每天一课英语口语 UNIT 194-207

[00:00.00]194 Reader's Card

[00:04.65]Librarian:  Good morning. How do you do? You have come to exchange books, I suppose.

[00:11.10]Subscriber: Yes, I have. Could you recommend something in-teresting?

[00:15.62]Librarian:  Of course, I can, but wouldn't you like to look through the catalogue yourself?

[00:20.87]Subscriber: I rely on your choice.

[00:23.22]You have already suggested to me quite a number of interesting books, which I have read with the greatest interest.

[00:31.16]Librarian:  To tell you the truth, I have forgotten your special interest.

[00:35.97]There are so many subscribers in our Ii-brary, it is difficult to remember the taste of each.

[00:43.00]Subscriber: In fact, I am interested in everything: fiction, biogra-phy, history, travel books.

[00:50.52]Librarian:  If you care for fiction, here are some of the latest novels on the counter.

[00:56.16]I have read most of them, and after you have chosen a writer and title,

[01:01.83]I can tell you what it's all about.

[01:04.21]By the way, do you like short stories?

[01:07.79]If so, I can recommend to you a col-lection of short stories by John Cheever.

[01:14.42]Subscriber: I think I'll choose that book right away.

[01:17.82]Librarian:  And which is the second book? You have a right to take two books home, you know.

[01:23.67]Subscriber: It strikes me that this novel "A Silver Dish" by  Saw Bellow 1 is what I should like to take.

[01:31.01]Librarian:  And perfectly 2 right you are in deciding upon that book. It's very much in demand.

[01:38.06]Subscriber:  Well, let me have it then. I think these two books are just the thing for me.

[01:43.71]Librarian:  You are welcome to them.

[01:45.90]Please fill in this slip and I shall write down the books on your reader' s card.

[01:51.23]Subscriber: Thank you very much for your kind advice.

[01:54.57]Now I've got something to read for at least a fortnight.

[01:59.43]195 A Problem in College Education

[02:05.91]In American Indian culture one of the surest indications of impending 3 disaster was the tribe's decision that,

[02:14.95]in order to sur-vive, it was necessary to eat the seed corn--

[02:19.86]in the full knowl-edge that this doomed 4 the crop of the following year.

[02:24.61]We face a similar situation in U.S. education in mathemat-ics, physical science, and engineering.

[02:34.04]To remain competitive in the international marketplace,

[02:38.12]U.S. industries have recognized that they must attract the brightest, most dedicated 5 young people available,

[02:46.48]and beginning industrial salaries have risen rapidly to bring this about.

[02:52.43]Colleges and universities can no longer com-pete, and there is a growing question about our ability, in the 1990's,

[03:02.94]to supply young people in these areas for either industry or education.

[03:11.40]196 TOEFL

[03:15.21]TOEFL is a short way of saying Test of English as a Foreign Language.

[03:21.77]It measures a person's ability to understand, read and write English.

[03:28.07]TOEFL does not measure how well you speak English, however.

[03:33.00]The Test of Spoken English does. It is about a twenty minutes test that involves speaking English.

[03:40.87]Many American universities will advise you to take this test if you plan to at-tend a graduate school.

[03:48.44]Some universities also will tell you to take yet another test, the Test of Written English.

[03:55.89]It is a 30 minutes test in which you are asked to write in English about some-thing.

[04:02.39]The test measures your ability to organize information and to express ideas in correcting English.

[04:10.41]Professors of English as a Foreign language work with foreign students who come to the United States to study English.

[04:18.98]They say many foreign students do not know how much writing they must do every week at an American university.

[04:27.23]And they do not know how much they are expected to talk in class.

[04:32.07]They say foreign students must do well in writing and speaking English,

[04:37.34]or their studies in the United States will be extremely difficult.

[04:43.19]197 The University I Prefer

[04:48.99]Every one of us wants to go to a good university for further study.

[04:54.82]As far as a good university is concerned, different people have different ideas.

[05:00.72]In my opinion, a good university, first of all, should have good professors.

[05:07.30]The more professors it has, the better it is.

[05:11.64]Second, a good university should have better facili-ties with beautiful environment for the students.

[05:20.00]As can be seen from the table, university A is located in a seaside town near the city.

[05:28.88]It is convenient for the students who study in such a university.

