新世纪大学英语视听说听力原文单元.docx

1、新世纪大学英语视听说听力原文单元 Document number【980KGB-6898YT-769T8CB-246UT-18GG08】新世纪大学英语视听说听力原文单元UNIT1 Our EarthTrack 4-1-2& 4-1-3Blake: What are you working on, Mary?Mary: Im finishing my paper. Its due tomorrow, Blake.Blake: Whats the topic?Mary: Its about Greenland.Blake: Greenland. Hmmm . . . thats part of C

2、anada, right?Mary: I think you need to study your world geography, Blake.Blake: Well, isnt it near Canada?Mary: Yes, its off the coast of northeast Canada, but its part of Denmark.Blake: Oh, I didnt know that. Well, whats your paper about exactly?Mary: In my paper, I answer the question Is Greenland

3、 really green In other words, is Greenland covered by a lot of plants and treesBlake: Is it?Mary: What do you think?Blake: Lets see . . . Greenland is in the Arctic Circle-way up north. Its cold, . . . so Is Greenland really green Id answer probably not.Mary: Youd be correct. Its too cold there. In

4、the north, a lot of the ground is frozen. The summers are short, so only the surface thaws.Blake: That sounds tough.Mary: Its hard for the construction industry. Its not easy to build in Greenland.Blake: It sounds so harsh. Why would anyone want to go there?Mary: There are big mountain ranges on the

5、 coasts. Theyre great for hiking and outdoor sports. And there are lots of animals there. You can sometimes see whales swimming in the harbors. Blake: That sounds cool! OK,so if its not really a green place, why was it named GreenlandMary: The first settlers wanted to attract other people. They gave

6、 it an attractive name.4-1-4&4-1-5Jay: Come in here, Elise. You should see this show!Elise: What is it?Jay: Its called The Titanic of the Sky. Its about the Hindenburg, a great engineering feat.Elise: The Hindenburg . . .Jay: You know, that giant zeppelin that crashed in 1934.Thirty-five people died

7、.Elise: Oh yeah, I remember now. It was flying from Germany to the United States. It crashed as it was landing.Jay: Right. Its so funny looking, dont you think It doesnt look anything like the airplanes we have today.Elise: Thats true. Why would people ride in a zeppelin anyway It seems so dangerous

8、.Jay: Well, some people called the Hindenburg mans greatest achievement in flight.They thought it was safe, I guess.Elise: Who rode in it anyway?Jay: Mostly wealthy people. It accommodated between 30 and 40 passengers and crew. One person said it was like a flying hotel.Elise: It sounds pretty great

9、.Jay: Yeah, and it was fast. Thats why people rode it. They wanted to get to their destination faster.Elise: Why didnt they just take a jet plane?Jay: Elise! You know they didnt have jets back then. Look, in 1934 it took five days to travel from Germany to the U.S. by ship. The zeppelin could do it

10、in half that time.It was speedy.Elise: Well, maybe Ill sit down and watch a little bit. Maybe Ill learn something . . .4-1-6&7&8Jack: I think we should buy a bigger car. Big cars are safer.Kayla: Yes, but on the other hand, they consume more oil.Jack: They also look really cool.Kayla: Thats true, bu

11、t there are some SUVs which are not big but also very beautiful.Jack: And I think big cars are more fun to drive.Kayla: But then again, its very expensive.Jack: Well, lets get more information about several kinds of cars, okay?Track 4-1-9My country has two very famous buildings called the Petronas T

12、owers. The buildings are made of glass, steel, and concrete. They were designed by an American architect, but he used a Malaysian style. They were finished in 1998, and they were the tallest buildings in the world at that time. Each tower has 88 floors, and is 452 meters high. I really like the Petr

13、onas Towers. They show both the modern and the traditional side of my countryTrack 4-1-10&11Modern buildings: We love them, We hate them The world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris is almost 500 years old, and it faced a very modern problem: There simply wasnt enough space for six million visitors each

14、year. In 1989, American architect I.M. Pei designed a striking glass pyramid in the buildings center to be a visitor entrance and shopping arcade. But he also started an angry debate. Some people felt his glass building was a piece of art, like the ones inside the museum. Others said it was just an

15、ugly, modern mistake. Kyoto, Japan, is the countrys ancient capital, and the heart of its culture. Its railroad station was too small for the millions of visitors. In 1997, the city completed a new station in a huge shopping center, right in the oldest part of the city. Designed by Hiroshi Hara, the

