1、新世纪大学英语视听说系列教材4听力原文 Our earth The natural worldListen to Mary and Blake talking about her paper. Then answer the question.What are you working on, Mary?Im finishing my paper. Its due tomorrow, Blake.Whats the topic?Its about Greenland.Greenland. Hmmm - thats part of Canada, right?I think you need to
2、 study your world geography, Blake.Well, isnt it near Canada?Yes, its off the coast of northeast Canada, but its part of Denmark.Oh, I didnt know that. Well, whats your paper about exactly?In my paper, I answer the question “Is Greenland really green?” In other words, is Greenland covered by a lot o
3、f plants and trees?Is it?What do you think?Lets see - Greenland is in the Arctic Circle - way up north. Its cold, - so “Is Greenland really green?” Id answer “probably not.”Youd be correct. Its too cold here. In the north, a lot of the ground is frozen. The summers are short, so only the surface tha
4、ws.That sounds tough.Its hard for the construction industry. Its not easy to build in Greenland.It sounds so harsh. Why would anyone want to go there?There are big mountain ranges on the coasts. Theyre great for hiking and outdoor sports. And there are lots of animals there. You can sometimes see wh
5、ales swimming in the harbors.That sounds cool! Ok, so if its not really a “green” place, why was it named “Greenland”?The first settlers wanted to attract other people. They gave it an attractive name. Listen again. Circle True or False. Gustav and Carolina are international students. They are telli
6、ng Bart about their summer work experience in the United States. Did they enjoy themselves?So what exactly did you do over the summer?We worked as volunteers at Glacier National Park.Ive never been there. Whats it like?Its beautiful. There are mountains and lakes and, of course, glaciers!How was the
7、 job?We had to do a lot of physical work. It was kind of hard.Thats true, but it was exciting, too! We actually saw bears!Wow! That does sound exciting. Maybe I should apply. Ill need a job next summer.Sorry, Bart, but you cant apply to that program. Its a special program for international students.
8、Listen to two people talking about natural wonders and man-made structures. Pay attention to the expressions they use. 1. Mt. Fuji is really beautiful from far away. When you climb it, its just rocks and dirt but its really beautiful from far away.2. Last year I was in San Francisco and I had a chan
9、ce to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. What an amazing feat of engineering. It gives you a chance to look through all of San Francisco and over San Francisco Bay and its just a wonderful chance to see the city.Jay and Elise are talking about an accident. Listen and check the correct picture.Come
10、 in here, Elise. You should see this show!What is it?Its called The Titanic of the Sky. Its about the Hindenburg, a great engineering feat.The Hindenburg .You know, that giant zeppelin that crashed in 1934. Thirty-five people died.Oh yeah, I remember now. It was flying from Germany to the United Sta
11、tes. It crashed as it was landing.Right. Its so funny looking, dont you think? It doesnt look anything like the airplanes as have today.Thats true. Why would people ride in a zeppelin anyway? It seems so dangerous.Well, some people called the Hindenburg mans greatest achievement in flight. They thou
12、ght it was safe, I guess. Who rode in it anyway? Mostly wealthy people. It accommodated between 30 and 40 passengers and crew. One person said it was like a flying hotel. It sounds pretty great.Yeah, and it was fast. Thats why people rode it. They wanted to get to their destination faster. Why didnt
13、 they just take a jet plane? Elise! You know they didnt have jets back then. Look, in 1934 it took five days to travel from Germany to the U.S. by ship. The zeppelin could do it in half that time. It was speedy. Well, maybe Ill sit down and watch a little bit. Maybe Ill learn something .Listen again
14、. How was the zeppelin described? Check your answers.Come in here, Elise. You should see this show!What is it?Its called The Titanic of the Sky. Its about the Hindenburg, a great engineering feat.The Hindenburg .You know, that giant zeppelin that crashed in 1934. Thirty-five people died.Oh yeah, I r
15、emember now. It was flying from Germany to the United States. It crashed as it was landing.Right. Its so funny looking, dont you think? It doesnt look anything like the airplanes as have today.Thats true. Why would people ride in a zeppelin anyway? It seems so dangerous.Well, some people called the
16、Hindenburg mans greatest achievement in flight. They thought it was safe, I guess. Who rode in it anyway? Mostly wealthy people. It accommodated between 30 and 40 passengers and crew. One person said it was like a flying hotel. It sounds pretty great.Yeah, and it was fast. Thats why people rode it.
