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《英语听力入门3000》第四册原文及答案

Unit1

Part I

Speaker 1> not remember very much about childhood / not very close / not talk very much

Speaker 2 > get on very well with mum / talk very openly

Speaker 3 >(mum) always tell me to do this and do that / (father) let me do what I want

Speaker 4-> fond memories of childhood / seemingly spoil us

Tape script:

1. I don't remember very much about my childhood, actually. My wife's always asking me "When you were a boy, did you use to... "and I reply "I don't know, I can't remember." We didn't ... we didn't use to talk very much, we weren't very close, or if we were, we didn't show it. I remember I used to have my hair cut every Friday. My father and I would go together. I had the shortest hair in the school. When they'd finished cutting it, they'd burn the ends with a sort of candle. Oh I'll never forget that smell.

2. I got on very well with my mother. I used to tell her everything- or nearly everything -- and she'd talk to me very openly too. Sometimes she'd say to me "Don't go to school today. Stay with me." And we'd go out shopping or something like that.

3. I'm not a very tidy person, but my mother's very house-proud, so she's always telling me to pick things up and put them away, and do this and do that. She goes on for hours about "Cleanliness is next to godliness." My father isn't like that at all. He lets me do what I want. I think he's learned not to pay attention.

4. I have very fond memories of my childhood. To me it represented security. We used to do a lot together as a family. I remember walks, and picnics, and going for rides on a Sunday afternoon. Every Friday, when my father came home from work, he had a treat for each of us. My mother used to say he was spoiling us, but why not? It didn't do us any harm.

Part III Family

The Family

I. Functions of family

A. Providing necessities of life

B. Offering affectionate joys

C. Raising children to adulthood

D. Giving protection in times of emergency

II Patterns of family

A. Extended family -- uncles, aunts, cousins and in-laws

B. Nuclear family -- a husband, wife and their children

C. Polygamous household- a husband, several wives and their children

D. Divided residence -- husband and wife living separately with children raised by mother's brother

E. Nayar way of living -- brothers and sisters and sisters' children

III Factors influencing family structure

A. Economic conditions

e.g. No aid from society or state -- extended family

B. Industrialization and urbanization

e.g. Creation of many specialized jobs -- nuclear family

C. Inheritance customs

e.g. 1. Property inherited by eldest son

2. Property inherited by all of sons

Tapescript:

Throughout history the basic unit of almost every human society has been the family. The members of the family live together under the same roof, they share the economic burdens of life as well as its affectionate joys, and it is the family which has primary responsibility for the important task of raising children to adulthood.

The family is not a uniform concept in all societies. In many places it is an extended group which includes uncles, aunts, cousins and in-laws. The family head usually has considerable influence in arranging marriages, selecting careers and determining all important moves and purchases by any member of the family. Particularly in conditions where society or the state does not give aid and where consequently the responsibilities of the family are greater, this larger group provides better protection in times of economic or other emergency.

In many other societies, including most industrialized ones, the "nuclear family" is the basic social unit. This term refers to a husband and wife united through marriage and their dependent children, whether natural or adopted. Industrialization and urbanization create many specialized jobs which tend to scatter family members among different employers and thus to separate residences as soon as they become wage earners. The small family, which has only one -- or if the wife works also, two -employed members, is better able to adapt to rapid change and to move when the job moves.

The nuclear family is almost universal and the nuclear group of father, mother and their children is recognized even when it is part of an extended family. There are cases, however, which strain the definition. Polygamy, for example, brings several wives and their children into the picture. But polygamous households are not common in any society. More difficult to explain are the cases of divided residence. Among the Ashanti people of Africa, where the wife and husband do not reside together, the child gets training and affection from the mother's brother and learns that his mother's husband is "not his family." An even stranger situation existed with the Nayar of India before being changed by outside influence. There the household consisted of brothers and sisters and the sisters' children. The sisters were not married and the brothers simply took care of whatever children their sisters had.

Inheritance customs also have an influence on the structure of the family. In England the farm was passed on to the eldest son in order to keep the family land intact. Younger sons had to go out and start a new farm or join the army or move to town and take up a trade. They provided a large part of the labor supply during England's industrialization process. In many areas of the European continent all of the sons shared equally in the inheritance and more extended households were common.

Although the exact form varies from place to place and time to time, we can say that the family is the original and the most natural social group. The ties we develop by long intimate association with the small group of persons who are biologically related to us cannot be matched in any of the forms of communal living which are tried every now and then.

Unit 2

Part I Warming up

Tapescript:

1. Organized activity on behalf of women's rights began in the mid 1800s, when both by law and by custom, women were considered "non-persons."

2. In the early tg00s, important changes occurred in the social and political climate in America as a result of World War I.

3. In 1920 after World War t, American women gained the right to vote.

4. During World War II, large numbers of women entered the job market to do the jobs of the men who had been drafted into military service.

5. Today, women make up 1.5% of the 200,000 professional firefighters in the U. S., and they make up 4% of airline pilots and navigators.

6. The Small Business Administration predicts that women will own nearly 40% (others Say half) of all small businesses in the U.S. by the year 2000.

7. From 1980 to 1988, the number of business men and women-- entrepreneurs -- increased 56% overall, but during that period, the number of female entrepreneurs grew 82%.

