大学英语听说第三版第四册听力原文

Here Is Your Weekend Guide
Here is your weekend guide to what is going on at the University of
Colorado.
And it is a good weekend for basketball. The Colorado Buffaloes will play
the Oklahoma Sooners Friday night at Oklahoma, and they will return home to
face the Nebraska Cornhuskers Saturday night on the University of Colorado
court. The Buffaloes are expected to win both games and fans. Tickets are
available from the ticket office at the sports arena.
There are also a few tickets available for the Saturday night concert by
Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band. Most of the tickets are ten dollars,
although a very few live- dollar seats are still on sale. To reserve seats, call the
Student Union at 666-5771, or stop by the box office.
The university museum will be open from 10: 00 am. until 5: 00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday. In addition to the famous rock and mineral collection
and the exhibits of early people, there will be a special exhibit of American
Indian pottery and sand painting. Admission is free.
And now a report on snow conditions at ski resorts. Steamboat Springs is
reporting good conditions with six inches of new snow in the last twenty-four
hours; Aspen is reporting good conditions with eight inches of new snow; and
Vail is reporting very good conditions with nine inches of new snow.
This has been the weekend guide. Thank you for listening.
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We Wish You a Pleasant Night
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. On
behalf of the crew, let me extend a very warm welcome to all of you who have
chosen to fly Air China. Our plane is bound for New York on the east coast of
the United States. Ours is a direct flight. It will take thirteen and a half hours to
reach our destination on July 19, at 1: 30 p.m. local time.
May I draw your attention to the Safety Flight leaflet which you’ll find in the
pocket at the back of the seat in front of you? We do ask that you read it. You’ll
also find an Air China magazine which you may find of interest. For those of
you not familiar with this type of aircraft, let me inform you that smoking is
strictly prohibited at any time during the flight. Nor is the use of mobile phones
allowed on board of our aircraft We have a duty-free bar on board and
cigarettes, spirits, beer and mineral water will be on sale during the flight. We
will serve three meals during the entire flight, lunch, dinner and breakfast. For
those of you who are vegetarian, please contact a member of the cabin crew
beforehand. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask a member
of the cabin crew. Our plane will take off shortly. Would you now please make
sure that your seat belts are securely fastened in preparation for take-oft’? May
I wish you a pleasant flight! Thank you.
Interview with a Celebrity
W: Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
M: Sure.
W: First of all, where were you born?
M: I was born in London, but I’m livi

ng in Madrid now.
W: Oh, really? How long have you been there?
M: Not long. I moved from London with my two daughters about six
months ago.
W: Are you happy there?
M: Yeah, very happy. We love the outdoor life. Also, my mother's Spanish.
W: And what do you do in your free time?
M: I love reading. Sometimes I feel like wanting to buy every book in a
bookstore. I’m crazy about books. And I’m a fast reader.
W: Do you ever feel the need to take a break so you can recharge your
batteries?
M: All the time. There’s always so much more to learn. Going away helps.
W: You’ve obviously traveled a lot, too. What’s your favorite place in the
world?
M: That’s a difficult question because I’ve been to so many amazing
places, but I think Hawaii is my favorite. The children love it there too.
W: All of us are concerned with what kind of world our kids are going to
live in. How do you give your children a semblance of a normal life?
M: By living a normal life.
W: But as a superstar, you live at a level that’s different from most people.
M: To a degree. yes. But we’ve all got to figure out how to raise our kids to
be happy, responsible people.
W: One last question. What else do you want to do in your life?
M: Oh, there’s so much I want to do. I feel a lot of personal responsibility
because of how much I’ve been blessed. I do volunteer work for Children’s
Fund. I do a lot of fund-raising events for them. And I look forward to creating
opportunities for young people.
The Person I Admire Most
M: Can you think of a person you admire?
W: A person I admire? Hmn. Yes, I think the person I admire most is
Steven Hawking.
M: Isn’t he the professor at Cambridge with motor neurone disease?
W: That’s right. He’s spent most of his life fighting the disease. He found
out that he’d got it when he was a student. He was at the time only about 20.
M: Goodness. What did he do then?
W: Well, he stopped wasting time. And he started applying himself to his
studies. He knew that he risked dying young, but he became a leading
cosmologist.
M: Where have I heard of him? I know nothing about cosmology.
W: He wrote a book about it for the average person. In fact I remember
seeing it on your bookshelves.
M: Oh, right. “A Brief History of Time”, is that it?
W: Yes, it was a real bestseller, mostly to people who put it on their
bookshelves and didn’t read it.
M: Yeah. How old is he now?
W: He’s in his sixties; I think He’s succeeded in living far longer than
anyone expected him to.
M: But what kind of life can you have with a disease like that?
W: He’s managed to lead a fairly normal life. He has married twice and
has three children and a grandchild now. I think he needs to use a computer for
almost everything now, you know, eating, speaking, writing
M: Mmm. It’s very sad, isn’t it?
W: Well, in a way. He considers himself lucky. You see, despite his
disability, he is recognized as one of the great

