英语专业四级DICTATION答案

专项练习

Dictation 1

Old Age

Many people mistakenly believe that old age is a time of increased illness and loneli ness./ In fact,

people do not suddenly change /when they reach the age of 60 or 65. /Consequently , we should

not expect more mental illness/ among the 60to 70 age group than among the50 to 6 0. /

Furthermore, although more parents and their married children live in separate house holds than ever before,/ this is usually by choice. It is not because children now tend to neglect their parents /when they become old. /It

is also wrong to believe that old age seriously affects a person’s mental abilities. /Th ere is clear

proof that people who were eager to learn and who welcomed new experiences in th eir middle age,/ continue to do so in old age. /It is true that older people tend to take l onger to learn something

new than young people. /Nevertheless, if they are given sufficient time, /they learn a s well as young people do.

Dictation 2

Gardening

Gardening is one of the oldest of the arts. /The Chinese with their deep sensitiveness to beauty /

laid the foundation for a form of garden art /which was later to have great influences upon other lan ds. /The Greeks gave to the world a new concept of gardening. /Their homes were decorated with flowers/but it was in their civic design that they most skillfully applied their garden art. /Their temp les were surrounded by rows oftrees, /and trees lined the important streets and market places in thei r principal cities. /TheRomans acquired much of the knowledge and skill in garden craft from Gree ks. /In the second century AD the Romans began to build gardens of great scale, /inspired by the va st palace gardens they had conquered./ They bought water from great distances to supply the orna mental foundations which decorated their villa gardens./ these great villas were later to inspire the Italian garden architects to follow the Roman style.

Dictation 3

Being Unemployed

Most people are much more frightened by being unemployed than they need to be. /Being unempl oyed certainly has disadvantages,/ but there are good things about it too. /One advantage is that you don’t have to get up early to work in the rush hour. /You can stay in bed as long as you like, /and there is plenty of time to read the newspaper /and have a leisurely breakfast./ But the best thing of a ll is that you are your own boss /and there is no one to tell you what to do and when to do it. /One drawback of being unemployed is that you haven’t got much money coming in. /Having a job at le ast enables you to save a lot of money to go on holiday./ On the other hand, when you are unemplo yed, /you needn’t go on holiday /because you are on holiday already. /In fact, the main trouble is th at you have to spend much time looking for a job./

Dictation 4

The Credit Card in the U.S.

Today, more and more people in the U.S. are using credit card/instead of money to buy what they need./Almost anyone who has a steady income and a continuous work record/can apply for a credit card. With a credit card, you can buy a car, eat a dinner, take a trip/ and even get a haircut by charging the cost to your account./ In this way, you can pay for purchases a month or two later./ Or you may choose to spread out your payments over severalmonths/ and pay only part of the total amount each month./With a credit card,you don’t have to carry much cash/ and you don’t have to be concerned about losing your money through carelessness or theft./ The card user only has to worry about paying the final bill./ This of course can be a problem/ if you charge more than you can pay for.

Dictation 5

A Woman at Home

In Japan, most people still feel that a woman’s right place is in the home /and most women willingl