8. In 1969 in the U. S., only 4% of the state lawmakers were women. By 1993, this number had grown by 500%, and 20.4% of state legislators were women.

9. Today, only 10% of American families have the traditional working father and the mother who stays home to take care of the children.

10. The rate of women's participation in the workforce rose from 27% in 1940' to 44% in 1985.

Speakers Key words

Lynne friends / child-free / respect for their choice / not my

opinion / had to have children / don't know why

Irene daughter the same / eager / get married / have children

/ thinking about / 8 or 9 years old / observe me as a

mother / other mothers

Barbara Yes, that's how I was.

Tapescript.

L-- Lynne I-- Irene B--Barbara

L.. I have many, many friends who have opted for a child-free life. I have a great deal of respect for their choice. But therein lies the key. It was their choice. Infertility was not my choice. Is a woman less of a woman without children? Absolutely not in my opinion, but I had to have children. I don't know why. People have asked us, y’know, "Well what was that just made you so obsessed and compelled and driven?" I don't know. I don't... I don't know that I'll ever know. All I know is I had to have children.

I. Well, my daughter, interestingly enough, is the same way. She's very eager as soon as she finishes law school to get married and have children. And we talked about this and she said, "Mom, you don't understand. I've been thinking about having children since I was eight or nine years old."

1. The difference between men and women when they surf the Internet according to the study conducted by Media Matricks and Jupiter Communications:

Women: as a tool

Men: tend to spend more time playing around

2. The different reasons why women use the web:

Tapescript:

For the first time ever the number of women on the web has surpassed the number of men, pushing the huge growth of females between the ages of 12 and 17.

Music websites like https://www.wendangku.net/doc/759211937.html, are attracting teen girls and so are sites focused on fashion and shopping. An unscientific survey of teens, mostly girls attending Oakland Technical High School in Oakland, California, shows teens are using the World Wide Web for many reasons.

F. My name is Fi and I'm 16. I check my email on the net and I chat sometimes. That's all I did.

P: My name is Sonia Fay Phillips. I'm 17 years old. Mostly I use the Internet for, uh, look(ing) up for my college information or check my email or chat. I use.., mostly use it for resources and studying because I don't have time for play and stuff.

M: My name is Lucien Morrison. I'm 17. And I use the Internet to chat on, to get codes for play station games, to check my email and to play games on.

M: I'm Meesha. I'm 14 years old. I usually just search on the web, just anything I'm looking for or just search because I'm bored or anything like that.

Summer school students attending Oakland Technical High School in Oakland, California.

The Internet study released today conducted by Media Matricks and Jupiter Communications shows that men and women use the web differently. Women use it as a tool. Men tend to spend more time online playing around.

Among the other most popular sites reported for women on the web? for ages 35 to 44: https://www.wendangku.net/doc/759211937.html, and https://www.wendangku.net/doc/759211937.html,; for ages 55 and up they've been posting the second biggest jump in usage: https://www.wendangku.net/doc/759211937.html, and genealogy, com.

Part II Working mothers

1. According to Beth, which do more and more women choose, to work or to have a child? both / not be superwoman

2. According to some research, how important is a mother's role?

more important in some regards than we had thought / bonding process / lasts longer

3. What happens to children if they are separated too early from their parents? often go into shock

4. Why do people need concrete support of community? parents not close by / brothers and sisters in another state or country

5. Does Beth think it's necessary for a mother to stay home full time to be together with her children? important but not necessary / if not inclined

6. What is the wonderful trait that some working mothers have?

a. the ability to be attentive to multiple demands

b. the ability to think about more than one thing at a time

Tapescript:

B -- Beth I -- Irene

B. It's a big challenge for mothers today, because oftentimes mothers feel like it's an either / or proposition that they have to work or have a child. And the reality is more and more women are choosing to do both, and also not be superwomen, so it's a tricky.., it's a tricky line to balance. But I do have a quote that says, "To choose to have a child is to choose forever to have your heart walk outside of your body," which means, just as we've been talking about, that you are constantly attached to your child, no matter how old they get, but you will learn to walk those lines. And you will learn to create balance and harmony in your life, and you'll realize that not everything you do is going to send your child to a therapist. And that's wonderful.

I. Yes, yes. I've just always felt that if you loved them hard enough, and that you had ... your heart kind of in the right place, which obviously is outside your own body, that there was very little that ... that you could do wrong. I mean you ...

B. Yes. I think that's true. I think if you build a solid foundation with your child, especially in the early years, and...

I. How early are we talking "early years"? I mean, by what point is the child's personality formed already?

B. Well, you know there's a lot of information on that that definitely is conflicting. But there are new studies coming out that are just fascinating about how important, extremely important it is for a child to be with his / her mother until they're close to four years old. Now, that doesn't mean consistently. I'm not advocating that a mother stay home full time if she's not so inclined. But there's definite research that's coming out saying that, y'know, a mother's role is more important in some regards than we had thought, and that the bonding process lasts quite a bit longer. In fact, children go into shock oftentimes if they are separated too early. And that's why I think a lot of us are fighting for parental leave and family leave, that allows both mother and father to have time with their children hopefully within the first two years, not just the first few months.

