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listentothis lesson 7

时间:2005-06-14 16:00:00

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(单词翻译)

 

Professor Ernest Watson was answering questions on a radio phone-in programme on the subject of learning a foreign language.
Listener: Hello, Professor, can you hear me?
Prof W: Yes, we can hear you fine.
Listener: My name is Humphries, Albert Humphries, and I live in Balham, in London.
Prof W: Yes, good evening Mr. Humphries. What is your question?
Mr. H: I've been studying Spanish for some years. I go to Spain on holiday sometimes. I've learnt quite a lot of grammar and vocabulary. But I find it very difficult to speak, and when I went to Spain this summer, I couldn't understand the Spanish people at all. I got really disheartened.
Prof W: Yes, it is a problem. How long have you been studying Spanish?
Mr. H: About four years.
Prof W: Yes, how exactly? Going to an evening class, using tapes ...?
Mr. H: I've been going to an evening class and I've watched quite a lot of the BBC television programmes.
Prof W: Oh, yes. They're very good. Did you buy the BBC book?
Mr. H: No, we use a different book in the class. But I watched the programmes.
Prof W: Yes, I see ... Mr. Humphries, I always think that learning a language is rather like learning to drive. Now, you couldn't learn to drive a car by sitting in a classroom or watching television. I think what you need is a lot of practice in using the language.
Mr. H: That's all very well if you live in the country where they speak the language but I don't.
Prof W: Yes, I understand the problem. Though even if you live in the country where the language is spoken, you have to reach a certain standard before you are able to have conversations with the natives. I was thinking perhaps you might arrange with another student or students to have regular conversation practice.
Mr. H: But the other students make the same mistakes as I do.
Prof W: I think you're confusing learning with practicing. Remember what I said about driving a car. Learning to speak means being able to put together the right groups of words and to say them in a reasonably accurate way.
Mr. H: And what about learning to understand real Spanish?
Prof W: Well, again, you need practice in hearing the Spanish language spoken by Spanish speakers. There are Spanish speakers in London. Get one of them to read some extracts1 from a Spanish newspaper onto a cassette. Have you got a cassette recorder?
Mr. H: Yes.
Prof W: Then you want to listen and listen and listen to the recordings2 until you almost know them by heart, just as if you were learning to drive, you'd practice parking the car, over and over again, till you could do it perfectly3. Learning to speak a language is a very hard business. You don't need a huge vocabulary. You need a small vocabulary that you can use really efficiently4, and to be able to do that you need lots and lots of practice.

Woman: Good morning.

Librarian: Morning, can I help you?
Woman: Yes, I'd like to join the library. We're new to the district you see.
Librarian: Certainly. Well all we need is some sort of identification5 with your name and address on it.
Woman: Oh dear. We just moved, you see, and everything has my old address.
Librarian: A driving licence, perhaps?
Woman: No, I don't drive.
Librarian: Your husband's would do.
Woman: Yes, but his licence will still have the old address on it.
Librarian: Perhaps you have a letter addressed to you at your new house?
Woman: No, I'm afraid not. We've only been there a few days you see and no one's written to us yet.
Librarian: What about your bank book?
Woman: That's just the same. Oh dear, and I did want to get some books out this weekend. We're going on holiday to relax after the move, you see, and I wanted to take something with me to read.
Librarian: Well, I'm sorry, but we can't possibly issue tickets without some form of identification. What about your passport?
Woman: What? Oh yes, how silly of me. I've just got a new one and it does have our new address. I've just been to book our tickets so I have it on me. Just a minute. Here you are.
Librarian: Thank you. Well, that's all right. Now if you'd like to go and choose your books your tickets will be ready for you when you come back to the desk to have them stamped out.
Woman: Oh, thank you. Er, how many books am I allowed to take out?
Librarian: You can take four books out at a time and you also get two tickets to take out magazines or periodicals6. Newspapers, I'm afraid can't be taken out; they have to be read here.
Woman: Oh that's fine. We have our own daily newspaper delivered to the house. Oh, do you have a record library? Some libraries do, I know.
Librarian: Yes, we do. You have to pay a deposit7 of
5 in case you damage them. But that entitles8 you to take out two records at a time. We also have everything available on cassette if you prefer it. Cassettes seem to be much more popular than records lately.
Woman: Oh yes, as a matter of fact, I would prefer cassettes but I won't take any out today. I'll leave it until we come back from our holidays. Could you show me where your history and biography9 sections are, please?
Librarian: Yes, just over there to your right. If there's any particular book you want you can look it up in the catalogue, which you'll find just round the corner.
Woman: Thank you. Oh, and how long am I allowed to keep the books for?
Librarian: For three weeks. After that you must telephone to renew the books if you wish to keep them longer. Otherwise we charge 20p a day fine for each book.
Woman: Oh dear. We're going away for six weeks. Can I renew them now?
Librarian: I'm afraid not. You must do that at the end of three weeks. Someone else might want them you see. And in that case we have to ask you to return them.
Woman: You mean, if someone wants them after my three weeks are up I have to bring them back?
Librarian: Yes, but just telephone and we'll see what we can do.
Woman: But I'm going to Tahiti. It would cost a fortune.
Librarian: Well ...
Woman: Oh, never mind. I'll leave it until we get back. It's not worth all the bother. I'll get some paperbacks10 in the airport. Well, thank you. I'm sorry I've been such a nuisance. Good morning.
Librarian: Not at all. Good morning.

