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中级英语听力lesson 15

时间:2005-06-14 16:00:00

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(单词翻译)

A: Did you hear on the news today about that ... uh ... murderer who was executed?
B: I can't believe it.

A: Yeah. That's the first time in ten years that they've used capital punishment.
B: I just can't believe in our society today that they would actually kill another human being. Nobody has the right to take another person's life.
A: Oh, I don't agree. Listen, I think capital punishment is—it's about time it came back. I think that's exactly what killers2 deserve.
B: No, they don't deserve that. Because once you're killing3 a killer1, you're the killer, too. You become a killer as well.
A: No, listen. You take a life, you have to be willing to give up your own. And also, I think that if you have a death penalty it will prevent other people from killing. I think it's a good deterrent4.
B: I don't think it's a good deterrent at all. My goodness gracious. I mean, first of all, are you sure the person you've convicted to death is really guilty?
A: Well, I think that's a very rare ... very rare incidence.
B: I don't think it's rare, (I don't think it's ...) with all the cracker5 jack6 lawyers we have today, (Well, no ... I ...) and the judicial7 system the way it is.
A: I think it's a rare incidence, and I think it's more important to get rid of the ... the bad seed, you know?
B: But you don't get rid of it. You rehabilitate8 somebody like that. (Oh ...) You don't eliminate, you rehabilitate.
A: Listen, studies show that criminals are never really rehabilitated9. When they're ... when they come out of prison they just go back to a life of crime, and they're hardened by that crime.
B: Because the rehabilitation10 process has to be more than just what's in jail. I mean, (Oh ... well.) when you're in jail you do have to work, but when you're out of jail there has to be an extensive program. We have to expand on the idea till it works.
A: I don't agree. Listen—and, anyway, the jails and the prisons are already very crowded, and we have to pay, the taxpayers11. Our money goes to maintaining murderers' (I ...) lives.
B: I agree with you. That's why it's important to look at the problem on a much larger scale. The real problem is a social problem. (What ... no ...) There are other problems that cause people to kill. Look at poverty, drugs, discrimination.
A: Some people are just bad. They're just evil and there's nothing you can do.
B: No, there ... it is ... no, it isn't true. There's rehabilitation. (No.) And they ... we're all responsible it ... for ... to humanity. That's one of the reasons ...
A: Well, but in the meantime you have to take care of the people who have already committed ...
B: I agree with you there.
A: Preventative is different, but ...
B: I agree with you there.

Announcer: On 'TV Magazine' tonight we're looking at people who have given up regular jobs and high salaries to start a new way of life. First of all, we have two interviews with people who decided12 to leave the 'rat race'. Nicola Burgess spoke13 to them.
Nicola: This is the Isle14 of Skye. Behind me you can see the croft belonging to Daniel and Michelle Burns, who gave up their jobs to come to this remote area of Scotland. Daniel was the sales manager of Hi-Vita, the breakfast cereal company, and Michelle was a successful advertising15 executive. Michelle, can you tell us what made you give up everything to come here?
Michelle: Everything? That's a matter of opinion. A big house and two cars isn't everything! Dan and I both used to work long hours. We had to leave so early in the morning and we came home so late at night, that we hardly ever saw each other. We should have come here years ago, but we were earning such big salaries that we were afraid to leave our jobs. In the end we had so little time together that our marriage was breaking up. So two years ago, we took a week's holiday in the Scottish Highlands. We saw this place and we both fell in love with it. It was for sale, and we liked it so much that we decided to give up our jobs, and here we are!
Nicola: How do you earn a living? If you don't mind me asking.
Michelle: We don't need very much. We keep sheep and goats, grow our own vegetables. We've got a few chickens. It's a very simple life, and we're not in it for profit. We're still so busy that we work from five in the morning until eight at night, but we're together. We're happier than we're ever been and we're leading a natural life.
Nicola: There must be some things you miss, surely.
Michelle: I don't know. We knew such a lot of people in London, but they weren't real friends. We see our neighbours occasionally and there's such a lot to do on the farm that we don't have time to feel lonely. At least we see each other now.
Nicola: The motor-bike I'm sitting on is a very special one. Special because it's been all the way round the world. It belongs to Luke Saunders, who has just returned to England after a three year motor-cycle journey. Luke, what led you to leave your job and make this trip?
Luke: I worked in a car factory on the assembly line. All I had to do was put four nuts on the bolts that hold the wheels on. It's done by robots now, and a good thing too! The job was so routine that I didn't have to think at all. I bought this Triumph 750 cc bike second-hand16, fitted two panniers on the back and just set off for Australia.
Nicola: What did you do for money?
Luke: I had a bit of money to start with, but of course it didn't last long and I had to find work where I could. I've done so many different things—picked fruit, washed up, worked as a mechanic.

