新编大学英语视听说教程第六册听力原文Unit 6

Unit 6ViewScene 1: In the studio(The Program News Review is on. Garman is interviewing Tiffany Zorn, the NotComGuy.)Garman: This is Terry Garman. Welcome to News Review. With me today is Ms. Tiffany Zorn, from The Chicago Tribune. Welcome.Zorn: Hi.Garman: Tiffany, your series of reports in the Tribune on your experiment have become well-known nationwide. Would you please briefly introduce it to the audience?Zorn: Well, I made a public announcement that I would go cold turkey for one week and then report on my discoveries.Garman: What do you mean by going cold turkey?Zorn: We human beings are addicted to electronic equipment, such as cell phones, fax machines, and of course, the computer and the Internet.Garman: And you want to go without them?Zorn: Youre right. I wanted to know if I could survive in a world without them.Garman: Thats why youve got a nicknameNotComGuy. Now Im curious about the results of your experiment. Did you actually do that?Zorn: Well, to tell the truth, I gave up my attempt four days after I began.Garman: Your experiment only lasted four days and then you gave up?Zorn: Yep.Garman: What do you think was the reason for the failure of your experiment?Zorn: For one thing, I have to admit that I dont have enough willpower. At the beginning, I thought it would be difficult for me to quit after I made a public commitment in the newspapers, but things turned out otherwise.Garman: What made you change your mind?Zorn: When I set out to give up my computer and other electronic equipment, I felt sort of living in a different environment. I was cut off from my e-mail and felt lonely. I knew I could exist without it. But I still really missed my e-mail. You know, as a columnist, I always have to keep in contact with my correspondents.Garman: Yes, I see.Zorn: But thats only part of the story. Worse still, I learned that I wasnt able to write coherent sentences without the use of my word processor.Garman: Thats amazing.Zorn: On second thought, it is quite understandable. With access to computers everywhere you go, youve probably lost some sort of ability to spell.Garman: Thats right. Do you mean that you just couldnt go without a computer?Zorn: I was kind of adrift for those four days. It was partly due to the absence of the computer and the Internet. Yet of course, the cell phone and the fax machine were likewise indispensable. Think of the inconvenience and frustration it caused when I deliberately ignored them! They were so handy and tempting!Garman: The results of this experiment are not encouraging at all for those who want to return to simpler times.Zorn: I suppose so. I intended to give up my dependence on electronics, but as it turned out, I failed. Things are easier said than done.Garman: Tiffany, you tried to withdraw from your computer, your cell phone and your fax machine, and fit into human society. Someone I know is trying to do the exact opposite. Hes withdrawing from human society into his computer. His name is Eric Maddox. Scene 2: In Eric Maddoxs home(Terry Garman is interviewing Eric Maddox, the DotComGuy, in Eric Maddoxs home, where he has been doing the opposite of Tiffany Zorns experiment.)Maddox: Hi, everyone!Garman: Hi, Eric! Hows everything going?Maddox: Fine. Everythings fine.Garman: Eric, or should I call you DotComGuy?Maddox: Go ahead.Garman: Eric, what prompted you to spend a whole year at home ordering everything you need to live over the Internet?Maddox: I got the idea two months ago when I found myself growing restless while I was shopping with my parents. They were walking back and forth in the aisle, making a fuss over what to buy. The whole trip took three hours. I was fed up with it.Garman: So you turned to e-commerce?Maddox: Yeah. It saves me a lot of trouble. Time is one thing, and price is another. Whats more, I hope people can learn from my experience and know that the age of e-commerce is here and its good.Garman: Well, youve certainly shown that its possible. Your name is a household item because youve been observed by round-the-clock video cameras hooked up to computers around the world.Maddox: Computer and the Internet are here as well, you see?Garman: Since you are not allowed to leave your home, do you feel that you are separated from the outside world?Maddox: To some extent, my life is more isolated. But the Internet is a virtual world in itself. It offers a wide variety of things to buy, information to learn, and people of different backgrounds, professions and interests to chat with.Garman: Thats for sure. Do you have any other leisure activities?Maddox: Uh, an aerobics instructor comes once a week to make sure I dont merge with my couch physically.Garman: And your couch was bought online too?Maddox: Yeah, of course. Um. I enjoy my lifestyle. Last night I went shopping for my bed.Garman: Besides, your life as a professional electronics consumer is apparently a financial success.Maddox: My website, which features videos of nearly every move I make, receives millions of hits a day and is using advertisements as well. I estimate I will earn nearly $90,000 this year. Scene 3: In the studio(Terry Garman and Tiffany Zorn are in the studio for the News Review program again.)Garman: Were back in the studio. Tiffany, what do you think are the differences between you and DotComGuy?Zorn: Well, I think my experiment is 50 times harder than his. And what hes doing is not very difficult. And I have the impression that what hes doing is almost like a job. Hes now profiting from it. The problem is how long people will be willing to log on and watch him click his mouse. Its questionable whether that will go on for very long.Garman: You