每天一课英语口语 UNIT 221-234

[00:00.00]221 The Use of Dictionaries

[00:05.09]Today I'd like to talk to you about dictionaries because most of you have them, but don't use them very often.

[00:13.40]When-ever I ask people what a dictionary is for, they almost always say that it's to find the meaning of a word.

[00:21.37]That's only a small part of the answer.

[00:24.61]Sure a dictionary will tell you the meaning of a word,

[00:28.81]but it will also give you an example to show you how the word is used in a sentence,

[00:34.14]it also tells you how to pronounce the word if you already know the meaning of the word.

[00:40.05]And this is very important because if you can't say a word correctly no

one will understand you.

[00:47.26]Now think about when you are writing about something.

[00:51.10]Are you always sure about the spelling of every word?

[00:54.70]If not, what do you do?

[00:57.05]Do you write it the way you think it is spelt and hope it is correct?

[01:02.12]Or do you wait for some-one to tell you the spelling or do you look for another word to use instead?

[01:09.25]What you should do is to open your dictionary, and check to see your spelling is correct.

[01:15.99]If it isn't correct, think of another way. A word might be spelt, and check it out.

[01:22.21]Through guessing and checking you will find the right spelling.

[01:28.69]222 We Need to Broaden Our knowledge

[01:34.51]Our civilization is mainly attributed to the progress of sci- ence and technology.

[01:41.04]It is generally accepted that science and technology are the primary productive force.

[01:47.94]The development of our society is much more dependent on new science and tech- nology than ever before,

[01:55.59]and it is hard to imagine what our life would be like without them.

[02:00.89]On the other hand, social sciences construct our spiritual buildings and make our life more diverse and meaningful.

[02:10.32]Natu-ral sciences, no matter how advanced, cannot develop further without direction of philosophy and ethics,

[02:19.49]two chief branches of social sciences.

[02:22.68]In modern society, the relationship between so-cial sciences and natural sciences has become more and more close,

[02:32.32]which leads to the emergence of many subjects.

[02:35.48]Therefore, as college students, we should learn any kind of knowledge as much as we can,

[02:42.69]not only to widen our horizon but also to meet the requirements of modem society.

[02:49.56]With exten-sive knowledge,

[02:51.70]we can achieve our goals fully and make contri-butions to our country

[02:57.16]and the progress of the civilization of hu-man beings.

[03:01.21]223 Observe and Learn

[03:07.59]When young people get their real jobs, they may face a lot of new, confusing situations.

[03:15.16]They may find that everything is different from the way things were at school.

[03:20.41]It is also possible that they will feel uncomfortable in both professional and social situations.

[03:28.30]Eventually they realize that university classes can't be the only preparation

[03:34.99]for all of the different situations that appear in the working world.

[03:39.25]Perhaps the best way to learn how to behave in working world is to identify a worker you admire

[03:47.29]and observe his behav-ior.

[03:49.25]In doing so, you'll be able to see what it is that you admire in this person.

[03:54.95]For example you will observe how he acts in a trouble.

[03:59.57]Perhaps even more important, you will be able to see what is his approach to everyday situations.

[04:07.12]While you are observing your colleague,

[04:10.64]you should be asking yourself whether his behavior is like yours

[04:14.75]and how you can learn from his response to a different situation.

[04:19.03]By watching and learning from a model, you will probably begin to identify and get good working habits.

[04:28.51]224 Introduction of the Workbook

[04:34.52]Hello! I'm Judly Henderson.

[04:38.41]Before we start our first lab, I'd like to tell you a little bit about the workbook we will be us-ing.

[04:45.52]The first thing I'd like to point out is that the workbook con-tains a very large amount of material,

[04:52.91]far more than you could ever handle in a single semester.

[04:57.09]What you're supposed to do is to choose the experiment and activities that you want to do,

[05:03.70]within a certain framework, of course part of my job is to help you make your choices.

[05:10.28]Next, I'd like to mention that in each workshop chapter there are usually two subsections.

[05:17.62]The first is called experiments and the second is called activities.

[05:23.40]In the ex-periment section the workbook gives full instructions

[05:28.12]for all the experiments including alternative procedures.

[05:32.77]You may use the procedures as you will on the basis of available equipment or personal preference.

[05:40.56]In the activities section you will find sugges-tions for many experiments,

[05:46.07]exercises and projects that you can do on your own time.

[05:50.67]You'll see that there are usually no de-tailed instructions for the activities.

[05:56.49]You are supposed to do them your own way.

[05:59.39]OK, let's tum to.Chapter One now.

