大学英语听说教程4听力原文Unit9.doc

Unit 9Part BLife Goes On The city of Ypres in Belgium has been invaded 19 times, most famously in World War I. Some time ago I went with two friends to visit the battlefields and cemeteries there, and particularly to see the tomb of my uncle who was killed in the war at the age of 20. Michael, our silver-haired guide, took us first to a British cemetery, just outside the town. I stared at the lines of gravestones, neatly planted with herbs and flowers, the low surrounding walls blooming with wisteria. Michael pointed out my uncles grave to me. I walked hesitantly toward it, wondering what I would feel. And suddenly there it was, and there were hundreds of others. Nothing could have prepared me for the realization that in this area alone about 250,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers were killed. There are 75 British cemeteries, of which we visited just a few. Next, Michael took us to a place on the other side of the city. The names of 55,000 missing soldiers are engraved on its walls. We stared in awe. More than half a million horses and mules were lost, and fifteen tons of unexploded ammunition are still collected each year from the fields, Michael told us. Some way on we came to the largest British cemetery in the world. Some headstones have words of love or gratitude: He died that we might live, Gone from our sight but not from our hearts. Id like you to visit a German cemetery before finishing, Michael said. The cemetery is in wooded land. But there are no headstones, only slabs in the grass. There are no flowers, either. The whole place is dark and dank. With some relief we returned to the car. After some time, we drew up at a gate. Here, hidden from the road, lies the Pool of Peace. It was created by an explosion so loud it was heard in Downing Street, said Michael. We looked at the still water reflecting the trees surrounding it. There is hardly a sound. By the time we returned to Ypres, it was evening. The city was preparing for the annual Festival of the Cats, which dates from medieval times. Soon there would be dancing in the square. Questions: 1. What did the speaker especially want to see during his visit to Ypres?2. Who was Michael?3. Which of the following is true about the British cemetery the speaker first visited?4. About how many British and Commonwealth soldiers died in the battles of Ypres?5. About how many tons of unexploded ammunition are still collected from the fields each year?6. Why did the speaker and his friends feel somewhat relieved when they returned to the car after visiting the German cemetery? Part CFly the Unfriendly Sky Because World War I had been fought mainly in the trenches, many military experts of the 1920s believed that future wars would also happen there. An exception was U.S. army officer Billy Mitchell, who advocated the use of air power from the year he learned to fly in 1916 to the end of his life. During World War I Mitchell proved himself to be a highly effective air commander. He was the first American airman to fly over enemy lines, and throughout the war he was regularly in the air. After the war, Mitchell openly advocated the creation of a separate air force. He claimed that the airplane had made the battleship obsolete. His argument for air power, at the end of the First World War, was so unpopular that he fought for three years for the mere chance to show its effectiveness. He got the chance in 1921, when his superiors let him drop bombs on a captured German battleship to see what damage his novel approach might be able to cause. Mitchell said airborne bombs would sink the ship. The military, for the most part, thought he was nuts. Secretary of War Newton Baker, showing masculine bravery rather than care and wisdom, said, Im willing to stand on the bridge of a battleship while that fool tries to hit it from the air. His navy counterpart, Secretary Josephus Daniels, was more direct. As he believed that Mitchells dream of air power was little more than a boyish fantasy, he said, Good God! This man should be writing dime novels. They allowed the experiment, anyway, probably to expose the airmans madness to the newspapers. Within moments, the German battleship was foam on the water. However, the success of the test failed to convince his superiors. His open criticism of them led to his transfer to a minor post and a reversion in rank. Mitchell did not stop fighting. In September 1925, when the navys ship Shenandoah was lost in a storm, he made a statement to the press, accusing the War and Navy Department of incompetence, criminal negligence and almost treasonable administration of national defense. For his bold remarks, he was, as he expected, immediately court-marshaled and was convicted in December that year of insubordination and sentenced to five years suspension from rank and pay. Billy Mitchell died in 1936. Five years later, on December 7, 1941, the U.S. battleship Arizona was sent to the bottom of the sea by Japanese bombers. Over 1,200 American servicemen died aboard that vessel, proving crazy Billys theory under wartime conditions. Many of his ideas were adopted by the American Air Force in World War II. In 1946 the American Congress authorized a special medal in his