英语听力学习China Revealed.docx

1、英语听力学习China RevealedTASTE OTHER CULTURESCoupling insightful storytelling with spectacular and groundbreaking photographic techniques, Discovery Atlas: China Revealed brings to life the fascinating and complex contemporary life of this extraordinary country.(0)China, the oldest civilization on Earth,

2、 a land founded on extraordinary customs and ritual, celebrated in monuments without equal, preserved in thousands of years of learning. A country that is home to the greatest population on the planet - 1.3 billion people. A nation that is said to become the worlds next superpower. This is the story

3、 of the fastest-growing country on Earth, of the dreams and challenges driving its people, of individual struggle and triumph. How is the worlds largest communist state becoming its most powerful economy? Can this ancient civilization survive its breakneck journey into the future? And what is the pr

4、ice of this whirlwind of change? This is the story of the greatest transformation on Earth and of the people living in its heart. This is the story of life behind the Great Wall.words to chew:1/ breakneck:moving at very high speed; a breakneck pace2/ a whirlwind of.:something that is as rapid as a w

5、hirlwind(1)Dawn, the Peoples Republic of China. Across the city of Shanghai, thousands gathered to practice the ancient art of TaiChi. Over a thousand miles away, Mongolian nomads prepare for the biggest horse race in the world. In Beijing, the Forbidden City opens its doors to tens of thousands of

6、tourists. To the west, in Lanzhou steel works, No.5 furnace comes on line. And in the same moment, 12-year-old Jin Yang dreams of Olympic glory. Xiao Cui perfects a kungfu move five centuries old. And billionaire property tycoon Vincent Low sees a future of limitless opportunity. It is now predicted

7、 that the Chinese economy will become the largest in the world in little more than twenty years. China already consumes more than one third of the worlds steel and almost half of the worlds concrete. In any single minute, the Chinese nation now burns almost 2,500 tons of coal, 24 million watts of el

8、ectricity and 210,000 gallons of crude oil. It has been estimated that within 30 years we will need another planet earth to satisfy Chinas ever-growing appetite for raw materials. But for all this extraordinary explosion of industry, China still rests on traditions that are thousands of years old. I

9、n the far south of China lie the paddy fields of Long Shan. And here its the first day of the annual rice planting. This is a busy season for us. This is the time of a year that everything needs to be planted out in all the fields and the rice paddieswords to chew:1/ but for: although, in spite of2/

10、 paddy field: rice fieldpaddy: an irrigated or flooded field where rice is grown(2)Mrs. Liao and her family are planting one of the staple foods of all China- rice. They have worked these terraces all of their lives, and their families have lived here for over 20 generations. This work is in their b

11、lood. We get up at six. As soon as we eat breakfast we head out to the fields. We dont come back home until 8 or 8:30. Only us locals could handle the work, you city types wouldnt be able to keep up. The rice terraces of Longshan are an agricultural wonder. Floating high above the clouds, stretching

12、 along 20 miles of peaks, these terraces have become known as the dragons back. Chinese farmers carved these paddies from the steep slopes of a vast mountain range almost eight centuries ago, shifting hundreds of thousands of tons of earth. But all of this labor was for good reason. For all of its v

13、ast area, less than 10% of China can actually be farmed. Every usable piece of land has to be put under the plough. And if a harvest fails, the effects can be devastating. Mrs. Liao can still remember the terrible famine of 1959. Life was very harsh back then. There was nothing in the rice fields, a

14、nd then many people in our village starved to death. My grandmother died of starvation.(3)Four generations of the Liao family still live together. At the time of the rice planting, they get together for a family feast to celebrate the harvest to come. As part of the celebration, they cook traditiona

15、l rice dumpling wrapped in leaves. This ancient practice is still a powerful symbol of a familys wealth and success. Every child takes the special dumpling to school on the day after the feast. Its like a great big competition, they all show off and compare them with each other to see who has got th

16、e biggest and the best one. Grandpa Liao is head of the family. He is also a leading figure in the local Communist Party. He is responsible for relaying details of the Partys policies to the remote reaches of the Dragons Back. Hes found the perfect way to get the Partys directives out to his fellow

