-
四级听写
1. Insects
Nobody likes insects. They are annoying
and sometimes dangerous. Some of them bite
us and give us diseases; others bite us
and give us big red spots. Some do not bite, but
just
fly around our heads or crawl
around our houses and gardens. /
Indeed, we do not like
most
of them except those lovely butterflies. / But
insects are
interesting. Firstly, they
are very old animals. Three hundred and twenty
million years ago,
there were no man in
the world, but there were insects. Today, on every
square mile of land
there are millions
of them flying and crawling about. Secondly,
insects are very adaptable
to their
surroundings, so that today there are about a
million different species in the world.
Why then do some people try to kill
insects? After all, not many of them hurt us. The
reason is that they eat so much of
man
’
s food and there are so
many of them. (158 words)
2. A Protest against Injustice
It all started on a bus one day in
1955. A black woman was returning home from work
after a long hard day. She sat near the
front of the bus because she was tired and her
legs
hurt. But in those days, black
people could sit only in the back of the bus. So
the driver
ordered the woman to give up
her seat. But the woman refused, and she was
arrested.
Incidents like this had happened
before. But no one had ever spoken out against
such
treatment of blacks. This time,
however, a young black preacher organized a
protest. He
called on all black
citizens to stop riding the buses until the laws
were changed. He led the
protest
movement to end such injustice to the blacks. The
protest marked the beginning of
the
civil rights movement in the United States. (146
words)
3. Foolish Tests
Centuries
ago, a man accused of a crime / often had to go
through a strange test. / In
one
country, for instance, a metal bar was dropped
into boiling oil. / The prisoner had to
put his hand into the oil and take out
the bar. / It was believed that the oil would not
burn
an innocent man. / If the
prisoner got his hand burned, he would
be found guilty of the
crime he was
accused of. / Another foolish method was used in
Europe. / When a man was
accused of a
crime, he was thrown into a pool or river. / If he
floated, people declared that
he was
guilty. / They took him out of the water and
punished him. / However, if the man
sank, people claimed that he was
innocent. / They pulled him out of the water
quickly and
released
him.
/
We
do
not
know what would have
happened
/
if
the
man had learned
to
swim under the water. (160 words)
4. Why Do People Want Work?
People work because they need money to
live. / They need money for food and clothes
and
to pay for
their
houses,
flats
or
the
rooms where
they
live.
/
People
need money
for
1
many different things / and they can
earn money if they work. / Work makes people feel
important. / Work makes them feel that
they are useful. /
But machines can not do
many things that people used to do. / Technology
is giving us
more
cars,
roads
and
food
but
less
work.
/
Many
businessmen
believe
that
we
will
soon
have robots / which
will work all the time. / The robots will never
complain or stop work. /
Some
scientists think that by the year 2025 /
intelligent animals will do the work that many
people do now. /
In
tomorrow’
s
world,
/
people
will
need
to
learn
new
things
/
because
life
will
be
changing
so fast. / People will have to change their ideas
about work. / (152 words)
5.
The Great Depression
The
stock
market
crash
in
October
1929
/
marked
the
beginning
of
the
worst
economic crisis in American history. /
For the first year, the economy fell very slowly.
/ But
it dropped sharply in 1931 and
1932. / By the end of 1932, the economy collapsed
almost
completely. /
During the three years
following the stock market crash, / the American
gross national
product dropped by
almost half. / Millions of people lost their jobs.
/ Tens of thousands lost
their homes. /
Men with wives and children begged for money on
the streets. / During the
next several
years, / a large part of the richest nation on
earth / learned what it meant to be
poor. /
Hard
times
found
their
way
into
every
area
and
every
job.
