked it on the head with his wooden one. In no time, that cat had eighteen mice piled up in front of the mouse hole.

P25

Ken: Hey, Josh. Where did you get those comic magazines?

Josh: When I went home last weekend, I found these old Superman magazines that my older

brother had bought many years ago.

Ken: You don't have time to read old comics. Why did you bring them here?

Josh: In my World Literature class we've been talking about the importance of myths, folk tales, and legends to cultures. We have to write a short paper on which legendary figure we think is the great American hero. I think it's Superman.

Ken: Superman? Why? I think it's someone like Paul Bunyan, the giant woodsman, or Johnny Appleseed, who planted early apple trees in the Midwest. Superman is just a modern comic magazine character.

Josh: When I saw these old comics, I started thinking that Superman represents a combination of cultural traditions and beliefs that have been told throughout our American history.

Ken: How?

Josh: Superman is an orphan who comes by rocket to Earth when his native planet explodes. He lands near a small town and is adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent, who teach him their American middle-class values of honesty, hard work and consideration for others. As an adult, he migrates to a large city and defends Americans against evil.

Ken: What else?

Josh: Well, I was thinking about this and realized that he is a symbol of the American character because he is an immigrant. We Americans have come from somewhere else, too. My great grandparents came from Germany, and I know your grandparents came from Brazil. They all worked

hard and succeeded.

Ken: But how does that relate to Superman?

Josh: He goes to the city, just as many immigrants did, works as a newspaper reporter. But his adopted parents' values of honesty, hard work and helpfulness are a part of him. He uses his super abilities to fight dishonesty and to help the victims of crime and injustice, meanwhile working hard at his newspaper job.

Ken: I understand. As an orphan, Superman becomes a new person in a new land, just as our ancestors did, and succeeds. He also represents our values. Your paper should be interesting. I'd like to read it when it's finished.

Josh: OK.

P26

At one time animals and people lived together in peace and talked with each other. But when mankind began to multiply rapidly, the animals were crowded into forests and deserts.

Man began to destroy many animals for their skins and furs instead of only for food. Animals became angry at this treatment by man and decided that mankind must be punished.

The animals held a meeting, but they could not decide how to punish mankind. Finally the animals agreed that because deer were the animals most often killed by man, deer should decide how man should be punished.

Deer decided that any Indian hunters who killed deer without asking pardon in a suitable manner would be made to suffer with painful stiffness in their bodies. After this decision was made, the leader of the deer sent a message to the nearest people, the Cherokee Indians. \"From now on, your hunters must first offer a prayer to the deer before killing him. You must ask his pardon, telling the deer you are forced to kill him only because your people are hungry and need meat. Otherwise, a terrible disease will come to you.\"

The spirits of the deer would run to the place where a deer had been killed and these spirits would ask the dead deer, \"Did you hear the hunter's prayer for pardon?\" If the answer was \"yes\spirits would be satisfied. But, if the answer was \"no\hunter to his house and strike him with the terrible disease of stiffness in his body, making him crippled so that he could not hunt deer again.

Soon all of the animals agreed that this was a fair and just punishment. Each type of animal decided that they would also cause a disease in people who mistreated them.

When the friendly plants of the world heard what the animals had decided as punishment for mankind, the plants decided that this punishment was too harsh. They had a meeting of their own. Finally they decided that each type of plant should provide a cure for one of the diseases which animals had caused for mankind.

This was the beginning of plant medicines from nature among the Cherokee Indians a long, long time ago

P28

Every March, a flock of buzzards returns to the town of Hinkley, Ohio. No one really knows how long this event has taken place, but according to local legend the annual buzzard migration began nearly 200 years ago with a massacre.

\"The first legend of buzzards in Hinkley, Ohio, goes back to the Great Hinkley Hunt on December 24, Christmas Eve, in 1818. The local settlers deciding that the township needed to be made safe for their livestock, gathered together about 400 men and boys, with guns and clubs and completely surrounded the township of Hinkley.\"

As the story goes, the townsfolk began marching toward the center of town, driving all the game in front of them, and killing virtually every wild animal they encountered.

\"The settlers took some of the deer and the wild turkeys for the holiday dinners, but left all of the other dead animals out in the snow. When spring came, the remaining dead animals attracted many buzzards, and since 1819 they've been coming back here in March.\"

Hinkley locals have come to appreciate the buzzards' annual return. In mid-March, on Buzzard Sunday, they celebrate the birds' arrival with costumes, exhibits and songs.

P29

Almost seven centuries ago, in Central Asia, there lived a great king called Tamerlane. He was a mighty, powerful, conquering soldier, and his greatest ambition was that one day he would rule a massive empire stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. He made his imperial capital in the oasis city of Samarkand, which he planned to make the most beautiful city on earth. Many magnificent mosques were built and they were decorated with

exquisite blue ceramic tiles on the outside, and with pure gold on the inside.

Tamerlane, like the great oriental king that he was, had many wives, including a Chinese girl called Bibi Khanym. Now Bibi Khanym was the most beautiful of all Tamerlane's wives, and she was also the youngest. She was his favorite wife and was deeply in love with him.

In order to demonstrate her great love of Tamerlane, she decided to build a magnificent mosque to honor him, while he was away fighting in a distant war. She engaged the best architect, who designed for her the most magnificent mosque you could imagine. And then she found the best master builder, who began work immediately. But as the weeks and months passed by, the master builder began to fall in love with Bibi Khanym. She resisted all his advances, but at last he threatened to leave the mosque unfinished unless she allowed him to kiss her just once. Bibi Khanym wanted the beautiful mosque finished more than anything else. She was expecting Tamerlane to return any day. So at last she agreed to let the master builder kiss her, just once.

But that was her terrible mistake, for so powerful was the master builder's love for Bibi Khanym that when he kissed her he left a permanent mark on her face.

King Tamerlane returned and saw the guilty mark on his wife's face. The master builder was executed immediately, and then, thinking that a woman's beauty can be a dangerous thing, Tamerlane ordered that from that day on all the women in the kingdom should never be seen in public without a veil to cover their face.

P30

Long long ago, there was a pretty girl named \"Red Riding Hood\" because she was always

wearing a red hood. One day her mother asked her to take some snacks to her grandmother because her grandmother was ill. Her mother told her, \"Don't hang around on your way. Don't leave the main road.\"

On her way, she saw a wolf. The wolf asked her where she was going and she told him that she was going to her grandmother's house. The wolf thought to himself how delicious she would taste. Red Riding Hood danced in the woods, picking flowers for her grandmother and forgetting what her mother had said to her.

The wolf went to the grandmother's house and ate up the poor lady. Then he waited in the bed for Red Riding Hood.

As Red Riding Hood came into the grandmother's house, she found her grandmother looked rather strange with very large ears, eyes, hands and mouth. And suddenly the wolf jumped out of the bed and devoured the little girl.

At that time, a hunter passed the house and heard loud snores made by the wolf. He went in and carefully cut the wolf's stomach open because he thought the wolf had probably eaten the grandmother. Then both little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother escaped from the wolf's stomach. After that, Red Riding Hood remembered the importance of her mother's words and never left the main road again.

Questions:

1. Why was the girl called \"Red Riding Hood\"?

2. What was she asked to take to her grandmother?

3. What did her mother tell her NOT to do on the way?

4. How did the wolf think Red Riding Hood would taste?

5. What did the wolf do to both the girl and her grandmother?

6. Who rescued Red Riding Hood and her grandmother?

P31

Moon was sad. She had spent many years looking at the people on Earth and she saw that they were afraid. They were afraid of dying. To make them feel better she decided to call on her friend Spider to take a message to them.

\"Spider,\" she said. \"The people on Earth are afraid of dying and that makes me very sad. Please tell them that they will all die sooner or later but it is nothing to be scared of.\"

So Spider slowly made his way to Earth, carefully picking his way down on moonbeams and sunbeams. On his way he met Hare.

\"Where are you going, Spider?\" asked Hare.

\"I am going to give the people of Earth a message from Moon,\" he said.

\"Oh, you'll be far too long. Tell me the message and I'll take it there for you,\" replied Hare.

\"OK! Moon wants the people of Earth to know that they will all die...\" Spider started.

\"Right! Tell the people of Earth that they will all die,\" said Hare. And with that, Hare disappeared off to Earth.

Spider gloomily made his way back to Moon and told her what had happened. Moon was very angry with Hare when she heard what he had said to the people, and hit him on the nose! That is why, to this day, Hare has a split lip.

\"You should have taken the message yourself,\" said Moon to Spider.

And to this day, Spider is still carefully carrying Moon's message and spinning the web in the corner of our rooms—but how many of us listen?

第三单元

Paul: Guys, guys, it's getting late. Some of us are going to work tomorrow. Who wants to ride back with me?

Donna: No one is going to ride with you. Give me your car keys. I'll drive you home.

Paul: Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute! That's not happening... I know I've been drinking, but I can still drive.

Donna: No, you can't. We decided when we came that I would be the designated driver tonight. That's why I've been having soft drinks all evening.

Pete: She's right. And I can also drive. I haven't been drinking either since I'm under 21.

Paul: But, I really don't think that having a few drinks can make a person a dangerous driver.

Donna: Well, you're wrong about that. I read that even a few drinks can impair concentration and slow reactions.

Jean: I haven't been drinking that much alcohol tonight, but I would rather drive home with Donna. I know from first-hand experience...er...how drinking can affect a driver. My best friend in high school was killed in a drunk driving accident.

Ron: How did it happen?

Jean: Well, it was the night of the senior prom at high school, and my friend had a date. Er, the date had borrowed a car for the evening, but his older brother had given him some booze, you know, just to make the evening go with a swing. Well, they, er...left the prom early with two other couples, and went to the beach, drinking...

Ron: What happened?

Jean: Well, on the way home, my friend's date was driving. He was speeding, lost control of the car, and drove to a lamppost. Er...my friend and two other students were killed outright and three others were badly injured. And the driver, he'll never walk again because his back was broken.

Paul: That's just one incident. That won't happen to me.

Donna: But it's not just one incident, and it could happen to you. I know that almost two thousand underage drinking drivers are involved in serious injury or death each year in the state of California alone. And almost 40 percent of high school seniors admit they have driven after

drinking.

Paul: Well, I'm 21 now and a more experienced driver than most high school seniors. I've driven after drinking plenty of times and I haven't had any crashes.

Ron: Well, then you're lucky. I know I don't want to ride with you. I know when I've had too much to drink. Besides, Donna is a designated driver. Donna, why were you willing to do this for us? I know you like to drink sometimes.

Donna: I'm a member of Students Against Drunk Driving, and my mother is a member of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. We believe in having non-drinking designated drivers in order to prevent accidents and help save lives. There are many groups of people of all ages who support programs against drinking and driving. They all agree that drunk driving is one of the major social problems in the U.S., especially among young people.

Pete: So that's how you know all those statistics. Don't you ever drink when you go out? I know I probably will when I'm old enough to do it legally. The bars in this town are very careful about checking our IDs to see if we're old enough.

Donna: Yes, I drink occasionally, but I never drive afterwards.

Jean: Don't forget that people that are older than we are cause accidents too. That's what frightens me.

Donna: Me too. Another fact that I remember is that the average drunk driver is typically male, 25 to 35, with a history of driving while intoxicated. I hate to see you, Paul, or any of my friends, to be included in that group.

Pete: I guess alcohol is only one of the drugs involved in the Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) cases. Many people would like to see marijuana and other drugs become legal in California, but I'm against it because I'm convinced it would increase the number of accidents even further. I recently read that in the U.S., there is a person killed every 33 minutes and someone injured every two minutes because of alcohol and other drug-related accidents. We don't need to add to that.

Paul: What if I drink a quick cup of coffee and then drive?

Jean: No way! Even I know that it won't lower your blood alcohol content, despite what people say. You just can't drive tonight. We've all seen how much you've drunk here. We'll be risking our lives driving with you. Donna is being a good friend by offering to drive your car for you. Anyway, if we didn't take your car keys away from you, I think the bartender would. He saw how much you drank here tonight. He wouldn't want to be responsible for an accident.

Ron: Well, please let's decide who is driving. Drinking makes me sleepy and I need to get back to my room and go to bed. I don't want to fall asleep here. Besides, I have a Saturday job too.

Donna: OK, let me give you one last statistic and I'll drive us all back. Have you ever thought how much it would cost you if you are arrested for DWI, even if you're just stopped in a routine check and you've been drinking, but not even involved in an accident? Just listen to this: A first-time DWI conviction can cost you $11,000 in fines, legal fees, and increased insurance costs. Can you afford that, Paul?

Paul: You know I can't. I'm still trying to pay my college fees for this semester. OK, Donna, you win. Here are my keys. Be sure to drive carefully.

P37

In August 1975, three men were on their way to rob the Royal Bank of Scotland at Rothesay when they got stuck in the revolving doors. They had to be helped free by the staff and, after thanking everyone, sheepishly left the building. A few minutes later, they returned and announced their intention of robbing the bank, but none of the staff believed them. When, at first, they demanded £5,000, the head cashier laughed at them, convinced that it was a practical joke.

Considerably disheartened by this, the gang leader reduced his demand first to £500 then to £50 and ultimately to 50 pence. By this stage the cashier could barely control herself for laughter.

Then one of the men jumped over the counter and fell awkwardly on the floor, clutching his ankle. The other two made their getaway, but got trapped in the revolving doors for a second time, desperately pushing the wrong way.

P38

Man: Yes, I'd like to report a theft.

Police Officer: Okay. Can you tell me exactly what happened?

Man: Well, I was walking home from work two days ago, enjoying the nature all around me...the birds, the frogs, the flowing stream...[Okay, Okay] when this woman knocked me right off my feet, grabbed my stuff[东西], and ran off through the trees. [Hmm.] I was so surprised by the ordeal that I didn't chase her.

Police Officer: Yeah. Can you describe the woman for me?

Man: Yeah. She was about 190 centimeters tall...

Police Officer: Wait. You said a woman robbed you.

Man: Well, I'm not really sure. [Hmm.] You see, the person was wearing a white and black polka-dot dress, a light red sweater over it, and she...or he...was wearing a pair of basketball shoes.

Police Officer: Hmm. What else can you tell me?

Man: Okay. Like I said, the person was about 190 centimeters tall, heavily built, with long wavy hair. She...or he...was probably about in her or his late 30s. I didn't get a good look at the person's face, but well...uh...

Police Officer: What? Was there something else?

Man: Well, the person...had a beard胡须.

Police Officer: Ah! What was, uh, taken...exactly?

Man: Well, just my left shoe. Crazy, isn't it?

Police Officer: Ah hah! The \"bearded woman\" has struck again!

Man: The \"bearded woman\"?

Police Officer: Yeah. It's this man who dresses up like a woman and, for some unknown reason, removes the left shoe from his victims. He's really quite harmless, though, and he usually returns the

shoe to the crime scene a couple of days later.

Man: Hey, he can keep my shoe, and I'll just take off my left shoe every time I walk through the park.

knock sth.(sb.) off one's feet [v] 使...不胜惊奇, 使...极为难过

p39

Melissa Luzzi, a Dallas resident who owns an embroidery business, thought her home was secure. But in broad daylight a thief got in by smashing through a floor-to-ceiling window in the back of her house. Incredibly, no neighbors heard the disturbance—and her home was robbed of everything of value.

One thing common to every neighborhood I visited: empty streets for much of the day. Many of us are working, and the kids are in school. But there's usually someone home in the neighborhood.

I've found that, nationwide, police respond much faster to 911 calls than to alarms. So keep an eye on your neighbors' property[财产], and ask them to do the same for you. Call the police if you hear breaking glass, or see someone lurking about or notice anything suspicious.

You also might consider joining a community crime-watch group. \"Criminals know which neighborhoods have watch groups,\" says Dallas Sgt. Tony Takats. \"They avoid them like the plague.\"

\"The little old lady who's home all day?\" adds Steve Bell, a 31-year veteran of the Dallas police force. \"She's the best security you've got.\"

broad daylight n.大白天

floor-to-ceiling window 落地窗户

disturbance [n] 骚乱, 扰乱, 不安, 心神不安

nationwide全国范围的

veteran老手

p41

I took a trip recently into the heart of the Amazon Basin where one of the big issues facing our planet stands out: the balance between economic development and the conservation of natural resources. There is strong pressure in the country to harvest [v] 收割, 收获, 获得natural riches for short-term financial gains. Then there is intense international concern about the control of such development. The problem, of course, is that this is a one-way street. Rapid development, and wholesale harvesting of timber, oil, and the like, will soon lead to the Amazon desert, which would mean the extinction of half our planet's animal and plant species and the depletion of much of the oxygen we breathe. This clearly impacts every one of us.

