现代大学英语听力Unit

现代大学英语听力U n i t 集团文件发布号：（9816-UATWW-MWUB-WUNN-INNUL-DQQTY-

Task 1

1) Man: I had the girls running in circles when I was in college.

Woman: I never knew you were the campus hero.

Man: I wasn't. I was the women's track coach.

2) Instructor: Mr. Jenkins, why are you late?

Student: I guess because the class started before I got here.

3) Woman: Doctor, you have to come immediately—my baby swallowed some camera film!

Doctor: Just calm yourself, nothing will develop.

4) Customer: Waiter, this water is cloudy.

Waiter: The water's okay, madam. It's just that the glass is a little dirty.

5) Woman: The bride wears white on her wedding day as a symbol

of happiness, for this is the most joyous day in her entire

life.

Man: Why does the groom wear black?

Task 2

Catherine: I think firstly I find the French language, very melodic to listen to. It's very easy on the ear, and it almost sounds poetic. No matter what kind of mood the individual is in, who's talking, or what they're talking about, there seems to be

a rhythm to the language. And it's rounded; there are no sharp, jagged edges to the language, so it's very pleasing to the ear. Chris: I think the accent I really like is the Dane speaking English. They sound awful when they speak Danish, but when they speak English there's a beautiful, low, sensitive, very soft quality about it.

Donald: I like the way they bring their French pronunciation

into English. They can't pronounce "h"s and they can't

pronounce "th" properly. And I think that actually sounds very nice. Also I like the rhythm they bring French rhythms into English—nice, steady rhythms and I like that too. It's just it, it... whenever I hear a French person speaking English it

sounds more gentle and more lyrical.

Lesley: I think the most attractive foreign accents for me are Mediterranean accents because they, if you like, import their own culture into the English accent and give it a lot of life that sometimes, that kind of—the gestures and everything that the English people don't have, so you get a beautiful mixture

of the serious Northern European and the Southern European together.

Susan: I like the Swedish accent because it, it makes me smile and the way it's spoken is so sing-songy that you can't help

but smile when other people actually speak it. And it always makes you want to try and put the accent on yourself.

Task 3

The spelling and meaning of words are very interesting. But

what's more interesting is the history of a word, or where it came from. Let's examine some of the words and see how they got into our language.

LUNCH Lunch perhaps comes from an old Spanish word lonje, a slab of ham. We may also get our word from a form of lump, maybe a lump of bread, but whether lunch comes from ham or bread, it meant a hunk of something to eat.

ATLAS An atlas is a strong man, and also a book of maps. The story of this word begins a long time ago in Greece. The

ancient Greeks believed that their gods had once been a race of giants called Titans. The Titans fought with another group of gods called Olympians, and the Olympians won. Atlas was a Titan. He was punished for fighting by having to stand at the western edge of the world, holding the sky on his head and hands, so

that it would not fall on the world and smash anything.

After the ancient Greek religion died out, the idea of Atlas changed. From holding up the sky with his head and hands, he came to be thought of as holding the world on his shoulders.

Mercator, a mapmaker of the sixteenth century, used a picture of Atlas on the cover of a book of maps, so a book of maps came to be called an atlas.

The word has still another meaning. The top bone of the neck is called atlas because it supports the head.

GOOD-BYE Good-bye is a blessing; originally it was God be with ye, and in the course of time it became one word. Many of our greetings are good wishes, but we say them with so little thought that we forget this. When we say good morning, good evening, good night, and so on, what we are really saying is, "I hope you will have a good morning (or evening, or night)." DAISY The daisy has a little golden eye, like a tiny sun. Perhaps this is the reason the English people named it day's eye, or perhaps they chose the name because the English daisy closes at night. The English loved their daisies, which were pink and red, as well as white. Six hundred years or so ago, the English poet Chaucer said:

The daisy, or else the eye of the day,

The queen, and prettiest flower of all.