Nicola: How did people react to you? In India, for example.
Luke: Everywhere I went, the people were so friendly that problems seemed to solve themselves. There was such a lot of interest in the bike that it was easy to start a conversation. You know, often you can communicate without really knowing the language.
Nicola: Did you ever feel like giving up, turning round and coming home?
Luke: Only once, in Bangladesh. I became so ill with food poisoning that I had to go to hospital. But it didn't last long.
Nicola: You've had such an exciting time that you'll find it difficult to settle down, won't you?
Luke: I'm not going to. Next week I'm off again, but this time I'm going in the opposite direction! See you in about three years' time!

Here is an extract from a radio talk on the work of Sigmund Freud by Professor Eric Watkis:
    Sigmund Freud developed his system of psychoanalysis while he was studying cases of mental illness. By examining details of the patient's life, he found that the illness could often be traced back to some definite problem or conflict within the person concerned. But he discovered, too, that many of the neuroses observed in mentally ill patients were also present, to a lesser17 degree, in normal persons. This led him to the realization18 that the borderline between the normal and the neurotic19 person is not nearly as clearly marked as was once believed.
    In 1914 he published a book called The Psychopathology of Everyday Life. This book goes a long way towards explaining some of the strange behaviour of normal, sane20 people.
    A glance at Freud's chapter headings will indicate some of the aspects of behaviour covered by the book:
    Forgetting of proper names
    Forgetting of foreign words
    Childhood and concealing21 memories
    Mistakes in speech
    Mistakes in reading and writing
    Broadly, Freud demonstrates that there are good reasons for many of the slips and errors that we make. We forget a name because, unconsciously, we do not wish to remember that name. We repress a childhood memory because that memory is painful to us. A slip of the tongue or of the pen betrays a wish or a thought of which we are ashamed.
    In these days when every would-be doctor or writer has access to Freud's accounts of his research, it is worth pausing and remembering the remarkable22 scope and originality23 of his ideas.

    Cheese is one of those foods that we tend to take for granted as always having been with us, and it's odd to think that someone somewhere must have discovered the process that takes place when micro-organisms get into milk and bring about changes in its physical and biochemical structure.
    Obviously, we don't know who discovered the process, but it's thought that it came from South-West Asia about 8,000 years ago.
    Early cheese was probably rather unpalatable stuff, tasteless and bland24 in the case of the so-called 'fresh cheeses', which are eaten immediately after the milk has coagulated, and rough tasting and salty in the case of the 'ripened25' cheeses, which are made by adding salt to the soft fresh cheese and allowing other biochemical processes to continue so that a stronger taste and a more solid texture26 result.
    The ancient Romans changed all that. They were great pioneers in the art of cheese-making, and the different varieties of cheese they invented and the techniques for producing them spread with them to the countries they invaded. This dissemination27 of new techniques took place between about 60 BC and 300 AD. You can still trace their influence in the English word 'cheese', which comes ultimately from the Latin word 'caseus', that's C-A-S-E-U-S.
    Well, things went on quietly enough after the Roman period with the cheese producers in the different countries getting on with developing their own specialities. It's amazing the variety of flavours you can get from essentially28 the same process.
    At this stage in history, people weren't aware in a scientific way of the role of different micro-organisms and enzymes29 in producing different types of cheese. But they knew from experience that if you kept your milk or your 'pre-cheese' mixture at a certain temperature or in a certain environment, things would turn out in a certain way. The Roquefort caves in France are an example of a place that was used for centuries for the ripening30 of a certain sort of cheese, before people knew exactly why they produced the effect they did.
    In the nineteenth century, with the increasing knowledge about micro-organisms, there came the next great step forward in cheese-making. Once it was known exactly which micro-organisms were involved in the different stages of producing a cheese, and how the presence of different micro-organisms affected31 the taste, it was possible to introduce them deliberately32, and to industrialize the process.
    Cheese started being made on a large scale in factories, although the small producer working from his farm dairy continued to exist and still exist today. Cheese-making moved very much into the world of technology and industrial processes, although, because the aim is still to produce something that people like to eat, there's still an important role for human judgement. People still go round tasting the young cheese at different stages to see how it's getting on, and may add a bit of this or that to improve the final taste. Whatever the scale of production, there is still room for art alongside the technology.

