6. There are 156 golfers taking part in this event. 7. The total prize money is three million dollars. 8. The prize for the first place is 540 thousand dollars
Section Four Supplementary Exercise
Part 1 Feature Report
US Men’s National Collegiate Basketball Tournament
The widely followed US men's national collegiate basketball tournament concludes tonight (9 p.m. EST) in Atlanta with a championship match-up* between Maryland and Indiana.
Maryland is in the championship game for the first time in the schoolhistory. Toget here, the Maryland Terrapins had to beat three teams with great basketball
traditions: Kentucky, Connecticut and Kansas.
Now they face another, Indiana. whileMaryland was one of the four topseeds in this 65-team tournament, the Indiana Hoosiers* were a fifth seed, and virtually no one expected them to reach the title game*. But they knocked off defending champion Duke in the third round, and in the semifinalsthey upset Oklahoma.
Maryland coach Gary Williams knows it will take a solid effort to win.
\team that's gotten to where Indiana has gotten, you don't look at their record. You look at how they're playing now, how they play. Any time a team plays team defense like they do, they have a chance to beat anybody. That's what concerns me the most, their ability to play together as a unit, because a lot of times you can play with anybody when you play that close together like they do.\
Indiana has 27 wins and 11 defeats this season. The last time a team won the national championship with as many as 11 losses was Kansas in 1988. Maryland has a school record of 31 wins against only 4 losses. It has three seniors in the starting line-up* who reached the semifinals last year, and they are determined that this time they will take home the school's first men's national basketball championship.
Exercise A
Directions: Listen to the news report and complete the summary.
This news report is about two teams that will compete for the championship of US men's national collegiate basketball tournament.
Exercises B
Directions: Listen to the news again and complete the following sentences. 1.Maryland moves in the championship gamefor the first time in the school history.
2.The Maryland Terrapins had to beat three teamswith great
basketballtraditions before it reached the title game. 3.Among the 65 teams, the Indiana team was a fifth seed. 4.Indiana has 27 winsand 11 defeatsthis season.
5.Last year the Maryland Terrapins reached the semifinals.
6. In 1988, the team who won the national championship with as many as11 losseswas Kansas.
Part 2 Passage
Who on Earth Invented the Airplane?
1. He would keep his dirigible tied to a gas lamp post in front of his Paris
apartment and during the day he'd fly to go shopping or to visit friends. 2. Since his was the first public flight in the world, he was hailed as the
inventor of the airplane all over Europe.
3. But to bring up the Wright brothers with a Brazilian is bound to elicit an
avalanche of arguments as to why their flight didn't count.
4. His flight did meet the criteria: He took off unassisted, publicly flew a predetermined length and then landed safely.
5. By the time the Brazilian got around to his maiden flight the Wright brothers had already flown numerous times, including one flight in which they flew 39 kilometers.
Ask anyone in Brazil who invented the airplane, and they will say Alberto Santos-Dumont, a bon vivant as well-known for his aerial prowess as he was for his dandyish* dress and place in the high-society life of Belle EpoqueParis.
As Paul Hoffman recounts in his biography Wings of Madness,
theeccentric* Brazilian was the only person in his day to own a flying machine.
\apartment at the Champs Elysees, and every night he would fly to Maxim's for dinner. During the day he'd fly to go shopping or to visit friends,\said.
It was on November 12, 1906, when Santos-Dumont flew a kite-like contraption* with boxy wings called the 14-Bis some 220 meters on the outskirts of Paris. Since his was the first public flight in the world, he was hailed as the inventor of the airplane all over Europe.
It was only later that Orville and Wilbur Wright proved they had beaten Santos-Dumont at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, three years earlier.
But to bring up the Wright brothers with a Brazilian is bound to elicit* an avalanche of arguments as to why their flight didn't count.
\driver in Rio de Janeiro.
\
The debate centers on the definition of flight.
Henrique Lins de Barros, a Brazilian physicist and Santos-Dumont expert,
argues that the Wright brothers' flight did not fulfill the conditions that had been set up at the time to distinguish a true flight from a prolonged hop.
Santos-Dumont's flight did meet the criteria: He took off unassisted, publicly flew a predetermined length and then landed safely.
\the Wright brothers simply did not fill any of the prerequisites,\Barros.