[05:33.95]On weekends they may either go downtown for the things they want to buy or go to the seaside for holidays.

[05:43.43]But university B is not so ideal as university A.

[05:48.81]For uni-versity B, I suppose, the transportation is not convenient, for it is located in a mountain area;

[05:58.16]furthermore, it has far less professors than university A.

[06:03.47]If it were left to me to choose once again which of the two universities for further study,

[06:10.99]I would not hesitate a moment to prefer university A.

[06:15.90]This university, without doubt, would pro-vide me with good teachers,

[06:21.68]which is of vital help for my future career as well as for my study.

[06:27.84]198 It's Never Too Late for Success

[06:35.78]Some parents worry very much that their children will amount to nothing

[06:41.35]since they are given to daydreaming 7 in deci-sion,

[06:45.71]and they show no promise of being a doctor, lawyer or manager.

[06:50.72]Meanwhile the teenagers themselves also despair of the future

[06:55.66]and the success for they are constantly scomed and blamed.

[06:59.55]But the truth is that many of the greater figures were practi-cally beatniks, when they were teenagers.

[07:07.02]Mozart never showed talent in any direction whatsoever 8 during his formative years until

[07:13.32]he was 22 when he suddenly became fired with a great passion for music.

[07:19.85]Edison finally attracted worldwide attention for his great contribution

[07:25.78]although his teacher had tried to get him out of the class saying that his brain was addled 9.

[07:32.23]Therefore, it's never too late for success.

[07:36.54]Teenagers, how-ever disappointing and disappointed,

[07:41.32]have that one special ad-vantage over the greatest men-alive-time.

[07:46.52]They surely can ar-rive at the peak of their career in the near future

[07:52.14]as long as they avail themselves of valuable time

[07:56.19]and exert themselves to accom-plish their share of work carefully and persistently 11.

[08:04.75]199 The English Comer and Me

[08:12.33]I like the English comer for good reasons.

[08:16.22]I have learnt English for some ten years,

[08:19.54]but in the past when I spoke 6 to my English teacher, I often made mistakes here and there.

[08:26.54]I wondered what would happen if I should run into a native speaker.

[08:31.66]The English comer is the ideal place for me to improve my spoken English.

[08:38.06]Anyway practice does make senses.

[08:41.98]With a fairly real situation created, I can now speak quite freely.

[08:48.22]In the future I hope I can and will conduct my lectures in English.

[08:54.70]Moreover, it offers a convenient place for me to make friends.

[09:00.29]At the English comer, people of different backgrounds are mixed up.

[09:05.49]Those who come are from all walks of life, of both sexes and of various age groups.

[09:13.35]Although we all speak English, our topics differ from one another:

[09:18.76]old people are fond of talking about their children and grandchildren,

[09:24.43]while young-sters like to say something about their dreams and ideals.

[09:30.33]In this way we can acquire other knowledge through English comer activities.

[09:36.31]When doctors are talking about diseases, we can learn something about medicine.

[09:42.48]Isn't the English comer a place acquiring other knowledge?

[09:47.89]200 College Life

[09:53.06]Usually we see two types of students: those who are active in school activities

[10:00.45]and those who spend more time on their stud-ies and do not take part in school activities.

[10:06.77]The students who are active in school activities say that it is impossible to keep their health

[10:14.14]unless they take enough physical recreation.

[10:17.33]They often cite the saying: "All work and no play makes Jack 12 a dull boy."

[10:23.80]The students who do not take part in school activities have a different opinion.

[10:29.94]They argue that art is long but life is short,

[10:34.67]and that school life is still shorter;

[10:38.04]so they have to make the most of their limited school days to learn as much knowledge as they can

[10:45.02]so that they can be fully 10 prepared to make contributions to the society after graduation.

[10:52.12]I prefer to be one of the first type because I think good health is important.

[10:58.78]Facts show that students who are in poor health are less energetic than these who are in good health.

[11:05.81]Healthy and strong students can absorb knowledge more readily.

[11:10.72]And a good way to keep us healthy and strong is to go in for ac-tivities.

[11:16.86]When we take part in them,

[11:19.26]not only our bodies are trained but also our minds are taken off our work or study for a while and get relaxed.

[11:27.83]As a result, we become more acute and vigorous and our studies can be improved.

[11:36.32]201 Cheating at Examinations

[11:41.91]Cheating at examinations is becoming a serious problem.

