英语中级听力课程Lesson.docx

英语中级听力课程Lesson.docx

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英语中级听力课程Lesson

Lesson10

Here'sthenewsat11:

30.

  ThousandsofpeoplehavemarchedthroughthecentreofCorbyinNorthamptonshiretoprotestagainstplanstoclosethesteelworks,thetown'smajoremployer.ThemarchersdemonstratedoutsidethelocalBritishSteelCorporation'sheadquarterswhereunionleadersaretalkingaboutclosureplanswiththemanagement.

  HospitalwaitinglistsinthesouthwestofEnglandhavegoneupbyaquarterinthelastfiveyears.Whilethenumberofdoctors,nursesandotherstaffhaveincreased,thedemandontheservicehasgrownevenfaster.

  TheEECistogiveanother￡31milliontoBritain'spoorerareas.Theaidfromtheregionaldevelopmentfundincludes￡13.5millionforNorthernIrelandand￡10millionforindustrialimprovementandroadworksinthenorthofEngland.

  Inareportonrabiescontrols,KentCountyCouncilhassaidthat17dogs,5cats,2rabbitsand2hamstershavebeenlandedillegallyatChannelportsinthefirstninemonthsofthisyear.Thiswassevenmorethaninthesameperiodlastyear.

  AderailedcoaltrainatThirskinNorthYorkshirehasdisruptedrailservicesbetweenNewcastleandthesouthofEngland.

It'stimeforthenewsat3:

30hereonRadioI.

  Agirlaged16armedwithashotgunheldupaclassofchildrenatasecondaryschoolinSurreythismorning.PolicesaidthatsoonafterschoolbeganatBlairHillSecondarySchool,Newton,thegirl,armedwithadouble-barrelledshotgunbelongingtoherbrother,wentintooneoftheclassroomsandthreatenedateacherandaboutthirtypupils.Ashotwasfiredintotheceilingasshewasbeingoverpoweredbypoliceofficers.

  SurgeonsatCambridgehavesuccessfullytransplantedapancreas—theorganthatproducesinsulin—intwopatientssufferingfromdiabetes.Onepatient,a23-year-oldelectronicsworkeralsohadalivertransplant.Theotherpatient,a55-year-oldhousewife,hadakidneytransplantedatthesametime.Bothpatientsaredoingwell.

  Astatelyhomeownerwhoallowedapopconcerttobestagedinhisgroundswasfinedyesterdayforlettingarockbandplayovertime.TheHonourableFrederickSidgwickJohnsonadmittedallowingtherockgroupLedZepplintoplayonaftermidnightduringaconcertathishomenearStevenagetwomonthsago.Stevenagemagistratesfinedhim￡125with￡25costs.

  ThreepeoplehavesofarbeenkilledinthestormssweepingacrossthenorthofEnglandandsouthernScotland.AwomanwaskilledinCarlislewhenachimneyonahousecollapsedandtwomenwerekilledwhentheircarcrashedintoafallentreeonacountryroadnearMelrose.Morehighwindsandrainareforecastfortonight.

ProfessorRichardHillistalkingaboutBritishnewspapers.

  ItseemstomethatmanyBritishnewspapersaren'treallynewspapersatall.Theycontainnews,itistrue,butmuchofthisnewsonlyappearsinprintbecauseitisguaranteedtoshock,surpriseorcauseachuckle.

  Whatshouldweexpecttofindinarealnewspaper?

Interestingpoliticalarticles?

Accuratereportsofwhathasbeenhappeningindistantcornersoftheworld?

Thelatestnewsfromthestockexchange?

Fullcoverageofgreatsportingevents?

In-depthinterviewswithleadingpersonalities?

  ItisasadfactthatinBritaintherealnewspapers,theonesthatreportthefacts,sellinthousands,whilethepopularpapersthatsetouttoshockoramusehaveacirculationofseveralmillion.One'sinescapableconclusionisthatthevastmajorityofBritishreadersdonotreallywantapropernewspaperatall.Theyjustwantafewpagesofentertainment.

  Ibuythesamenewspapereveryday.Inthispaperpoliticalmatters,bothBritishandforeign,arecoveredinfull.Theeditorialcolumnmaysupportgovernmentpolicyononeissueandopposeitonanother.Thereisafullpageofbookreviewsandanotherdevotedtothelatesthappeningsinthetheatre,thecinemaandtheworldofart.Stockexchangepricesarequoteddaily.Soaretheexchangeratesoftheworld'smajorcurrencies.Thesportscorrespondentsareamongthebestinthecountry,whilethestandardofthereaders'lettersisabsolutelyfirst-class.Ifanintelligentpersonweretofindacopyofthispaper50yearsfromnow,heorshewouldstillfinditentertaining,interestingandinstructive.

  Somyfavouritenewspaperisobviouslyverydifferentfromthosepopularpapersthathaveacirculationofseveralmillion.Butthatdoesnotmeanthatitis'better'orthattheyare'worse'.Wearenotcomparinglikewithlike.Apublisherprintinganewspaperwithacirculationofseveralmillionisrunningahighlysuccessfulcommercialoperation.Thepeoplewhobuyhisproductareobviouslysatisfiedcustomersandinafreesocietyeverybodyshouldhavetherighttobuywhateverkindofnewspaperhepleases.

Dave:

Dr.Jones,howexactlywouldyoudefineeccentricity?

