英语 英语 日语 日语 韩语 韩语 法语 法语 德语 德语 西班牙语 西班牙语 意大利语 意大利语 阿拉伯语 阿拉伯语 葡萄牙语 葡萄牙语 越南语 越南语 俄语 俄语 芬兰语 芬兰语 泰语 泰语 泰语 丹麦语 泰语 对外汉语

北外英语中级听力-18

时间:2006-10-08 16:00来源:互联网 提供网友:KK320   字体: [ ]
特别声明:本栏目内容均从网络收集或者网友提供,供仅参考试用,我们无法保证内容完整和正确。如果资料损害了您的权益,请与站长联系,我们将及时删除并致以歉意。
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

  Host (Michael Parkhurst): Good evening, and welcome again to the 'Michael Parkhurst Talkabout'. In tonight's programme, we're looking at the problem of energy. The world's energy resources are limited. Nobody knows exactly how much fuel is left, but pessimistic forecasts say that there is only enough coal for 450 years, enough natural gas for 50 years and that oil might run out in 30 years. Obviously we have to do something, and we have to do it soon!
I'd like to welcome our first guest, Professor Marvin Burnham of the New England Institute of Technology. Professor Burnham.
Prof. Burnham: Well, we are in an energy crisis and we will have to do something quickly. Fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) are rapidly running out. The tragedy is that fossil fuels are far too valuable to waste on the production of electricity. Just think of all the things you can make from oil! If we don't start conserving1 these things now, it will be too late. And nuclear power is the only real alternative. We are getting some electricity from nuclear power stations already. If we invest in further research now, we'll be ready to face the future. There's been a lot of protest lately against nuclear power-some people will protest at anything-but nuclear power stations are not as dangerous as some people say. It's far more dangerous to work down a coal mine or on a North Sea oil-rig. Safety regulations in power stations are very strict.
If we spent money on research now, we could develop stations which create their own fuel and burn their own waste. In many parts of the world where there are no fossil fuels, nuclear power is the only alternative. If you accept that we need electricity, then we will need nuclear energy. Just imagine what the world would be like if we didn't have electricity-no heating, no lighting2, no transport, no radio or TV. Just think about the ways you use electricity every day. Surely we don't want to go back to the Stone Age. That's what will happen if we turn our backs on nuclear research.
Host: Thank you, Professor. Our next guest is a member of CANE3, the Campaign Against Nuclear Energy, Jennifer Hughes.
Jennifer Hughes: Right. I must disagree totally with Professor Burnham. Let's look at the facts. First, there is no perfect machine. I mean, why do aeroplanes crash? Machines fail. People make mistakes. What would happen if there were a serious nuclear accident? And an accident must be inevitable-sooner or later. Huge areas would be evacuated4. And they could remain contaminated with radioactivity for years. If it happened in your area, you wouldn't get a penny in compensation. No insurance company covers nuclear risks. There are accidents. If the nuclear industry didn't keep them quiet, there would be a public outcry. Radioactivity causes cancer and may affect future generations. Next, nuclear waste. There is no technology for absolutely safe disposal. Some of this waste will remain active for thousands of years. Is that what you want to leave to your children? And their children's children? A reactor5 only lasts about 25 years. By the year 2000 we'll have 'retired6' 26 reactors7 in the UK.
Next, terrorism. Terrorists could hold the nation to ransom8 if they captured a reactor. In the USA the Savannah River plant, and Professor Burnham knows this very well, lost (yes, 'lost') enough plutonium between 1955 and 1978 to make 18 (18!) atom bombs. Where is it? Who's got it? I consider that nuclear energy is expensive, dangerous, and evil, and most of all, absolutely unnecessary. But Dr. Woodstock will be saying more about that.
Host: Thank you Jennifer. Now I'm very pleased to welcome Dr. Catherine Woodstock. She is the author of several books on alternative technology.