Task 4

Mathew: Chris, why is it that there are so many different languages, and that in Europe certainly if you travel more than

a hundred miles, you're likely to find people speaking a completely different language to your own.

Chris: Well, it's true to say that there are hundreds and hundreds of different languages. It's perhaps... however, more interesting and more informative to say that there are several different groups of languages. Most European languages, with

the exception of I think Finnish and Basque and Hungarian, I believe, belong to the Indo-European group of languages. I'm

not so very sure myself of the actual details of the history of these languages, but you can be very sure that most of these languages, say, Latin and Greek and our own language and German and French and all the others, are connected. The reason why

you can travel from one village to another in Switzerland and from one area to another in England and find different dialects, if not different languages spoken, is that several hundred

years ago communication was by word of mouth. Word of mouth meant that people had to move; if people were to move they needed roads and there were no roads.

Mathew: Do you see any chance for a universal language like Esperanto?

Chris: Not for an artificial language, no. I suppose the Roman Catholic Church used Latin, but Latin had a particular

religious basis and this is probably why it was therefore chosen. I don't see very much chance for Esperanto; I think

it's an awfully good idea but I don't believe that language works like that. I think people will probably work towards the most convenient language to use. They will not set out to learn a new language. It seems to me that we, either English, Russian or Chinese, perhaps Japanese, will be the languages of the future. My bet's on English.

Mathew: Maggie, why do you think it is that so few English people speak a second language?

Maggie: I think when you learn a language at school, it tends to be rather a dead occupation, and it's very difficult to stimulate any interest among school children. But when you actually go to the country and you spend, say a month when in an exchange visit when you're a schoolgirl, or a schoolboy, then you suddenly become more interested because you want to communicate with people when you're actually abroad, and it's not safe to rely on the fact that most people speak English when in foreign countries. I think English people traditionally thought that foreigners always spoke English, and a lot of foreigners do, but there are people that you meet in the street or you want to take a bus somewhere, then you find that you

need to speak the language and it's very unnerving to be in a situation where you can't communicate with people when you do want to travel around.

Mathew: Have you ever gone abroad and learnt a language in the country?

Maggie: Yes, well when I was a secretary I went and lived in Geneva for two years. And I learnt French at school but I

really didn't speak it at all. I knew it theoretically but I wasn't able to communicate with people. But I was in a

situation where if I didn't speak French, then I would not have been able to do my shopping and buy food, and so I picked the language up and I made friends with French people—Swiss French people, and I found that if I wanted to communicate with all the people that I met, then I had to learn French, and I think it's the best method of learning because you're in the situation. It's very hard at times—you can sit through dinner parties and not understand what... what's going on and you

think everybody thinks you're stupid because you can't communicate with them, but it's the hard way but I think it's the best way to learn.

Mathew: Elfriede, you come from Austria and yet you've been living in England now for the last three years. Has having to learn and speak another language created great problems? Elfriede: At the beginning yes, it was rather difficult for me to get the right job. After you've lived here for one or two years you get to know the system and then that's quite good. You know how to use libraries and you get to know where to call in emergencies. You get to know...trying to get a radio and understand the radio and all the programmes they have and when they're on and the little stories.

Mathew: What about English humour on the radio?

Elfriede: I think that takes a very, very long time to understand and, I'm sorry to say that I haven't managed yet to understand it completely, but I find it very interesting to speak other languages because English people have different... have a different mentality, and have a very different character and a different temperament and it is fascinating for me to

talk to them, and also for myself to be able to express myself in a different language and to communicate with them.

Task 5

Number 1

Fiona: Okay, Deek, I'm off now. [Okay.] Everything's okay, is it?

Deek: Yes, I think so. The only thing is... is she likely to wake up?

Fiona: No, I don't think so. She doesn't usually, but... Deek: What if she does?

Fiona: Well, yes. Don't worry about it. Her dummy's by the bed, so if you just pick her up, give her the dummy, give her a

little bit of a cuddle; [Yes.] sing to her if you like. Deek: Shall I read her a story or something?

