NPR边听边练39:“沃尔玛效应”作者访谈

 　　【NPR边听边练】致力于提供新鲜有趣、饶有意味的时讯资料，致力于通过精听的方式促进听力提高，致力于不断开阔眼界和深入了解美国观点。

　　精听建议：

　　先完整地把一条新闻听一到三遍，争取掌握大意。然后，一句一句精听，力争每句话都听明白。遇到实在不懂的地方，再听写。

　　下面的文本材料中空缺部分里面要填的词都很简单，不过是一些值得注意的连读或者典型的美式发音哦，有些语速比较快。试试看，你能不能全部写对？

　　（参考文本，欢迎指出错误^^）

　　This is All Things Considered from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block. And I'm Robert Siegel. To business journalist Charles Fishman, Wal-Mart is a mammoth¹ American success story, a transforming but ___1___ force in the American economy. It is an expression of our preference for low prices. It is a force driving manufacturing² jobs overseas. It is not so much a business as an economic phenomenon. And he's written a book about it, The Wal-Mart Effect. Charles Fishman says, we have to know more about Wal-Mart, because of its ___2___ and its power. There are nearly 4,000 Wal-Mart stores in the United States alone. 90% of Americans live within 15 miles to the Wal-Mart. So they are everywhere. The company is 2% of the United States' economy all by itself, which is ___3___. And Wal-Mart is the No.1 seller³ of guns in America, ___4___, DVDs, bicycles and toys. So if you makes guns or ___4___ or movies, every morning you wake up thinking about the same major customer, Wal-Mart.

　　参考答案：

　　1. secretive 隐秘的

　　2. sheer⁴ size 巨大的规模

　　3. extra-ordinary 非同寻常的

　　4. deodorant 除臭剂

1 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

2 manufacturing   

n.制造业，工业adj.制造业的，制造的v.（大规模）制造( manufacture的现在分词 )；捏造；加工；粗制滥造（文学作品）

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Manufacturing processes may be affected by the functionality of the product. 生产过程可能要受到产品设计目的的影响。

3 seller   

n.售货者，畅销品

参考例句：

• I hope for this book to become a best seller.我希望这本书会成为一本畅销书。
• She drove a hard bargain with the seller.她狠杀卖主的价。

4 sheer   

adj.绝对的，全然的，峻峭的；v.躲开，躲避，使...避开； adv.完全，全然，峻峭

参考例句：

• He achieved his aim by sheer strength of will.他纯粹靠意志力达到了目的。
• I guess It'sheer waste of time arguing about it.看来争论这件事纯粹是浪费时间。