Receptionist: United World Colleges. Can I help you?
Julian: Yes, I'd like some information about the colleges, please.
Receptionist: Hold the line. I'll put you through to the International Secretary.
Creighton: Good morning. Robert Creighton speaking.
Julian: Good morning. My name's Julian Harris and I have a friend in Spain who's interested in applying for a place at one of the colleges. There are one or two questions which she'd like me to ask you.
Creighton: Go ahead.
Julian: Thanks. The first one is: what language is used for normal lessons?
Creighton: Well, the main language of instruction in all the colleges is English. But at Pacific College in Canada some subjects are taught in French, and at the College of the Adriatic some may be taught in Italian.
Julian: Right. Her next question is about fees. Is it expensive to go to one of the colleges?
Creighton: Students' parents don't have to be rich, if that's what you mean. There are scholarships for all colleges, but we do ask parents to help by paying what they can afford.
Julian: Good, she'll be glad to hear that. Now she wants to know something about getting into a college. Does she have to get high marks in her examinations?
Creighton: Ah, yes, well she will have to do well, but academic ability is not the only thing that's important. We also look at personal qualities.

Julian: What sort of things do you mean?
Creighton: Maturity11, the ability to get on well with people from different countries, that sort of thing.
Julian: Of course. I understand what you mean. Her last question is about her other interests. Can she do painting and modern dancing, for example?
Creighton: Yes, probably. It depends on the staff at the college she enters. Each college has its own special activities, such as theatre studies or environmental work, in which students can take part.
Julian: Good. I think that's all. Thank you very much for your help.
Creighton: You're welcome. I hope your friend sends in an application.
Julian: I'm sure she will. Thanks again. Goodbye.
Creighton: Goodbye.