Fiona: Yes, anything like that. [Yes.] Then she should just go back to sleep again quite happily.

Deek: Okay.

Fiona: Oh! And I've left stuff for you in the fridge. There's some salad and cold chicken and some beer as well. Okay then? Deek: Right then. Bye.

Fiona: Bye-bye.

Number 2

Lesley: Ah... it's such a lovely day. It reminds me of last week, doesn't it, dear?

Fiona: Oh don't! I mean that was just so fantastic, that holiday!

Lesley: I love that city, you know.

Fiona: I do too. Really, it's got something about it, a certain sort of charm...

Lesley: Mm, and all that wine and good food.

Fiona: And so cheap. Right, I mean, compared to here... Lesley: Yes, although the shops are expensive.

Fiona: Mm, yes.

Lesley: I mean, really I bought nothing at all. I just ate and ate and drank and drank.

Fiona: I know. Wasn't that lovely?

Lesley: Yes. I like listening to the people talking and sitting outside drinking wine and...

Fiona: Yes. Could you understand what they were saying? When they were speaking quickly, I mean.

Lesley: Well, it is difficult, of course. And then I liked that tower, too.

Fiona: You liked that tower? I'm not sure about it, really. [No!] It's very unusual, right in the centre of the city. Lesley: True, but there’s a lovely view from the top.

Fiona: Oh, you went right up, didn't you? [Mm, yes.] I know I didn't.

Lesley: Of course you didn't.

Fiona: I remember that day. We weren't together.

Lesley: No, that's right. [Mm.] You went down by the river, didn't you?

Fiona: Right. Oh, walking along the river and all the couples [Yes.] and it's so romantic... [Is it true?] and the paintings too...

Lesley: They do have artists down by the river, do they? [Yes.] Oh, how lovely!

Fiona: Oh, it really is super.

Lesley: Yes. Oh, I think we ought to go back there again next year, don't you?

Fiona: I do, yes. [Mm.] If only just to sample some more of the wine.

Lesley: It'd be lovely, wouldn't it?

Fiona: Yes.

Number 3

Mary: I'm so pleased. What about you then?

Jane: Well, he said he wanted to have another look at it. Mary: Yes. What are they doing about it?

Jane: Well, I don't think they're going to do anything really. It just sometimes goes away [Well, can't...] something like that.

Mary: Well, can't they give you anything for it?

Jane: Well, no, they didn't say they could. [Really?] No, just got to be patient and wait for it to go away.

Mary: Well, that seems a bit stupid, doesn't it?

Jane: Yes, it does.

Mary: You'd have thought... you'd have thought they'd have thought of something.

Jane: Yes. Ooh it's your turn.

Mary: Yes. Certainly.

Jane: Good luck!

Mary: Thank you!

Task 6

Learning to Speak

It is, everyone agrees, a colossal task that the child performs when he learns to speak, and the fact that he does so in so short a period of time challenges explanation.

Language learning begins with listening. Individual children vary greatly in the amount of listening they do before they start speaking. Most children will "obey" spoken instructions some time before they can speak, though the word "obey" is hardly accurate as a description of the eager and delighted cooperation usually shown by the child. Before they can speak,

many children will also ask questions by gesture and by making questioning noises.

Any attempt to trace the development from the noises babies make to their first spoken words leads to considerable difficulties. It is agreed that they enjoy making noises and that during the first few months one or two noises sort themselves out as particularly indicative of delight, distress, sociability, and so on. But since these cannot be said to show the baby's intention to communicate, they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language. It is agreed, too, that from about three months they play with sounds for enjoyment, and that by six months they are able to add new sounds to their repertoire. This self-imitation leads on to deliberate

imitation of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people. The problem then arises as to the point at which one can say that these imitations can be considered as speech.