Brazilians claim that the Wrights launched their Flyer in 1903 with a catapult or at an incline, disqualifying it from being a true airplane.
Even Santos-Dumont experts like Lins de Barros concede* this is wrong. He says that the steady winds at Kitty Hawk were crucial for the Flyer's takeoff, disqualifying the flight because it probably could not lift off on its own.
Peter Jakab, chairman of the aeronautics division at the US National Air and Space Museum in / Washington, says such claims are preposterous*.
By the time Santos-Dumont got around to his maiden flight the Wright brothers had already flown numerous times, including one flight in which they flew 39 kilometers.
Even in France the Wrights are considered to have flown before Santos-Dumont, says Claude Carlier, director of the FrenchCenter for the History of Aeronautics and Space.
By rounding the EiffelTower in a motorized dirigible in .190 I,
P1-21:unit1, P22-43:unit2, P44-65:unit3, P66-88:unit4, P89-113:unit5, P114-133:unit6, P134-144:unit7, P145- 166:unit8
UNIT 1 Section One Part 1
Spot Dictation
Houses in the Future
Well, I think houses in the future will probably be (1) quite smallbut I should think they'll be (2) well-insulatedso that you don't need so much (3) heatingand (4) coolingas you do now, so perhaps very economical (5) to run. Perhaps they will use (6)solar heating, although I don't know, in this country, perhaps we (7) won't be ableto do that so much. Yes, I think they'll be full of (8) electronic gadgets: things like very advanced televisions, videos, perhaps videos which take up ... the screen (9) takes upthe whole wall. I should think. Yes, you'll have things like (10)garage doorswhich open automatically when you (11) drive up, perhaps electronic (12) sensorswhich will (13)recognizeyou when you, when you come to the front door even. Perhaps (14) architectsand designers will be a bit more (15) imaginativeabout how houses are designed and perhaps with the (16) shortage of spacepeople will think of putting gardens (17) on the roof and, and maybe rooms can be (18) expandedand, and (19) contracteddepending on what you use them for, so perhaps there'll be a bit more (20) flexibilityabout that.
Part 2
Listening for Gist
A: Tuesday two fifteen. Let me look in my diary.
B: No, Thursday.
A: Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you said Tuesday.
B: Thursday two fifteen. No, I'm sorry. I've got an appointment until three. Could we make it later? Say three fifteen?
A: Well, there's a lot to talk about. It'll take a couple of hours, at least.
B: Shall we say Monday morning, then? A: Monday morning. All right. Nine o'clock? B: Nine. I think that will be all right. I'll ring you back and confirm. A: All right. But ring before five, could you? B: Allright.
A: Right you are. Bye. B: Bye.
Exercise. Directions: Listen to the dialogue and write down the gist and the key words that help you decide.
1. This dialogue is about making an appointment.
2. The key words are Tuesday. Thursday. two fifteen. three fifteen. Mondaymorning. nine o'clock.
Section Two Listening comprehension
Part 1 Dialogue I'm terribly sorry I'm late
Woman: Listen! I'm terribly sorry I'm late.
Man: Oh, that's all right. It doesn't really matter, does it? I haven't got anything better to do, have I? Woman: Just let me explain, will you?
Man: I've only been waiting for over an hour. That's all. Woman: Yes. I know, and I would have ...
Man: After all, my time isn't really that important, is it? Woman: Please don't be like that. Just let me explain.
(Silence. Man says nothing.)
Woman: I ... I tried to get here in time but just after I left home, the car broke down.
Man: The car broke down?
Woman: Yes, and ... well ... luckily ... there was a garage near me. And ... and it took them a while to repair it.
Man: Why didn't you at least phone?
Woman: I would have! But I didn't know the number of the restaurant. Man: You could have looked it up in the telephone book!
Woman: Yes, but ... you'll never believe this ... I couldn't remember the name
ofthe restaurant. I knew where it was, but forgot the name.
Man: I see. Well, at least it was lucky you found a garage to repair your car. Woman: Yes. It was something I couldn't do myself. It didn't take too long, but that's why I'm late, you see.
Man: Uh-huh. Which garage, by the way? Woman: Pardon?
Man: Which garage did you take it to?
