中级听力听写文本

Lesson 1

The Knowledge

Becoming a London taxi driver isn't easy. In order to obtain a licence to drive

a taxi in London, candidates have to pass a detailed examination. They have to learn

not only the streets, landmarks and hotels, but also the quickest way to get there.

This is called 'The Knowledge' by London cab drivers and it can take years of study

and practice to get 'The Knowledge'. Candidates are examined not only on the quickest

routes but also on the quickest routes at different times of the day. People who

want to pass the examination spend much of their free time driving or even cycling

around London, studying maps and learning the huge street directory by heart.

The Underground

Travelling on the London underground (the 'tube') presents few difficulties

for visitors because of the clear colour-coded maps. It is always useful to have

plenty of spare change with you because there are often long queues at the larger

stations. If you have enough change you can buy your ticket from a machine. You will

find signs which list the stations in alphabetical order, with the correct fares,

near the machines. There are automatic barriers which are operated by the tickets.

You should keep the ticket, because it is checked at the destination.

Lesson 2

The Foolish Frog

Once upon a time a big, fat frog lived in a tiny shallow pond. He knew every

plant and stone in it, and he could swim across it easily. He was the biggest creature

in the pond, so he was very important. When he croaked, the water snails listened

politely. And the water beetles always swam behind him. He was very happy there.

One day, while he was catching flies, a pretty dragon fly passed by. 'You're

a very fine frog,' she sang, 'but why don't you live in a bigger pond? Come to my

pond. You'll find a lot of frogs there. You'll meet some fine fish, and you'll see

the dangerous ducks. And you must see our lovely water lilies. Life in a large pond

is wonderful!'

'Perhaps it is rather dull here,' thought the foolish frog. So he hopped after

the dragon fly.

But he didn't like the big, deep pond. It was full of strange plants. The water

snails were rude to him, and he was afraid of the ducks. The fish didn't like him,

and he was the smallest frog there. He was lonely and unhappy.

He sat on a water lily leaf and croaked sadly to himself, 'I don't like it

here. I think I'll go home tomorrow.'

But a hungry heron flew down and swallowed him up for supper.

Lesson 3

Sleep

It's clear that everyone needs to sleep. Most people rarely think about how

and why they sleep, however. We know that if we sleep well, we feel rested. If we

don't sleep enough, we often feel tired and irritable. It seems there are two purposes

of sleep: physical rest and emotional or psychological rest. We need to rest our

bodies and our minds. Both are important in order for us to be healthy. Each night

we alternate between two kinds of sleep: active sleep and passive sleep. The passive

sleep gives our body the rest that's needed and prepares us for active sleep, in

which dreaming occurs.

Throughout the night, people alternate between passive and active sleep. The

brain rests, then it becomes active, then dreaming occurs. The cycle is repeated:

the brain rests, then it becomes active, then dreaming occurs. This cycle is repeated

several times throughout the night. During eight hours of sleep, people dream for

a total of one and half hours on the average.

Lesson 4

Books Belong to the Past

Sir,

I visited my old school yesterday. It hasn't changed in thirty years. The

pupils were sitting in the same desks and reading the same books. When are schools

going to move into the modern world? Books belong to the past. In our homes radio

and television bring us knowledge of the world. We can see and hear the truth for

ourselves. If we want entertainment most of us prefer a modern film to a classical

novel. In the business world computers store information, so that we no longer need

encyclopaedias and dictionaries. But in the schools teachers and pupils still use

books. There should be a radio and television set in every classroom, and a library

of tapes and records in every school. The children of today will rarely open a book

when they leave school. The children of tomorrow won't need to read and write at

all.

Lesson 5

The School Holidays Are Too Long

Today the children of this country have at last returned to work. After two

months' holiday pupils have started a new term. How many adults get such long holidays?

Two to four weeks in the summer and public holidays—that's all the working man gets.

As for the average woman, she's lucky to get a holiday at all. Children don't need

such long holidays. In term-time they start work later and finish earlier than anyone

else.

In the holidays most of them get bored, and some get into trouble. What a waste!

If their overworked parents were given more free time instead, everyone would be

happier.

This isn't just a national problem either—it's worldwide. Dates may be

different from country to country, but the pattern's the same. Why should children

do half as much work and get twice as much holiday as their parents?

Lesson 6

Sign Language

Deaf people, people who can't hear, are still able to communicate quite well

with a special language. It's called sign language. The speaker of sign language

uses hand gestures in order to communicate. Basic sign language has been used for

a long, long time, but sign language wasn't really developed until about 250 years

ago. In the middle of the 1700s a Frenchman named Epee developed sign language. Epee

was able to speak and hear, but he worked during most of his life as a teacher of

deaf people in France. Epee developed a large number of vocabulary words for sign

language. Epee taught these words to his deaf students. Epee's system used mostly

picture image signs. We call them picture image signs because the signs create a

picture. For example, the sign for sleep is to put both hands together, and then

to place the hands flat against the right side of your face, and then to lower your

head slightly to the right. This action was meant to show the position of sleep.

So we call it a picture image sign.

Lesson 7

Credit Cards

Many businesses, such as department stores, restaurants, hotels and airline

companies, use a credit system for selling their products and services. In a credit

system, the seller agrees to sell something to the buyer without immediately

receiving cash. The buyer receives the goods or services immediately and promises

to pay for them later. This "buy-now-pay-later" credit system is quite old. People

have been buying things on credit for centuries. But nowadays people use credit cards.