est minds of our time.
Successful Advertising
One of the keys to successful advertising is to catch the interest of readers.
In your busy life, there is little time to read every page in front of you, so you
have to be very selective. Being aware of this, advertisers go to great lengths
to arouse your curiosity in what they have to say. You should know when
advertisers are trying to catch your interest so that you keep in mind that they
are attempting to influence you.
Advertisers always have an intended audience targeted for their
messages — men, women, or children of specific ages, from various ethnic
groups, and with certain interests. It is important that you know to whom an
advertisement is designed to appeal so that you can decide whether or not you
should spend your time giving serious consideration to what it has to say.
Obviously the whole point of a given advertisement is to get you to
purchase a product, take a certain action, or think
In a certain way. An effective advertisement is very specific about the
benefit to readers as a result of their buying, doing, or thinking whatever is
being urged by the
Advertisement. It is extremely important that you recognize the benefit
stressed by an advertisement so that you can make a sound decision as to
whether or not to follow its advice.
We Were Born to Help You Do It
Better
Joyce: Dad!
Father: Yes? ?What?s the matter, Joyce?
Joyce: I?m wondering if I should buy a pair of tennis shoes. I?m going to
join the tennis club in school.
Father: Why not? It?s good that you finally play sports.
Joyce: But I?d like to have Adidas.
Father: Adidas? It?s too expensive. They are for professional athletes.
Joyce: But all the guys in the school tennis team are wearing Adidas, boys
as well as girls.
Father: But none of us has ever had Adidas and we used to play quite OK.
Joyce: Here is an ad about Adidas. Can I read it to you?
Father: Go ahead.
Joyce: “Over fifty-five years ago, Adidas gave birth to a new idea in sports
shoes. And the people who wear our shoes have been running and winning
ever since. In fact,
Adidas has helped them set over 400 world records in track and field
alone.”
Father: Nonsense the players have to go through a lot of hard training and
practice. It has nothing to do with the shoes. They may be comfortable, but
Joyce: You?re right, Dad. The ad goes on to say, “You?re born to run. And
we were born to HELP YOU DO IT BETTER.”
Father: 11mm. It may be good for running, but you don?t run.
Joyce: Listen, Dad. The ad says, “... Maybe that?s why more and more
football, soccer, basketball and tennis ...“see? “TENNIS players are turning to
Adidas. They know that, whatever their game, they can rely on Adidas
workmanship and quality in every product we make.”
Father: OK, OK, dear. I know Adidas is good. But how much is a pair of
your shoes?
Joyce: You don?t have to worry about that, Dad. I?ve saved some money
since last Christmas.

I just want to hear your opinion.
Father: That?s good.
Tea Ceremony in Japan
The tea ceremony in Japan, or Chanoyu, is a special form of
entertainment for distinguished guests. The tradition started in the 15th century
and has existed for about 600 years, and it has very special and strict rules
that must be followed.
There are many different kinds of tea ceremonies, from the informal to the
quite formal. But all Chanoyu ceremonies have one thing in common, that is,
guests are invited to enjoy a moment of peace and calm.
Traditionally a Chanoyu ceremony takes place in a tea room which is
usually not very big. The guests take off their street shoes and put on special
bamboo shoes. Then they cross a beautiful garden. They stop for a moment at
a rock water basin, where they wash their hands. Then they enter the tea room
through a small low door.
The inside of the tea room is simple but beautiful. The room is not
furnished at all. The floor is covered with a kind of bamboo mats which are
called ‘Tanami” There are flowers and some traditional decorations like tea set
of ancient times, landscape painting, national costumes, etc. The guests sit in
the traditional way, on their knees on the floor. In formal ceremonies, small
cakes are also sewed. The tea master, a man or a woman, follows a certain
procedure in making the tea and then serves it to the guests in turn, starting
from the most distinguished. The guests are not supposed to drink the tea at
one go. They should sip bit by bit and at the same time appreciate the designs
of the bowl and the dish. From time to time the host and the guests would bow
to each other. When the guests finally leave the tea room, put on their shoes
and leave the house, they feel happy and peaceful.
What Are Good Manners?
People in different countries have different standards for good manners.
Before entering a house in some Asian countries it is necessary to take off
one’s shoes. In
European countries even though shoes sometimes become very muddy,
this is not done. A guest in a Chinese house never finishes a drink. He leaves a
little to show that he has had enough. In a Malay house, a guest always leaves
a little food. In England, a guest always finishes a drink or eats up his food to
show that he has enjoyed it.
Here are some examples of the things that a well- mannered person does
or does not do no matter whether he is an oriental or a westerner.
He never laughs at people when they are in trouble. Instead, he tries to
help them. He is always kind whether to people or to animals. When he is
waiting for a bus, he takes his turn and never pushes to the front of the line. In
the bus, he gives his seat to an old person, or a disabled person or a lady who
is standing. When talking to people, he never tells heavy people they are fat,
but says that they are losing weight for he knows everyone is weight conscious
and wants to be thin. He never asks people, women in
Particular,