Woman: Uh ... the one near my flat. You know. Lewis Brothers. Man: Yes, I know that garage. It's the only one near your flat.
Woman: Hmm, well now, let's have something to eat. Uh, what about some ... Man: I know the garage very well!
Woman: Yes. Let's see now. Yes, I think I'll have some ... Man: A pity it's Sunday. Woman: Pardon?
Man: A pity it's Sunday. That garage is closed on Sunday!
Exercise
Directions: Listen to the dialogue and write down the gist and the key words that help you decide.
1. They are possibly boyfriend and girlfriend. 2. In a restaurant.
3. \ \That's all\
\thatimportant, is it?\
\ 4. Because she wants to stop the conversation like this. 5.Because he knows the girl is lying.
Part 2 Passage
The Oscar Statuette
1Industry insiders and members of the press called the award \statuette\stuck.
2. No hard evidence exists to support that tale, but in any case, by the sixth
Exercise D After-listening Discussion Directions: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions. 1.Because they wanted to know whether the machine possessed sufficient power to fly, sufficient strength to withstand the shocks of landings and sufficient capacity of control to make flight safe in boisterous winds as well as in calm air. 2.(Open) Section Three News
News Item 1 World Basketball Championship
The semifinal round of the World Basketball Championship tournament is later today (Saturday) in the mid-western (US) state of Indiana.
Argentina is the only undefeated team at the tournament. The South Americans have outscored their opponents by an average of 19 points per game. On Wednesday, Argentina shocked the host United States (87-80) to snap a 58-game international winning streak* by professional squads of the National Basketball Association players.
Argentina also defeated Brazil (78-67) to reach the semifinal round where
the team will face Germany. Primarily using European experienced players, Argentina defeated Germany earlier in the second round, 86-77.
Defending champion Yugoslavia, which ousted the United States (81-78) in the quarterfinals, plays upstart* New Zealand. But Yugoslav head coach SvetislavPesic says he is not surprised.
The losers of each game will play for the third place on Sunday before the championship game.
Exercise A
Directions: Listen to the news item and complete the summary.
This news item is about the semifinal round of the World Basketball Championship tournament.
Exercise B
Directions: Listen to the news again and complete the following sentences. 1. In the second round Argentina defeated Germany86-77. 2. Argentina also defeated Brazil to reach the seminal round.
3. Before the semifinal round Argentina is the only undefeated team at the tournament.
4. Defending champion Yugoslavia, which ousted the United States in the quarterfinals, plays against New Zealand.
5. The four teams that will play in the semifinals are Argentina, Germany,
Yugoslavia and New Zealand.
6. The losers of each game will play for the third placebefore the championship game.
News Item 2 European Football
English football club Liverpoolcrashed out of the Champions League, despite fighting back from a 3-0 deficit to tie FC Basel 3-3 inSwitzerland. Liverpool needed a win Tuesday to qualify / for the second phase. Instead, the English club will play for the UEFA Cup. Basel became the first Swiss side ever to reach the last 16 of the Champions League, qualifying second in Group B· behind Valencia of Spain, which beat Spartak Moscow 3-0.
English champion Arsenal played to a scoreless homedraw against Dutch-side PSV Eindhoven to top Group A and move into the second phase, where the team will be seeded. They'll be joined by German team Borussia Dortmund*, which advanced despite a 1-0 loss to Auxerre in France.
AS Roma played to a 1-1 draw against AEK Athens in Italy, to capture second place in Group C. Group winner Real Madrid of Spain will also advance, after drawing 1-1 with Racing Genk* in Belgium.
In Group D, Inter Milan of Italy got a pair of goals from HernanCrespoto beat AjaxAmsterdam 2-1 in the Netherlands. Both teams qualified at the expense
of French side Lyon, which was held to a 1-1 draw by Rosenborg in Norway.
Exercise A
Directions: Listen to the news item and complete the summary. This news item is about European football matches.
Exercise B
Directions: Listen to the news again and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).
1.T 2.F 3.F 4.T 5.T 6.F 7.T
News Item 3
KemperOpenGulf Preview
The annual Kemper Open* golf tournament gets underway Thursday near Washington at the Tournament Players Club at Avenel.
Twenty-eight-year-old American Rich Beem is back to defend his title. Before his victory here, he had missed the halfway cuts in five straight tournaments. He hopes he can again find his form during the next four days, as he is currently 132nd on the money list.