The local people of the Amazon understand the delicate balance of nature. They've survived for thousands of years by making good use of it, not abusing it----something we can all learn from. And now tourism is playing a positive role in the equation. Travelers from more developed countries are increasingly interested in the natural world. As a result, they are fueling a boom in eco-tourism. This is in turn bringing valuable income into the region, raising awareness of critical issues and helping slow down the otherwise uncontrollable development.

P42

It isn't strictly true that one half of the world is rich and the other half is poor. It is one-third that is very rich and two-thirds that are very poor. People in the rich third don't realize the enormous difference between them and the other two-thirds. A very simple example is that a dog or a cat in North America eats better than a child in many of the poorer countries. A fisherman in South America may be catching fish which are processed into pet food and yet his own children are not getting enough protein for their bodies to develop properly.

Although a lot of the world's natural resources come from these poorer countries, people in the richer countries are probably using much more of these resources than people in Asia or Africa. The richer countries are in a position to dictate to suppliers what kind of prices they are prepared to pay for these natural resources. In some cases the prices have gone down. In others they have remained steady. But the prices the richer countries get for their own exports have continued to rise. So, they are getting richer and richer, and the poorer countries are getting poorer and poorer.

process [v] 加工, 对...起诉, 冲洗, 处理

protein [n] 蛋白质

dictate [v] 口授, 口授, 口述, 要求，命令

p43

The news report that night was about a famine in Ethiopia. From the first few seconds it was clear that this was a really monumental catastrophe. The pictures were of people who were so thin that they looked like beings from another planet. The camera focused on one man so that he

looked directly at me, sitting in my comfortable living room. All around was the sound of death.

It was clear that somehow the world had not noticed this tragedy until now. You could hear the despair, grief and disgust in the voice of the reporter, Michael Buerk. At the end of the report he was silent. My wife, Paula, started crying, then rushed upstairs to check our baby, Fifi, who was sleeping peacefully.

I kept seeing the news pictures in my mind. What could I do? I was only a pop singer—and by now not a very successful pop singer. All I could do was make records which no one bought. But I would do that, I would give all the profits of the next Rats record to Oxfam. What good would that do? It would only be a little money but it was more than I could give just from my bank account. Maybe some people would buy it because the profits were for Oxfam. And I would be protesting about this disaster. But that was not enough.

P44

Marsha and Ed Gibson are sitting at the kitchen table. Ed is nervous and upset, and he's smoking. Marsha's eyes are red. She looks tired. Their children, two boys, eight and ten, are sitting with them. Tony and George know that their parents are having problems. Now, their parents are telling the boys that they're going to get a divorce.

Their mother is talking first. She's telling them that she loves them and their father loves them, too. But she and their father are having problems. They aren't going to live together as a family anymore. It has nothing to do with the boys. The boys are going to live with her. They're going to stay in the same house, go to the same school, and be with all their friends.

Now, their father is talking. He's going to leave the house this weekend. He's not going to move far away; he's going to be in the next town. Two weekends a month, the boys are going to stay with him. And, they're going to be with him one month in the summertime. He'll take his vacation then and they'll go to the beach. The boys can call him anytime. He's going to be nearby. It'll be better this way.

Tony and George don't really understand what's happening. On the one hand, they know that their parents aren't happy. On the other hand, they want everyone to stay together.

Questions:

1. How does the couple feel about their divorce?

2. Why does the couple decide to get a divorce?

3. Where will the husband go after the divorce?

4. What is the children's response to their parents' divorce?

P46

A pensioner was shot to death in front of his wife last night. He had complained about local drug dealers shortly before his murder. Terry Morgan, 69, had just driven his wife back from work but was killed by a single shot to the chest as he got out of his car. His wife was opening the front door when she heard a loud bang and found her husband lying on the ground. He died without saying anything. The murder happened at his home in Rugby. It shocked everyone in his town. People said it was really a cold-blooded killing. As police began a major investigation into this

horrible murder, they found Mr. Morgan had made complaints to a local official about drug dealing in a nearby street. He had mentioned his concern twice to the local official. A neighbor of Mr. Morgan said he was against drugs of any kind. Whenever this topic arose he always expressed strong views about drugs. Last summer, gangs of teenagers in his neighborhood were found to be drug abusers. He tried to help them stop using drugs, but it only made them angry. But it's still too early to say this is related to the murder. A lady who used to live in the same street as Morgan said, \"Mr. Morgan was a respectable man, a nice man. But it's getting really bad here with gangs of teenagers abusing drugs and stealing. They should be the ones accused of this murder.\"

P47

Last month, the Wilsons went to Green Trees Park. Jim and Sally sat under the trees and talked and read. The children played ball.

Sally decided to take a picture of the children. She took her camera and walked over to them. She focused her camera. Then, she heard a scream. Sally looked up. A man was stealing a woman's purse. He was running in her direction.

Sally thought fast. She took three pictures of the man. When the police came, she gave them the film.

The next day, one of Sally's photographs was in the newspaper. Under it was the story of the robbery. In a few hours, the police knew the man's name and address. They went to his house and arrested him. The man is now serving three months in jail.

Questions:

1. Where was the Wilson family when the story happened?

2. What was Sally doing when she heard the scream?

3. What did Sally see?

4. What did Sally give the police?

5. What happened to the man on the photographs?

第四单元

Mr. Davis: Good morning! So you are Li Lei.

Li Lei: Yes. Good morning, Mr. Davis.

Mr. Davis: How are you doing? Ready to begin?

Li Lei: Fine, thank you. Sure.

Mr. Davis: It says in your résumé that your major is computer engineering. What position are you applying for?

Li Lei: Ah...computer programmer.

Mr. Davis: Can you sell yourself in two minutes?

Li Lei: I hope so. With my qualifications and experience, your organization can benefit from my analytical and interpersonal skills. I'm hard-working, responsible and diligent in every project I undertake.

Mr. Davis: All right. Give me a summary of your academic performance in university.

Li Lei: Well, I worked very hard during my college studies, as well as my graduate studies. I also won a lot of awards for being an excellent student, first- and second-level scholarships, etc. I believe if the opportunity knocks, I must be in a position to take it.

Mr. Davis: How about your English level?

Li Lei: I've passed CET 4 and 6 tests. I also have a CET certificate for spoken English. I've spent a lot of time on my English because I believe it will be crucial for my career.

I1: What sort of experience have you had?

Li Lei: Well, I don't have any formal work experience, but I do have some experience. I had my internship with a big company, worked together on a project. It was mainly about management information systems.

I2: Li Lei, since you were in the Student Union, did you organize any activities while in college?

Li Lei: Yes, quite a few. Several of us invited a CEO from a big company to deliver a lecture. And with the help of the university, we arranged a CAD competition.

Mr. Davis: That sounds good. What hobbies do you have?

Li Lei: I have a wide range of interests ranging from surfing the Internet, and reading magazines and journals, as well as jogging.

Mr. Davis: Good. Why are you applying to our company?

Li Lei: I believe your company is one of the best companies in its field. It has a good organizational system, a good working environment, and talented people. And, what's more, your company has a promising future.

I2: How do you rate yourself as a professional?

Li Lei: Well, with my strong academic background, I am capable and competent.

Mr. Davis: What do you have to offer us?

Li Lei: I think my computer programming skills can help your company.

I1: What makes you think you would be successful in this position?

Li Lei: My graduate school training combined with my internship has given me the background for this particular job.

Mr. Davis: Do you work well under stress or pressure?

Li Lei: Yes, I think so. I'm very persistent.

Mr. Davis: What are your strongest traits?

Li Lei: I have very good organizational skills and I work hard.

Mr. Davis: What are your weaknesses?

Li Lei: Well, everybody has weaknesses. I am no exception. Sometimes I'm not patient enough. Especially when I am programming, I don't like to be bothered, and if people keep interrupting me, sometimes I get impatient.

Mr. Davis: How would your friends or classmates describe you?

Li Lei: (He pauses for a few seconds.) They think of me as being friendly, caring and determined.

Mr. Davis: What personality traits do you most admire?

Li Lei: I admire someone who is honest, flexible and easy-going.

Mr. Davis: How do you handle criticism?

Li Lei: I think silence is golden. I try not to say anything that'll make things worse. However, I think I accept constructive criticism quite well.

Mr. Davis: How do you handle failure?

Li Lei: Oh yes, I suppose everyone fails sometimes. I would like to have the opportunity to correct my mistakes.

I1: Well, what gives you a feeling of accomplishments?

Li Lei: Mm, doing the best I can in any situation.

I2: If you had a lot of money to donate, who would receive it? And why?

Li Lei: I would donate it to the medical research center because I'd like to try and help others.

Mr. Davis: What is most important in your life right now?

Li Lei: To find my job in my field.

Mr. Davis: What current issues are you concerned with the most?

Li Lei: Mm...the general state of our economy and the impact of China's entry into the WTO on an industry.

Mr. Davis: How long would you like to stay with this company?

Li Lei: I will stay as long as I can continue to learn and we are happy with one another.

Mr. Davis: Can you imagine what you would like to be doing five years from now?

Li Lei: I'd hope to be in a management position. That would be exciting.

Mr. Davis: What range of pay scale are you interested in?

Li Lei: Erm...money is important; however, the responsibility that goes with this job is what interests me.

Mr. Davis: The salary would be ￥3,600 to start, with increases given according to your performance.

Li Lei: That sounds good to me.

Mr. Davis: Thank you. You should be hearing from us within a few days.

Li Lei: Thank you, Mr. Davis.

...

P52

For many of you this will be your last year at university and now is the time for you to begin thinking seriously about your future careers. In order to give you as much help as possible, I have quoted a list of questions that you ought to ask yourself.

First, \"Have I got a clear knowledge of my abilities as well as my interests?\" Be honest about your weaknesses as well as your strengths. Take a really good look at yourself and give real thought to the kind of person you are, and what kind of person you want to be.

Second, \"Do I know the kinds of occupations in which people like myself tend to find success and satisfaction?\" Talk to people who have similar abilities and interests and who are already in the careers that interest you. You can gain some idea of what they consider to be important and challenging in those careers. Watch these people at work.

Third, \"Have I weighed carefully the immediate advantages against the long-term prospects

offered by the jobs I am considering?\" Will the occupation you select give you satisfaction in the years to come? Realize now the importance of education in all fields, technical and professional. Remember that chances of promotion are usually given to educated persons—other things being equal.

Fourth, \"Have I talked with my parents, my teachers and my headmaster?\" Remember they have a lot of experience that you can benefit from. They can help you think about the jobs. They can stimulate you to give careful thought to what you really want to do, and offer useful suggestions about how you might take full advantage of your personal qualities and qualifications.

Last, \"How do I regard my job? Is it just a means of getting money to do the things that I want to do? Is the work important to my future happiness? Is it a combination of both?\"

The above questions and their answers should give you some better ideas about how you should start planning your career. Your life-long job cannot be approached in any kind of haphazard fashion. It must be considered carefully, examined from every angle, and talked over with those who know you and those who can help you in any way.

P54

Interviewer: Some people feel that their jobs are misunderstood by others. Is that very common?

Sociologist: Oh, absolutely. Most jobs or professions have an image or stereotype attached to them, and some of these are not realistic. The serious point is that young people choose their careers based on these false images, and they may even avoid certain careers which have a negative

image. This can cause problems for the economy.

Interviewer: Is there evidence of this problem?

Sociologist: Yes, there was a recent survey of children's attitudes to different professions.

Interviewer: How was this done? Children don't know much about jobs and professions.

Sociologist: True. What the investigators wanted to get was children's impressions and prejudices. They gave the children twelve pairs of statements, one of the pair positive, and the other negative. Children were asked to say which of the statements was \"most true\" for each profession.

Interviewer: For example?

Sociologist: Well, for example, \"Such and such a person is likely to be boring or interesting company.\"

Interviewer: I see. What professions did they ask about?

Sociologist: The list is long, but it included lawyers, economists, accountants, sales representatives, scientists and engineers.

Interviewer: And the results?

Sociologist: Well, they are striking, especially for engineers who came out much worse than one might expect. About 90 percent of the children thought that engineering was a \"dirty job\status\

they thought more likely to lose his job was the sales representative. But, there were good points too. Engineering was seen to be \"interesting, well-paid work\".

Interviewer: Hmm, not a rosy picture.

Sociologist: No, but it got better when children were asked what they thought of the engineer as a person. Most of them chose positive comments, but most thought the engineer was likely to be badly dressed.

Interviewer: What about other professions? What were the most popular?

Sociologist: Oh, the lawyers by far. Next came accountants and scientists as well as economists. The engineers and sales representatives were the least popular.

Interviewer: Sounds like a sign of the times.

Sociologist: Yes, but I think the most serious implication was the children's apparent ignorance of the importance of the engineer's role in society.

P55

(Here's a dialog between a woman whose job is to help people find jobs and a man looking for a job.)

Woman: Look. Here's a job that might interest you.

Man: What is it? Are you sure? The last job interview you sent me off to was a disaster.

Woman: Well, look. It says they want a sales manager, and it looks like it's a big international company. That'd be good. You might get to travel.

Man: What kind of company is it, though?

Woman: Um, let's see. Yes, it's a textile company that seems to import from abroad. They say the salary is really good. They operate a system of paying you a basic salary and then offering you a sales commission on top of that. They say it is high. And oh, look! They give you a car to travel round in. That's not bad, is it?

Man: Um, do they say anything about experience?

Woman: Um, let's see. No, they want someone young with ambition and enthusiasm. Oh yes, they want graduates, so that's OK. You've been to university. Now what else? Let's see.

Man: There must be some catch.

Woman: No, the only thing is you have to travel, but then that's what the company car's for. Oh, and you have to be able to get on well with other people because it says you have to be good on a team.

Man: Um, perhaps I'll have a closer look at that one.

P57

Womack: Now what do you want to see me about, Janet?

Janet: Well, I have a few questions I'd like to ask you, Mr. Womack. Can you give me some information about secretarial jobs?

Womack: Yes, of course. First, let me get your file out. Now you're 16, aren't you?

Janet: That's right.

Womack: Well, what would you like to know?

Janet: About the opportunities in general and the basic training, and things like typing speed and shorthand speed.

Womack: Before we go any further, Janet, when you said secretarial work, did you only mean typing or more general things?

Janet: Well, I suppose I'd have to start as a word processor operator, wouldn't I?

Womack: If you left school at sixteen, yes. But if you wanted to have a better chance of getting a more interesting secretarial job more quickly, it would be better if you stayed on and took A levels. According to your file, your English is good, and you've done French and economics, haven't you?

Janet: Yes, they're my best subjects. If I stayed, what A levels would I need to be a secretary?

Womack: That depends, but those three subjects are all very suitable.

Janet: And then I suppose I'd have to do a secretarial course, wouldn't I? Um, what sort of speed do they expect?

Womack: I've got the typing speed here, I think. Oh, yes, it should be 65 words per minute.

Janet: And would I have to learn shorthand?

Womack: Yes, you would. You'd need a speed of 90 to 100 words a minute.

Janet: Oh, it sounds a lot, doesn't it? Would I have a chance to use my French?

Womack: Oh, yes, if you were a secretary with languages.

Janet: What sort of work would I have to do?

Womack: Well, you'd have to translate letters, of course, but you'd also have to answer the phone to foreign callers and interpret if foreign visitors came to the firm. It would be useful if you learned a second foreign language. That would help a lot.

Janet: I think I'd like a job like that. But I'd better go away and think about it. You see, well, after all, two more years at school is a long time, isn't it?

Womack: I'm sure it seems so at your age. If you need any more help, please come back and we'll talk about it again.

Janet: Thanks, Mr. Womack.

Questions:

1. Who is Janet?

2. When will Janet be qualified for a more interesting secretarial job?

3. What subjects has Janet taken?

4. What is Janet's decision finally?

5. What can you infer from the dialog?

P58

David: Hi! You're listening to Radio Southwest, the best in the southwest for music and up-to-the-minute news. Sue's here. Hello, Sue.

Sue: Hello, David.

David: And we've got the Jobspot for you today. So, if you're looking for a new job, this could be the spot for you. So, let's have a look, and see what we've got today.

