1、听力背景知识听力背景知识1. Superstition迷信00:01.89One person in four in Britain is, apparently, superstitious, 00:08.35and theyll do everything from hanging horseshoes 00:11.58over their fireplace to crossing their fingers, 00:14.84touching wood and absolutely never walking under a ladder. 00:19.40And theyre car
2、eful about cats. 00:22.58Black cats are supposed to be the familiars of witches, 00:27.02so if one is following you its definitely bad luck 00:31.70- a witch is after you! 00:33.46On the other hand, if one crosses your path and continues 00:38.17then its good luck because it hasnt noticed you. 00:42
3、.15However, in some places the beliefs are different 00:46.53- so it pays to know where your black cat comes from! 00:50.36Old superstitions linger even in todays modern world. 00:56.10The author Philip Pullman drew on them 00:59.57in his award winning novel His Dark Materials. 01:03.78The novel, wh
4、ich appeals to both children and adults, 01:08.26has been adapted for radio and also the theatre.2. Graduate Student研究生00:02.67Graduate students specialize in a particular field of study. 00:08.27They study to become experts in this field 00:11.53and to learn new advances in their fields 00:14.55whi
5、le they earn an M.A. or Ph.D. 00:17.38Sometimes when they get an M. A. in one field 00:20.97they begin studying another field. 00:22.92They hope that when they earn their graduate degrees 00:25.52they will succeed in finding important jobs. 00:28.49They hope to get jobs that are interesting and high
6、 paying. 00:32.24The life of a graduate student is often difficult. 00:35.61They are usually too busy studying to make a good living. 00:39.47Often they have to pay high tuition fees for their education. 00:43.22Some give up studying before they get their degrees. 00:47.24But most keep on working at
7、 their studies until they graduate. 00:51.51In todays world, most graduate students 00:54.81dont regret spending time with their studies. 00:57.63They are finding that new developments 00:59.96are occurring in all fields. 01:01.97For many graduate study has become a necessity.3.April Fools Day 愚人节00
8、:02.131st April is a day to be careful,00:05.89or you could easily get tricked by someone.00:08.59Its April Fools Day,00:10.82a day when people traditionally like to try00:14.18to make a fool of someone else and laugh at them.00:17.39There are lots of theories surrounding the origins of the day,00:2
9、2.02but one explanation is connected with the change00:25.67in the calendar in the 16th century,00:28.32which meant that 1st April00:30.40was no longer the beginning of the year.00:33.16Those who still celebrated the New Year00:36.52on 1st April were called fools.00:39.56So what kind of pranks00:42.
10、27do people play on April Fools Day?00:44.97Well, there are lots of simple tricks00:47.51that you can play on your friends.00:49.99For example, you could wear a black sweater00:53.41and pull a piece of white thread through it,00:55.95so that people try to pull it off.00:58.04You could change the tim
11、e on someones alarm clock so that theyre late for work.4. Living Online 网上生活00:02.60How do you meet new people, make new friends,00:06.25or find out about the latest bands?00:08.84Here in the UK young people have traditionally00:11.66done their socializing in bars, pubs and clubs.00:15.12However, th
12、ere is a new generation growing up00:18.58that finds it easier to manage their social lives on the net,00:22.24using free websites like MySpace, Bebo or MSN Spaces.00:27.38Welcome to the social networking website00:31.25- a place where you can present yourself00:33.39to the digital community and mee
13、t other like-minded people.00:37.45The most successful social networking website00:40.51in the UK is MyS.00:44.07As of July 2006, MySpace is the worlds00:48.45fourth most popular English-language website,00:51.66attracting almost 3 million visitors per month.00:55.73MySpace claims to have 95 million
14、 members01:00.72with 500,000 new members joining the community each week.01:05.45So how has it become so successful?01:08.86Perhaps its secret is in its simplicity.01:12.64Each new member can build their own page simply01:16.29- uploading photos, videos and MP3 files.5.Mothers Day 母亲节00:02.14Does yo
15、ur mother know how much you appreciate her? 00:05.91Well, Mothers Day is the time to show her. 00:09.94Its a chance to say thank you, 00:12.69or to tell your mum how much you love her. 00:15.28In Britain, Mothers Day, or Mothering Sunday, 00:19.85falls on a different day each year, 00:22.80because i
