教材试题 Unit 3 Listening and Speaking

Unit 3 Inventors and inventionsListening and speakingZhou Rui has decided to do a project on a living British inventor called James Dyson. So he telephoned Dysons company in England to interview one of its engineers about the great mans ideas. 1 Listen to the tape and tick the words you hear. washing machine drum refrigerator court carpet cleaner bicycle2 Listen again and make notes on James Dysons invention. ObjectThe ProblemJames Dysons improvementWashing machine3 You want to apply for a job in James Dysons company. So you ring up one of his engineers to ask what kind of person he needs. Remember to ask for as much information as you can. Here are some phrases that may be useful for you to make a telephone call:Hold the line, please. Hang on, please. Just a moment, please. Im sorry, but this phone is out of order. I cant get through. Sorry. He / She isnt here right now. I cant ring back later?Ill ring him / her up again. I must ring off now becauseThen swap roles and answer your partners questions. Remember you must behave as if you are a member of Dysons company and answer the questions honestly.LISTENING TEXTGOOD DESIGN IS PRACTICALZhou Rui is making a telephone call to an engineer who works for James Dyson, a famous British inventor. DS：Hello. Can I speak to Zhou Rui, please? This is Dr Smith. ZR：Good morning, Dr Smith. How kind of you to ring me back! Do you think you can accept my phone interview now? Im very interested in James Dysons inventions and ideas. DS：Sure. Im happy to speak about our company and its founder. James Dyson. He is not an inventor who makes something entirely new. He takes everyday products, like washing machines, and makes them work better. ZR：I see. How did he improve the washing machine?DS：He found that clothes were not as clean from a washing machine as those washed by hand. ZR：Really? Is that true?DS：Yes, because most machines had one large drum and the clothes went round and round in it. ZR：So what can you do to improve that?DS：This is the clever part. James Dyson invented a system with two drums in the same machine. Together they are the same size as the old drum but work differently. One drum goes in one direction and the other goes in the other. So its more like hand-washing and the clothes come out cleaner. ZR：Was it easy to design?DS：No. It took many working models before Mr Dyson was content with the result. ZR：How long did it take him?DS：Im not sure. But I know that when he invented a new carpet cleaner it took five years to design and over 5,000 tests before he was satisfied. ZR：Wow! I didnt realize it took so long. DS：Oh, there are more problems even after you get the patent. For example, during the early years James Dyson found that a large company making carpet cleaners in America was copying his ideas. He had to go to the court to protect his invention. ZR：I hope he won. DS：Yes, in the end that company had to pay us a lot of money because they had used our ideas illegally. It was an important day for us. ZR：What new ideas does James Dyson have?DS：Im sorry but youll just have to wait and see!ZR：Thank you and Im afraid I shall have to ring off now. Goodbye. DS：Goodbye. Answer key for Exercise 1：washing machine, drum, court, carpet cleanerAnswer key for Exercise 2：ObjectThe ProblemJames Dysons improvement Washing machine Washing machines at that time do not clean the clothes as well as by hand. He invented a machine using two halfdrums which move in opposite directions. Sample dialogue for Exercise 3：（R=Receptionist; E=Engineer; S=Student）R：James Dysons Company. Who do you want to speak to?S：I would like to speak to somebody about working as an engineer in James Dysons Company. Is that possible?R：Im sure it is. Hold the line please while I try to put you through. E：Dr Smith speaking. How can I help you?S：Id like to talk to someone about what I need to work in your company as an engineer. E：How exciting! Hello, whom exactly am I speaking to?S：This is Zhou Rui and Im ringing from Beijing. Id like to know about what Id need to work in the Dyson Company because Id like to apply for a job. E：Really. Well, you need at least a first degree in a subject that is related to technology or science. We would like to look at the CV of any possible employees to see if they will fit into our company. We offer many kinds of jobs. S：What are they?E：Well, they deal with thinking up new ideas, with problems of air flow, water flow, heat, sound and lasers. S：I feel very ignorant as Ive only just finished my degree and we didnt cover half of those things. Does that matter?E：Dont worry. You wont be expected to know all those things. Youd specialize in one that suited you. And we like people straight from university as Mr Dyson thinks theyre the ones full of ideas. Perhaps I can send you some information and ring you back later next week to chat with you again. Please giv