全新版大学英语听说教程第五册PartB1-9听力原文.doc

COLLEGE ENGLISH LISTENING AND SPEAKING COURSE 5 UNIT 1-9UNIT 1The Worlds First Space Tourist (A)On May 6, 2001, Dennis Tito, a 61-year-old California millionaire and former NASA engineer, became the worlds first paying space tourist when the Russian space agency launched him and two Russian cosmonauts aboard a rocket for a journey to the International Space Station. Tito and the crew blasted off from the cosmodrome in Kazakstan on time. Tito appeared calm, wearing a space suit and a smile. The trip by the Russian crew was almost delayed due to concerns expressed by NASA that the space station would get too crowded while an American crew did some necessary computer repairs. Fortunately for Tito, NASA said Friday that it had struck a deal with the Russian Space Agency, allowing him to launch on time without interrupting the American crews work on the ailing International Space Station.Tito paid the Russian space agency $20 million to fly in space, but Russias partners in the space station - especially NASA - objected, saying his lack of training would require additional safety measures. Tito has been training at the Star City, Russia space center, for a year, learning the details of a Soyuz spacecraft and practicing how to survive a landing in Siberia. Just days before the launch, he proclaimed that he was well prepared. He said, The training is what counts and Ive had a significant amount of training. And that, I think, coupled with my aerospace engineering background, puts me in a very strong position, as far as being able to function in space. Tito has no duties during the mission. He told reporters: Im not a fighter pilot, Im a businessman, and I want to be able to absorb as much of this experience and relate it to as many people as I can. He said he would take pictures and tell people about the experience upon his return. Tito says his launch aboard a Russian rocket and six-day stay on the International Space Station demonstrates that anyone can - and should - experience space.The Worlds First Space Tourist (B)Dennis Tito is the oldest child of working-class Italian immigrants whose ancestors came from the town of Tito in southern Italy. His father was a printer, and his mother was a seamstress. While growing up in Queens, N.Y., Tito became interested in space travel. He says he dreamed of space flight when he saw Sputnik launch as a teenager in 1957. Yes, it was Sputnik that sparked his teenage imagination.Tito earned bachelors and masters degrees in aerospace engineering and went to work in 1964 for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. He charted flight paths for NASAs Mariner Mars probes, earning $15,000 a year. But he yearned for more - more money.Tito founded his own company Wilshire Associates in the early 1970s, using the mathematical intelligence he developed during his NASA career to analyze the stock market instead. His firm produces the Wilshire 500 Total Market Index, which is watched by Federal Reserve officials as an overall snapshot of U.S. stock markets.By age 40, he had made his first million. The millions kept piling up; the investment firm now manages more than $10 billion in assets and advises on $1 trillion in assets. His personal fortune is estimated at $200 million.Titos passions include opera, sailing and buying fast cars - but driving them slowly. Most are housed in the eight-car garage of his 30,000-square-foot manor house with ocean views that he built on top of a mountain in Los Angeles.He and his wife, Suzanne, divorced shortly after the house was completed. His three children are in their 20s.With a large disposable income, Tito toyed with the idea of flying to Mir in the early 1990s. The Russians had just sent up a Japanese journalist and a British chemist for cash, and Tito wanted to be the next guest cosmonaut. But the Soviet Unions collapse forced him to put his dream on hold.The space dream came alive again in April 2000, when the MirCorp joint venture called in April 2000, in hopes of keeping Mir afloat.Tito put millions into an account that the Russian space program could access once he was launched to Mir, and went to the cosmonaut headquarters in the Star City, outside Moscow. There, the 5-foot-5, 140-pound, fit-looking businessman threw himself into training. The Russians didnt cut any corners, he boasted.When Russia decided to sink its 15-year-old space station, officials offered Tito an alternative destination - the International Space Station, barely 2 years old. Another Soyuz spacecraft was needed at the space station as a fresh lifeboat, and the third, empty seat was offered to him.Tito was thrilled with the change in travel plans. Theyre different star hotels, he said of the two space stations.He took special delight in launching from the same pad where Sputnik took off on Oct. 4, 1957, and where the worlds first spaceman, Yuri Gagarin, took off on April 12, 1961.Tito was the third American to be launched aboard a Russian rocket, but the first to land in a Russian spacecraft. The Soyuz capsule parachutes down into remote Kazakstan.All three of Titos children were at the Baikonur Cosmodrome for his launch. Tito insisted he was not afraid or even nervous about his flight.If youre going to die of natural causes, does it pay to sit at home and be afraid to cross the street? Tito said. The main thing is, Im not crazy.Questions:1. Where was Tito born?2. When did Tito first become fascinated with space travel?3. What was Titos major in university?4. Which of the following may NOT be the business of Titos firm?5. Which of the following is NOT true about Titos hobby?6. What was the main cause of Titos abandoning his plan to fly to