honor, which was presented to his son two years later by the Chief of Staff of the newly established independent Air Force. Questions: 1. Who was Billy Mitchell?2. What did Mitchell advocate?3. How did most people in the military respond to Mitchells theory?4. What happened to the German battleship in Mitchells experiment?5. Which of the following is true according to the passage?6. What was the result of Mitchells bold criticism of his superiors?7. Why does the speaker mention the sinking of the U.S. battleship Arizona?8. Which of the following best describes Billy Mitchell? Part DThe Red Cross In 1859 a young Swiss businessman saw something which was to change his life and influence the course of history. The young man was Jean Henri Dunant who witnessed the bloodbath following the Battle of Sloferino, in Italy. He was deeply shocked by the dreadful suffering of the wounded from both sides who were left largely uncared for. This appalling scene was the birthplace of a magnificent human idea. Dunant appealed to the leaders of nations to found societies devoted to the aid of the wounded in wartime. Five Swiss citizens formed a committee, which later became the ICRC, and issued a call for an international conference. In October 1863 a conference was held in Geneva and was attended by delegates from 16 nations. Another conference was held in Geneva the following year and official delegates of 12 nations signed the first Geneva Convention, laying down rules for the treatment of the wounded and for the protection of medical personnel and hospitals. It was also at this meeting that the famous symbol of the movement, the white flag bearing a red cross, was adopted. The symbol was later modified in non-Christian countries. In 1986 the Movements name was changed to include the Red Crescent, the organizations name in most Muslim nations. Today the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the worlds largest voluntary organization, with a global membership close to 250,000,000, and a National Society in almost every country of the world. It is an international humanitarian agency dedicated, in time of war, to easing the sufferings of wounded soldiers, civilians, and prisoners of war. In time of peace, it provides medical aid and other help to people afflicted by major disasters such as floods, earthquakes, epidemics, and famines and performs other public-service functions. Dunant was a co-recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. It was his vision that led directly to the founding of the Red Cross, the signing of the First Geneva Convention, and the adoption of the Red Cross, and later the Red Crescent, as an international symbol of protection. Statements: 1. Jean Henri Dunant is considered to be the founder of the International Red Cross. 2. Dunant was awarded the Nobel Prize for making the Red Cross the worlds largest voluntary organization. 3. The first Geneva Convention was signed by the delegates from 16 nations at the 1863 conference. 4. The symbol of the Red Cross movement was adopted at an international conference in 1864. 5. The Red Cross and the Red Crescent are the symbols of the same international organization. 6. There is a national society of the Red Cross / Red Crescent in every country of the world. 7. The International Red Cross provides humanitarian services in both time of war and time of peace. 8. The International Red Cross operates as an agency under the United Nations. Unit10Part BA Victim of Drugs Margaret frowned as she shook the can of deodorant. It was almost empty but shed only had it a week - surely she couldnt have used it all? The first few times it happened she thought she was getting mixed up. She asked the kids if theyd used it but they said no. So she thought it must have evaporated. Over the next few months, her 15-year-old daughter Lisas jewelry began to disappear and so did any loose change. She was worried but she couldnt believe it when her two elder sons blamed their 13-year-old brother Paul for that. Then Pauls school wrote to say he was disruptive and was playing truant. Margaret and her husband tried to talk to him but he just wouldnt listen. One night Paul was caught breaking into the school and he was expelled. Margaret asked him what was the matter but he just shrugged. During the summer things went downhill. He was always out with a gang of older boys. If she tried to keep him in hed climb out of a window. She had no control over him. She knew something was wrong but it never occurred to her that he was taking drugs. One day Margaret got a call from the police - Paul and a group of older boys had broken into a house. He was found guilty and sent to a remand center for 28 days. But it didnt help. When he came out he was caught stealing car radios and was sent to another remand center for two months. Soon after he came out, Margaret found cigarette papers in Pauls pockets. Fearing the worst she confronted him. Whats this for? she asked. Cannabis, he replied. Everybody smokes it. Margaret was horrified. Then everything clicked into place and she realized Paul had been behaving oddly because of the drugs. But the worst was yet to come. He was soon found stealing money at home. Margaret reported him to the police