/
Workers
struggled
as
factories closed. /
Farmers hit with falling prices and natural
disasters / were forced to give
up
their farms. / Businessmen lost their stores, and
sometimes their homes. / All the gains
of the 1920s were washed away. (154
words)
6. Learning to
describe
All through my boyhood and
youth, I was known as an idle person, / and yet I
was
always busy with my own private
affairs, / which was to learn to write. / I always
kept two
books in my pocket, / one to
read, and the other to write in. / As I walked, my
mind was
busy / fitting what I saw with
appropriate words. / When I sat by the roadside, /
I would
either read, / or note down the
features of the scene / or write some lines of
verse. / Thus I
lived with words. /
What I wrote was not for future use, / but was
written consciously for
practice. /
Description was the principal field of my
exercise. That was a proficiency that
tempted me, and I practiced to acquire
it. To anyone with sense, there is always
something
worth describing. (138 words)
7. Angel Falls
Angel Falls, deep in the jungles of
Latin America, is the highest waterfall in the
world.
/ It is over 1,000 feet higher /
than any other fall in the world. / Imagine that
you are going
2
there
by
plane.
/
For
hundreds
of
miles
you
fly
southeast
over
green
plains,
/
mountains
with forests, and
high plateaus. / Suddenly you see a silver thread
in the distance. / As your
plane flies
closer, / you see water falling over half a mile
straight down the cliff. / It is such
an impressive sight that you will never
forget it. /
No one knew about the
waterfall until 1930, / when James Angel, an
American pilot, /
was flying over the
mountains and canyons in the area. / He suddenly
saw a waterfall. / The
water seemed to
be dropping straight out of the clouds. /
In 1941 an American expedition explored
and measured the falls. / From the top to the
bottom, / the water falls more than
3,200 feet. / (152 words)
8. Fixing a Flat Tire
I was
coming home along the motorway the other night /
when I heard a sudden bang.
/
Immediately I realized that I had a flat tire. /
I managed to stop without falling off,
/ but I still had the problem of what to do about
the tire. / With a motorbike, you have
to take the wheel off, / find the hole, cover it
with a
little piece of rubber, / then
put the whole lot hack together again. / It takes
ages and you
get very dirty. / As I
didn't have any choice, I set to work. / It didn't
take long to get the
wheel off / and it
wasn't too hard to remove the tire from the wheel.
/ Finding the hole took
longer / but
the fun really began / when I had to put the wheel
back on the bike. / You
’
ve
no
idea how easy it is to lose / small
pieces of a motorbike in the dark. / (155 words)
9.
Pace of Public Speech
Pace
refers
to
how
fast
or
how
slow
you
speak.
/
If
you
speak
too
fast,
you
may
be
difficult to follow. / If you speak too
slow, / you risk losing the attention of your
audience. /
If audience attention seems
to be drifting away, / try picking up your pace. /
Usually you
don't know / that you have
been going too fast until someone tells you so /
after your speech
is over. / If you are
told this, guard against this mistake in the
future. / In your next speech /
write
reminders on your note cards to slow down. /
Ideally the speaker varies his or her
pace. / Speaking fast and then slowing down helps
keep the attention of the audience. /
Also, don't forget the benefits of pausing. / A
pause
before or after a dramatic moment
is a highly effective technique. / The next time
you are
watching a comedian on
television, / watch how he or she uses pauses. /
(154 words)
10. The Wolf and the Shepherd
A
wolf
had
long
hung
about
a
flock
of
sheep,
/
and
had
done
them
no
harm.
/
The
shepherd, however, had
his suspicions, / and for a while was always on
the lookout for him /
as
a
dangerous
enemy.
/
But
as
the
wolf
continued
for
a
long
time
to
follow
his
flock
/
without making any attempt
to annoy them, / the shepherd began to look upon
him more
as a friend than an enemy. /
One day the shepherd happened to have to go into
the city, / so
3
he entrusted the sheep to the care of
the wolf. / The wolf saw his opportunity and fell
upon
the
sheep
and
ate
them
up.
/
On
his
return,
the
shepherd
saw
his
flock
destroyed
/
and
exclaimed:
The moral of the fable is: / There is
more danger from a pretended friend than from
an open enemy. / (159 words)
11. A Strange Man
There
is
a
story
about
a
man
who
behaves
very
strangely.