Mir in the early 1990s?7. What can be inferred about Titos training?Mirs EndMir was a testament to Russian technology. Built to last five years, operational for 13, its been called an accident waiting to happen, for the space station has survived fires, decompression and problems ranging from mechanical and computer breakdowns to a collision with an unmanned cargo ship. Since its launch in 1986, Mir has been home to over 25 crews from more than a dozen countries. Its been a base for astronomical observations and scientific experiments as well as giving astronauts invaluable experience of long-duration space flight. But Mirs end, though welcomed by many, could affect the pace of future space exploration. Mir really brings to an end, the end of that space race, uh, really closes off space race now. And I think to a certain extent, we wont see the challenge, that . that competition to push the technology. So I think, we might see the exploration of the space slowing down from now on. Attempts to extend Mirs life by private and commercial funding have failed. So the current crew which includes a French astronaut from the European Space Agency will return inside the Soyuz spacecraft currently attached to Mir. When the last crew leaves Mir, it will be the end of an era. But one final crucial part of the mission is the decommissioning process. An automatic navigational system is already on board for its final descent into the Pacific Ocean next year.Questions:1. For how many years of operation was Mir designed to last?2. What happened to Mir during its flight?3. What effect would Mir have if it descended onto the earth?4. What is the crucial part of Mirs last mission?UNIT 2The Umbrella Man (Part One)Im going to tell you about a funny thing that happened to my mother and me yesterday evening. Yesterday afternoon, my mother took me to London to see the dentist. After that, we went to a cafe. When we came out of the cafe, it was raining. We must get a taxi, my mother said. Lots of them came by, but they all had passengers inside them.Just then a man came up to us. He was a small man and he was probably seventy or more. He said to my mother politely, Excuse me. He was under an umbrella which he held high over his head.Yes? my mother said, very cool and distant.I wonder if I could ask a small favour of you, he said. I saw my mother looking at him suspiciously. She is a suspicious person, my mother. The little man was saying, I need some help.My mother was staring down at him along the full length of her nose. I wanted to say to her, Oh mummy, hes a very old man, and hes polite, and hes in some sort of trouble, so be nice to him. But I didnt say anything.Ive never forgotten it before, he said.Youve never forgotten what? my mother asked.My wallet, he said. I mustve left it in my other jacket.Are you asking me to give you money? my mother said.No, Im offering you this umbrella to protect you and to keep, if you would give me a pound for my taxi fare just to get me home.Why dont you walk home? my mother asked.Oh, I dont think I could manage it. Ive gone too far already.The idea of getting an umbrella to shelter was very attractive.Its a lovely silk umbrella, the little man said. Why dont you take it, madam? It cost me over twenty pounds, but that isnt important because I want to get home.I dont think its quite right that I should take an umbrella from you worth twenty pounds. I think Id better just give you the taxi fare.No, no, no! he cried. I would never accept money from you like that! Take the umbrella, dear lady, and keep the rain off your shoulders.She took out a pound and gave it to the little man. He took it and gave her the umbrella. He said, Thank you, madam, thank you. Then he was gone.Questions:1. Why did the mother stay very cool and distant when she was offered an umbrella?2. What was the first reaction of the narrator when the old gentleman asked her mother for help?3. What was the first reaction of the mother when the old gentleman asked a small favour of her?4. Why did the old gentleman just ask for one pound for such an expensive silk umbrella?5. What made the mother change her mind and agree to exchange the silk umbrella for just one pound?The Umbrella Man (Part Two)Come under here and keep dry, darling, my mother said. Arent we lucky! Ive never had a silk umbrella before. Why were you so unpleasant to him? I asked.I wanted to be sure he was a gentleman. Im very pleased I was able to help him.There he goes, I said. Over there. Hes crossing the street. Hes in a hurry. We watched the little man. When he reached the other side of the street, he turned left, walking very fast.He doesnt look very tired, does he, mummy? He doesnt look as if hes trying to get a taxi, either.My mother was standing very still. Hes up to something. Come with me. We crossed the street together. It was raining very hard now, but we were under the silk umbrella.He said he was too tired to walk and now hes almost running.Hes disappeared! I cried. Wheres he gone?He went in that door! It was a pub. The room we were looking into was full of people and cigarette smoke, and our little man was in the middle of it all, without his hat and coat, and moving towards the bar. When he reached it, he spoke to the barman. The barman gave him a drink. The little man gave him a pound. The barman didnt give him any change. The little man drank it in one go.Thats a very expensive drink, I said.He was smiling now. He went to where his hat and coat were. He put on his hat. He put on his coat. Then very quickly, he took from the rack one of the many wet umbrellas, and left.Did you see that! my mother shouted.Sssh! I whispered. Hes coming out.He didnt see us. He opened