The player who is number-one on golf's money list and in the world rankings, American Tiger Woods, decided to skip this event after winning
the rain-delayed Memorial Open in (Dublin) Ohio on Monday.
Compatriot* Jeff Sluman says even Tiger has to take periodic breaks. He's unbelievable. He's got an opportunity, as I said even a couple years ago, if he stays healthy and does the right things, he can maybe be the best golfer of all time, and he's showing right now what he can do. The kid is just a fabulous, fabulous player, but he can't play every week.\
Eight of the past 10 Kemper Open winners are in this year's field of 156 golfers, who are vying for three million dollars in prize money. The first-place check has been increased from 450 thousand to540 thousand dollars.
Exercise A
Directions: Listen to the news item and complete the summary.
This news item is about an annual Kemper Open golf tournament on Thursday.
Exercise B
Directions: Listen to the news again and answer the following questions.
\
1. The Kemper Open golf tournament will be held on Thursday. 2. Rich Beem comes back to defend his title. 3. He is currently ranked 132nd on the money list.
4. Tiger Woods is number-one on golf's money list and in the world rankings. 5. He has to take a break after a match on Monday.
the following sentences.
1. C 2.B 3.B 4.A 5.A 6.B 7.D 8.C
Exercise D After-listening Discussion Directions: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions.
1.The last Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, tried her best to save the country when the Romans came in the year 39 B. C. Her beauty and charm were more dangerous to the Roman generals than half a dozen Egyptian army corps. She was successful twice in her attacks upon the hearts of her Roman conquerors. In the year 30 B.c., Augustus landed in Alexandria and destroyed her armies. She killed herself by taking poison. 2(Open)
UNIT 2 Section One Tactics for listening Part 1 Sport Dictation My Mother My mother was an efficient (1) taskmasterwho cooked, cleaned and shopped for nine people (2) on a dailybasis. She was a disciplinarian* who would (3) make usseven kids walk up and down the stairs a hundred times if we clumped like (4)field handsto-dinner. She also enlisted us to help her in the day's (5) chores. My mother believed that each of her children had a special (6) knackthat made him or her invaluable on certain (7) missions. My brother Mike, for example, was believed to have especially (8) keen eyesight. He was hoisted up as a human (9) telescopewhenever she needed to see something (10) far away. John was the climber when a kite (11) got caught. My own job was navigator for our (12) giganticold Chrysler. But my mother's (13) abilityto get work done well was only (14) one side. She also had an (15) imaginationthat carried her in different directions, that (16) allowedher to transcend her everyday life. She did not (17) believe inmagic as portrayed on a stage, but (18) valued instead the sound of a metal bucket being (19) filled by a hose, or the persistence of a dandelion at the (20) edge ofa woodpile.
Part 2 Listening for Gist
For hundreds of years man has been fascinated by the idea of flying. One of the first men to produce designs for aircraft was Leonardo da Vinci, an Italian artist who lived in the fifteenth century. However, it was not until the eighteenth century that people began to fly, or perhaps it would be better to say float, across the countryside in balloons. The first hot-air balloon was made in April 1783 by the Montgolfier brothers in France.
In the following years many flights were made by balloon. Some of the flights were for pleasure and others were for delivering mail and for military purposes, such as observation and even bombing. However, in the late nineteenth century, airships superseded balloons as a form of transport.
Airships came after balloons. The first powered and manned flight was made by a Frenchman, Giffard, in September 1852. His airship, powered by steam, traveled twenty-seven kilometers from Paris to Trappes at a speed of eight kilometers per hour. However the days of the airship were numbered as the aero plane became increasingly safe and popular. Exercise Directions: Listen to the passage and write down the gist and the key words that help you decide. 1. This passage is about the early history of flying.
2. The key words are designs, an Italian artist, fifteenth century, eighteenth
century, fly, float, balloons, hot-air balloon, April 1783, airships, September 1852, aeroplane.
Section Two Listening Comprehension
Part 1 Dialogue
Buying a Car
A: Good morning, can I help you? B: Yes, I'm interested in buying a car. A: Have you anything in mind? B: Not really. A: What price are you thinking of?
B: Not more than ￡13,500.
