新世纪大学英语4视听说听力原文.docx

新世纪大学英语4视听说听力原文.docx

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新世纪大学英语4视听说听力原文

Unit1

OL2（A）

Jack:

Ithinkweshouldbuyabiggercar.Bigcarsaresafer.

Kayla:

Yes,butontheotherhand,theyconsumemoreoil.

Jack:

Theyalsolookreallycool.

Kayla:

That’strue,buttherearesomeSUVswhicharenotbigbutalsoverybeautiful.

Jack:

AndIthinkbigcarsaremorefuntodrive.

Kayla:

Butthenagain,it’sveryexpensive.

Jack:

Well,let’sgetmoreinformationaboutseveralkindsofcars,okay?

OL2（B）

MycountryhastwoveryfamousbuildingscalledthePetronasTowers.Thebuildingsaremadeofglass,steel,andconcrete.TheyweredesignedbyanAmericanarchitect,butheusedaMalaysianstyle.Theywerefinishedin1998,andtheywerethetallestbuildingsintheworldatthattime.Eachtowerhas88floors,andis452metershigh.IreallylikethePetronasTowers.Theyshowboththemodernandthetraditionalsideofmycountry

OL3

Modernbuildings:

Welovethem,Wehatethem

Theworld-famousLouvreMuseuminParisisalmost500yearsold,anditfacedaverymodernproblem:

Theresimplywasn’tenoughspaceforsixmillionvisitorseachyear.In1989,AmericanarchitectI.M.Peidesignedastrikingglasspyramidinthebuilding’scentertobeavisitorentranceandshoppingarcade.Buthealsostartedanangrydebate.Somepeoplefelthisglassbuildingwasapieceofart,liketheonesinsidethemuseum.Otherssaiditwasjustanugly,modernmistake.

Kyoto,Japan,isthecountry’sancientcapital,andtheheartofitsculture.Itsrailroadstationwastoosmallforthemillionsofvisitors.In1997,thecitycompletedanewstationinahugeshoppingcenter,rightintheoldestpartofthecity.DesignedbyHiroshiHara,thebuildingalsocontainsahotelanddepartmentstore.Beforeitwasbuilt,criticssaidthatthehigh,wide,modernbuildingwoulddestroythecity’straditionallook.Ontheotherhand,supporterssaiditwouldbringnewlifeintothecitycenter.

OL4

Thefuturebuildingboom?

Interviewer:

Whatdoyouthinkisthebiggestproblemfacingourcities?

Erika:

Ithinkit’sovercrowding.Talktoanyonelivinginamajormetropolitanareaandtheywillsaythesamething:

There’snospace.Eventhesuburbsaregettingcrowded.

Interviewer:

Well,insomeplacestheresimplyisn’tanylandleftforbuilding,right?

Erika:

Yes,that’strue,butyouhavetothinkcreatively.Youcan’tgiveupsoeasily.

Interviewer:

Thinkcreatively?

Whatdoyousuggest?

Erika:

WhatI’msayingisthatwecanbuildmorestructuresunderground.Wecanaddparkinglots,malls,hotels,andevenapartmentbuildings.There’splentyofspace.

Interviewer:

Isn’titexpensive?

Erika:

Yes,itcanbe.Inthepastbuildingundergroundhasbeenveryexpensive.However,wehavenewtechnologythatwillbringthecostdown.Itinvolvesusingrobots.Youdon’thavetopayrobotsasalary!

Interviewer:

Isn’t“buildingdown”moredangerousthanotherkindofconstruction?

Erika:

Actually,Ithinkit’ssaferthanbuildingskyscrapers,forexample.Remember,wealreadydoit.Wehavesubwaysandundergroundshoppingmalls.I’mjustsuggestingweinvestinavarietyofbiggerprojectsandthatwedigdeeper.

Interviewer:

Whatwouldyousaytopeoplewhodoubtyouridea?