[06:03.86]225 How to Use the Library

[06:10.00]The library is an English language teaching and learning li-brary.

[06:15.80]Unfortunately our resources are limited and so not every body can join.

[06:21.99]Teachers of English, university students,

[06:25.99]and pro-fessionals who are in the medical, engineering, and management fields can all join the library.

[06:32.28]Those from other professions are welcome to apply, but your application wilt not necessarily be approved.

[06:40.22]You must fill in a library application form and put it in the box or the librarian's desk.

[06:47.59]Because of the high number of appli-actions we receive each week, you must wait for one week.

[06:54.28]Please bring your student or work card to pick up your library cards.

[06:58.82]Library application forms which are not picked up within one month will be discarded and you will have to reapply.

[07:07.34]You may borrow one video at a time.

[07:11.28]The video must be returned in one week.

[07:14.70]If you can not return it on time, please call; otherwise your video library card will be canceled.

[07:23.06]You may borrow 3 items at one time, i.e. 3 books or 3 cassettes.

[07:30.77]Items must be returned within one month.

[07:34.19]You can telephone the library to renew items for another month.

[07:39.86]226 Spelling or Content

[07:45.03]There is a popular belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling.

[07:52.19]No school I have taught in has ever ignored spelling or considered it unimportant as a basic skill.

[08:00.05]There are, however, vastly different ideas about how to teach it,

[08:04.96]or how much priority it must be given over general language de-velopment and writing ability.

[08:12.33]The problem is, how to encour-age a child to express himself freely

[08:17.37]and confidently in writing without holding him back with the complexities of spelling?

[08:23.61]If spelling becomes the only focal point of his teacher's in-terest,

[08:29.31]clearly a bright child will be likely to "play safe".

[08:33.62]He will tend to write only words within his spelling range, choosing to

avoid adventurous language.

[08:41.09]That's why teachers often encour-age the early use of dictionaries

[08:46.29]and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.

[08:50.52]I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience:

[08:58.28]"This work is terri-ble! There are far too many spelling errors and your writing is il-legible."

[09:05.38]It may have been a sharp criticism of the pupil's tech-nical abilities in writing,

[09:11.86]but it was. also a sad reflection on the teacher who had omitted to read the essay,

[09:18.52]which contained some beautiful expressions of the child' s deep feelings.

[09:23.38]The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the errors,

[09:27.77]but if his priorities had centered on the child's ideas,

[09:32.29]an expression of his disappointment with the presentation

[09:36.05]would have given the pupil more motivation to seek improvement.

[09:41.49]227 Christmas--The Spring Festival of Westerners

[09:49.19]In England, Christmas is the most important of all the "Bank Holidays" in the year.

[09:55.54]Two important things, apart from its reli-gious significance, help to set this holiday apart from all others:

[10:03.64]the custom of giving gifts and the habit of spending it with the

family.

[10:08.94]The custom of giving presents to one's family and friends is a very pleasant one

[10:15.13]so long as one remembers that it is the spirit behind the gift which matters most and not the gift itself.

[10:23.46]How good it is at Christmas to return to the family and meet parents,

[10:29.66]grandparents and as many aunts, uncles and cousins as can be accommodated.

[10:35.98]Without twentieth-century means of transport, many families would be denied the Christmas reunion.

[10:43.08]Christmas Day is spent quietly at home.

[10:46.95]The excitement of all the presents is hardly over before it is time for the traditional Christmas dinner:

[10:54.08]turkey, duck or chicken with rich fruity Christ-mas pudding afterwards.

[11:00.25]At tea-time, the crackers are pulled out.

[11:03.88]The evening is spent in games merriment and more eating and drinking.

[11:08.45]There is always Boxing Day, the Bank Holiday af-ter Christmas Day,

[11:13.41]on which to recover, if all the excitement and food have proved a little too much.

[11:20.15]228 Live Outside or Inside London

[11:26.00]Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it,

[11:31.20]and to go to their offices, factories or schools every day by train,

car or bus,

[11:38.88]even though this means they have to get up earlier in the morning and reach home later in the evening.

[11:45.41]One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper.

[11:51.18]Even a small flat in London without a garden costs a lot of rent.

[11:57.27]With the same money one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one's own.

[12:03.62]Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town.

[12:10.04]Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses,

[12:16.94]one can sleep better at night, and, during weekends and on summer evenings,

[12:23.24]one can enjoy the fresh clean air of the country.

[12:26.89]If one likes gardens, one can spend one's free time digging, planting,

[12:33.01]watering and doing a hundred and one other jobs which are ready in a garden.

