上外中级口译第三版听力教程原文及讲解--Unit 12

Unit 12. Part one. Mass media and new technologies. 3. Exercises.

1. Listen to a talk about mass media and then supply the missing parts in the following answers.

Fifteen years ago if you heard the words mass media you probably immediately thought of television, newspapers, magazines, and the radio. But today if you made a list of the mass media you use you would have to add newer technologies, such as cable, satellite TV, PDAs (or personal digital assistance), and the internet. In today’s world we are surrounded by technology that allows us to communicate with others. And of course technology has brought us some wonderful things. And I personally wouldn’t want to li ve without it. But all these new advances bring us dangers that we should be aware of. Let’s begin by discussing 3 of these danger, violence, passivity, and addiction. There is a lot of violence in TV shows, and many people worry about its effect on us. For example, almost every home in the United States has a color television, and according to a recent study TV is owning every household for 7 hours and 37 minutes everyday. And many people are afraid that children and adolescence are especially susceptible to this violence. In 2003, for example, a young boy jumped out of a window after seeing a superhero do the same thing on TV while he was chasing an enemy. And what about the movie where kids set a subway booth on fire? Some teenagers saw that movie and then they did the same thing. Tragically the man working at the booth died as a result of the fire.

2. Listen to the second part of the talk about mass media and supply the missing word you hear from the talk.

In addition to making us violent TV can also ma ke us passive. You’ve probably heard the term couch potato. It refers to a person who daydreams for hours in front of the TV. When we are in this passive state we may not be able to distinguish between fantasy and reality, and we may make bad decisions about important things in our lives. Third, using the media can become very addictive. For example, how many internet users can say that they quickly go on line find what they need and get off again. That’s just not the case for most of us who wander through cyber-space kicking here and there and wasting a lot of time in the process. If you check your email more than 3 or 4 times a day you might want to ask yourself if you

really need that communication, and cell-phones which these days can also be used to go on line are highly addictive as well.

中级口译听力教程第三版5B

Part two. Statements. 2. Exercises. Listen and then choose the answer that is closest in meaning to each statement you hear.

1. When I saw him from a distance on a downtown street this morning, I thought that he was my professor, but he wasn’t.

2. Perhaps we should just stay at home and watch television. The concert started at 8 o’clock and were already half an hour late.

3. Professor Jones is a very busy woman. Even so she always takes time to help her students after class. That’s why she is very popular at the school.

4. David is an insurance agent and makes good money. He bought a 20,000 dollar car last month. And that only took 1/3 of his yearly salary.

5. If George kept studying as his sister does, he would have no trouble passing his exams. But unfortunately he does not.

6. I am sure glad that today’s physic class is over. I was lost. I couldn’t follow a word professor Smith said.

7. After the morning meeting in the office he hurried to the railway station at noon by taxi only to miss his train to Chicago by half an hour.

8. Jack is happy and excited these several days. His advisor has agreed with his decision to begin a Ph.D program instead of an MA program.

9. There is a long line in front of the box office. I doubt there will be any tickets left. I guess we will wind up going to the second show.

10. It doesn’t come as a surprise to us that Mary got a research grant. Everybody knows that she is brilliant.

11. Dan is meeting my parents for the first time this weekend. Fortunately my father loves to fish, so that they have something to talk about.

12. Jim was very embarrassed when he was requested to answer the professor’s question during the class. If he had paid attention he would have heard the question.