现代大学英语听力基础教程-听力文本-unit7

1、Unit 7Task 1 I cant stand places like Beidaihe.M: No, nor can I. You know, where you have to share the beach with thousands ofother people who are all tourists.WB: Oh, I dont mind that.M: Oh, I do. I never go to places like that. I like to get right away from allthe tourists, go somewhere thats real

2、ly peaceful, like an island orsomething, Yes, so do I.WB: Whats wrong with so many people? I like meeting people when Imon holiday. I like places with a good night life, and plenty of men around,and .well, you know, where you can have a good time.Landowner landlady renter lodgerTask 2Hello. Is that

3、Oxford 40414?Yes, it is.Erm.Im asking about the flat which was advertised in the local paper.Oh yes?Wonder if you could tell me how much the rent is per month, please?Its $220.I see. Is it fairly near the city center?Yes, its only about a kilometer away.I see. Is it quite handy for the shops?Yes, wi

4、thin a minute or two on foot.Good, what about a garden?Well, you have the use of the garden.I see. And central heating is there?Yes, yes.I see. Erm.how many rooms are there, please?Well, theres one very large bed-sitting room, a kitchen and a bathroomand a small hall.I see. Erm.which floor is it on?

5、On the second floor.Oh, good. Erm. Would it be possible for me to visit it tomorrow, sayabout 5 oclock?Yes, sure.Oh, good. Thats fine. Could you just give me your name, please?Yes. My name is Mary Jones and the address is 41 North Wall Street.Erm.41 North Wall Street. Fine. Thanks ever so much. Ill

6、see youtomorrow at 5 oclock then.Yes. Good.Bye-bye.Goodbye.Task 3Since the 1400s, there had been European trading posts along the coast ofAfrica. But European power rarely stretched very far inland. Then, in the1800s, a number of European nations began to carve almost all of Africainto colonies. The

7、se European nations were Britain, France, Belgium,Germany, Italy and Portugal.In the1880, the French had important settlements and much power innorthern and western Africa. British influence was also growingalong theGold Coast and at the southern tip of Africa. Portuguese control on bothcoasts of so

8、uthern Africa also began to expand. By 1900, almost all ofAfrica was under European control. Only Ethiopia and Liberia were stillindependent nations.At first, there was little to be gained from most of the African colonies.The European nations wanted colonies because they might be valuable inthe fut

9、ure. They also wanted to keep rival nations from getting thecolonies. In the beginning, the ideal colony was simply one thatsupported itself. No nation wanted a colony that would cost much moneyto control.Later, the European nations started to spend more money on theircolonies. More money was spent

10、until all of the territory of each colonywas under theparent control. Mother countryThough the European countries divided Africa into colonies, not manyEuropeans actually went there to work and live. With so few Europeannations could not long control their African colonies.Play a safe cardTask 4The

11、weather seems to be everybodys favorite topic of conversation inBritain. This is not because the weather is particularly exciting, or evenbecause people are particularly interested in it, but people have to talkabout something and the weather serves as a convenient subject. It issomething everybody

12、shares and it is a safe topic, not too personal orintimate.annoyingThe main thing to say about the weather in Britain is that it isunpredictable. For some people this makes it interesting, for others thismakes it irritating, but certainly you can never tell with certainty fromone day to the next wha

13、t the weather is going to be like. Every morningwhen you wake up is a glorious surprise- esp if you have planned to goto the seaside and you find it is pouring with rain or snowing. There areweather forecasts on the radio and TV- and in the newspapers- but onthe wholenobody believes them.Because Bri

14、tish weather is so unpredictable, some visitors get quite thewrong impression. Some people spend two weeks in Britain in the middleof a heat wave. They come back the next year equipped with bikinis, suncream and shorts only to find that it never stops raining and thetemperature never rises above 10

15、degrees. Usu though, the weather ischangeable. A cloudy day is followed by a fine one, a wet day by a dryone; equally of course, you could say that a fine day is followed by acloudy one, a dry day by a wet one. But you have to be an optimist to likeBritish weather.In the past Britain was famous for

16、fogs. The typical picture of Londonwas foggy November morning. Nowadays, though, fog does not seem socommon. Of course it still occurs, esp in winter, but it is now thought ofas rather rare. In fact the big problem with British weather is thateverything comes as a surprise. People think that it is n

17、ever very hot inBritain so they dont put air conditioning in their buildings. Then, whenwe get a fine week in summer, nobody can do any work. Similarly,nobody thinks it is ever really cold; so many houses do not have centralheating. So in winter, if there is a cold spell, everybody shivers andcatche

18、s pneumonia. More than one week without rain causes a drought;more then 1 cm of snow paralyses the entire country. If you set off on adays journey in sunshine you are likely to arrive in a rainstorm. If youdecide to go sunbathing, dont forget to take an umbrella.offspringTask 5About one half of Cana