/
What
others
like,
he
dislikes, / and what most
people enjoy, he doesn
’
t
care for. /
He is extremely particular
about selecting the correct tie to wear with his
suit, / but it
doesn't bother him if
his shirt is dirty / or his suit
isn
’
t pressed. /
He always sees the negative side of
things. / He finds fault with the best movie of
the
year,
/
but
stays
awake
until
two
o
’
clock
in
the
morning
/
watching
very
old
movies
on
television. / Even his taste in food is
peculiar. / He drinks warm water and cold tea, /
eats
raw eggs and can't stand fresh
fruit.
Last
week
his
uncle
died
and
left
him
a
million
dollars.
/
In
his
will,
the
old
man
insisted
that
the
nephew
spend
/
half
the
inheritance
within
the
next
five
years.
/
If
he
didn’t
, the money would be
given to a university. / Everyone is anxious to
know what the
nephew will do. / (163
words)
12.
Why Should I Take a Part-time job?
The first obvious reason is
the money. / I am not one of those rich kids /
whose parents
could give them cars as
birthday presents. / My parents have worked all
their lives / and
saved every penny to
pay my tuition and living expenses. / Although
they would be willing
to give me some
pocket money, / if I asked, I prefer to earn it
myself. / I feel good that I can
in a
way / lighten the burden of my parents.
The second
reason is the experience my part-time job
provides. / Sooner or later, I'll
have
to enter the job market and sell myself. / And if
I am to sell myself for a good price, /
experience will
make
a
difference.
/
While working,
I
get
to
know
people
/
employers
as
well
as workers. / I learn how to deal with the bosses
/ and how to get along with my fellow
workers. / All this experience gained
from my part-time job / will be valuable to my
future.
/ (169 words)
13. Badminton
Badminton
is
a
fast
game
played
by
two
or
four
persons.
/
It
can
be
played
both
indoors and outdoors. /
The outdoor game is more suitable for family
enjoyment at home. /
Badminton is an
ancient game, which took its name
from
the place where the game
was played
indoors for the first time. / There are several
explanations of how the modern
game
began. / One is that English army officers brought
the game home from India in the
4
1870s and it soon became
popular in England. /
Badminton trains the player's ability
to react quickly with his eyes, his mind, his feet
and
his
hand.
/
Becoming
a
good
player
requires
physical
fitness
and
mental
effort.
/
Constant
practice
and
habits
of
concentration
and
confidence
are
necessary.
/
The
great
players of the game
have often been great sportsmen. / This is
apparent in their conduct
both on and
off the court. / (146 words)
14. Animated Cartoons
When we see Mickey Mouse on
the screen, / we all know that he is not a real
mouse at
all. / Yet like a living
creature, he moves and talks. / How can Mickey
Mouse move around,
/ tell jokes and do
tricks in an animated cartoon? /
The first thing that needs
to be done / is to divide the script or the movie
story into
sections
/
and
illustrate
each
section
separately.
/
A
full-length
cartoon
feature
needs
hundreds
of
thousands
of
drawings.
/
When
all
the
drawings
are
completed,
they
are
photographed by a motion picture
camera. /
There
is much more to a cartoon film than drawings. / It
sometimes takes hundreds of
artists to
work for years to produce one. / Actors and
singers are selected to give voices to
the drawn pictures. / Music is
specially composed and fitted into the movie. /
No wonder
cartoon characters are fun to watch, / whether
seen at home on television
or in a
movie theater. / (158 words)
15. The Nursing Staff
The
physicians in a hospital form the core of the
medical staff.
/ But they could not
provide effective medical care to their
patients without the help of numerous nurses. /
For
the
patients,
the
nursing
staff
is
particularly
important.
