Listen this way听力教程第一册-6

Unit 6   By Bus or by train?

 

PartⅠ Getting ready

If you are not travelling for a long distance, you can take a train which is more comfortable than a plane. If you want to wander around a city, the bus service is usually very helpful. Big cities generally have a rather extensive system of bus lines. If you are afraid of the complicated bus routes, you can take a taxi. But taxis are very expensive in almost every city worldwide.

A  The following words and phrases will appear in this unit. All of them are related to travelling especially by bus and by train and some are frequently used in railway announcements. Listen carefully and study the definitions.

   1. transfer: move or change from one vehicle to another in the course of a journey

   2. fare: the price charged to carry a person by bus, train, taxi, etc.

   3. via: travelling through a place on the way

   4. cab: a taxi

   5. platform: a raised flat surface built along the side of the track at a railway station for travellers getting on or off a train

   6. alteration 1: something   changed

   7. call at: stop at a particular place for a short time to allow people to get on or off

   8. inter-city train: a type of British rail train which carries passengers quickly from one city to another with fewer stops and better service than other trains

   9. automobile 2: a car

  10. car pool: an agreement made by a number of car owners to take turns driving each other to work, school, etc.

 

B  You are going to hear some short conversations. Supply the missing words.

   1. Passenger: Excuse me, driver. Does this bus _________ the exhibition centre?

      Street:    No, not this bus. You'll have to _________ downtown.

      Passenger: Which bus do I take from there?

      Street:    I _________ it's the number _________ bus.

 

   2. Passenger: This bus will _________ me to the Holiday Inn, _________ it?

      Driver:    Yep. It sure will.

      Passenger: How much is the _________?

      Driver:    _________ cents. Exact _________.

      Passenger: Here you are.

      Driver:    Don't give it to me. _________ it in the _________.

 

   3. Customer: How much is the _________ to San Francisco _________Los Angeles?

      Agent:    It's _________.

      Customer: Can I ________ in Los Angeles for a few days?

      Agent:    Sure. Your ticket is _______ for three weeks.

  

   4. Passenger: Is this cab _______?

      Driver:    No. Where are you going?

      Passenger: To the Park Apartments. They're on _________ Street.

      Driver:    I _____ where they are. _______in.

C  You are going to hear a tourist guide about Hong Kong's most exciting new shopping centre. Write down every word as a dictation. It will be read three times. In the first reading, you will hear the whole passage from beginning to end. In the second reading, you will hear a pause after each sentence or just part of a sentence. During the pause, you must write down what you have just heard as quickly as possible. You can check what you have written with the third reading.

   ______________________________________________________

   ______________________________________________________

   ______________________________________________________

   ______________________________________________________

   ______________________________________________________

   

Part Ⅱ At the railway station

If you are travelling by train, it is always important and necessary for you to pay close attention to the loudspeaker announcements at the railway station because they not only confirm the facts which you should already know like the departure time of your train, the platform number, its destination and stopovers but also give information about alterations 3 to the expected situation such as delays and platform alterations.

A  You are going to hear some railway announcements. While you listen, tick all the names of places you hear on the tape.

   Bristol Parkway   Keynsham          Reading

   Bridegwater      Leamington Spa  Severn Beach

   Cardiff      Nailsea          Swindon

   Didcot      Newport          Taunton

   Exeter      Oldfield Park  Weston-super-Mare

   Filton      Paddington London  York

   Gloucester      Path Spa 

   Hereford      Plymouth 

B  Now listen to the announcements again. Complete the following chart. Note that where there is a dash (?, there is nothing to write.

   Destination  Platform  Time    Stopover(s)        Delay

                 Number

   ____________  ________  ______  Keynsham, _______     -   

   Severn Beach  ________  ______     -           -  

   ____________     -     ______  Newport        _______

   ____________  ________  ______  Bristol Parkway 

   Gloucester  ________  ______  Filton, ________   - 

   ________ and   

   Plymouth  ________  ______       -          -  

   Paddington        

   Lodon  ________  ______  ________, Reading   ________

  

C  Now try this: listen to some more authentic 4 versions of the announcements. After listening answer the following questions with the help of the above chart.

   1. You are going to Plymouth. When are you going to leave? Which platform do you want?

      __________________________________________________________     

   2. You want to go to Oldfield Park. It is on the line to Bath Spa. Which train do you want?

      __________________________________________________________ 

   3. You are waiting on platform 5. Is it possible for you to catch the train to Severn Beach? If not, what do you have to do?

      __________________________________________________________

   4. You are standing 5 on platform 5 waiting for the 15:29 to Gloucester. Someone asks you if he should take this train for Newport. What is your answer?

      __________________________________________________________

   5. You are intending to travel to Cardiff on the 15:20. Will you be able to get there on time? Why? If you don't want to be too late what should you do?

      __________________________________________________________

   6. You are in a hurry to get to Bristol Parkway and you are waiting on platform 5 for the 15:29 train. Can you get there any earlier and if so, from which platform?

      __________________________________________________________

   7. You are leaving for Didcot on the 11:10. Do you have to change anywhere and if so, where?

      __________________________________________________________

Part Ⅲ  Why are we waiting here?

When a train comes into the station where you are waiting, you cannot always be certain that is the one you want. Don't hurry. Listen carefully to the station announcement first or you may get on a wrong train.