People need concrete support, and especially nowadays, I did write another meditation about people needing the support of community because nowadays we oftentimes don't have our parents close by, or brothers and sisters live in another state or even in another country. And so especially when you come home for the first few months or the first few years, you may feel extremely isolated if you can't hook up with a co-op, a babysitting co-op, or a mother's group ... And this is just a wonderful way to remind mothers that we have what Mary Catherine Bateson calls peripheral vision: the ability to be attentive to multiple demands and to think about more than one thing at a time. And I think that's a very valuable trait that mothers do have. And sometimes we think of ourselves as being scattered and airheads because of it, and that's been oftentimes how we've been portrayed, but this is a wonderful, wonderful trait that mothers develop especially in the first few years.

I: Well, we have eyes in the backs of our heads, right?

B. Exactly.

I. But we are also able to keep lots of balloons in the air, which means that what we do is, you get up in the morning and you say, "I need to do this, this, this, this, and I need to go to work, and what's for dinner besides.”

B. Exactly.

I, You get it all in order before you leave the house in the morning.

B. Right, and you can take your needs into account as well as the needs of many other individuals, which is extremely important in this day and age. I mean we no longer can afford ecologically to have a one-track mind. We can no longer afford it in the family, in the work place, and I think that's something that women very much have to offer.

I. I think that the "me" generation is over.

Unit 3

Part I Warming up

Job Key words

Speaker 1

Psychologist listening / talk / problems / patients

/ progress / turn life around

Speaker 2

Camp counselor kids / problems / win trust / open up /develop confidence & self-worth / summer Speaker 3

Firefighter burning / smoke / get people out /

dangerous

Tapescript:

1. Psychologist

Maybe the biggest challenge for me is listening to people talk about all their problems. At the end of the day, I'm usually pretty worn out. At times, it can be depressing as well. On the other hand, I do see patients making real progress. It's great to see someone really turn their life around and get on top of a problem that they thought they never could deal with.

2. Camp counselor

As a camp counselor, it's difficult to find a way to get through to kids with problems and win their trust. Sometimes kids are very suspicious and find it hard to trust an adult -- even a young adult. So getting them to open up is the hardest part. Once you've done that, they almost become different people. One of the things I find most rewarding is seeing kids develop confidence and a sense of self-worth. It's especially great to see that happen in a kid who started out the summer with low self-esteem.

3. Firefighter

It sounds pretty obvious, but in my job, the biggest challenge is going into a burning building that's full of smoke when you can barely see a few inches in front of you. It's really difficult -- especially when you know there are people in there, and it's your job to get them out. Once you do get someone out safely, then you feel really great and you forget about how dangerous the work is.

Speaker 1 (Justin)

forming his own music group

recording album / making music video

breaking into music scene in a big way

Speaker 2(Sophia)

being a doctor

working first overseas then back home

in a hospital

Speaker 3 (Rachel)

being a model

starting her own modeling agency

Tapescript:

1. Justin

What do I hope I'll have achieved by the time I'm 30? Well, I hope I'll have made a successful career in the music industry. Right now, I play in a band and I'd love to be able to do that professionally. I plan to form a group of my own in a few years. Once we get known, we'll record an album- and make music videos, of course- and try to break into the music scene in a big way.

I plan to be a doctor. When I've graduated from med school and finished with my interning, I want to work overseas for a few years. I'll probably work in a developing country with an organization like UNICEF. After that, I'll come back home and work in a hospital. I don't really care if I make a lot of money or not, but I do want to work somewhere where I feel I can make a difference.

3. Rachel

I'm planning to be a model. I've already had some modeling experience, and after I graduate, I'm going to see if I can get a job with an agency in New York or Los Angeles. I'll probably work as a model for ten years or so, and then I hope to start a modeling agency of my own.

Part II Americans at Work

Americans at Work

I. Introduction

II American workforce

A. Distributions

B. Working women

1. Working females aged 16 and over -- 58%

2. Mothers with children under 18 -- 67%

III. Work ethic

A. Definition of strong work ethic

B. Most Americans -- with a strong work ethic

C. Reason for not working harder -- not feeling they will benefit from the work

Tapescript.

The topic of work in the United States is an interesting one because the statistics do not always agree with popular general impressions about American workers and the American economy. I will try to reconcile these impressions with what we know from some recent statistics. To get you warmed up, let me give you a few questions to think about before I start the first point of our lecture today: Do you think most Americans work in factories that produce goods for domestic use and exportation? Do you think most American women are housewives, or do most of them work outside the home? Do you think people in the United States work hard? If time permits, I'll deal with each of these points in today's lecture.

So, then, where do most people in the United States work? If you thought in the manufacturing sector, in other words in factories, you were wrong. It is true that the United States is, and is seen as, a strong industrial power, but the statistics reveal that another branch of the economy is even stronger than manufacturing. Instead of dealing with the large figures required when discussing a total U.S. workforce of 125 million people, let's take a look at 100 hypothetical workers and See where they're employed. Of those 100 workers, 16 work in manufacturing, that is, in producing goods. Another 4 work in construction, and 3 work in agriculture, forestry, and fishing. And 1 out of 100 workers is employed in mining. You might find the figures for manufacturing and agriculture surprisingly low, and in a sense they are. The United States is in fact a leading producer of manufactured goods and agricultural products in the world; however, a surprisingly small number of workers, 16 out of'100 for manufacturing, and only 2 per hundred for agriculture alone, is responsible for this output. The above figures account for 24 of the 100 hypothetical workers we started with. Where do the other 76 work?

