英语专八10套标准听力听力原文

Test 1听力原文
SECTION A MINI-LECTURE
How Practice Can Damage Your English
Good morning, everyone. Today, I am going to talk about the negative role of practice in English learning.
If you ask “How can I learn to speak English better?”, many people will tell you “Practice, practice, practice”. “Speak and write in English whenever you can”—they will say. All English classes are full of activities which involve speaking and writing which are supposed to help you with your English.
We agree that practice can be very useful. It’s even necessary to learn English well. So what’s the problem? The problem is that for many learners, “speaking” or “writing” means “making a lot of mistakes”. Some people make a mistake in every sentence! If you don’t make many mistakes, then you can speak or write in English and it can only help. [1]But if you make many mistakes, then every time you write or speak, you reinforce your mistakes. As you write or speak, you repeat your mistakes constantly and your incorrect habits become stronger.
Imagine this situation: You are writing an e-mail message in English. Your English is not perfect and you want to write the message quickly. You write incorrectly: “I want speak English.” When you write a sentence, you also read it. So the incorrect sentence goes into your head. The next time you write a message, you will be more likely to write “I want finish” or “I want be happy”. Why? Because “I want speak English” is fresh in your head—you’ve just used it! And when you write “I want do something” the second time, you’ve got a “bad habit”, or a reinforced mistake.
Now do you see our point? You write—you make mistakes—those mistakes become your habit, they become your way of writing in English. [2]So, the more you write, the worse your English becomes. We have said that you need practice to learn English. We have also said that when you practice, you reinforce your mistakes.
Michal suggests a simple solution to this paradox: Never make mistakes! According to what he says, it is close to the truth that you have never written an incorrect English sentence. You knew many grammatical structures and you used only those that you knew. Your sentences were similar to sentences which you knew to be correct. You followed good examples, so all your sentences were good. In the beginning, you could write only very simple sentences, but all the simple sentences were correct. [3]Then as you advanced, you added more and more complicated structures, and again all your sentences were correct. Because of this approach, you were never reinforcing bad habits. You never had any bad habits! From the beginning, you copied only correct sentences. With every sentence that you wrote, you reinforced your good habits.
[4]On the other side, if you make many mistakes, speaking and writing is not the way to eliminate them! On the contrary, it reinforces them, as we have shown earlier.
You have to realize that speaking does not improve your grammar or your vocabulary. It’s really very simple. Can you learn a new word from yourself? If you don’t know how to say “Good bye” in English, can you invent it by yourself? No, you can’t. You can only learn it by reading or listening to English. So what you should do if you can’t help but make mistakes in your English
sentences? If you make mistakes, that means you don’t know how to say things in English. You need to learn how to say them. You won’t learn that by speaking or writing. [5]You must read and listen to correct English sentences. You can speak and write later—when you can already build correct English sentences and want to improve your fluency. Perhaps you can benefit from corrections if you get a few corrections per week. But when there are many mistakes, you become unable to concentrate on them. If a teacher returns your composition with 20 corrected mistakes, how many of these corrections can you keep in your mind? Besides, your teacher is not always there. What if you’re writing an e-mail message on your own or talking to someone else? Other people usually ignore your mistakes, and even your teacher does not point out all of them.
[6]The conclusion would be that fighting your mistakes is not easy, so it’s better to avoid making mistakes altogether.
First, try to be more careful by using the rules of error-free speaking. If you still make a lot of mistakes, or if you find that the rules are killing your motivation, you probably shouldn’t open your mouth just now. Instead, try to get more input by reading and listening in English. True, but believe us—you can learn English with almost no mistakes. How? [7]You can fill your brain with correct sentences and imitate them. You can simply follow good examples.
Moreover, sometimes you can say or write something which you think is wrong. You can do it if you want to learn how to say something in English. [8]For example, if you are talking to a native speaker, you can do this: First, say “I’m not sure how to say this in English, but...” and then say your sentence which is probably wrong. And the other person can tell you how to say it in English correctly. From that you learn the correct way to say the sentence.
[9]Notice that this technique is only safe if you know that you are saying something which may be wrong, or you are sure that the other person will correct you if you make a mistake. And [10]you use it only occasionally.
In summary, it should be noted that practice can also serve as a negative factor in English learning. Hope all of you can find the solution to it from today’s lecture.
