英语听力精选进阶版 7162

背景：2010年世界杯，一位“明星” 用自己八只灵巧的脚吸引了全世界的眼球，毫无疑问的成为此次世界杯上的一个亮点。章鱼保罗对球赛结果的精准预测使全世界的球迷都感到着迷和困惑。这位海类通灵大师接下来会做些什么呢？

By choosing tasty snacks from boxes with flags on, the psychic¹ octopus² correctly predicted eight matches: all Germany's games and Spain's final victory. For that, he's received a replica³ World Cup.

But sadly Paul will not grace future competitions with his spooky abilities. He's retiring.

The announcement was made at his aquarium⁴ in northwest Germany by a spokeswoman, Tanya Munzig:

[Speaking German]

"After four exciting World Cup weeks, Paul finally got a trophy⁵ into his aquarium so he wants to thank all his fans worldwide, who followed him. Paul will step back from the official oracle⁶ business. He won't give any more oracle predictions, neither in football nor in politics, lifestyle or economy. Paul will get back to his former job, namely, making children laugh."

The world of football however, will be a sadder place.

Glossary⁷ 词汇表

psychic 通灵的人，有特异功能的人 

predicted 预测 

replica 复制品 

grace... with 给… 添光彩 

spooky 吓人的 

aquarium 水族馆 

trophy 奖杯 

step back from 放下，停止 

oracle 预言 

namely 也就是

Questions and Answers

How did Paul make his World Cup predictions? 

它在两个都装有章鱼常吃的食物，但有不同国旗的盒子中选择其中的一个。

Did Paul win the World Cup? 

No, but he has been given a copy of the World Cup.

In what areas will Paul predict next – football, politics, lifestyle or the economy? 

He won't make any more predictions in any area.

What will Paul do now? 

He will make children laugh. He will just be a normal octopus again, not a psychic octopus.

1 psychic   

n.对超自然力敏感的人；adj.有超自然力的

参考例句：

• Some people are said to have psychic powers.据说有些人有通灵的能力。
• She claims to be psychic and to be able to foretell the future.她自称有特异功能，能预知未来。

2 octopus   

n.章鱼

参考例句：

• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。
• One octopus has eight tentacles.一条章鱼有八根触角。

3 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

4 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

5 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

6 oracle   

n.神谕，神谕处，预言

参考例句：

• In times of difficulty,she pray for an oracle to guide her.在困难的时候，她祈祷神谕来指引她。
• It is a kind of oracle that often foretells things most important.它是一种内生性神谕，常常能预言最重要的事情。

7 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。