全新四级听写原文(1-15)

1． Future Cars
What kind of car will we be driving by the year 2010? It is rather different from the type we
know today. With the next decade bringing greater change than the past 50 years; car-designing
experts believe that environment problems may well accelerate the pace of the car’s development.
Their vision is that of a machine with 3 wheels instead of 4, electrically powered,
environmentally clean and able to drive itself along intelligent roads, equipped with built-in
power supplies.
This view of future car bases on a much more sophisticated road system. Cars will be
automatically controlled by a computer. All the driver will have to do is to say where to go and
the computer will do the rest. It will become impossible for cars to crash into one another. The
technology already exits for the car to become a true automobile.

2． Robinson on the Island
My next work was to view the country and seek a proper place to live and to put my stuff, so
that they would be safe from whatever might happen. I did not yet know whether I was on the
continent or on an island; whether it was inhabited or not inhabited; whether I was in danger of
wild beasts or not. There was a hill, not more than a mile away, which rose up very steep and high,
and which seemed higher than the other hills. I took one of the rifles, a pistol, and a horn of
powder, and thus armed I traveled up to the top of that hill. There, I saw my fate, to my great
sorrow that I was on an island, surrounded by the sea, no land to be seen except some rocks and
two small islands, smaller than this, which lay about three miles to the west.

3． A Long Sleep
Richard is now 30 years old. Tomorrow he is going to drink a magic liquid that will allow
him to sleep for 20 years and wake up when he is 50 years old.
Of course when he wakes up 20 years from now, the world will have changed a great deal.
His children, who are now very young, will have become adults and will have moved away from
home. The new car that he bought a few months ago will be old and rusted. His new house will
need repairs. His clothes will look very old-fashioned. The city he lives in will look very
different. There will be many new tall buildings and many of the landmarks he knows will have
disappeared.
Richard will probably be very confused by all the new things he is going to see. It will take
him a while to get used to living in the twenty-first century.

4． The Potato Farmer
A potato farmer was sent to prison just at the time when he should have been digging the
ground for planting the new crop of potatoes. He knew that his wife would not be strong enough
to do the digging all by herself, but that she could manage to do the planting, and he also knew
that he did not have any friends or neighbors who would be willing to do the digging for him. So
he wrote a letter to his wife which said, “Please do not dig the potato field. I hid the money and
the gun there.”
Ten days later he got a letter from his wife. It said, “I think somebody is reading your letters
before they go out of prison. Some policemen arrived here two days ago and dug up the whole
potato field. What shall I do now?”

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The prisoner wrote back at once, “Plant the potatoes, of course.”

5． Tokyo
Tokyo is the largest industrial and commercial city in Japan, ranking first in the output value of
industry. Almost every big Japanese company and bank has its headquarters in Tokyo. The stock
exchange is there and various trade fairs are held in the city a fine tradition of struggle.
Along with economic expansion, city construction has gone ahead non-stop in recent years.
This is characterized by the building of earthquake-proof skyscrapers and an “underground
city”---markets, streets and railway stations.
Our beloved Premier Zhou Enlai, Lu Xun and Guo Moruo, were among the many Chinese
youths who went to Tokyo to study and to search for the way to national salvation. Now with the
conclusion of the china-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, relations between China and Japan
have entered into a new stage.

6. New Methods of Play
In 1974 in the 10
th
World Cup competition held in West Germany, the team from Netherlands
surprised many people by making its way to the finals. The team was made up of speedy
all-around players sticking to certain positions; the Dutch team used “total offence”, with all ten
men moving forward. But when the opponents had the ball, the Dutch team clanged to “total
defense”, with ten men falling back to the other side.
The Dutch did not win the Cup, finishing second in that tournament. But their method of play
was so effective that coaches and players had to sit up and take notice. Teams all over the world
began to adopt their methods. This was a welcome change from the cautious defensive style of
play that had dominated the game for so many years.

7. Mass Media
By media, we refer to the variety of means by which technology transmits to us information
and entertainment. Thus, in its broadcast sense, the term media includes newspaper, television,
movies, radio, books, and magazines. Mass media specially refer to those publications and
programs that attempt to serve most or all of the people in a given market. Commercial radio and
television networks are mass media. Most “public” radio or television stations, which usually seek
a selected audience, are not. People is a mass media magazine, but the New Republic is not; yet
both are part of the media. Finally although the “press” normally refers to newspapers, it may also
include other forms of media. Thus when the president has a press conference, journalists from
various media will ask him questions. The chief function of the media, as we know, is to bring the
world and all its infinite variety to the attention of the average citizen.

8. Wedding in Britain
Nowadays in China, wedding is getting more and more expensive. The average amount of
money spent on a wedding has gone up to 10,000 Yuan. This brings a ponderous burden not only
to young couples, but to the old parents.
“Is the situation the same in western countries?” I wondered. When I went to Britain for
further English studies, I made up my mind that this would be one of my social investigations
there.