A: Let's see now ... Over there between the Lancia and the Volvo is a Mini. It costs ￡12,830 and is cheap to run: It does 38 miles per gallon. Or there's the Citroen, behind the Mini. It costs ￡12,070 and is even cheaper to run than the Mini: It does 45 miles per gallon. It's not very fast though. It only does 69 miles per hour.
B: No, I think the Mini and the Citroen are too small. I've got three children.
Isn't there anything bigger at that price?
A: Well, there's the Toyota over there, to the left of the Peugeot. It's very comfortable and costs ￡13,040. It's cheap to run too, and it also has a built-in radio. Or there's the Renault at the back of the showroom, behind the Peugeot. It costs a little more, ￡13,240, but it is cheaper to run. It does 40 miles per gallon and the Toyota only does 36 miles per gallon. B: What about that Volkswagen over there, in front of the Toyota?
A: That costs a little more than ￡13,500 but it's a very reliable car. It's more expensive to run than the others: It does 34 miles per gallon, but it's faster. Its top speed is 90 miles per hour. The Toyota's is 80 miles per hour and the Renault's is 82 miles per hour. B: How much does it cost?
A: ￡13,630 and that includes a 5-year guarantee.
B: And the Fiat next to the Volkswagen?
A: Again that's more than ￡13,500, but it's cheaper than the Volkswagen. It costs ￡13,550.
B: Hmm well, I'll have to think about it and study these pamphlets. How much is that Peugeot incidentally, behind the Lancia? A: Oh, that's expensive. It costs ￡15,190.
B: Yes, that is a bit too much. Thank you very much for your help. Goodbye.
R ￡13.240 40m/g 82m/h T C ￡13,040 P ￡12,070 36m/g ￡15,190 45m/g 80m/h 69m/h VW M F ￡13,630 L V ￡12,830 ￡13,550 34m/g ￡16,240 ￡15,85038m/g 90m/h
Part 2 Passage The Wrights’ Story
1. On the morning of December 17, 1903, between 10:30 a.m. and noon, four flights were made, two by Orville Wright and two by Wilbur Wright. 2.Under the direction of the operator it climbed upward on an inclined course
till a height of 8 or 10 feet from the ground was reached.
3.Into the teeth of a December gale the \speed of 10 miles an hour over the ground and 30 to 35 miles an hour through the air.
4.The height chosen was sufficient for maneuvering in so gusty a wind and with no previous acquaintance with the conduct of the machine and its controlling mechanisms.
5 .In attempting to bring the machine down to the desired height, the operator turned the rudder too far, and the machine turned downward more quickly than had been expected.
On the morning of December 17, 1903, between 10:30 a.m. and noon, four flights were made, two by Orville Wright and two by Wilbur Wright. The starts were all made from a point on the level sand about 200 feet west of our camp, which is located a quarter of a mile north of the Kill Devil sand hill, in Dare County, North Carolina.
The wind at the time of the flights had a velocity* of 27 miles an hour at 10 a.m., and 24 milesan hour at noon, as recorded by the anemometer* at the Kitty Hawk Weather Bureau Station.
The flights were directly against the wind. Each time the machine started from the level ground by its own power alone with no assistance from gravity or any other source whatever.
After a run of about 40 feet along a monorail* track, which held the machine 8 inches (20 centimeters) from the ground, it rose from the track and under the direction of the operator climbed upward on an inclined course till a height of 8 or 10 feet from the ground was reached, after which the course was kept as near horizontal as the wind gusts and the limited skill of the operator would permit.
Into the teeth of a December gale the \speed of 10 miles an hour over the ground and 30 to 35 miles an hour through the air.
It had previously been decided that for reasons of personal safety these first trials should be made as close to the ground as possible. The height chosen was sufficient for maneuvering* inso gusty a wind and with no previous acquaintance with the conduct of the machine and its controlling mechanisms. Consequently the first flight was short.
The succeeding flights rapidly increased in length and at the fourth trial a flight of 59 seconds was made, in which time the machine flew a little more than half a mile through the air and a distance of 852 feet over the ground.
The landing was due to a slight error of judgment on the part of the aviator. After passing over a little hummock* of sand, in attempting to bring the machine down to the desired height, the operator turned the rudder* too far, and the machine turned downward more quickly than had been expected. The reverse movement of the rudder was a fraction of a second too late to prevent the
machine from touching the ground and thus ending the flight.