may have a point. The true test of DotComGuys character will be 10 months from now, when he has to face the outside world again, no longer safely protected by the Web and his e-comforts.Listen1-1Those of us who do not want to tell our doctor how much we really drink are often more honest with a computer. In fact, many patients say they prefer talking to a computer to talking to their doctor. Computers dont expect you to smile or socially relate to them when you are feeling ill, said psychiatrist and program writer, Dr. Tony Carr. Dr. Carr of the Maudsley Hospital in London tries to make sure his programs are friendly. For example, if a patient called Anna says that both her parents are dead, the computer will say: Im sorry to hear that, Anna. As well as expressing sympathy like a doctor, the computer can also question patients and remind patients of something. If a patient says he never drinks alcohol, the computer can ask him: Never? Not even at parties or at Christmas? Computers are doing everyday interviews which used to take up a lot of a doctors time. And, of course, said Dr. Carr, it is cheaper to use a computer than a highly-trained person. Does this direct contact between the patients and the computer mean that we do not need doctors anymore? It depends. Computers are useful because they do not feel embarrassed. They do not look shocked if you say you drink two bottles of whisky a day. And they do not stop to talk on the phone as doctors often do. But, as Dr. Mike Pringle, a family doctor in Nottinghamshire, said: We smile and we give a patient a hankie or put an arm around her shoulder if she is crying. That is why people will always want us. Listen1-2Questions: 1. Why do some patients prefer to talk to a computer?2. What is the advantage of using computers in hospitals?3. How are doctors different from computers?4. What is the main idea of the passage? Listen2-1Vickie Hulvey, 29, in New Jersey, met Steve Barnes, 35, a confirmed bachelor and computer consultant living in Bristol, in a CompuServe chat room in August 1995. Now theyre married and have an eight-month-old daughter. When they first made contact, Vickie had been divorced for about four years. Shed begun using the Net while she was married to her ex-husband. I am not a good computer user, Vickie said. I could only use text, so I spent lots of time in the chat room. It was a great way for me to forget about all my problems. Everyone was so friendly. Sort of a Utopia where no one really had any problems. Four months after Steve and Vickie had first made contact, he flew to New Jersey. Our first meeting was pretty amazing, she recalls. Steve and I both realized the IRL (In Real Life) meeting would either cement our future together or end the relationship wed been dreaming about. I felt awkward during the first 10 minutes, because I kept thinking, A sane person wouldnt be doing this! But Steve said he felt comfortable straightaway. He was exactly what he had said he was, so there werent any adjustments to make. Theyd started e-mailing each other during August 1995 and had been sending about four messages daily. We spent a huge amount of time online, Vickie says. They printed all the e-mails, which fill seven large binders. They also crossed the Atlantic to visit each other five times between December 1995 and June 1996. I dont think it was a specific thing that attracted me to him; it was the whole package really, Vickie said. I know its going to sound sappy, but it was like destiny. We just clicked. We had similar hopes and dreams for the future for what we wanted out of life. Is their relationship still heavenly? Life is good, we get on well together, and we work on everything as a team, sharing all of life. Steve sometimes e-mails me when he is at work, but we talk more than type these days, Vickie gushed. We will be married for two years in July and I can honestly say it was a match made in heaven! Questions: 1. Where did the couple first get to know each other?2. When did the couple have their first meeting?3. What did Vickie think about chatting on the Net?4. How did they feel during the first 10 minutes of their first meeting?5. How many times did they visit each other between December 1995 and June 1996? Listen2-2Mlisten1-1Are you looking to improve your language skills, but without a chance to go overseas to attend school? More and more universities around the world are offering opportunities for students to obtain degrees onlinedistance educationfrom the comfort of their own homes, and many of these institutions are accredited, meaning that they have met certain standards of excellence. If you decide to take language courses online (or any subject for that matter), be sure to evaluate the benefits of studying online versus going abroad. The advantages of studying online are that the costs are usually lower, you can study at your own pace, and you have access to the materials 24-hours-a-day from almost any computer in the world. However, you wont get the human interaction of meeting people face to face like you would if you were physically attending a school overseas. On the other hand, the advantages of going overseas may include day-to-day opportunities to learn a new culture, meet new friends with whom you can use and practice the language, and chances to see different parts of the world. However, there may be a number of disadvantages for you, including expense, being away from ones school, family, or work, and the challenge of adapting to a new culture and way of life. Whatever you do, consider a distance education program that meets your educational needs, is within your budget, and equally important, provides you with