SECTION B INTERVIEW
M: It’s been nearly many years since Madonna first made headlines for trying to adopt a small child from the African nation of Malawi. And she’s since become a voice for the more than 1 million children or orphans in that country and now she’s behind the film on that subject. And tonight, we have Madonna here on our show. Welcome, Madonna.
W: Thanks.
M: Well... We watched your film I Am Because We Are last night... and it’s amazing. Why have you felt the commitment to help those children?
W: [1]Something about their situation connected to me, and in a way I was going on my own journey and connecting to these children and wanting to in a way heal myself whilst helping them.
M: And hearing about their suffering? Something opened to you?
W: Yeah. [1]I grew up as a motherless child. I had a roof over my head and I had food and I had a school to go to. And I still thought that my world was going to collapse on me, so how could it
be for these children who, most of them, having lost both of their parents, having no roof over their head, no food to eat, how horrifying and frightening it must be for them!
M: You know, I wonder how this revelation came to you, you know, this is going to be a thing, for you. [2]This is not how people see you.
W: I think having children and having a family force you to think about people besides yourself, I mean you don’t really have a choice, I think I just got to a point in my life. I thought I have so much, and it’s a great tragedy if I don’t use what I have to make the world a better place. I know that sounds silly, or cheesy, or like a cliché, whatever... but it’s the truth. If I was challenging people to open up their minds and their hearts, then I had to be willing to stand at the front of the line. And... and I appreciate and understand how people could be cynical, that’s fine, I accept that.
M: Why do you appreciate that people can be cynical?
W: [3]Because I think we live in a society, that, where people are naturally suspicious of acts of altruism or generosity.
M: Or maybe they might be suspicious because they might think, well, you know, Madonna changes all the time. Is this simply another fad, a trend, or just a new; is this something that is really core to Madonna.
W: My re-inventions are part of my evolution and my growth as a person. They’re aspects of it that are full of lesson. They are aspects of it that are real. I don’t see how anybody who really understands how complicated it is to adopt a child could say that someone toasts to do that as a fad. It’s just too difficult... it’s too traumatic.
M: It’s been hard then to adopt David.
W: We have not even been granted the full adoption. It’s supposed to be happening in the next month. So for the last 18 months I have been a foster parent. [4]I have been visited every 6 weeks by social workers who come into the house and make sure that you are being a good parent, and David’s health is thriving, and asking you all kinds of invasive questions, and you have to put up with it and endure it and you know, I have been fingerprinted about 20 times, and
[4]undergone psychological evaluations and I think everybody who goes through adoption has
to do this. I am not alone and, but you know, I’d do it again.
M: You would?
W: Yeah.
M: Why?
W: Because David is amazing, because he’s brought so much joy to our lives and more than about him. And so, it was worthy. I think most people will suffer for the things they love.
M: And now at this point in your life, it seems you’re opening, to some part of you, it’s softening, something that is looking for wisdom, usefulness.
W: Well, thank God.
M: Em... what do you mean by that?
W: Well, thank God I am searching for wisdom and usefulness. Em, one hopes that one gets to that point in their lives sooner or later.
M: Do you wish that you could just be anonymous?
W: No, no...
M: No?
W: I mean, yeah, I have moments of it, but I don’t wanna wish that I am not me, I don’t wish I were someone else.
M: What is it that you want to feel about your life?
W: [5]That my soul reached its true potential. And that I did everything that I was put on this Earth to do...
M: Well, thank you, Madonna.
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
NEWS ITEM 1
Stock markets in Europe and the United States have fallen sharply in response to further signs that the debt crisis in Greece is intensifying and could spread to other countries. Share prices in New York, London, Frankfurt and Paris fell by more than 2% after a major international credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Greek debt to a level known informally as junk.
[6]Standard & Poor’s downgraded its assessment of Greek bonds to the so-called junk status because of the growing danger that the bond holders will not be paid back in full. [7]Many big investment funds have rules that forbid them from holding junk bonds, says the move is likely to trigger a further round of selling. Share markets have taken fright, fearing that if Greece does default on its debts, it would hit many European banks which hold Greek bonds and could trigger a wider financial crisis. Already pressure is mounting on Portugal which has also seen its credit rating downgraded today, although it remains above junk status.
NEWS ITEM 2
Officials in the Philippines say at least a hundred people have died in floods and landslides in the north triggered by a week of heavy rain. This follows two storms in the past two weeks which have already left about 300 people dead. Reports said that even some evacuation centers had been flooded.