There are two types of credit cards. One type is issued directly by a store to a

customer. Many large department stores issue credit cards to their customers. The

store credit card can be used to make purchases only at a particular store. The other

kind of credit card is issued by a credit company. Credit cards from credit companies

can be used to buy things almost anywhere. If you have a major credit card, you can

buy airplane tickets, stay at hotels, and eat at restaurants with it. Most large

credit companies are connected to large banks. So if you want a credit card from

a credit company, you generally have to make an application at a bank. After an

applicant receives a credit card, he or she can make purchases, using the card.

Lesson 8

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Once upon a time there was a very naughty shepherd boy. He often fell asleep

while he was watching his sheep. And he told lies. The villagers shook their heads

and said, 'That boy will come to a bad end.'

One day, when he was feeling very bored, the boy decided to play a practical

joke on the villagers. He ran down the hill. 'Wolf, wolf!' he cried. 'Help, come

quickly. Wolf!' All the villagers seized their spears and ran to help him. But there

was no wolf. 'He heard you,' the naughty boy lied, 'and ran away.' When everyone

had gone, he started to laugh.

Three weeks later, when he was feeling very bored indeed, he decided to play

the same trick again. 'Wolf, wolf!' he shouted. 'Help, come quickly. Wolf!' Most

of the villagers hurried to help him. This time the boy laughed at them. 'Ha, ha.

There wasn't a wolf,' he said. 'What a good joke!' The villagers were very angry.

'Lies are not jokes,' they said.

Two days later the boy woke up suddenly. He had fallen asleep in the afternoon

sun. What was that big dark animal coming towards his flock? Suddenly it seized a

lamb. 'Wolf!' screamed the boy. 'Wolf. Help, come quickly. Wolf!' But none of the

villagers came to help him. He screamed again. The wolf heard him and licked its

lips. 'I like lamb,' it thought, 'but shepherd boy tastes much nicer.'

When the shepherd boy didn't come home that night, some of the villagers went

to look for him. They found a few bones.

Lesson 9

How to Make Wine

This is how wine is made in our winery. After the grapes are picked in late

summer, they are pressed so that all the juice runs out. Then the juice is separated

from the skins and pips and it is put into large containers and left to ferment.

Later, it is put into smaller containers. Then it is left for about a year when it

is put into bottles. If it is a good wine, the bottles are kept for several years

but the cheaper wines are sold immediately.

Alan Simpson

The mystery of the man found wandering in the city centre has now been solved.

The man, whose name is now known to be Alan Simpson, is a medical student. Mr. Simpson

was taking part in an experiment conducted by the university department of psychology,

when he walked away, unnoticed by the staff supervising the experiment. He has now

regained his memory, and has left hospital. Several people, including his sister,

April Simpson, telephoned the police to identify Mr. Simpson after seeing his picture

in the press.

Lesson 10

Voice Analysis

If we want to measure voice features very accurately, we can use a voice

analyser. A voice analyser can show four characteristics of a speaker's voice. No

two speakers' voices are alike. To get a voice sample, you have to speak into the

voice analyser. The voice analyser is connected to a computer. From just a few

sentences of normal speech, the computer can show four types of information about

your voice. It will show nasalization, loudness, frequency and length of

articulation. The first element, nasalization, refers to how much air normally goes

through your nose when you talk. The second feature of voice difference is loudness.

Loudness is measured in decibels. The number of decibels in speaking is determined

by the force of air that comes from the lungs. The third feature of voice variation

is frequency. By frequency we mean the highness or lowness of sounds. The frequency

of sound waves is measured in cycles per second. Each sound of a language will produce

a different frequency. The final point of voice analysis concerns the length of

articulation for each sound. This time length is measured in small fractions of a

second. From all four of these voice features—length of articulation, frequency,

loudness and nasalization—the voice analyser can give an exact picture of a person's

voice.

Lesson 11

Body Positions

People often show their feelings by the body positions they adopt. These can

contradict what you are saying, especially when you are trying to disguise the way

you feel. For example, a very common defensive position, assumed when people feel

threatened in some way, is to put your arm or arms across your body. This is a way

of shielding yourself from a threatening situation. This shielding action can be

disguised as adjusting one's cuff or watchstrap. Leaning back in your chair

especially with your arms folded is not only defensive, it's also a way of showing

your disapproval, of a need to distance yourself from the rest of the company.

A position which betrays an aggressive attitude is to avoid looking directly

at the person you are speaking to. On the other hand, approval and desire to cooperate

are shown by copying the position of the person you are speaking to. This shows that

you agree or are willing to agree with someone. The position of one's feet also often

shows the direction of people's thoughts, for example, feet or a foot pointing

towards the door can indicate that a person wishes to leave the room. The direction

in which your foot points can also show which of the people in the room you feel

most sympathetic towards, even when you are not speaking directly to that person.

Lesson 12

Acupuncture

There are many forms of alternative medicine which are used in the Western

world today. One of the most famous of these is acupuncture, which is a very old

form of treatment from China. It is still widely used in China today, where it is

said to cure many illnesses, including tonsillitis, arthritis, bronchitis,

rheumatism and flu. The Chinese believe that there are special energy lines through

the body and that the body's energy runs through these lines. When a person is ill

the energy in his or her body does not run as well as normal, perhaps because it

is weaker or it is blocked in some way. The Chinese believe that if you put very

fine needles into the energy line, this helps the energy to return to normal. In

this way the body can help itself to get better.

The acupuncturist puts the needles into special places along the energy line

and some of these places can be a long way from the place where the body is ill.

For example it is possible to treat a bad headache by putting needles into certain

places on the foot. It may surprise you to know that it does not hurt when the

acupuncturist puts the needles into your body. People who have had acupuncture say

that they felt nothing or hardly anything. Western doctors at first did not believe

that acupuncture could work. Now they see that it not only can work but that it does

work. How and why does it work? No one has been able to explain this. It is one of

nature's mysteries.