英语听力精选进阶版 13840

BBC Learning English 

Words in the News  

4 April 2012 

Standing¹ tall 

Transcript: 

A bird's eye view of London. 

The final piece of steel in a building nicknamed the Shard² has been put in place. 

When completed, it will be the European Union's tallest skyscraper³. 

But the work isn't for the faint-hearted. The structure reaches 310 metres.  

With 87 storeys, the building will house residences, offices, a hotel and viewing 

gallery.  

Vocabulary: 

a bird's eye view  

a view from a high place from which you can see a vast area 

nicknamed  

a name used informally instead of a real name 

faint-hearted  

timid, not confident 

storeys  

floors 

(to) house (verb)  

to accommodate 

Exercise: 

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from 

BBC news reports.  

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence 

correctly. 

a bird's eye view / nicknamed / faint-hearted / storeys / (to) house 

(verb) 

1. Tickling⁴ a gorilla⁵ is not for the ______________. But keeper Phil Ridges⁶ is not 

worried at getting into the enclosure with Emmie at Port Lympne Wild Animal 

Park in Kent. 

2. Spain's relatively⁷ new army museum is ________ in the spectacular Alcazar in 

Toledo. Once a fortress⁸, it was largely destroyed in a famous siege during the 

Spanish Civil War, before being rebuilt by Franco.    

3. A ewe thought to have been a contender for the title of world's oldest sheep 

has died after falling off a cliff. An ear tag on the blackface ewe, _________ 

Methuselina, showed that it was 25 years and 11 months old. 

4. Visitors will be guided through nine exhibitions, spread over four _______, 

charting the history of the Titanic⁹ from its construction in the nearby Harland & 

Wolff shipyard to its final resting place at the bottom of the Atlantic. 

5. A large platform has been carved out of the side of the hill above the mine 

that will offer ____________ of the rescue operations. 

Answers: 

1. Tickling a gorilla is not for the faint-hearted. But keeper Phil Ridges is not 

worried at getting into the enclosure with Emmie at Port Lympne Wild Animal 

Park in Kent. 

Source:  Scientists tickle¹⁰ animals to find laughter clues 

2. Spain's relatively new army museum is housed in the spectacular Alcazar in 

Toledo. Once a fortress, it was largely destroyed in a famous siege during the 

Spanish Civil War, before being rebuilt by Franco.   

Source:  The Spanish link in cracking the Enigma¹¹ code 

3. A ewe thought to have been a contender for the title of world's oldest sheep 

has died after falling off a cliff. An ear tag on the blackface ewe, nicknamed 

Methuselina, showed that it was 25 years and 11 months old. 

Source:  'Oldest sheep' in the world dies on Lewis in Western Isles¹²                      

4. Visitors will be guided through nine exhibitions, spread over four storeys, 

charting the history of the Titanic from its construction in the nearby Harland & 

Wolff shipyard to its final resting place at the bottom of the Atlantic. 

Source:  New Titanic Belfast complex opens 

5. A large platform has been carved out of the side of the hill above the mine 

that will offer a bird's eye view of the rescue operations. 

Source:  World media gear up for Chilean mine rescue 

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 shard   

n.（陶瓷器、瓦等的）破片，碎片

参考例句：

• Eyewitnesses spoke of rocks and shards of glass flying in the air.目击者称空中石块和玻璃碎片四溅。
• That's the same stuff we found in the shard.那与我们发现的碎片在材质上一样。

3 skyscraper   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
• The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。

4 tickling   

反馈，回授，自旋挠痒法

参考例句：

• Was It'spring tickling her senses? 是不是春意撩人呢？
• Its origin is in tickling and rough-and-tumble play, he says. 他说，笑的起源来自于挠痒痒以及杂乱无章的游戏。

5 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。

6 ridges   

n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊

参考例句：

• The path winds along mountain ridges. 峰回路转。
• Perhaps that was the deepest truth in Ridges's nature. 在里奇斯的思想上，这大概可以算是天经地义第一条了。

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

8 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

9 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

10 tickle   

v.搔痒，胳肢；使高兴；发痒；n.搔痒，发痒

参考例句：

• Wilson was feeling restless. There was a tickle in his throat.威尔逊只觉得心神不定。嗓子眼里有些发痒。
• I am tickle pink at the news.听到这消息我高兴得要命。

11 enigma   

n.谜，谜一样的人或事

参考例句：

• I've known him for many years,but he remains something of an enigma to me.我与他相识多年，他仍然难以捉摸。
• Even after all the testimonies,the murder remained a enigma.即使听完了所有的证词，这件谋杀案仍然是一个谜。

12 isles   

岛( isle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the geology of the British Isles 不列颠群岛的地质
• The boat left for the isles. 小船驶向那些小岛。