专四听写文本

四级听写: The African elephant The African elephant, the largest land animal remaining on earth ,is of great importance to African ecosystem(生态系统) As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna(大草原)surroundings in which it lives, setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat (栖息地). It is the elephant's great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and underbushes, and pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem. (158 words) 2. What is a Father A father is a person who is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic. He growl s when he feels good, and laughs very loud when he is scared half-to-death. A father never feels entirely worthy of the worship in a child's eyes. He is never quite the hero his daughter thinks. Never quite the man his son believes him to be, and this worries him sometimes. A father is a person who goes to war sometimes and would run the other way except that war is part of his only important job in his life, which is making the world better for his child than it has been for him. I don't know where father goes when he dies, but I've an idea that, after a good rest, wherever it is, he won't just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he's loved and the children she bore. He'll be busy there too, repairing the stars, oiling the gates, improving the streets, smoothing the way. (173 words) 3 Depression The dictionary describes depression as the state of feeling very sad, anxious and hopeless. The question here is why one gets depressed. Is the inability to deal with the situation or the high stress levels that come with success or failure? Life is full of twists and turns. Some are pleasant and some are not so pleasant, and sometimes even terrible. Seasonal changes are the main reason for depression in nature. Change is unavoidable. It may happen in nature or in life. But the way the change makes us feel is subjective. They differ from person to person, along with the ways we deal with them. Feeling depression is a normal phenomenon, but letting it overtake us completely is not the best thing. There are no specific rules or concepts in dealing with it. A person should adopt whatever way he or she feels is the best, but be sure it will not hurt another person. (159 words) 4. D ifferent "Styles" of Directions I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” of directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?” In Japan, people use landmarks in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, " Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop." In the countryside of the American Midwest, instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. For example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.” People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.(155 words) Useful Words and Expressions landmark n. 地标 a landmark court ruling 深具意义的法庭裁定 a landmark decision 一项重大的决定 style n. 风格,格调 come into style 变得时髦,流行起来 cramp sb.'s style 使某人觉得不自由,妨碍某人 in style 别具风格地,时髦地 in the style of 仿……式 out of style 不时髦的,不时新的 That's the style. [口](表示赞同)这正对路;正是如此。 The style is the man. [谚] 文如其人。 5 Mistakes Are Good Teachers After the birth of my second child,I got a job at a restaurant. Having worked with an experienced waitress for a few days,I was allowed to wait on tables on my own. When Saturday night came, I was luckily given the tables not far from the kitchen. However,I still felt a little hard to carry the heavy trays. So I moved slowly, minding every step. I remembered how happy I was when I saw a tray standing next to the tables. It looked different from the one I was trained on,and it had nice handles which made it easier to move around. I was pleased with everything and began to believe I was natural at this job. Then, an old man came to me and said that was his wife's walker. I stood frozen as ice,but my face was on fire. Since then, I have learned to be more careful and not to be too sure of myself. (164 words) 6 Time Has the Power to Change Attitude Last week, my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home. My earliest memories of my father are of a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and family but uncomfortable with his children. As a child, I loved him;as a school girl and young adult, I feared him and felt bitter about him. On the first day of my visit, we did some shopping,ate on the street table,and laughed over my son's funny facial expressions. Gone was my father's critical air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? The next day, my dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him until that moment. After so many years, I'm at last seeing another side of my father. 