视听说Passage2答案打印版

视听说Passage2答案打印版

视听说Passage2

Unit1

In a perfect world, we would all avoid too much credit card debt and would never have to deal with the trouble of being

unable to meet our credit card payment obligations. But this is not a perfect world, and unfortunately, these 1) distressing

situations are the norm for many people.

If you find yourself in this position, or heading there, you should cut your spending now. Don't wait until your situation is

so 2) desperate that you have few options available to you.

Facing the factors that give you the 3) urge to spend money carelessly can be uncomfortable, but if you don't face them,

how will you control your debt and 4) acquire the things you truly want?

One negative aspect of using credit cards instead of cash is that you 5) are totally unaware of the fact that you're spending

real money. The pleasant feelings you experience when you purchase the item 6) are isolated from the unpleasant feelings

of making the payment when you get the credit card statement.

Studies 7) affirm that most people are much less likely to buy when paying with cash as opposed to credit cards. So, try

leaving your credit cards at home, and pay with cash or check.

To really control your spending and your credit card debt, you need to examine what money means to you. Make an effort

to notice how you 8) interact with money and what beliefs and attitudes you have about money. Studies also show that

people with low self-esteem engage themselves in more 9) impulse spending and buying things they don't need.

Remind yourself daily that your worth as a person has nothing to do with how much money you have. Once you 10) are

convinced of this, you will break the psychological barriers that were keeping you from handling your money wisely.

Unit2

Of all the threats to human society, including war, disease and natural disaster, one outranks all others. It is the aging of the

human population. The 1) proportion of people aged 60-plus around the world is 2) estimated to more than double in

2050. By 2047, for the first time in human history, the number of old people is projected to exceed that of children on

the planet.

This change will 3) have profound impacts on human society. One problem concerns the ratio of the number of people of

working age to the number of older people, which is known as the "4) potential support ratio". This index has fallen

from 12 in 1950 to 8 in 2013 and is expected to drop to 4 in 2050. Its decline means that the burden on the young, 5)

economically and socially, will rise accordingly. This is because older people rely on the young, not only for care and

support but also for the economic productivity that ensures 6) pensions can be paid and health and social costs met.

A variety of issues in other areas such as family composition, the transfer of property, taxation and housing may 7)

originate from the population "age-quake", too. For instance, family ties have been weakened by increased mobility and

rising divorce, and hence the demand for 8) residential and nursing homes will increase since more older people will need

to live in an institution or elder care center.

No matter what the future reality will be, the aging of the human population certainly 9) poses a challenge to policy

makers, economists and health care specialists around the world. This suggests that the human society will need to 10)

be transformed into a structure that has the ability and resources to address the diverse needs of older people.

Unit3

A solution may be at hand for holidaymakers who are struggling to find quiet, out-of-the-way places to go. For those

who really want to get away from the crowded and much-traveled 1) resorts, they now find it possible because a new

holiday destination has 2) sprung up – Antarctica. However, this new hotspot, or freezing zone, might only be for those

who are fabulously rich if a new policy gets under way. Tourism on Antarctica has been increasing 3) dramatically, from

a few thousand people in 1985 to more than 40,000 in 2007. The growing numbers are 4) having an adverse effect on the

untouched environment of the South Pole. To 5) combat this, researchers from Holland's Maastricht University have

come up with a sensible solution: Limit the number of tourists allowed to visit and hawk the vacations to those who are

determined to go and are willing to offer higher amounts of money than others for the trip.

Many environmental protection agencies agree that there is a need to protect the frozen 6) wilderness from the damage

created by modern tourism. Antarctica is the last 7) unspoiled place on earth. It has a very delicate ecosystem that could

be easily upset by 8) streams of tourists landing in airplanes and using skimobiles. A difficulty exists because Antarctica

is not a country and therefore has no government to pass laws or 9) guidelines to control the number of visitors. The

Maastricht University team's proposal to 10) auction off a fixed number of tourist places seems a workable solution. It

视听说Passage2答案打印版

would limit the number of visitors and therefore contain the amount of environmental damage, and the money would be

used to protect Antarctica's future.

Unit4

In recent years, doctors have focused on the growing rate of diabetes among children and young people. But the most

common kind of diabetes, type II, is more 1) prevalent as people grow older and gain more weight. Before you know it,

there is more fat around the waist and hips than you remembered. The statistics are 2) scary enough to make you want to

stop eating immediately.

The World Health Organization says by 2015, more than two billion adults will be overweight and 700 million will 3) be

classified as obese. Being overweight or obese is an expanding problem in many countries. Less physical activity and

foods high in fat and sugar are considered as causes for this global 4) epidemic.

Some researchers studied how body composition, the 5) ratio of lean tissue to fat, and increased weight affected the risk of

diabetes in more than 4,000 adults, aged 65 and older.

At the beginning of the study, none of the participants had been 6) diagnosed with diabetes. Researchers assess the

relationship between being overweight and the disease through 7) keeping track of their body mass index.

According to researchers, even among adults over the age of 75, having a higher body mass index 8) was still associated

with a considerably higher risk of diabetes. Men who were obese had a five and a half times higher risk of diabetes than

those who were just overweight. For women, the risk was about three and a half times higher.

As hard as it might be, making sure your weight stays at a healthy level is the only way to keep the risk of diabetes down.

The results 9) affirm the importance of weight control during the middle and later stages of life 10) in terms of reducing

diabetes risks. The study has sent a warning signal to those who don't think that there is much connection between their

waists and their health.

Unit5

Each January, the entertainment community and film fans around the world turn their attention to the Academy Awards,

which are officially known as the Oscars. Interest and 1) anticipation builds to a fevered pitch leading up to the Oscar

telecast in February, when hundreds of millions of film lovers tune in to watch the 2) glamorous ceremony and learn whom

the highest honors in filmmaking will 3) be conferred upon.

