A Listening Course 2

Unit 4

Section One Tactics for Listening

• Part 1 Phonetics – stress, Intonation and Accent

1 . A: Excuse me. Could you tell me where the secretary's office is please? B: Yes. It's up the stairs, then turn left, ... ↗2. A: Excuse me. Can you tell me where the toilets are? B: Yes, they're at the top of the stairs.↘3. A: What did you do after work yesterday? B: Ah, well, I went for a drink in the pub opposite the car-park. ↘4. A: What did you do after work yesterday? B: Oh, I ran into Jane and Tom ..... ↗5. A: Excuse me, can you tell me how the machine works? B: Certainly. Erm, first of all you adjust the height of the stool, and then put f

our 10 pence pieces there, ...↗6. A ： Excuse me, can you tell me how the machine works? B ： Yes. You put 30 pence in the slot and take the ticket out here. ↘

Part 2 Listening and Note-taking

Frog legs (1)• People want frogs mostly for food. Many Asian cultures have incl

uded frog legs in their diets for centuries -- or at least until they have run out of frogs. But the most famous frog-eaters, and the people who inspired frog-eating in Europe and the United States are the French. By 1977 the French government, so concerned about the scarcity （ insufficiency, shortage 不足、缺乏 /scarce ） of its native frog, banned commercial hunting of its own amphibians （两栖动物） . So the French turned to India and Bangladesh （孟加拉国） for frogs.

• As happened in France, American frog-leg fanciers (one who has a special enthusiasm for or interest in sth. … 迷 ; 饲养或贩卖动物的人 ) and restaurants also turned increasingly to frozen imports. According to figures collected from government agencies, the United States imported more than 6.5 million pounds of frozen frog meat each year between 1981 and 1984.

Part 2 Listening and Note-takingFrog legs (2)

So many frozen frog legs were exported from India to Europe and the United States. One of the attractions of Indian frogs, apart from the fact that they have bigger legs than French frogs, was the price. In London, a pound of frozen frog's legs from India cost about ￡ 1.75, compared with ￡ 3.75 for the French variety.

• Indian scientists have described as “disastrous” the rate at which frogs are disappearing from the rice fields （稻田） and wetlands（湿地、塘地） , where they protect crops by devouring （ V-T/ If a person or animal devours something, they eat it quickly and eagerly. 狼吞虎咽地吃） damaging insects.

• since the India and Bangladesh frog-export bans, Indonesia （印度尼西亚） has become the major exporter of frog legs to the United States and Europe. But no matter what country the legs come from, one thing is usually constant: The legs once belonged to frogs are taken from the wild, not from farms. Frogs are nearly impossible to farm economically in the countries where frogs are commercially harvested from the wild.

Part 2 Listening and Note-taking

Frog legs (3)Exercise A:1. Many Asian cultures have included frog legs in their diets

for centuries.2. By 1977 the French government banned commercial

hunting of its own amphibians.3. Indian scientists have described as "disastrous" the rate

at which frogs are disappearing from the rice fields and wetlands.

4. The United States imported more than 6.5 million pounds of frozen frog meat each year between 1981 and 1984.

5. One of the attractions of Indian frogs was the price.

Part 2 Listening and Note-takingFrog legs (4)

Exercise B:• People want frogs mostly for food. Many Asian cultures have

included frog legs in their diets for centuries, The most famous frog-eaters, and the people who inspired frog-eating in Europe and the United States are the French. By 1977 the French government banned commercial hunting of its own amphibians. So the French turned to India and Bangladesh for flogs. And the United States imported more than 6.5 million pounds of frozen frog meat each year between 1981 and 1984. One of the attractions of Indian frogs was the price.

• Indian scientists have described as "disastrous" the rate at which frogs are disappearing from the rice fields and wetlands, where they protect crops by devouring damaging insects.

• Since the India and Bangladesh frog-export bans, Indonesia has become the major exporter of frog legs to the United States and Europe. But no matter what country the legs come from, one thing is usually constant: The legs once belonged to frogs are taken from the wild. not from farms.

Section Two Listening Comprehension

Part 1: Dialogue 1 Health Club

• Yes, well we offer a choice of facilities --gym, sunbed*, sauna* and Jacuzzi* -- that‘s also from Scandinavia -- as well as our regular fitness (fit 健康的 / fitness equipment/ fitness center 健身设备 / 健身中心 ) classes, that is. And there’s a wholefood ( 天然食物、未经加工的食物 ) bar for refreshments (snacks and drinks served as a light meal 茶点、小吃 ) afterwards.

• We have people of all ages here, from small children to old-age pensioners （领养老金者） , though of course the majority, about three-quarters of our members, are in their 20s and 30s.

Section Two Listening ComprehensionPart 1: Dialogue 1 Health Club

• That's me with the red bobble hat ( 顶部有绒球的帽子 ) • Every day Werner used to take us to the nursery slope* to practice,

and to get to the top you had to go up on a ski lift.• Well, on that day we were all going up on the ski lift, you know, we

were just getting used to it, and, you see there was this one woman in our class who never got the hang of* it. She didn‘t have any sort of control over her skis and whenever she started sliding （ slide ） , she would sort of stick her ski sticks ( 滑雪杖 ) out in front of her, you know, like swords （宝剑） or something.

Sally: Did she? ~ Simon: Mmm, with her ski sticks waving around in front of her! Teresa: So of course everyone sort of let go and tried to jump off the s

ki lift to get out of the way. Simon: And that's how they all ended up in a pile at the bottom of the

slope -- it was lucky I had my camera with me. Sally: I bet that woman was popular! Simon oh,yes. everybody's favourite!

