大学英语四级考试巅峰听力MP3与字幕文本下载 Track 13（在线收听）

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[00:01.16]Passage One

[00:04.34]Did you know that there is a kind of bird that can sew?

[00:09.22]This bird, called the tailor bird,

[00:12.83]uses its mouth as a needle.

[00:15.56]It sews the leaves together in a shape of a cup.

[00:20.49]Then it adds a layer of straw

[00:23.55]to the inside of the cup and lays its eggs there.

[00:27.71]Each bird species builds its own special kind of nest.

[00:33.29]The most common materials used for nests

[00:36.46]are grasses, branches and feathers.

[00:40.40]A bird must weave these materials into a nest.

[00:44.45]Just imagine building a house

[00:47.41]without cement or nails to hold it together.

[00:50.79]Another bird is called the weaver bird.

[00:54.73]The weaver bird builds its nest that looks like a basket.

[00:59.11]The nest is shaped like a pear with a hole in the middle.

[01:03.93]The hole is the door of the nest.

[01:06.99]A third bird is called the oven bird.

[01:11.04]The oven bird makes a nest that is very solid.

[01:15.52]The nest is made of mud.

[01:18.15]The oven bird forms the mud into the shape of an oven

[01:22.41]and then lets it dry in the sun.

[01:25.47]The sun bakes the mud, making it very hard.

[01:29.42]Not all birds make their homes in branches.

[01:34.00]Some birds build their nests on the ground,

[01:37.51]while others bury their eggs under the ground.

[01:41.13]And some birds do not build nests at all.

[01:45.06]So when you look for nests and eggs

[01:47.92]in the branches of the trees and bushes,

[01:50.22]remember that some nests may be right under your feet.

[01:55.36]Questions 1 to 4 are based on the passage you have just heard.

[02:00.76]1. What does the nest built by a tailor bird look like?

[02:22.00]2. Why is there a hole in the weaver bird's nest?

[02:42.11]3. What is the oven bird's nest made of?

[03:01.15]4. What might surprise us

[03:05.31]about bird's nests according to the speaker?

[03:23.69]Passage Two

[03:26.10]Do you remember a time when people were a little nicer

[03:29.63]and gentler with each other?

[03:32.02]I certainly do.

[03:33.66]And I feel that much of the world

[03:35.85]has somehow gotten away from that.

[03:38.47]Too often I see people rushing into elevators

[03:42.19]without giving those inside a chance to get off first,

[03:45.59]or never saying “thank you”

[03:47.99]when others hold a door open for them.

[03:50.73]We get lazy and in our laziness

[03:54.34]we think that something like a simple “thank you”

[03:57.95]doesn't really matter. But it can matter very much.

[04:02.44]The fact is that no matter how nicely we dress

[04:07.19]or how beautifully we decorate our homes,

[04:10.14]we can't be truly elegant without good manners,

[04:14.21]because elegance and good manners always go hand in hand.

[04:19.14]In fact,

[04:20.45]I think of good manners as a sort of hidden beauty secret.

[04:24.72]Haven't you noticed that the kindest,

[04:27.67]most generous people seem to keep getting prettier?

[04:31.94]It's funny how that happens, but it does.

[04:35.34]Take the long lost art of saying “thank you”,

[04:39.05]like wearing a little make-up,

[04:41.47]or making sure your hair is neat.

[04:44.09]Getting into the habit of saying “thank you”

[04:46.83]can make you feel better about yourself.

[04:49.45]Good manners add to your image,

[04:52.85]while an angry face makes the best dressed person look ugly.

[04:59.30]Questions 5 to 7 are based on the passage you have just heard.

[05:04.60]5. What is the passage mainly about?

[05:24.22]6. What does the speaker say about people of the past?

[05:45.75]7. According to the speaker,

[05:50.29]how can we best improve our image?

[06:08.26]Passage Three

[06:09.87]For 25 years，I was a full-time thief,

[06:14.26]specializing in picking pockets.

[06:16.78]Where I come from in southeast London,

[06:19.95]that's an honorable profession.

[06:22.24]Anyone can break into a house and steal things,

[06:26.18]but picking somebody's pocket takes skill.

[06:30.12]My sister and I

[06:32.42]were among the most successful pickpocket teams in London.

[06:36.47]We worked in hotels and theatre lobbies, airports,

[06:41.17]shopping centers and restaurants.

[06:44.24]Now we don't steal anymore,

[06:46.75]but this crime is worldwide.

[06:49.48]Here's how to protect yourself.

[06:51.91]Professional pickpockets do not see victims,

[06:56.40]only handbags, jewels and money.

[06:59.69]Mothers with babies, the elderly,

[07:02.74]and the disabled are all fair game.

[07:05.26]My preferred target was the lone female,

[07:08.11]handbag at her side, the right side to be exact.

[07:11.83]So if I'm next to her,

[07:13.58]I can reach out cautiously with my right hand across my body.

[07:17.41]Only about one woman in a thousand carries her bag on the left,

[07:23.10]and I tend to steer clear of them.

[07:25.72]Women whose bags are hanging in front of them

[07:29.22]are tricky for the pickpocket

[07:31.02]as there isn't a blind side.

[07:33.43]If you want to make it even harder,

[07:35.72]use a bag with handles rather than a strap.

[07:39.23]For men,

[07:40.21]one of the best places to keep a wallet

[07:42.95]is in the back pocket of tight trousers.

[07:45.35]You will feel any attempt to move it.

[07:48.64]Another good place

[07:50.18]is in the buttoned up inside pocket of a jacket.

[07:53.57]There is just no way in.

[07:55.98]Even better, keep wallets attached to a cord

[07:59.81]or chain that is fastened to a belt.

[08:02.76]A pickpocket needs targets who are relaxed and off guard.

[08:07.90]The perfect setting is a clothing store.

[08:11.51]When customers wander among the racks,

[08:14.69]they are completely absorbed in the items they hold up.

[08:18.52]The presence of a uniformed security guard is even better.

[08:22.79]A false sense of security makes a pickpocket's job much simpler.

[08:30.35]Questions 8 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.

[08:35.96]8. Why does the speaker say that picking somebody's pocket

[08:41.65]is an honorable profession in southeast London?

[08:59.37]9. According to the speaker,

[09:03.52]who is most likely to become a victim of pickpockets?

[09:22.68]10. In the speaker's opinion,

[09:26.29]what's the best place for the man to keep his wallet?

[09:44.57]11.What is the perfect setting

[09:48.07]for picking pockets according to the speaker?