大学体验英语听说教程 第四册17

　　Unit 17 Blasted McDonald’s!
Vocabulary Task
Script and Answers
1. A: You asked the homeless boy to eat yesterday, didn’t you?
B: Yes, he began to lick his chops at the sight of the food.
A: Oh, poor boy! He must have been very hungry.
B: You are right. He ate like nobody’s business and he told me he hadn’t eaten for two days.
2. A: I’d like to invite Jim to eat with us this weekend.
B: I think you’d better not.
A: Why?
B: You haven’t been here very long. Everyone knows he never offers to buy anything but always takes the lion’s share and eats till his great satisfaction.
3. A: Hi, Sue! Here is a box of chocolate for you!
B: Thank you. I love chocolate. I can eat half a box at one sitting.
A: Half a box? You really get a sweet tooth.
B: I do. I always work up an appetite at the sight of the sweet things.
4. A: I am so hungry. What about you, Nancy?
B: Me, too. Well, it’s time to satisfy the inner man. .
A: How about dining on French food?
B: Excellent! Let’s go.
5. A: Oh, my Goodness!
B: What’s the matter?
A: Jane disposed of all the salad and ice-cream I prepared for dinner.
B: She may look delicate and ladylike, but give her a chicken and she can really pack it away.
Listening Task
2. Listening Activity
1) First Listening
Answers
1. A British study of how diet affects the health of new mothers and their babies produced the surprise finding that vegetarian¹ women are more likely to have girls.
2. In the sample group of vegetarians² there were 81.5 boys born for every 100 girls.
3. The study also found that vegetarian mothers were less likely to smoke during pregnancy--10 percent did so, compared with 20 percent of meat-eaters.
2) Second Listening
Answers
1. Altogether 5 942 pregnant women were involved in the study when they were booked in Nottingham’s City Hospital during 2001. According to the researchers, vegetarian mothers were defined as pregnant women who avoided meat and fish. Nearly five percent were vegetarian among them, a total of more than 250 women.
2. To further test their surprise findings, they increased the sample number to what scientists call a “statistically significant” level. The study was extended for a further six months so that the sex of more babies could be looked at. The results, covering around 150 more vegetarian women, were “just about exactly the same”.
3. In an article outlining their findings in the British journal, Hudson suggested a further study could be carried out to investigate whether the diet of fathers affects the sex of children.
Script
Vegetarian mothers have more girls
A British study of how diet affects the health of new mothers and their babies produced the surprise finding that vegetarian women are more likely to have girls, one of the report’s authors said yesterday.
In what is thought to be the first study of its kind, researchers at Nottingham University in central England found significant differences in the sex of babies born to vegetarian and meat and fish-eating women.
“We were very surprised. This was something we were never looking to find,” Pauline Hudson, one of the report’s authors said.
“We were examining the health conditions in vegetarian and non-vegetarian mothers, looking at things like hemoglobin levels, which show how much iron the mother has in her blood, and birth weights.” Altogether 5 942 pregnant women were involved in the study when they were booked in Nottingham’s City Hospital during 2001. According to the researchers, vegetarian mothers were defined as pregnant women who avoided meat and fish. Nearly five percent were vegetarian among them, a total of more than 250 women.
“The birth ratio in Britain is that for every 106 boys born there are 100 girls, that’s pretty constant,” said Hudson. In our sample group of vegetarians there were 81.5 boys born for every 100 girls.” To further test their surprise findings, they increased the sample number to what scientists call a “Statistically significant” level. The study was extended for a further six months so that the sex of more babies could be looked at. The results, covering around 150 more vegetarian women, were “just about exactly the same.” The study also found that vegetarian mothers were less likely to smoke during pregnancy--10 percent did so, compared with 20 percent of meat-eaters.
These differences were attributed to the likelihood that a vegetarian and health-conscious lifestyle tends to go together, and that some extreme vegetarian mothers choose to avoid bottled milk containing dairy products.
Previous studies have shown that diets high in some metal elements like calcium³ and magnesium⁴ will produce more male births, but there is no evidence that a vegetarian diet is low in these elements. In an article outlining their findings in the British journal, Hudson suggested a further study could be carried out to investigate whether the diet of fathers affects the sex of children.
Real World Listening
1. Predict
Answers
□ None of the above.
2. Get the Main Ideas
Answers
Question 1:
□ They are convenient.
□ They must be doing something right.
□ They localize the flavor in some other countries in order to cater⁵ for the people there.
□ You know exactly what you are going to get every time you go there.
Question 2:
□ Everywhere you turn there is another blasted McDonald’s.
□ There’re over 8 000 McDonald’s restaurants in the US alone. By the year 2020, everyone will eat at McDonald’s every day!
□ The average McDonald’s franchise⁶ rakes in over $1 million a year.
□ One in every seven American millionaires got their start at McDonald’s.
Script and Answers to Self-study
Hundred billion burgers
Lucy: Do you make hamburgers at home?
Eliza: Frankly⁷ speaking, I (1) am tired of hearing about hamburgers.
Lucy: Oh, (2) I’m starving. Hey, there is a McDonald’s up ahead.
Eliza: There’s always a McDonald’s up ahead. (3) Everywhere you turn there is another blasted McDonald’s.
Lucy: (4) What’s wrong with that? Hey, they are convenient.
Eliza: They’re too convenient! Anything would be convenient if it could be found on every street corner. I’m (5) just plain sick of seeing the “Golden Arches” everywhere I turn.
Lucy: I like McDonald’s.
Eliza: I’m sick of McDonald’s. Did you know that there are over (6) 8 000 McDonald’s restaurants in the US alone and over 11 000 franchises⁸ worldwide? (7) By the year 2020, everyone will eat at McDonald’s every day!
Lucy: They’re definitely everywhere. But they must be doing something right; they’ve sold over 100 billion burgers. They are even in Japan. Did you know they even (8) put special Japanese sauces on some of their burgers in Japan?
Eliza: Whatever, I just don’t think their food is all that great.
Lucy: But at least (9) their product is consistent; you know exactly what you are gonna get every time you go there.
Eliza: Did you know that their mascot⁹, Ronald McDonald is now (10) recognized by 96 percent of all American schoolchildren? They are the largest minimum-wage employer in America and own more (11) real estate than any other company on earth.
Lucy: I heard that a person working at a McDonald’s in Moscow makes more than (12) the average Russian doctor does.
Eliza: That’s disgusting! The average McDonald’s franchise rakes in (13) over $1 million a year. They say that one in every seven American millionaires (14) got their start at McDonald’s.
Lucy: All this food trivia is making me hungry. Let’s hurry and find a fast food place.
Eliza: Okay. What do you feel like eating?
Lucy: I’ve got this (15) intense craving¹⁰ for a Big Mac.
Eliza: I just lost my appetite.

