全新版大学英语听说教程 1 Unit02

Unit02 fun with language

PART A

Communicative Function

opening or the closing of a conversation.

Listen to the tape and decide if the first sentence of each short dialogue you hear begins the opening or the closing of a conversation. And the right answers.

Example:

—Would you mind closing the window? It's cold in here.

—Of course not.

You choose: Opening.

1.

—It's a really wonderful evening. Thank you very much for inviting 1 us.

—I'm glad you enjoyed it.

—Maybe we could get together sometime at my home.

—Sounds nice.

2.

—Great party, isn't it?

—Yeah, really.

—You look familiar to me. Have we met before?

—I'm afraid not.

3.

I'm afraid I have to go now.

—So soon? Well, I enjoyed our talk together.

—Me too.

4.

—Excuse me, could you tell me the time?

—It's half past 5 by my watch.

—Thank you very much.

—You're welcome.

5.

—Is this seat taken?

—Oh, let me move my stuff 2.

—Aren't you Jack 3 Brown? I'm Bill, Bill Stone.

—Oh, hello, Bill. Fancy 4 meeting you here!

6.

—Hi, Jack. So good to see you.

—Oh, hi, Andy. It's been quite a while since we saw each other last. How're things with you?

—Just fine. What've you been doing these years?

—Well, I've been studying for my PhD degree here at the university.

—That's wonderful.

Listening strategy 5 distinguishing 7 between Similar Sounds

It is important to distinguish 6 between similar sounds while listening. Names like Jean and Jane, figures like 18 and 80 can sound quite alike 8. Titles like Mrs. and Miss can also be confusing.

Listen to the recording 9 and choose the word you hear in the sentence.

1. May I introduce Miss Jones to you?

2. John Davis was born in California in 1930.

3. I can't agree with you more.

4. My birthday is on June 20th.

5. Paul, is your sister married?

6. Look, here comes Mr. Black, our sales manager.

7. Bob isn't in the library right now.

8. Mr. Taylor is said to be leaving for South Africa soon.

9. Pass me the beer, please.

10. I was wondering if you could help Anna with her music lessons.

PART B

Listening Tasks

Text: How to Improve Your Conversation Skills

Exercise 1:

Listening for general understanding

Listen to this tape once and following

To speak to people in a foreign language requires courage and a willingness to make errors. Some people are so afraid of making mistakes that they never open their mouths. And that's the biggest mistake of all. Now if you have courage and are ready to make a few errors, what do you say?

First of all, you have to open the conversation. Finding 10 an appropriate topic is half the battle. Some topics, such as the weather and news, work well. But others, such as age, money or people's appearance do not. The following are some good ways to open a conversation.

Weather -- It sure is cold today, isn't it?

News -- Did you hear about that terrible forest fire?

A conversation in a foreign language doesn't always go smoothly 11. Sometimes your partner talks too fast and you find it difficult to follow. Not to worry, though. You can always ask your partner to repeat what he has said or to speak more slowly. For example, "Excuse me, but could you say that again? I didn't catch it." Or "Could you speak more slowly, please?"

At the end of a conversation you need to find a way to close it in a polite way. "Well, I really need to be going", or "It was nice talking to you" are frequently used by people to end a conversation.

Exercise 2

Listen for detail Listen the text once again and then please answer the following question

To speak to people in a foreign language requires courage and a willingness to make errors. Some people are so afraid of making mistakes that they never open their mouths. And that's the biggest mistake of all. Now if you have courage and are ready to make a few errors, what do you say?

First of all, you have to open the conversation. Finding an appropriate topic is half the battle. Some topics, such as the weather and news, work well. But others, such as age, money or people's appearance do not. The following are some good ways to open a conversation.

Weather -- It sure is cold today, isn't it?

News -- Did you hear about that terrible forest fire?

A conversation in a foreign language doesn't always go smoothly. Sometimes your partner talks too fast and you find it difficult to follow. Not to worry, though. You can always ask your partner to repeat what he has said or to speak more slowly. For example, "Excuse me, but could you say that again? I didn't catch it." Or "Could you speak more slowly, please?"

At the end of a conversation you need to find a way to close it in a polite way. "Well, I really need to be going", or "It was nice talking to you" are frequently used by people to end a conversation.

Speaking task pair work

Listen to the dialogues and repeat after the recording. Practice the dialogues with your partner, playing the role of A or B. Then work with your partner to create your own dialogues by replacing the underlined parts with your own words.

Dialogue 1.

A: Excuse me, Jack, do you have a minute?

B: Yes. What can I do for you?

A: Well, you see, I've been learning 12 English for several years now but I still can't speak much English. I wonder if you could tell me how I could improve my oral English.

B: Mm. Do you often speak English with your friends?

