Lesson Twelve CITIES (II)
Part B Macro-Listening (Tapescripts, Notes, Exercises with Key)
Passage
A City of the World
Tapescript
Most people imagine New York to be a city of skyscrapers. Perhaps too, they associate the city with the World Trade Center, the Statue of Liberty, Fifth Avenue, Times Square, the United Nations, and Central Park and so on. Except for the Statue of Liberty, all these places are in one part of the city, that is, Manhattan, which seems to be an island-of skyscrapers.
The city is also a place where the headquarters of the United Nations is located. People from all over the world live in the city and work at the United Nations. The translators working at the UN must speak one of the five official languages: English, French, Spanish, Russian and Chinese.
The World Trade Center is a 'United Nations of Commerce' along the Hudson River. The towers of the World Trade Center are 405 meters high, and each has 110 floors. Together the two towers have 48,600 windows. Three of the 102 elevators in each tower can take you from the first to the l l0th floor in one minute. Besides, there are international banks, government offices, transportation companies, restaurants and import and export businesses inside the twin towers. The lobby of a building is usually on the ground floor, but at the World Trade Center there are lobbies in the sky!
Dialogue
A City of Light
I. Tapescript
Linda Hi, Sam! Haven't seen you for ages. Where have you been these days?
Sam Hi, Linda. I went to Paris on business and then I did some sightseeing there.
Linda So you were in Paris. Tell me about it, will you? '
Sam Well, there's so much to say about it. I dont' know where to begin.
Linda Tell me about the Eiffel Tower first.
Sam Oh, it's great. It's the symbol of the city, you know. Hard to imagine how it was built over a hundred years ago.
Linda Did you go to the top of the tower?
Sam Sure. I dined at a restaurant on the top platform and enjoyed the splendid view of Paris at night. The footlights on the magnificent buildings and palaces are so beautiful that the city has got a nickname of a City of Light.
Linda What about the Louvre Palace? Did you go there?
Sam How could I miss it! I spent a whole day inside and still couldn't finish seeing all its collections of world-famous treasures.
Linda What treasures?
Sam You must have heard about Mona Lisa, haven't you?
Linda Yes, of course. Did you see the original painting?
Sam Yes. And I saw the Greek statue of Venus de Milo, too.
Linda The Greek goddess of love? Oh, you're so lucky, Sam. I really wish I could have a chance to visit Paris.
Sam You will, I'm sure, And there is the Arch of Triumph.
Linda Is that the one that was built in Napoleon's time?
Sam Well, it was Napoleon who started building it but the Arch was not completed until fifteen years after his death.
Linda Where else did you visit in Paris?
Sam I walked along the Seine River and enjoyed the views on both banks.
Linda Did you take any pictures?
Sam Yes. I took a great many. I'll show them to you and tell you more about the city.. Linda That's great. |