[12:38.57]Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up one has the reward of one who has shared the secrets of Nature.

[12:47.77]Some people, however, take no interest in country things: for them, happiness lies in the town.

[12:55.68]Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London.

[13:02.76]An occasional walk in one of the parks is all the country they want:

[13:08.01]the rest they are prepared to. leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night.

[13:16.29]229 Washington Elm

[13:21.88]Attention please, ladies and gentlemen.

[13:26.11]Our bus is ap-proaching Cambridge Massachusetts, where we'll be stopping to eat.

[13:31.26]We'll have our lunch in the garden of a restaurant over-looking a small park that has a very interesting story.

[13:38.63]This park commemorates a tree, a very famous tree,

[13:43.90]because legend has it that General George Washington took command of the continen-tal army

[13:49.83]in 1775 under its very branches.

[13:54.43]It was almost 100 years later, in 1864,

[14:00.15]that the city of Cambridge placed a plaque on the tree to celebrate the event that made it famous

[14:07.10]and from that mo-ment the tree was called the Washington Elm.

[14:12.85]In due time the tree gradually succumbed to the attacks of insects and lost much of its beauty.

[14:20.16]It was finally destroyed in an storm at the end of the century.

[14:24.55]But that's not the end of the story.

[14:27.58]The remains of the tree were cut down and the concentric growth rings were counted to find out how old the tree was.

[14:35.81]Well, it seems that if Washington had accepted the command of his army beneath this tree

[14:42.52]he must have done so on his knees.

[14:45.08]This particular elm couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 years old in 1775.

[14:52.47]It is a well-known fact that Washington. took-command in the ceremony under an elm tree,

[14:59.03]but unfortunately it couldn't have been the famous Washington Elm.

[15:04.46]Well, enjoy your lunch, folks, watch your step as you leave the bus.

[15:11.23]230 Walt Disney World

[15:15.12]If you are looking for a great place to spend your vacation, consider Walt Disney World.

[15:21.97]WDW is the most fantastic vaca-tion destination in the world covering an expanse of over 47 square miles.

[15:32.26]It includes four major theme parks, three water parks,

[15:36.73]a sports complex, six golf courses, a shopping center, and a night time entertainment complex.

[15:45.08]Walt Disney World has something for everyone--the theme park enthusiast,

[15:50.91]the naturalist, the sports enthusiast, the roman-tic, and the gourmet.

[15:57.05]Walt Disney World has both high technology and low technology, fantasy and reality.

[16:04.91]The gardens of Walt Disney World are gorgeous.

[16:08.54]Its transportation system is ex-pensive and efficient.

[16:13.04]Disney's employees, known as cast mem-bers, are helpful and serve to make you--the guest--happy.

[16:21.68]Of course, the four major theme parks are the main attrac-tion at Walt Disney World.

[16:28.24]The magic kingdom is a wonderful collection of adventure, heritage, fantasy, and science fiction.

[16:36.31]Walt Disney's dream of an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow showcases both technology

[16:44.64]and world culture in a u-nique mix of attractions and exhibits.

[16:50.23]At the Disney Studios you can see television and movie production

[16:55.82]and enjoy many of your favorite films and shows from the past, too.

[17:01.18]Animal kingdom, Disney's newest, rounds out the foursome splendidly!

[17:07.29]In addition to major parks, three water parks and a handful of other attraction are available to resort guests.

[17:16.93]Blizzard Beach was Florida's first ski resort until the snow from the freak winter storm melted.

[17:25.42]Other "minor" attraction include Pleasure Island, a shopping, dining, and nightclub complex.

[17:34.30]231 Eyesight Regained

[17:39.84]Robert Edwards was blinded in an automobile accident nine years ago.

[17:45.14]He was also partially deaf because of old age.

[17:49.09]Last week, he was strolling near his home when a thunderstorm ap-proached.

[17:54.86]He took refuge under a tree and was struck by light-ening.

[17:59.48]He was knocked to the ground and woke up some 20 minutes later, lying face down in water below a tree.

[18:07.30]He went into the house and lay down in bed.

[18:11.81]A short time later, he a-woke; his legs were numb and he was trembling.

[18:18.79]When he opened his eyes, he could see the clock across the room fading

in and out in front of him.

[18:25.87]When his wife entered, he saw her for the first time in nine years.

[18:31.48]Doctors confirm that he has re-gained his sight and hearing apparently from the splash of lighten-ing,

[18:39.11]but they are unable to explain the occurrence.