Grace: It's so great seeing you guys again.
Curtis: Yeah.
Martin: I agree.
Grace: I can't believe it's been twenty years since we were all in college together.
Martin: You know something, I remember it as if it were yesterday.
Curtis: I do ... (Yeah.) I was just going to say, as if it were yesterday.
Martin: Incredible12.
Grace: Martin, what do you remember most about our college days?
Martin: Oh, I remember most?
Grace: Uh-huh.
Martin: Curtis's hair ... down to his waist.
Curtis: Now, I remember how Grace looked. (Wha ...) She always had a flower painted on her face, remember that?
Martin: Oh, yes. I remember that.
Grace: Now wait, wait. Let's not forget about Martin and his air-conditioned blue jeans. I never saw anybody with more holes in their jeans than Martin.
Martin: They're a classic. You know, I still have those blue jeans. (Oh.)
Grace: Still have them? I don't believe it.
Curtis: Oh. Incredible. I don't either.
Martin: And I still wear them, too.
Curtis: You know, I was just thinking the other day—it's funny-about that worst ... worst thing that happened in college.
Martin: The worst thing?
Grace: What was that?
Curtis: Yeah. The time we were driving home from college for a spring break, remember? (Oooh.) (Ooh. Yeah. Oooh.) It was a holiday, and every gas station was closed. And that darn gas gauge13 was on empty.
Martin: And (We were desperate.) we stopped at that gas station and tried to get some gas out of that pump.
Grace: And the neighbours saw us and called the police. We almost got arrested. (Oooh.) Gosh, I was scared stiff14.
Martin: You were scared stiff? I was petrified15. And—but, you know, it was a lot different from the time we actually did get arrested.
Curtis: Umm.
Grace: Yeah. You know, that's my best memory. That peace demonstration16. (Yeah.) You know, somehow getting arrested for something you believe in isn't ... isn't scary at all.
Curtis: No, it isn't at all.
Martin: You're right.
Curtis: But it did help that there were five hundred other students getting arrested along with us.
Martin: That was a great day, though.
Grace: Hey, hey, you all remember our last day of college?
Martin: What, you mean graduation?
Curtis: Graduation, what's to remember? None of you went to graduation. I didn't go.
Martin: Do you regret that, that ... that after all these years you skipped out on the ceremony?
Grace: Not me. Hey, I've changed my mind about a lot of things in twenty years, but I don't think we missed anything that day.
Curtis: No, nothing at all. And that picnic that the three of us had by the stream, remember? (That was great.) (Oooh.) Drinking wine, playing guitar, singing. Oh, that was worth more to me than any graduation ceremony.
Martin: That was (Mm-hmm.) the best graduation ceremony there could have been.
Curtis: Mm-hmm.

1.       Most of the subjects of the enquiry think that nearly every word in English has just one meaning.

2. While it's true, of course, that many words in English do have only one meaning, it can easily be shown that the majority have more than one.
3. The third important misconception on the part of the students is their idea that a word can be used correctly as soon as its meaning is known.

4. English has a larger vocabulary than any other language. The reason for this, of course, is that it has been influenced by several other languages. It has, in fact, borrowed words from many sources. It is, therefore, particularly rich in synonyms17.
5. Perhaps more important is a grammatical18 matter, namely that some words which mean the same can only be used when certain other words are present.
6. Unfortunately, when many students pick up a book to read they tend to have no particular purpose in mind other than simply to read the book.
7. The result is that students frequently don't have an overall view of what they're reading; also, they tend to forget fairly soon what they've been reading.
8. One reason for poor comprehension from reading may be that students fail to make notes or to ask themselves questions about the text.
9. If the reading material was broken down every twenty-five pages by short tests, reminding him what he had read, he could go on without fatigue19 or loss of efficiency for periods of up to six hours.
10. If he can increase his reading speed without loss of comprehension, then he'll have become a more efficient reader.

   Credit Cards
    Many businesses, such as department stores, restaurants, hotels and airline companies, use a credit system for selling their products and services. In a credit system, the seller agrees to sell something to the buyer without immediately receiving cash. The buyer receives the goods or services immediately and promises to pay for them later. This "buy-now-pay-later" credit system is quite old. People have been buying things on credit for centuries. But nowadays people use credit cards. There are two types of credit cards. One type is issued directly by a store to a customer. Many large department stores issue credit cards to their customers. The store credit card can be used to make purchases only at a particular store. The other kind of credit card is issued by a credit company. Credit cards from credit companies can be used to buy things almost anywhere. If you have a major credit card, you can buy airplane tickets, stay at hotels, and eat at restaurants with it. Most large credit companies are connected to large banks. So if you want a credit card from a credit company, you generally have to make an application at a bank. After an applicant20 receives a credit card, he or she can make purchases, using the card.

