听写文字材料2150.docx
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听写文字材料2150
21.Soils
Therearemanydifferentkindsofsoils.Differentsoilshavedifferenttypesofrockandmineralsinthem.Somesoilshavemorewaterinthemthanothers.Somesoilsmighthavemoreplantandanimalmaterialinthem,too.
Differentkindsofsoilsarefoundindifferentpartsoftheworld.ThereareseveralkindsofsoilsfoundintheUnitedStates.Insomeareas,thesoilhasalotofclay.Othersoilsareverysandy.Loamisakindofsoilthathasagoodmixtureofclayandsand.
Insomeplaces,soillayersareverythick.Lotsofplantsgrowinplaceswithathicksoillayer.Indryandwindyplacessoillayersaremuchthinner.Layersofsoilonmountainsarethinbecausegravitypullsthesoildownhill.
Thetypeofsoilinaparticularplaceaffectswhatkindsofplantscangrowthere.
22.Crisis
Lifeisacontest!
Whowillwin?
Abluebirdandsparrowbothcompeteforspacetobuildtheirnests.Afast-growingmapletreeandslower-growingdogwoodcompeteforthesunlighttheybothneed.Oilcompeteswithcoalandnuclearpowerasanenergysourceforelectricpowerplants!
Thereisaproblem.Thereisalimitedamountofspaceforbirds,sunlightfortrees,andenergyforpeople!
Ifwedonotcutbackonourusesofsomeofourresources,somedaytheywillbegone!
Howcanweuseenergytodayandknowwewillhaveenoughtogoaroundinthefuture?
Wecanchoosealternate,orreplacement,energyresources.Ittakestheearthmillionsofyearstocreatecoal,oil,andgas.Theyarenonrenewableresources.
Solarenergy,windenergyandwaterenergyarerenewableresources.Ittakestheearthmillionsofyearstocreatecoal,oil,andgas.Theyarenonrenewableresources.
Solarenergy,windenergyandwaterenergyarerenewable.Whatotherwayscanweconserveoursources?
Howcanwemakesurethereisalwaysenoughtogoaround?
23.America’sWorstSurprise
December7,1941wasoneoftheworstdaysinAmericanhistory.NearlyallAmericanswhoareoldenoughtorememberthatdaycanstillrememberwhattheyweredoingatthemomenttheyheard“thenews”.ThenewswasthatAmericahadbeenattacked!
Shortlybefore2:
00P.M.,aradiodispatchcameintoWashingtonfromHonolulu,Hawaii.“AirRaid,PearlHarbor—Thisisnodrill.”JapaneseplaneshadbegunanattackonthelargestAmericanmilitarybaseinthePacific.Theyfirstdestroyedplanesontheground.Thentheybombedtheshipsintheharbor.
Noonehadexpectedtheattack.Sonoonewaspreparedforit.AnditdidnottakelongforJapanesetodotheirdamage.Whenthesmokecleared,theNavycounteditslosses.Eighteenshipshadbeensunkorbadlydamaged.Nearly150planeshadbeendestroyed.Morethan2,400Americanshadbeenkilledandmorethan1,200wounded.
24.GreatDepressionintheU.S.
In1929,thebillsstartedtocomein.Americanindustryhadproducedtoomanygoods.Americanscouldnotaffordtobuyallofthem.Sofactorieshadtocutdownontheirproduction.Manyworkerslosttheirjobs.Investorstriedtogettheirmoneyback.Butbusinessesdidnothaveenoughmoneytopaythem.Bankstriedtogettheirmoneybackfrominvestors.Buttheinvestorscouldnotpay,either.Toomanypeopleowedmoney.Andfewofthemcouldpaytheirbills.
Duringthenextfewyears,businessgotworseandworse.By1932,banksalloverthecountrywereclosing.
Peoplewithoutmoneycouldnotbuygoods.Somorebusinessesclosed.Moreandmorepeoplelosttheirjobs.By1932,morethan12millionAmericanswerejobless.Millionsmorewereearningbarelyenoughtoliveon.Thecountrywasinagreatdepressiontheyhadneverexperiencedbefore.
25.APlaceofOurOwn
Weareallusuallyverycarefulwhenwebuysomethingforthehouse.Why?
Becausewehavetolivewithitforalongtime.Wepaintaroomtomakeitbrighter,sowechoosethecolorscarefully.
Webuynewcurtainsinordertomatchthenewlydecoratedroom,sotheymustbetherightcolor.Wemovethefurnitureroundsoastomakemorespace—orwebuynewfurniture—andsoon.Itisanendlessbusiness.
Richorpoor,wetaketimetofurnisharoom.Perhapssomepeoplebuyfurnitureinordertoimpresstheirfriends.Butmostofusjustwanttoenjoyoursurroundings.Wewanttoliveascomfortablyaswecanaffordto.Wespendalargepartofourlivesathome.Wewanttomakeasmallcornerintheworldwhichwecanrecognizeasourown.
26.TravelforWork
Youcanseethemineveryairportintheworld.Theyarebusinessmenandwomenwhohavetotravelfortheirwork.
Whentheyfirstappliedforthejob,theymayhavethoughtofgoodfoodandhotels,hugeexpenseaccountsandfashionablecities.Nowtheyhavetositinairportlounges,tiredanduncomfortableintheirsmartclothes,listeningtotheloudspeakerannounce“ThefightofTokyo,orBerlin,orNewYorkisdelayedforanothertwohours.”Somepeoplesaytome,“Howluckyyouaretobeabletotravelabroadinyourwork!
