[00:09.40]Lesson 33 1.Read and act
[00:15.46]Do you think the air in Beijing is bad?
[00:20.43]Yes,it's often quite dirty.
[00:24.79]But don't you think it's better than it used to be?
[00:29.44]Well,I can't say for sure.
[00:33.59]I've only lived here for a year.
[00:37.43]Me too.But my uncle knows.
[00:42.00]He's lived here all his life. Oh,rally! What does he say?
[00:48.35]He says Beijings sky is much clearer than a few years ago,
[00:54.52]although people still complain a lot.
[00:58.46]Hmm... Did he tell you why it's better?
[01:03.50]Yes,he waid that fewer homes are using coal for cooking and beating.
[01:10.35]Also,most of the factories that produced pollution
[01:15.70]have been closed or moved out of the city.
[01:20.56]That's true.And many more parks will appear before the 2008 Olympic Games.
[01:28.61]Yes,and the city is planting more trees near the roads.
[01:34.48]My uncle also told me that more public transportation is planned by the city.
[01:41.15]That's really good.
[01:44.80]I think Beijing has too many cars and trucks. I agree.
[01:50.86]If more people leave their cars at home when they go to work,
[01:56.22]that will help a lot.
[02:06.48]Lesson 34
[02:09.83]2. Read The sky of los Angeles
[02:15.58]When most Americans mention Los Angeles,they think of lots of sun and fun.
[02:22.34]They picture the place with palm trees,beaches,and Hollywood,
[02:28.01]where so many famous movies have been made.
[02:32.14]Los Angeles,or LA,is in south California.
[02:37.70]It is the largest city in the state
[02:41.96]and the second largest city in the United States.
[02:46.61]Its western part lies by the Pacific Ocean.
[02:52.25]To its east are the Santa Monica Mountains.
[02:57.40]Los Angeles,meaning "city of angels" in Spanish,
[03:02.75]is only 200 kilometres from Mexico.
[03:07.92]It is a city of immigrants,many of whose grandparents came from Mexico,
[03:14.87]the Philippines,China,and Japan.
[03:19.86]Millions of Americans from other states have also moved to LA.
[03:26.03] You might imagine that LA must be a very beautiful city.
[03:30.89]Althought it often is,
[03:34.44]it also has days when the sky is not so clear.
[03:39.48]On these days,you cannot see the mountains.
[03:44.24]Some people stay inside so that they don't have to breathe the bad air.
[03:51.18]A lot of work has been done to improve the air in the past thirty years,
[03:56.75]though much still needs doing.
[04:01.19] As early as 1953,natural gas was used instead of coal.
[04:08.45]Later on,cars were made to drive with cleaner petrol.
[04:14.62]Factories were told to control their smoke,
[04:18.87]and thousands of buses were provided.
[04:23.03]Most importantly,
[04:26.50]people realized that they must learn to care for their living environment.
[04:32.46] During the 1970s,many people moved to LA from other places.
[04:39.41]The city was growing very fast.
[04:43.27]At that time,air pollution was a very serious problem.
[04:48.52]Cars jammed the roads in teh mornings and evenings.
[04:53.59]It was called rush hour
[04:57.25]because everyone was in a hurry to get to work or leave work.
[05:04.01]The air was filled with smog coming from hundreds of factories
[05:09.66]as well as the heavy traffic.
[05:13.52]City planners knew they had to do something.
[05:18.17]More public transportation was provided and cars were made to drive cleaner.
[05:25.30]Nowadays the air in LA is usually quite good.
[05:35.07]Lesson 35 2.Read and act
[05:42.02]Hey,Bill,I'm tired of driving in heavy traffic every morning.
[05:48.26]Me too.I'm also tired of looking for a place to park my car.
[05:54.80]Well,I don't have that problem.
[05:58.77]My company gives me a place,although I have to pay a lot of money for it.
[06:05.32]My wife has the same problem.
[06:09.37]Bill,what do you say if we try a car pool?
[06:15.12]Why,that's a good idea.And we can get Steve to join us!
[06:21.36]3 Read Read and pick out the sentences in passive voice.
[06:29.09]People had been talking about it for months
[06:33.85]although few knew what it really was.
[06:39.12]It was called "Ginger".
[06:43.20]We were told it was invented by Dean Kamen,a 49 year-old American scientist.
[06:52.34]Some people said it would change the way we do things every day.
[06:58.90]Others said it would be the greatest invention since the personal computer.
[07:05.85]This invention had been kept secret until December 3,2001
[07:13.79]when Ginger was shown to the world.
[07:18.33]It is an "HT"--Human Transport.
[07:24.21]It looks at bit like a very short scooter.
[07:29.25]One can make it turn left,turn right or stop very easily.
[07:36.83]It is faster than a bike but not as fast as a motorbike.
[07:43.39]It gets its power from a big battery.
[07:48.24]It is heavier than a bike but not as heavy as a motorbike.
[07:54.78]It is so small that only one person can ride on it.
[08:01.23]The company hopes to sell millions of these machines |