[9]Officials say that 30 cities were hit by the landslide through the night where residents had taken to the rooftops of their houses for refuge. The northern Philippines have been pounded by heavy rain following the second typhoon in just over a week to hit the nation. Typhoon Parma has lingered in the north of the country turning into a tropical depression. It follows Typhoon Ketsana which killed more than 300 people when it hit on September 26.
NEWS ITEM 3
[10]The Supreme Court has upheld lethal injection as a method of execution. Justices rule 7 to 2 this morning rejecting a constitutional challenge brought by a case in Kentucky. [10]At issue was whether the most common method of capital punishment used by 35 states can cause excruciating pain for death row inmates, violating the constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The ruling will likely allow states to resume executions which had been on hold pending the Supreme Court decision. Virginia’s governor has already lifted his state’s moratorium on executions.
Test 2听力原文
SECTION A MINI-LECTURE
Five Main Literary Movements in American History
Good morning, everyone. Today’s lecture is the very first of a series of lectures on the main literary movements in United States history. In this class, we are going to cover five different movements in literature and discuss the origins and common beliefs of each movement. In this, our first class, I’d like to take some time to give you an overview of these five movements as a starting point. I’ll go over the period of time each movement covers, the place in the US where it got its start, the key figures in each movement, and the core beliefs of each.
We won’t have time in the course to cover all literary movements, so we’re going to be focusing on the general time period of the 19th and 20th centuries. More specifically, this course will cover most of the important literary movements from 1830 to around 1940.
The first literary movement we’ll be looking at in detail is called Transcendentalism. The reason we choose this as our starting point is that writers of this movement or period are the first to show a clear difference from British writers and British cultural tradition and heritage. Before this time, American writers and British writers shared similar views of the world and saw the world through the same lens. We sometimes refer to Transcendentalism as American Transcendentalism to differentiate it from an earlier philosophical movement in Europe. [1]American Transcendentalism was born in New England, the north-eastern part of the United States around the 1830s. [2]Writers in this movement believed, in very general terms, that nature, God, and the individual human were united, were the same, and that individuals did not need organized religion. American Transcendentalists also extolled individualism and encouraged individuals to be reliant on themselves and their development as human beings. Transcendentalists very often were active in social movements. Arguably the most important figure of this movement was Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose book called Nature, published in 1836, remains one of the movements most read works.
The second movement we’re going to talk about is Romanticism, though it is more a series of movements in art, music and literature which lasted about 50 years and spread from Britain and Germany to other parts of the world. Basically, romanticism is centered on strong emotions and imagination rather than rational thought, [3]and there is an emphasis in American Romanticism to focus on the supernatural and on human psychology. Many works in this genre tell stories full of strong emotion, unexplained phenomenon, and unusual occurrences. [4]One of the most well known writers considered to be a Romantic writer is Edgar Allen Poe, who is known for his stories filled with mystery and who wrote many works we might now call psychological thrillers or horror stories. Poe thought that the human mind and imagination are factors in how we define reality.
Our next movement is Realism, a movement which started in France in the mid 19th century before spreading to other areas, including the United States in the 1870s. This movement was, in many ways, a reaction to Romanticism in that it rejected strange and, indeed, romantic tales and aimed to show society and humanity as it was in real life. Realists focused on events that were ordinary, usual and typical rather than extraordinary or exotic. [5]Many writers of this movement were also involved with social change, and writing about real conditions of real people was seen as
one way to educate the general public for the need for change. [6]One of this movement’s most easily recognizable names is Mark Twain, whose most famous stories were about everyday life in the American south, that is, the south eastern states of the US, and who worked throughout his life on a variety of social issues including ending slavery and giving workers more rights.
Naturalism is an offshoot of Realism, and also had its roots in France. Both movements focused on the reality of everyday ordinary life, but Naturalism focused on how the outside world, that is, [7]a person’s environment, influences and, perhaps, determines that person’s behavior. Naturalism generally believes that a person has a destiny or fate, and that person can do little to change that destiny or fate. Many writers in this movement focused on problems in society, like poverty. [8]One of the movement’s most famous writers, Jack London, wrote books which compared animal behavior to human behavior, showing that human behavior is not all that different from animal behavior in extreme circumstances.