Sue: Well, the first one we've got is a cook. That's in a large, busy restaurant, so it's very useful to have had experience in cooking. Must be a high school graduate and the pay is $12 an hour. So that's not bad, is it? The hours are good too. That's Monday to Friday, 3:00 p.m. till 6:00 p.m.

David: Great. Thanks, Sue. So that's a cook. Now, how do you fancy working out of doors? How do you fancy being a gardener? So as long as you're fit and strong, and at least 16 years old, that'll suit you. The pay is $8 an hour. And the hours, Tuesday to Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., you have to work on Sunday once a month, but on Monday the Garden Center's closed. Now, the sort of work you'd be doing is potting, watering, things like that. So, how about applying for that? Pay, $8 an

hour. Sue, what else have you got?

Sue: Right, Dave. Well, from outdoors to indoors. We've got a word processor operator job here. This job might suit a woman with school-age children, because the hours are only 15 hours a week. It's a small, friendly office, and they require a high school graduate with two years' experience operating a computer. Pay is $9 per hour. So, there you go. That's a nice job in an office. If you fancy any of those jobs, give us a ring here on Jobspot at Radio Southwest. And now back to the music.

P59

Interviewer: Do you think anybody can be trained to be a teacher?

Interviewee: Well, I think there are probably some people that can be teachers but I think it's a gift that you have. And not many people have that internal kind of thing.

Interviewer: Can you define any of that?

Interviewee: Oh...

Interviewer: What sort of specific uh...are there certain personality...

Interviewee: Well, I think that the best teachers are people that are fairly sensitive, and, er, extroverted, okay?

Interviewer: Uh-huh...

Interviewee: The best teachers I know are kind of extroverted people, and they really like kids...

Interviewer: Uh-huh.

Interviewee: But, by the same token, I know some teachers who really care about doing a good job and want those kids to like them and want to do well.

Interviewer: Right...

Interviewee: But for some teachers, they just don't have it. And it's...it's sad when you see that happening, because there're some teachers who don't care, you know—they're just in it now because they've been in it so long and it's too late to move out...and...

Interviewer: Well, aren't there some very definable management skills involved in teaching that often are neglected in teacher training, maybe? I mean...

Interviewee: I don't know how you train somebody to do that. To be a good teacher, I think you have to have a high tolerance level for confusion—I think you have...

Interviewer: Um...

Interviewee: To have that when you've got thirty kids... You have to have that. You have to be a very patient person, and I know it just sounds totally inadequate, but I don't know how to put my...my finger on it. It just...

Interviewer: But you do believe it is uh...there is a gift of some sort, or there is something...

Interviewee: Yeah, I do.

P60

There are at least 100 million workers in the Unites States. Most of them are on the job 35 to 40 hours a week. Their typical day includes seven to eight hours of work. Usually, they have a 15-minute coffee break in the morning and in the afternoon. But work schedules vary from job to job.

White-collar workers—office workers and many professionals—usually have \"nine to five\" jobs. They begin at 9:00 a.m. and finish at 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Blue-collar workers—mechanics, electricians, and laborers—often work from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. In many factories, blue-collar workers come to work in eight-hour shifts. Typically, these shifts start at 8:00 a.m., 4:00 p.m., and midnight. Finally, sales people and managers in retail stores work on Monday and Thursday nights, when the stores are open. Many retail workers also work on Saturdays, and some work on Sundays.

These are the normal schedules for most American workers. However, many businesses now use a new system called \"flex-time scheduling\". Under this system, the employees choose their own working hours. Some people work from 8:00 to 4:00 five days a week. Some work from 9:00 to 5:00. Other people work 10 or 12 hours a day four days a week. Employees and managers are both happy with the system. The employees like the freedom of choice, so they work hard. The managers, of course, like the hard-working employees.

What, then, is a typical work schedule? It depends on the job—and on the workers.

P61

Man: How long have you worked for AM-ADMEL, Gill?

Woman: Only for a year. It's May now, isn't it? Yes, I joined last August in fact.

Man: August in 1996.

Woman: Yes.

Man: What did you do before that?

Woman: I used to work for a travel agency in London.

Man: It was interesting, wasn't it?

Woman: Not really. It was just secretarial work, rather like this job. And it wasn't too well-paid. But I took a secretarial course when I left school and I couldn't think what else to do.

Man: So you went straight from school into a secretarial course, didn't you?

Woman: Well, not quite. I left school when I was 16, in 1989, I think it was. And then I went to work in a hotel in Austria for a year, to learn some German.

Man: Austria? Why Austria?

Woman: I don't know really. Well, we used to go there on holiday quite often when we were younger, and, well, I like Austria actually. Anyway then I went back and did the secretarial course. That was a year's course.

Man: And then you got the job at the travel agency I suppose.

Woman: Yeah, that's right. That was in 1991.

Man: So you were there for five years!

Woman: Yes, it's awful, isn't it? Actually, I'm thinking of giving it all up to become a nurse.

Man: Really?

Woman: Well, I worked in a hospital in Twickenham during my last year at school. Just cleaning and helping to make beds and so on. It was part of our Practical Careers training.

Man: And you liked it?

Woman: Yes, it was interesting.

P62

Man: Well, now then, one thing I'd like to ask is, er, exactly why you applied for the job. I mean, just looking at your application form, you're actually over-qualified...

Woman: Yes, I thought you might ask that. Um, the thing is, in my present job, although I'm actually in charge of a small team and I have a lot of responsibility, it's largely a desk job with a lot of paperwork...

Man: And you're not too keen on being stuck in an office all day?

Woman: To be honest, no, I'm not. I much prefer being out on site where I can supervise things, and deal with problems as they occur. And this job should give me the kind of contact with other engineers, architects, builders and so on.

Man: Mmm. You'd certainly have to do quite a lot of traveling in the local area, you know, visiting different sites. You do realize, though, that the starting salary isn't as good as the salary in your present job?

Woman: Yes, I realize that, but um, it does say in the job advertisement that the promotion prospects are very good.

Man: That's true, and er, as this is a new project that we're working on, we think there'll be a very good chance of fairly quick promotion, depending on performance, that is...

Woman: Yes, of course. Well, you see, I've got very little chance of promotion in my present job. I mean it's a very small company and there's nowhere really for me to go; that's why I'm looking around for somewhere else.

Questions:

1. What kind of position is the woman applying for?

2. What does the interviewer want to know exactly?

3. Why does the woman want to leave her present job?

4. What is said about the job the woman applies for?

5. What can we say about the woman?

第五单元

Alice: So, each of us has chosen some animals that we believe use language. Peter, what did you learn about whales and dolphins?

Peter: It was thought that only humans could communicate with people they can't see; however, whales and dolphins can communicate over long distances.

Alice: How?

Peter: They use high frequencies which can carry over a long distance. And, in fact, researchers seem to think that these animals seem to have a need to communicate with each other. And one researcher thinks that one day we'll be able to know what they're talking about.

Alice: Good. Henry, what did you find about...erm...elephants?

Henry: I found that elephants can communicate over long distances too, but they use very low frequencies. I don't know whether you could call their communication language or not, but I'll look into it more.

Alice: OK. Margaret, what about parrots?

Margaret: We've all read about parrots, but I've been reading about a parrot called Nkisi, who knows 971 words. He isn't counted as knowing a new word unless he's used it at least five times in a meaningful way. In other words, if he just repeats the word, it doesn't count.

Alice: Do you have any examples of Nkisi's language use?

Margaret: Yes. It involves Jane Goodall, the famous anthropologist. She went to see Nkisi. Nkisi's owner had shown him some pictures of Jane and some chimpanzees. When Jane walked into the room, Nkisi said, \"Got a chimp?\"

Peter: That's funny.

Alice: Anything else?

Margaret: Well, yes, when his owner broke the necklace she was wearing, he said, \"What a pity! You broke your nice new necklace.\"

Alice: I would certainly say he was using language.

Margaret: I have another example of a bird-like animal—tamarins, using long calls to maintain contact with individuals. Scientists have found that they have an individual identity and a group identity. Individuals in one group all sound quite different than individuals in another group, something like accents we have.

Henry: Really? That's very surprising!

Margaret: Yes, what's more amazing is they have even a sex-specific identity besides individual identity and group-level identity, so they can distinguish between males, females, neighbors, and strangers just like humans.

Henry: Great. Now, Alice, what can you report?

Alice: First of all, do we all agree that American Sign Language is a language?

The others: Yes.

Alice: Well, all the great apes, such as chimpanzees and gorillas, can learn American Sign Language.

Henry: That would take some real work on their part.

Alice: Right. But what is amazing to me is that each kind of ape can teach the sign language to others of their own kind.

Peter: Well, that reminds me of the body language of wolves and dogs.

Alice: What do you mean?

Peter: I've found that wolves and dogs communicate through body gestures and facial expressions. For instance, aggressive wolves and dogs stand tall with their ears raised, and their head held high. They show their teeth, and raise their fur so that they look bigger. They may give a loud bark. And when they feel frightened or want to show obedience, they lower their bodies, flatten their ears, tuck in their tails, and close their mouths. They may roll over on their back and lie there, belly up.

Margaret: I often see dogs raise their rear and lower their forequarters in a kind of \"bow\". What does that mean?

Peter: That means they want to play.

Henry: Well, did any of us find any information about bees' dancing? That's a very good example of how insects communicate with each other.

Alice: Yeah, I've got some. There are two typical dances of the bees: the round dance and the tail-wagging dance.

Henry: Can you explain them in detail?

Alice: Well, the round dance is the simplest dance. Ah...the bee performs it when it finds food near the beehive. It doesn't provide much information; it's more of an...awakening signal. So, if the bee finds the food it will start going in a small circle. Every one or two circles it will suddenly reverse direction. It can go on for seconds and even minutes.

Henry: What happens next?

Alice: Erm...other bees follow the dancer and then fly off by themselves looking for food. If they haven't been feeding at that place before, they will look for food in every direction near the beehive. However, the dancing bee also gives off smells that are recognized by other bees frequenting the same flowers. They will then fly directly to them.

Peter: What about the tail-wagging dance?

Alice: Well, in the typical tail-wagging dance the bee flies straight ahead for a short distance, then returns in a semicircle to the starting point, again goes through the straight stretch, makes a semicircle in the opposite direction and so on repeatedly. The straight part of the run is given particular emphasis by wagging the body forcefully. In addition...er...during the tail-wagging portion of the dance the bee also gives out a buzzing sound. (She mimics the buzz of bees.)

Peter: Then what's the purpose of the tail-wagging dance?

Alice: It tells the other bees, very accurately, at what distance and in which direction the food is, so that they can look for it themselves.

Margaret: OK. I think we have a lot of good information here. Let's look for a little more, then meet again. OK?

The others: OK.

P67

Every culture has its own way of saying things, its own special expressions. These are the living speech of a people. The \"soap\" expressions in English are just one example.

Soap operas are radio and television plays about the problems and emotions in human relationships. They are called soap operas because the first programs—years ago—were paid for by soap-making companies.

Like musical operas, soap operas are not about real people. And critics charge that they do not represent a balanced picture of real life. They note that almost everyone in a soap opera has a serious emotional problem, or is guilty of a crime. And there are several crises in every program.

Yet, soap opera fans do not care about what the critics say. They love the programs and watch them every day.

Such loyalty has made soap operas very popular in the United States. In fact, a few programs

are so popular that they have been produced with the same actors for many years.

Another expression that uses the word \"soap\" is \"soap box\".

There was a time when soap and other products were shipped in wooden boxes. The boxes were small, but strong. You could stand on one to see over the heads in a crowd or to be seen in a crowd. Soap boxes were a simple, easy way to make yourself taller if you wanted to give a public speech.

Such soap box speeches usually were political and one-sided. The speakers shouted their ideas to anyone who walked by. Many talked for hours, refusing to get off their soap boxes.

Today, you don't need a wooden box to make a soap box speech. Anyone, anywhere, who talks endlessly about a cause, is said to be on a soap box.

Another quieter way to win support or gain influence is to \"soft-soap\" a person. This means to use praise or other kind words to get the person to do what you want.

P68

Interviewer: Do you think learners should aim to speak English with a native-speaker pronunciation?

Interviewee: That's a difficult question to answer. I think the most important thing is to be understood easily. For most learners, it's not necessary or desirable to speak like a native speaker. For some learners, for example, those who eventually want to teach English, or be interpreters perhaps, a native-speaker pronunciation is the ultimate goal. At least, that's what I think.

Interviewer: Children often do not want to speak English with a native-speaker pronunciation. Why not?

Interviewee: In general, children are splendid mimics and imitate strange sounds very easily and well. However, it is true that most children do not want to sound \"English\" when they are speaking English. This may be partly due to shyness but I think the main reason is that most children want to belong to a group—they dress alike, listen to the same music, share the same opinions and hobbies. Even if a child can speak English like a native speaker, he or she will usually choose not to—unless, of course, the rest of the group speaks with a native-speaker pronunciation too.

Interviewer: What is the main reason why adults find pronunciation difficult?

Interviewee: Numerous reasons have been offered for the difficulties which many adults find with pronunciation and, no doubt, there is some truth in all of these. It seems to be the case that children are better mimics than adults. But if an adult really wants to achieve a native-speaker pronunciation, then he or she can. It is NOT the student's own language that prevents him or her from achieving a native-speaker pronunciation in English. It is the fact that the adult student has a strong sense of national identity. In other words, he or she wants to be identified as a German or Brazilian speaking English. In my opinion, this sense of national identity is more important than other explanations, such as the greater anxiety of adults or the effect of their own language habits.

P69

Receptionist: English Language Center. May I help you?

Caller: Yes. I'm calling to find out more information about your program.

Receptionist: Well, first of all, the purpose of our program is to provide language-learning opportunities for our part of the U.S. [Uh-huh.] For example, some students need to learn the basic functional language skills for their jobs. Others need intensive English so that they can enter a U.S. university.

Caller: Okay. I'm calling for a friend interested in attending a U.S. university.

Receptionist: We have a variety of courses that can help her, from basic communication courses to content-based classes such as computer literacy, intercultural communication, and business English.

Caller: Great. What are your application deadlines for the next semester?

Receptionist: Well, we ask applicants to apply at least two months before the semester begins. [Uh-huh.] This gives us time to process the application and issue the student's I-20.

Caller: What is an I-20?

Receptionist: Oh, an I-20 is a form giving our permission for a student to study in our program. The student will have to take this form to the U.S. embassy in their home country to apply for the F-1 student visa.

Caller: I see. What's the tuition for a full-time student in your courses?

Receptionist: It's two thousand thirty dollars.

Caller: How does one apply?

Receptionist: Well, we can mail an application form which can be mailed back to us, or a person can fill out our application form that's on our Web site.

Caller: And are there other materials my friend would need to send besides the application form?

Receptionist: Yes. She would need to send in a $35 non-refundable application fee [Uh-huh], a sponsorship form indicating who will be responsible financially for her while studying in our program, and a bank statement showing that she or her sponsor has sufficient funds to cover tuition expenses and living costs for study.

Caller: And how can she send these materials to you?

Receptionist: She can either send the application packet by regular mail or she can fax it.

Caller: And the application fee?

Receptionist: We accept money orders, traveler's checks, or credit cards.

Caller: All right. I think that's about it. Thank you for your help.

Receptionist: You're welcome.

Caller: Goodbye.

P71

The ability to speak or write two languages well is called bilingualism. Bilingual education is generally a matter of public policy. In a country like the United States that has what may be considered a national language—English—bilingual education means teaching English to those who were brought up using other native languages. On the other hand, there are nations such as Belgium, Canada, and Switzerland that have two or more national languages. This does not mean that all citizens of these countries speak two or more languages, but they are entitled to government services, including education, in the language of their choice. Some South American countries, like Peru and Ecuador, have large populations of Indians who speak various tribal tongues. There are government programs to teach the Indians Spanish, the national language in most of Latin America.

Bilingual education in the United States dates back to the first half of the 19th century, when millions of immigrants who arrived needed to learn English in order to make economic and social adjustments to the way the majority of the population lived.

In countries like Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Holland, whose languages are spoken by relatively few foreigners, bilingual education has long been a part of the school curriculum. Educated persons in these countries normally learn a second language such as English, German, or French for use in international communication.

P72

Identification of the factors that lead to fast, effective foreign language learning has become increasingly important because of the large number of people who are anxious, as adults, to learn a

new language for a very specific purpose: travel, business, study, or international friendship. The requirements for effective language learning may be examined in terms of the learner, the teacher, and the curriculum.