Youcangosightseeingwithoutpayinganymoneybyyourself!
”Theythinkthatmyjobislikeacontinualholiday.Itisnot.
Thereareadvantages,ofcourse,andIdothinIamlucky,butonlybecauseIcangotoplacesIwouldnevervisitifIwasatourist.
27.Intelligence
Aresomepeoplebornclever,andothersbornstupid?
Orisintelligencedevelopedbyourenvironmentandourexperience?
Strangelyenough,theanswertothesequestionsisyes.Tosomeextentourintelligenceisgivenusatbirth,andnoamountofspecialeducationcanmakeageniusoutofachildbornwithlowintelligence.Ontheotherhand,achildwholivesinaboringenvironmentwilldevelophisintelligencelessthanonewholivesinrichandvariedsurroundings.Thus,thelimitsofaperson’sintelligencearefixedatbirth,whetherornothereachesthoselimitswilldependonhisenvironment.Thisview,heldbymostexpertsnow,canbesupportedinanumberofways.Asiseasytoshowthatintelligenceistosomeextentsomethingwearebornwith.Thecloserthebloodrelationshipbetweentwopeopleis,theclosertheyarelikelytobeinintelligence.
28.AFreeDressEveryWeek
Thetemptationtostealisgreaterthaneverbeforeespeciallyinlargeshopsandpeoplearenotsohonestastheyoncewere.
Adetectiverecentlywatchedawell-dressedwomanwhoalwayswentintoalargestoreonMondaymornings.OneMonday,therewerefewerpeopleintheshopthanusualwhenthewomancamein,soitwaseasierforthedetectivetowatchher.Thewomanfirstboughtafewsmallarticles.Afteralittletime,shechoseoneofthemostexpensivedressesintheshopandhandedittoanassistantwhowrappeditupforherasquicklyaspossible.Thewomansimplytooktheparcelandwalkedoutoftheshopwithoutpaying.Whenshewasarrested,thedetectivefoundoutthattheshopassistantwasherdaughter.Believeitornot,thegirl“gave”hermotherafreedresseveryweek!
29.Time
Timeistangible.Onecangaintime,spendtime,wastetime,savetime,orevenkilltime.CommonquestionsinAmericanEnglishrevealthisconcretequalityasthoughtimewereapossession.“Doyouhaveanytime?
”,“Canyougetsometimeforthis?
”,“Howmuchfreetimedoyouhave?
”Thetreatmentoftimeasapossessioninfluencesthewaythattimeiscarefullydivided.
Generally,Americansaretaughttodoonethingatatimeandmaybeuncomfortablewhenanactivityisinterrupted.Inbusinesses,thecarefulschedulingoftimeandtheseparationofactivitiesarecommonpractices.Appointmentcalendarsareprintedwith15-,30-,and60-minutetimeslots.Theideathat“thereisatimeandplaceforeverything”extendstoAmericansociallife.Visitorswhodropbywithoutpriornoticemayinterrupttheirhost’spersonaltime.Thus,callingfriendsonthetelephonebeforevisitingthemisgenerallypreferredtovisitors’droppingby.
30.Cartoonists
Inagoodcartoon,theartistcantellinafewlinesasmuchasawritercantellinhalfadozenparagraphs.Thecartoonistnotonlytellsastorybuthealsotriestopersuadethereadertohiswayofthinking.Hehasgreatinfluenceonpublicopinion.Inapoliticalcampaign,heplaysanimportantpart.ControversialissuesinCongressoratmeetingsoftheUnitedNationsmaykeepthecartoonistwell-suppliedwithcurrentmaterials.
Aclevercartoonistmaycauselaughterbecauseheoftenuseshumorinhisdrawings.Ifheissketchingafamousperson,hetakesaprominentfeatureandexaggeratesit.Cartoonists,forinstance,liketolengthenanalreadylongnoseandtowidenanalreadybroadgrin.Thisexaggerationofaperson’scharacteristicsiscalledcaricature.Theartistusessuchexaggerationtoputhismessageacross.
31.WaterPollution
Waterisveryimportanttous.Factoriesandplantsneedwaterforindustrialusesandlargepiecesoffarmlandneeditforirrigation.Withoutwatertodrink,peopledieinashorttime.
Todaymostwatersourcesaresodirtythatpeoplemustpurifywaterbeforedrinking.Waterbecomesdirtyinmanyways:
industrialpollutionisoneofthem.Withthedevelopmentofindustry,plantsandfactoriespourtonsofindustrialwastersintoriverseveryday.Therivershavebecomeseriouslypolluted,andthewaterisbecomingunfitfordrinkingorirrigation.Thesamethinghasalsohappenedtoourseasandoceans.So,theproblemofwaterpollutionisalmostworldwide.
Scientistsofmanycountrieshavedonealotofworktostoppollution.Thepollutedwaterinsomeplaceshasbecomecleananddrinkableagain.Perhapsonedaythepeopleinalltownsandcitieswillbedrinkingcleanwater.Thatday,webelieve,isnotveryfaroff.
32MakingaComplaint
Complainingaboutfaultygoodsorbadservicesisnevereasy.Butifsomethingyouhavebroughtisfaultyordoesnotdowhatwasclaimedforit,youarenot