7. Differences Between Television and Radio Announcers When television first began to expand, very few of the people who had become famous as radio announcers were able to be equally effective on television. Some of the difficulties they experienced when they were trying to adjust themselves to the new medium were technical. When working on radio, for example, they had become used to seeing on behalf of the listener. This art of seeing for others means that the announcer has to be very good at talking. In the case of television, however, the announcer sees everything with the viewer. His duty, therefore, is completely different. He is there to make sure that the viewer does not miss any point of interest, to help him focus on particular things, and to help him understand the images on the television screen. Unlike his radio colleague, he must know the value of silence and how to use it at those moments when the pictures speak for themselves. (157 words) Useful Words and Expressions announcer n. (电视、电台)播音员 television announcer 电视播音员 train announcer 列车广播员,列车到发通告器 on behalf of 代表…… Please accept my apology on behalf of the hotel. 请接受我代表酒店向您道歉。 in the case of 就……来说;至于 in case of 万一,假设 In case of fire, ring the bell. 如遇火警请按警铃。 viewer n. (电视)观众 8. The Tower of London In 1078, King William began to build a large stone building on the north bank of the Thames River and named it the Tower of London. The tower was finished 20 years later. Around 1240, King Henry III made it his home. He painted the tower white, and widened the grounds to include a church, a great hall and other buildings. In 1381, Richard II became King of England. A group of farmers attacked the tower. In the end, Richard was forced to give up his power to Henry IV. Queen Elizabeth was held prisoner in the tower for two months by Queen Mary, her half sister. She was set free on May 19, 1554, and in 1558 became the Queen of England. In 1603, part of the tower became a museum. A lot of royal jewels were kept in the tower for visitors to see. The tower has been a place of interest in London ever since. (158 words) Useful Words and Expressions threaten v. 恐吓,威胁 threaten someone with death 用死威胁某人 threaten to do sth. 威胁要做某事 The clouds threaten rain. 云预示有雨。 attack v. / n. 攻击 be attacked with (a disease) 患病 open an attack 开始进攻 set sb. free 释放 jewel n. 宝石,珠宝 9. American wedding customs Wedding days are often considered the most important day of many people’s lives. For this reason alone, throughout the past and into modern day, numerous customs and superstitions have developed around the wedding event, in hopes of creating "The Perfect Day!" A very common custom still honored today is in reference to a time-old saying, "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence inside your shoe". So old is this that tracing it back to its origination is nearly impossible. The "old" is believed to be the friends and family attending the wedding. The "new" is represented by the couple themselves, as a "new" union. The "borrowed" is something from the families that is to be returned. Something "blue" is interpreted to represent the bride’s virginity. The sixpence can be any form of money, tucked into the bride's shoe, this to bring wealth to the union, both in monetary means and love. 10. Can't "Can't" is the worst word that can be written or spoken, and can do more harm than lying. Many strong spirits have been broken by it. It springs from the lips of thoughtless people each morning and robs us of the courage we need that day. It rings in our ears like a timely sent warning and laughs when we fall by the way. "Can't" is the father of weak effort, and the parent of fear and half-hearted work. It weakens the efforts of clever craftsmen, and makes people work less. It poisons the soul of a person with an illusion. It laughs at people's hopes and dreams. Whatever the goal you are seeking, keep trying, and answer by saying, "I can!" "Can't" is the enemy that is ready to ruin your will. It will only give way to courage, patience and skill. Treat it with strong and continuous hate, for once it is welcomed it can break any man. (160 words) Useful Words and Expressions spring from 起源于……;来自…… rob v. 抢夺,剥夺 rob sb. of sth. 抢走,剥夺 The accident robbed him of his health. 那次事故使他丧失了健康。 ring in one's ear 言犹在耳 fall by the way 中途掉队,半途而废 half-hearted job 三天打鱼两天晒网 He make a half-hearted attempt. 他做了一次不积极的尝试。 craftsman n. 手艺人,工匠 choke v. (使)窒息,阻塞 give way to 给……让路,对……让步 11. Death Valley: the Coming of the Name The area was named by a woman in 1849. That was the year after gold was discovered in California. Thousands of people from other parts of the country traveled to the gold mining areas in California. They were in a hurry to get there before other people did. Many people were not careful. They made bad choices or wrong decisions. One group trying to reach California decided to take a path called the Old Spanish Trail. By December, they had reached Death Valley. They did not have to survive the terrible heat of summer, but there was still an extreme lack of water. There were few plants for their work animals to eat. The people could not find a pass through the tall mountains. Gradually, they began to suffer from a lack of food. To survive, they killed their work animals for food and began to walk out of the Valley. As they left, one woman looked back and said,"Good-bye, death valley." The name has never been changed. (169 words) 12. lead A new study shows that lead-based paint remains a worldwide threat to public health. Paint containing lead is a major cause of lead poisoning in children. The heavy metal enters the body when