The next movement we are going to look at is Modernism, which, of course, stretches beyond literature into music and art. The movement itself started in Europe in the late 19th century, as with many of the other movements, spread to America shortly after. The tumultuous period ending in World War I and World War II were seen by many as proof that the modern world was horrific and chaotic, and the end of World War II was seen as the start of a new era of humanity, either for good or for bad. Modernism reflects these thoughts, and writers in the Modernist era were looking, generally, to look beyond the old, the traditional, and were trying to find meaning in a new world.
[9]If we have to choose one word to describe this movement, we would probably choose the word “progress”. Modernists were concerned with finding out what doesn’t work in the world and replacing it with what does. [10]One major figure of the American branch of Modernism was Ezra Pound, who, among other things, revolutionized poetry.
OK. In today’s lecture, we’ve had a brief look at the origins and common beliefs of the five different movements in American literature. In our next lecture, we will discuss each movement in detail.
SECTION B INTERVIEW
W: Today I’d like to welcome Edward Fox, a seasoned real-estate agent, who is going to talk to us about buying a house. Hello, Edward, good to see you.
M: Hello.
W: Now Edward, I think for most people buying a house is a major life event, and probably the single most expensive item they are ever likely to buy. What precautions do they have to take before a real purchase? Can you give some suggestions?
M: You are right in saying buying a house costs a lot. But as to me, the most important thing to consider before buying any property is the location.
W: Location?
M: Right. Because it is where you plan to spend a large part of your life. Or, indeed, the rest of your life in some circumstances. [1]Therefore, consider the type of life you enjoy leading. If you are
a very sociable person who enjoys nightclubs and discos, you may consider something close to
a city. Anyway, a city is convenient for all types of nightlife.
W: Then, for those who like to seek a quiet life, do you recommend a house in the countryside? M: Well, countryside is a tranquil place. [1]However, do remember that proximity to the place of work also counts. [2]Indeed, we spend most of our life at work, and you don’t want to have to spend two or more hours every day traveling to work, do you?
W: Absolutely.
M: Therefore, transport is of the utmost importance. [2]City suburbs, however, are often conveniently located for commuting to work, or for shopping, without being in the heart of a busy city.
W: But houses in the suburbs are far more expensive than those in cities.
M: [3]They seem to be, but actually houses located in cities can often exceed the price of suburban houses, so check out the prices. You may be surprised.
W: Really? So we should consider our place of work and personality in choosing the location. Is that so?
M: I’m afraid you have to take family into consideration as well. You may prefer a house that is away from a busy street or main road. And of course, remember that children have to attend school. If you have children, or you plan to have children, location is a very important factor.
And of course, [1]remember that a family influences the size of the property.
W: Oh, I see. How many types of houses can we choose?
M: There are various types of houses. The first is called detached houses, which stand alone, and are not joined by another building. Then there are semi-detached houses, which are the most common. This is because they are, in fact, two houses joined together, and therefore take up less space. And there are town houses, too, which are many houses joined together to form a long row. But I don’t think that town houses are less expensive than semi-detached houses. They rarely are. [3]This is because they are usually built in cities where the price of the property is very expensive.
W: Then what about old houses? They must be cheaper than new ones.
M: Maybe they are. But if the house is too old, you may be faced with expensive repairs and renovation bills. [4]So have a house thoroughly checked by a professional surveyor before you decide to buy.
W: I agree. It’s economical to buy old houses only when they are in good condition. By the way, a lot of property has a garden attached to it. Do you think it’s a good choice?
M: It’s true that a lot of property has a garden. If you enjoy gardening, that’s fine. But if you don’t enjoy gardening then you may prefer a small garden, as opposed to a big one. But even if you do enjoy gardening it is important to remember that gardens take up a lot of your time. So keeping a garden in good order may be very difficult if you work long hours.
W: You are quite right. Any other suggestions?
M: [5]One final thing is the general feel of the place. Does it have a good atmosphere? And most important of all, would YOU feel comfortable living there?
W: Edward, I never knew I had to consider so many things while buying a house. Thank you very much for talking with us.
M: My pleasure.
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
NEWS ITEM 1
Twenty-five miners are now known to have died and four are missing in an accident at a West Virginia coal mine. [6]The worst mine disaster in the US since 1984 was caused by an underground explosion at Upper Big Branch, about 30 miles south of Charleston. It happened at about 3 p.m. in a chamber 330m below ground, mine owner Massey Energy Company said. [7]The rescue operation has been suspended because rising methane gas levels have heightened the risk of another blast. The operation will resume as soon as conditions allow, Massey Energy said. There are plans to drill holes from the surface to monitor gas levels and attempt to ventilate the mine chamber. A mine safety official said rescue teams had reached one of the mine’s airtight chambers stocked with food, water and oxygen but found no-one there. US President Barack Obama offered his “deepest condolences” to the families and friends of those who had died.