The learner must be personally committed to investing the time, applying the concentrated effort, and taking the emotional risks necessary to learn a new language. In addition to motivation, the learner should have at least minimal language-learning aptitude. While it is likely that nearly everyone can learn a new language if he or she is given enough time and effort, the ease with which you are able to acquire the language is related in part to specific language-learning aptitude. Other psychological factors that are important in picking up a new language include a sense of curiosity and a sensitivity to other people. Expectations also play an important role in determining the ease and speed with which you will learn your second language. Another factor is the learner's goals. If you are a serious adult language learner you need to write and clarify your goal in each specific area: understanding, speaking, reading, and writing.

Clearly, the learner and teacher are far more important than techniques, texts, and program design. The most crucial factor involved in determining a language teacher's effectiveness, however, is probably his or her attitude toward the students, toward the language and toward the program. On the other hand, the language used in the classroom should be up-to-date and authentic. You need to learn not only words and structures but how to use them in a way acceptable to people from a different background. A good language curriculum will include practice in the nonverbal aspects of communication as well as discussion of cultural differences and similarities.

P73

Talk Show Host: Welcome to today's program! Our guest is Dr. Charles Adams, language

learning specialist. His book, Learning a Language over Eggs and Toast, is on the bestseller list. Welcome.

Dr. Adams: Thank you.

Talk Show Host: Tell us about the title of your book.

Dr. Adams: First, it is important to establish a regular study program, like planning a few minutes every morning around breakfast time.

Talk Show Host: But, I took Spanish for four years, and I didn't become a proficient speaker of it.

Dr. Adams: Well, we can't become fluent speakers in a matter of a few minutes here and there. We should follow a regular course of study and remember that there is a difference between native fluency and proficiency in a language. I propose the latter.

Talk Show Host: What are the basic keys you suggest?

Dr. Adams: People must organize their study by setting realistic and attainable goals. Some people think they can learn a language in 30 days and become discouraged when they can't. Small steps are the key. Learning five new words a day and learning to use them actively is far better than learning 30 and forgetting them the next day.

Talk Show Host: [Um-hum.] You mentioned individual learning styles. Can you explain what you mean by learning styles?

Dr. Adams: Sure. People have different ways of learning. Some are visual learners who prefer to

see models of the patterns they are expected to learn. Others are auditory learners who favor hearing instructions over reading them. Our preferences are determined by factors such as personality, culture, and past experiences.

Talk Show Host: What is your learning style?

Dr. Adams: I learn by doing.

Talk Show Host: What do you mean by that?

Dr. Adams: I know it might sound unusual, but moving around while trying to learn material helps me. While I cut up tomatoes and onions for my breakfast in the morning, I might recite aloud vocabulary to the rhythm of the knife.

Talk Show Host: What is my learning style?

Dr. Adams: You're going to have to read my book to find that out.

Talk Show Host: Okay. Thanks for joining us.

Dr. Adams: My pleasure.

P75

Language is the most important development in human history. The arts, sciences, laws, economic systems and religions of the world could not exist without language. Humans haven't changed biologically very much for some 40,000 years. However, our ability to communicate has

led us from the cave all the way to the moon.

Little is known about the birth of language. Written records that are more than 4,000 years old have been found, but scientists studying human beings agree that humans were probably speaking thousands of years before that.

Today, most of us learn to talk by the age of three, and for the rest of our lives we rarely stop. Even while we are reading or just thinking, we are in a sense \"talking\is so much a part of human existence that we will be talking as long as we inhabit the earth. As linguist David Thompson notes, \"When language dies, so will man.\"

P76

Once upon a time there was an old man who had three sons. Calling them together, he said, \"Sons, my end is near. To my oldest son I give half my camels, to my second one-third, and to my youngest one-ninth.\" Soon afterwards he died.

Now, the old man had seventeen camels, and the three brothers were puzzled to know how to share them as their father had said. They thought a long time about the problem, and it seemed that they must either kill some of the camels and cut them into pieces, or disobey their father. At last they went to see their father's old friend and asked his advice. As soon as he heard their story, he said, \"I will help you. I honored your father. I am old. I have only one camel, but take it—it is yours.\"

Gratefully the three sons took the old man's camel, finding that it was now easy to divide the camels as their father had wished. The oldest took half—that was nine camels; the second took

one-third, which was six; and the youngest took one-ninth, which was two.

Only when each had received his share of camels did they discover that there was a camel to spare. So, out of gratitude to their father's friend, they returned the camel.

P76

Teacher: Before we start our regular lesson today, we're going to take about 20 minutes for a short listening test. (Students all groan.)

Student 1: Dr. Stark, why do we have to do it?

Teacher: That's a good question, and I have a good answer. You see, I belong to the TESOL organization—organization of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. I also occasionally help evaluate possible questions that might be on a TOEFL test.

Student 2: Do you mean you try to be sure they will be difficult questions? (Students laugh.)

Teacher: Not at all. We try to be sure that they are fair. And we want the questions neither too hard nor too easy, and as much like standard English as possible.

Student 1: Well, after we answer the questions, what will you do?

Teacher: I'll look at your answers, note which ones too many of you miss, and then perhaps give my opinion if I think it's a bad passage or dialog. All of your answers will go to ETS, the Educational Testing Service and there they'll decide which questions can possibly be included in a future test. OK, are you ready? Do you have any questions?

Student 1: Do you get paid for doing this?

Teacher: That's not considered a polite question in the U.S., but I'll answer it. No, I don't. I do this because I want to help to make good tests for international students. Now, no more questions. Let's listen.

Questions:

1. Where did this conversation most probably take place?

2. How did the students respond to the teacher's suggestion of a listening test?

3. What does TESOL refer to?

4. What was the purpose of the test?

5. How would the teacher deal with the students' answers?

6. Which of the following is the most appropriate word to describe the students' attitude towards the test?

第六单元

Anne: (She points at the notice on the bulletin board.) Hey, look over here... Hey, look here. This notice says the city zoo is free to the public this weekend.

Alex: Really? Mom, can we go?

Anne: Yes, we can go. (To Chia) Hey, you know, when I was a little girl, the trip to this petting zoo was my favorite.

Chia: What's the petting zoo? Do they allow you to play with and pet the animals in the zoo?

Anne: No, not all of the animals. There's one small section in the zoo that has small farm animals like calves, sheep, chickens and goats. And sometimes they even let you hold and feed the baby animals. And even though I had a dog, two cats and a hamster at home, I always loved the animals at the petting zoo.

Alex: You had a dog, two cats and a hamster when you were little? Then why can't I have a pet? I want a puppy.

Albert: Yeah! We'll...we'll see about that puppy, Alex. So, Anne, I...I didn't know you had hamsters. Mind, I don't want any hamsters in our house. They're too much like mice. Anyway, I...I think that too many American children think of small pets like goldfish or guinea pigs as toys. You know, they...they...they buy these animals or they receive them as gifts, and then they don't take care of them. And then when the animals die, they just bury them or toss them out in the garbage.

Alex: If I have a puppy I'll take care of him. I'll walk him every day and feed him. He can even sleep in my room.

Anne: We'll see. We'll see about the puppy. (to Albert) You know, Albert, I disagree with you about the hamsters. I don't really think it matters if a hamster or goldfish dies. They don't really suffer very much.

Albert: I think it does matter. How do you know whether the animal is suffering? And if it

doesn't suffer, are pets there only for our pleasure? I don't think so. And I think that's a wrong lesson to teach the children. And what's worse than keeping a hamster is keeping exotic animals. I think it's a real shame when people keep exotic animals, like lizards, and snakes, and potbellied pigs for pets. I mean, sure, they're cute when they're small, but then they get big and their owners, they get tired of them. You know, and...and they can be very dangerous and destructive. Not to mention that these animals bring diseases into our country and into our homes.

Alex: I won't get tired of my puppy. He won't grow too big. He won't have disease. I'll take care of him every day.

Anne: I know you'll try to take good care of him. We'll see about the puppy when we get home.

And I suppose you have a point, Albert. But you're starting to sound like an animal rights activist. (to Chia) You know, Chia, there are some westerners who think that animals should have the same rights as people. Well, and I disagree. I think that animals should be treated humanely, but there's a limit. Sometimes I think we lavish too much time and money on our pets when there are people who don't have enough to eat or a warm place to sleep. Animals are not as important as people. At least, that's what I think.

Chia: Well, animals are essential to man. We eat them, after all, and they help us with our work. And in today's commercialized society, people are feeling more and more isolated. They need pets for company when they're lonely, and to talk to when they're ill. Some scientists even say pets have therapeutic functions. I think we should try to maintain healthy conditions for them.

Anne: But pets cause a lot of problems as well. Like in parks, they often leave their \"poop\" where children play!

Chia: And animals are not as important as people. When there are still so many people starving, and when young talented students have to give up educational opportunity each year because of poverty, and when people are not able to afford proper medical treatment and die in the countryside, I don't think it's right to spend so much on pets. The question about the relation between man and animals is rather complicated. Sometimes there are ethical and moral issues involved.

Albert: You know, this makes me think of an incident that took place in the city zoo a couple of years ago. A wolf escaped from it and killed a man. And the relatives of the man wanted the wolf to be killed out of a sense of, you know, justice, right, but the animal rights activists said that it wasn't fair because the wolf can't think. You know, wolves act only out of instinct and therefore can't be \"guilty\". And so it triggered a storm of debate.

Chia: Interesting. Last year, Guangdong province killed all the civet cats raised for meat to eliminate a possible source for the SARS disease. Some people argue that we shouldn't have the right to kill so many just because one might carry the disease.

Alex: My friend Tommy has a puppy named \"Blitz\". We all like Blitz and like to pet her, but everyone disappears when it comes down to tidy up after her.

Albert, Ann and Chia: Ha ha ha...

P82

Woman: Why do you think people are afraid of tarantulas?

Man: Well, I guess it's because people are afraid of all spiders, and tarantulas happen to be the

biggest of all the spiders. And maybe it's also because some spiders really are very poisonous. In California, for example—in most of the garages in California—you get black widows, which are quite small but certainly more dangerous than tarantulas.

Woman: But personally you aren't afraid of tarantulas?

Man: Well, I shouldn't be frightened of tarantulas, simply because I know that they aren't really dangerous—all they can do is give you a small bite, but it's not poisonous. And yet I must say I don't like to pick them up. But you see, some people keep pet mice and pet rabbits and, well, they can give you a much worse bite than a tarantula ever could. And yet people aren't frightened of them.

Woman: Why do you think people are frightened of spiders?

Man: I don't know—it's very strange. People are frightened of spiders and they are frightened of snakes, and, well, obviously some spiders and some snakes really are poisonous. But most snakes are harmless, and it's really strange that people are so frightened of spiders because it's quite difficult to find a spider that's really dangerous.

P83

Shop Assistant: Good afternoon, madam. Can I help you?

Customer: Yes. I'm looking for a pet for my son. Can you suggest anything?

Shop Assistant: What kind of pet does he want? A traditional pet, a cat...or a dog? Or something unusual?

Customer: Well, he'd like a snake or a crocodile, but he isn't going to get one.

Shop Assistant: We've got a nice Alsatian at the moment.

Customer: An Alsatian? Did you say \"an Alsatian\"? Oh no, I've read about them in the paper. They're very big and savage.

Shop Assistant: Oh, no, madam. They aren't as savage as some dogs.

Customer: Really?

Shop Assistant: Oh, yes. Last week we had a small dog. It was only as big as your handbag, but it was as savage as a tiger—it bit me three times!

Customer: Perhaps not a dog, then.

Shop Assistant: How about a cat?

Customer: A cat? Hmm...they aren't as friendly as dogs, are they?

Shop Assistant: No, but they don't eat as much as dogs either. And they're very clean. They wash themselves every day.

Customer: Hmm...

Shop Assistant: Or how about a bird? A parrot or a budgie? We have both.

Customer: Which do you recommend?

Shop Assistant: Well, budgies aren't as easy to train and they never speak as well as parrots.

Customer: Yes, but budgies don't need as much space as parrots, do they?

Shop Assistant: That's true. Budgies are very popular because they are so easy to keep.

Customer: Yes...but they're a bit noisy, aren't they? I want a quiet pet.

Shop Assistant: A quiet pet? Well, how about a goldfish? There's nothing as quiet as a goldfish.

P84

Many people around the world become friends with animals. Some call their pet animals by human names. They treat them like members of the family. Scientists are now proving what many pet owners already know—pets are good for your health.

The Delta Society is a research center in the northwestern state of Washington. They say animals have a healthy effect on people, especially people who are sick and lonely.

Several years ago, the Delta Society developed a program called \"pet therapy\". At least 2,500 people work in pet therapy programs throughout the country. They take animals to visit people in hospitals, prisons and private homes. Dogs and cats are taken most often. But other visitors include snakes, rabbits, horses and birds. Some of the animals stay with the people forever.

The dolphin also has a good effect on people. Scientists at the Dolphin Research Center in

Florida introduce sick people to playful dolphins. People feed the dolphins, touch them, and ride on the dolphins' backs in the water. In this way, the animals help the patients feel better.

The head of the Delta Society, Linda Hines, says one reason for the pet therapy is that animals help sick people get better. Also, she says the animals have a calming effect on people, because pets can help people forget their own problems.

P85

Pet-lovers who are on a budget should choose a cat rather than a dog. First, the initial cost of a cat is far less than that of a dog. Cats can be gotten for free from ads in the paper or, for a small donation, from the SPCA. Dogs, on the other hand, may cost anywhere from 20 dollars for a mixed puppy to hundreds for a pedigree dog. Second, cats are cheaper to feed than dogs. Cats are small and eat little. Dry cat food is especially economical. A dog, though, can eat his way through 50 dollars a month without even trying, if he's even close to being large. A final area where cat owners save is on vet bills. Cats do not require many annual shots, and are usually quite healthy. In contrast, a dog's vet bills can be astronomical. Dogs require numerous shots annually and are susceptible to more diseases than humans. Dollar for dollar, a cat is a far better pet for most people.

P86&87

(Richard commutes from Tunbridge Wells to Charing Cross in the London area every day. This difficult journey is made easier with the help of Raffles, his guide dog. Laura met him on the train.)

Laura: What a lovely dog! How long have you had her?

Richard: Um...since July 1988.

Laura: Isn't it a bit unusual to have an Alsatian as a guide dog? Aren't they usually Labradors?

Richard: Yes, you're right. I did have a Labrador before Raffles, but we were walking through London one day when a bomb went off and it frightened her so much that she became unreliable.

Laura: Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. What happened to her?

Richard: She's fine. She's leading a life of luxury with a family in Rye.

Laura: What about Raffles, then? Could you commute without her for instance?

Richard: Mm, yes...but much more slowly. On the other hand, people often overestimate what guide dogs can do.

Laura: Really? In what way?

Richard: Well, it's impossible to train them to cope with modern traffic, especially in London. The best she can do is warn me of a dangerous situation.

Laura: How can she do that?

Richard: Simply by sitting down and refusing to move. I have to stand still and just hope that the driver misses me.

Laura: That must be a terrible experience...

Richard: Yes, it's not much fun!

Laura: Can I ask how much you paid for Raffles?

Richard: 50 pounds.

Laura: What?

Richard: 50 pounds... Any blind person can buy a dog for 50 pounds. Of course a lot of people pay more voluntarily, but the minimum price is 50 pounds.

Laura: So public contributions are really important.

Richard: Absolutely.

Questions:

1. Why did Richard part with his Labrador?

2. Which of the following statements best describes people's opinion about guide dogs?

3. What does Raffles do to warn the owner of a dangerous situation?

4. How much did Richard pay for Raffles?

5. How does Richard feel about the public contributions?

P88

Over 450 wild horses have been killed in Nevada. The land they were on belonged to the government. Some people say it is worse than when all the buffaloes were killed. Many of the horses were shot while running.

Wild horses are protected by law. 28 thousand wild horses share the land with six million cattle. Cattlemen say the horses are crowding the cattle out. It is said that there is a war going on. Both the cattle and the horses need the water and grass that is on the land.

The president of the Nevada cattleman group also helps to protect the horses. He says that he does not like what is happening to the horses. He does want the government to help keep the number of horses low.

Some people think the Navy used the wild horses for target practice. Pilots flew over the area where the horses were found. The Navy said that they did not let their pilots do that.

