现代大学英语听力2_dictation原文

Unit 1

Social customs and ways of behaving change. But they do not necessarily always change for the better. Things which were considered impolite many years ago are now acceptable. Just a few years ago, it was considered impolite behaviour for a man to smoke on the street. No man who thought of himself as being a gentleman would make a fool of himself by smoking when a lady was in the room.

The important thing to remember about social customs is not to do anything that might make other people feel uncomfortable — especially if they are your guests. There is a story about a rich nobleman who had a very formal dinner party. When the food was served, one of the guests started to eat his peas with a knife. Other guests were amused or shocked, but the nobleman calmly picked up his knife and began eating in the same way. It would have been bad manners to make his guest feel foolish or uncomfortable.

Unit 2

Undoubtedly, Tibet is one of the harshest places for human existence. It is cool in summer but freezing cold in winter. In Lhasa, the mildest city temperature may exceed 29C in summer while plummeting to -16C in winter! Sun radiation is extremely strong in Tibet. The sunlight in Lhasa is so intense that the city is called Sunlight City. The thin air can neither block off nor retain heat so that the temperature extremes can be met in daytime and the same night respectively in Tibet. However it is not impossible to visit the holy snow land. April to October is the best time to visit Tibet, out of the

coldest months, which are from December to February usually. The average temperature in north Tibet is subzero and winter arrives in October

until the following May or June. July and August are the best time to visit the area, enjoying warm temperature, intense sunshine, beautiful scenery and festive events. May, June and September is the tourist season in east Tibet. In winter, roads are all blocked by heavy snow. Landslides and rock falls frequently occur, which will make travel difficult.

Unit 3

I could hear the guard blowing his whistle, so I ran onto the platform and up to the train.

Luckily someone saw me coming, a door opened, and I jumped on while the train was moving out of the station. “Phew!” I thought. “That was hard work!” I was sure the other pa ssengers could hear my heart beating; it was so loud, and I was in a cold sweat.

After a while, I recovered, and had a look at the other passengers. The compartment was full, but I was the only one standing. The people in the carriage turned their eyes away as they noticed me looking at them; all except one, a beautiful woman sitting in the corner. I saw her watching me in the mirror. Automatically, I adjusted my tie. She had seen me running for the train: maybe this was my lucky day after all. I prepared to say hello.

She spoke first, however. “Would you like my seat?” she asked. “You look rather ill.” That was the day on which I realized I was getting middle-aged.