Unit-Two--Clear-or-Cloudy英语听力教程(高教社)第三版

Unit Two Clear or Cloudy? Part I Getting Ready A. The following words and phrases will appear in this unit. All of them are related to weather and some are frequently used in weather forecast. Listen carefully and study the definitions. 1. freezing point: 冰点 2. relative humidity: 相对湿度 3. calm: 平静的，安宁的 4. barometric pressure: 大气压 5. widely scattered: 分散的，散开的 6. shower: 阵雨，阵雪 Part I Getting Ready 7. lows: 低点，低温点 cf: highs 8. variable: 可变化的 9. thunderstorm: 雷雨 10. gale: 大风 ℃= degree(s) centigrade/celsius ℉= degree(s) Fahrenteit C= 5(F-32)/9 F=9C/5+32 B. You are going to hear five statements about temperature. Write down all the degrees in both Centigrade (C) and Fahrenheit (F). 1.The freezing point of water is 0 ℃or 32 ℉. 2.The boiling point of water is 100 ℃ or 212 ℉. 3.The normal body temperature is 37 ℃ or 98.6 ℉. 4.The temperture on a warm spring day is 15 ℃ or 59 ℉. 5.The temperture on a hot summer’s day is 35 ℃ or 95 ℉. A weather forecast is given several times a day on TV and on the radio. The man who predicts weather conditions is called the weatherman. In most English speaking countries, the weatherman usually speaks with a personal and friendly tone. He acts as if he is chatting with a friend about what the weather will be like. C. You are going to hear a report on weather around the world. Complete the following table. Part II Weather Reports Another important reason why people talk about the weather in Britain is that it’s so unpredictable. You can never tell what the weather’s going to be like from one day to the next. You may listen to the weather forecast on radio, TV, or telephone. But often the weather change faster than the weatherman can predict. But still many people have formed a habit of listening to the weather forecast in the morning. Part II Weather Reports A. You are going to hear a weather report for the UK. Write down all the words that the weatherman uses to describe the weather. B. You are going to hear a National Weather Service forecast for the Chicago, Illinois area. Pay special attention to the temperatures. Fill in the following chart with information about temperatures from the report. Note that where there is a dash (—) , there is nothing to write. All the time periods mentioned in the report have been filled in for you. C. Now try this: listen to a more authentic version of the weather report. Pay more attention to the other features of the weather. Take notes on the chart below. Note that where there is a dash (—)，there is nothing to write. Part III At a bus stop A. You are going to hear a conversation between a man and a woman. They are talking about the weather. The following vocabulary is used in the conversation. Guess the meaning when you hear these words and expressions. While you listen, don't forget to add more key words in the notes column. They will be very helpful for the next section. 1.ended up with 以……结束；结果是… 2. coming down hard 使劲下 3. Attorney律师 4. off the lobby 在大厅侧面 5. stop in/by 顺便拜访 6. donut/doughnut shop 面饼店 7. boy ：exclamation, used to express feelings of surprise, pleasure, pain, etc. B. You are going to hear the conversation again. Answer the following questions with the help of the notes. 1. Where does the conversation take place? It takes place at a bus stop. 2. What time of the day is it? It is late afternoon or early evening. 3. What season of the year is it? It is in the winter. 4. What is the relationship between the speakers? They are strangers. 5. How long has the woman been waiting? She has been waiting for ten minutes or so. 6. What did the weathermen say that morning? They said that there would be light rain. 7. Where did the man work? He worked in a travel agency. 8. What is their opinion of weather reports? They don't believe the reports. C. Now try this: listen to a more authentic version of the conversation and decide whether the statements after the conversation are True or False. 1.(F) 2.(T) 3.(T) 4.(F) 5.(T) 6.(F) 7.(F) 8.(F) 9.(F) 10.(F) Part IV More about the topic: Weather Language As the weather in Britain is so unpredictable, British people seem to be obsessed with talking about the weather. Therefore you may hear the weather language from time to time in everyday life. Listen to a passage about how the topic of weather influences the English language. Fill in the blanks with the phrases in Column A. Then try to guess the meaning and match Column A with Column B. British people are famous for always talking about the weather, but the weather also affects the way we speak and the phrases we use. As more winter weather batters the UK, this week’s Take Away demonstrates how the British obsession with weather has influenced our language. The return of snowstorms to the UK proves that when it comes to bad weather it never rains but it pours. The police have warned that unnecessary road travel is not recommended but some motorists have thrown caution to the wind and made their journeys anyway, claiming that it’s all a storm in teacup. Those whose cars are stuck in the snow may consider themselves to be twisting in the wind. There are problems too for local councils who are running out of sand and grit for the roads, having not saved enough supplies for a rainy day. However it’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good