The horses were found far from the nearest road. The killings happened over a large area. It has been happening for the last two years.

Some people think that the horses should be gotten rid of. Others think that they should stay. In the meantime, the police will try to figure out who did it.

Questions:

1.What have been killed in Nevada recently?

2.How were they killed?

3.What is the number of the animals killed?

4.How long has the killing lasted?

5.Who did the killing?

P89

Narrator: I'm going to tell you about an extraordinary thing that happened the other day. The day before yesterday, about eight o'clock at night, a young woman approached the box office of the best movie theater in the city. She had with her an enormous dog with a beautifully groomed coat. She bought two tickets and went toward the door, followed by her dog. The manager of the theater spoke to her...

Manager: I'm sorry, Miss, but dogs aren't allowed in this theater.

Girl: But I have a ticket for him.

Manager: I'm very sorry, but animals aren't permitted.

Girl: You don't understand. This is a special case. My dog is so well trained and so intelligent that he's almost human.

Manager: I see that you have an exceptional animal, but...

Girl: I promise you that if there is any problem we'll leave the theater immediately. I assure you that this dog isn't like any other dog you've ever seen.

Manager: Well, all right. I'll let you go in, since the theater is almost empty tonight. Nevertheless, your dog will have to behave himself, or you will have to leave.

Narrator: Several hours go by, and now the people are leaving the theater. The manager sees the girl with her dog.

Manager: I congratulate you. You are right; your dog behaved very well. I've been watching him, and it's amazing how quiet he was.

Girl: I told you that he's well trained and very intelligent.

Manager: He certainly is. It even seemed as if he was enjoying the movie.

Girl: Oh, he did enjoy it. He liked the film very much. However, he liked the book much better.

P90

Five-year-old \"gorilla boy\" Levan leaves hospital. The little boy who changed the public image of gorillas faced the cameras today for the first time since his accident and declared, \"I like monkeys.\"

Levan Merritt fell into the gorilla pit at Jersey Zoo on the first day of a family holiday last month and his parents held their breath as the seven-foot tall eighteen-stone Jambo approached him.

The gentle giant bent over and stroked the little boy and adjusted his clothing to keep him warm.

Levan was flown to Southampton Hospital with a fractured skull, a panda-sized black eye and a broken arm.

His father, Steve, a thirty-four-year-old heating engineer, said, \"We want to take him back to the zoo so that he doesn't lose his love for animals.\"

His mother, Pauline, twenty-eight, said, \"He has no more nightmares about the gorilla standing over him. He has told the doctors he fell in with the monkeys and he thinks he remembers a bit about it, but does not talk about it.\"

Levan, who has a cat called Kitkins and a hamster called Tommy, said, \"I don't remember falling or going to the zoo. The gorilla's name is Jambo, but I am not going to visit him again.\"

And he shook his head when asked if he knew the gorilla had been nice to him.

Levan, surrounded by get-well cards and presents, said, \"I'm better now, thank you.\"

Questions:

1. What happened to Levan during his visit to the zoo?

2. How old was Levan when the incident happened?

3. Which of the following statements is NOT true of the giant gorilla according to the passage?

4. What does the passage tell us about Levan's parents?

5. What can you infer from the passage?

6. What effect did Levan's incident have on the public opinions about gorillas?

P91

Woman: Hello, I'm calling on behalf of the World Wildlife Fund.

Man: The what?

Woman: The World Wildlife Fund. If you've got a few minutes I'd like to tell you what that means.

Man: Oh, all right.

Woman: We work to conserve nature. The seas, for example, have become polluted by the industrialized world; whales are being hunted to extinction; turtles are rolled off their eggs when they come ashore to breed or are slaughtered for their meat and oil. Crocodiles are killed to make handbags and shoes; seals are killed to provide fur coats and the threat of extinction hangs over several species of whales and dolphins.

Man: Oh.

Woman: Elephants are hunted for their ivory. Some rare species of birds have been dramatically reduced and there are not more than 5,000 tigers left due to the hunting.

Man: I see.

Woman: We are now campaigning to save these endangered species.

Man: Interesting.

Woman: Thanks to our campaign many women now feel embarrassed to appear in furs and fashion magazines agreed not to advertise the furs of endangered animals.

Man: Really?

Woman: Through our efforts several countries have imposed export bans on the furs of endangered species, and Britain, the United States and Canada have put controls on importation.

Man: Mm, very interesting.

Woman: Aided by our campaign, protected nesting sites for turtles have already been set up. As you can see, this is very valuable work and I wonder, therefore, if you'd like to make a donation?

第七单元

[Jenny, Cathy, Mike and Tim are exchange students to China from America. They are studying sociology at Zhejiang University. They'll enjoy a week-long holiday for the National Holiday next week. They are planning a seven-day tour in China. Now the four students are talking about their travel plans with a travel agent.]

Mike: Hello.

Travel Agent: Hello.

(They exchange greetings.)

Travel Agent: Please sit down.

Jenny, Cathy, Mike and Tim: Thank you.

Travel Agent: Good afternoon!

Jenny, Cathy, Mike and Tim: Good afternoon!

Travel Agent: What can I do for you?

Mike: Well, we've come here to see where we can go for the seven-day holiday next week. Can you give us some suggestions?

Travel Agent: Sure, we can help you plan for a fun holiday. Now, how long have you been in China? I mean, are there other places you have been already?

Mike: Oh, well, we are exchange students and we've only been here for about a month. So we've seen the West Lake, and the, uh, Lingyin Temple and the, uh, One-Thousand-Island Lake on weekends, but we'd really like to go further during the coming holiday.

Travel Agent: I see. Which would you prefer, a package tour or a self-service one?

Cathy: We'd like to have a good look at China and its people. So self-service would be better. It's more flexible.

Travel Agent: Do you have any preferences, I mean, what interests you more, natural scenery or places of historical interest? You know, we can suggest several routes, each emphasizing different features.

Jenny: (She points to the pamphlets on the desk.) Can we have a look at these pamphlets?

Travel Agent: Of course. (She hands each of them a pamphlet.)

Mike: Wow, it's a beautiful picture! Where is this place?

Cathy: Oh, it's Shangri-La, the most beautiful place in the world. But, forget it! We can't afford the time. People say it's a place for patient appreciation. It's better to stay there for a couple of weeks and enjoy the peace.

Jenny: We can save it for the summer vacation. It's near Tibet and we can visit it along with Lhasa when we have a longer vacation.

Tim: That's right. I was told the best time to visit Tibet is in the summer. October might be a bit too cold.

Travel Agent: With its long history and vast territory, China has lots of places of interest for tourists. For newcomers to China, we recommend the Northern, the Middle West and the Southern routes. Each trip will be separate.

Tim: Hey, look! The Three Gorges on the Yangtze River! I've heard so much about them. If we choose this route, we can climb Mount Emei, too. We might feed the monkeys there.

Jenny: Oh, but this side doesn't cover too many sites. Uh, we should try to visit as many places as possible. Taking a boat down the Yangtze River to Shanghai is too time-consuming.

Mike: Oh, we needn't go all the way to Shanghai by boat. Look, we can land at Yichang and then take the bus or the train back to Shanghai; it'll only take half a day.

Cathy: Oh, that's good. We'll still have four days. Uh, why not go to Beijing first? I've heard Beijing is at its best in October. We can go to the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, you name it! All the ancient spots!

Jenny: Yes, if we go to Beijing first, we don't need to take the round trip, since we can transfer to Chongqing from Beijing.

Tim: Good idea! The Great Wall is surely worth visiting. He who does not reach the Great Wall is not a true man! And we could go to see a real Beijing Opera too!

Travel Agent: You can also see some modern buildings there too. Beijing is the host city for the 2008 Summer Olympics. So, you see there is a combination of ancient civilization and modern architecture.

Jenny: Then what about Xi'an? I'm dying to see the terracotta warrior statues. Last year my friend bought me a reproduction of a warrior statue. It's so mysterious!

Cathy: Do we have enough time to go to Xi'an? It's a long way from Beijing.

Tim: It's only a short side trip on the way from Beijing to Chongqing.

Travel Agent: Let me see. Mm, yes. You can make it. You can take the night express to Beijing and stay there for two days, one for the Great Wall and the Summer Palace, one for the Forbidden City and the downtown area. Then you go to Xi'an, stay there for one night. The ancient city wall at dusk is really worth seeing. And don't forget to treat yourselves to a banquet of the famous Xi'an dumplings.

Mike: Oh, dumplings are my favorite food. And then we can go on to Chongqing!

Travel Agent: No, not Chongqing. Go to Chengdu, a three-hour bus ride from Chongqing. Mount Emei is closer to Chengdu. One day for Mount Emei and stay in Chongqing for the night. The next morning, you board the ship down to Yichang to see the Three Gorges. OK? There are several express trains to Shanghai or Hangzhou from Yichang in the afternoon. We can book the tickets for you in advance once you decide your date.

Jenny: Terrific! We can cover so many places in one week!

Tim: I can't wait to go. What about you, Cathy?

Cathy: Me too! Let's look at the details then!

P97

Maria: Good afternoon. I'd like to book two return air tickets from Istanbul to Athens, please.

Travel Agent: Certainly. When are you traveling?

Maria: We want to take the flight tomorrow afternoon and come back on Friday afternoon.

Travel Agent: First class or economy class?

Maria: Economy class.

Travel Agent: Two adults?

Maria: Yes.

Travel Agent: And your name is?

Maria: Almar. A-L-M-A-R.

Travel Agent: Initials?

Maria: M. H.

Travel Agent: And the other passenger?

Maria: P. J. Almar.

Travel Agent: On the 11th and the 14th, did you say?

Maria: That's right. Do we have to change planes?

Travel Agent: No, it's a direct flight. Here are your tickets, Mrs. Almar. These are for the outward journey—from Istanbul to Athens on flight SN 862 at 17: 50 on July 11. And these are for the return journey—Athens to Istanbul on flight SN 863 at 15: 10 on July 14. Don't forget to be at the airport

45 minutes before departure time.

Maria: Thank you. Do you accept credit cards?

Travel Agent: Certainly. Thank you. That's TL6796. Could you sign here, please? Thank you very much.

Maria: Thank you.

Questions:

1. Where does the dialog most probably take place?

2. What are the names including initials of the woman and her husband?

3. When will the woman go to Athens?

4. How long will the Almars stay in Athens?

5. How does the woman pay for the tickets?

6. How much does the woman have to pay for the tickets?

P100

(Alex, a young Englishman, is staying in New York with Linda, a friend of his. He is there for only two days and wants to see as much as possible. He is talking to Linda about the most interesting 97

places.)

Part 1

Linda: So what are you going to do while you're here?

Alex: Well. I don't know much about New York really, you know, just the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. You tell me!

Linda: You've just got two days, right? You're going to be pretty busy if you want to see all the sights!

Alex: I'm planning to start early tomorrow morning. What should I do first?

Linda: I think you should start with the ruins of the World Trade Center building. It was the highest building before the September 11 attacks and many people go there for mourning.

Alex: Mm. I'll definitely do that. Which is the highest building in the city now?

Linda: The Empire State Building. Now it's the highest building, and the view's just beautiful in the morning, when it's clear and fresh. You have to do that!

Alex: Sounds great!

Part 2

Alex: What else do you recommend?

Linda: Well, it depends on what you like—art, shopping, and theater?

Alex: Well, not shopping particularly. But I'd like to see an art gallery or two.

Linda: Oh, then you must go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is just enormous. You could spend two days there! That's by Central Park, so you can take a walk through Central Park at the same time, but not after dark, remember. It's dangerous then.

Alex: Right.

Part 3

Alex: What about the Statue of Liberty? I must see the Statue of Liberty!

Linda: Well, there are different ways to do that. You can take a tour by boat. That stops so you can get out and climb up to the top.

Alex: Yeah.

Linda: Or the cheap way is just to take the regular Staten Island ferry—that's not a tourist boat, so it doesn't stop, but it passes right by.

Alex: No, I think I'll be a typical tourist and climb up to the top!

Linda: All right. Well, there's another interesting trip in the same area—to Ellis Island. There's a big museum all about the immigrants who arrived there. That's pretty interesting!

Alex: Mm. Yes, I'd definitely like to do that, too.

Linda: Sure, but you're going to be pretty busy. You won't be able to do that in one day. It's a long way, you know!

Alex: Really? How far is it?

Linda: Five or six miles at least!

Alex: Is it? I've got no idea where these places are. Have you got a map, perhaps?

Linda: Sure, I'll go to get it, and you can plan your route.

P101

I'm a window-seat guy. I know most people like the aisle, but I prefer the window. I like to look out when I fly. I like to see the countryside, the square fields passing below. It's a game to me. I try to figure out which city we're over, which river we've just crossed. And I like to watch the tiny matchbox cars moving down the road and wonder whether the drivers know they're being watched from above.

The view comes with a price, of course. It means I'm trapped, a captive audience to whoever might wander down the aisle and plop down next to me. Over the years, I've perfected the art of being polite but not cozy to these aisle people. I'll say \"hello\attempt at conversation. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't.

There are aisle people who tell their life stories. Unprovoked, they begin spilling the family

100

beans, even before the peanuts are served. It happened to me again recently. Lucky for me, it was only an hour's flight.

He said he was coming back from a weekend visiting his wife and child, who were staying at her brother's house in Chicago.

Oh, a summer vacation. I innocently nodded. The floodgates opened. No, she left him because he was working too much. He was never home. She just got up and walked out of the door, taking the baby with her. He hoped to get them back, and mend fences, but he couldn't leave his work. He didn't know what to do.

It was therapy at 30,000 feet, all included in the price of an airline ticket. By the time we landed, I knew more about this man than I do about my own brother.

P103

If you're staying in a hostel, would you most likely be resting your head in (A) a castle; (B) a South Pacific resort; (C) a boat? Surprisingly, the answer is (D): all of the above. No doubt you've heard stories about previous generations' youthful adventures abroad, during which they routinely spent nights in slightly seedy quarters, often in the company of 25 to 30 strangers. In exchange for a wallet-friendly night's sleep, travelers endured shared bathrooms, noisy fellows, and unreasonably early curfews.

Today's hostels are a far cry from the spartan lodgings of old. With private accommodation options, online booking, and 24-hour access, they are often as convenient as budget hotels. Add to that Internet connections, restaurants and private bathrooms, and you wonder why anyone else

101

shells out the cash to stay elsewhere.

What prompted the change? Roger Charles, Secretary General of the International Youth Hostel Federation, points to the changing demands of young travelers. \"Customers' expectations are different. Today's customers want private bedrooms with facilities, and they don't want to stay in dorms. Assumption of greater comfort drives demand.\"

Hostel patrons are changing, too. They are not so young anymore. For instance, you'll see people in their twenties and thirties who are taking a year off from work to travel. They're on a tight budget, so they turn to hostels. You also see seniors staying in hostels more and more now; it has really become an opportunity for cultural and intergenerational exchange.

P104&105

(Mike is going to visit the Sahara with his classmates and he is asking his friend, Bob, who has been there, for advice.)

Mike: Yes, I am going to leave for the Sahara with my classmates next week. And I think there will be problems crossing it. I mean how did you make sure that you didn't run out of petrol or water?

Bob: Well, yes. In fact, fuel is one of the main problems crossing the Sahara because you have to go a very long way from one filling station to the next. You have to go eight or nine hundred kilometers between places where you can be sure to get fuel. What we did in fact was to use a diesel vehicle because it doesn't use quite so much fuel as a petrol vehicle. And also diesel fuel is the main fuel used by lorries. So if you're really stuck, you can always beg, or more likely buy, some

102

diesel fuel off a passing lorry.

Mike: How much water do you think I ought to take for an expedition of eight people?

Bob: Well, one 18-liter metal can of water will usually serve for two people on the complete Saharan crossing, but in addition to the needs for drinking you've got to remember that you need to carry water for your vehicle. And usually we left about half our water intact for emergency purposes.

Mike: And obviously a real worry must be breaking down.

Bob: Yes, because if you do break down and have to get help, it will cost a lot because people know you're at their mercy there. So you have to be as self-sufficient as you can and anticipate everything that could go wrong, and there must be somebody with you who knows how to repair almost anything that can go wrong with a motor vehicle.

Mike: Is it going to be cold or warm and what sort of things should I take?