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What I found in Britain is that the situation is not better than that of our country. “From the
moment he slips the engagement ring on your third finger to the day you go away for that long
awaited blissful honeymoon the cost will be on average ￡43,000 in 1988!” A British
newspaper exclaimed.
Although Britain is a highly developed country, for the average people, getting the money
ready for a wedding is still a difficult job.

9. The Pentagon
The Pentagon is almost always used by the press to refer to the US War Department, which is
managed by a civilian Secretary of Defense appointed by the Commander- in-chief of the US
Armed Forces---the president of the United States of America.
The Pentagon is one of the largest offices building in the world, taking up a total land area of
583 acres. The five-sided structure itself occupies an area of 29 acres. Each of its five outside
walls is 921 feet long. It has three times the floor space as the Empire State Building. Working
inside this huge building are over 25,000 employees. One half of them are civilians and the other
half are members of the US armed forces.
The construction began in 1941 and completed in 1943, taking 13,000 workers 16 months to
build it at a cost of 83 million dollars at the time.

10. London Taxi Drivers

London taxi drivers know the capital like the back of their hands. Just jump into one of the
city’s 22,000 distinctive shaped cars and tell the driver your destination. No matter how small and
obscure the street is, the driver will be able to get you there without any trouble.
The reason training period, which is known as “the knowledge” to get the special license
needed to drive taxis. During this period, which can take from two or four years, the would-be taxi
driver has to learn the most direct route to every single road and to every important building in
London. To achieve this, most learners go around the city on small motorbikes, practicing how to
move to and from different points of the city.

11. American Sports
Americans are active people, enjoying a variety of games played in the world. For a long
period of time, Americans have topped in most of international competitions. Whenever one opens
newspapers or turns on television in the United States, one is likely to see extensive coverage of
sports events held either in the United States or overseas. This is particularly true on weekends
when professional and intercollegiate games are held nation-wide. A great number of people, male
and female, old and young, throng into the stadium to watch these games, oftentimes in a group of
family member or friends. Many more people stay at home, watching the game live broadcast on
television. Indeed, to many an American, sports have already become part of their leisure life. And
any weekend without some measure of participation, be it actual or emotional, would be hard to
imagine.

12. Travel in Switzerland
No matter what type of holiday

you are looking for you will find the answer in Switzerland.

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There is really no other country quite like it, for here you have some of the finest and most
beautiful scenery in the whole of Europe together with an attractive climate, hotels and the
friendliest people you could wish to meet.
Think of the variety of attractions. You may seek sporting activities. Walking, swimming,
riding, sailing and fishing are just a few of the many possibilities for enjoying your holiday. Then
there are an infinite variety of excursions by coach or railway, free afternoons on a lake steamer,
visits to historic cities, these are just a few more of the variety of interests for your holiday in
Switzerland. In the evening music fills the air, whether it is the local village band or an all-star
variety show.
13. A Telephone Land

The United States is a telephone land. Almost everyone uses the telephone to make or break
social engagement, to do their shopping and ordering, and to obtain all kinds of information.
Telephones save you feet and endless amounts of time---not to mention multiple bus or subway
fares!
Different countries put their public telephones in different places. In the United States they are
so widespread that you will find them in buses and air terminals, railroad stations, stores, hotels,
restaurants, and in small booths along streets and highways.
It is simple and quick to have a private phone installed. You just call the telephone company
and they will come to install it on a special day by appointment, when it is convenient for you.
You fill out a form and pay a deposit of some 40 dollars for the phone and, if you are formally
employed, you may even be freed from this fee.

14. Ideas about Education

In the United States ideas about education are changing. Education today is not just a high
school diploma or a college degree. Many grown-ups are not interested in going to college. For
them, learning does not end with a diploma. Continuing education gives these grown- ups the
opportunity to increase their knowledge about their own field or to learn about a new field. It also
gives them a chance to improve their old skills or to learn new ones.
Secretaries, mechanics, drivers and barbers can take classes to improve their own skills.
Nurses can take classes to increase their knowledge of nursing. If they know more or learn more,
then they can get a better job and earn more money.
Continuing education classes give some grown-ups the chances to learn new skills. There is
usually a large variety of classes to choose from: typing, nursing, cooking, driving or photography.
But only some of the classes are available.

15. The Management of a Company

The management of a large company is composed of the CED and senior executives,
departmental managers, supervisors, general staff and junior staff. The running of a company
covers a variety of areas including finance, marketing, human resources, information and
customer relations. Major decisions concerning the manufacturing of a product, pricing,
investment, the choice of a business partner, and negotiation policies are usually reached at board
meetings, which are held regularly. A staff meeting is held if a major change of company policy is
to be announced.
One of the routine jobs of a company is welcoming visitors, which is important in establishing

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good relationships with potential business partners, clients or customers. Normally it is the
company receptionist who welcomes the visitor and directs him or her to the appropriate person.
As visitors are in a new environment, they may fell ill at ease. The receptionist should try to make
them feel relaxed and comfortable.

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