their age. Everyone wants to be young. If he is invited to a
dinner party at seven, he is sure to be there by seven, knowing how people
respect time and expect everyone to be “on time”. If he smokes, he never
lights his cigarette before getting the permission from people around them.
He says “Please” when making a request and “Thank you” when he
receives something. He stands up when speaking to a lady or an older person,
and he does not sit down until the other person is seated.
Handguns
Chairman: Good evening. It’s Bob Smith. As we know, the question of
handguns always raises a lot of discussion in our country. Tonight we’ll have
opinions from all of you, as people from different countries. Our guests tonight
are Roger from Canada, Reiko from Japan, Yu Fen from China, and Antonio
from Italy. Roger, let’s start with you.
Roger: In my opinion, the laws on handguns should be changed. Do you
know more than 40,000 people a year are killed with handguns? It’s crazy.
Guns should be outlawed immediately.
Chairman: Yu Fen, what’s your opinion?
Yu Fen: Well, I don’t really like guns, but we have to ask who is doing the
killing. I think most of the killers are criminals. I hate to say it, but I think people
should be allowed to own guns. Ordinary people have to be able to protect
themselves and their families.
Chairman: People in Japan can’t have guns at home. What do you think of
all this, Reiko?
Reiko: I also hate to say it, but I agree with Yu Fen. A violent person might
use anything as a weapon. Roger said around 40,000 people get killed with
guns each year. I think more than a million people have a gun at home. All gun
owners are not crazy killers. In my opinion people should be allowed to own
guns.
Chairman: That’s a very good point, Reiko. It’s like traffic accidents. Many
people get killed in car accidents, but we don’t talk about the millions and
millions of people who drive their cars every day and never have an accident.
Antonio? What do you think of it? Do you agree with Reiko or not?
Antonio: I see her point. But I’ve heard that there are close to 20,000
accidents in the home every year that happen because of guns. Children
watch TV and see people shooting other people, but they are too young to
understand what happens in real life. So I think it is very dangerous to allow
people to possess guns. I think the law should be changed, and no one except
the police should be able to carry guns.
Chairman: Thank you, guests. So, listeners, you’ve heard some opinions
from around the world. Now we want to hear your opinion. Please call us or
e-mail us.
Is It Stupid to Say So?
Nancy Rodgers is a law student. Last week her lecturer advised her to
change to a more suitable course. He said that a career in law was unsuitable
for women.
Nancy: I was shocked. At first I thought he was joking. Of course, it was a
stupid thing to say. Women are as intelligent as men. There are som

e excellent
women lawyers. If he doesn’t want to teach me, he should change his job. I
have a right to study law.
Andrew: Nancy, you’re wasting your time studying law. ‘When you are
married and have children you’ll be too busy to work. Anyway, women can’t
decide anything properly because they’re too emotional. You should study
cooking and sewing in order to become a good wife and mother.
Paul: As I see it, an intelligent woman can succeed in any career if she
has enough strength to overcome male prejudice. But Nancy has to decide
first whether or not she wants to have children. It’s impossible to have a
successful career and to be a good mother at the same time. That’s why all the
professions are dominated by men.
Betty: Well, I can’t understand why Nancy wants to study law, or any other
course. For myself, I really enjoy being a wife and a mother. I have two lovely
little boys and I have a good husband who works hard to pay for everything we
need. I couldn’t do his work and he certainly couldn’t do mine. We’re both
happy with our work. Women’s liberation should stop interfering.
Chris: Until I find a job that pays me more money than my wife’s getting
now, I will do all the housework. Some men might laugh at me, but I’m quite
happy with this arrangement. And of course it leaves me so much free time for
hobbies. They say that housework is a woman’s job. That’s stupid. Men always
do their own housework when they’re single, don’t they? If Nancy wants to
have a career in law, why should anybody try to stop her?
Banks
Nearly every adult has some business with a bank. Most people have
savings accounts where they deposit their money. Many also have checking
accounts which permit them to write a check against the hinds in their
accounts. A lot of people pay their bills by check rather than in cash. It is more
convenient and the cancelled check is a receipt of payment. Banks do more
than offer savings and checking accounts to their customers. A bank will
generally cash a
check for you and will change large bills for you:
When the bank accepts money for deposit it pays interest on the money
deposited. Thus your money in the bank is earning money. Normally the bank
pays about 3% interest.
The bank also provides security for one’s special papers and valuables.
Most banks have a safe deposit section. Here you can rent a box (made of
metal) in which you store your valuables and important papers. You are given
a key to the box and only you can open the box.
One of the most important functions of a bank is to make loans. This is the
way the bank makes its money. If you want to buy an expensive object (car,
house, etc.) you may have to borrow the money from the bank. You go to the
bank and make an application for a loan. After the bank examines your
application to insure that you are a good risk they then will give you the money.
You then have to repay the bank the amount of the l

oan plus interest over a
period of time.
What Is Money?
Money is a medium of exchange that is widely accepted in payment for
goods and services and in settlement of debts. Money also serves as a
standard of value for measuring the relative worth of different goods and
services.
The functions of money as a medium of exchange and a measure of value
greatly facilitate the exchange of goods and services and the specialization of
production. Without the use of money, trade would be reduced to barter, or the
direct exchange of one commodity for another; this was the means used by
primitive people. In a barter economy, a person having something to trade
must find another who wants it and has something acceptable to offer in
exchange. In a money economy, the owner of a commodity may sell it for
money, which is acceptable in payment for goods. Money may therefore be
regarded as a keystone of modem economic life.
Most of the money circulating today is made of metal, paper or plastics.
But in ancient times, people actually used various kinds of things as exchange
media, such as knives, cloth, rice, gold and silver. In China, for instance, cloth
and metals were used as money for thousands of years. In southwest Asia and
parts of Africa, rice and other things were used as money for a long time.
Today everybody knows that the first metal coins were made in China.
England used tin to make its first coins. Russia and some other countries used
copper to make their money. Later, a number of countries began to make coins
of gold and silver. Again the Chinese people thought of a way to improve their
money. As the metal money was
Inconvenient if you wanted to buy something expensive, paper currency
came into existence, though the first paper money looked more like a note
from one person to another than the paper currency we use today.
Save the Earth to Save
Ourselves
With the advancement of modem science, it seems that we are now living
in greater comfort and in much better conditions. But are we really? The
answer is definitely not.
Why? This is because we are now producing much more rubbish than
ever before, and many of us are not aware of environmental protection. People
take it for granted that the Earth will forever take care of us no matter how we
treat it in return. They pollute it with all sorts of rubbish we produce — plastic
bags, household waste, poisonous factory waste, etc. — without even
bothering to think of the consequences.
What will happen to the rubbish we throw away? Will it simply disappear?
No, it will poison the Earth — the place where we live.
What will happen if we poison our Earth? Well, very simply, it will poison
us. Think about this: if the Earth is poisoned, then the water that comes out of it
will be poisoned, the food that we grow in it will be poisoned and animals that
live on it will be poisoned — and that means we who poison the Earth will be
poisoned.
So, let’s not pollute or