[11:47.27]Some students are affected 13 by the idea that money is everything and knowledge is of no use,

[11:54.63]which is prevalent in society.

[11:57.69]What they care, instead of studying hard, is earning money and pursu-ing comforts.

[12:05.47]So when the exam comes, they have to resort to cheating to earn a higher grade.

[12:12.06]To some extent, colleges or u-niversities themselves must bear the blame

[12:18.77]for their placing more emphasis on grades than on learning.

[12:23.68]Rigid grading system pro-motes cheating.

[12:26.95]Class attendance and performance are not im-portant so long you pass the final exam.

[12:34.44]All is well that ends well.

[12:37.71]Examinations are their only way to measure students' per-formance.

[12:43.12]Some measures should be taken to prevent cheating.

[12:47.45]Schools may help students realize their deceitful behavior--they are, in fact, cheating themselves.

[12:55.68]Those who still cheat, once found, should be severely 14 punished.

[13:01.06]Besides, a student's class attendance and performance should be taken into consideration when he is graded.

[13:09.55]202 Learning English

[13:15.87]As we all know, English is the most widely used language in the world.

[13:21.88]It's important for us to study English well. But how?

[13:27.05]I like English as well as maths and physics.

[13:31.26]At the beginning of my English study, I spent a lot of time in memorizing the grammatical rules of English.

[13:39.07]I wasn't interested in listening or speaking.

[13:43.04]Many times the marks I got in English tests were not as good as those in my maths tests,

[13:50.49]so I decided 15 to change my way of study.

[13:53.72]From then on, I have begun to pay attention to listening.

[13:59.24]In my spare time, I often listen to English tapes and watch some English programmes on TV,

[14:07.54]I try my best to grasp the main idea.

[14:12.22]Reading is an important step in learning English well.

[14:17.05]I read text books, and other reading materials.

[14:21.10]When I am free, I often read English magazines and newspapers.

[14:26.69]Although there are lots of new words,

[14:29.90]I often go through what I read without paying much attention to the new words or difficult sentences.

[14:36.77]In this way, I've improved my reading comprehension.

[14:41.11]How glad I am! The more I read, the more t understand; the more I under-stand, the more I read.

[14:51.82]Recently, I have also been trying to write.

[14:51.90]Though I often make mistakes, I am not discouraged.

[14:59.08]I'm determined 16 to study English well. I'm sure I will know it well in the future.

[15:05.01]203 My First Day at College

[15:12.35]September 8, 1991 was my first day at college.

[15:18.15]Everything on campus appeared especially bright and fresh.

[15:23.25]Although thirteen years have passed,

[15:26.28]I can still remember that significant day clearly as if it had happened yesterday.

[15:32.65]In the morning I went through the registration 17 procedures,

[15:36.80]got a school badge, a student card and the textbooks for the first semester.

[15:43.15]In the afternoon I attended the orientation 18 program.

[15:48.09]While touring the campus we were told the history of the college in which we take pride.

[15:55.12]We visited the library with a beautifully decorated lobby.

[16:00.00]We were shown the physics department building and the classrooms where we were going to attend classes.

[16:07.34]When I lay on bed that night,

[16:10.24]I thought that at last I was re-ally a college student and my childhood dream had come true.

[16:17.82]At the same time, I felt the great responsibility on my shoulder.

[16:22.99]I was determined to make the most of my college days to receive education,

[16:29.44]to cultivate good behavior, to improve my health and to get rich knowledge so that I could serve my countrymen.

[16:39.45]204 A Good Teacher or Not

[16:45.69]A good teacher is many things to many people.

[16:49.82]In my own experience, the people I respect the most

[16:53.94]and think about the most are those who demanded the most discipline from their students.

[16:59.72]I miss one teacher in particular that I had in high school.

[17:04.78]I think she was a good teacher because she was a very strict per-son.

[17:10.24]I remember very vividly 19 a sign over her classroom door, It was a simple sign that said:

[17:17.85]"Laboratory--in this room the first five letters of the word are emphasized, not the last seven."

[17:26.57]In other words, I guess, labor 20 for her was more important than oratory 21, which means making speeches.

[17:35.63]She prepared her work very carefully and demanded us to do the same.

[17:41.59]We got lots of homework from her.