Bob: Well, strangely enough the Sahara can be everything from very cold to incredibly hot. It depends partly on the time of year. At night in the winter, it can get quite cold. The winter there is the same as the European winter. So you need a good sleeping bag and sweaters.

‘

P106

(Two stars look back at their favorite holiday travel. Jamie Lee Curtis is an actress and author. 103

Her new movie, Christmas with the Kranks, opened in December, 2004. Her latest children's book, It's Hard to Be Five, is in stores now. Juliet Mills is an actress on the NBC soap Passions.)

I'm Jamie Lee Curtis. My fondest holiday memories come from the years my family vacationed at Sun Valley in Idaho. A big group of my parents' friends and family would usually end up there over Christmas break. Even as kids we could go bowling, swimming or ice-skating, watch movies and get ice cream by ourselves because everything was within walking distance. One time, all the parents were at a cocktail party, and we ran up to the balcony, threw snowballs on them and ran down the halls laughing as we raced back out into the night. I'll never forget those moments of inhaling the fresh, cold mountain air and feeling so free.

I'm Juliet Mills. Many years ago my husband and I spent the holidays driving down to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with our two-year-old daughter, Melissa. We lined our Dodge van with luxurious carpet, added a sound system and a fridge and threw our sleeping bags in the back. For about a month, we stopped and camped on amazing beaches on the Baja coast. We set our own pace and were very spontaneous. Sometimes we'd stop in little fishing villages for ice or go to a bakery for food. One of the stops I remember along the way was at a beautiful beach where whales often swam. Maxwell and I love driving trips and this is a favorite. You can reveal all your secrets as you stare at the road in front of you. It was such a relaxing holiday because we were inspired by a beautiful place and our family was together.

P107 1

(The following dialog is between Judy and Gina.)

Judy: Hey, Gina. What's up? You look worried.

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Gina: No, not really. I'm just trying to figure out how to get to New York for a vacation. I have relatives there.

Judy: Well, the cheapest way is to ride with someone. Lots of people on campus live in New York. Have you checked the ride board?

Gina: What's that, Judy?

Judy: It's a big bulletin board in the student union. People who want riders put a card up. Or, if you want a ride somewhere, you put a card up.

Gina: Where do I get a card?

Judy: They're next to the ride board. Just fill in your name and phone number, destination, and day of departure.

Gina: That's all? Just where I'm going and when?

Judy: That's it. If you're lucky, you'll get a ride round trip, not just one-way.

Gina: Oh, thanks for the information.

Judy: Sure, anytime.

Statements:

1. Gina wants to know something about where to go on vacation.

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2. According to Judy, the cheapest way to go for the vacation is to ride with someone.

3. Students can get a card next to the ride board.

4. Students need to put down their name, phone number, destination and departure date on the card.

5. If Gina is lucky, she can get a one-way trip to New York for free.

P107 2

(Mike and Sue are on their way to Mexico.)

Mike: Alone at last!

Sue: Slow down, Mike. You're driving over the speed limit.

Mike: Don't worry, Sue. There's no traffic around here.

Sue: That's not the point. It's dangerous to drive over 55, and we don't need to hurry. We have a whole month ahead of us.

Mike: What's the noise?

Sue: What do you think it is? It's the police!

Officer: What's the matter? Can't you read? It says 55 miles per hour on that sign; you were

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doing 75.

Mike: Gee, officer, I didn't realize I was going that fast.

Officer: Yeah, sure. I'm going to take your license. If you want it back, you'll have to come to the station and pay a fine.

Mike: But, officer, we just got married and we're on our way to Mexico for our honeymoon. I need my license and the money to get there.

Officer: Why didn't you think of that before?

Mike: Can't we talk this over? It'll sure spoil our honeymoon.

Sue: Please, officer. I promise I will drive from here on.

Officer: (He thinks for a moment.) Well, all right, lady. I'll do it for you. It's a wedding present from me.

Sue: It serves you right!

Mike: Oh, come on, honey, let's not have a fight. Give me a kiss.

Sue: MIKE! Let go of me! We're going to have an accident!

Questions:

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1. What is the relationship between Mike and Sue?

2. What excuse does Mike give for driving so fast?

3. At what speed is Mike driving?

4. Why are Mike and Sue going to Mexico?

5. What does the police officer intend to do at first?

6. Why does the officer let them go later?

P108

Airport Announcer: British Airways announce the departure of their flight BA 732 to Hong Kong, now boarding at Gate 19. British Airways flight BA 732 to Hong Kong, now boarding at Gate 19.

Mrs. Harman: Come on, George, we'll miss our plane.

Mr. Harman: That isn't our flight, is it? I find it so difficult to hear these announcements.

Mrs. Harman: I didn't catch it either. Anyway, it's our turn to check in now.

Official: Can I have your tickets, please?

Mr. Harman: Yes, I've got them in my bag here. No, wait a minute! Didn't I give them to you, dear, just as we left the house?

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Mrs. Harman: You certainly didn't. You gave me your wallet to hold while you locked the front door, but I gave it right back to you.

Mr. Harman: No, you didn't. You...

Mrs. Harman: Be quiet, dear.

Mr. Harman: What?

Airport Announcer: Will Mr. G. D. Harman, Mr. G. D. Harman, please go to the Flight Information Desk in the Departure Hall? Mr. G. D. Harman to the Flight Information Desk in the Departure Hall, please.

Mrs. Harman: Shh... Perhaps they've found the tickets. I'll wait here while you go and see what they want.

Official: Perhaps you wouldn't mind if we took the next passenger in the meantime?

Mrs. Harman: No, of course not. I do apologize, but my husband is a bit absent-minded, you know.

Airport Announcer: This is the final call for British Airways flight BA 732 to Hong Kong. Will passengers for this flight proceed immediately to Gate 19? All passengers for British Airways flight BA 732 to Hong Kong to proceed immediately to Gate 19.

Mr. Harman: (He puffs.) Phew! It was the tickets, all right. And guess where they found them!

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Mrs. Harman: Come on! Give them to the lady, or we'll miss our plane.

Mr. Harman: Oh, yes. Here you are.

Official: Thank you. Can I have your suitcases too, please? Thank you. Here are your boarding cards. Go straight to Gate 19. They've already announced the final call, so you'll have to hurry.

Mrs. Harman: Thanks very much. Come on, dear. Aren't you going to tell me where you found them?

Mr. Harman: In the ladies' restroom.

Mrs. Harman: In the what!? How on earth did they get there? You don't...

Questions:

1. Which flight were Mr. and Mrs. Harman going to take?

2. What happened to Mr. and Mrs. Harman?

3. Why was Mr. Harman asked to go to the Flight Information Desk?

4. What was the result of the incident?

5. What can you infer from the conversation?

第八单元

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Nancy: Here you are, Bob. So I was, uh, speaking with my mother last night, and she's thinking about coming up for a few days.

Bob: Really?

Nancy: Yeah, this weekend.

(There's a knock on the door.)

Nancy: Were you expecting someone? (Bob shakes his head.) OK, I'll see who it is.

(Nancy opens the door.)

Nancy: Oh, hi, Jane. How are you?

Jane: Hi, Nancy.

Nancy: Come in.

Jane: Thank you.

Nancy: Bob, Jane's here.

Bob: Hi, Jane.

Jane: Hi, Bob.

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Bob: How are you doing?

Nancy: Take a seat.

Jane: Thank you.

Nancy: Would you like a drink?

Jane: Yes, please.

Nancy: Water?

Jane: That's great.(Nancy goes to get the water.)

(to Bob) What's happening in the world, Bob?

Bob: Not much.

Nancy: Here you are.

Jane: Thank you.

Nancy: We haven't seen you for quite a while. How's everything going?

Jane: (She looks very upset.) Nancy, I'm in trouble.

Nancy: What's wrong? What's the trouble? Can I help you?

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Jane: You know my daughter Sally? She's not my daughter.

Nancy: What? What did you say?

Jane: Sally is not my biological daughter.

Nancy: (She looks very puzzled.) What's happened, Jane?

Jane: (She sighs.) It's unbelievable...the hospital...they made a terrible mistake ten years ago.

Nancy: You mean they gave you the wrong baby home? Where's your own daughter then?

Jane: She was taken home by a farmer's family. And now...

Nancy: How did you find out about this?

Jane: The hospital called. (She sighs.) They said there might be a mistake, and they asked me to bring my daughter in for a DNA test, and...

Nancy: What's the result?

Jane: She's the farmer's daughter. (She sighs.) I nearly passed out when they told me a month ago. I've been in shock. I don't know what to do.

Nancy: What about the other family? What about your husband? What does he think?

Jane: They're in the same situation we are. We've been phoning back and forth. And my

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husband thinks we should get our daughter back. He's been dissatisfied with Sally's performance at school and now he thinks he knows the reason why.

Nancy: What do you think, Jane?

Jane: (She sighs.) I really don't know. On the one hand, I want our daughter back—there's no doubt about that. But on the other hand, I love Sally. We've known her for ten years, and I can't imagine living without her.

Nancy: Oh my goodness, that's really hard. Erm...

Bob: Well, I don't think you should hesitate, Jane. I think your husband is right. Although nurture plays a part, I think it's genes that determine everything.

Nancy: Oh, no, I don't think so. I agree that heredity is important, but the environment plays a great role in a person's development. You know, genes don't work in a vacuum. Look at my friend Juliet. She adopted her son from an orphanage and he's developed into a brilliant boy. He's the best in his class. Besides, he seems to have changed in appearance as well. He looks more like his father now.

Bob: Oh, come on. I mean, don't you think it's more likely that the boy's own parents are brilliant? I mean, as far as I know, there are very few cases where parents with low IQ have children with high IQ.

Nancy: How do you account for a genius sometimes being born to parents with low IQ?

Bob: Well, I mean, that's going to an extreme. I...I'm not trying to deny the effect of the

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environment. What I'm saying is that nature is very important. And in Jane's case, the difference between the two families is really great and...

Jane: Oh, please, please stop arguing, you two. What you two are arguing about is not my concern. Honestly, I love Sally. I don't care whether my child is bright or not. I don't know what I should do. I don't know what I CAN do.

Bob: OK, OK, let's just forget about nature versus nurture, heredity versus environment for a moment. But, I mean, as the saying goes, blood is thicker than water. I'm just saying that a genetic relationship is the most important thing.

Jane: But the rest of the problem is that our biological daughter, Maria, loves her parents who've raised her very much, and I don't know if she'd want to leave them to live with us. She's been with them for ten years and she loves her home on the farm very much.

Nancy: By the way, do the two girls know yet?

Jane: No, no, no. I hate to think of it. I don't know how they'll react to such shocking news and how they'll accept the situation. This is difficult for an adult to cope with, not to mention a ten-year-old.

Nancy: Well, I don't agree with you. In my opinion, at ten years old, the girls are old enough to be told the truth. As their parents, you should respect their feelings and allow them to help make the decision.

Bob: Yeah, that makes sense. Jane, you and your husband have a really hard decision to make, but the girls are involved. I'm sure you'll also have to talk with the other parents more.

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Jane: Erm..., yes, of course. I'll go home and talk with my husband more about it. We'll see.

Bob: Yeah, that's a good idea.

Nancy: Let us know if we can do anything to help.

Jane: Thanks. I appreciate your support.

Nancy: Not at all.

Jane: It's a tough time.

...

P114

Although twins have always been a source of curiosity, they are not so uncommon statistically, since they occur once in every 86 births.

About one third of all twins are identical, or single-egg twins. Identical twins have the same genes and, hence, the same sex, hair, eyes, blood type, and bone and tooth structure. Some identical twins are mirror images of each other. For example, one may be left-handed, the other right-handed. As young children, some identical twins may develop their own private language. Identical twins have an especially keen intuition, and they often seem to think and dress alike even when away from each other. In fact, even when they are separated at birth and raised apart, identical twins develop surprising similarities. They may pursue the same careers, have the same interests, or die within days of each other.

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In contrast to identical twins, fraternal twins inherit a separate set of genes and are not necessarily of the same sex.

P115

When Robert Jones, 19, went to college this fall, he was surprised that so many of his classmates called him \"Edward\". They told him he looked just like a former student, Edward Gallant, and a friend of Gallant's discovered they had the same birth date. Both Robert and Edward were adopted. When they talked with each other, they discovered that they were identical twins separated shortly after birth. In fact, they were wrong: They were triplets. After newspapers published their pictures, Edward's mother got a call from David Kellman. \"You're not going to believe this,\" he said, \"but I believe I'm the third.\"

As \"Baby A\mother on July 12, 1976. They were adopted by three different couples, none of whom was told their new son had brothers. The reunion of the three boys after 19 years was a big surprise for everyone in all the families.

Relatives say their resemblance extends well beyond their looks. All three like active sports and have similar tastes in rock music and girlfriends. All three are extroverts who have similar gestures. They talk in the same way, they have the same laugh, they hold their cigarettes in the same way, and all three smoke the same brand of cigarette.

Questions:

1. What surprised Robert Jones when he went to college?

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2. Who found the clue to the relationship between Robert Jones and Edward Gallant?

3. How did David Kellman get to know his origins?

4. Which of the following statements is true about Robert Jones, Edward Gallant and David Kellman?

P116

Michael Phelps stands six feet four inches (193 centimeters) and weighs 195 pounds (88.5 kilograms), with the broad shoulders and slim waist common to the elite swimmer.

But consider his body measurements a little closer and it becomes clearer why Phelps is dominating these Olympic Games.

He has an extended trunk and relatively short legs, a distinct advantage in the water. The inseam of his pants is reportedly 32 inches (81 centimeters), shorter than that of Hicham El Guerrouj, the great Moroccan runner, who is five feet nine inches (175 centimeters) but all legs.

Phelps has double-jointed elbows, knees, and ankles, which allows him to bend himself like few swimmers can. His size-14 (European size-48.5) feet are like giant fins.

Add to that the extraordinary work rate of his lungs and heart, and Phelps appears almost superhuman—a different species from the rest of us.

Of course, he trains extraordinarily hard. But so do others. To be an Olympic champion, a person's genes must first be preset for maximal athletic performance. After all, great athletes are

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born, then made better.

\"The best athletes in the world are a result of good genes and optimal training,\" said Phillip B. Sparling, who is a professor of applied physiology at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. \"A person who has great dedication, motivation, and excellent training will not rise to the world-class level unless he or she has inherited a supercharged physiological system for the sport.\"

P117

(Summerhill is a famous experimental boarding school that was founded in 1921. Here the founder, A. S. Neill talks about his ideas about the founding and running of the school.)

Our aims of the school:

When my wife and I began the school, we had one main idea: to make the school fit the child—instead of making the child fit the school.

I had taught in ordinary schools for many years. I knew the other way well. I knew it was all wrong. It was because it was based on an adult conception of what a child should be and of how he should learn. The other way dated from the days when psychology was still an unknown science.

Our view on education:

Well, we set out to make a school in which we should allow children the freedom to be themselves. In order to do this, we had to renounce all discipline, all direction, all suggestion, all moral training, and all religious instruction. We have been called brave, but it did not require courage. All it required was what we had—a complete belief in the child as a good, not an evil,

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being. For over forty years, this belief in the goodness of the child has never changed; it rather has become a final faith.

My view is that a child is born wise and realistic. If left to himself without adult suggestion of any kind, he will develop as far as he is capable of developing. Logically, Summerhill is a place in which people who have the inborn ability and wish to be scholars will be scholars while those who are only fit to sweep the street will sweep the street. But we have not produced a street cleaner so far.

P118

Chang and Eng were the original Siamese twins, born in Siam in 1811. The King of Siam ordered them to be killed but their mother managed to keep them alive and bring them up as normal as possible.

They were not very tall and were connected by a band of tissue 4.5 inches long, but they were very intelligent. They emigrated to America, became famous as a circus act and by the time they were thirty had made a lot of money. Then they got married. They married sisters and between them had twenty-two children. Chang and Eng now have more than 1,000 descendants. For some years they all lived in the twins' original house; but when the families grew they built separate homes, Chang and Eng spending three days in one and the next three in the other.

In their later years, Chang's health deteriorated because he drank too much. Eng became so worried that he tried to get separated, but no doctor would do the operation. The end of their lives was painful. On January 12, 1874, Chang took to his bed with bronchitis in his own house. On the Thursday it was time to move, according to the arrangement, to Eng's house, Eng did not want

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Chang to go, but Chang insisted. His health grew steadily worse until he died on January 17. When Eng realized his twin brother had died he said, \"Then I am going to die too.\" He did, two hours later.

