英语听力精选进阶版 14417

BBC Learning English

Video Words in the News

15 January 2014

Paper helmet

Transcript¹:

On the streets of London a helmet can save a cyclist's life.

Anirudha Surabhi knows this only too well. He was in a bike crash in 2009.

He had a lucky escape but his polystyrene helmet was destroyed.

Now he's come up with what he says is a safer model, which was inspired by the woodpecker.

His paper helmet is designed in a similar way to the bird's head and beak² and offers protection by cushioning the cyclist's head.

Vocabulary:

cyclist person who rides a bicycle

lucky escape fortunate avoidance of a dangerous situation

polystyrene a type of light plastic

come up with invented

cushioning protecting by absorbing shock

Exercise:

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

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

cyclist / lucky escape / polystyrene / come up with / cushioning

1. The phenomenon of large, distributed groups __________ better answers than individuals working on the same problem was explored in James Surowiecki's 2004 book The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few.

2. A Canadian reportedly had a __________ as a polar bear mauling him was apparently³ scared off by the light from the man's mobile phone.

3. Often __________ seek out quieter back roads for their journey, avoiding the heavy traffic and its dangers but adding "long-cuts". This, however feels like a direct A to B.

4. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut the key interest rate 0.5 points to 2.5%. The central bank's move is aimed at __________ an economy that was just starting to emerge⁴ from recession⁵.

5. Everyone has their favourite over-packaging bugbear be it the infamous⁶ shrink-wrapped coconut⁷ or bananas packaged singly on _________ trays.

Answers:

1. The phenomenon of large, distributed groups coming up with better answers than individuals working on the same problem was explored in James Surowiecki's 2004 book The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few. Source: Tapping into the IT cloud crowd

2. A Canadian reportedly had a lucky escape as a polar bear mauling him was apparently scared off by the light from the man's mobile phone. Source: Canadian's phone 'scares off' polar bear attacker

3. Often cyclists seek out quieter back roads for their journey, avoiding the heavy traffic and its dangers but adding "long-cuts". This, however feels like a direct A to B. Source: How super? What cyclists make of superhighways

4. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut the key interest rate 0.5 points to 2.5%. The central bank's move is aimed at cushioning an economy that was just starting to emerge from recession.

Source: New Zealand slashes⁸ interest rate to aid quake recovery

5. Everyone has their favourite over-packaging bugbear be it the infamous shrink-wrapped coconut or bananas packaged singly on polystyrene trays. Source: A month without plastic

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 emerge   

vi.（从水中等）出来，出现，浮现，形成

参考例句：

• The baby's head was starting to emerge from the womb.婴儿的头开始从母亲的子宮中露出来。
• It's still hard to tell who will emerge victorious.鹿死谁手尚难逆料。

5 recession   

n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）

参考例句：

• Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。
• A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

6 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

7 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

8 slashes   

n.（用刀等）砍( slash的名词复数 )；（长而窄的）伤口；斜杠；撒尿v.挥砍( slash的第三人称单数 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• They report substantial slashes in this year's defense outlays. 他们报道今年度国防经费的大量削减。 来自辞典例句
• Inmates suffered injuries ranging from stab wounds and slashes to head trauma. 囚犯们有的被刺伤，有的被砍伤，而有的头部首创，伤势不一而足。 来自互联网