opportunities to grow beyond the classroom through cultural and educational activities.Statements: 1. Many universities offer degrees online to make profits.2. Its impossible to decide whether these universities are qualified or not.3. The most important thing to take into consideration when you choose an overseas university is cost.4. For those who have no chance to go abroad to pursue their studies, an online university degree is a good choice.5. One needs to evaluate both advantages and disadvantages of studying online before they actually do that.Mlisten1-2Mlisten2-1A jobless man applied for the position of office boy at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him, then gave him a test: clean the floor. The man passed the test with flying colors. You are hired, the HR manager informed the applicant, give me your e-mail address, and Ill send you the application for employment, as well as the date you should report for work. The man replied, I dont have a computer, or an e-mail! Im sorry, said the HR manager. If you dont have an e-mail, that means you do not exist. And we cannot hire persons who do not exist. The man was very disappointed. He didnt know what to do. He had only $10 with him. Once that was spent, he wouldnt have any money to buy any food. He went to the supermarket and bought a crate of tomatoes with his $10. He went from door to door and sold the tomatoes in less than two hours. He doubled his money. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home with $60. He realized that he could survive this way. He started to go early everyday, and return home late. He doubled or tripled his money every day. Soon, he bought a cart, then a truck. In a very short time, he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. Five years later, the man became one of the biggest food retailers in the U.S. He started to plan his familys future, and decided to have a life insurance policy. He called an insurance broker, and chose a protection plan. At the end of the conversation the broker asked him for his e-mail address. The man replied, I dont have an e-mail. The broker was dumbfounded. You dont have an e-mail, and yet have succeeded in building an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail? he exclaimed. The man thought for a while, and replied, An office boy at Microsoft!Questions: 1. What does an office boy do according to the passage?2. Why was the man applying for the office boy disappointed?3. What did the man do with his money?4. How was the man five years later?5. What is the moral of the story?Mlisten2-2Statements: 1. The HR manager wanted to send the man the application for employment.2. At Microsoft, those who didnt have a computer were assigned the task of floor cleaning.3. The man bought a cart with the $60 he earned in less than two hours.4. The man worked hard and that was the reason for his success.5. The man decided to protect his money earned from being stolen.6. The man could have been an office boy at Microsoft if he had an e-mail.Mlisten3-1Have you heard of online movie rentals? If not, there might be an option for you to improve your language skills and enjoy some entertainment at the same time. Some people have grown tired of going down to the video rental store to rent movies. Now, more and more companies are offering customers the service of online movie rentals. Heres how it works for most of these companies like Netflix, Blockbuster, and Qwikfliks: 1. Select and sign up for a payment program, which will determine how many movies you can rent and hold at any one time. 2. Choose the movies you want to watch (generally 13 at a time). 3. Movies (usually DVDs) are sent to you within 13 days, and shipping is covered by the company. 4. Watch the movies, often with no late fees. 5. Return the movies in a prepaid return envelope. New companies and terms of service are always changing, so check these sites for specific, up-to-date details. Once you receive the movies, how can you improve your language skills with them? Well, just sitting in front of the TV with a drink in one hand and popcorn in the other isnt a bad way to relax and passively enjoy movies, but you wont learn much doing it. Rather, one idea to improve your listening skills is to watch the movies with the captions turned on and pause the movie when you see and hear new expressions. Write down these words and look them up in a good English-English dictionary to understand their possible meanings. Then, think of some sample sentences for each word. In other words, learning vocabulary has little meaning if you dont know how to use them in context. Good luck. Statements: 1. You can rent two movies online at a time.2. You can choose the movie you want to watch and wait for 13 days for it to arrive.3. You need to pay delivery fees in addition to the rental.4. If you dont return the movie you rent on time, youll be fined.5. You need to pay for an envelope in advance so that you can put your movie in it when you return it. Mlisten3-2Mlisten4-1Video game consoles and software will gross $30 billion this year, more than twice the revenue of the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball combined. With millions of people playing, its no wonder that it has given rise to professional video game competition. The No. 1 video game player, Johnathan Wendel, who lives in Kansas City, Missouri, and has the professional name of Fatality, is the outstanding cyber-athlete in the world. At the age of 25 he has been a professional for six years, has won 46 tournaments and has earned more than $300,000. He has won world championships in four different video games and is working on a fifth gam