17、farmers. He turns them into simple slogans and poems. Growing crops will increase our food, so every family needs a plan thats good. You can relax at harvest and a store of crops means cash to spend. Mr. Liao has set his blackboard out on the village square for two decades now, a direct connection w

18、ith the Communist Party headquarters in Beijing, a thousand miles away. In 2004, I was honoured as an outstanding Party member. I put the certificate up on the wall, so the younger members of the family can see what their granddad has achieved. Until 1978, the Communist Party directly controlled all

19、 of Chinas land. But then they announced an extraordinary change in policy. The Party decided to hand the land over to the peasants to run themselves. The average peasant income rocketed by more than 1500%, and the lives of Liao family changed beyond all recognition. Ever since the land was privatiz

20、ed, life has been getting better and better.We now eat much better. we now eat better and we have better clothes. Now weve even bought a fridge and a TV.But if life is improved in Chinas rural heartland, the greatest revolution has occured.(4)(The greatest revolution has occurred) in the cities. The

21、re the Communist Party has told entrepreneurs to build their own businesses, announcing that to get rich is glorious. This has led to one of the greatest migrations in human history as tens of millions of Chinese have abandoned the traditional farming life to seek their fortunes in Chinas great citi

22、es. SongFeng came to Shanghai from the countryside almost a year ago. Here he hoped to find wealth and success. Little did he know he would end up doing one of the most perilous jobs in the city. Its a really dangerous job. Thats the worst thing about it. The first time I stepped into the basket, I

23、was terrified that I would fall out. When you are lower down the rope and you hit something, its really frightening. Now my heart doesnt race as much. Now its just like standing on the ground.Already 8 times the size of New York city, Shanghai is expanding everyday. Investors are pouring more than 1

24、0 billion dollars a year into the city, raising a skyline, the equal of any in the world. In a population of over 20 million, over 3 million are migrant workers like SongFeng, but its a far cry from the small rural town where he grew up. When I first came to Shanghai, I felt completely lost. Shangha

25、iers tend to push outsiders away. Getting to know people here is difficult.And although he is earning more cash than he ever could at home even as a window cleaner, SongFeng is still paying a high price for his months away.The hardest thing is not seeing my daughter who is just so adorable. She only

26、 needs to smile to make me forget all the worries in my life. In just a few weeks, SongFeng will see his daughter for the first time in months when he heads home to celebrate Chinese New Year. But for now, all he can do is work as hard as he can and earn as much as he can to support his family back

27、home.(5)The Chinese call their nation the “Middle Kingdom”, because they believe it sits at the very center of the world. China covers over 3.5 million square miles of land. To the east, lie great cities and ports. To the south, the impassable peaks of the Himalayas. To the west, great stretches of

28、barren deserts. This great land is home to over 50 different peoples, each with their own culture, history, and tradition. Stretching across northern China lies Inner Mongolia, thousands of miles of open grasslands and rugged mountain ranges. Although they have become citizens of Greater China, the

29、people of Inner Mongolia still hold on to their unique culture. Once a year, they gather for the festival of Naadam to celebrate the ancient traditions that set them apart from the rest of China. Extraordinary skill in horsemanship lies at the heart of Mongolian culture. And the climax of the Naadam

30、 Festival comes at dawn on the third day in what its the biggest horse race in the world.By tradition, all the riders are children, selected for their light build. Over two hundred will be competing, racing across some of the most remote terrain on Earth. As the start is called, the jockeys rush to

31、their mounts and thunder out across the open grasslands. The riders still follow ancient Mongolian custom to the letter. They have neither saddles nor stirrups, making the horses far harder to control. It is a trial of riding skill and endurance without equal, a testament to the survival of unique t

32、raditions and cultures all across China. China is a nation so diverse, its people still speak seven different major languages and over eighty different dialects. There is just one bond between them all. They can all read and use the same written characters. Over 40,000 unique symbols that can capture every essence of life in this immense nation.words to chew:1/jockey: someone employed to ride horses in horse races 2/stirrup: support consisting of metal loops into which riders feet go(6)But China is shaped not just by its land. This country al