As winter was already well set in, we should have postponed the trials to a more favorable season, but we were determined to know whether the machine possessed sufficient power to fly, sufficient strength to withstand the shocks of landings and sufficient capacity of control to make flight safe in boisterous* winds, as well as in calm air.
Exercise A Pre-listening Question Orville Wright (1871-1948), American aeronautical engineer, famous for his role in the first controlled, powered flight in a heavier-than-air machine and for his participation in the design of the aircraft's control system. Wright worked closely with his brother, Wilbur Wright (1867-1912), American aeronautical engineer, in designing and flying the Wright airplane.
During the years 1900, 1901, 1902, and 1903, the two brothers developed the first effective airplane. At Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903, Orville Wright made the first successful flight of a piloted, heavier-than-air, self-propelled craft, called the Flyer. The third Flyer, which the Wrights constructed in 1905, was the world's first fully practical airplane. It could bank, turn, circle, make figure eights, and remain in the air for as long as the fuel lasted, up to half an hour on occasion. Exercise B Sentence Dictation
Directions: Listen to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times. Exercise C Detailed Listening Directions: Listen to the passage and answer the following questions.
1.Four flights were made on the morning of December 17, 1903, two by Orville Wright and two by Wilbur Wright.
2.The wind at the time of the flights had a velocity of 27 miles an hour at 10 a.m., and 24 miles an hour at noon, as recorded by the anemometer at the Kitty Hawk Weather Bureau Station.
3.Each time the machine started from the level ground by its own power alone with no assistance from gravity or any other source whatever.
4.The machine ran about 40 feet along a monorail track before it rose from the track.
5.These first trials should be made as close to the ground as possible for reasons of personal safety.
6.The machine flew a little more than half a mile through the air in 59 seconds at the fourth trial.
7.The early landing was due to a slight error of judgment on the part of the aviator.
8.As winter was already well set in, it was not a favorable season for the trials.
Santos-Dumont helped prove that air travel could be controlled.
Exercise A Pre-listening Question Alberto Santos-Dumont was a wealthy Brazilian aviation pioneer who came to Paris, France, at the age of 18 to live and study. He attempted his first balloon ascent in 1897 and had his first successful ascent in 1898. He began to construct dirigible airships powered with gasoline-powered engines in 1898 and built and flew fourteen of the small dirigibles. In 1901, he flew his hydrogen-filled airship from St. Cloud, around the EiffelTower, and back to St. Cloud. It was the first such flight and won him the Deutsch Prize and a prize from the Brazilian government. In 1902, he attempted to cross the Mediterranean in an airship but crashed into the sea. In 1909, he produced his \monoplane, the precursor to the modern light plane. Exercise B Sentence Dictation Directions: Listen to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times. Exercise C Detailed Listening Directions: Listen to the passage and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). Discuss with your classmates why you think the statement is true or false.
-T-1. The Brazilians believe that it was Alberto Santos-Dumont who invented
the airplane.
(Ask anyone in Brazil who invented the airplane, and they will say Alberto
Santos-Dumont ... )
-T- 2. In Paul Hoffman's day Alberto Santos-Dumont was the only person to own a flying machine.
(As Paul Hoffman recounts in his biography Wings of Madness, the eccentric Brazilian was the only person in his day to own a flying machine.)
-T- 3. According to Hoffman, Alberto Santos-Dumont used his dirigible as a
means of transportation.
(He would keep his dirigible tied to a gas lamp post in front of his Paris apartment at the Champs Elysees, and he would fly to Maxim's for dinner every night and he'd fly to go shopping or to visit friends during the day.)
-F4. On November 12, 1906, Santos-Dumont flew a kite-like device with boxy
wings some 200 meters on the outskirts of Paris.
(It was on November 12, 1906, when Santos-Dumont flew a kite-like contraption with boxy wings called the 14-Bis some 220 meters on the outskirts of Paris.)
-T- 5. Some Brazilians claim that the Wrights launched their Flyer in 1903
with assistance by a device.
(Brazilians claim that the Wrights launched their Flyer in 1903 with a
catapult or at an incline, disqualifying it from being a true airplane.)