P120

The importance of nature over nurture in behavior has been shown in an experiment with monkeys.

A University of Chicago researcher has shown for the first time that young monkeys reared by foster mothers are more likely to show the aggressive or friendly behavior of their birth mothers instead of the behavior of their foster mothers.

The discovery of inheritance of social behavior among non-human primates is important in understanding human behavior. It supports another research that suggests that behavior such as sociability and aggressiveness in humans may have a genetic basis.

Rhesus monkeys offer an important research population because they organize in strong matrilineal structures, and the female offspring often exhibit the same social behavior as their mothers. The experiment showed that some aspects of behavior were inherited or learned by the female offspring. Also it showed that inherited behavior was probably more important than nurture in female offspring.

For the study, rhesus female babies were exchanged between mothers who had recently given birth.

To understand the origins of behavior, the researchers looked at social contact and aggression among the offspring. The researchers showed, for example, how many times the infants had bodily

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contact and how many times they expressed aggression, such as threats, slaps, bites and chases with other group members.

Looking at the behavior of the monkey offspring and their mothers over a period of three years, the researchers found that the offspring's behavior resembled the behavior of their biological mothers. There was practically no behavioral similarity between the offspring and their foster mothers. For instance, offspring who often used threats and slaps to get their way usually had biological mothers who also showed the same behavior.

Questions:

1. What is the purpose of the research done at the University of Chicago?

2. What does the research done at the University of Chicago suggest?

3. Why does the research done at the University of Chicago have important implications for people?

4. How did the researchers try to find out the origins of certain behavior?

P121

All children have gifts and some of them are highly gifted. They may have a talent for music and art. They may be very good at sports or dancing, or be scientifically or technically creative. Very often, gifted children have outstanding intellectual potential.

Parents often ask about the \"signs\" of giftedness. Please bear in mind that the following are

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only examples; not every child will display all these characteristics. Gifted children often: walk and talk early; have great physical and mental energy; seem to need less sleep than children of the same age; show great curiosity about the world around them; are particularly interested in cause and effect, and in fundamental questions such as the meaning of life and death; ask lots of questions; have a superior vocabulary; talk fluently; and learn to read early.

Children of high intelligence often seek the company of older children, as well as that of adults. They often prefer games and hobbies which are usually associated with older children.

Whatever form of exceptional ability a child may show, the best preparation for growing up is to have lived fully as a child. There are times when a child, however clever, will want to play and act like other children, and he or she should be allowed and encouraged to do so.

P122

(Two students, Barbara and John, have just met and are talking about their families at a college in the Midwest.)

Barbara: Did I hear you say that you have an identical twin brother named James?

John: Yes, I do. He is attending California Institute of Technology and studying mechanical engineering.

Barbara: But I thought identical twins would have the same interests and abilities, and want to go to college together.

John: Not always. Genes give identical twins the potential for developing the same interests

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and abilities. Dad and Mom encouraged us to develop our own interests individually, and we did.

Barbara: Did you and James dress alike and have the same teachers in elementary school?

John: No, my parents encouraged us to dress differently, and we were in different classrooms at school.

Barbara: But if you looked alike and spent time together, didn't you have many of the same ideas?

John: Sure, some of the time, but that's also true of any brothers who grow up together in the same family.

Barbara: Does James like music too?

John: Yes, but only for relaxation. He's never been interested in studying music, and he didn't learn to play any musical instruments when we were younger. I did well in math courses, but I wanted to spend most of my time learning to play the piano and violin.

Barbara: I thought that identical twins would have about the same interests and abilities. You've convinced me that this isn't always so. Hearing about you and your brother gives me some new ideas of how personal differences can develop, even in identical twins.

John: Well, I think that my parents had a big influence on how James and I developed differences in our interests. We still keep in close contact with email and phone calls, and we really enjoy one another when we can be together.

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Barbara: Sounds good to me!

P123

Children cannot distinguish between right and wrong until they reach age six or seven. But beginning in infancy, children learn important moral lessons by observing their parents' actions. It is through behavior, rather than words, that parents shape their children's understanding of moral issues.

During his first year, a baby becomes familiar with his parents' facial expressions, especially his mother's. Perhaps one day he hits her with a toy, suddenly he notices that she frowns instead of smiling. He perceives that her mood has changed, and the memory of her displeasure stays with him. At some point during his second year, he has stored enough memories involving himself and his mother, as well as other key people in his environment, to help him form the notion that there are rules that govern the way people treat one another. When people are treated right, good feeling results; when treated wrongly, bad feeling results. This is his first moral lesson.

What children absorb from their environment at age two can have great influence on the moral decisions they will make later on. Because children see parents as representatives of what is right, parents' behavior plays a critical role in children's earliest understanding of moral issues. By observing the way their parents interact with their children and each other, preschool children learn what kinds of behavior are appropriate. They notice whether parents use physical force when they argue or whether they are kind and respectful toward each other and family members. By their parents' example, children learn about such things as lying, stealing, and breaking the law. One absolute truth about children's moral development is that parents' deeds speak a great deal louder than their words.

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By the time children are six years old, they are able to understand that some things are right and others aren't. They know that hitting is not done because it's wrong to hurt people. Meanwhile their parents' attitudes continue to play a huge part in shaping their developing moral sense. So mothers and fathers should think about not only their personal behavior but also their positions on social issues that have moral implications.

Questions:

1. When do children start to have a sense of right and wrong?

2. How do children learn important moral lessons?

3. What happens during the second year of a child's life?

4. How do children perceive their parents?

5. Which of the following is the lesson the author wants us to learn from the passage?

第九单元

Alice: Listen! The sound of that music! It...it's fascinating! Where...where is it from?

Xiao Hong: Oh, I...I don't know actually.

Henry: Over there! Shall we go take a closer look?

Alice & Xiao Hong: OK.

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Xiao Hong: Oh, it's a kind of Chinese folk instrument called pipa.

Alice: Wow, what a beautiful musical instrument!

Xiao Hong: Sure.

Henry: What's more, it makes such a marvelous sound!

Xiao Hong: Oh, I'm glad to hear you say that. Actually, our folk instruments are quite unique. You know, the sound is beautiful and, as you see, it looks good. But, still, unfortunately, they are getting less popular these days.

Alice: Really? That's incredible. You know, our Scottish bagpipes, which are some of the oldest instruments in the world, are still quite popular.

Xiao Hong: Well, I'm afraid it's not the case in our country. You know, I'm not exaggerating. Nowadays the vast majority of young people prefer western music to Chinese folk music, and they think Chinese folk music and classical instruments are old-fashioned.

Henry: What a pity! Many people listen to bagpipes and they are heard on all kinds of different occasions. I wonder why Chinese folk instruments, as old as those bagpipes, are so little appreciated today.

Xiao Hong: Well, I think historic reasons may partly account for it. You know, in ancient times, most of the Chinese folk instruments were used to please and entertain the nobles. You know, they were too expensive for ordinary people to own and play unless the poor played them in the street to earn a living.

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Alice: I know that some Chinese emperors loved music and had a good taste in it.

Xiao Hong: Oh, yes, like Tang Xuanzong, but his ministers were firmly opposed to it. They believed that the emperor's attention might be distracted from ruling the country if he spent too much time on music. And they seemed to think of music as something trifling and unimportant.

Henry: But things are quite different in our country. Our people are extremely interested in music, and are very proud of our traditions. We view music as part of our lives.

Alice: Yeah, and our government spends a lot of money on music education. In the year 1999—2000 for example, the Department of Education spent 1.5 billion dollars on teaching music so that lots of children had the chance to learn to play musical instruments.

Xiao Hong: I do wish that more people would appreciate the exquisite melody of our folk instruments and be proud of our traditions.

Henry: What's the difference between western music and Chinese music?

Xiao Hong: Well, young people think that western music is more exciting and passionate. The rhythm is stronger, which makes them feel more excited. Well, on the other hand, the Chinese music is harmonious, soft, gentle, mild and calm. It helps make people feel peaceful, comfortable and relaxed.

Alice: Yes, there are differences between Chinese music and...and western music, but one isn't really better than the other.

Xiao Hong: No, no, no. Absolutely not. When I listen to Chinese music, the beautiful melody

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always reminds me of the beauty of nature, hills, streams, small bridges and the singing of birds. You know, the melody is like the music of the nightingale, the music of running water and etc. But western music is more upbeat and exciting. I get full of energy and I want to dance and sing with it. I like rock music better than folk music actually.

Henry: Rock and roll has a long history in western countries. There are plenty of bands playing different kinds of rock and roll music, like heavy metal and punk.

Xiao Hong: And most of our Chinese musical instruments are made of wood, bamboo or something like that, so the music sounds natural while yours nowadays are mostly made of metal and they seem to be much more complex.

Alice: Right. Take our flutes for example. They have more holes and buttons, so they rely on very precise notes to produce music.

Xiao Hong: What's more, western singers are usually good at dancing while they sing, but our singers are usually only good at singing.

Henry: I suppose because of cultural differences, Chinese, like their music, are usually more reserved.

Xiao Hong: There are still some people who prefer Chinese folk music. The pop music nowadays is increasingly dominated by western music.

Alice: I guess people are immediately attracted to western music, but Chinese music has the mysterious power to attract you without you realizing it.

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Xiao Hong: Yeah, Chinese traditional culture has made a deep impact on Chinese music. You know, the music emphasizes people's feelings and is very emotional.

Alice: I've heard that the structure of western music is more logical than that of Chinese music.

Xiao Hong: I find that the lyrics are different too. Chinese people tend to express their emotions indirectly while western people are more direct and individualistic. They make full use of music and instruments to express their personal feelings, such as excitement, disappointment, love, sorrow and etc.

Henry: Western music has absorbed many musical elements from African music. It places great importance on rhythm, such as heavy metal music, rock music, hip hop and so on.

Alice: Yes, and, of course, we have a number of well-known composers these days.

Henry: Mm, nowadays it seems that rock and pop music dominate the musical world. In many pieces of music, one instrument can be used in order to produce a distinct sense of perception.

Xiao Hong: I guess, eventually, because of globalization, the differences between western music and Chinese music may become less noticeable. You know, in the future, the music may have a lot more in common than we have realized now.

Alice: Oh, as far as pop music is concerned, what you say is probably true, but even though music is a universal language, folk music shouldn't be changed.

Xiao Hong: That's right. Don't you think it would be a good idea to buy some Chinese folk music CDs to take home with you?

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Alice & Henry: That's a good idea! Let's go to the CD shop.

P130

(Bill, Howard, and Lisa are talking about background music.)

Part I

Bill: What are you working on now?

Howard: I've just finished a piece of background music.

Lisa: Background music? Oh, like the music they're playing here now.

Howard: Yes. You hear it everywhere, in restaurants, airports, supermarkets, department stores...

Bill: In banks, too. I noticed it while we were at the bank today.

Lisa: Did you? I didn't.

Howard: You are not supposed to notice it. It's just there, in the background. It's supposed to influence your attitudes, and put you in the right mood.

Lisa: I'm not sure I like that idea.

Howard: Well, it seems to work. Companies pay millions of dollars every year for background music. It's supposed to give you a better feeling about yourself and the people around you.

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Factories use it a lot. It makes the workers happy, and they work better that way. In one factory, music increased production by 4.5 percent.

Bill: I should think they'd get tired of hearing music all day.

Howard: They don't though. One fellow in San Francisco told me, \"If the music stops, somebody always runs to the telephone to complain.\"

Lisa: Now that I think about it, I can't remember when there wasn't background music in restaurants and stores.

Howard: That shows how young you are. Actually, it all started during World War II when some factories had their own orchestras to keep workers happy and calm. Now, of course, the music is piped in by a machine, and different kinds of music are played at different times during the day. They play faster music at 10 in the morning than at 8, for instance, because workers tend to be slower then.

Part II

Bill: What about restaurants? Do they play the same music for dinner and lunch?

Howard: I don't know about that, but I do know that hamburger places play fast music. When they started playing faster music, they found that a customer spent only seventeen minutes eating. The time was 22 minutes before that.

Lisa: So they have more people coming in and out to buy hamburgers.

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Howard: Exactly. And that's good for business. You can see why music has become so popular. In Los Angeles, for instance, 30 different companies are selling background music services.

Lisa: I still think there's something about it that I don't quite like.

Howard: I know what you mean, but lots of people wouldn't agree with you. The Xerox Corporation in Rochester, N. Y., spends more than $80,000 a year for background music. Prisons use it, and farmers use it to keep their cattle calm. It's even supposed to have an effect on plants.

P132

More and more doctors are operating to music. They say it eases their minds.

One doctor in Chicago says classical music is the only kind that does not interfere while he is operating. But in another Chicago operating room, the British rock group Pink Floyd can be heard. And in Washington, at least one doctor operates to the sound of the Beatles.

Researchers from the State University of New York at Buffalo did a study that seems to confirm that music helps reduce tension in doctors. They gave fifty male doctors difficult mathematical kinds of tests.

The doctors did the test while listening to music they themselves had chosen. They did a similar test while listening to music that was chosen for them. They were tested a third time with no music at all. Each time, a machine measured their heart rate and blood pressure.

The doctors worked most quickly and calmly when listening to the music they themselves had chosen. They did the worst with no music at all.

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What kinds of music did the doctors choose? Mostly classical. But some chose instrumental jazz pieces or Irish folk music.

There probably is one piece of music that should never be played during an operation: Brahms' \"Lullaby\". You do not want your doctor to go to sleep while operating, do you?

P133

The Beatles were probably the most important pop and rock group of all time. They were together for only eight years, but their influence has lasted much longer.

The Beatles came from Liverpool, England. They started playing together in 1962, although Paul McCartney and John Lennon played together in another group. They started by playing rock 'n' roll songs, but they quickly developed their own style. By 1963, they had become Britain's top rock group. A year later they toured the United States, where they attracted millions of fans.

By the time the Beatles broke up in 1970, they had changed the nature of rock and pop music. They introduced new sounds and rhythms, and they experimented with different types of musical instruments. They recorded hundreds of songs and they sold millions and millions of records. They made many films and won many awards for their music.

Today, the Beatles' songs are still very famous all over the world.

P134

(Dennis is interviewing Stephanie, a music teacher.)

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Dennis: Which do you think is the easiest instrument for people to learn to play?

Stephanie: It's difficult to answer that question because learning to play an instrument is one thing, and learning to play it well is another. But I think the guitar is the easiest to learn. It's one of the easiest to carry, and that's important for a musician.

Dennis: And the second?

Stephanie: My second choice is probably the most popular instrument, and I think it's the most satisfying, too, because you can make more progress at the beginning. That's the piano.

Dennis: So you think playing the piano's more difficult than playing the guitar.

Stephanie: Yes, because, well, your left hand has to work as hard as your right and both hands have to make notes. With the guitar, you make the notes with the left hand, and the right just picks the strings.

Dennis: Is playing a woodwind or brass instrument very difficult? It looks quite easy.

Stephanie: I think the clarinet and the trumpet are the easiest to learn. Finding the notes is quite easy and breathing isn't a serious problem. But I find all the wind instruments less satisfying for people to play, because you can't do much alone. You have to play with others.

Dennis: And which do you think is the most difficult instrument to play?

Stephanie: No doubt at all, the violin. And I think it's the most difficult because both hands have to work, but they have to do different jobs. I mean, the left hand makes the notes on the strings,

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and it's harder to find the notes than on the guitar because the strings are shorter. The right hand has to manage the bow, and bowing well is an art. Finally, the most difficult thing about it, I find, is holding the instrument under your chin. It's not a natural position to adopt.

P136

(Four people, Steve, Connie, Diane, and Martin, are giving their opinions about their favorite musicians before attending an international concert.)

Steve: Oh, no doubt about it. My favorite's Bruce Springsteen. He's the best there is. I think he's more direct, he communicates better than the others. It's not that the others are bad, but he's better. In a way his kind of rock music's more old-fashioned than, er, Sting's, say, but for me it's more exciting. And the messages in his songs are simpler. They're easier to understand than Sting's or Peter Gabriel's, so I can relate to them better.

Connie: The singer I want to hear most is Peter Gabriel. He's not really one of my favorite singers—I mean I don't think he's as exciting as Bruce Springsteen, for instance—but his latest songs, these African songs with African rhythms, well, they're more musical than pop songs usually are. And I think all the singers are sincere about the human rights movement, but he feels more deeply about it than the others.