Dr.Jones:

Well,weallhaveourownparticularhabitswhichothersfindirritatingoramusing,butaneccentricissomeonewhobehavesinatotallydifferentmannerfromthoseinthesocietyinwhichhelives.

Dave:

Whenyoutalkabouteccentricity,areyoureferringmainlytomattersofappearance?

Dr.Jones:

Notspecifically,no.Therearemanyotherwaysinwhicheccentricityisdisplayed.Forinstance,someindividualsliketoleavetheirmarkonthisearthwithbizarrebuildings.Othershavethecraziestdesireswhichinfluencetheirwholewayoflife.

Dave:

Canyougivemeanexample?

Dr.Jones:

Certainly.OnethatimmediatelyspringstomindwasaVictoriansurgeonbythenameofBuckland.Beingagreatanimalloverheusedtosharehishouseopenlywiththestrangestcreatures,includingsnakes,bears,rats,monkeysandeagles.

Dave:

Thatmust'vebeenquitedangerousattimes.

Dr.Jones:

Itwas,particularlyforvisitorswhoweren'tusedtohaving'pets'—forwantofabetterword—inthehouse.Theyusedtogetbittenandevenattacked.Andthegooddoctorwassointerestedinanimalsthathecouldn'tresistthetemptationtosamplethemasfood.Soguestswhocametodinnerhadtobepreparedforamostunusualmenu,miceontoast,roastgiraffe.Onceheeventriedtomakesoupfromelephant'strunk.Strangely,though,hisvisitorsseemedtogobackformore.

Dave:

Theymust'vehadverystrongstomachs,that'sallIcansay.Dr.Jones,whatparticularkindofeccentricareyoumostinterestedinfromapsychologist'spointofview?

Dr.Jones:

Ithinkthey'reallfascinating,ofcourse,butonthewholeI'dsayit'sthehermitthatIfindthemostintriguing,thetypewhocutshimselfofffromtheworld.

Dave:

Doesoneofthesestandoutinyourmindatall?

Dr.Jones:

Yes,Isupposethiscenturyhasproducedoneofthemostfamousones:

theAmericanbillionaire,HowardHughes.

Dave:

Buthewasn'tarecluseallhislife,washe?

Dr.Jones:

That'scorrect.Infact,hewasjusttheoppositeinhisyoungerdays.HewasarichyoungmanwholovedtheHollywoodsocietyofhisday.Buthebegantodisappearforlongperiodswhenhegrewtiredofhighliving.Finally,nobodywasallowedtotouchhisfoodandhewouldwraphishandinatissuebeforepickinganythingup.Hedidn'tevenallowabarbertogonearhimtoooftenandhishairandbeardgrewdowntohiswaist.

Dave:

Didhelivecompletelyalone?

Dr.Jones:

No,thatwasthestrangestthing.Healwaysstayedinluxuryhotelswithagroupofservantstotakecareofhim.Heusedtospendhisdayslockedupinapenthousesuitewatchingadventurefilmsoverandoveragainandofteneatingnothingbuticecreamandchocolatebars.

Dave:

Itsoundsaverysadstory.

Dr.Jones:

Itdoes.But,asyousaidearlier,lifewouldn'tbethesamewithoutcharacterslikehim,wouldit?

1.IntheUnitedStatesweareusingmoreandmoreoileveryday,andthefuturesupplyisverylimited.

2.Itisestimatedthatatthecurrentrateofuse,oilmaynotbeamajorsourceofenergyafteronly25moreyears.

3.Wehavealotofcoalundertheground,buttherearemanyproblemswithminingit,transportingit,anddevelopingawaytoburnitwithoutpollutingtheair.

4.Productionofnewnuclearpowerplantshassloweddownbecauseofpublicconcernoverthesafetyofnuclearenergy.

5.Thegovernmentoncethoughtthatwewouldbegetting20percentofourelectricityfromnuclearenergybythe1970's,butnuclearenergystillproducedonlyabout12percentofourpowerasof1979.

6.Thereisnoneedtopurchasefueltooperateasolarheatingsystembecausesunshineisfreetoeveryone.

7.Becausesolarsystemsdependonsunshine,theycan'talwaysprovide100%ofyourheat.

8.SolarheatingcanbeusedinmostareasoftheUnitedStates,butitismostpracticalinareaswherethereisalotofwintersunshine,whereheatisnecessary,andwherefuelisexpensive.

9.Ahot-liquidsystemoperatesinbasicallythesamewayexceptthehot-liquidsystemcontainswaterinsteadofair;andthestorageunitisalargehotwatertankinsteadofacontainerofhotrocks.

10.Thenenergyfromthesunmayprovidetheanswertoourneedforanew,cheap,cleansourceofenergy.

VoiceAnalysis

  Ifwewanttomeasurevoicefeaturesveryaccurately,wecanuseavoiceanalyser.Avoiceanalysercanshowfourcharacteristicsofaspeaker'svoice.Notwospeakers'voicesarealike.Togetavoicesample,youhavetospeakintothevoiceanalyser.Thevoiceanalyserisconnectedtoacomputer.Fromjustafewsentencesofnormalspeech,thecomputercanshowfourtypesofinformationaboutyourvoice.Itwillshownasalization,loudness,frequencyandlengthofarticulation.Thefirstelement,nasalization,referstohowmuchairnormallygoesthroughyournosewhenyo