[17:44.44]Once she had broken her arm, everybody in the class thought that maybe the homework load would be reduced,

[17:52.82]but it continued just the same.

[17:55.30]She checked our work by stamping her name at the bottom of the papers to show that she had read them.

[18:02.65]I think sometimes teachers who demand the most are per-haps liked the least.

[18:09.36]But as time goes by, this discipline really seems to benefit the students.

[18:15.89]205 An Actor and a Teacher

[18:23.02]To be a good teacher, you need some of the gifts of a good actor:

[18:28.61]you must be able to hold the attention and interest of your audience;

[18:34.04]you must be a clear speaker, with a good, strong, pleasing voice;

[18:39.74]and you must be able to act what you are teach-ing, to make its meaning readily comprehensible.

[18:46.87]Watch a good teacher, and you will see that he does not act just motionless before his class:

[18:54.79]he stands the whole time he is teaching;

[18:58.26]he walks about, using his arms, hands and fingers to help him in his explanation.

[19:05.86]Listen to him, and you will hear the loudness,

[19:09.52]the quality and the musical rate of his voice always changing according to what he is talking about.

[19:17.25]The fact that a good teacher has some of the qualities of a good actor

[19:22.61]doesn't mean that be will indeed be able to act well on the stage,

[19:27.60]for there are very important differences between the teacher's work and the actor' s.

[19:33.47]The actor has to speak words which he has learnt by heart;

[19:38.17]he has to repeat exactly the same words each time he plays a certain part,

[19:44.13]even his movements and the ways in which he uses his voice are usually tried before-hand.

[19:51.08]What he has to do is to make all these carefully learnt words and actions seem natural on the stage.

[19:58.99]A good teacher works in quite a different way.

[20:02.52]His audience take an active part in his play: they ask and answer questions,

[20:08.97]obey orders, and if they don' t understand something, they say so.

[20:15.01]The teacher therefore has to suit his act to the needs of his audience, which is his class.

[20:22.17]He cannot learn his part by heart, but must invent it as he goes along.

[20:28.72]206 The Heavy Bags of School Children

[20:35.96]Have you noticed that the students' bags are growing heav-ier

[20:40.42]and heavier, including not only those of the middle-school children but also those of the primary-school children?

[20:49.62]What are inside these bags?

[20:52.41]In addition to textbooks,

[20:55.34]there are various kinds of reference books and exercise books bought both by the teachers and the parents.

[21:03.26]Each day the students usually spend two or more hours in doing their homework

[21:10.10]and their parents sometimes would give them some additional work to do.

[21:14.78]What a heavy burden the children are bearing!

[21:18.22]Wilt their study be improved by the "heavy bags" and homework?

[21:23.55]It is right that "Practice makes perfect". Yet there should be a limit.

[21:30.16]Too much pressure may lead to opposite ef-fects.

[21:34.08]One's energy and time are limited, especially young children, they need to play and amuse themselves.

[21:42.75]Furthermore, a good student should not only achieve good marks in academic subjects,

[21:49.31]but also have varied 22 interests and abilities.

[21:53.10]Teachers and parents should encourage them to cultivate different interests besides their study.

[22:00.28]We all know that "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

[22:07.15]I hope that all the teachers and parents could understand the children

[22:12.11]and give them more free time to enjoy what their age endows them with.

[22:18.41]207 Education

[22:23.43]The prosperity of a nation depends on the development of e-ducation.

[22:29.17]Any development in science and technology,

[22:32.62]through-out the world is due to the development of education which brings up scientists and inventors.

[22:41.11]It is difficult to emphasize just how important the role of education is.

[22:47.25]There is no doubt that countries with undeveloped education will remain poor.

[22:53.49]Education is also vital to the development of an individual.

[22:58.90]Of all elements of success in our careers none is more important than education.

[23:05.90]It is not genius but the knowledge that makes the difference between success and failure.

[23:12.77]In fact most of the fa-mous people of our times spent many years studying.

[23:19.46]Can you hear any great men you admire who are not well educated?

[23:25.21]Some people however are still ignorant of the importance of education.

[23:31.16]Some parents, especially those in the countryside, think it unnecessary to send their children to school.

[23:39.23]Some par-ents have their children work for money at very young age.

[23:44.74]In view of this,

[23:46.65]compulsory education must be enforced

[23:50.18]to see to it that all young people will have the chance to have adequate edu-cation.