-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
A: Did you hear on the news today about that ... uh ... murderer who was executed?
B: I can't believe it.
A: Yeah. That's the first time in ten years that they've used capital punishment.
B: I just can't believe in our society today that they would actually kill another human being. Nobody has the right to take another person's life.
A: Oh, I don't agree. Listen, I think capital punishment is-it's about time it came back. I think that's exactly what killers2 deserve.
B: No, they don't deserve that. Because once you're killing3 a killer1, you're the killer, too. You become a killer as well.
A: No, listen. You take a life, you have to be willing to give up your own. And also, I think that if you have a death penalty it will prevent other people from killing. I think it's a good deterrent4.
B: I don't think it's a good deterrent at all. My goodness gracious. I mean, first of all, are you sure the person you've convicted to death is really guilty?
A: Well, I think that's a very rare ... very rare incidence.
B: I don't think it's rare, (I don't think it's ...) with all the cracker5 jack6 lawyers we have today, (Well, no ... I ...) and the judicial7 system the way it is.
A: I think it's a rare incidence, and I think it's more important to get rid of the ... the bad seed, you know?
B: But you don't get rid of it. You rehabilitate8 somebody like that. (Oh ...) You don't eliminate, you rehabilitate.
A: Listen, studies show that criminals are never really rehabilitated9. When they're ... when they come out of prison they just go back to a life of crime, and they're hardened by that crime.
B: Because the rehabilitation10 process has to be more than just what's in jail. I mean, (Oh ... well.) when you're in jail you do have to work, but when you're out of jail there has to be an extensive program. We have to expand on the idea till it works.
A: I don't agree. Listen-and, anyway, the jails and the prisons are already very crowded, and we have to pay, the taxpayers11. Our money goes to maintaining murderers' (I ...) lives.
B: I agree with you. That's why it's important to look at the problem on a much larger scale. The real problem is a social problem. (What ... no ...) There are other problems that cause people to kill. Look at poverty, drugs, discrimination.
A: Some people are just bad. They're just evil and there's nothing you can do.
B: No, there ... it is ... no, it isn't true. There's rehabilitation. (No.) And they ... we're all responsible it ... for ... to humanity. That's one of the reasons ...
A: Well, but in the meantime you have to take care of the people who have already committed ...
B: I agree with you there.
A: Preventative is different, but ...
B: I agree with you there.
Announcer: On 'TV Magazine' tonight we're looking at people who have given up regular jobs and high salaries to start a new way of life. First of all, we have two interviews with people who decided12 to leave the 'rat race'. Nicola Burgess spoke13 to them.
Nicola: This is the Isle14 of Skye. Behind me you can see the croft belonging to Daniel and Michelle Burns, who gave up their jobs to come to this remote area of Scotland. Daniel was the sales manager of Hi-Vita, the breakfast cereal company, and Michelle was a successful advertising15 executive. Michelle, can you tell us what made you give up everything to come here?
Michelle: Everything? That's a matter of opinion. A big house and two cars isn't everything! Dan and I both used to work long hours. We had to leave so early in the morning and we came home so late at night, that we hardly ever saw each other. We should have come here years ago, but we were earning such big salaries that we were afraid to leave our jobs. In the end we had so little time together that our marriage was breaking up. So two years ago, we took a week's holiday in the Scottish Highlands. We saw this place and we both fell in love with it. It was for sale, and we liked it so much that we decided to give up our jobs, and here we are!
Nicola: How do you earn a living? If you don't mind me asking.
Michelle: We don't need very much. We keep sheep and goats, grow our own vegetables. We've got a few chickens. It's a very simple life, and we're not in it for profit. We're still so busy that we work from five in the morning until eight at night, but we're together. We're happier than we're ever been and we're leading a natural life.
Nicola: There must be some things you miss, surely.
Michelle: I don't know. We knew such a lot of people in London, but they weren't real friends. We see our neighbours occasionally and there's such a lot to do on the farm that we don't have time to feel lonely. At least we see each other now.
