最新新世纪研究生英语听说下PARTB听力原文.docx

最新新世纪研究生英语听说下PARTB听力原文.docx

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最新新世纪研究生英语听说下PARTB听力原文

新世纪研究生英语听说学生用书（下）PARTB

LESSONONE

Passageone

PopulationandResources

Thepopulationoftheworldhasbeenincreasingfasterandfaster.In10,000B.C.,therewereprobably10millionpeople.InA.D.1,therewere300million.Ittook1750yearsforthepopulationtoreach625million,alittlemorethandoubletheA.D.1figure.In1990,therewere5.3billionpeople.Bytheyear2000,theworld'spopulationwasover6billion,andby2050,itisexpectedtoreach10billion.

Doestheearthhaveenoughnaturalresourcestosupportthismanypeople?

Differentscientistsgivedifferentanswerstothisquestion.Somesaythatthereareenoughresourcestosupportmorethan6billionpeople.However,therichestcountries,withasmallpercentageoftheworld'spopulation,usemostoftheresources.Iftheseresourcescouldbedistributedmoreequallyaroundtheworld,therewouldbeenoughforeveryone.

Otherscientistssaythatwemustlimitpopulationgrowthbecauseourresourcesarelimited.Only10percentoftheearth'slandcanbeusedforfarmingandanother20percentforraisinganimals.Itispossibletoincreasetheamountoffarmland,butonlyalittle.Somelandindevelopingcountriescouldbemoreproductiveifpeoplestartedusingmodernfarmingmethods,butthiswouldnotincreaseworldwideproductionbymuch.

Weallknowthatthereisalimitedamountofpetroleum.Therearealsolimitstotheamountsofmetals.Thereisalimittotheamountofwaterwecanusesincemostoftheearth'swaterissaltwater,andmostofthefreshwaterisfrozenattheNorthandSouthPoles.

Itisdifficulttosayhowmanypeopletheearthcansupport,butitwillhelpeveryoneifwecanlimitpopulationgrowthbeforeseriousshortagesdevelop.Theproblemishowtodoit.

PassageTwo

TheMiddleEast'sWaterResourceCrisis

Freshwater,lifeitself,hasnevercomeeasyintheMiddleEast.EversincetheOldTestamentwhenGodpunishedmanwith40daysand40nightsofrain,watersuppliesherehavebeendwindling.Therainfallonlycomesinwinteranddrainsquicklythroughthesemiaridland,leavingthesoiltobakeandtothirstfornextNovember.

Theregion'sacceleratingpopulationgrowth,expandingagriculture,industrialization,andhigherlivingstandardsdemandmorefreshwater.Droughtandpollutionlimititsavailability.Warandmismanagementsquanderit.NationslikeIsraelandJordanareswiftlyslidingintothatzonewheretheyareusingallthewaterresourcesavailabletothem.Theyhaveonly15to20yearsleftbeforetheiragriculture,andultimatelytheirfoodsecurity,isthreatened.

Evenamidthescarcitythereare"haves"and"have-nots".ComparedwiththeUnitedStates,whichhasafreshwaterpotentialof10,000cubicmetersayearforeachcitizen,Iraqhas5,500,Turkeyhas4,000,andSyriahaslittlemorethan2,800.Egypt'spotentialisonly1,100,Israelhas460,andJordanhaslessthan260.Butthesearenotfirmfigures,becauseupstreamuseofriverwatercandramaticallyalterthepotentialdownstream.

ScarcityisonlyoneelementoftheMiddleEast'swatercrisis.Inefficiencyisanother,asisthereluctanceofsomewater-poornationstochangeprioritiesfromagriculturetolesswater-intensiveenterprises.Someexpertssuggestthatifthesenationswouldsharebothwatertechnologyandresources,theycouldsatisfytheregion'spopulation,currently159million.Butinthispatchworkofethnicandreligiousrivalries,thewatercrisisisnotaclear-cutissue.Itisentangledinthepoliticsthatkeeppeoplefromtrustingandseekinghelpfromoneanother.Herewherewater,liketruth,isprecious,eachnationtendstofinditsownwaterandsupplyitsowntruth.

LESSONTWO

PassageI

PurseSnatching

Pursesnatchingisanincreasinglycommoncrime.Thereareestimated50to100pursesnatchingseachmonthintheNewYorkCitysubways,thenumberoftenswingingwidelybecauseofthedepredations（掠夺,破坏）ofasingleteenager.Whensuchaprofessionalisincustody（被监禁,被拘留着）,thesnatchescandecreasebymorethan50amonth.Oneofthefavoredtechniquesistostandbetweentwosubwaycarsandasatrainstartspullingoutofthestation,reachoutandpullfreeawoman'spurse.

Recently,acrimeanalysisofficerfortheNewYorkPoliceDepartmentfoundthatpursestealinginManhattan'stoprestaurantswasup35percentoverthepreviousyear.Whenawomanputsherpurseonanemptychairatatableoratherfeetbesideherchair,sheisinvitingapursesnatchertotakeit.Pursesnatchersoftenworkinpairs.Whenatargetinarestaurantisseen,oneofthemwillcreatesomekindofdisturbancetogainthevictim'sattention.Whilethewomanislookingawayfromhertable,theactualsnatcherwillliftthepurse.Apopulartechniqueisforthethieftocarryanumbrellawiththecurvedhandledown.Theumbrellahandlesuddenlyhooksthebagandinaninstantitisonthethief’swrist,orunderthecoatoverhisarmifheisaman,andonitswayoutoftherestaurant.Policeadvisethatwomeninrestaurantskeeptheirpurseeitherontheirlapsoronthefloorbetweentheirlegs.

