英语听力精选进阶版 14514

BBC Learning¹ English

Video Words in the News

3 September 2014

Kill your phone

Transcript²:

Smartphones are everywhere, but they're easy pickings for criminals.

Here in San Francisco, high-end handsets are specifically³ targeted in more than half of all robberies⁴.

Now, a new law means that smartphones in California will be required to have a "kill switch" which will make them useless if lost or stolen.

At the touch of a button, all the data on the phone is erased⁵.

It's hoped this will help deter⁶ thieves, though some think the law will create other problems.

Vocabulary:

easy pickings

things you get without working hard

high-end

(of technology) more expensive and advanced than other products

robberies

crimes of stealing from people by force

at the touch of a button

very quickly and easily (used to describe things done using computers or technology)

deter

make someone decide not to do something

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.

easy pickings / high-end / robberies / at the touch of a button / deter

1. "Chocolate was so expensive, it was really _________, nobody could afford it, at least in Italy," says Giovanni Ferrero.

2. "Thieves love Christmas. They know that there are plenty of _________ to be had this time of year," said Malcolm Tarling, from the ABI.

3. A flat-screen TV can be transformed into a curved-screen TV _________.

4. Rain failed to _________ people on a 16 mile march in Nottinghamshire to mark the centenary of World War One.

5. She lives with her family in a semi-rural location just outside Walkerville, south of Johannesburg, where violent _________ are a constant source of fear.

Answers:

1. "Chocolate was so expensive, it was really high-end, nobody could afford it, at least in Italy," says Giovanni Ferrero.

2. "Thieves love Christmas. They know that there are plenty of easy pickings to be had this time of year," said Malcolm Tarling, from the ABI.

3. A flat-screen TV can be transformed into a curved-screen TV at the touch of a button.

4. Rain failed to deter people on a 16 mile march in Nottinghamshire to mark the centenary of World War One.

5. She lives with her family in a semi-rural location just outside Walkerville, south of Johannesburg, where violent robberies are a constant source of fear.

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 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。

3 specifically   

adv.明确地，具体地；特别地，特意

参考例句：

• The book was written specifically for children.这本书是特地为儿童编写的。
• I told you specifically not to do that.我明确地告诉你不要那样做。

4 robberies   

n.抢劫案( robbery的名词复数 )；明抢；敲竹杠；明目张胆地索取高价

参考例句：

• He said he teamed up with Miller in a number of robberies. 他说他和米勒合作搞了一系列的抢劫。 来自辞典例句
• He was arrested in connection with a series of armed bank robberies. 因受一系列武装抢劫银行案的牵连，他被捕了。 来自辞典例句

5 erased   

v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案，写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义，消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。