 


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 extracts 98f3ce64044e022bd9ecc37e82fb8344     
摘录( extract的名词复数 ); 引用; 提炼物; 浓缩物
参考例句:
  • shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
  • These are all extracts from Chaucer. 这些都是乔叟诗抄中的精萃。
2 recordings 22f9946cd05973582e73e4e3c0239bb7     
n.记录( recording的名词复数 );录音;录像;唱片
参考例句:
  • a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
  • old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐
3 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
4 efficiently ZuTzXQ     
adv.高效率地,有能力地
参考例句:
  • The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
  • Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。
5 identification RbFxK     
n.视为同一,证明同一,确认
参考例句:
  • He's made a formal identification of the body.他正式确认了死者身份。
  • We should have identification card on the person when we go out.我们外出时应随身携带身份证。
6 periodicals 2057ef71630286fd3542fc31a53cb3e9     
期刊( periodical的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He consulted a number of relevant books and periodicals. 他参看了不少有关书刊。
  • I'll send you all the periodicals available. 我将把我能得到的期刊给你寄去。
7 deposit Rwkx5     
n.定金,存款,矿藏;vt.使沉淀,寄存,储蓄
参考例句:
  • There is too much deposit in a bottle of wine.酒瓶里有太多的沉淀物。
  • The hotel requires a deposit for all advance bookings.旅馆规定凡预订房间都要先付订金。
8 entitles 0361c2f3265c3d29ea8dab62efde52b5     
使有资格,使有权( entitle的第三人称单数 ); 给…题名
参考例句:
  • The lease entitles the holder to use the buildings and any land attached thereto. 本租约持有人有权使用此建筑物以及所附属的土地。
  • This ticket entitles you to a free seat at the concert. 持这张票可以免费听音乐会。
9 biography YRfyx     
n.个人经历,传记
参考例句:
  • He is now collecting material for a biography of Tao Yuanming.他正在为写陶渊明传记搜集材料。
  • Boswell wrote a famous biography of Dr.White.鲍斯韦尔为怀特博士写过一本著名传记。
10 paperbacks d747667a9a2e4a29bff93951a8105f8e     
n.平装本,平装书( paperback的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • This shop only sells paperbacks. 这家书店只出售平装本的书。 来自辞典例句
  • Other paperbacks were selling for ten or 15 cents each. 其它的平装书每本才卖十或十五美分。 来自互联网
11 maturity 47nzh     
n.成熟;完成;(支票、债券等)到期
参考例句:
  • These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
  • This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。
12 incredible q8fx7     
adj.难以置信的,不可信的,极好的,大量的
参考例句:
  • Some planets run at incredible speed.某些星球以难以置信的速度运行着。
  • Her answer showed the most incredible stupidity.她的回答显示出不可思议的愚蠢。
13 gauge 2gMxz     
v.精确计量;估计;n.标准度量;计量器
参考例句:
  • Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗?
  • It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。
14 stiff 4G8z4     
adj.严厉的,激烈的,硬的,僵直的,不灵活的
参考例句:
  • There is a sheet of stiff cardboard in the drawer.在那个抽屉里有块硬纸板。
  • You have to push on the handle to turn it,becanse it's very stiff.手柄很不灵活,你必须用力推才能转动它。
15 petrified 2e51222789ae4ecee6134eb89ed9998d     
adj.惊呆的;目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆,使惊呆;变僵硬;使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • I'm petrified of snakes. 我特别怕蛇。
  • The poor child was petrified with fear. 这可怜的孩子被吓呆了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 demonstration 9waxo     
n.表明,示范,论证,示威
参考例句:
  • His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
  • He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。
17 synonyms 61074ebd64d7f24131fd4b896f51f711     
同义词( synonym的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • If you want to grasp English, you must carefully discriminate synonyms. 如果你想掌握好英语,你必须仔细区分同义词。
  • Study the idioms and synonyms l wrote down before your test. 学考试前我给你写的习惯用语和同义字。
18 grammatical SfLx6     
adj.语法的,符合语法规则的
参考例句:
  • His composition is excellent except for some grammatical mistakes.他的作文写得很好,只有几处语法错误。
  • He can barely form a grammatical sentence.他几乎造不出合乎语法的句子。
19 fatigue PhVzV     
n.疲劳,劳累
参考例句:
  • The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
  • I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。
20 applicant 1MlyX     
n.申请人,求职者,请求者
参考例句:
  • He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
  • In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

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