1.       All cultures change, even modern ones. As a matter of fact, change occurs most rapidly in modern cultures, since science brings us so many new discoveries every day. It is rather difficult to follow these changes clearly, since they happen so fast. The civilization that I will discuss today is easier to observe.

2. No formal history was written for these early Indians, but Navajo Indians who came along later found evidence of their great civilization. The Navajos called these prehistoric33 people 'the Anasazi', which means, 'the Ancient Ones'.
3. Descendants of the Anasazi still live in the Southwest, and many aspects of their culture are similar to ancient times. Today these people are called Pueblo34 Indians.
4. There are four different time periods in the development of the Anasazi. Scientists have looked for the one most important theme in this story, a kind of unifying35 idea to organize all the facts. The most critical and influential36 improvement in their lives was the way they used containers to cook, store, and carry food and water.
5. The most important job of the man in this society was to learn, teach, and perform the religious ceremonies associated with farming. Women worked in the fields and prepared all the food. Women also wove baskets out of yucca fibers37.
6. We don't know what the final problem was. It might have been enemy attack, sickness, lack of rain, or over-farmed soil. But in the year 1300 the last of the Anasazi left the cliff dwellings38, never to return again. They left behind their beautiful pueblos39, which still stand as a monument to them.

 


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 killer rpLziK     
n.杀人者,杀人犯,杀手,屠杀者
参考例句:
  • Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
  • The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。
2 killers c1a8ff788475e2c3424ec8d3f91dd856     
凶手( killer的名词复数 ); 消灭…者; 致命物; 极难的事
参考例句:
  • He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
  • They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。
3 killing kpBziQ     
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
参考例句:
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
4 deterrent OmJzY     
n.阻碍物,制止物;adj.威慑的,遏制的
参考例句:
  • Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
  • I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网,免得鸟歇上去。
5 cracker svCz5a     
n.(无甜味的)薄脆饼干
参考例句:
  • Buy me some peanuts and cracker.给我买一些花生和饼干。
  • There was a cracker beside every place at the table.桌上每个位置旁都有彩包爆竹。
6 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
7 judicial c3fxD     
adj.司法的,法庭的,审判的,明断的,公正的
参考例句:
  • He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
  • Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。
8 rehabilitate 2B4zy     
vt.改造(罪犯),修复;vi.复兴,(罪犯)经受改造
参考例句:
  • There was no money to rehabilitate the tower.没有资金修复那座塔。
  • He used exercise programmes to rehabilitate the patients.他采用体育锻炼疗法使患者恢复健康。
9 rehabilitated 9f0df09d5d67098e9f9374ad9b9e4e75     
改造(罪犯等)( rehabilitate的过去式和过去分词 ); 使恢复正常生活; 使恢复原状; 修复
参考例句:
  • He has been rehabilitated in public esteem. 公众已恢复对他的敬重。
  • Young persons need to be, wherever possible, rehabilitated rather than punished. 未成年人需要受到尽可能的矫正而不是惩罚。
10 rehabilitation 8Vcxv     
n.康复,悔过自新,修复,复兴,复职,复位
参考例句:
  • He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
  • No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。
11 taxpayers 8fa061caeafce8edc9456e95d19c84b4     
纳税人,纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
  • She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。
12 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
13 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
14 isle fatze     
n.小岛,岛
参考例句:
  • He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
  • The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。
15 advertising 1zjzi3     
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的
参考例句:
  • Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
  • The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。
16 second-hand second-hand     
adj.用过的,旧的,二手的
参考例句:
  • I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
  • They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。
17 lesser UpxzJL     
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地
参考例句:
  • Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
  • She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及,但程度较轻。
18 realization nTwxS     
n.实现;认识到,深刻了解
参考例句:
  • We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
  • He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。
19 neurotic lGSxB     
adj.神经病的,神经过敏的;n.神经过敏者,神经病患者
参考例句:
  • Nothing is more distracting than a neurotic boss. 没有什么比神经过敏的老板更恼人的了。