Well, a full 76 are employed in what are called the service industries. By the way, the term industry often applies purely to production, or manufacturing. Today, however, I will use industry in its more general sense, any general business activity. Service industries, then, include a wide variety of businesses that provide services rather than produce goods. You know the difference between goods and services, don't you?

Let's take a look at the different sectors of the service industries now. Of 76'workers in the service industries, 25 are employed in community, social, and personal services. Community, social, and

processing companies, restaurants, repair shops, engineering companies, and private research facilities. The next largest sector in the service industries, wholesale and retail trade, employs 23 of the 76 people. Wholesale trade involves purchases directly from the producer, while retail trade is more familiar to us. purchases from department stores, supermarkets, automobile dealerships, and so on.

The next largest sector in the service industries, the government, employs 17 of those 100 hypothetical workers we started with. The best-known government workers are teachers, police, and postal workers, but this sector also includes government officials and administrators, of course. The next sector is finance, insurance,' and real estate, in other words, banks and the stock market, some 5,500 insurance companies, and companies involved in the buying and selling of property. Six of every 100 workers are employed in finance, insurance, and real estate. The last service sector is transportation, communication, and utilities. What does the phrase "transportation, communication, and utilities" make you think of? If you thought of airlines, roads, and railroads for transportation, you are correct. Communication, of course, includes newspapers, magazines, and books as well as TV and radio broadcasting. And utilities, as you probably know, are companies that provide us with gas, water, and electricity. In the United States, these jobs are not part of the government services as they are in many countries; transportation, communication, and utilities are provided by private companies and account for 5 of the 100 workers we began with. Before we leave our first topic, let's check to make sure you have all the figures for the 76 workers in the service industries; 25 in community, social, and personal services; 23 in wholesale and retail trade; 17 in government; 6 in finance, insurance, and real estate; and last, 5 in transportation, communication, and utilities.

Before I discuss the work ethic, I'd like to make a slight digression and get back to the question of working women. Would you be surprised if I said that most of the female population aged 16 and over work? As a matter of fact, the actual figure is 58 percent. The figure for mothers with children under 18 years of age is even higher. 67 percent. That two thirds of mothers are employed certainly has an economic impact on the country and no doubt influences to some extent the character of the American family. But we'll look at that in a later lecture.

Now that we've taken care of that digression, let's talk about our last topic: the work ethic. I asked You earlier if you felt people in the United States worked hard. Well, I'm not sure what your opinion is, but a strong work ethic means that workers take their work seriously. Workers with a strong work ethic feel an obligation to work hard, expect little time for recreation, and take pride in doing their job well. According to surveys, most Americans do have a strong work ethic, that is, they feel they should work hard. The problem is that they do not always do so. And the reason they give for not working harder is that they don't feel they will benefit from the work. Others -- like the owners of the company -- will benefit instead.

Part III Stress management

Program. Talk of the Day

Today's topic: Stress and how to manage it

Guest speaker: Dr. Elizabeth Sander (a medical doctor & writer) Definition of stress. A physical or psychological response to the demands that we're placing on ourselves

Caller: Judy

Question 1: Any warning signs?

Answer: Some of the most common warning signs:

fatigue / listlessness / sleeping problems / a loss of appetite / sudden stomach disorders / heart palpitations

Question 2: Ways to make life less stressful?

Answer: Taking effective steps:

Becoming aware of potentially stressful situations and avoiding them

Reducing workload and organizing the work in a better way

Getting proper rest and exercise

Tapescript:

H -- Host D -- Dr. Sander J -- Judy

H: Good morning, and welcome to "Talk of the Day." Do you often find that you're trying to accomplish more in a day than is humanly possible? Do you have trouble falling asleep at night because you can't stop thinking about yesterday's activities or planning tomorrow's? Do you find yourself spending too much time at work without enough time for leisure activities? Today our topic is stress and how to manage it. Tell us about the level of stress in your life and how you cope with it, or call us with your questions. With us to help answer some of the questions you may have is Dr. Elizabeth Sander, a medical doctor and writer of a best-selling book on stress management. She has also conducted numerous workshops designed to teach people how to identify and prevent stress. Good morning Dr. 'Sander and thank you for joining us today.

D: Thank you for having me.

H.. Dr, Sander, before we take our first call, perhaps you could just tell us what exactly we mean by "stress. ' We hear the word being used so much today. What is stress?

D: Yes, that's a very good question. Actually, stress can be either a physical or psychological response, or both, to the demands that we're placing on ourselves. An increased level of stress affects us physically by producing certain changes in the body such as increased heart or breathing rate, dilation of the pupils, or our blood pressure and sugar level can go up. These are normally responses that are designed to help us, for example, when we're in danger, but which under other circumstances, for example, when we have a deadline to meet for a project at work, don't really benefit us. Psychologically, we respond to these demands by becoming nervous, irritable, depressed, or even angry.