Diane: Oh, I think Sting and his band are the best. Sting's better now with his new band than during his time with the Police. He seems more natural and I think he enjoys playing more. And he's a much better songwriter now. The one I like most in the band is the sax-player, Branford Marsalis. He plays brilliantly, but the best thing about him is his sense of humor. He really makes me laugh!

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Martin: To tell you the truth, I'm looking forward most to hearing Youssou N'Dour. I like Peter Gabriel's African songs, but he's an Englishman, not an African, so it's not the same as the real thing. I mean, real African music is different from reggae and rock, because it's more rhythmic than reggae, but not as heavy as rock. The rhythms are very unusual, too, and more sophisticated than people think.

P137&138

It has long been known that Cellist Yo-Yo Ma possesses astonishing musical talent. By age seven he had already played for Isaac Stern and Pablo Casals. Later he went to Juilliard and on to Harvard, where he studied international cultures. Soon he tasted stardom, giving concerts around the world.

But he tells of a humbling experience while in Namibia, where he went to observe trance dances and musical rituals of the people. At the end of his stay he produced a cello and offered them a performance of his own. \"They said, 'Stop. Don't play. We want to play for you, '\" Ma remembers with a laugh. \"I think I was too self-important to bring my cello. They didn't give a damn.\"

His story is one of a star realizing that not everyone knows or cares who he is. \"To be a good performer, you have to have a very strong ego,\" he says. \"But to be a really good performer, you have to make sure that your ego is not the center. To play Beethoven, you have to figure out who he was, and how that's encoded in the music. And then you have to realize you are not Beethoven.\"

P139

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Some people called John Lennon the \"thinking man's Beatle\". He was serious and creative, and many young people of the 1960s and 1970s thought he spoke for them.

Lennon was born on October 9,1940, in Liverpool, England. During his childhood he listened to the music of rock 'n' roll singers like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard. At 15, when he was in an art school, Lennon started his first band, the Quarrymen. The band included Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Pete Best, a drummer.

The Quarrymen later changed their name to the Silver Beatles and then the Beatles. Ringo Starr replaced Pete Best as drummer. Between 1958 and 1962 the group played in nightclubs in Liverpool and Hamburg, West Germany. Then the Beatles made a record called \"I Wanna Hold Your Hand\" and changed the history of rock 'n' roll.

Many people think that Lennon was the most important singer and songwriter of the Beatles. In general, his songs are sensitive and intelligent, and they still influence today's popular musicians.

On December 8, 1980, a confused young man shot John Lennon outside his apartment building in New York City. A few days later, thousands of people gathered in New York's Central Park to remember him. For them, and for many other people in the world, he was someone very special.

P140

Rock began in the U.S.A. in the early 1950s. At that time, \"rhythm and blues\" music was very popular with black Americans. \"R&B\" was a mixture of black religious music and jazz. It had strong rhythms that you could dance to and simple, fast lyrics.

Noticing the success of R&B music, white musicians started to copy the same style. By the mid

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1950s, this new white R&B music, called \"rock 'n' roll\Presley and Bill Haley attracted millions of teenage fans. Their music was fast and loud. Many older people thought that rock 'n' roll was very dangerous.

Rock music has continued to change and develop. It has combined with music from different parts of the world. Today, there are hundreds of different types of rock music, and almost every country has its own form of rock. There are \"heavy metal\" which is extremely loud with hard rhythms, \"reggae\" from Jamaica that combines rock with jazz and Latin rhythms, \"rap\" that has developed on the streets of New York, \"discohat combines rock with African rhythms, \"Mex-rock\which combines rock with traditional Mexican melodies...and many, many more.

P140

Big Big World

by Emilia

*I'm a big big girl in a big big world

It's not a big big thing if you leave me

But I do do feel that I do do will miss you much

Miss you much

I can see the first leaf falling

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It's all yellow and nice

It's so very cold outside

Like the way I'm feeling inside

(Repeat the part marked with \"*\".)

Outside it's now raining

And tears are falling from my eyes

Why did it have to happen

Why did it all have to end

(Repeat the part marked with \"*\".)

I have your arms around me

Warm like fire

But when I open my eyes, you're gone

(Repeat the part marked with \"*\".)

I'm a big big girl in a big big world

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It's not a big big thing if you leave me

But I do feel I will miss you much

Miss you much

第十单元

Grandpa: Now that it's the weekend, what are you going to do, Robbie?

Robbie: There's a concert I want to go to tonight.

Grandpa: What kind of concert? I mean what kind of music will be played? Classical music, pop music or what?

Robbie: Oh, rock music, of course. All the singers are so cool. There is so much feeling to all the songs. It's fantastic!

Grandpa: Oh, dear me, rock music! Noisy! To me, it isn't music at all. It's terrible rubbish. And why is it always so loud? It's deafening. How can you stand it?

Robbie: Oh, Grandpa, you'll never understand how wonderful it is. When you were my age, life was so slow-paced and peaceful, but now there is so much competition. We have so much pressure and we need to release it. Maybe loud and noisy music is a good way for us to do that.

Phillip: Robbie, you don't have time to spend on it. You really should spend more time on your studies. Your final exams are just around the corner. You should concentrate on them.

141

Robbie: Dad, life is not only about studying, and I'm not a machine. I've gotta have some fun. Studying all the time is boring.

Grandpa: How can you say that? You're really lucky to have the chance to study at university. When I was your age, I dreamt of going to university, but my family was too poor to afford it. I had lots of brothers, and sisters, and cousins, and so on. Life at that time was not as comfortable as it is now, we didn't...

Robbie: Yes, you didn't have enough to eat. That's what you always say. You've told me time and time again. But things are different now. It's the 21st century. I don't think you should always dwell on the past. I don't want to just be a bookworm. I need more freedom.

Phillip: Freedom! What do you mean by freedom? Don't you realize how fierce the competition is in modern society? You have to prepare yourself to meet the future. You can't afford to waste your time on meaningless things.

Robbie: But Dad, why do you think rock music is a meaningless thing? You need to learn more about the new things in life and keep up with the times. I want to have a totally different life than yours. I need pop music and excitement. The world is more exciting now. Why can't we enjoy this exciting life? We don't have to have the same interests. You really don't understand me.

Grandpa: Oh, Robbie! Listen to me. Your dad loves you and wants you to be successful.

Robbie: Anyway, I have a date with a girl tonight and we're going to go watch the concert together. I'm really looking forward to it.

Phillip: You have a girlfriend? Who is she? How did you meet each other?

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Robbie: We met on the Net. We've been talking to each other for two months now about the things we like and don't like.

Grandpa: It's unbelievable, Robbie. You met a girl on the Net, but you've never met her in person. How do you know you'll like her?

Robbie: We've been chatting online for two months now—talking about our likes and dislikes. I think we understand each other very well. Modern people often fall in love on the Net these days. It's not unusual.

Grandpa: I just can't imagine it. How can you understand each other? Maybe I'm too old now. There are so many new things I don't understand.

Phillip: Maybe we all need to adapt to the changing world. But, Robbie, you also need to listen to what we have been saying.

Robbie: OK, Dad, Grandpa. I'll make a compromise with you. I'll go to the concert tonight, but I'll study all weekend. I have to go now. It's getting late. I won't be able to meet my girlfriend. So see you later. Bye.

Phillip: That's the younger generation these days, isn't it? It's just not the same.

Grandpa: Don't worry, Phillip. When you were that age, I remember you kept complaining about my interference with your freedom. So let it be. I'm sure Robbie will come to understand us later.

P146

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I was born across the street from the public library, and in my memory it remains my favorite spot in my hometown. When I was six I learned to read. From the beginning, language seemed like magic to me. Recently I read that Freud said, \"Words and magic were in the beginning one and the same thing, and even today words retain much of their magical power.\"

During the Christmas season of 1927, when I was a sophomore in high school, I hung out in the street with other kids of my age. The weather was so harsh we played indoors, and after swimming and running and tumbling, we became bored. I suggested we hold a contest to see who could keep a diary the longest. My challenge was accepted by two of my friends. One wrote his diary for two weeks, the other three months, and here I am, still writing mine when I am 50. It has taught me that one way to find the truth is to tell the truth.

Questions:

1. What is the speaker's favorite spot in his hometown?

2. When did the speaker learn to read?

3. Why did the speaker play indoors during the Christmas season of 1927?

4. How long has the speaker been writing his diary?

5. What has the speaker learned from writing his diary?

P147

On Aging

144

by Maya Angelou

When you see me sitting quietly,

Like a sack left on the shelf,

Don't think I need your chattering.

I'm listening to myself.

Hold! Stop! Don't pity me!

Hold! Stop your sympathy!

Understanding if you got it,

Otherwise I'll do without it!

When my bones are stiff and aching

And my feet won't climb the stair,

I will only ask one favor:

Don't bring me no rocking chair.

When you see me walking, stumbling,

145

Don't study and get it wrong.

'Cause tired don't mean lazy

And every goodbye ain't gone.

I'm the same person I was back then,

A little less hair, a little less chin,

A lot less lungs and much less wind.

But ain't I lucky I can still breathe in.

P148&149

A teacher, a petty thief and a lawyer all died and went to the pearly gates. Because of crowding, St. Peter told them they had to pass a test before ascending any further. Addressing the teacher, he asked, \"What was the name of the famous ship that hit an iceberg and sank?\"

\"The Titanic,\" she answered, and St. Peter motioned her into heaven.

The thief was next. \"How many people died on that ship?\" St. Peter asked.

\"Gee, that's tough,\" the man replied. \"But luckily I just saw the movie. The answer is 1,500.\" St. Peter let him through.

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Then St. Peter turned to the lawyer, \"Name them.\"

P149&150

(The following is a short radio drama concerning two friends, David and John, who both play on a football team.)

David: I am back from the doctor. He told me I was going to die next week.

John: Oh, that seems impossible, David. You are in such good health.

Narrator: David takes from his pocket a medical certificate and shows it to his friend. After reading it, John realizes the doctor is right. He tries to reassure his friend, but also asks David to promise to send news as soon as he arrives in Paradise. One week later, as the doctor said, David dies. A month goes past without news, then two. At last, after three months, David calls his friend.

John: Hello, how are you, David?

David: Fine, thanks. I've got good news and bad news, John.

John: I'd rather you would begin first with the good news.

David: OK, listen. In Paradise, everything is marvelous. The sun shines all the time and people are so lovely. And, if you may remember, I played on a little team down there but here I play with the best players. Also, I am sure you have never seen such a big football stadium. Angels and God are our public. You know, it is really marvelous.

147

John: Oh, yes. It sounds wonderful. I am really happy for you. BUT you haven't told me the bad news, David.

David: Ah yes, my friend. Your name is marked on the notice board. You are going to play in two weeks.

Statements:

1. David and John are both football players.

2. John thinks that David is joking when David says he is going to die.

3. John doesn't believe what David has told him until he goes to the doctor and sees the medical certificate.

4. David promises to send good news to John from Heaven to relieve his sorrow.

5. It is not until two months after David dies that John gets a call from David.

6. David tells John that life in Heaven is pleasant and people there are friendly.

7. David tells John that Angels and God all like to play football.

8. We can infer from the drama that John will die soon.

P150

148

Speaker A:

Actually it was one of the first lessons I'd ever taught. I had this beginners' class, and I'd noticed that everything I wrote down on the blackboard they'd copy down into their books. So we were doing the days of the week, and I wrote them all up on the board and I decided to write an eighth day and called it \"my dayried to convince them that in Australia we had eight days a week, but they didn't fall for that one.

P151

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them—work, family, health, friends and spirit and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls—family, health, friends and spirit—are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same.

You must understand that and strive for balance in your life. How?

Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different and each of us is special.

Don't set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as they would be your life. For without them, life is meaningless.

Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your

149

life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.

Don't give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

Don't be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find time. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.

Don't use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.

P153

Andrew Carnegie, known as the King of Steel, built the steel industry in the United States, and, in the process, became one of the wealthiest men in America. His success resulted in part from his ability to sell the product and in part from his policy of expanding during periods of economic decline, when most of his competitors were reducing their investments.

Carnegie believed that individuals should progress through hard work, but he also felt strongly that the wealthy should use their fortunes for the benefit of society. He opposed charity, preferring instead to provide educational opportunities that would allow others to help themselves. \"He who

150

dies rich, dies disgraced,\" he often said.

Among his more noteworthy contributions to society are those that bear his name, including the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, which has a library, a museum of fine arts, and a museum of national history. He also founded a school of technology that is now part of Carnegie Mellon University. Other generous gifts he gave to society are the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to promote understanding between nations, the Carnegie Institute of Washington to fund scientific research, and Carnegie Hall to provide a center for the arts.

Few Americans have been left untouched by Andrew Carnegie's generosity. His contributions of more than five million dollars established 2,500 libraries in small communities throughout the country and formed the nucleus of the public library system that we all enjoy today.

Questions:

1. What is the key to Carnegie's success in his business?

2. According to Carnegie, what should the wealthy do?

3. What did Carnegie do with his wealth?

4. What is the total amount of money Carnegie donated to library establishment?

5. Which of the following statements in NOT true for Carnegie?

P154

151

Host: Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen. It gives me great pleasure to introduce our keynote speaker for today's plenary address, Dr. Howard Miller. Dr. Miller, Professor of Sociology at Washington University, has written numerous articles and books on the issues facing older Americans in our aging society for the past 15 years. Dr. Miller...

Dr. Miller: Thank you for that introduction. Today, I'd like to begin my remarks with a story from my own life which I feel highlights our common concerns that bring us here. Several years ago when my grandparents were well into their eighties, they were faced with the reality of no longer being able to adequately care for themselves. My grandfather spoke of his greatest fear, that of leaving the only home they had known for the past 60 years. Fighting back the tears, he told of how he had built their home himself from the beginning to the very end. The prospect of having to sell it, give up their independence, and move into a retirement home was an extremely upsetting experience for them. He said that he felt they weren't considered important anymore.

For them and some older Americans, their so-called \"golden years\" are at times not so pleasant, for this period can mean the decline of not only one's health but the loss of identity and self-worth. In many societies, this self-identity is closely related with our social status, occupation, material possessions, or independence. Furthermore, we often live in societies that value only those things which are \"new\" or in fashion. I mean, how would your family react if you came home tonight, exclaiming, \"Hey, come to the living room and see the OLD black and white TV I brought!\" Unfortunately, the word \"old\" raises images of the need to replace or discard.

Now, many of the lectures given at this conference have focused on the issues of pension reform, medical care, and the development of public facilities for senior citizens. And while these are vital issues that must be addressed, I'd like to focus my comments on an underlying issue that will affect the overall success of the other programs mentioned. This has to do with altering our

152

perspectives on what it means to be a part of this group, and finding meaningful roles the elderly can and should play in our societies.

P155

A man once passed through a forest in Africa, walking at his leisure, smelling the flowers and admiring the beauty of the place. Suddenly he heard the sound of fast approaching danger that was loud and frightening. When he turned, it was to face a large lion rushing at him. The lion's thin waist made evident its hunger. With the lion chasing him, the man's heart nearly leaped out at the sight of it, and so he started to run for his life.

The lion was about to catch up with him when the man came upon a well. Then with a mighty leap he jumped into the well and ended up dangling in the heart of the well hanging onto a rope.

The lion's voice eventually quieted, but he soon heard the hissing of a snake that had a giant head and a long body which came from somewhere below him. Just as the man was thinking of what to do with the lion and the snake, a black mouse and a white one climbed up to where the rope was attached and started to nibble away at the rope.

The man was shocked and so started to shake the rope, hoping to get rid of the mice. As he did so the rope began to swing and knocked him against the walls. The man felt something wet and sticky come into contact with his sides as he banged against the walls. The man licked the substance only to find that it was honey, the type made by bees in the forests and mountains. The honey was so sweet and delicious that he continued to lick it and forgot the situation he was in.

Suddenly the man woke up. It was all just a horrible dream! So the man decided he should get

153

his dream interpreted. He went to meet a knowledgeable scholar who was good at interpreting dreams. He told the scholar of his dream. The scholar laughed and said, \"Don't you know its interpretation?\"

The man said he didn't. So the scholar replied, \"The lion that was chasing you was the angel of death and the well with the snake in it was your grave and the two mice are the nights and the days that are passing in your life\".

The man asked, \"And how about the honey?\"

The scholar replied, \"That is the sweet taste of life that is distracting you and making you forget death.\"

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