Catherine Woodstock: Hello. I'd like to begin by agreeing with Jennifer. We can develop alternative sources of power, and unless we try we'll never succeed. Instead of burning fossil fuels we should be concentrating on more economic uses of electricity, because electricity can be produced from any source of energy. If we didn't waste so much energy, our resources would last longer. You can save more energy by conservation than you can produce for the same money. Unless we do research on solar energy, wind power, wave power, tidal power, hydroelectric schemes etc, our fossil fuels will run out, and we'll all freeze or starve to death. Other countries are spending much more than us on research, and don't forget that energy from the sun, the waves and the wind lasts for ever. We really won't survive unless we start working on cleaner, safer sources of energy.
Host: Thank you very much, Dr. Woodstock. Our final speaker, before we open the discussion to the studio audience, is Charles Wicks, MP, the Minister for Energy.
Charles Wicks: I've been listening to the other speakers with great interest. By the way, I don't agree with some of the estimates of world energy reserves. More oil and gas is being discovered all the time. If we listened to the pessimists9 (and there are a lot of them about) none of us would sleep at night. In the short term, we must continue to rely on the fossil fuels-oil, coal and gas. But we must also look to the future. Our policy must be flexible. Unless we thought new research was necessary, we wouldn't be spending money on it. After all, the Government wouldn't have a Department of Energy unless they thought it was important. The big question is where to spend the money-on conservation of present resources or on research into new forms of power. But I'm fairly optimistic. I wouldn't be in this job unless I were an optimist10!
Mal Carrington: Good morning. Welcome to "The years to Come". I'm Mal Carrington, and every week at this time Channel 5 brings you information on life in the future from an expert in the field.
Today's expert is Dr Reginald Healy from MIT, the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Good morning, Dr Healy. Welcome to The years to come.
Dr Healy: Thank you.
Mal Carrington: Well, what are your predictions about the world? What is it going to be like in the year 2000?
Dr Healy: Hum, if present trends continue, I'm afraid the world in 2000 will be more crowded and more polluted than the world we live in now.
Mal Carrington: Yes, however, food production is constantly increasing. Don't you think we will be able to cope with the increase in world population?
Dr Healy: I don't think so. Even though production is constantly increasing, the people of the world will be poorer than they are today. For hundreds of millions of the desperately11 poor, the supply of food and other necessities of life will not be any better. And for many they will be worse, unless the nations of the world do something to change the current trends.
Mal Carrington: What is your estimate of world population in AD 2000.
Dr Healy: Well, already, world population is about 5,000 million. If present trends continue, that is with the number of births by far exceeding the number of deaths in 2000 the world population could approach 6,500 million people.
Mal Carrington: How many people are born every day?
Dr Healy: About 250 every minute, but only 100 people die. This means there is an increase of 216,000 people per day, and ninety per cent of this increase is in the poorest countries.
Mal Carrington: That's worrying! And what about energy? Will there be enough oil to satisfy our needs in the year 2000?
Dr Healy: During the 1990s, world oil production will reach the maximum and the price of oil will begin to increase. At the end of the century, the available supplies will not be sufficient for our needs. So at least part of these needs will have to be met by alternative sources of energy.
Mal Carrington: Yes, water is becoming a problem too.
Dr Healy: Yes, unfortunately. Water shortage will become more severe in the future, and due to the increase of births there will be enough water only for half of the population.
Mal Carrington: Which of the present trends do you think will continue over the next decade?
Dr Healy: Well, significant loss of the world's forests will continue over the next ten years as the demand for wood for fuel and manufacturers increases. Also atmospheric12 concentration of carbon dioxide and other chemicals is expected to increase at rates that could alter the world's climate due to the 'greenhouse effect'.
Mal Carrington: The 'greenhouse effect'? Could you explain what the 'greenhouse effect' is?
Dr Healy: Sure. Well, the amount of carbon dioxide in the air is progressively increasing and it traps more of the heat of the sun in the lower atmosphere. This has a warming effect which could change the climate and even melt the polar ice caps, which would cause disastrous13 flooding.