A: I wanted to, but every time I open my mouth I seem to make errors. So sometimes I just give up.

B: I guess speaking in a foreign language isn't easy. You must be willing to make some errors at the beginning.

A: You mean I shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes.

B: That's right.

A: And I should try to speak English as much as I can.

B: Exactly.

A: Thanks for the advice.

B: Any time. Good luck on your oral English.

A: Thanks.

A and B: Bye.

dialogue 2.

A: Cold this morning, isn't it?

B: Yes, and it's supposed to get even colder.

A: I hope it won't get as cold as last night.

B: Speaking of last night, did you attend the English Speech Contest?

A: Yeah, I did. It was terrific 13. That guy who won the first prize speaks really fluent English. I do admire him.

B: Me, too. We'll just have to work harder. Maybe one of us can win the next English contest.

A: Yeah, maybe. Who knows?

B: Well, I have to run now. I have an appointment with the dean 14. See you.

A: See you.

PART C: additional 15 listening

Smile When You Read This

Exercise: listening and the text

How good is your memory? Answer these four questions: What did you have for breakfast yesterday? What clothes did you wear last Friday? Who did you talk to yesterday? Where did you go last Saturday? If you can answer all four questions, your memory is very good.

Memory is important for learning language skills. Education specialists in England want to help people improve their reading abilities. They want students to remember the books and articles they read. The specialists found something to help: facial expressions. They gave ten students a happy article to read. Five of the students read the happy article while smiling. Five students read the happy article while frowning 16. Then they asked comprehension questions. The smiling students remembered more of the happy article than the frowning students.

Then the specialists gave ten students another article to read. It was an angry letter to the editor of a newspaper. Five students read the angry article while smiling, and five students read the angry article while frowning. Which group remembered better? You're right. The frowning students.

The specialists don't know why facial expressions help memory. They are continuing to study the relationship between the mind and the body. Until they find the answer, keep smiling (or frowning?)!

Statements:

1. If one can answer all the four questions, his memory is thought to be good.

2. The smiling students could remember more happy articles than the frowning students.

3. Education specialists from England haven't found the best way to help people improve reading abilities.

4. The specialists are trying to explain the reason why facial expressions can help memory.

5. According to the speaker, facial expressions might affect a person's memory.

6. In the second group five students who read the angry letter while smiling remembered less.

PART D:

Beside Oneself

Many expressions may be used to describe someone who is excited. One such expression is to be "beside oneself". You can be beside yourself with anger or beside yourself with happiness, although usually not both at the same time. If you are beside yourself, you are filled with excitement.

The dictionary tells us that "beside" means "next to", or "at the side of". So the expression "beside oneself" describes something that really is not possible. You cannot be next to yourself. Some language experts, however, think the expression probably comes from an old belief that through magic, you could indeed be next to yourself. Spirits were believed to be able to have two of the same person appear, especially if that person was excited.

Today, you might hear a husband say, "When my wife told me we were going to have a baby, I was beside myself with joy." Or someone might tell you he was beside himself with anger because he had just lost his job.

When you are full of joy or are extremely excited about something, you may do something else that is strange. You may "flip 17 your lid". A lid is the cover that prevents something from escaping from a container. A lid on a cooking pot, for example, keeps the heat from escaping. To flip something is to turn it over. So when you "flip your lid", you become so excited that your self-control escapes.

You can "flip your lid" over something you like very much. A young man, for example, might flip his lid over a pretty, young woman. Or you can "flip your lid" if something makes you very angry.

In recent years, the word "flip" itself has come to mean the same thing as "flip your lid". It is common to hear a girl say she "flipped 18" over a new boyfriend.

An expression that means something quite similar is to "lose your head". The head is believed to be connected to reason and careful thought. Thus to "lose one's head" is to act without thinking, to be out of control.

Questions:

1. What condition does the expression "beside oneself" describe today?

2. What is meant by the expression "flip your lid"?

3. What is the meaning of the word "flip"?

4. What may happen to someone who loses his head?

5. What does the passage mainly discuss?

Studying in the U.S.

Exercise :Listen and write down answers

Suppose you have the chance to study in the U.S. one day, you will find the first semester 19 of college is always the most difficult, finding out what classes are like, what your reading load will be, how many papers you must write, etc. Organizing your time will be difficult, too. How much time do you have to devote to studying every day, how can you clean, cook and study and have time left to visit friends?

During your first semester you will also encounter 20 language difficulties. If you cannot understand your teachers or that they are speaking too quickly, don't hesitate to ask them to slow down or speak more clearly.

Spoken English is very different from written English. It is full of idiomatic 21 expressions that make absolutely no sense to people whose knowledge of spoken English is less than fluent.

Listening to American students talk, listening to television and radio, and using the language labs at school will help you break through the idiom barrier quickly.