17、They wanted to get to their destination faster. Why didnt they just take a jet plane? Elise! You know they didnt have jets back then. Look, in 1934 it took five days to travel from Germany to the U.S. by ship. The zeppelin could do it in half that time. It was speedy. Well, maybe Ill sit down and wa
18、tch a little bit. Maybe Ill learn something .Listen to the conversation and check the correct picture.I think we should buy a bigger car. Big cars are safer.Yes, but on the other hand, they consume more oil.They also look really cool.Thats true, but there are some SUVs which are not big but also ver
19、y beautiful.And 1 think big cars are more fun to drive.But then again, its very expensive.Well, lets get more information about several kinds of cars, okay?Listen to another person talking about famous buildings in his country and fill in the blanks with information you hear.My country has two very
20、famous buildings called the Petronas Towers. The buildings are made of glass, steel, and concrete. They were designed by an American architect, but he used a Malaysian style. They were finished in 1998, and they were the tallest buildings in the world at that time. Each tower has 88 floors, and is 4
21、52 meters high. I really like the Petronas Towers. They show both the modern and the traditional side of my country.Listen to a talk on controversies about modern buildings. Then fill in the blanks to complete the sentences. Modern buildings: We love them. We hate themThe world-famous Louvre Museum
22、in Paris is almost 500 years old, and it faced a very modern problem: There simply wasnt enough space for six million visitors each year. In 1989, American architect I.M. Pei designed a striking glass pyramid in the buildings center to be a visitor entrance and shopping arcade. But he also started a
23、n angry debate. Some people felt his glass building was a piece of art, like the ones inside the museum. Others said it was just an ugly, modern mistake.Kyoto, Japan, is the countrys ancient capital, and the heart of its culture. Its railroad station was too small for the millions of visitors. In 19
24、97, the city completed a new station in a huge shopping center, right in the oldest part of the city. Designed by Hiroshi Hara, the building also contains a hotel and department store. Before it was built, critics said that the high, wide, modern building would destroy the citys traditional look. On
25、 the other hand, supporters said it would bring new life into the city center.Now listen again and complete the chart with the information you hear.My country has two very famous buildings called the Petronas Towers. The buildings are made of glass, steel, and concrete. They were designed by an Amer
26、ican architect, but he used a Malaysian style. They were finished in 1998, and they were the tallest buildings in the world at that time. Each tower has 88 floors, and is 452 meters high. I really like the Petronas Towers. They show both the modern and the traditional side of my country.Listen to a
27、talk on controversies about modern buildings. Then fill in the blanks to complete the sentences. Modern buildings: We love them. We hate themThe world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris is almost 500 years old, and it faced a very modern problem: There simply wasnt enough space for six million visitors e
28、ach year. In 1989, American architect I.M. Pei designed a striking glass pyramid in the buildings center to be a visitor entrance and shopping arcade. But he also started an angry debate. Some people felt his glass building was a piece of art, like the ones inside the museum. Others said it was just
29、 an ugly, modern mistake.Kyoto, Japan, is the countrys ancient capital, and the heart of its culture. Its railroad station was too small for the millions of visitors. In 1997, the city completed a new station in a huge shopping center, right in the oldest part of the city. Designed by Hiroshi Hara,
30、the building also contains a hotel and department store. Before it was built, critics said that the high, wide, modern building would destroy the citys traditional look. On the other hand, supporters said it would bring new life into the city center.Listen to the interview with Erika Van Beek, an en
31、gineer. According to Erika, what should be done about overcrowding in cities?The future building boom?What do you think is the biggest problem facing our cities?I think its overcrowding. Talk to anyone living in a major metropolitan area and they will say the same thing: Theres no space. Even the su
32、burbs are getting crowded.Well, in some places there simply isnt any land left for building, right?Yes, thats true, but you have to think creatively. You cant give up so easily.Think creatively? What do you suggest?What Im saying is that we can build more structures underground. We can add parking lots, malls, hotels, and even apartment buildings. Theres plenty of space.Isnt it expen