Mal Carrington: I see. Is this the only effect of carbon dioxide?
Dr Healy: No, it isn't. Carbon dioxide and other chemicals which derive14 from the use of fossil fuels will also increase the quantity of acid rain which is already damaging or even destroying plants, trees and other parts of our environment. Also, there will be a dramatic increase in the number of species becoming extinct. Hundreds of thousands of species will be lost because of the loss of their habitat.
Mal Carrington: That's appalling15! What about nuclear plants? Aren't they a constant menace to life on our planet?
Dr Healy: Definitely. And apart from the more obvious danger of accidents, like the one at Chemobyl, there's the problem of the disposal of nuclear waste, that is the waste which is produced by nuclear power stations.
Mal Carrington: Oh, yes. I know that some of the materials keep their radioactivity for hundreds or thousands of years.
Dr Healy: Yeah, for example, strontium 90 needs storing for 500 years, being kept cool all the time. Plutonium-239 may need storing for up to half a million years!
Mal Carrington: So, what is going to happen to the Earth in the next few years? Will we be able to reverse this trend towards destruction? What is your prediction?
Dr Healy: Well, I don't want to be pessimistic, but I'm afraid that if this trend doesn't change within five or ten years we won't be able to do very much to save the earth.
Mal Carrington: Well, that's a warning that we all need to take seriously. And with that warning, we end part one of this week's The years to come. We'll be back soon after the break.
Mal Carrington: Here we are again with "The years to Come". Now I'd like to tell you about and to show you the pictures of an exciting new project which is the result of the cooperation of scientists, engineers and technicians from virtually all over the world.
Towards the end of the 90s, a bright new celestial16 body will appear in the night sky like an immense shining star, fully17 visible from 38 degrees north or south of the equator. It will be a space station, Freedom. The idea for Freedom originated in the USA, but eleven other nations have agreed to contribute a few of the station's many parts.
The space station is not going to be launched into orbit in one piece-the thousands of parts which make up Freedom are going to be assembled directly in space. Twenty trips by the shuttle and two rockets will be needed to deliver Freedom, piece by piece, into a low orbit around the Earth. Then, 250 miles above the Earth, construction crews are going to bolt together the space station's many components18. The first batch19 of parts is going to be launched in 1995. By the end of 1996, the first crew of eight is going to enter the living module20 to begin what NASA hopes will be a continuous human presence in space. The station has been designed to remain occupied and operational for up to thirty years-a whole generation of living in space. Considering that the first man-made object reached orbit just thirty years ago, that will be quite an accomplishment21. The design of a space station must combine the excitement of space with the necessity for safety and comfort. Freedom will be the best solution to date and will also be the most complex computerized house ever built-either on Earth or in space. There will be accommodation for eight people and each crew member will have his or her own room, a shower, a toilet, exercise equipment, a washing machine, a pantry, and a sick bay. Add a television, video, phone and computer to each of the eight private sleeping rooms, then top it off with the best view on Earth. Is this some wild new 'luxury house' of the future? Exactly. Life on board will also be brightened by a plan to fill twenty percent of the larder22 with fresh refrigerated fruit, vegetable and dairy products.
Behind every space station lies the dream that is at least 120 years old: a colony in space. Freedom is not going to be that colony, for it will always depend on the Earth for supplies. But it is going to be the place where scientists discover how to establish healthy and productive human habitation in space. When new technology is developed to make it less risky23, we will see more civilians24 in space. So an eighteen-year-old can look forward to visiting space by his or her sixty-eighth birthday, in 2050.
And that's the end of this week's programme. Tune25 in next week for another edition of The years to come. The years to come is a Channel 5 production and this is Mal Carrington.
1. Two years ago, ... when I landed on your soil, I said to the people of the Philippines. 'Whence I came I shall return.' Tonight, I repeat those words. I shall return.
(Douglas MacArthur 17/03/44)2. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood26. I have a dream that one day, even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice27, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis28 of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.
(Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. 28/08/63)3. One thought him indestructible, so over-powering was he in his energy, warmth and his deep faith in man's inherent goodness. For 25 years he had been my friend, my older brother, my inspiration and my teacher.
(Henry Kissinger 02/02/79)4. I have said this before, but I shall say it again, and again, and again. Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars.
(Franklin D. Roosevelt 30/10/40)5. I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent29 to every instinct in my body. But, as President, I must put the interests of America first. America needs a full-time30 President and a full-time Congress. Particularly at this time, with problems we face at home and abroad. To continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal vindication31 would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the President and the Congress in a period when our entire focus should be on the great issues of peace abroad and prosperity without inflation at home.
(Richard M. Nixon 08/08/74)6. In the past several months I have been living in purgatory32. I have found myself the recipient33 of undefined, unclear, unattributed accusations34 that have surfaced in the largest and the most widely circulated organs of our communications media. I want to say, at this point, clearly and unequivocally: I am innocent of the charges against me.
(Spiro T. Agnew 29/09/73)Killing Me Softly With His SongI heard he sang a good songI heard he had a styleAnd so I came to see him to listen for a while.
And there he was this young boyA stranger to my eyesStrumming my pain with his fingersSinging my life with his wordsKilling me softly with his songKilling me softly with his songTelling my whole life with his wordsKilling me softly with his songI felt all flushed with feverEmbarrassed by the crowdI felt he found my letters and read each one out loudI prayed that he would finishBut he just kept right onStrumming my pain with his fingersSinging my life with his wordsKilling me softly with his songKilling me softly with his songTelling my whole life with his wordsKilling me softly with his songHe sang as if he knew me in all my dark despairAnd then he looked right through me as if I wasn't thereAnd he just kept on singingSinging clear and strongStrumming my pain with his fingersSinging my life with his wordsKilling me softly with his songKilling me softly with his songTelling my whole life with his wordsKilling me softly with his song


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 conserving b57084daff81d3ab06526e08a5a6ecc3     
v.保护,保藏,保存( conserve的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植,无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
  • Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约,符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网
2 lighting CpszPL     
n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光
参考例句:
  • The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
  • The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。
3 cane RsNzT     
n.手杖,细长的茎,藤条;v.以杖击,以藤编制的
参考例句:
  • This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
  • English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。
4 evacuated b2adcc11308c78e262805bbcd7da1669     
撤退者的
参考例句:
  • Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
  • The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。
5 reactor jTnxL     
n.反应器;反应堆
参考例句:
  • The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
  • Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里,大分子裂变为小分子。
6 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
7 reactors 774794d45796c1ac60b7fda5e55a878b     
起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 ); 反应装置; 原子炉; 核反应堆
参考例句:
  • The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
  • The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆,必须使用普通铀作为燃料。
8 ransom tTYx9     
n.赎金,赎身;v.赎回,解救
参考例句:
  • We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
  • The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。
9 pessimists 6c14db9fb1102251ef49856c57998ecc     
n.悲观主义者( pessimist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Pessimists tell us that the family as we know it is doomed. 悲观主义者告诉我们说,我们现在的这种家庭注定要崩溃。 来自辞典例句
  • Experts on the future are divided into pessimists and optimists. 对未来发展进行预测的专家可分为悲观主义者和乐观主义者两类。 来自互联网
10 optimist g4Kzu     
n.乐观的人,乐观主义者
参考例句:
  • We are optimist and realist.我们是乐观主义者,又是现实主义者。
  • Peter,ever the optimist,said things were bound to improve.一向乐观的皮特说,事情必定是会好转的。
11 desperately cu7znp     
adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地
参考例句:
