全新版大学英语听说教程第三册 Unit 02

Unit 2

Part B

Text1

What a Coincidence! (Part One)

Andrew had always wanted to be a doctor. But the tuition 1 for a medical school in 1984 was 15,000 dollars a year, which was more than his family could afford. To help him realize his dream, his father, Mr. Stewart, a real estate agent, began searching the house-for-sale ads in newspapers in order to find extra business. One advertisement that he noted 3 down was for the sale of a house in a nearby town. Mr. Stewart called the owner, trying to persuade him to let him be his agent. Somehow he succeeded and the owner promised that he would come to him if he failed to get a good deal with his present agent. Then they made an appointment to meet and discuss the thing.

As good things are never easy to acquire, the time for the appointment had to be changed almost ten times. On the day when they were supposed to meet at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. Stewart received another call from the owner. His heart sank as he feared there would be another change of time. And so it was. The owner told him that he couldn't make it at three but if he would come right then, they could talk it over. Mr. Stewart was overjoyed. Leaving everything aside, he immediately set out to drive to the house.

As he approached the area, he had a strange feeling of having been there before. The streets, the trees, the neighborhood, all looked familiar to him. And when he finally reached the house, something clicked in his mind. It used to be the house of his father-in-law! The old man had died fifteen years ago but when he was alive, he had often visited him with his wife and children. He remembered that, like his son Andrew, his father-in-law had also wanted to study medicine and, failing to do so, had always hoped that one of his two daughters or his grandchildren could someday become a doctor.

Questions:

1. Who are the two main characters in the story you have just heard?

2. How did Mr. Stewart get to know the owner of the house?

3. What problem did Mr. Stewart have?

4. What is the coincidence in the story you have just heard?

Text2

What a Coincidence! (Part Two)

When he entered the house, Mr. Stewart was even more amazed to find that the house was decorated exactly as he had remembered it. He told the owner about this and the latter became intrigued 4 too. However, they were in for even greater surprises. It so happened that in the middle of their discussion, a postman came to deliver a letter. And the letter was addressed to Mr. Stewart's father-in-law! Were it not for Mr. Stewart's presence there and then, the letter would be returned as no person of that name lived in the house any longer. As the postman demanded a signature on the receipt slip, Mr. Stewart signed for his long-deceased father-in-law. Mystified, the owner urged Mr. Stewart to open the letter and see what it contained. The letter was from a bank. When he opened it, two words immediately met his eye -- 'For education'. It was a bank statement of an amount his father-in-law had put in years ago for his grandchildren's education needs. With the interest it had earned over the years, the standing 5 value of the amount came to a little over $15,000, just enough money to cover the tuition of Andrew's first year at a medical college!

Another thing that is worth mentioning is about the postman. The original postman, who had worked in this neighborhood, called in sick that day. So the postman, who was new to the area, came to deliver mail in his place. Had it been the old postman, the letter would undoubtedly 6 be returned to the sender as he knew full well that no person bearing 7 that name lived in that house any longer.

The miracle was a blessing 8 for Andrew. With the money given to him by his grandfather he was able to study medicine. Now he is a doctor in Illinois.

Statements:

1. Several coincidences happened in the story.

2. The coincidences made it possible for the owner to sell his house at a good price.

3. No one actually benefited from the coincidences.

4. It can be inferred that Mr. Stewart did not have to seek extra work from then on.

5. With the extra money Mr. Stewart had earned, Andrew's dream finally came true.

Part C

Dad Stops for Gas, Finds Lost Son

Nueng Garcia was the son of an American serviceman stationed in Thailand in 1969. But his father went back to the States when Nueng was only three months old. When he grew up Nueng immigrated 9 to the United States and worked as a gas station clerk in Pueblo 10, Colorado. His dream was to find his father John Garcia. Year after year, he tried in vain to search for information about the whereabouts of his father.

It was a fine day in Pueblo. There was not a cloud in the blue sky. But for him, it was just another day on the job. Suddenly he noticed the name of one customer who paid with a check. The man, who was in his fifties, had the same surname 11 as his own. Nueng raised his head from the check and looked at the man. Could this be his father?

"Are you John Garcia?" he asked.

"Yes," came the answer.

"Were you ever in the Air Force?"

"Yes."

"Were you ever in Thailand?"

"What's that to do with you?" answered the man, who became suspicious 12 by then.

"Were you or were you not?" Nueng persisted 13.

"Yes."

"Did you ever have a son?"

At this truth dawned on the man. They stared at each other and realized at the same moment that they were father and son who were separated 27 years ago and half a world away.

John Garcia hadn't seen his son since 1969. He lost touch with Nueng's mother when she started seeing another man. He moved to Pueblo nine years ago. He said he never went to that gas station, wasn't even low on gas that day and hardly ever paid with a check.

Statements:

1. Nueng's parents divorced when he was only 3 months old.

2. After moving to the U.S.A., Nueng worked at a gas station in Colorado.

3. Nueng never gave up his efforts to find his father, but John Garcia had never looked for his son.

4. One day while at work Nueng's eyes fell on the photo of a customer's driver's license 14, and the man in the photo looked like his father.

5. John Garcia was once in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Thailand.

6. John Garcia and his son didn't meet each other again until 1996.

7. Nueng's father said he often went to that gas station but never paid with a check.

8. It was by coincidence that John Garcia and his son were reunited after many years of separation.

Part D

Unexplained Parallels

One of the best-known collections of parallels is between the careers of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Both were shot on a Friday, in the presence of their wives; both were succeeded by a Southerner named Johnson; both their killers 15 were themselves killed before they could be brought to justice. Lincoln had a secretary called Kennedy; Kennedy a secretary called Lincoln. Lincoln was killed in the Ford 2 Theater; Kennedy met his death while riding in a Lincoln convertible 16 made by the Ford Motor Company -- and so on.

Similar coincidences often occur between twins. A news story from Finland reported of two 70-year-old twin brothers dying two hours apart in separate accidents, with both being hit by trucks while crossing the same road on bicycles. According to the police, the second victim could not have known about his brother's death, as officers had only managed to identify the first victim minutes before the second accident.

Connections are also found between identical twins who have been separated at birth. Dorothy Lowe and Bridget Harrison were separated in 1945, and did not meet until 1979, when they were flown over from Britain for an investigation 17 by a psychologist at the University of Minnesota. They found that when they met they were both wearing seven rings on their hands, two bracelets 19 on one wrist, a watch and a bracelet 18 on the other. They married on the same day, had worn identical wedding dresses and carried the same flowers. Dorothy had named her son Richard Andrew and her daughter Catherine Louise; Bridget had named her son Andrew Richard and her daughter Karen Louise. In fact, she had wanted to call her Catherine. Both had a cat called Tiger. They also had a string of similar mannerisms when they were nervous.

How can we explain the above similarities?