[18:43.24]The only possible explanation offered by one doctor was that,

[18:48.91]since Ed-wards lost his sight as a result of trauma in a terrible accident,

[18:53.92]perhaps the only way it could be restored was by another trau-ma.

[19:00.09]232 Kuwait

[19:05.03]Kuwait is a country which is quite small but which is very rich.

[19:10.33]It has a population of a little more than a million and it is situated at the mouth end of the Persian Gulf.

[19:18.27]This small desert country is one of the world' s leading oil producers,

[19:23.83]and it has approximately 15 percent of the world's known petroleum re- serves

[19:29.42]since the discovery of oil in 1938.

[19:33.66]Kuwait' s rulers have turned the country into a prosperous welfare state.

[19:39.09]It has free pri-mary and secondary education, free health care and social ser-vices;

[19:46.56]and the Kuwaitis do not have to pay any personal income tax for those services.

[19:52.93]The rate of literary is high and constantly growing.

[19:57.35]The University of Kuwait was opened in 1966,

[20:02.10]but many of the Kuwaiti students still study in colleges and universi-ties abroad, at state expense.

[20:10.52]Kuwait is needless to point out, an Arab country, and about 99 percent of the people who live there are Moslems.

[20:20.13]But fewer than half of these Moslems are actually citizens of Kuwait.

[20:26.01]This is because there are many Moslem im-migrants

[20:29.66]who have come from all over the Arab world from places like Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, from Oman,

[20:38.28]and from the Sudan.

[20:40.19]Indians, Pakistanis, and Iranians live and work in Kuwait, too.

[20:46.49]The other I percent of the population, in other words the non Moslems,

[20:52.26]are recent immigrants who were attract-ed by the opportunities to work for the oil companies.

[20:58.45]There are several thousand Europeans and Americans in Kuwait.

[21:03.60]Many of them are employed by the oil companies.

[21:08.14]233 The Mysterious Disappearance

[21:14.88]Some years ago an American policeman found a woman ly-ing near a lonely road.

[21:21.99]She did not appear to have had an acci-dent,

[21:25.51]but she was trembling and clearly in a state of shock, so he rushed her to the nearest hospital.

[21:32.77]She began to tell the doctor on duty a story which was astonishing in all respects.

[21:40.09]She had been driving along a country road when she was stopped by a flying saucer landing in front of her.

[21:47.72]She had been forced to leave the car and enter the flying saucer by some creatures.

[21:53.41]These creatures looked like human beings, and could easily make themselves understood although they could not speak.

[22:02.24]It was as though they would read her thoughts and she could read theirs.

[22:07.57]They treated her politely and allowed her to leave after carrying out a number of tests on her.

[22:14.49]As she otherwise seemed to be normal,

[22:17.57]the doctor decided that she was probably suffering from the side effects of some drug.

[22:22.77]The woman insisted on being allowed to go home,

[22:26.69]but when she gave her address it was in a town over a thousand miles from the hospital.

[22:33.09]The police then started to make inquiries.

[22:37.27]They soon discovered that there was already a search going on for the woman,

[22:42.00]whose husband had reported that she had disappeared.

[22:45.68]Her car had been found with the driver's door open and the engine running.

[22:51.74]In front of the car the surface of the road had been completely destroyed--

[22:56.99]not by an explosion or anything of that kind,

[23:00.68]but as though a large, circular, white-hot object had burnt through it.

[23:06.06]234 A Large City without Policemen

[23:13.48]It is hard to imagine a large city without policemen,

[23:18.23]but such was the situation in London in the early part of the 18th century.

[23:24.40]There was no organized police force.

[23:27.61]There were only public watchmen,

[23:30.09]but they were generally feeble and old men, unfit for more strenuous assignment than calling.

[23:37.56]"Past 10 o'clock and a cold frosty rooming."

[23:41.11]There were also constables appointed to keep the peace.

[23:45.71]From as far back as 1252, constables had been appointed for each parish in England and the position was an honor.

[23:55.59]The constable was unpaid, however,

[23:58.85]and not expected to do more than carry out the law

[24:02.74]in country towns and villages where the commonest crime was likely to be the theft of some-one's clothes.

[24:10.24]In London more serious crimes were committed; as the work of the constable became more dangerous,

[24:18.00]the men who should have done it paid others to do it for them.

[24:22.57]It was part of the constable's duty to raise the "hue and cry" after an escaping criminal.

[24:30.09]On hearing his cry, all passers-by were supposed to join the pursuit,

[24:36.08]but in practice, not many people could be persuaded to help.

[24:40.67]it was too dangerous a task and the constable was unarmed.