to give him a fright, and the police kept him in cells overnight. That night Paul asked for a doctor, complaining of stomach pains. When Margaret went to visit him, she was told that Paul was suffering from heroin withdrawal. Margaret could hardly believe her ears. Cannabis seemed bad enough, but heroin was much worse. She began to read all she could on drug abuse. She learnt about aerosol-sniffing and realized Paul had been getting high on her deodorant. Hed started on aerosols, moved to cannabis and then to heroin. And he was only 15. When Paul was released, he continued to steal to pay for drugs. Then his downward spiral halted when a sympathetic judge gave him six months probation and ordered him to attend a drug rehabilitation center. Paul seemed to be doing well for a while. He was put on a heroin substitute. The stealing stopped as his drugs were now prescribed. But several years later, Paul, who was high on drugs again, was arrested again for stealing. Two weeks before his 21st birthday, he became so ill with heroin withdrawal that he was moved to hospital. When Margaret and her husband went to see him he didnt seem like his normal self. He was agitated. Youve been the best mother in the world, he said to Margaret. Then he shook his dads hand. The next morning Paul died. Margaret was so angry that the drugs had won. She said, Drug addiction is a disease and it beat him. The only winners are the drug dealers who get rich on the suffering of ordinary families like ours. Questions: 1. How old was Paul when he first started to get high on a drug-like substance?2. Which substance did Paul first start to use?3. How did Margaret get to know that Paul was taking drugs?4. Why did Margaret report Paul to the police when she found him stealing money at home?5. Which of the following can be inferred from the text?6. What was the cause of Pauls death? Part CInterview with an Internet Addiction Counselor Interviewer: Welcome to this edition of Talk of the Nation. Im Jenny Butler. Were talking this hour about how and why people might become addicted to things other than drugs. Our high-tech society offers new high-tech addictions like video games, online chat rooms, etc. Dr. James at Maryland University has put together a support group for students who find themselves addicted to the Internet. He joins me now from his office in College Park.James: Thank you very much for inviting me.Interviewer: Is Internet addiction a relatively new thing?James: Well, some people have been involved with the Internet for years and may have been addicted for a while. Its certainly growing on college campuses.Interviewer: How does it present itself?James: Well, some of them have issues like relationship problems, or problems maintaining their grades because they are spending so much time on the Net. Interviewer: But I think the computer is a very positive thing. I myself have a strong urge to go surfing on the Net whenever I have time. How do I know when my impulse to go online will turn me into an Internet addict?James: Uh. Im not sure the exact amount of time is really the issue, but I think if it begins to affect other areas of your life, such as your work or school performance or your relationships with other people. One of the problems with the Internet, especially the chat rooms, is that people start developing relationships over the Net and they are very different from relationships that you have on a face-to-face basis, and you start losing some of the skills that make relationships successful. So thats a warning signal. But I think a real important thing is to examine whats going on with you when you are not on the Net. If you are beginning to feel anxious or depressed or empty or lonely and you know you really look forward to those times when you can be online to be connected with other people in that way, then, I think, a serious issue is starting to happen.Interviewer: What if you start giving up other things, like going out for a walk. is that a symptom?James: Well, people have to make choices every day about the different activities that theyre going to do. I think its helpful to have some sort of balance in your life. If you can, spend some time on the Internet and then take a walk at a different time of the day. In fact, one of the things that we suggest in the group is to somehow break the pattern. Go out and take a walk, and then come back before you get back online.Interviewer: So thats how we can avoid Internet addiction. Thank you very much, Dr. James. James: Thank you. Questions: 1. What is the name of the program?2. What is the topic of this edition?3. What are the harmful effects of Internet addiction?4. What are the warming signals that show you are starting to get addicted?5. How to avoid the Internet addiction according to Dr. James? Part DDrug Abuse Drug abuse is characterized by taking marijuana, cocaine, heroin, or other illegal substances. Legal substances, such as alcohol and nicotine, are also abused by many people. Abuse of drugs and other substances can lead to physical and psychological dependence. Drug abuse can cause a wide variety of adverse physical reactions. Long-term drug use may damage the heart, liver, and brain. Drug abusers may suffer from malnutriti