H: Yes, it seems these days we're constantly listening to each other complain about being stressed out and feeling a variety of these responses which you've just mentioned. Well, let's see what kind of stress level our callers have. Let's take a call from Judy in Fallbrook.

J. Yes, hello, thank you for taking my call. This is a great topic. You know, I have so many friends who are always complaining about being stressed out. I just don't understand it. I just don't understand what it means to be stressed out. And it seems that I'm just as busy as they are if not more so, Maybe I'm really stressed and just don't realize it. Are there certain warning signs that I can be on the lookout for that will tell me I've reached a dangerous level of stress?

D. That's a great question and yes, many people are at dangerous levels of stress without realizing it or they just don't want to admit it because they're afraid that they would have to change something in their life. Some of the most common warning signs are fatigue, listlessness, sleeping problems -- either you can't fall asleep at night or you wake up throughout the night; you may have a loss of appetite or sudden stomach disorders, and heart palpitations are quite common. So one of the key issues is to help people realize that they are experiencing some of these problems associated with too much stress.

J. Well, as I said, many of my friends are aware of their situation, but it seems they never do anything about it. Are there ways that they can make their life less stressful?

D. Of course. There are steps that we can take to lower the amount of stress in our lives, but unfortunately many people are so caught up in the cycle of activity and stress that they don't stop to take these important steps. The most important step is that we become aware of potentially stressful situations and avoid them. We can also simply reduce our workload and organize the work that we do have in a better way. Another important step is to get the proper rest and exercise. If you're under a lot of stress to begin with, very often sleep or exercise can help to release some of that stress and prepare you to take on more. One of the worst things that can happen is to allow the stress to build up. Finally, one of the most effective steps we can take is to find a balance between work and play. In the U.S. it's been recently discovered that the average American is working more now than we did 20 years ago. We have become almost obsessed with work and we have a hard time enjoying ourselves anymore.

J: Yeah, that's definitely true. Thank you. That information is really helpful.

H. O.K. Let's take another call, from Lori in Ramona.

Unit 4

Part I Warming up

Tapescript:

1. In a study done by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, only 4% of employers surveyed said they reneged on job offers, and only 30% of colleges claimed some of their students were hired then let go. Other companies like Pricewater House Coopers are pushing back start dates for new hires.

2. In a study done by the National Association of Colleges and Employers last fall, companies surveyed planned to hire 25% more college grads this year. In an updated study this spring, those same companies reduced projections to 18%, still a significant increase.

3. A

4. 5% unemployment rate is still very good news for upcoming college graduates. College students are younger and cheaper, and companies love that kind of thing. So the lay-offs may not necessarily affect your job prospects if you are an upcoming college graduate.

4. Depending on your major. Liberal arts grads including English, and psychology majors once snapped up by marketing firms and dot coms will now likely have a tougher time finding work. But majors like computer science, nursing, accounting and finance are still hot, and salaries for those jobs are on the rise.

Employment situation

People graduating last year getting jobs / six, seven different positions

Keren Aloya's brother boom / did well

Sociology majors graduating this year

no job / have job offers rescinded

Companies in tech sector slow college recruiting / renege on

(Intel, Dell, etc. ) job offers

Tapescript:

M -- Michael Hallkas K -- Keren Aloya

C Chris Peterson B -- Bill Coleman

M. I remember people graduating last year and they were already getting jobs coming at them like six, seven different positions at once and now it's like people are scrounging for what they can get.

K. My brother got out of college just a few years ago, and that's when the boom was still going and he, he did pretty well. I just kind of imagined it escalating and getting easier, and easier and easier. But no such luck.

C. Sociology major Keren Aloya graduates from Rutgers this year with a four-year degree and no job, an unwelcome and growing trend among her classmates nationwide, some of whom are even having their job offers rescinded.

B. This year is a little bit different for college grads because the economy has changed and it's changed dramatically during the course of the recruiting season,

C. Companies in the battered tech sector like Cisco., Intel, and Dell has slowed college recruiting. They have also reneged on job offers made to college grads, offering the suddenly un-hired apology bonuses instead.

Part II Education then and now

9-year-olds 13-year-olds 17-year-olds

Science slightly better grasp today scores have stalled

b. more skilled in basic geometry as they get older

Reading a. the 1970s and '80s: scores improved

b. the 1990s: scores dropped & stayed flat

Leading statement:

Today's students are doing better than students from 30 years ago when put in on the same field. Supporting details:

1. More students taking tougher courses now

a. More 13-year-olds taking algebra

b. More 17-year-olds enrolling in calculus, biology and chemistry

2. More homework now

4. Sex difference / difference between boys and girls

a. In math: gap disappearing

b. In science:

(1) At the age of 13 and 17: boys better than girls

(2) At the age of 9: no difference

1. What is the information from the tests compared to?

A national report card on student's academic progress.

2. From the reading scores for students in all three age groups in 1990s, what conclusion can be drawn? They may have trouble locating and identifying facts from stories or summarizing and explaining what they read.

3. Which three more important reports will come in the near future?

a. new fourth grade reading scores

b. a state by state breakdown of math scores

c. the first batch of science scores

Tapescript:

For nearly 30 years now, the U.S. government has tested nine-, thirteen-, and seventeen-year-olds in reading, math, and science. The information that researchers gleaned from these tests is the closest thing this country has to a national report card on students' academic progress. Today the Education Department released a lengthy study detailing how students have been doing since 1969.

