英语听力精选进阶版 13882

BBC Learning English 

Words in the N ews   

1  August  2012 

The oldest underwear?  

Transcript: 

Supporting women for six centuries.   

These bras, discovered in a medieval castle in Austria ,  reveal that the 

undergarment may have been worn as far back as the 15

th

 century.   

Apart from the  wear and tear, they look  remarkably¹ similar to their 

modern day versions.  

They were spotted² almost by accident when the floorboards of the castle 

were removed during renovation³.  

Vocabulary: 

bras 

pieces  of underwear used to support women's breasts    

undergarment 

clothing people use underneath⁴ their outer layer   

wear and tear 

damage caused by using something continuously    

remarkably 

worthy⁵ of notice   

spotted 

seen or observed suddenly   

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.  

bra  / undergarment / wear and tear / r emarkably  / spotted 

1. "___________ , 62% of severely⁶ ob ese children under 12 years of age already 

had one or more cardiovascular risk factors," the study concluded. More than half 

had high blood pressure, and there were also cases of low "good cholesterol⁷" and 

high blood sugar, which can result in Type 2 diabetes⁸.  

2.  Even without integral layered and embroidered⁹ neck- frills and cuffs¹⁰, the 

amount of coloured embroidery¹¹ on the upper part of shirt and smock continued 

to grow, transforming the simple  ______  into an object of beauty in its own right.  

3. The toy - sized contestants¹² waved and limbered up before the race got under 

way. Organisers say they expect the race to be won not by the fastest robot but 

by the one that can withstand the most  _________.   

4. Former US presidential candidate John Edwards' late wife ripped off her shirt 

and ________  in a row with her husband over his affair, a court has heard.  

5. The bodies were ____________  by helicopter but have not yet been 

recovered due to treacherous¹³ weather conditions.  

Answers: 

1. "Remarkably, 62% of severely obese¹⁴ children under 12 years of age already 

had one or more cardiovascular risk factors," the study concluded. More than half 

had high blood pressure, and there were also cases of low "good cholesterol" and 

high blood sugar, which can result in Type 2 diabetes. 

Source:  Severely obese children's hearts already in danger 

2. Even without integral layered and embroidered neck- frills and cuffs, the 

amount of coloured embroidery on the upper part of shirt and smock continued 

to grow, transforming the simple  undergarment into an object of beauty in its 

own right.   

Source:  Underwear as outerwear   

3. The toy - sized contestants waved and limbered up before the race got under 

way. Organisers say they expect the race to be won not by the fastest robot but 

by the one that can withstand the most wear and tear.   

Source:  First robot marathon kicks off in Osaka, Japan 

4. Former US presidential candidate John Edwards' late wife ripped off her shirt 

and bra   in a row with her husband over his affair, a court has heard.  

Source:  John Edwards' betrayed wife 'tore off bra'  

5.  The bodies were spotted by helicopter but have not yet been recovered due 

to treacherous weather conditions.  

Source:  Bodies of US climbers found on Peru mountain 

1 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

2 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

3 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。

4 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

5 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

6 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

7 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

8 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

9 embroidered   

adj．绣花的

参考例句：

• She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
• She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。

10 cuffs   

n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• a collar and cuffs of white lace 带白色蕾丝花边的衣领和袖口
• The cuffs of his shirt were fraying. 他衬衣的袖口磨破了。

11 embroidery   

n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品

参考例句：

• This exquisite embroidery won people's great admiration.这件精美的绣品，使人惊叹不已。
• This is Jane's first attempt at embroidery.这是简第一次试着绣花。

12 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

14 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。