poison the Earth, but save the Earth to save
ourselves.
Use Less Paper!
"John, get me a piece of paper, I have to write a note to Judy."
Marry, why are these paper boxes still here? They’re useless. You’d better
throw them away.”
“Mum, there’s no more paper in the toilet. Can you get inc a new roll,
please?”
Nowadays, paper is so common and so handy that no one will think twice
to waste it. But if you know how much paper a person uses in a year, that could
be quite scary.
According to a recent study made by an environmental protection group, it
was found that the amount of paper an average person uses every year is
enough to build a pile as high as a two-storey house. Think about all the
newspapers, tissues, toilet rolls, books, etc. that pass through your hands per
year. That’s a lot of paper. That means a lot of trees are
Being cut down to produce this paper — but to grow a free, it takes years.
One country alone, Britain, uses 8.5 million tons of paper — that’s equivalent
to 90 million frees — every year! If this continues, there will be no more frees
left for our children.
In view of the above, wouldn’t it be great, then, if all the paper that is
thrown away could be reused? This is in fact not difficult to do. We can achieve
this either by using scrap paper for notes, etc., or by making completely new
paper from the old paper.
Another way of saving paper is to have second-hand book sales.
Everyone benefits — you get rid of all the old books that are useless to you
and are taking up space in your home, and someone else gets to buy the
books they want at much lower prices. These sales can also be arranged to
raise money for charities. In this way, we can create added value. That’s much
better than throwing books away as rubbish, isn’t it?
An Art Lesson
Sheila entered the art center reluctantly. Her best friend, Lisa, had a
painting on display, otherwise she would never have come. But Lisa talked
constantly about her summer art class and urged Sheila to attend the first
show. Sheila had almost refused to come when she learned what would be
shown.
“Do you mean to tell me that everyone in your class painted the same
thing?” she had asked.
“Yes,” Lisa had said. “It is a still life of an orange and some grapes.”
“How boring! I don’t see how you could stand to paint the same thing as
everyone else did. Art should be individual.”
“It is individual,” Lisa had answered. “You’ll see.”
So Sheila had come to the show. As she walked into the gallery, she saw
her friend waiting. “Hi, Lisa!”Sheila called, “Here I am. Bring on the fruit”
Lisa laughed and led Sheila into a large room. The first thing to catch
Sheila’s eye was not a painting, but a huge color photograph of the orange and
grapes that the art students had painted. It was hanging high on a wall above
the paintings.
The first painting that Sheila examined was a complete surprise to h

er.
The artist had painted a shapeless mass of color for the fruit but had mixed the
colors very well, making them quite pleasing to the eye. The next artist had
given the orange and grapes such perfect roundness that they looked artificial.
Another artist had painted the fruit in strange shapes, while still another had
made it look so real that Sheila felt she could almost taste it. Lisa’s painting
showed the surface of the orange in every detail, making Sheila want to touch
it.
By the time Sheila finished viewing all the paintings, she was thoroughly
fascinated. She realized that every painting was as individual as the student
who had painted it. All had seen the fruit differently mid had tried to put their
impressions on canvas. Sheila had begun to learn what art was all about.
An Embarrassing Experience
Every Friday morning Mrs. Bell goes to the supermarket and gets the
groceries for the week. Last Friday, as usual, she drove to the supermarket.
She was able to find a parking space outside the supermarket. She parked the
car and locked the door.
She went into the supermarket and got a trolley. She went to the fruit
section first, and there she got some apples and oranges. Then she went to
the meat counter and got some steak. She wanted some wine because she
was giving a dinner party that evening. She started walking towards the wine
section.
At the wine section she met her neighbor, Mrs. Young. Mrs. Young’s
three-year-old daughter, Lily, was with her. As the little girl was too heavy to
carry, Mrs. Young let her sit in the trolley. The two women started talking. Mrs.
Bell told Mrs. Young about the dinner party.
Lily wasn’t interested in their conversation. So she began to examine the
bottles on the shelves. They were much more interesting. She picked up a
bottle of whisky. Neither of the women noticed.
After Lily looked at the bottle for a few seconds, she got bored. She
couldn’t open the bottle, so she put it in Mrs. Bell’s shopping bag which was
hanging from the handle of the trolley.
Mrs. Bell found a nice bottle of red wine and put it in her trolley. She went
to the checkout and joined the queue. The store detective was standing near
the checkout. He saw the bottle of whisky in Mrs. Bell’s bag. Mrs. Bell paid all
the things in her trolley and walked towards the exit.
She was just going out when the shop detective stopped her and asked
why she hadn’t paid for the whisky. Mrs. Bell was astonished. She explained
that she didn’t know anything about the bottle of whisky. The store detective
didn’t believe her and asked Mrs. Bell to go with him to the manager’s office.
Americans’ Favorite Food — the
Hamburger
Americans consume some 38 billion hamburgers a year. And they account
for nearly 60 percent of all sandwiches sold over the counter, replacing the hot
dog as the nation’s most popular food items.
Hamburgers are popular because they are great tasting and basic, yet can