  • He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
  • He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。
12 atmospheric 6eayR     
adj.大气的,空气的;大气层的;大气所引起的
参考例句:
  • Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
  • Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。
13 disastrous 2ujx0     
adj.灾难性的,造成灾害的;极坏的,很糟的
参考例句:
  • The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
  • Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨,血本无归。
14 derive hmLzH     
v.取得;导出;引申;来自;源自;出自
参考例句:
  • We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
  • We shall derive much benefit from reading good novels.我们将从优秀小说中获得很大好处。
15 appalling iNwz9     
adj.骇人听闻的,令人震惊的,可怕的
参考例句:
  • The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
  • Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。
16 celestial 4rUz8     
adj.天体的;天上的
参考例句:
  • The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
  • Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。
17 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
18 components 4725dcf446a342f1473a8228e42dfa48     
(机器、设备等的)构成要素,零件,成分; 成分( component的名词复数 ); [物理化学]组分; [数学]分量; (混合物的)组成部分
参考例句:
  • the components of a machine 机器部件
  • Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。
19 batch HQgyz     
n.一批(组,群);一批生产量
参考例句:
  • The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
  • I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。
20 module iEjxj     
n.组件,模块,模件;(航天器的)舱
参考例句:
  • The centre module displays traffic guidance information.中央模块显示交通引导信息。
  • Two large tanks in the service module held liquid oxygen.服务舱的两个大气瓶中装有液态氧。
21 accomplishment 2Jkyo     
n.完成,成就,(pl.)造诣,技能
参考例句:
  • The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
  • Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标,钱是至关重要的。
22 larder m9tzb     
n.食物贮藏室,食品橱
参考例句:
  • Please put the food into the larder.请将您地食物放进食物柜内。
  • They promised never to raid the larder again.他们答应不再随便开食橱拿东西吃了。
23 risky IXVxe     
adj.有风险的,冒险的
参考例句:
  • It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险,但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
  • He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。
24 civilians 2a8bdc87d05da507ff4534c9c974b785     
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓
参考例句:
  • the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
  • At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后,至少有300名平民下落不明。
25 tune NmnwW     
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整
参考例句:
  • He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子,并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
  • The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
26 brotherhood 1xfz3o     
n.兄弟般的关系,手中情谊
参考例句:
  • They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
  • They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。
27 injustice O45yL     
n.非正义,不公正,不公平,侵犯(别人的)权利
参考例句:
  • They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
  • All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。
28 oasis p5Kz0     
n.(沙漠中的)绿洲,宜人的地方
参考例句:
  • They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
  • The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。
29 abhorrent 6ysz6     
adj.可恶的,可恨的,讨厌的
参考例句:
  • He is so abhorrent,saying such bullshit to confuse people.他这样乱说,妖言惑众,真是太可恶了。
  • The idea of killing animals for food is abhorrent to many people.许多人想到杀生取食就感到憎恶。
30 full-time SsBz42     
adj.满工作日的或工作周的,全时间的
参考例句:
  • A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
  • I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作,我不知道她是如何对付的。
31 vindication 1LpzF     
n.洗冤,证实
参考例句:
  • There is much to be said in vindication of his claim.有很多理由可以提出来为他的要求作辩护。
  • The result was a vindication of all our efforts.这一结果表明我们的一切努力是必要的。
32 purgatory BS7zE     
n.炼狱;苦难;adj.净化的,清洗的
参考例句:
  • Every step of the last three miles was purgatory.最后3英里时每一步都像是受罪。
  • Marriage,with peace,is this world's paradise;with strife,this world's purgatory.和谐的婚姻是尘世的乐园,不和谐的婚姻则是人生的炼狱。
33 recipient QA8zF     
a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器
参考例句:
  • Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
  • Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。
34 accusations 3e7158a2ffc2cb3d02e77822c38c959b     
n.指责( accusation的名词复数 );指控;控告;(被告发、控告的)罪名
参考例句:
  • There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
  • He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。
本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎点击提交分享给大家。
------分隔线----------------------------
TAG标签:   北外  中级  听力  北外  中级  听力
顶一下
(2)
100%
踩一下
(0)
0%
最新评论 查看所有评论
发表评论 查看所有评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:
听力搜索
推荐频道
论坛新贴