19、das people are of British descent. The ancestorsof about half of the people in Canada came from England, Ireland, Wales,and Scotland. Today, in all the Canadian provinces except Quebec a largepart of the population is of British descent. Ontario has the largestnumber of British Canadians.Let us pay

20、a visit to Toronto, the capital city of Ontario. As we walkthrough the main business section of this large city, we feel Toronto ismuch like cities in the United States. Most of the products in the shopwindows are also sold in the United States. As we speak with people,however, we find that some of

21、them have strong British accents. Theyhave probably come from the British Isles since World War II.Then we travel northeastward to the city of Quebec. This is a busy,up-to-date city. The people here are dressed about the same as those inother cities of Canada and the United States. As we walk along

22、the streets,however, we find that Quebec seems very different from Toronto. This isbecause Quebec has been influenced more by the French than by theBritish. The city began as a French trading post, and most of the peoplewho settled here came from France.As we enter a bookshop, we notice that the sig

23、n over the door is printedin French and in English. Inside the shop, we hear people speakingFrench. The shopkeeper smiles and tells us that most of his books areprinted in French. More than nine tenths of the people in the city ofQuebec are of French descent. He also tells us that about eight out of

24、 tenpeople who live in the province of Quebec are of French descent. Withpride he says, “TheFrench people were the first white settlers inCanada.Elope primitiveTask 6When Tonys grandfather was young, he worked in Canada every summer.Once he visited the north of Canada, near the North Pole. The Eskim

25、oslive there. This is what Tonys grandfather told him about the Eskimos:Near the North Pole there are two seasons: winter and summer. In winternights are long. For more than two months, you cant see the sun, even atnoon. In summer days are long. For more than two months, the sun neversets, and there

26、 is no night.The Eskimos have warm clothing. They make most of it themselves.They make it from the skins of animals. From skins, they make coats andhats and even boots.In this cold climate, trees cant grow. The Eskimos have to build theirhouses from skins, earth, stone, or snow. When they go hunting

27、, they livein tents of skin. When they move, they take their tents with them. Whenthey are out in a storm and cant get back home, they build houses ofsnow. They leave these snow houses when the storm is over.Life is hard for the Eskimos. common sense general knowledgeTask 7Mia, isnt that a lot of ca

28、ndy youre buying? Why are you buying somuch?For tomorrow night, you know, for the kids. Its Halloween.Oh, yeah! Halloween. Children dress up in costumes.Uh-huh. And they go around the neighborhood collecting candy.Sometimes they get apples or money.What kind of costumes do they wear?Hmm.ghosts costu

29、mes, witch costumes.You know, actually all thesetraditions came from Europe. Halloween used to be a, uh, festival to driveaway evil spirits, but now, you know, its just for fun.Maybe I should buy some candy too. How about these chocolates?Yeah,theyrfine. You have to have,uh, you know, some kind of t

30、reat forthe kids or they may play a trick on you.Oh? What kind of trick?Well, soap on your windows, or they might put toilet paper in your trees.Nothing too serious. Play it by ear congratsHmm.Hey, by the way, have you bought a pumpkin?What?A pumpkin. Most people get one. You can pick one up at the

31、market. Youcan paint a face on it. Or carve a face into it and put a candle inside. Imgoing to get one now. Do you want to come?Sure. Lets go.Task 8Where will business take you, Mr. Keller?Uh, Washington for a few days. And two days in San Francisco. Wellhave about 10 days in between for our vacatio

32、n.We hope to see some of the monuments and national parks in the US.You know, you can see some very interesting monuments in Washington.The Capital Building is impressive.with its large, white dome. Thatswhere the Congress meets.Right.And, of course, youll want to see the White House. You can take a

33、 tourinside.Oh, really? And see the President?Of course! Andyou should see the Lincoln Memorial. That huge statueof Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair.OK.And you cant miss the Washington Monument, built for America s firstpresident. s the tallest structure in the city.Yes, ve seen a picture of it. Y

34、ou know, Richard, that marble column.Uh-huh.Ah.lets see. After Washington, on your way west, you should stop at aMount Rushmore in South Dakota. s something to see!Isnt that the mountain with heads carved into it?Thats right. Who are the presidents in that mountain, anyway?Uh there are four. Lets se

35、e. George Washington is on the left. AbrahamLincoln is on the right. And I believe Thomas Jefferson and TheodoreRoosevelt are in the middle.Mmm. That sounds interesting, t it?Uh-huh.And the Grand Canyon in Arizona is definitely worth a visit. s thenumber one tourist spot for foreign visitors. The canyon is huge-a miledeep. It was carved by the Colorado River over billions of years. And thecolors are fabulous! Supe