大学体验英语听说教程 第四册12

 

　　Vocabulary Task
Script and Answers
1. A: Terrible day, isn’t it? I don’t feel like doing anything.
B: You must be under the weather. It is depression that you are suffering from.
A: That’s rubbish. You’re exaggerating.
B: Don’t fidget. Even some celebrities¹ have struggled with depression. Taking anti-depressants could make a difference.
2. A: Look at all that frost on the lawn. It’s so beautiful!
B: That’s the work of the Seven Sisters. They are shedding off icicles they brought from the earth.
A: What? Seven Sisters? I’m put in a fog! Frost is formed out of water vapor² in the air when the temperature drops below freezing.
B: Just kidding! Sometimes water vapor may change directly to ice without going through this liquid state of frost first.
3. A: Where is Tom? I remember you two have always been together.
B: We used to do things together but not any more. He is simply a fair weather friend.
A: No, he’s not like that, is he? What did he do?
B: He didn’t do anything but he hasn’t turned up ever since my business went into bankruptcy³.
4. A: Ben looks exhausted⁴. What has he been doing?
B: You can tell. Influenza⁵ completed its west-to-east sweep like a storm front, sowing chills and fever nationwide and knocking down so many people.
A: Do you mean he’s fallen prey⁶ to the flu?
B: Don’t play dumb. He’s a doctor and he’s been snowed under with the most serious cases.
5. A: Hey! Long time no see. Let’s go to dinner together.
B: I can’t tonight, but I’ll take a rain check.
A: You make me sad. What’s kept you rushing around?
B: I’m shaping up for another storm chasing. This is the best season of storms. I can’t miss it.
Listening Task
Script
Freak weather incidents
If your weather forecaster said it would rain frogs you might think they had gone mad. But rains of fish or frogs or other animals have been reported for centuries. On August 8, 2000 (1) a shower of dead but still fresh sprats rained down on the fishing port of Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk, England, (2) after a thunderstorm. The fish shower would have been caused by a small tornado⁷ out to sea, which (3) trawls up water and any fish near the surface. When the tornado touches the land it begins to lose energy and (4) its contents are thrown to the ground.
(5) In June 1997 it rained toads⁸ in the town of Villa⁹ Angel Flores in Mexico. A small tornado whirled up (6) a cluster of toads from a local body of water Saturday night and dropped them over the town. Motorists reported them dropping from the sky around 11 p.m. In March 1998, it rained frogs in Croydon, England. A woman reported the sudden appearance of hundreds of dead frogs in her and her neighbors' gardens when there was no known pond or lake (7) in the immediate¹⁰ vicinity.
Over the years all sorts of animals and plants have showered down during thunderstorms, possibly (8) sucked up from rivers and lakes by tornadoes¹¹ into thunderclouds and then dumped miles away in heavy rain. Tornadoes pick up anything they find in their path but some scientists think that many animals of the same type or size may fall during a storm because as the wind travels, (9) heavier items will fall first. Then when the smaller items drop from the tornado, things that (10) tend to weigh the same will drop together.
Dozens of dead birds have occasionally been (11) seen plummeting¹² out of the sky, sometimes partly frozen. These poor animals were probably swept up high in the powerful updrafts of a thundercloud, then frozen like hailstones before (12) gravity took over. Even stranger is a severe hailstorm in Vicksburg, USA where a gopher turtle entirely¹³ encased in ice, fell with the hail.
Other objects can rain out of the sky. In July 4, 1995 people in Keokuk, Iowa found soft drink cans that a tornado had lifted from the Double Cola Bottling Plant in Moberly and dropped about 150 miles north. Perhaps most bizarre are the “rains of blood” which have been reported all over the world (13) ever since biblical times. An important clue to their cause came in July 1968 in southern England, when a shower coated everything (14) in red gritty dust. It was fine sand blown up from the Sahara and carried over a thousand miles inside (15) a massive high pressure system before falling in a rain shower. In some dry areas, “dust devils”(dust storms) are very common with debris¹⁴ falling out of the sky.
Real World Listening
Script
Being a meteorologist
Q: Ilona, what made you want to become a meteorologist? When did you know?
A: I knew I wanted to become a meteorologist after seeing my first tornado. I was working at a radio station one afternoon when I saw a tornado heading right for me. Luckily, the tornado missed the radio station, but seeing it up close made me want to learn more about weather.
Q: What weather person influenced you most and why?
A: When I was in 6th grade, one of the local weathercasters, Ward¹⁵ Allen, came to visit my school. I still have the signed picture he gave me! It's framed and hanging on the wall at my house.
Q: What do you like best about doing the weather?
A: What I like most about forecasting weather in Central Texas is that we can see so many different types of weather ... tornadoes, flooding, and even ice & snow! It keeps things very exciting in our weather office.
Q: What is your favorite weather event?
A: My favorite kind of weather is weather that changes all of the time! I like it to be sunny one day, cloudy the next, then hot, then cold, then rainy, then dry!
Q: What do you like to do on a rainy day?
A: I like to sit on the porch and just listen to the sound of the rain falling through the trees and splashing on the ground. When the weather turns stormy, it's my job to make sure everyone knows what to expect and how to stay safe.
Q: What do you like to do on a sunny day?
A: I enjoy being outdoors bike riding or swimming at the pool or lake.
Q: Have you ever been involved in a scary weather event? What did you do?
A: I will never forget the night my mom, my grandmother, and I flew back from Europe. We were on our way home to Phoenix¹⁶ and there was a really bad storm over the Airport. The pilot had no choice but find the safest part to fly through and land. The whole plane was rocking side to side and was completely lit up by the lightning. I was holding on to the seat so tightly. My knuckles¹⁷ were white!
Q: It seems meteorologists dress depending on the weather. Do you wear certain colors, outfits¹⁸, depending on what kind of day it is going to be?
A: You bet ... the less black during the spring and summer the better. Not only is it too hot, but mosquitoes also are attracted to darker clothes.
Q: Do you have any superstitious¹⁹ items you wear on the air?
A: No, but I always do a little dance before I start. Sometimes it helps me relax if I'm nervous.

 

 

1 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

2 vapor   

n.蒸汽，雾气

参考例句：

• The cold wind condenses vapor into rain.冷风使水蒸气凝结成雨。
• This new machine sometimes transpires a lot of hot vapor.这部机器有时排出大量的热气。

3 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

4 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

5 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

6 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

7 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

8 toads   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆( toad的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All toads blink when they swallow. 所有的癞蛤蟆吞食东西时都会眨眼皮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Toads have shorter legs and are generally more clumsy than frogs. 蟾蜍比青蛙脚短，一般说来没有青蛙灵活。 来自辞典例句

9 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

10 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

11 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

12 plummeting   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Prices are rising, falling, going up, going down, shooting up, plummeting, etc. 物价在上涨、下跌、上升、下落、猛然上涨、骤然下跌等。 来自辞典例句
• The enemy plane went plummeting into the sea. 敌机直直掉进海里。 来自辞典例句

13 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

14 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

15 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

16 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

17 knuckles   

n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝

参考例句：

• He gripped the wheel until his knuckles whitened. 他紧紧握住方向盘，握得指关节都变白了。
• Her thin hands were twisted by swollen knuckles. 她那双纤手因肿大的指关节而变了形。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

19 superstitious   

adj.迷信的

参考例句：

• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。
• These superstitious practices should be abolished as soon as possible.这些迷信做法应尽早取消。