-T- 6. Some experts believe steady wind might have helped the Flyer's takeoff.
(Even Santos-Dumont experts like Lins de Barros ... ,Lins de Barros says that the steady winds at Kitty Hawk were crucial for the Flyer's takeoff, disqualifying the flight because it probably could not lift off on its own.)
-F7. Officials from the US National Air Force say such claims aregroundless.
(Peter Jakab, chairman of the aeronautics division at the US National Air and Space Museum in Washington, says such claims are preposterous.) -T-8. The Wrights had already made several successful flights before
Santos-Dumont got around to his maiden flight.
(By the time Santos-Dumont got around to his maiden flight the Wright brothers had already flown numerous times, including one flight in which they flew 39 kilometers.)
ExerciseD After-listening Discussion Directions: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions. 1.By rounding the EiffelTower in a motorized dirigible in 1901, Santos-Dumont helped prove that air travel could be controlled. 2.(Open)
Unit 3
Section One Tactics for listening
Part 1 Spot Dictation
Wildlife
Every ten minutes, one kind of animal, plant or insect (1) dies outfor ever. If nothing is done about it, one million species that are alive today will have become (2) extincttwenty years from now.
The seas are in danger. They are being filled with (3) poison: industrial and nuclear waste, chemical fertilizers and (4) pesticides, sewage. If nothing is done about it, one day soon nothing will be able to (5) live inthe seas.
The tropical rain (6) forests, which are the home of half the earth's living things are (7) being destroyed. If nothing is done about it, they will have (8) nearly disappearedin twenty years. The effect on the world's (9) climate- and on our agriculture and food (10) supplies- will be disastrous.
(11) Fortunately, somebody is trying to do something about it. In 1961, the (12) World Wildlife Fund was founded - a small group of people who wanted to (13) raise moneyto save animals and plants (14) from extinction. Today, the World Wildlife Fund is a large (15) internationalorganization. It has raised over (16) ￡35 millionfor (17) conservationprojects, and has created or given support to the National Parks in (1 8) five continents. It has helped 30 (19) mammalsand birds - including the tiger - to (20) survive.
Part 2 Listening for Gist
Mrs. Bates: Hullo. Is that Reception? . Reception: Yes, madam
Mrs. Bates: This is Mrs. Bates. Room 504. I sent some clothes to the laundry this
morning, two of my husband's shirts and three of my blouses. But they're not back yet. You see, we're leaving early tomorrow morning.
Reception: Just a moment, madam. I'll put you through to the housekeeper.
Housekeeper: Hullo. Housekeeper.
Mrs. Bates: Oh, hullo. This is ... I'm phoning from Room 504. It's about
someclothes I sent to the laundry this morning. They're not back yet and you see ...
Housekeeper: They are, madam. You'll find them in your wardrobe. They're in
the top drawer on the left.
Mrs. Bates: Oh, I didn't look in the wardrobe. Thank you very much.Sorry
to trouble you.
Housekeeper: That's quite all right. Goodbye. Mrs. Bates: Goodbye. Exercise
Directions: Listen to the dialogue and write down the gist and the key words that help you decide.
1)This dialogue is about making an inquiry about the laundry. 2)The key words are reception. laundry. shirts. blouses. wardrobe.
Section Two Listening Comprehension
Part 1 Dialogue A UN Interpreter
Interviewer: ... so perhaps you could tell us how exactly you became so proficient at language
learning, Suzanne.
Suzanne: Well, I think it all started with a really fortunate accident of birth.
You know I was born in Lausanne*, Switzerland; my father was Swiss-French Swiss and my mother was American, so, of course, we spoke both languages at home and I grew up bilingual. Then, of course, I learnt German at school - in Switzerland that's normal. And because I was already fluent in English, my second language at school was Italian. So I had a real head start*!
Interviewer: So that's ... one, two, three, four - you had learnt four languages by
the time you left school? How fluent were you?
Suzanne: Urn, I was native speaker standard in French and English, but I'd
become a bit rusty* in German and my Italian was only school standard. I decided the best option was to study in the UK, and I did Hispanic Studies at university, studying Spanish and Portuguese, with some Italian, and living in Manchester. Then I went to live in Brazilfor two years, teaching English.