Nicola: The motor-bike I'm sitting on is a very special one. Special because it's been all the way round the world. It belongs to Luke Saunders, who has just returned to England after a three year motor-cycle journey. Luke, what led you to leave your job and make this trip?
Luke: I worked in a car factory on the assembly line. All I had to do was put four nuts on the bolts that hold the wheels on. It's done by robots now, and a good thing too! The job was so routine that I didn't have to think at all. I bought this Triumph 750 cc bike second-hand16, fitted two panniers on the back and just set off for Australia.
Nicola: What did you do for money?
Luke: I had a bit of money to start with, but of course it didn't last long and I had to find work where I could. I've done so many different things-picked fruit, washed up, worked as a mechanic.
Nicola: How did people react to you? In India, for example.
Luke: Everywhere I went, the people were so friendly that problems seemed to solve themselves. There was such a lot of interest in the bike that it was easy to start a conversation. You know, often you can communicate without really knowing the language.
Nicola: Did you ever feel like giving up, turning round and coming home?
Luke: Only once, in Bangladesh. I became so ill with food poisoning that I had to go to hospital. But it didn't last long.
Nicola: You've had such an exciting time that you'll find it difficult to settle down, won't you?
Luke: I'm not going to. Next week I'm off again, but this time I'm going in the opposite direction! See you in about three years' time!
Here is an extract from a radio talk on the work of Sigmund Freud by Professor Eric Watkis:
Sigmund Freud developed his system of psychoanalysis while he was studying cases of mental illness. By examining details of the patient's life, he found that the illness could often be traced back to some definite problem or conflict within the person concerned. But he discovered, too, that many of the neuroses observed in mentally ill patients were also present, to a lesser17 degree, in normal persons. This led him to the realization18 that the borderline between the normal and the neurotic19 person is not nearly as clearly marked as was once believed.
In 1914 he published a book called The Psychopathology of Everyday Life. This book goes a long way towards explaining some of the strange behaviour of normal, sane20 people.
A glance at Freud's chapter headings will indicate some of the aspects of behaviour covered by the book:
Forgetting of proper namesForgetting of foreign wordsChildhood and concealing21 memoriesMistakes in speechMistakes in reading and writingBroadly, Freud demonstrates that there are good reasons for many of the slips and errors that we make. We forget a name because, unconsciously, we do not wish to remember that name. We repress a childhood memory because that memory is painful to us. A slip of the tongue or of the pen betrays a wish or a thought of which we are ashamed.
In these days when every would-be doctor or writer has access to Freud's accounts of his research, it is worth pausing and remembering the remarkable22 scope and originality23 of his ideas.
Cheese is one of those foods that we tend to take for granted as always having been with us, and it's odd to think that someone somewhere must have discovered the process that takes place when micro-organisms get into milk and bring about changes in its physical and biochemical structure.
Obviously, we don't know who discovered the process, but it's thought that it came from South-West Asia about 8,000 years ago.
Early cheese was probably rather unpalatable stuff, tasteless and bland24 in the case of the so-called 'fresh cheeses', which are eaten immediately after the milk has coagulated, and rough tasting and salty in the case of the 'ripened25' cheeses, which are made by adding salt to the soft fresh cheese and allowing other biochemical processes to continue so that a stronger taste and a more solid texture26 result.
The ancient Romans changed all that. They were great pioneers in the art of cheese-making, and the different varieties of cheese they invented and the techniques for producing them spread with them to the countries they invaded. This dissemination27 of new techniques took place between about 60 BC and 300 AD. You can still trace their influence in the English word 'cheese', which comes ultimately from the Latin word 'caseus', that's C-A-S-E-U-S.
Well, things went on quietly enough after the Roman period with the cheese producers in the different countries getting on with developing their own specialities. It's amazing the variety of flavours you can get from essentially28 the same process.