1 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

2 vegetarians   

n.吃素的人( vegetarian的名词复数 )；素食者；素食主义者；食草动物

参考例句：

• Vegetarians are no longer dismissed as cranks. 素食者不再被视为有怪癖的人。
• Vegetarians believe that eating meat is bad karma. 素食者认为吃肉食是造恶业。

3 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

4 magnesium   

n.镁

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The water contains high amounts of magnesium.这水含有大量的镁。

5 cater   

vi.(for/to)满足，迎合；(for)提供饮食及服务

参考例句：

• I expect he will be able to cater for your particular needs.我预计他能满足你的特殊需要。
• Most schools cater for children of different abilities.大多数学校能够满足具有不同天资的儿童的需要。

6 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

7 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

8 franchises   

n.（尤指选举议员的）选举权( franchise的名词复数 )；参政权；获特许权的商业机构（或服务）；（公司授予的）特许经销权v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ford dealerships operated as independent franchises. 福特汽车公司的代销商都是独立的联营商。 来自辞典例句

9 mascot   

n.福神，吉祥的东西

参考例句：

• The football team's mascot is a goat.足球队的吉祥物是山羊。
• We had a panda as our mascot.我们把熊猫作为吉详物。

10 craving   

n.渴望,热望

参考例句：

• a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力
• She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐，以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。