NEWS ITEM 2
A landmark law which makes education a fundamental right for children has come into effect in India. It is now legally enforceable for every child to demand free and elementary education between the ages of 6 and 14 years. [8]Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said enough funds would be made available to ensure that children had access to education. An estimated eight million children aged between 6 and 14 do not currently attend school in India. Mr. Singh said that the government was committed “to ensuring that all children irrespective of gender and social category have access to education”. Recalling his own childhood, [8]Mr. Singh, a qualified economist, said: “I read under the dim light of a kerosene lamp. I am what I am totally because of education.” Mr. Singh added, “So I want that the light of education should reach to all.”
NEWS ITEM 3
Light exercise during pregnancy may improve the future health of a child by controlling weight in the womb, New Zealand and US researchers say. Overweight or obese mums are more likely to have larger babies which could be at higher risk of health problems later in life. [9]A study of 84 first-time mothers found exercise was associated with slightly lighter babies. UK guidelines recommend regular light exercise for pregnant women. The rising weight of the UK population over the years has led to a rise in the number of overweight mothers. There is increasing evidence that the future metabolism of a child may be influenced by its environment in the womb, [10]and that babies who are relatively heavy for their length may be more likely to be obese in future years. Official guidance in the UK tells doctors to encourage women not to overeat during pregnancy, and to, wherever possible, take light exercise on a regular basis.
Test 3听力原文
SECTION A MINI-LECTURE
Advice for Students: How to Talk to Professors
Good afternoon. Today I’d like to give you advice on how to talk to professors. A while back, I recommended that students get to know their professors. I realize, though, that many students are intimidated or put off by their professors. This is especially so when students need something—a favor, special help with an assignment, or a second chance on a test.
It doesn’t need to be that way. [1]Professors are people, just like everyone else, and if you approach your professors with the same basic respect and decency you offer everyone else you interact with, you’ll probably find that they react with the same.
There are, though, a few things that you should keep in mind when you talk to your professors, especially if you’re going to ask for a particular favor:
[2]The first thing you should remember to do is: call them by the right title. A “Doctor” is someone with a PhD; not all professors have a PhD. “Professor” is usually appropriate, unless you’ve been told otherwise. I prefer to be called by my first name, and I make that point clearly on the first day of class; if your professor hasn’t said anything about this, you’re better off not using their first name. If you’re totally unsure, a “Mr.” or “Ms.” is usually fine. Do not use “Mrs.” unless the professor herself uses it.
Secondly, no matter under what situations, tell the truth. After the first couple of semesters of teaching, your average professor has much heard it all. It’s a sad fact, but true nonetheless, that we grow jaded and take all students’ excuses with a grain of salt. If a professor thinks he or she is being played, they’re not going to respond very well to whatever request you have to make, [3]so you might as well be honest. If you feel you absolutely must lie, at least make it a huge flaming whopper of a lie, so the professor can get a good laugh when they share it at the next faculty meeting.
Thirdly, be prepared to do the work. If you’ve missed an assignment or a test or are falling behind in your reading, [4]and you are seeking help to get caught up or a special dispensation to make up the assignment, you’d better be prepared to do the work—and generally under more difficult circumstances. I get the impression that a lot of students imagine I might just say “don’t worry about it, I’ll give you the points anyway”, which, of course, is not going to happen.
[5]Fourthly, be clear and concise. Unless you’re paying a “social call”, get to the point quickly: tell your professor what you need or want and be done with it. Don’t spend 30 minutes explaining your childhood and family arrangements and how hard it is getting a job with a few felony convictions on your record and blah blah blah for a 10-point assignment. Simply say “Professor, I missed an assignment, can I make it up? Can I do something else?”
Lastly, remember to pay social calls. Your professor is probably required by school policy to be in his or her office and available to students for a set number of hours per week. On top of that, most professors like talking to students—it’s part of the reason we took the job. Pay your professor a visit or two, just to talk. Tell him or her about the work you’re interested in or about problems you’re having. [6]Build relationships with your professors—at the very least, they’ll remember you when you call up three years later asking for a reference letter.。