The Oscars reward the greatest cinema achievements of the previous year. There are up to 25 categories of awards for

outstanding individual or 4) collective efforts. In each category, there are as many as five nominees determined by

members of the relevant Academy branch. For instance, only film editors may 5) nominate for the Achievement in Film

Editing Award. There are two categories standing as 6) exceptions to this rule, namely the Best Picture category, for which

nominees are selected by the entire membership, and the Best Foreign Language films, which are chosen by a committee

of members drawn from all branches.

The members of the Academy are some of the world's most 7) accomplished motion picture artists and professionals.

There are roughly 6,000 members, who vote for the Oscars using secret ballots. The results of the vote are kept in 8)

absolute secrecy until the TV presenters open the envelopes and reveal the 9) recipients on live television. In addition to

the regular annual awards presented by the membership, the Board of Governors, which is the governing body of the

Academy, 10) is entitled to grant Scientific and Technical Awards, Special Achievement Awards and some other honors.

As one of the highest honors in the film industry, the Oscars acknowledge excellence in filmmaking and carry great

significance in the world of film.

Unit6

British tabloids provide their readers with an exciting mixture of gossip, entertainment and news. They 1) differentiate

themselves from mainstream broadsheets by giving prominence to celebrities, sports and crime stories.

No matter how many people 2) frown upon tabloid newspapers, it is a fact that the tabloids are popular and successful.

The public has a demand for 3) concise news dose with minimum text and eye-catching pictures, and the tabloids are

giving the readers just that. Here are some of the reasons why the British tabloids continue to enjoy popularity and

success.

First of all, the British tabloids 4) combat the new media wisely. Print media all over the world is facing 5) severe

competition from the new media, be it the Internet or television, and no one 6) is geared up for the competition better

than the tabloids. Most of the British tabloids have 7) embraced the new media instead of competing with them and hence

have created e-versions or online editions of their daily tabloid editions.

视听说Passage2答案打印版

Second, the British tabloids are getting the format right. They have maintained a 8) compact format, which is rather

convenient for the reader to pick up, read and carry. The text is short and 9) is supplemented with eye-catching pictures.

The entire format stresses more on the visual appeal rather than the textual content.

The British tabloids are proud of being what they are and accept that they are profit driven and aim for good business. The

readers want 10) sensational news, and the tabloids have it. They do not compete with the serious newspapers, but rather

carve a special market for themselves. In this way, they have earned a readership segment that is large enough to keep

them going in the business.

Unit7

It is common knowledge that drug abuse leads to harmful consequences. Why then do people, particularly youngsters,

continue to use drugs? Psychologists claim that there are three basic 1) motivations that influence people to take drugs:

curiosity, stress and environmental factors. First, young people take drugs because they are curious, so they simply want

to have a try. But the 2) hazard is that they don't know taking seemingly innocent drugs can 3) develop an appetite for

stronger drugs later on. Secondly, young people take drugs because they are frustrated due to problems 4) associated

with parents, school or the opposite sex. They want to escape from the stress caused by all these problems. Thirdly, the

environment can also 5) contribute to drug-taking. If, for instance, a youngster belongs to a community, school, or peer

group where other youngsters take drugs, he or she may soon be tempted to 6) follow suit, for fear of exclusion or

non-acceptance.

There is a growing 7) consensus among psychologists about the best possible approach to the problem of youngsters'

addiction to drugs. They believe that school 8) authorities and social workers should work together to provide young

people with much needed education on the dangers of drug abuse. Moreover, parents can do a great job in leading their

children away from drugs by showing them attention, concern and love. Parents who always scream at their children and

keep talking about their 9) inadequacies are regarded as likely drug pushers. A warm and happy family, where children get

maximum encouragement and support, is most powerful against the attack of drugs. It is no 10) exaggeration to say that a

happy home is a drug-free home.

Unit8

Almost forgotten these days, Mollie Panter-Downes' work provides a vivid impression of life in the Second World War.

A Londoner by birth, Mollie Panter-Downes wrote for The New Yorker for about 50 years. In the 1930s, she sold the

magazine a few poems, some short stories, and a piece about Jewish 1) refugee children coming to England. In 1939, with

war approaching, Harold Ross, the editor of the magazine, was 2) desperate to find a London correspondent, and his

fiction editor suggested Panter-Downes.

Thereafter, she started to write for The New Yorker, specifically for a column 3) entitled "Letter from London" Weekly or

fortnightly, Panter-Downes would put together a letter of about 1,500 words and had it cabled to New York. There it

needed almost no editing because her writing was always concise.

American readers 4) became informed of the war in England through Panter-Downes' letters. They read of the evacuation

of pets as well as children, and the difficulties people 5) are confronted with, not just in terms of losses of ships and

territory but also in terms of no food and hot-water bottles. The British temper found a splendid 6) spokesperson in

Panter-Downes. She also desired to give voice to the people of all classes, and her willingness to 7) seek out working-class

Londoners was evident in a report about a dustman's family in 1944.

Panter-Downes went on writing "Letter from London" into the 1980s. She wrote reporter pieces and 8) profiles on such

subjects as the British Museum and novelist E. M. Forster. Several of her books, for example Ooty Preserved (1967) and At

the Pines (1971), largely appeared in The New Yorker. She 9) stayed loyal to the magazine for decades until 1985, not long

after it was acquired by Samuel I. Newhouse, Jr. Today Panter-Downes is 10) virtually unknown in Britain. It seems a

terrible shame to risk losing a writer who makes accurate yet subtle observations about human beings and how they deal

with life.