16、 building also contains a hotel and department store. Before it was built, critics said that the high, wide, modern building would destroy the citys traditional look. On the other hand, supporters said it would bring new life into the city center.Track 4-1-12&4-1-13The future building boom?Interview

17、er: What do you think is the biggest problem facing our cities?Erika: I think its overcrowding. Talk to anyone living in a major metropolitan area and they will say the same thing; Theres no space. Even the suburbs are getting crowded.Interviewer: Well, in some places there simply isnt any land left

18、 for building, right?Erika: Yes, thats true, but you have to think creatively. You cant give up so easily.Interviewer: Think creatively What do you suggestErika: What Im saying is that we can build more structures underground. We can add parking lots, malls, hotels, and even apartment buildings. The

19、res plenty of space.Interviewer: Isnt it expensive?Erika: Yes, it can be. In the past building underground has been very expensive. However, we have new technology that will bring the cost down. It involves using robots. You dont have to pay robots a salary! Interviewer: Isnt building down more dang

20、erous than other kind of construction?Erika: Actually, I think its safer than building skyscrapers, for example. Remember, we already do it. We have subways and underground shopping malls. Im just suggesting we invest in a variety of bigger projects and that we dig deeper.Interviewer: What would you

21、 say to people who doubt your idea?Erika: I can understand their feelings. Whenever theres a new idea, it can cause controversy. But building down is not some kind of impractical idea. It makes sense. There is so much space underground: It can accommodate a lot of traffic, storage, and people. With

22、the new technology we have, wed be crazy not to consider the idea -its the wave of the future!Unit 1, Lesson BGlobal ViewpointsNatural wondersAlejandra: One of the most beautiful natural wonders Ive seen are the glaciers in the south of Argentina.Nick: The Matterhorn, which is a mountain in Switzerl

23、and, is one of the most beautiful places Ive ever seen. My dad and I climbed about half way, and once we got there it started snowing so we had to turn back.Catherine: I climbed up to Everest Base Camp. All of a sudden, you look up and theres this huge mountain that everyones talked about, that ever

24、yones photographed, and youve seen what its like in pictures but youve never seen it in person.Kumiko: Mt. Fuji is really beautiful from far away. When you climb it, its just rocks and dirt but its really beautiful from far away.Natalie: I went to Niagara Falls for a family reunion. It was one of th

25、e most memorable times of my life because I got to be around people who I love- my family. And it was also one of the most beautiful sites that Ive ever seen .Man-made structuresKevin: The most impressive man-made wonder that I have seen is the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall took several thousa

26、nds of people to build, it stretches many, many miles throughout China, and it was made in a period where we didnt have all the technological advancementslike cranes and lifts.Gian: Last year I was in San Francisco and I had a chance to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. What an amazing feat of en

27、gineering. It gives you a chance to look through all of San Francisco and over San Francisco Bay and over San Francisco Bay and its just a wonderful chance to see the city.Woo Sung: I saw the Hoover Dam once and I didnt like it very much. It was in the middle of the desert and its just very hot, and

28、 there wasnt much activity going on and its just a big concrete structure.City LivingI love skyscrapers!Takeshi: Man, look at that! In New York theres always something being built. And everything goes up so quickly you never know whats going on to be around next week.Roberto: Yeah, but on the other

29、hand, sometimes I wonder about overcrowding. Maybe they need to start building down more.Takeshi: Building down?Roberto: Yeah, its when you build underground instead of above ground.Takeshi: Nah, thats too much like living in a cave. I love the skyscrapers! They are the most incredible feats of engi

30、neering!Roberto: True. And some of the first ones were built right here in New York City.Takeshi: Thats right! You know, I wonder what New York looked like before all these buildings popped up.Roberto: I dont know, but Id like to see this one when its finished.Takeshi: Yeah. Ill bet itll be somethin

31、g fantastic!Roberto: Maybewhat do you think its going to look like?Takeshi: I dont know but you know what Im going to remember what it looked like.Roberto: What are you talking about And why are you taking pictures Theres nothing there.Takeshi: Ok, You know how some people get famous because they ha

32、ve pictures of movie stars or performers before they make it big?Roberto: YeahTakeshi: Well, some buildings and architectural structures get to be famous too, like the Eiffel Tower or the Empire State Buildingright?Roberto: Yeah, and Theres nothing here!Takeshi: Right ! But there will be. Someday this very spot may become really well-known-like maybe itll be some incredible hote