Erika:

Icanunderstandtheirfeelings.Wheneverthere’sanewidea,itcancausecontroversy.But“buildingdown”isnotsomekindofimpracticalidea.Itmakessense.Thereissomuchspaceunderground:

itcanaccommodatealotoftraffic,storage,andpeople.Withthenewtechnologywehave,we’dbecrazynottoconsidertheidea---it’sthewaveofthefuture!

Unit2

OL2（A）

Penny:

Hello.YourComputerWorldsalesdepartment.

Ted:

Hi,Penny.It’sTed.

Penny:

Oh,hi,Ted.What’sup?

Ted:

Well,mycomputerhascrashedagain.

Penny:

Ohno!

Ted:

Oh,yes.That’swhyI’mcalling.Youknow,it’sfiveyearsold.AndIneed

tospeaktoScottaboutgettinganewone.

Penny:

Well,you’vecalledatagoodtime.Wehavesomeattractivenewmodels.

Ted:

Great!

I’mlookingforsomethingaffordable.AndIwanttogetsomething

portablethistime.

Penny:

I’msureScottcanhelpyouwiththat…Let’ssee,heisinameetinguntil3:

30.I’llaskhimtocallyou.

Ted:

No,that’sOK.I’llcallhimafter3:

30.Pleasegivehimthemessage.

OL2（B）

E-mailismyfavoritewaytocommunicate.Ithinkitisasfastasafaxmachine,

anditisaseasyasacellphone.Ofcoursee-mailhassomeproblems,too.Itisn’tas

affordableasordinarymail,becauseyouneedacomputerandInternetservice.AndI

don’tthinkitisasreliableasafaxmachine.Sometimese-mailmessagesgetlost.But

inmyopinion,e-mailisasconvenientasacellphone.Icansendamessagefrommy

homeoroffice,andmyfriendscanreaditwhentheyhavetime.

OL3

Intoday’sreport,welookatanewtechnologycalledpervasivecomputing.

Pervasivecomputingmeansputtingtinycomputersintoeverydayelectronicappliances,suchastoastersandmicrowaves.Withpervasivecomputing,appliancescancommunicatewiththeirusers–andwithotherappliances!

Somecompaniesnowsellpervasivecomputingproductslikea“smart”toaster.Itremembersyourfavoritekindoftoast:

lightordark.Companiesaredesigninga“smart”coffeemakeranda“smart”clock.Thecoffeemakercanmeasurethewaterandcoffee.Itcanevenputmilkinyourbreakfastcoffeeandmakeblackcoffeeintheafternoon.Theclockwillcheckthetimeonotherclocksinyourhouse,andgiveinformationaboutotherappliances.Forexample,itcantellyou,“Yourcoffeemakerneedsmorewater.”

Andthat’sonlythebeginning.Onecompanyisnowadvertising“Savetime–phoneyourwashingmachine!

”Engineersaremakinga“smart”house.Inthishouse,thelights,heater,andairconditionerchangeautomaticallywhenfamilymemberscomehome.Thismakesthehomecomfortable,anditsavesalotofenergy.Pervasivecomputingcouldchangemanypartsofourdailylives.

Butdopeoplereallywantpervasivecomputing?

Dotheyreallyneedtechnologyeverywhere?

Onecompanyaskedpeopleabouttheiropinionson“smart”appliances.Thereweresurprises.A“smart”refrigeratorcanbuymorefoodontheInternet,butpeopledidn’twantit,becauseitmightmakemistakes.

“Pervasivecomputingisasimportantasatelephone,”saysRebeccaBlair,presidentofInnoTechCorporation.Butsomeoftheseproductsarenotuseful,orevenpractical.Companiesshouldlearnmoreaboutthetechnologythatpeoplereallywant.

OL4

Localgirlrescued

Shemayhaveabrokenleg,butshecan’tbehappier.MorganBailey,11,ishappytobealive.

