全新版大学英语听说教程第二册_Test2

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Passage 1:

Born in January 1756 in Salzburg, Vienna, Mozart is one of the greatest musicians of all time. He began learning to play the violin when he was 4 years old and by 6 he was already composing music and performing in his first concert throughout Europe. In his lifetime he wrote a tremendous amount of music. The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute¹ are two of his greatest works. Everybody praised Mozart for his wonderful music, but nobody paid him any money. He became so poor that he couldn't pay his bills. In 1791, he suddenly fell ill. He was only 35 years old when he died. His grave is not even marked.

Passage 2:

There are three activities that are especially helpful in improving our ability to understand English. These three activities are listening comprehension, reading comprehension and dictation. Dictation involves the activity of writing down every word we hear. This helps us understand more fully² what we listen to. Full understanding does not begin until we hear almost everything and forget what we do not need. But the benefits of doing dictation go beyond just helping³ us understand better. It also helps us with grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling, punctuation⁴, etc. When there is no teacher around, dictation can effectively help us find out misunderstood points and other mistakes.

 

 

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Recent figures show that around 5 billion dollars' worth of energy is wasted in Hong Kong each year. There are, however, a few sensible things that we can do to save energy in our homes. Firstly a 30% energy saving can be made by regularly cleaning the filters on air-conditioners. You can keep costs down by setting air-conditioners to 25 degrees C since every one degree decrease adds 10% to the amount of energy used. Make sure that all leaks are fixed⁵ immediately because even a small drip can waste up to 500 litres of water in a month. The temperature of refrigerators should be set to 3 degrees C because each degree lower than this adds 5% to the amount of energy consumed.

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1)

Dear Polly,

I've got a problem, and I can't solve it unless you help me. You remember Mrs. Young, our next-door neighbor. Well, Mrs. Young decided⁶ to visit her son in Australia, and she asked me to take care of her pets for her while she was away. I was crazy enough to say yes, and now I've got three dogs on my hands, a white one, a brown one and a white and black one.

When Jack⁷ got home from work, he was really mad. Jack doesn't like dogs, and, for some reason, dogs don't like Jack. Perhaps they think he smells funny or something. Anyway, the next morning while we were having our breakfast, the white dog bit Jack on the leg. "Get that animal out of here, or else I'll kill it," he yelled. The next evening, the brown dog bit him when he was coming back from work. Now he says that, unless I get rid of the dogs, he's going to move into a hotel until Mrs. Young gets back. On top of that, I'm really worried about the third dog, the white and black one. When I pick up the baby -- the dog growls⁸ as if it were jealous.

Polly, I know that you and Alex love dogs. And besides, you have a lovely big yard. Could you possibly take care of them for me until Mrs. Young gets back in two weeks? Just two weeks, Polly -- please! If you can't take the dogs, maybe you could take Jack and the baby.

Your friend in need,

Alice

 

2)

Nowadays the computer is no longer an inaccessible⁹ piece of high-tech¹⁰ machinery¹¹. Instead, it is part of the common everyday equipment of the home, school or office. If you do not know how to use a computer, you are certainly behind the times. What can you do with a computer, then? First, you can be linked to the Internet and get access to an unlimited¹² source of information. Second, you can do word processing. Third, you can also do designing and store information. And then, you can use your computer to play games.

Although computers are very useful, we need to exercise some care when using them. For example, computers can damage your eyesight if you do not take frequent rests. Computer users can also get backaches if they do not sit properly. Then, there is the danger that people will become addicted¹³ to computers and lose their social skills. These people will become socially awkward because they do not get enough real face-to-face contact. So bear in mind that while computers are useful they are not without disadvantages.

3)

Passage:

Do you have any singers you like? I'm sure you have. When you listen to them sing, you will feel happy or sad, peaceful or excited. Talented singers have the power to affect you in many ways -- emotionally, physically¹⁴ and mentally.

But becoming a great singer isn't as easy as listening to one. It takes practice, devotion and strong lungs. Just ask the well-known American opera star Carol Vaness.

At the Metropolitan¹⁵ Opera House in New York City where she often sings, Carol's voice must be loud enough to be heard by 4,000 people. It must reach every person in the theater, without a microphone, even when she's singing softly. The reason Carol can project her voice that far is the way she breathes.

Carol says, "When you breathe, it's like a swimmer taking a deep breath before going underwater. You have to take a lot of air into your lungs."

According to Carol, the main difference between pop singing and opera is "how you breathe, how much air you take in, and how you control it coming out. Regular singing is more like speaking, and it's a lot softer."

1 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 punctuation   

n.标点符号，标点法

参考例句：

• My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
• A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。

5 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

8 growls   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• The dog growls at me. 狗向我狂吠。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The loudest growls have echoed around emerging markets and commodities. 熊嚎之声响彻新兴的市场与商品。 来自互联网

9 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

10 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

11 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

12 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

13 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

14 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

15 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。