/
Nurses
are
usually
in
close
contact with patients / as long as they
are in the hospital. /
The nursing
staff is usually quite large and diverse. / The
general term
“
nurse
”
refers
to a person /
trained to offer bedside care to sick persons. /
A
nurse
does
not
study
for
as
many
years
as
a doctor.
/
However,
she
must
be
very
dedicated. / Caring for the sick
requires a great deal of patience and concern. /
Most nurses
work long days, / and they
often must work at odd hours or during the night.
/
Serving as a nurse in a hospital can
be a very rewarding job. / But not every person is
suited to become one. / (151 words)
16. The Supermarket
In
almost
all
supermarkets
there
are
shopping
carts
with
a
special
space
to
put
the
baby. In
the early days, before there were carts, it was
noticed that as soon as a woman
shopper
had her arms full of goods, she stopped buying.
Thus carts were introduced. Later
a
space for the baby was provided in the cart
because it was observed that with the baby
5
sitting
comfortably
in
the
cart
the
mother
felt
less
need
to
hurry
through
the
store
and
consequently bought
more.
The
average
American
housewife
goes
to
the
supermarket
twice
a
week.
On
the
average she spends one
or two hours there each week.
Women
don’
t go to the supermarket
just to buy food. Visiting the
supermarket is the housewife's chance to get away
from home
for a while. In the
supermarket she feels that she is part of the
outside world. She gets to
know
all
the
new
products.
Frequently
she
meets
a
number
of
her
friends
in
the
supermarket. (167 words)
17. Changes in Fashions
Women's fashions tend to
change
more rapidly and radically than
men’s.
In the early
1900s,
all
women
wore
their
skirts
down
to
the
ankle.
Today,
skirt
length
varies
from
floor-length to ten
inches above the knee.
Women
’
s shoes have also gone
through all sorts
of
changes
in
the
last
seventy
years.
For
example,
boots
for
women
were
very
common
around
the
turn
of
the
century.
Then,
for
years,
they
were
not
considered
fashionable.
Today
they
are
back
in
style
again
in
all
colors,
lengths,
and
materials.
In
fact,
today's
women can wear all sorts of clothes,
even slacks and shorts, on almost any occasion.
While
all of these changes were taking
place in women's fashions, men's clothing remained
pretty
much the same until a couple of
years ago. In fact, most men still wear the
traditional suit
though bright colors
and varieties in cut are now more common. (153
words)
18. The Future of
the Cinema
The
cinema became the greatest entertainment industry
in the world because millions
of people
paid to see films. But today, in many countries,
more and more people prefer to
watch
television. In countries where a lot of people
watch television, fewer and fewer films
are made, and there are fewer and fewer
cinemas to show them. But this does not mean
that there will come a time when no
films are made and there are no cinemas left.
The cinema did
not really become a form of art for many years.
Most films were made
for entertainment
only. But a number of film directors have always
tried to do more than
entertain.
And
their
films
have
been
works
of
art.
In
the
future
this
kind
of
film
will
become
more
and
more
important.
The
cinema,
which
began
as
entertainment,
may
perhaps live on as art. (151 words)
19. Football in England
What
is
surprising
about
football
in
England
is
the
great
knowledge
of
the
game
which even the smallest boys seem to
have. They can tell you the names of the players
on
most of the important teams. They
know the results of large numbers of matches. They
will
tell you, with an air of
authority, who will win such and such a match, and
their opinion is
usually as valuable as
that of men three or four times their age.
6
Most
schools
in
England
take
football
seriously.
They
believe
that
education
is
not
merely a matter of filling a boy's mind
with facts in the classroom. It also means
character
training. And one of the best
ways of training character is by means of games,
especially
such team games as football.
The schools, therefore, regularly arrange games
and matches
for their pupils. (145
words)
20.
Life
Life
is
difficult.
Life
is
a
series
of
problems.
What
makes
life
difficult
is
that
the
process
of
facing
and
solving
problems
is
a
painful
one.
Problems,
depending
on
their
nature, cause in us
sadness or loneliness or regret or anger or fear.