be adapted to suit various tastes.
Americans consume about 25 percent of their meals away from home,
and about half of that in fast food restaurants. So it’s no wonder that nearly five
billion hamburgers and cheeseburgers are sewed in commercial restaurants.
No one can claim the exact date the first hamburger was made, but
Americans’ favorite sandwich got its name in the 18th century from German
immigrants from the city of Hamburg who brought their popular broiled
chopped steak to the United States.
‘What makes today’s hamburger perfect is debatable but it doesn’t really
matter. Variety in hamburgers has become the norm. Though some
restaurants specialize in basic burgers, others pride themselves on making
every substance count.
But whether it’s a secret sauce or bacon or onion rings that draw people to
hamburgers, Americans have many ways of creating a sandwich to suit
individual tastes from the basic to the exotic.
Many people literally crave the taste of a hamburger. Some people say
that they can eat a good burger every day of the week. In fact, fast food chains
are now refocusing their efforts on the hamburger in its many varieties as a
business strategy. They are looking for a taste that people don’t get tired of,
even as food trends come and go.
What Kinds of Food Do People
Need?
Scientists have learned a great deal about the kinds of food people need.
They say that there are several kinds of food that people should eat every day.
What are these categories of food? They are 1) green vegetables of all kinds,
such as string beans, peas, lettuces, and cabbages; 2) other vegetables,
including beets, onions, carrots, tomatoes and so on; 3) fruits, such as apples,
peaches and bananas; 4) meat of all kinds, fish, and eggs; 5) milk and food
made from milk, such as buffer, cheese and ice cream; and 6) bread or cereal.
Rice is also in this class of food.
People in different countries and different areas of the world eat different
kinds of things. They also cook their food in different ways and have their
dinner at different times. Scientists say that none of these differences are really
important. It doesn’t matter whether food is eaten raw or cooked, canned or
frozen. It doesn’t matter if a person eats dinner at four o’clock in the afternoon
or at eleven o’clock at night. The important thing, they say, is that every day a
person should eat something from each of these kinds of food.
There are two problems, then, in feeding the every-increasing number of
people on Earth. The first is to find some way to feed the world population so
that no one is hungry. The second is to make sure that people everywhere
have the right kinds of food to make them grow to be strong and healthy.
A City of Light
Linda: Hi, Sam. Haven’t seen you for ages. Where have you been these
days?
Sam: Hi, Linda. I went to Paris on business and then I did some
sightseeing there.
Linda: I hear Paris is the most glam

orous city in Europe. Tell me about it,
will you?
Sam: Well, there’s so much to say about it. I don’t know where to begin.
Linda: Tell me about the Eiffel Tower first.
Sam: Oh, it’s great. It’s the symbol of the city, you know. Hard to imagine
how it was built over a hundred years ago.
Linda: Did you go to the top of the tower?
Sam: Sure. I dined at a restaurant on the top platform and enjoyed the
splendid view of Paris at night. The footlights on the magnificent buildings and
palaces are so beautiful that the city has got a nickname as the City of light
Linda What about the Louvre? Did you go there?
Sam: How could I miss it! I spent a whole day inside and still couldn’t finish
seeing all its collections of world famous treasures.
Linda: What treasures?
Sam: You must have heard about Mona Lisa, haven’t you?
Linda: Yes, of course. Did you see the original painting?
Sam: Yes. And I saw the Venus de Milo, too.
Linda: The statue of the Greek goddess of love? Oh, you’re so lucky, Sam.
I really wish I could have a chance to visit Pars.
Sam: You will, I’m sure. And there is the Arc de Triomphe.
Linda: Is that the arch that was built in Napoleon’s time?
Sam Well, it was Napoleon who started building it but the arch was not
completed until fifteen years after his death.
Linda: Where else did you visit in Paris?
Sam: I walked along the River Seine and enjoyed the views on both
banks.
Linda: Did you take any pictures?
Sam: Yes, I took a great many. I’ll show them to you and tell you more
about the city.
Linda: That’s great.
London
London is Europe’s largest city, spreading across an area of more than
620 square miles from its center on the River Thames. With a population of
just under eight million, it is also Europe’s most diverse city: around two
hundred languages are spoken in the city, and more than thirty percent of the
population is made up of first-, second- and third-generation immigrants.
For the visitor London is an exciting place. Among the “A list” of London’s
new attractions are the London Eye, the Tate Modem and the Millennium
Bridge. The London Eye, a huge observation wheel, which opened to the
public in January 2000, has attracted people from around the world to come
and experience the excitement of seeing London from a bird’s eye view. The
Tate Modem, which opened in May 2000, is the world’s largest modem art
gallery. And the Millennium Bridge over River Thames, which opened in
February 2002, is a 330m steel bridge linking the City of London at St Paul’s
Cathedral with the Tate Modem Gallery at Bank side.
In the meantime, London’s traditional sights Big Ben, Westminster Abbey,
Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s
Cathedral and the Tower of London — continue to draw in millions of
tourists every year. There is also much enjoyment to be had from the city’s
quiet Georgian squares, the narrow streets of the City of London, the riverside
walks, and a collecti