Part 3 News News Item 1

France‘s busiest airport will reopen part of a terminal （末端、终点站、航站楼） that was not damaged when a segment （ a part 部分） of the roof collapsed (break down; fall apart 倒塌 ) in May, killing four people.

The Transport Minister （交通运输部长） Gilles de Robien said a segment of the three-building 2E terminal at Charles de Gaulle airport would return to service on July 15. In the May 23 disaster, failing glass, steel and masonry* killed four travelers -- two Chinese, one Czech* and one Lebanese*. Three others were injured.

A preliminary report by experts said Tuesday that a weakness in the concrete ( 混凝土 ) that formed the futuristic (future) terminal‘s（ vaulted roof 拱形屋顶；穹顶） may have contributed to the collapse.

Officials are still unsure about what exactly caused it to collapse.Exercise A: This news item is about the new information Of France Charles de

Gaulle airport where a segment of the roof collapsed in May.

Part 3 NewsNews Item 2

An Antonov 26 plane crashed in northwestern Congo ( 刚果 ) shortly after take-off on Saturday, killing all 22 Congolese ( 刚果人 ) passengers and the crew.

It was not known how many crew members were on the plane when it crashed near the town of Boende, more than 600 km northeast of the capital Kinshasa. The cause of the crash was unknown.

A string of (a series of 一串、一系列 ) accidents this week has underlined （突出、强调） the parlous* state of Democratic Republic of Congo‘s （刚果民主共和国） transport infrastructure* after five years of war and decades of misrule (government that is inefficient or dishonest 执政不善 ).

More than 160 people drowned when a ferry ( 渡船 ) sank during a storm on Lake Mai-Ndombe, north east of Kinshasa ( 金沙萨 ), on Tuesday.

On Saturday, 18 people were killed or injured when a small truck experienced brake trouble and crashed near the eastern town of Goma ( 戈马—刚果东部城市 ).

Part 3 NewsNews Item 3

In the United States lawyers for Raed Jarrar, an airline passenger forced to cover his T-shirt because it displayed an Arabic script, say he has been awarded (be awarded sth. 被授予、给予 ) a total of $240,000 in compensation ( 补偿、补偿金 ).

Lawyers representing Raed Jarrar say the payout （作为补偿或奖励等的大量钱款、补偿款、抚恤金等） is a victory for free speech （言论自由） and a blow （打击） to the practice of racial profiling （种族定性） . Back in 2006 Mr. Jarrar was waiting to board a flight at New York’s JFK airport wearing a T-shirt that read “We Will Not Be Silent” in English and Arabic. His lawyers claim he was ordered to remove the item of clothing by staff who said other passengers felt uncomfortable with the Arabic slogan （标语） . He eventually agreed to cover the shirt and boarded the plane, but says he was made to sit at the back.

racial profiling: n - a form of racism consisting of the policy of policemen who stop and search vehicles driven by persons belonging to particular racial groups; government activity directed at a suspect or group of suspects based solely on race 

Section Four Supplementary Exercises

• Passage 1 Babies and Intelligence （ 1） Some people thought babies were not able to learn things until th

ey were five or six months old. Yet doctors in the United States say babies begin learning on their first day of life.

Research scientists at the National Institute of Child Health and Development note that babies are strongly influenced by their environment. They say a baby will smile if her mother does something the baby likes. A baby learns to get the best care possible by smiling to please her mother or other caregiver ( 照料者、护理者 ). This is how babies learn to connect and communicate with other humans. This ability to learn exists in a baby even before birth. They say newborn babies can recognize and understand sounds they heard while they were still developing inside their mothers.

The Finnish researchers used devices to measures the babies' brain activity. The researchers played recordings of spoken sounds for up to one hour while the babies slept.

Section Four Supplementary ExercisesPassage 1 Babies and Intelligence （ 2）

The head of the study believes that babies can learn while asleep because the part of their brains called the cerebral cortex* （大脑皮层） remains active at night. The cortex is very important for learning. This part of the brain is not active in adults while they sleep.

Many experts say the first years of a child's life are important for all later development. An American study shows how mothers can strongly influence social development and language skills in their children. The study involved more than 1,200 mothers and children. Researchers studied the children from the age of one month to three years. They observed the mothers playing with their children four times during this period.

The researchers attempted to measure the sensitivity of the mothers. The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children's activities and did not interfere unnecessarily. They tested the children for thinking and language development when they were three years old.

The children of depressed women did not do as well on tests as the children of women who did not suffer from depression （抑郁） . The children of depressed women did poorly on tests of language skills and understanding what they hear. These children also were less cooperative and had more problems dealing with other people.

Section Four Supplementary ExercisesPassage 1 Babies and Intelligence （ 3）

Another study suggests that babies who are bigger at birth generally are more intelligent later in life. It found that the intelligence of a child at seven years of age is directly linked to his or her weight at birth. Study organizers say this is probably because heavier babies received more nutrition* during important periods of brain development before they were born.

The study involved almost 3,500 children. Researchers in New York City used traditional tests to measure intelligence. Brothers and sisters were tested so that the effects of birth weight alone could be separated from the effects of diet or other considerations.

The researchers found that children with higher birth weights generally did better on the intelligence tests （智力测试） . Also, the link between birth weight and intelligence later in life was stronger for boys than for girls.