And since life poses an
endless series
of problems, life is always difficult and full of
pain as well as joy.
Yet, it is in this
process of solving problems that life has its
meaning. It is only because
of problems
that we grow mentally. When we desire to encourage
the growth of the human
spirit, we
challenge and encourage the human capacity to
solve problems, just as in school
we
set problems for our children to solve. It is
through the pain of meeting and working out
problems that we learn. It is for this
reason that wise people learn not to dread but
actually
to welcome the pain of
problems. (157 words)
21.
Going on a Tour
Have you ever been a tourist? If so,
did you enjoy every part of your tour? Your tour
was
almost
certainly
easier
and
more
comfortable
than
the
journeys
of
a
hundred
years
ago. Today you can fly in comfortable
planes and stay in good hotels. The countries that
you visit all try to make your tour as
enjoyable as possible.
Not very long ago, a
tourist had to be either rich or ready to bear
very rough conditions.
Today it is not
necessary to be rich in order to be a tourist.
More and more people leave
their
own
countries
for
holidays
in
foreign
lands.
The
tourist
industry
has
become
very
important.
At present most of these tourists go to
countries in Europe. Italy usually attracts most
tourists. Mountain lovers go to
Switzerland in winter and sun-lovers from northern
lands
crowd the shores of the
Mediterranean Sea in summer. (153 words)
22. My First Day Abroad
When the plane finally
touched down on the runway, I was terribly scared.
I didn't know
how
they
were
going
to
receive
me.
At
the
airport
I
passed
through
immigration
and
customs, and entered a big hall.
Sitting next to me were a young man and a woman
and
three children running about. A
singing group sang a welcome song for a group of
students
from
America.
I
was
green
with
jealousy
and
was
very
disappointed
since
nobody
was
there
waiting for me! I found a telephone, called
Friendship Ambassadors, and told them I
had
arrived.
Later
that
night
the
founder
of
the
organization
told
me
that
they
hadn't
7
received
my
telegram,
so
they
couldn't
meet
me
on
my
arrival.
I
felt
better
when
some
warm-
hearted
people
treated
me
very
kindly
that
night.
I
will
never
forget
my
first
experience going abroad. (147 words)
23. Senior
Citizens
People
over
the
age
of
sixty-five
in
the
United
States
are
called
senior
citizens.
The
number of these people is increasing
rapidly because people are living longer than
before.
Their
life
is
different
from
that
of
younger
Americans.
Most
of
them
are
retired
or
no
longer work full time.
For
many
senior
citizens,
the
years
after
sixty-five
are
not
enjoyable.
They
feel
that
their lives lose meaning after
retirement. In addition, they may feel lonely
being away from
their
families
and
the
contacts
they
had
in
their
work.
Moreover,
they
become
more
worried
about
their
health
as
they
grow
older,
and
about
their
safety
if
they
live
in
big
cities. Other senior citizens enjoy
their lives. They feel free to do what they were
not able to
when they were working and
raising families.
They now have time to
enjoy hobbies and
sports and travel.
(148 words)
24. Thanksgiving Day
The American Thanksgiving
Day goes back to 1621. In that year a special
feast was
prepared in Plymouth,
Massachusetts. The colonists who had settled there
had left England
to find religious
freedom. They experienced many difficulties in
coming across the Atlantic.
After
arriving
in
the
new land,
they were
assisted
by
the
Indians.
They
had
much
to
be
thankful
for.
Their
religious
practices
were
no
longer
forbidden.
They
learned
to
adjust
their
farming
habits
to
the
climate
and
soil.
When
they
selected
the
fourth
Thursday
of
November
for
their
Thanksgiving
celebration,
they
invited
the
Indians
to
join
them
in
dinner
and
a
prayer
of
gratitude
for
the
new
life.
They
recalled
the
group
of
102
men,
women and children who
left England. They remembered their dead who did
not live to see
the
shores
of
Massachusetts.