The government's test results are pretty mixed. Today's nine-, thirteen-, and seventeen-year-olds can add, subtract, multiply, and divide better than they could 30 years ago. As they get older, today's students are more skilled in basic geometry, using decimals, percentages, and fractions. In reading, scores improved during the 1970s and '80s. Then they dropped and stayed flat for most of the 1990s. This means kids in all three age groups may have trouble locating and identifying facts from stories or summarizing and explaining what they read. Nine-year-olds today, however, do have a slightly better grasp of science than they did in 1969 when the first science test was given nationwide. But again, science scores for thirteen- and seventeen-year-olds have stalled.

So are students today smarter, better educated than they were 30 years ago? In some way, it's like asking whether baseball players today are better than they were in the past.

"But the trends report puts today's students in on the same field as students from 30 years ago. Today's students are doing better.'

The report points out that a much greater percentage of students today are taking tougher courses. The percentage of thirteen-year-olds taking algebra is up. So is the percentage of seventeen-year-olds enrolled in calculus, biology, and chemistry. Kids are even doing more homework than they did 30 years ago. In math, the gap between boys and girls has all but disappeared. In science, thirteen- and seventeen-year-old boys still do better than girls, but at age nine there's no difference.

Private school students outperformed public school students, but math and science scores for private school students have remained flat since 1980. Education Department officials say three more important

reports are due. New fourth grade reading scores will be released in February. A state by state breakdown of math scores will be ready by May. And a fresh batch of science scores will follow.

Unit 5

Part I Warming up

Problems in 1940s Problems now

1. talking in class drug abuse

2 chewing gum alcohol abuse

3 making noise teen pregnancy

4 running in the halls suicide

5 cutting in line rape

6 dress code violations robbery

7 littering assault

Tapescript:

In the 1940s, the top seven problems for the U. S. schoolchildren were:

1. talking in class;

2. chewing gum;

3. making noise;

4. running in the halls;

5. cutting in line;

6. dress code violations;

7. littering.

Today's youngsters in the U.S. schools face a set of seven problems that are much more shocking:

1. drug abuse;

2. alcohol abuse;

3. teen pregnancy;

4. suicide;

5. rape;

6. robbery;

7. assault.

1. Despite a 20% decline in the number of malnourished children in the world by 2020, 132 million will still be underfed.

2. The cost of cutting child malnutrition in half by 2020 would be an extra 10 billion dollars a year.

3. Twenty-five billion dollars are now invested in developing countries annually to boost farm productivity, secure clean water sources, develop world infrastructure, and improve education and health.

4. Latin America will virtually eliminate child malnutrition by 2020. China will cut child malnutrition in half.

5. India will continue to have one third of the world's underfed children by 2020. And Africa will see an 18% increase unless action is taken.

Tapescript:

A new food policy study predicts slowing progress against child's malnutrition over the next 20 years unless governments take more aggressive action.

The International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington says international efforts to reduce the number of malnourished children in the world have been awfully inadequate. It predicts that despite a 20 percent decline in the number of malnourished children by 2020, 132 million will still be underfed. The cost of cutting child malnutrition in half by 2020 would be an extra 10 billion dollars a year. Twenty-five billion dollars are now invested in developing countries annually to boost farm productivity, secure clean water sources, develop world infrastructure, and improve education and health. Ten billion dollars more is a scant amount.

Not all regions face equally bleak food futures, Latin America will virtually eliminate child malnutrition by 2020, and China will cut it in haft. But the Food Policy Organization says India will continue to have one third of the world's underfed children. And Africa will see an 18 percent increase unless action is taken.

Part II Anti AIDS campaign

1. As of January 2000, the AIDS epidemic has claimed 15 million lives and left 40 million people living with a viral infection that slowly but relentlessly erodes the immune system

2. Accounting for more than 3 million deaths in the past year alone, the AIDS virus has become the deadliest micr6be in the world.

3. There are 34 developing countries where the prevalence of this infection is 2% or greater.

4. Fortunately, the AIDS story has not been all gloom and doom. Less than two years after AIDS was recognized, the guilty agent- HIV- was identified. 14 AIDS drugs have been developed and licensed in the U.S. and Western Europe.

5. By the year 2025, AIDS will be the major killer of young Africans, decreasing life expectancy to as low as 40 years in some countries and single-handedly erasing the public health gains of the past 50 years.

6. It is Asia, with its huge population at risk, that will have the biggest impact on the global spread of AIDS. The magnitude of the pandemic could range from 100 million to 1 billion, depending largely on what happens in India and China.

7. HIV infection will continue to fester in about 0.5% of the population in the U. S.

8. A cure for AIDS by the year 2025 is not inconceivable. But even if an AIDS vaccine is developed before 2025, it will require an extraordinary effort of political will among our leaders to get to the people who need it most.

Tapescript:

Predicting the future is risky business for a scientist. It is safe to say, however, that the global AIDS epidemic will get much worse before it gets any better. Sadly, this modern plague will be with us for several generations, despite major scientific advances.