on of true villages nearby. And the large expanses of
greenery in Hyde Park, Green Park and St James’s Park are all within a few
minutes’ walk of the West End.
Evening News
Newsreader: Good evening. Here is the news for Wednesday, 25 October.
Child B — the girl who was refused treatment for leukemia by her local health
authority — has been named as 11-year-old Jaymee Bowen. The court today
lifted the ban on using her name. The case first hit the headlines in March,
when the local health authority refused to pay the 75,000 pounds that was
needed for her treatment. They believed that it would be a waste of money,
because she had very little chance of surviving. Jaymee eventually received
the treatment after an anonymous donor provided the money. Today smiling
and happy, Jaymee faced the cameras for the first time. She was asked what
she would say, if she was sitting next to the chief executive of the health
authority, who had made the decision about her treatment.
Jaymee: I wouldn?t say anything to him. I?d just go over there and whack
him one. Then I?d say “Thank you for nothing, because now look at me. I?m fine.
You could have paid for it. You had the chance and you blew it.”
Newsreader: Jaymee is not yet completely cured. ?When she started her
treatment, doctors put her chances of survival at 10 per cent. Now they?re 20 to
30 per cent. But Jaymee had this message for everyone.
Jaymee: I say never give up hope unless you are on the last little drop of
life you have in you. Never give up, because if you give up you will just end up
with nothing left.
Newsreader: That?s the news. Thank you for joining us.
News at Six
Good evening. Here is the news at 6 p.m.
The Transport Minister, Mark Lloyd, has resigned. In a brief statement
from his family home this morning he said that he had decided to resign for
personal reasons. The resignation comes after reports in several newspapers
that Mr. Lloyd had had an affair with his secretary. Mr Lloyd has denied the
reports. This morning he said that he just wanted to spend more time with his
family.
The Prime Minister is attending the World Conference on the Environment.
The conference president, Dr Sami Rambuka, told the conference that the
world was running out of time to solve the problem of the environment. He
asked the countries to put the interests of the Earth before their own national
interests.
The computer company, K.B. Grant, plans to open a new factory in Wales.
The Managing Director, Judy Forster, said that the new factory would provide
up to 300 new jobs. She added that if the business software market continued
to expand, even more jobs could be expected.
A prisoner has escaped from Dartmoor Prison. The prison governor, Cohn
Richardson, said that Frank Selwyn, who is serving 12 years for armed robbery,
had escaped at about 2 o’clock this afternoon by biding in a builder’s lorry. He
said that Selwyn was dangerous and anyone seeing him shou

ld call the police
immediately.
That’s it. Now here’s Carla Green with the weather forecast.
A 2-Year-Old Runs Cash
Register at an Eatery
Green Gardens restaurant has an unusual worker at the cash register:
2-year-old Gordon Tan. “He can do the credit card machine too,” said his
mother, Tiffany Lei, who is the owner of the restaurant.
It was a busy day in January at the restaurant when Gordon first climbed
up onto a chair, took customers’ tickets, rang up totals on the register, took the
cash, then counted out their change — correctly, Lei said. Earlier that month,
he had celebrated his second birthday.
Gordon’s father said the toddler can tell credit cards from debit cards. He
swipes them and enters the four-digit code to complete the sale.
When Gordon’s not at the register, he’s walking around the restaurant
helping with day-to-day operations. He runs to the back of the store to tell his
parents how many customers just walked in. He knows the number assigned
to each table, so he knows where to seat them, too.
When they run out of shrimp — “shah shah” in Chinese — Gordon runs
into the kitchen and yells, “No shah shah !” Customers were amazed the first
time they saw him at the register. One waitress at the restaurant said Gordon’s
performance is doubly amazing: first when Gordon rings up customers’ tickets,
then they count their money and find that he has got it right.
Some families visit the restaurant just to watch the boy. And they bring him
presents.
Gordon’s parents encourage and correct him if he gets something wrong.
At the register, he’ll tell them to leave him alone — he can do it himself.
His mother is glad for the help she gets from Gordon. She is pregnant with
a baby girl due in May. But soon, however, Gordon won’t have as much time to
help out. He’ll be starting day care.
What Is Intelligence?
For over 20 years, there has been a debate about intelligence:
what is it, who has it and how do we measure it? The argument is
fueled by findings from two camps of research. One group looks at the
statistics and biology of IQ and tries to determine how much of intelligence a
person is born with. The other group focuses on environment and points out
the changing of intelligence and the unfairness of IQ tests. Unfortunately, the
two lines of study seldom meet because their methods are so different. Rarely
does one group communicate with the other.
Therefore ordinary people are on the outside of the debate. They rely on
their personal beliefs about intelligence. The only trouble is our theories of
intelligence are too narrowly constructed. They tend to ignore existing data,
even though a lot of data exists on the topic.
At the very least, intelligence can be defined as the ability for complex
thinking and reasoning. One thing the research shows for sure: much of the
ability for complex reasoning depends on the situation. A person can be a
genius at the racet