16、t takes place a few weeks 00:25.19before the festival of Easter. 00:27.17But it is always in the early springtime, 00:30.13which seems appropriate, 00:31.96as the season when new plants emerge, 00:34.35and baby birds and animals are born. 00:37.24In the USA, Mothers Day takes place a little later, i
17、n May, 00:43.04and many other countries also celebrate 00:45.59their mothers on different days of the year. 00:48.48It began many years ago, when children, 00:52.57especially girls, as young as 10 00:55.07would live and work away from home 00:57.51as housemaids and other types of servant. 01:00.30Mo
18、thering Sunday was a day when everyone was allowed 01:04.53to go to their home village or town, and visit their mothers.6.Online Shopping 网上购物00:02.65With only two weeks to go before Christmas,00:05.81buying presents is a high priority for a lot of people.00:09.63However, this year not so many peopl
19、e are leaving their homes00:13.95to browse around the shops.00:15.80These days lots of people can do their shopping00:18.96in the comfort of their own home00:21.05with the help of the internet.00:23.13Online shopping is becoming more and more popular00:27.06for a number of reasons;00:28.83prices are
20、 often lower online,00:31.47you dont have to queue up in busy shops00:34.06and you can buy almost any product imaginable00:37.07with just a few clicks of your mouse.00:39.30Computer trends are often male-dominated00:43.08but this year women are expected to do00:45.22more shopping on the internet tha
21、n men.00:48.16It seems women are now more attracted to00:51.38the convenience of online shopping than they used to be.00:54.17Average spending online this Christmas by women will rise to 240 pounds01:01.23compared to the slightly lower average of 233 pounds for men.7. Reality TV 真实电视00:02.41The late
22、st fashion on British TV is Reality TV.00:07.65Reality TV means that shows follow and film00:11.81ordinary people in an artificial situation.00:14.97This could be at work, or in some kind of competition.00:19.15One of the first and most popular Reality TV shows is Big Brother.00:25.60In this show, 1
23、5 complete strangers00:29.27have to live together in a house for 11 weeks.00:32.73They are filmed 24 hours a day, and shown on television.00:37.45Each week, the viewers vote to evict00:40.35one of the housemates.00:42.94Finally, only one is left,00:45.18and they win the prize money!00:47.16The show
24、was an instant hit,and runs in several countries.00:51.97The housemates often become stars as a result of the show,00:55.90and appear in national newspapers and on other shows.00:59.56Another very popular show is01:02.45Im a Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here!01:05.65In this show, 10 celebrities have to
25、 complete tasks each week,such as eating insects. 8. School 学校00:01.66September is traditionally the end of summer 00:05.68and the beginning of autumn in the UK. 00:08.27It is also the month when children go back to school 00:12.14after their long summer holidays. 00:14.33There are two types of scho
26、ol in England. 00:17.05State-run schools are paid for by the government, 00:20.14so are free to attend. 00:22.03Independent Schools are private, 00:24.42which means you have to pay to attend. 00:26.67The school day usually starts at 9 in the morning 00:31.15and finishes around 4, 00:32.98with breaks
27、 for lunch of course! 00:35.31In many schools, you have to wear a uniform too. 00:38.92Children start school when they are 5 years old. 00:42.02This is called primary school, 00:44.46and lasts until the child is 11 00:47.01when he or she will go on to senior school. 00:49.61Secondary school is compu
28、lsory 00:52.70from 11 until 16 years of age. 00:55.41At 16, students take national examinations called GCSEs. 01:00.45After this, students can stay at school for another 2 years 01:04.77and take A Level examinations.9. The Modern Family 现代家庭00:02.38Father leaves for work in the morning after breakfa
29、st. 00:06.47The two children take the bus to school, 00:09.56and mother stays home cooking and cleaning 00:12.70until father and the kids return home in the evening. 00:16.45This is the traditional picture 00:19.02of a happy family living in Britain. 00:21.88The past 20 years have seen enormous chan
30、ges 00:26.18in the lives and structure of families in Britain. 00:29.46The biggest change has been caused by divorce. 00:33.46As many as 2 out of 3 marriages now end in divorce, 00:38.38leading to a situation 00:40.30where many children live with one parent 00:43.18and only see the other at weekends or holidays. 00:46.48There has also been a huge rise 00:49.92in the number of women with children who work. 00:52.76The large rise in divorces has meant 00:56.01many women need to work 00:57.84to support themselves and their children. 01