children breathe the paint dust or fumes in the air. Or when babies put their mouth on painted surfaces or swallow pieces of paint. Lead can damage the brain and the nervous system. It can decrease intelligence, create behavior problems and slow a child's growth. Researchers tested new household paints from twelve countries in Africa, Asia and South America. The paints were sold under different brand names. The study found that almost three-fourths of the brands had dangerously high levels of lead. The professor says high quality paint can be produced without lead. He and his team are calling for a worldwide ban on lead-based paint. He says many parts of the world are doing too little to correct the problem of lead poisoning in children. He notes that research has found no safe level of lead. Teamwork Teamwork is just as important in science as it is on the playing field or in the gym. Scientific investigations are almost always carried out by teams of people working together. Ideas are shared, experiments are designed,data are analyzed, and results are evaluated and shared with other investigators. Group work is necessary, and is usually more productive than working alone. Several times throughout the year you may be asked to work with one or more of your classmates. Whatever the task your group is assigned, a few rules need to be followed to ensure a productive and successful experience. What comes first is to keep an open mind, because everyone's ideas deserve consideration and each group member can make his or her own contribution. Secondly, it makes a job easier to divide the group task among all group members. Thirdly, always worktogether, take turns, and encourage each other by listening, clarifying, and trusting one another. Mutual support and trust often make a great difference. Shopaholics The word addiction usually makes you think of alcohol or drugs, but in modern day society we are seeing some new kinds of addictions. Some people are compulsive shoppers. Others find it impossible to pull themselves away from their work. Still others spend countless hours watching TV or playing computer games. Over the years, shopping has become a very common activity. Many people enjoy going to malls or stores more and more every day, but it's more than a common hobby for some of them. They have turned into shopaholics. They are people who simply enjoy shopping and walking around spending money without being able to stop doing it. They are hooked on shopping and usually buy things that they don't need. Even though they don't have enough money, they want to buy everything they want. Why do they have this addiction? There isn't a specific answer. Some people go shopping when they are sad, worried, upset or lonely. Some even tend to have this addiction when they feel guilty. Light Pollution We usually think of pollution as a harmful waste substance that threatens the air and water. But some people have become concerned about another kind of pollution. It can be everywhere, depending on the time of day. And it is not thought of as a substance. It is light. The idea of light pollution has developed with the increase of lights in cities. In many areas, this light makes it difficult or impossible to observe stars and planets in the night sky. Light pollution threatens to reduce the scientific value of research telescopes. Light pollution is the result of wasted energy. Bright light that shines into the sky is not being used to provide light where it is needed on Earth. Lights that are brighter than necessary also cause light pollution. Recently, two Italian astronomers and an American environmental scientist created a world map of the night sky. The map shows that North America, Western Europe and Japan have the greatest amount of light pollution. (165 words) Useful Words and Expressions substance 物质 a mineral substance 矿物 the substance of a speech 讲话的要旨 a man of substance 财主 in substance 实质上,本质上,大体上 sacrifice the substance for the shadow 只图虚名不求实效;舍本逐末 waste one's substance 浪费钱财 become concerned about 开始关心;关心,担忧 planet n. 行星 telescope n. 望远镜 astronomer n. 天文学家 An Old Saying (2011.11.18) Today we explain a very old saying that has had a big influence on rock-and-roll music. That saying is a rolling stone gathers no moss. It has several meanings. One meaning is that a person who never settles down in one place will not be successful. Another is that someone who is always moving, with no roots in one place, avoids responsibilities. This proverb was said to be first used in the 1500s. But in the 1960s, the expression rolling stone became famous in the world of rock-and-roll music. It became the name of a rock group, a song and a magazine. Experts say it all started with a song by the American singer and guitarist Muddy Waters. He was one of the country's top blues musicians until his death in 1983. His music influenced singers like Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. In 1950, Muddy Waters recorded a song called "Rollin' Stone." (153 words) Useful Words and Expressions A rolling stone gathers no moss. 滚石不生苔;转业不聚财。 moss n. 苔藓 rolling stone 无固定职业者;见异思迁者 blues n. 布鲁斯(歌曲)(一种伤感的美国黑人民歌) Elvis Presley 猫王