At this stage in history, people weren't aware in a scientific way of the role of different micro-organisms and enzymes29 in producing different types of cheese. But they knew from experience that if you kept your milk or your 'pre-cheese' mixture at a certain temperature or in a certain environment, things would turn out in a certain way. The Roquefort caves in France are an example of a place that was used for centuries for the ripening30 of a certain sort of cheese, before people knew exactly why they produced the effect they did.
In the nineteenth century, with the increasing knowledge about micro-organisms, there came the next great step forward in cheese-making. Once it was known exactly which micro-organisms were involved in the different stages of producing a cheese, and how the presence of different micro-organisms affected31 the taste, it was possible to introduce them deliberately32, and to industrialize the process.
Cheese started being made on a large scale in factories, although the small producer working from his farm dairy continued to exist and still exist today. Cheese-making moved very much into the world of technology and industrial processes, although, because the aim is still to produce something that people like to eat, there's still an important role for human judgement. People still go round tasting the young cheese at different stages to see how it's getting on, and may add a bit of this or that to improve the final taste. Whatever the scale of production, there is still room for art alongside the technology.
1. All cultures change, even modern ones. As a matter of fact, change occurs most rapidly in modern cultures, since science brings us so many new discoveries every day. It is rather difficult to follow these changes clearly, since they happen so fast. The civilization that I will discuss today is easier to observe.
2. No formal history was written for these early Indians, but Navajo Indians who came along later found evidence of their great civilization. The Navajos called these prehistoric33 people 'the Anasazi', which means, 'the Ancient Ones'.
3. Descendants of the Anasazi still live in the Southwest, and many aspects of their culture are similar to ancient times. Today these people are called Pueblo34 Indians.
4. There are four different time periods in the development of the Anasazi. Scientists have looked for the one most important theme in this story, a kind of unifying35 idea to organize all the facts. The most critical and influential36 improvement in their lives was the way they used containers to cook, store, and carry food and water.
5. The most important job of the man in this society was to learn, teach, and perform the religious ceremonies associated with farming. Women worked in the fields and prepared all the food. Women also wove baskets out of yucca fibers37.
6. We don't know what the final problem was. It might have been enemy attack, sickness, lack of rain, or over-farmed soil. But in the year 1300 the last of the Anasazi left the cliff dwellings38, never to return again. They left behind their beautiful pueblos39, which still stand as a monument to them.
收听单词发音 |
1
killer
|
|
| n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
killers
|
|
| 凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
killing
|
|
| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
deterrent
|
|
| n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
cracker
|
|
| n.（无甜味的）薄脆饼干 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
jack
|
|
| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
judicial
|
|
| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
rehabilitate
|
|
| vt.改造(罪犯)，修复；vi.复兴，(罪犯)经受改造 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
rehabilitated
|
|
| 改造（罪犯等）( rehabilitate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使恢复正常生活； 使恢复原状； 修复 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
rehabilitation
|
|
| n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
taxpayers
|
|
| 纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
isle
|
|
| n.小岛，岛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
advertising
|
|
| n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
second-hand
|
|
| adj.用过的，旧的，二手的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
lesser
|
|
| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
realization
|
|
| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
neurotic
|
|
| adj.神经病的，神经过敏的；n.神经过敏者，神经病患者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
sane
|
|
| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
concealing
|
|
| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
originality
|
|
| n.创造力，独创性；新颖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
bland
|
|
| adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
ripened
|
|
| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
texture
|
|
| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
dissemination
|
|
| 传播,宣传,传染(病毒) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
essentially
|
|
| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
enzymes
|
|
| n. 酶，酵素 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
ripening
|
|
| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
affected
|
|
| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
deliberately
|
|
| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
prehistoric
|
|
| adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
pueblo
|
|
| n.（美国西南部或墨西哥等）印第安人的村庄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
unifying
|
|
| 使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
influential
|
|
| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
fibers
|
|
| 光纤( fiber的名词复数 )； （织物的）质地； 纤维，纤维物质 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
dwellings
|
|
| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
pueblos
|
|
| n.印第安人村庄( pueblo的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
购买
在百度中搜索