and breakdown services will be seeing an increase in business at this time of year. And every cloud has a silver lining for plumbers too as the cold weather brings burst and frozen pipes in homes and businesses. What has become apparent from the cold snap is that seasonal weather forecasting is not a precise science. The UK Meteorological Office predicted that this winter would be mild and warm so the bad weather came like a bolt from the blue, defying predictions. It’s no wonder then that many people are feeling under the weather with flus and colds an ever-present danger, especially for the very old and very young. The best thing to do then is to wrap up warm, stay at home and weather the storm and hopefully in a few weeks everything will be as right as rain. 1 —(C) 2 —(G) 3 —(A) 4 —( I) 5 —(B) 6 —(H) 7 —(D) 8 —(K) 9 —(J) 10 —(E) 11 —(F) Weather Language 天气成语 throw caution to the wind仍然冒险 all a storm in teacup大惊小怪、小题大做 be twisting in the wind孤立无援 rainy day艰难的时刻 an ill wind that blows nobody any good 没有对人人都有害的事 (害于此者利于彼) a bolt from the blue突如其来的事 under the weather身体不舒服 weather the storm度过危机 as right as rain 完全正常的 as right as rain 十分健康或正常的 rain or shine 原意为下雨或天晴，喻意为不论情况如何 for a rainy day 为雨天作准备，喻意相当于成语未雨绸缪 in a fog 在雾里，喻意为处于困难、困惑中 Every cloud has a silver lining 原意为乌云也有银边；乌云背后有阳光 喻意为黑暗中总有一丝光明；守得云开见月明 not have the foggiest（idea） 如坠云雾中，完全不知怎么回事 It never rains but it pours. 不下则已，一下倾盆。喻意相当于成语祸不单行。 Small rain lays great dust. 小雨压大尘。喻意为小的东西也可派上大用场。 After rain comes fine weather. 雨过天晴。转喻为困难过后，胜利就会到来 Part Ⅴ Memory Test: Effects of Eather It’s believed that the weather can leave its mark on many things in our life. To minimize its bad effects, we always try hard to predicted the weather. But is it possible to do so and how A. Listen to a popular poem aimed to identify weather patterns. Fill in the blanks with the missing words. Red sky at night, shepherd's delight; Red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning; Ash leaf before the oak, then we will have a summer soak; Oak leaf before the ash, the summer comes without a splash ; Flies will swarm before a storm ; Rain before 7, clear by 11. oak [əuk] n. [植] 橡树；橡木家具；橡木色 soak [səuk] n. 浸；湿透；大雨 splash [splæʃ] n. 飞溅的水；污点；卖弄 朝霞不出门；晚霞行千里。 梣树的树叶比橡树叶先发芽，那夏天雨水会很多。 如果是橡树叶先发芽，那夏天雨水将很少。 群蝇会在暴风雨前群集。 雨过天晴。 B. Now study the outline of the passage talking about the weather first. Try to guess what you will hear for the blanks. Then listen to the passage and complete the missing parts. Weather Ⅰ. Effects of weather A. Impact on nature Examples: Palm trees →bent double in hurricane force winds Cars → stranded in snow drifts Boats → be navigated down flooded city streets B. responsible for moods Examples: changeable weather → make people hard to concentrate Cloudy skies → slow down reflexes High humidity + hot / dry winds → make many people irritable and snappy. C. Leaving marks on character Examples: People from the same region → similar temperaments Ⅱ. What causes changes in the weather? A. Weather systems moving around areas of the globe Examples: Highs and lows B. Human activity Examples: Gases produced by heavy industry → change the temperature of the Earth’ surface, and affect cloud formation. Ⅲ. Can we predict the weather? A. Traditional ways with folk wisdom Examples: Rhymes / popular poems using pine cones and seaweed B. Today’ methods relying on technology Examples: Satellites, balloons, ships, aircraft and weather centers with sensitive monitoring equipment, send data to computers . Weather. doc Part Ⅶ Watch and Enjoy 1.(T) 2.(F) 3.(F) Over one third of our planet is frozen, and yet, the icy worlds of the Arctic and Antarctic are as alien to most of us as the surface of another planet. They are places of superlatives. From ice caps that hold nearly 80% of our planet’s fresh water to frozen forests that encircle the entire globe. These are places that feed our imaginations, places that seem to be borrowed from fairy tales. They’re dominated and shaped by the ice.....both by its coming and by its going. This is our planet’s last true wilderness and one that is changing just as we’re beginning to understand it. The poles are permanently capped with ice. Nowhere is colder, windier or more hostile to life. I’m standing at the North Pole - the very top of the Earth. Up here, it’s easy to see why the polar regions are so cold. The sun never rises high enough in the sky to warm my back and those rays that do strike the surface are mostly reflected back from this great whiteness. But the fundamental problem is that there’s no sun here at all for half the year. The polar winter is unrivalled in its harshness — a night that lasts for months. Only the toughest stay, as temperatures plunge to minus 70 degrees centigrade. And yet, the greatest challenge to life here is not the cold, but the extreme swings between the seasons. When the sun finally returns, an extraordinary transformation begins. This frozen world begins to melt away. The polar spring brings a brief opportunity for life. By summer, the sun no longer sets and works its magic for 24 hours a day. Now it’s a race to breed before the sun departs. By autumn, all but the hardiest abandon the poles and the ice extends its grip. Land and sea close down for the long, polar winter, until, once again, the sun returns.