Interviewer: So by this time you must have been fluent in six languages?
Suzanne: Nearly. My Italian wasn't perfect, but I had a boyfriend from
Uruguay* while I was there, so my Spanish also became pretty good!
Interviewer: And then what did you do?
Suzanne: When I was 25 I came back to Switzerland, went to an interpreters'
school and then got a job in the United Nations when I was 28.
Interviewer: And you've been there ever since?
Suzanne: Not quite. In the first few months I met Jan, a Czech interpreter, who
became my husband. We went to live in Prague in 1987 and that was where I learnt Czech.
Interviewer: And the eighth language?
Suzanne: Well, unfortunately the marriage didn't last; I was very upset and I
decided to take a long break. I went to Japan on holiday, got a job and stayed for two years, which was when I learnt Japanese.
Interviewer: That's amazing! And now you're back at the United Nations? Suzanne: Yes. Well, I never really left. I carried on doing work for them when I
was in Prague - some in Prague, some in Austria and Switzerland, and I took a %understand Japanese. But, yes, I've been back with them full-time for two years now.
Interviewer: And your plans for the future?
Suzanne: I'm going to learn more Oriental languages. It was such a challenge
learning Japanese - it's so different from all the others. So I'll spend
another two or three years here with the UN full-time, during which time I hope to get a substantial promotion, then I think I'll go back and learn Korean, or perhaps Chinese, and Thai - I'd love to learn Thai. And then, perhaps an Indian language. Whatever, I want to be fluent in another three or four languages before 45.
Exercise
Directions: Listen to the dialogue and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).
l.T2.F3.F4.F5.T 6.F7.T 8.T 9. T 10. F
Part 2 Passage
The ClydeRiver
1)Salmon are very sensitive to environmental conditions and require cool, well-oxygenated water to thrive.
2)The closure of factories that had poured toxins and other pollutants into the river boosted water quality significantly and modern sewage processing plants helped eliminate some of the foul smells.
3)The river's depth and navigability helped make Glasgow an important center for importing tobacco, sugar and cotton from the Americas starting in the 1600s.
4)The mills and factories that lined the Clyde made steel, textiles and chemicals, tanned leather and even produced candy and brewed alcohol. 5)When the factories began to close in the second half of the 20th century, working-class Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, gained a reputation for social deprivation and rough streets.
Running through one of Britain's biggest manufacturing centers, Glasgow, the ClydeRiver* was poisoned for more than a century by the fetid* byproducts of industry.
The waterway bore the brunt of Glasgow's economic success during the Industrial Revolution and beyond, as pollution and chemicals destroyed its fish and wildlife populations and brewed smells whose memory still makes residents wince*. Now, with heavy industry gone and Glasgow reconceived as a center for culture and tourism, the Clyde is coming back to life.
For the first time since the late 1800s, its native salmon have returned in sizable numbers, reflecting the new cleanliness of a river that was once one of Britain's filthiest.
The ClydeRiver Foundation surveyed fish populations last autumn at 69sites in the Clyde and its tributaries, and found salmon in seven of the nine major tributaries.
The migratory fish, which vanished from the Clyde around 1880 after a
longdecline, first reappeared in the 1980s, but last year's survey was the first to show they've come back in healthy numbers.
Although commercial salmon fishing was never widespread on the Clyde, the fish's return is symbolically important for Glasgow, where salmon were once so important to the city's identity that two are pictured on its official coat of arms. The salmon's comeback is also a sign of big improvements to water quality. Like sea trout, which have also reappeared in the Clyde system in recent years, salmon are very sensitive to environmental conditions and require cool, well-oxygenated* water to thrive.
The decline of Glasgow's main industries helped boost the fortunes of a river that was essentially fishless for decades during the worst periods of pollution.
The closure of factories that had poured toxins* and other pollutants into the river boosted water quality significantly. Environmental regulators also lightened dumping rules, and modern sewage processing plants helped eliminate some of the foul* smells that once tainted* the air.
With worries rising about the environmental impact of enormous fish farms elsewhere in Scotland and severely depleted fish stocks in the North Sea and North Atlantic, the Clyde comeback is a rare bit of good news for Scotland's fish lovers.
Since the area that is now Glasgow was first settled around the year 550, the Clyde has been central to its history.