TuesdaywaslikeanyotherdayforMorgan.Shewasatschool.Itwasfourthperiod,andshewasthefirststudenttoarriveinthegymnasiumforherphysicaleducationclass.

Suddenlytherewasaloudnoise.

“Therewasasharpcrackingnoiseandthenaloudboom.Afterthat,Idon’trememberanything,”saidMorgan.

Theroofofthegymnasiumhadcollapsedundertheheavysnow.Morganwastrappedunderneath.Shecouldn’tescape.

“Iwokeupandtherewasabigpieceofwoodonmyleg.Icouldn’tmoveit.Iwasstartingtogetcold.”

Fortunately,helpwasnearby.Anewprogramusing“rescuerobots”wastriedforthefirsttime.

“Wewerenervousaboutusingtherobot,”saidDerrickSneed,themaninchargeoftheprogram.“Butintheend,therobotgaveusreliableinformation.Itwentextremelywell.”

TherescuerobotwasabletogointothegymandlocateMorgan’sexactposition.

“Wesendinrobotsfirstbecauseitmaynotbesafeforhumans,”saidMr.Sneed.“Humanbeingsarenotasusefulasrobotsinsomesituations.Agasleak,forexample,couldkillyouormebutwouldn’thurtarobot.”

Althoughitdidn’thappeninMorgan’scase,somerescuerobotscanbringfreshairorwatertopeoplewhoaretrapped.

Rescuerobotsgointorough,dangerousplaces.Theyworkinlifeordeathsituations.Theyhavetobedurable.

DoctorssaythatMorganisdoingwell.Sheshouldbegoinghomeintwoorthreedays.Whatisthefirstthingshewantstodoaftershegetsoutofthehospital?

“Iwanttomeetmyhero,”laughsMorgan.“Thatlittlerobotthatsavedmylife!

”

Unit3

OL2

Amy:

John,I’venevernoticethisoldphotoofyourfamilybefore.

John:

Mymotherjustfounditintheattic.Shedecidedtohangitup.

Amy:

It’sanicepictureofyourfamily.

John:

Ithinkit’sembarrassing.AndIlookstupid.

Amy:

Well,youcould’vecombedyourhair…it’saniceshot,though.Lookathowyoungyouare!

Howoldwereyouinthephoto?

John:

Eight…nowait,I’djustturnednine.

Amy:

Iguessthesetwopeopleareyourparents.

John:

Yep.Theyweremarriedwhenthatpicturewastaken.Nowthey’redivorced.

Amy:

Oh.Whatdotheydo?

John:

Myfather’sretired.Momworksinahospital.

Amy:

Whataretheirnames?

John:

Well,myfather’snameisJoseph.MymotherisOlivia–shewasnamedafterapopularactress.

Amy:

Howgreat!

Ihaveanauntwiththesamename.IlovethenameOlivia…Who’sthatguy?

John:

Whichone?

Amy:

Theguystandingbehindyou.Isthatyourbrother,Tom?

John:

No,that’smyUncleRandy.He’sonlytwoyearsolderthanmybrother.

Amy:

He’scute.Iloveaguywithamustache.

John:

Um,sorry,buthe’smarriednow.hiswifejusthadababy.

Amy:

Iwasjustmakingacomment…Sotheotheryoungguymustbeyourbrother.

John:

Yes.That’sTom.

Amy:

Howoldisheinthepicture?

John:

Let’ssee…he’snineyearsolderthanme,…sohewould’vebeen18then.

Amy:

Andthere’syourlittlesister,Tina.She’ssocute!

John:

Yeah.She’stwoyearsyoungerthanme.It’shardtobelieveshe’sinhighschoolnow!

OL3

AbankrobberyinVirginia,USA,wasstoppedwhentherobberandthebanktellercouldn’treachanagreement.Therobberpushedaholdupnoteunderthewindow,butthetellerlookedatit,said,“Ican’treadthis,