rack but a fool in the stock market, even though both require
comparable mental activities. But the knowledge is organized in the mind
differently in different areas, so what a person knows about the racetrack can
lie inactive on Wall Street.
Australia Day
Australia is a continent in itself, and is nearly as large as the USA. January
26th is its National Day. It is called simply — Australia Day. It is celebrated
throughout the country to mark the founding of the first settlement. This
happened in 1788 when Captain Philip first raised the British flag in Sydney
Cove.
The National Australia Day Council organizes the Australia Day
celebrations across the nation. It tries to promote the meaning of Australia Day
through activity, education, discussion and debate. It also tries to promote
good citizenship, values and achievement by recognizing excellence and
service to the communities and the nation.
On the eve of Australia Day, the lawns of Parliament House, Canberra,
comes alive with lights when Celebrate Australia Day Live starts the
celebrations of Australia’s National Day. In 2004, more than 3.6 million
Australians watched the program when it was broadcast live to the nation on
Network Ten. They saw Australia’s hottest talents take the stage in a
celebration of all the great things about Australia and being Australian.
In Sydney a flag-raising ceremony takes place on that day. Throughout
the country there are also parades and official speeches. Since January is a
summer month in Australia, many people take advantage of the holiday and go
to the country’s over 7,000 beaches.
The standard of living in the country is high and there is little doubt that
Australians feel proud when they celebrate their National Day.
United Nations Day
The United Nations officially came into being on October 24, 1945. To
inform people about the UN, an entire week was set aside in October as
United Nations Week. It lasts from October 20 to October 26, with October 24
as United Nations Day. And from then on the day is celebrated by all the
member countries of the United Nations.
In many parts of the world, special programs are planned at schools for
this day. Students in some communities decorate a UN free, or conduct a
model session of the General Assembly or the Security Council. In other
communities, schools celebrate with the songs and dances of other countries
or give parties where foods of other lands are served.
In the United States, United Nations Day is observed in all its states.
Public meetings are held in City Halls.
Speakers talk about the achievements of the organization. Some shop
windows display products and clothes of other lands. During the week there
are forums and panel discussions. There may also be a banquet with foreign
dishes.
An important part of the week’s celebration is the setting up of information
centers, where literature on the work of the United Nations may be obtained.
Visitors to the

centers can learn about the work of various agencies of the UN
such as UNICEF (UN International Children’s Emergency Fund), UNESCO
(UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and WHO (World Health
Organization). These agencies help backward areas around the world. They
not only give direct assistance, but train teams of natives to teach their own
people.
The United Nations encourage people to learn about other lands and their
customs. In this way people can gain a better understanding of peoples all
over the world.
The Internet
What do 890 million people around the world have in common? The
answer is they all use the Internet.
What attracts them? Well, from your desk, you can check the weather in
Rio, buy stocks in Hong Kong, or see the latest exhibition in the Louvre
Museum in Paris. Also, specialist users like language teachers can discuss the
latest classroom techniques and activities. Doctors in Africa can get
up-to-the-second information on medical research around the world.
All you need is a basic computer, a modem, and the software to link you to
the phone line. With a click you’re online and you don’t have to wait long for
information. Delivery time for e-mail from Europe to the USA is about 10
seconds. But is it expensive? Not really — a typical online monthly charge fee
in the USA can be as low as $10.
What’s really extraordinary about the Internet is the amount and variety of
information available. You can find out about kite flying in Korea, the prices of
hotels in Pakistan, and the best plays on Broadway. You can use electronic
bulletin boards to join in political debates, get advice about love, or even
analyze your favorite sports teams’ performance. Services are also available
that allow you to do your banking, reserve airline tickets, and even shop for a
Mother’s Day gift.
And in case you think using the Internet means hours alone, you could
always head for an Internet café and order coffee, a snack, and an hour online.
You might even meet someone online and strike up an on-screen romance.
The New iPod
The fourth-generation iPod is on the market. It looks a bit different,
operates more efficiently, has a few more features and costs less. Here are the
highlights.
First, the click wheel. The iPod keeps getting smaller. This one is about a
millimeter thinner and has no control buttons that sit under the display screen.
Instead, it uses a click wheel,” where the controls are placed on the round
touchpad. This is an innovation carried over from the iPod Mini. It was
developed out of necessity for the Mini, because there wasn’t enough room for
the buttons.
Second, more efficient menus. There’s less to do to get to your favorite
stuff. “Music” is a first-level entry, and all you need is a single click.
You can create multiple playlists and delete songs you don’t want to be
stored in it anymore. And audio books are not only easier to find, you can listen