As of January 2000, the AIDS epidemic has claimed 15 million lives and left 40 million people living with a viral infection that slowly but relentlessly erodes the immune system. I Accounting for more than 3 million deaths in the past year alone, the AIDS virus has become the deadliest microbe in the world, more lethal than even TB and malaria. There are 34 developing countries where the prevalence of this infection is 2 percent or greater. In Africa nearly a dozen countries have a rate higher than 10 percent, including four southern African nations in which a quarter of the people are infected. And the situation continues to worsen; more than 6 million new infections appeared in 1999. This is like condemning 16,000 people each day to a slow and miserable death.

Fortunately, the AIDS story has not been all gloom and doom. Less than two years after AIDS was recognized, the guilty agent- human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV -- was identified. We now know more about HIV than about any other virus, and 14 AIDS drugs have been developed and licensed in the U. S. and Western Europe.

The epidemic continues to rage, however, in South America, Eastern Europe. and sub-Saharan Africa~ By the year 2025, AIDS will be by far the major killer of young Africans, decreasing life expectancy to as low as 40 years in some countries and single-handedly erasing the public health gains of the past 50 years.

It is Asia, with its huge population at risk, that will have the biggest impact on the global spread of AIDS. The magnitude of the pandemic could range from 100 million to 1 billion, depending largely on what happens in India and China. Four million people have already become HIV-positive in India, and infection is likely to reach several percent in a population of 1 billion.

An explosive AIDS epidemic in the U.S. is unlikely. Instead, HIV infection will continue to fester in about 0.5 percent of the population.

A cure for AIDS by the year 2025 is not inconceivable. But constrained by economic reality, these therapeutic advances will have only limited benefit outside the U.S. and Western Europe.

A vaccine is our only real hope to avert disaster unparalleled in medical history. A large, concerted effort of research was launched three years ago in the U.S. and hints of promising strategies are emerging from experiments in monkeys. But even if an AIDS vaccine is developed before 2025, it will require an

B1.

1. By the 12th grade, 90% of all public school students have taken at least two sex education courses.

2. Beginning in the 7th and 8th grades, over half of the 1,500 junior high and high school students surveyed said they were taught how to deal with peer pressure to have sex, where to get and how to use contraception, how to talk to a partner about safe sex, and where to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV Aids.

3. Although one third of the schools in the study focused exclusively on abstainers, the main message in about 80% of all sex education courses is this: young people should wait to have sex, but if they don't, they should use birth control and practice safe sex.

4. 40% of schools invited parents to attend sex education classes. But a surprising 22% of schools did not notify parents at all.

5. One third of the students surveyed decided parents as a source of information about sex. 61% said that most of what they do know about sex they learned from their friends, followed by television, movies and magazines.

B2.

1. When does sex education usually start in the U. S. ? elementary school

2. What are some of the topics that most parents think are appropriate in a sex education class? abstainers / basics of human reproduction / HIV Aids / sexually transmitted diseases / rape / safe sex / condoms / birth control / abortion / homosexuality

2. What is the attitude of most parents towards sex education?

want schools to teach more

4. Why is there a surprising level of support from more sex education according to the researchers? parents / don't talk about sex / want schools to do it

5. What is the important message that educators should know?

a need for more sex education / more practical approach to dangers and risks

Tapescript:

Most students in the nation's public schools receive some form of sex education. But it's not always clear what schools are teaching or what educators, parents and children think about it. Kids are learning a lot more about sex than many people think, and parents want schools to teach them even more.

Sex education usually starts in elementary school as part of a health curriculum. By the 12th grade, 90 percent of all public school students have taken at least two sex education courses.

"A large majority are providing some information about HIV Aids. Most are talking about abstainers, providing messages about the importance of waiting to have sex."

Beginning in the 7th and 8th grades, over half of the 1,500 junior high and high school students surveyed said they were taught how to deal with peer pressure to have sex, where to get and how to use contraception, how to talk to a partner about safe sex, and where to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV Aids. Although a third of the schools in the study focused exclusively on abstainers, the main message in about 80 percent of all sex education courses is this: young people should wait to have sex, but if they don't, they should use birth control and practice safe sex.

But even fear of HIV Aids and sexually transmitted diseases

or getting pregnant doesn't always stop kids from having sex. Well, our parents know this?

"I think many parents have no idea what's actually happening in the schools."

Parents should have the right to keep their children out of sex education classes that teach things that they don't agree with. Many schools do notify parents when their child starts sex education, but in most cases, schools don't need the parents' permission. Instead 40 percent of schools invited parents to attend sex education classes. A surprising 22 percent of schools did not notify parents at all. Still a clear majority of parents wanted to see more sex education in schools, not less. And they don't just want abstainers or the basics of human reproduction. Over 90 percent of parents want schools to cover HIV Aids and sexually transmitted diseases, rape, safe sex. Most said condoms and birth control needed to be discussed. They thought abortion was an appropriate topic, and thought that homosexuality should be included, too. Researchers say this surprising level of support from more sex education may be due to the fact that parents don't talk to their children about sex, so they want schools to do it. We have a third of the students surveyed decided parents as a source of information about sex. Sixty-one percent said that most of what they do know about sex they learned from their friends, followed by television, movies and magazines.

The message that educators should know is that there is a need for more sex education not less, and more practical approach to the dangers and risks of sexual behavior.