It is a problem we need not get our teeth into. The meaning of a word depends on what a particular person means by it in a particular situation; and it is clear that what a child means by a word will change as he gains more experience of the world. Thus the use, at say seven months, of "mama" as a greeting for his mother cannot be dismissed as a meaningless sound simply

because he also uses it at other times for his father, his dog, or anything else he likes.

Playful and apparently meaningless imitation of what other

people say continues after the child has begun to speak for himself. I doubt, however, whether anything is gained when parents cash in on this ability in an attempt to teach new sounds.

Task 7

Let's talk about body language. You already "speak" it and "read" it. Body language is all of the small facial expressions, hand gestures and body movements that we make. We may not

realize it, but each movement and expression says something

about our feelings.

In fact, we might say that body language is the clearest and most common way of communicating our feelings directly to others. We all know the more obvious body "statements": We wave our hands in greeting, we shake hands, pat each other on the back, we hug friends and kiss loved ones. We smile, we laugh,

we wink and we frown, and sometimes we cry. All of these

gestures are called non-verbal communication (non-verbal means we do not use words to "say" what we feel.)

Normally, we don't think very much about our body language. Our facial expressions and gestures are automatic and unconscious most of the time. But researchers tell us we might learn to understand each other a little better if we paid conscious attention to the hidden messages in body language. Let's

consider a few of the more obvious facial, hand and body gestures.

The human face is wonderfully rich in its ability to express feelings. The eyes, the eyebrows, the lips and the facial muscles are all capable of "saying" things.

For example, we speak of "wide-eyed wonder". If the eyes open wide, that may mean surprise, wonder, excitement or sometimes fear. And that is an important thing to remember about body language—one element alone does not tell us everything. We

have to see gestures in combination. So wide eyes alone would

not tell us whether the person was surprised, pleased or scared, but when we see wide eyes, a little smile and a slight tilt of the head, we understand that the person is "wonderfully pleased".

"Squinty" eyes, tight lips, and the head pushed forward

probably suggest anger or hostility.

Half-closed eyes may suggest fatigue, boredom or indifference. But add a lowered tilt of the head, a fluttering of the eyelids and a slight smile, and we get a coy and flirtatious message. Strangely enough, one of the eye features over which we have

very little control—the size of our pupils—says something

about our interest in a subject. If we like something, our

pupils get larger. Studies show that most men think a woman

with large pupils is more "attractive" than the same woman with small pupils. But the men aren't really conscious of the pupils. They just know they like the "looks" better in the samples with large pupils. No wonder eye make-up is so popular.

Eyebrows are almost like signal flags: one brow up, one down suggests doubt, disbelief or uncertainty. Both up means

surprise or mistrust. Squeeze them together and we get a frown

or scowl.

The lips shape non-verbal as well as verbal messages. The smile is the most obvious, but try baring the teeth just on one side

or pull the lips tightly across the teeth and the smile becomes a snarl and a threat. In this, and in many of our other body gestures, we are close to the animals.

The lower lip by itself can say little things. The "pout" is a

fat lower lip pushed way out. It means "I'm not happy because

I'm not getting what I want." But if we tuck the lower lip into our mouth and bite it, we are conveying anxiety and fear.

Licking the lips is a "dry mouth" gesture which usually means stress or anxiety.

There are whole books written on hand gestures, and, in fact, hand or sign language has often been highly developed,

especially as an aid to the deaf. But the routine hand language, such as pointing with the index finger to accuse someone, or

the clenched fist beating in the air to threaten someone, are familiar to us all. But a clenched fist held close to the body usually means tension or anxiety while the open hands, palms up may mean "I'm innocent" or "give me" or "forgive me".

Both hands raised up and facing the audience means "I give up"

or "I surrender". But tilt the hands and palm down and extend

the arm and it means "I bless" or "I give". The "pat on the head" is a kind of blessing or gesture of love and giving. We clap hands to indicate approval or in some cases to call someone or get attention.

When the hands get very busy we say that someone "talks with

his hands" and among certain individuals and cultures it is almost impossible to talk without a wild display of hand motions.