  • There are also unpleasant brain effects such as anxiety and neurotic behaviour.也会对大脑产生不良影响,如焦虑和神经质的行为。
20 sane 9YZxB     
adj.心智健全的,神志清醒的,明智的,稳健的
参考例句:
  • He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
  • He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。
21 concealing 0522a013e14e769c5852093b349fdc9d     
v.隐藏,隐瞒,遮住( conceal的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Despite his outward display of friendliness, I sensed he was concealing something. 尽管他表现得友善,我还是感觉到他有所隐瞒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • SHE WAS BREAKING THE COMPACT, AND CONCEALING IT FROM HIM. 她违反了他们之间的约定,还把他蒙在鼓里。 来自英汉文学 - 三万元遗产
22 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的
参考例句:
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
23 originality JJJxm     
n.创造力,独创性;新颖
参考例句:
  • The name of the game in pop music is originality.流行音乐的本质是独创性。
  • He displayed an originality amounting almost to genius.他显示出近乎天才的创造性。
24 bland dW1zi     
adj.淡而无味的,温和的,无刺激性的
参考例句:
  • He eats bland food because of his stomach trouble.他因胃病而吃清淡的食物。
  • This soup is too bland for me.这汤我喝起来偏淡。
25 ripened 8ec8cef64426d262ecd7a78735a153dc     
v.成熟,使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • They're collecting the ripened reddish berries. 他们正采集熟了的淡红草莓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The branches bent low with ripened fruits. 成熟的果实压弯了树枝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
26 texture kpmwQ     
n.(织物)质地;(材料)构造;结构;肌理
参考例句:
  • We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
  • Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。
27 dissemination dissemination     
传播,宣传,传染(病毒)
参考例句:
  • The dissemination of error does people great harm. 谬种流传,误人不浅。
  • He was fully bent upon the dissemination of Chinese culture all over the world. 他一心致力于向全世界传播中国文化。
28 essentially nntxw     
adv.本质上,实质上,基本上
参考例句:
  • Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
  • She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。
29 enzymes 7881ad8ce9c83424f7874e70266ed2d8     
n. 酶,酵素
参考例句:
  • It was said that washing powders containing enzymes remove stains more efficiently. 据说加酶洗衣粉除污更有效。
  • Among the enzymes which are particularly effective are pepsin, papain. 在酶当中特别有效的是胃朊酶、木瓜酶。
30 ripening 5dd8bc8ecf0afaf8c375591e7d121c56     
v.成熟,使熟( ripen的现在分词 );熟化;熟成
参考例句:
  • The corn is blossoming [ripening]. 玉米正在开花[成熟]。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • When the summer crop is ripening, the autumn crop has to be sowed. 夏季作物成熟时,就得播种秋季作物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
31 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
32 deliberately Gulzvq     
adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地
参考例句:
  • The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
  • They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。
33 prehistoric sPVxQ     
adj.(有记载的)历史以前的,史前的,古老的
参考例句:
  • They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
  • It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。
34 pueblo DkwziG     
n.(美国西南部或墨西哥等)印第安人的村庄
参考例句:
  • For over 2,000 years,Pueblo peoples occupied a vast region of the south-western United States.在长达2,000多年的时间里,印第安人统治着现在美国西南部的大片土地。
  • The cross memorializes the Spanish victims of the 1680 revolt,when the region's Pueblo Indians rose up in violent protest against their mistreatment and burned the cit
35 unifying 18f99ec3e0286dcc4f6f318a4d8aa539     
使联合( unify的现在分词 ); 使相同; 使一致; 统一
参考例句:
  • In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外,他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
  • There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题,把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。
36 influential l7oxK     
adj.有影响的,有权势的
参考例句:
  • He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
  • He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。
37 fibers 421d63991f1d1fc8826d6e71d5e15f53     
光纤( fiber的名词复数 ); (织物的)质地; 纤维,纤维物质
参考例句:
  • Thesolution of collagen-PVA was wet spined with the sodium sulfate as coagulant and collagen-PVA composite fibers were prepared. 在此基础上,以硫酸钠为凝固剂,对胶原-PVA共混溶液进行湿法纺丝,制备了胶原-PVA复合纤维。
  • Sympathetic fibers are distributed to all regions of the heart. 交感神经纤维分布于心脏的所有部分。
38 dwellings aa496e58d8528ad0edee827cf0b9b095     
n.住处,处所( dwelling的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The development will consist of 66 dwellings and a number of offices. 新建楼区将由66栋住房和一些办公用房组成。
  • The hovels which passed for dwellings are being pulled down. 过去用作住室的陋屋正在被拆除。 来自《简明英汉词典》
39 pueblos 65ca90a485fd57a9ad58fe1037ea528e     
n.印第安人村庄( pueblo的名词复数 )
参考例句:

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