A  Mr. and Mrs. Bashford, a very snobbish 6 couple, are sitting on a train. The train is waiting at the station. You are going to listen to a conversation among Mr. Bashford, Mrs. Bashford and the guard. While listening for the first time, add more key words if you can in the left-hand column. After the second listening, fill the gaps in the summary in the right-hand column with the help of the notes.

   Summary

   Mr. and Mrs. Bashford are planning to leave for ________ by the ________ train which leaves from platform ________. Now they are on the train. But it is already ________, and the train is still waiting at the station. Mr. Bashford gets so angry that he shouts at a ________. To his surprise, the guard tells him that the train is not going to leave until ________. He wonders why the ________ train should leave ________ minutes later without letting them know. And then, the guard realises that they have made a terrible mistake. Instead of going to platform ________, they go to platform _____, so the train they are onis the ________ to ________ not the ________ to ________.

B  Now try this: listen to a more authentic version of the conversation. Pay more attention to its language. After listening answer the following questions by completing the sentences.

   1. What is Mr. Bashford's first question about the train?

      When is this train __________________________________?

   2. What does Mrs. Bashford say when Mr. Bashford gets impatient?

      Well, don't _____________, darling.

   3. What exactly does Mr. Bashford say when the guard repeats his question?

      Don't just __________________! ______it.

   4. What does the guard say when Mr. Bashford gets angry?

      Now ____________, sir. Don't _________!

   5. From which sentences can we see that Mr. Bashford is a very snobbish person?

      Now ________! I'm a _____________ man and I have some ______________ friends. One of them is the ____________ and I'm going to _______________.

   6. What does the guard say when Mr. Bashford says he is a very important person and that he is going to tell the head of the railway about all this?

      I don't ________________, sir, or ________________.

   7. Mr. Bashford thinks the guard's last question is stupid. What does he say?

      Don't __________. Of course I ______! Why __________ I'm on this train?

Part Ⅳ More about the topic: Automobiles 7 in the USA

Energy crisis 8 is a global concern now. Many countries have already made great efforts in cutting their energy consumption 9, some even passed legislation 10 on energy saving. Automobiles are to be blamed now and then. They not only use up a lot of energy but also produce severe pollution. So people are advised not to use their automobiles as often as they presently do. Car pools emerge 11 as the times require.

The following short passage is about automobiles in the USA. Supply the missing words while listening.

   The United States is full of automobiles. There are still families _______ cars, but some families have _______ or even _______. However, cars are used for more than ________. They are a _________ part of life.

   Cars are used for _______. They are driven to _______ and _________ by workers who have no _______ way to get to their _______. When salesmen are _______ to different parts of the city, they have to drive in order to _______ their products. Farmers have to drive into the city in order to get _______.

   Sometimes small children must be driven to _______ In some cities school _______

   are used only when children live more than _______ from the school. When the children are too young to walk that _______. their mothers take ________ driving them to school, One mother drives on _______, taking her _______ children and the _______ children as well. Another mother drives on _______, another on _______, and so on. This is called forming a car pool. Men also form _______ pools, with _______ or _______ men taking turns driving to the place where they all work.

   More car pools should be ______ in order to put fewer ________ on the road and to use less gasoline. _______ is a great problem, and so is the traffic ________ and ______ cities. Too many cars are being driven. _________ will have to be done about the use of cars.

Part Ⅴ Memory test: Bus Information

Almost all American cities have bus services within the city. Some bus companies even have special telephone numbers with taped messages for some popular routes. If you want information about bus travel, you can call those numbers.

In this section you are going to hear two tapes, each made by a different bus company, in a different city, and for a different route (preferably only one time). While listening fill in as much information as possible into the following two charts.

Chart 1

           Greyhound Schedule and Fare Information 

   Leave Houston         Arrive New Orleans

   ___________________________  _____________________________ 

   ___________________________  _____________________________ 

   ___________________________  _____________________________ 

   ___________________________  _____________________________ 

   ___________________________  _____________________________ 

   ___________________________  _____________________________ 

   ___________________________  _____________________________ 

   ___________________________  _____________________________ 

   ___________________________  _____________________________

   ___________________________  _____________________________

   ___________________________  _____________________________

                             Fares 

   Beaumont:    One-way ______     Round trip ________

   Port Arthur: One-way ______     Round trip ________

   New Orleans: One-way ______     Round trip ________ 

   For additional information, call __________________ 

 

Chart 2

           Trailways    

                    Pittsburgh  Philadelphia  Baltimore  Washington D.C.

   Departure time   __________  ____________  _________  _______________     

   Travel time     __________  ____________  _________  _______________   

   One way fare     __________  ____________  _________  _______________   

   Round trip fare  __________  ____________  _________  _______________    

   For further information, call ______________________    

    

Part Ⅵ Reminder of key points in this unit

   Verb & Verb Phrase  Noun & Noun Phrase  Other

  PartⅠ  go past       downtown           exact

   transfer       Holiday Inn   via

   believe       fare           exciting

   drop               change           intimate

   relax               cab           first-class

                apartments 

                fashion 

                designer 

                accessory 

                chef 

                selection 

                night club 

                karaoke lounge 

  Part Ⅱ call at       platform           due in

   report       alteration   approximately

   run               inter-city train 

   apologise  

  Part Ⅲ repeat       darling           impatient

   mean               guard           calm

   care               head           stupid

  Part Ⅳ take turn           automobile   necessary

   form               pleasure            own

   park               salesman 

                product 

                supply 

                school bus 

                        neighbour 

                car pool 

                gasoline 

  Part Ⅴ                     port            additional

                citizen            automatic

                discount            further

                              senior