新编大学英语(第三版浙江大学编著)4视听说教程原文Unit 3

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新编大学英语(第三版/浙江大学编著)4视听说教程原文

Unit3

Part1

Listening 1

Three guys are out having a relaxing day fishing. Out of the blue, they catch a mermaid who begs them to set her free in return for granting each of them a wish.

One of the guys just doesn’t believe it, and says, “OK, if you can really grant wishes, then double my IQ.” The mermaid says, “Done!” Suddenly, the guy starts to recite Shakespeare flawlessly and then make an extremely insightful analysis of it. The second guy is so amazed that he says to the mermaid, “Hey, triple my IQ.”The mermaid says, “Done!”The guy begins pouring out all the mathematical solutions to problems that have puzzled scientists in all fields.

The last guy is so impressed by the changes in his friends that he says to the mermaid, “Quintuple my IQ.” The mermaid looks at him and says, “You know, I normally don’t try to change people’s minds when they make a wish, but I really wish you‘d reconsider.”

The guy says, “No, I want you to increase my IQ by five times, and if you don’t do it, I won’t set you free.”“Please,” says the mermaid, “you don’t know what you’re asking for. It’ll change your entire view of the universe. Won’t you ask for something else? A million dollars or anything?”

But no matter what the mermaid says, the guy insists on having his IQ increased by five times its usual power. So the mermaid sighs and says, “Done!” And he becomes a woman.

Listening2

Dr. Rose Herring, author of a book on language and communication, is being interviewed by Bob White, a writer for an academic journal on communication.

Bob White: Good morning Dr. Herring! We both know that many communication specialists believe that gender bias exists in language, culture and society. Do you think this is really so? Dr. Herring: Yes, I certainly do. How we talk and listen can be strongly influenced by cultural expectations, and these begin during childhood. Children usually play together with other children of the same gender, and this is where our conversational style is learned.

Bob White: Can you give some specific examples?

Dr. Herring: Certainly. We find that girls use language mainly to develop closeness or intimacy as a basis for friendship. Boys, on the contrary, use language mainly to earn status in their group. Bob White: But, in communication through electronic devices like e-mail discussion groups, there

should be no gender distinction if writers’ names are not used in the messages.

Dr. Herring: One might think so, but in fact, e-mail writing style is more comparable with spoken language, so basic language styles are still evident.

Bob White: I thought e-mail messages were gender neutral!

Dr. Herring: No. while theoretical gender equality exists for the Internet, in reality women are not given equal opportunity because of different communication and language styles between the sexes.

Bob White: How does that happen? Do you have any hard facts to back up this impression?

Dr. Herring: Yes. I’ve done a research project using randomly selected e-mail messages from online discussion groups. I found that females use language that is more collaborative and supportive, such as “Thanks for all the tips on…”,”Good point.” and “Hope this helps!”. Men tend to use more aggressive or competitive language such as “Do you understand that?”, “You should realize that…”, “It is absurd to think…”.

Bob White: How great are these gender differences?

Dr. Herring: Males write messages using aggressive, competitive language more than twice as often as females do, while females use collaborative and supportive language three times as often as males do. In this study, it is clear that there is gender difference in e-mail messages just as in other communication media.

Bob White: So the “battle of the sexes” is still with us, even online.

Listening3

John: Cathy, do you think it’s appropriate for females to continuously expect guys to behave in a standard gentlemanly fashion like opening car doors?

Cathy: Well, I think it would be nice if men could do such things.

John: My side of the theory is that we all have to admit that we are living in a changes world. Right? Sometimes the equation changes if the driver is a girl and the passenger is a guy who doesn’t drive. So what happens? Should the girl open the door for the guy or should the guy open the door for the girl? Maybe we should just adopt an “open your own door” policy. Cathy: Yeah, I agree, John. But…sometimes it’s just a matter of courtesy. It doesn’t matter who opens the door for whom. Maybe females just should not expect too much. Life isn’t a fairy tale after all.

John: That’s absolutely true. Sometime I feel that there isn’t any difference in the roles both genders can perform. Of course I’m not saying that men can give birth. Rather what I meant was that except for the physical and natural differences between both sexes, there isn’t much difference between them.

Cathy: But honestly, although I don’t expect guys to open doors for me, or to pull out a chair for me, I’m usually quite impressed if they do so, as many guys don’t do it. If the guy was walking in front of me and went through the door first, I’d appreciate it if he could hold the door and not let it slam in my face.

John: Well, if I’m the one walking in front, I will open the door and hold it for the people behind me, be it a girl or a boy. I’ve actually had the door slammed right in my face a number of times

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