Part III Innocents in danger

Summary

Internet communication can be dangerous for adults, and children are even more vulnerable. According to Perry, the problem is that children use the Internet and far more often know more about it than their parents do. But, the things we usually use to teach our children how to stay safe in shopping malls, and on streets and in life, don't ordinarily apply online, because parents just don't understand it well enough to set the rules.

One of the goals of UNESCO is to make sure all children have access to the Internet, and yet in doing this we want to make sure they have access safely. It is a huge task. It is a worldwide problem and that is the reason why our action has to be global and international. And there is one other aspect regarding hate email or hate websites. The biggest danger obviously is not from information, but from people who want

What we need to do is to control child pornography, to make sure that law enforcement does what they can to clean up the criminal activities online, to help schools and teachers and libraries to get the most out of the Internet, and to arm parents with the tools they need to educate their children and keep them safe.

Tapescript:

Internet communication can be dangerous for adults, and children are even more vulnerable. Amara Selier and Perry Afton work with an organization called "Innocents in Danger. ' It's a world citizen's movement to protect children from sexual abuse and pedophilia on the Internet.

"Perry, it would seem that in the United States there would be lots of laws protecting children against abuse on the Internet."

"Well, there are laws to protect children from abuse, online and off line; they apply equally in both places. The problem is that children use the Internet and far more often know more about it than their parents do. But, the things we usually use to teach our children how to stay safe in shopping malls, and on streets and in life, don't ordinarily apply online, because parents just d6n't understand it well enough to set the rules, for the pedophiles are using this technology and the fact that they can hide behind anonymity and pretend they're another child to lure our children in ways that we are not yet prepared to teach our children to avoid."

One of the goals of UNESCO is to make sure all children have access to the Internet, and yet in doing this you want to make sure they have access safely. It sounds like a huge task to get companies and countries involved in doing this.

"It is a huge task, I do agree with you. It is a worldwide problem and that is the reason why our action has to be global and international. I think even though it's a very big task, we are little by little going to get there, with everybody's help. '

"What are some of the other dangers, I mean, we've talked a little bit or alluded to child pornography, how does that impact children?"

"Often the pedophiles use child pornography to desensitize our children. So, if they're setting a conversation up, and they send a photo to a ten-year-old of another ten-year-old engaged in sexual activity, that ten-year-old now thinks that perhaps it's not so unusual and it's not so contraband for them to engage in sexual activity as well. And that's typically how it's used."

"And is... is there one other aspect regarding hate email or hate websites?"

"I think the dangerous ... the biggest danger obviously is not from information, but from people who want to hurt children. Uh, but there are hate sites and bigotry and intolerance, there are sites where children can order guns, and poison, and drugs, and tobacco and alcohol, there are sites that teach our children how to build bombs and unfortunately they are building bombs with this information, and there's a lot of misinformation and cults, and that is quite dangerous, I mean, in addition, we ... our children may be exposed to information that parents would prefer they're not exposed to. Because of this, what we need to do is to arm parents with the tools they need to educate their children and keep them safe, and make sure that law enforcement does what they can to clean up the criminal activities online."

"What are your specific tasks in the United States?"

"Three prongs are making sure that children are safe from predators: that we try to do what we can to control child pornography; we work closely with law enforcement; we get all of the Internet service providers and all of the Internet industry on board. And I should tell you that most of' them are there already as part of ... as committed members of the National Action Committee. We're also committed to helping schools and teachers and libraries to get the most out of the Internet by learning how to use it and developing safety programs and education programs for parents so that parents will let their children be on the Internet and help them deal with the risks they'll face day to day from predators, and from kooks and crackpots and misinformation and hate that they will face, so that we're here to empower the parents to help keep the children safe."

Unit 6

Part I Warming up

1. Over-scheduled syndrome -- the amount of free time for children dropping about 16% over the past few years

2. Cultural shift in the past few years

a. The past: children taking part in extracurricular activities (ballet, gymnastics, football) in a casual way

b. The present: a real emphasis and stress on these children to be experts / prodigies in these activities

3. Solution: parents saying "enough is enough" / cutting back / pulling children out of all their activities Tapescript:

Market researchers estimate that the average teenager spends about $82 of their own money a week on clothing, food, and entertainment. But not all kids have time to go shopping. As a matter of fact, the amount of free time that children have has dropped about 16 percent over the last several years. Many call it the over-scheduled syndrome.

There's been a real cultural shift in this country in the past few years. It used to be that children could participate in ballet, or gymnastics, or football in a very casual way. Now there's a real emphasis and a real stress on these kids to be experts. The children are expected to become prodigies in whatever extracurricular activity it is that they choose.

Is it all necessary if the goal is simply to get into a selective college? Administration officers at Harvard University says, "No." Only one-third of the students they select are academic or extracurricular prodigies. The rest are quote "well-rounded and well-grounded."

What we're finding is that many parents now are starting to say "enough is enough," and they're cutting back. We've found parents who are pulling their children out of all of their activities. It's just too much stress on the children, too much time away from homework, time away from sleeping, time away from eating and enough, and a lot of parents now are just saying stop!

Part II British youth

Tapescript:

-- What scares me most about my future is not knowing what I want to do or where I am going.

-- Not having any money.