his new umbrella and went down the road. We followed him back to the main street where we met him first, and we watched as he exchanged his new umbrella for another pound. This time it was with a tall, thin man who didnt even have a hat or a coat. When it was over he went off again, this time in the opposite direction.He never goes into the same pub twice, my mother said. I expect hes always hoping for a rainy day. Questions:1. Why was the mother so unpleasant to the old man at first?2. What made the narrator and her mother believe that the old man was not telling the truth?3. What can be concluded about the silk umbrella that the old man sold?4. What can be inferred about the old gentleman?Youve Got MailWoman: . Last night I went to meet you and you werent there. I wish I knew why. I felt so foolish. And as I waited, someone else showed up, a man whos made my professional life in misery. And an amazing thing happened. I, I was able, for the first time in my life to say the exact thing I wanted to say at the exact moment I wanted to say it. And of course, afterwards, I felt terrible. Just as you said I would. I was cruel, and Im never cruel. And even though I can hardly believe what I said mattered to this man, to him I was just a bug to be crushed. But what if it did? No matter what hes done to me, theres no excuse for my behavior. Anyway, I so wanted to talk to you. I hope you have a good reason, have a good reason for not being there last night. You dont seem like the kind of person that would do something like that. The odd thing about this form of communication is that youre more likely to talk about nothing than something, but I just want to say that all this nothing has meant more to me than so many somethings. So, thanks. Computer: Goodbye! Man: Dear friend. I cannot tell you what happened last night. But I beg you, from the bottom of my heart, to forgive me for not being there, for what happened. I feel terrible that you found yourself in a situation that caused you additional pain. But Im absolutely sure that whatever you said last night was provoked, even deserved. And everyone says things they regret when theyre worried or stressed. Youre expecting to see someone you trusted, and then the enemy, instead. The fault is mine. Someday Ill explain everything. Meanwhile, Im still here. Talk to you.Questions:1. What is the possible relationship between the man and the woman?2. What did the woman do last night?3. What did the woman most likely say last night?4. What did the woman think of communication through the Internet?5. What do you think of the mans attitude?UNIT 3Did We Land on the Moon?Last week my phone rang. It was my mother and she was very upset.Tony! she exclaimed, I just came from the coffee shop and theres a guy down there who says NASA never landed on the Moon. Everyone was talking about it . I . I just didnt know what to say!That last bit was hard to swallow, I thought. Moms never at a loss for words.But even more incredible was the controversy that swirled through the small town and places like it across the country. After a long absence, the Moon Hoax was back.All the debates about the Moon landing began on Thursday, February 15, 2001 when the Fox Television network aired a program called Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon? It was re-aired on March 19. The program was hosted by X-Files actor Mitch Pileggi. The program was an hour long, and featured interviews with a series of people who believe that NASA faked the Apollo Moon landings in the 1960s and 1970s. The biggest voice in this is Bill Kaysing, who claims to have all sorts of hoax evidence, including pictures taken by the astronauts, engineering details, discussions of physics and even some testimony by astronauts themselves. The programs conclusion was that the whole thing was faked in the Nevada desert. According to them, NASA technology in the 1960s did not have the technical capability of going to the Moon. Instead, anxious to win the Space Race any way it could, NASA acted out the Apollo program in movie studios. Neil Armstrongs historic first steps on another world, the Moon vehicle and the American flag - it was all a fake! Fortunately the Soviets didnt think it was a hoax. Otherwise, they could have filmed their own fake Moon landings and really embarrassed the free world. According to the show, NASA was a blundering movie producer thirty years ago. The hoax believers pointed out a lot of discrepancies in Apollo imagery. For example, pictures of astronauts transmitted from the Moon dont include stars in the dark lunar sky - an obvious production error! What happened? Did NASA film-makers forget to turn on the constellations?Heres another one. Pictures of Apollo astronauts erecting a US flag on the Moon show the flag bending and waving. How can that be? After all, theres no breeze on the Moon .One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. These immortal words were spoken when American astronaut Neil Armstrong first set foot on the Moon in 1969. Or did he? Questions:1. Why was the speakers mother at a loss for words at the beginning?2. When did the Fox TV network air the program for the second time?3. What was the theme of the program that the Fox TV network aired in 2001?4. Why did NASA fake the Moon landings in the 1960s and 1970s according to the passage?5. What was the speakers attitude toward the hoax incident?US Carmakers Make Progress. Im Henry Beatle with Your Money. For decades many people have insisted that they wouldnt buy an American car or light truck simply because they believe European and Asian vehicles were better made. Consumer Reports Annual Auto issue says the US carmakers have bee