to them at normal speed, slower or 25 percent faster.
Third, longer play. The new iPods are rated for 12 hours of play between
charges — a 50 percent increase in battery life. This is achieved not by a
heavier battery but diligent conservation of power.
Finally, lower price. The top-of-the-line iPod, holding 10,000 songs (40
gigs), now costs $399. The lower-capacity model, with room for 5,000 songs
(20 gigs), costs $299. That’s $100 less for each.
A Solar Eclipse
On May 28 in 585 BC the Medes, who were from what is now northern
Iran, were in baffle with the Lydians who lived in what is now Turkey. To the
horror of both sides, the sun disappeared. The war had been going on for five
years, but the Medes and Lydians were so frightened at this ill omen that they
made peace.
Today, astronomers are able to explain such disappearances of the sun.
On its trip around the Earth, if the moon passes directly between the sun and
the Earth, then it prevents rays of the sun from reaching the Earth and causes
a temporary darkening. This is what is known as a solar eclipse. A solar eclipse
can last as long as seven and a half minutes. During the 20th century 228 solar
eclipses, mostly partial ones, have taken place.
In 1991, there was a total eclipse of the sun. Because the moon passed
directly in the line of sight between the sun and the Earth, its shadows spread
a path of darkness across the land. This path extended from Hawaii to South
America in what astronomers called “the Eclipse of the Century.11
Instead of being frightened by the eclipse as had ancient peoples, people
flocked to Hawaii and Mexico to view the awesome sight. Scientists viewed the
eclipse from an observatory on a volcanic peak in Hawaii. In the continental
United States, however, only a partial eclipse occurred. Unfortunately, as a
result of a cloud cover, this partial eclipse was barely visible.
Interesting things happened during the 1991 eclipse. For example,
animals in a zoo in Mexico City headed into their dens when the eclipse began.
When the sun reappeared, roosters crowed as if it were morning. And
light-sensitive lamps flickered on at the beginning of the eclipse and flickered
off at the end.
The 10th Planet?
On July 29, 2005 Dr Mike Brown of the California Institute of Technology
announced the discovery of a new planet in the solar system. The planet,
which hasn’t been officially named yet, was found by Brown and his
Colleagues in California. It is currently about 97 times farther from the sun
than Earth. This places the new planet more or less in a dark realm beyond
Neptune where thousands of small icy bodies orbit the sun. The planet
appears to be typical of such objects — only much bigger. Its sheer size in
relation to the nine known planets means that it can only be classified as a
planet itself, Brown says.
The planet was also discovered by two other astronomers, Chad Trujillo of
Hawaii, and David
Rabinowitz of Yale Univers

ity. They first photographed the new planet on
October 31, 2003. The object was so far away, however, that its motion was
not detected until they reanalyzed the data in January of this year. In the last
seven months, the scientists have been studying the planet to better estimate
its size and its motions.
This new planet is the largest object found in orbit around the sun since
the discovery of Neptune and its moon Triton in 1846. It is larger than Pluto,
which was discovered in 1930.
The planet’s temporary name is 2003 UB313. A permanent name has
been proposed by the discoverers to the International Astronomical Union, and
they are waiting for the decision of this body before announcing the name.
Full of Life
Michelle was nine weeks pregnant. She went to have a medical check-up
with her doctor who gave her routine blood tests as well as a breast exam.
Feeling something in one of her breasts, he ordered a sonogram, which was a
standard procedure for a pregnant woman with a suspect lump. Soon she had
to take more tests, including an ultrasound and three biopsies.
The results showed that there were malignant cells in her right breast.
Michelle was devastated. She thought for the first time that she was going to
die. But she was only 34 and she was going to have a baby
Michelle’s tumor was very small, under one centimeter. But the biggest
question was whether any lymph nodes had been affected. If they were, she
would have to go through aggressive treatment. The procedure to find out
whether her lymph nodes were affected was dangerous for a pregnant woman.
All the signs pointed in just one direction: Michelle should end her pregnancy.
Michelle, however, wasn’t so sure. She said to her husband Jim, “This
little baby saved my life. If I wasn’t pregnant, I would not have had the breast
exam. We wouldn’t have caught the cancer so early. So how can I just let go?”
Jim was furious. He couldn’t understand why she should be so stubborn.
Michelle reasoned with him. “If it’s in my lymph nodes, we’ll cross the bridge
when we come to it. If I end my pregnancy now and my lymph nodes turn out
to be clear, I will have lost my baby.”
Michelle decided to have her right breast removed. The surgery lasted two
hours. In the recovery room her doctor listened for the baby’s heartbeat. He
didn’t hear it right away. Everyone was still. Then there it was. Everyone
relaxed. Five days later, Michelle learned that her lymph nodes were clean.
Filled with relief, Michelle burst into tears. Now she could really look forward to
the baby.
Six months later, the baby was born, whole and healthy.
Michelle is one of the numerous mothers who won’t take no for an answer.
Safe Blood
Hospitals and doctors need safe blood to use in operations and other
treatments. Safe blood saves lives. Every day thousands of people would die if
other people did not donate blood. Most blood is given to four kinds of patients:
pregnant

women who suffer bleeding inside their bodies; children whose blood
lacks iron; accident victims; and people with cancer.
The World Health Organization says a large majority of the world
population does not have a safe blood supply. A WHO study finds that people
in poor countries face the most risk from unsafe blood supplies. Many of these
countries are also places where diseases are spreading most quickly.
The WHO and the Red Cross have begun a year-long campaign to
improve blood supplies around the world. They want to make clear who should
give blood and who should not.
The experts say you should only give blood if you are healthy and do not
have an infection that can be passed through blood. Most people can give
blood as often as every four months. This is important because no blood
products can be used after 35 days in storage.
Experts say people who do not feel well should not give blood. They say
pregnant women or women who have been pregnant within the past year
should not give blood either. They also say people with medical conditions like
heart disease or diabetes should not give blood. And, people taking certain
kinds of medicine should not give blood.
Above all, the WHO and Red Cross are urging officials not to pay people
to give blood. Studies have shown that blood is more likely to be unsafe when
it comes from a person who is paid for the service.