Otherpursesnatcherswhooperateintheatersarecalled"seattippers",victimizingwomenwhoputtheirpursesdownonaneighboringemptyseat.Othersspecializeinsnatchingpursesfromladies'rooms.Whenawomanisinatoiletstall,herpurseshouldneverbeplacedonthefloororhungonthecoathookonthedoor.Thievessimplydiveunderthedoorandgrabthepurseonthefloor,orstandonthetoiletinthenextstallandreachoverandtakethepurseoffthehook.Thesnatcherhasenoughtimetoescapesincethevictimcan'timmediatelypursuethethief.

PassageII

HowDoHandwritingExpertsCatchCriminals

OntheafternoonofJuly4,1995,Mrs.BeatriceWeinbergerbroughtherone-montholdbabybackfromanouting.Sheleftthepram（童车；婴儿车（亦作：

perambulator））outsideherhouseandhurriedinsidetogetthebabyacleannappy.Whenshereturnedafewmomentslater,thepramwasemptyandascrawled（乱涂,潦草地写）notewaslyingwhereherbabyhadbeen.

Thenotesaid:

"Attention.Ibadlyneedmoney,andcan'tgetitanyotherway.Don'ttellthepoliceaboutthis,otherwiseIwillkillthebaby."

"Justput$2,000insmallbillsinabrownenvelope,andplaceitnexttotheroadlampatthecornerofAlbemarleRd.atexactly10o'clocktomorrow（Thursday）morning."

"Ifeverythinggoessmooth,Iwillbringthebabybackandleavehimonthesamecorner'safeandhappy'atexactly12noon.Noexcuse,Icannotwait!

Yourbaby-sitter."Despitethekidnapper'swarning,Mrs.Weinbergercontactedthepolice.

Asmallparcelcontainingbrokenpiecesofnewspaperwasplacedonthecornerthefollowingmorning.Butthekidnapperdidnotshowup.Hefailedtokeeptwoother"appointments"withtheWeinbergers,andleftasecondnotesigned"Yourbaby-sitter".Bythen,thepolicefeltthatthebabywasnolongeralive.

TheFBIwascalledin,andthehandwritingexpertssettoworktotrytotrackdownthekidnapper.Inbothnotesanunusualz-shapedstrokewasplacedatthefrontoftheyinwordssuchas"money"and"baby".

StartingwiththeNewYorkStatePoliceOffice,theexpertsspentthenextsixweekscarefullygoingoverlocalrecordsatpoliceoffices,factories,hotels,clubsandschoolsandexamininghandwritingsamplesandcomparingthemwiththewritingonthekidnapper'snotes.

Then,inthemiddleofAugust,theexperts'hardeffortspaidoff.ThehandwritingofJohnRushBlakematchedthatofthekidnapper's,especiallyinthepeculiarformationoftheys.（Whileachievingsuccessiseasiersaidthandone,persistencedoesinfactpayoff.

获得成功说起来比做起来容易，然而坚持不懈确实会有好结果。

）

Notlongafter,JohnBlakewasarrestedformakingillegalalcohol.Onbeingshownthehandwritingsamples,heconfessedtokidnappingthebaby.Hetoldthepolicethathehadleftthebabyaliveandwellinanearbyparkonthedayafterthekidnapping.Butwhenofficershurriedtotheplace,alltheyfoundwasthebaby'sdeadbody.ThecriminalwaslaterputintoNewYork'sSingSingPrison.

EvenifJohnBlakehadtriedtodisguisehishandwritinghewouldstillhavebeencaught.

Nomatterhowhardsomeonemaytrytodisguisehishandwritingcharacteristics,the"individuality"ofthewritershowsthrough,theveryangleatwhichheorsheholdsapen,thewayatiscrossedandan/isdotted,theheightandsizeofcapitalandsmallletters,theamountofspacebetweenwords,theuse（ormisuse）ofpunctuationmarks.Allthesecanidentifyapersonassurelyasfingerprints.

LESSONTHREE

PassageOne

TheApplicationofComputersInEducation

Thebestmethodforimprovingeducationalstandardsistoutilizeeverytoolavailableincludingstate-of-the-art达到最新技术发展水平的technology.ComputersandtheInternethaveexpandedthewayinwhichinformationcanbedeliveredtothestudentsoftoday.Today'snetworkingtechnologiesprovideavaluableopportunitytopracticenewlearningtechniques.Educatorsarediscoveringthatcomputersarefacilitatinglearning.Computer-basedcommunications,ortelecommunicationscanoffermanyeducationalopportunities;therefore,educatorswillneedtoadaptcurrentteachingmethodstoincorporatethisnewmediaintotheclassroom.

Computershavemadeafundamentalimpactonmostindustries,providingacompetitiveadvantagethathascometobeessentialtomanybusinesses.Therefore,schoolsmustalsousetechnologytoimprovetheeducationalprocess.Schoolsystemsoftenconsiderpurchasingacomputenetwork,andjustifyitspurchasebyapplyingittoroutineadministrativetasks,suchaattendancerecordsandgrading.Whilethesetasksareveryimportant,theyonlyshowasmallpartofwhatt