They
reflected
on
the
35-day
journey
which
tested
their
strength. (146 words)
25. Chinese Food
The
first
time
I
ever ate
Chinese food
I
loved
it.
From
then
on,
it
tasted better
and
better.
The
first
thing
I
noticed
was
the
fresh
taste
of
the
meat
and
vegetables.
When
I
learned more about the
food, I began to understand why it is so.
In
ancient
times,
China
lost
much
of
its
wood
due
to
overpopulation
and
poor
management of its
forests. Wood became very expensive and hard to
get, so the Chinese
had to either find
something else to use, or learn how to use wood
better. In order to use as
little wood
as they could, they started cutting their meat and
vegetables into small pieces
before
they put them into the hot oil. In that way the
food cooked faster and they saved
8
wood. The food kept its
fresh flavor, and it
’
s this
flavor that attracts people to the art of
Chinese cooking. (152 words)
26. Sugar
Sugar has been known to man
for at least 3,000 years, but has come into common
use
only in modern times. Until quite
recently, it was considered a medicine and a
luxury for
the very rich.
But what
exactly is sugar? Of course, most of us recognize
it immediately as the sweet
material we
put in coffee or cakes. This common form of sugar
is derived from such plants
as the
sugar cane. But in fact there are many kinds of
sugar, and the chemist recognizes
hundreds of different varieties.
About 90% of the sugar produced is used
as food. Only 10% is used in industry for
purposes other than food production.
Yet sugar has great possibilities for use as the
basis of
chemicals.
It
can
even
be
used
for
making
plastics.
In
the
future,
these
potential
uses
of
sugar will certainly be developed more
fully than in the past. (149 words)
27. Working Wives
Should married
women work outside the home? The question seems
almost odd today
although it was a
serious one in the past. More and more married
women are working and
for most of them
the reason is obvious. They must work if their
families are to survive in an
age of
soaring inflation and unemployment. But what about
those who don't really have to
work? Do
the rewards justify their efforts? The answer is
pretty clearly yes.
In families in which the wife has a
choice, the extra paycheck
may ease the
financial
burden on her husband. For
young couples, it may mean the possibility of
buying a house
of their own. Unless the
wife works, buying a house is simply out of the
question. Another
important
reason
is
that
a
job
provides
a
wife
with
additional
security,
psychological
as
well as financial, in the event of the
illness or death of her husband. (157 words)
28. Benefits of Urban Life
In
spite
of
the
city's
image
as
an
unhealthy
place,
city
living
often
provides
benefits
that
country
living
lacks.
That's why
people
living
in
urban
areas
often
live
longer
than
those
in the country.
One
factor
which
seems
to
contribute
to
their
long
life
is
exercise.
In
the
cities
it
is
often faster and less
frustrating to walk short distances than to wait
for a bus. Even taking
public
transportation
often
requires
some
walking.
Smaller
apartment
houses
have
no
elevators
and
so
tenants
must
climb
stairs.
City
dwellers
usually
have
to
walk
to
local
supermarkets. Since parking space is
hard to find, there is often no alternative to
walking.
On the
other hand, those who live in the country do not
have to walk every day. In fact,
the
opposite is often true. To go to work, school or
almost anywhere else, they must ride in
9
cars. (152
words)
29. Disadvantages of
Living in Big Cities
Although
big
modern
cities
provide
people
with
many
facilities,
they
certainly
have
their disadvantages.
The
first serious problem is the traffic. During the
rush hours, wherever you
look it’s
people, people, people. All the streets
are jammed with packed buses and endless lines of
cars.
As
a
result,
traffic
accidents
often
occur.
Next
comes
the
problem
of
pollution.
Factories and
vehicles are constantly giving off harmful smoke,
so that urban people seem
to have
forgotten what fresh air is like. Every year,
millions of people die of cancer or other
diseases caused by air-pollution.
Apart from these, there are many more.
For example, there is the housing problem.
And another is the high crime rate.
Finally, urban dwellers are so far away from
nature
that most of them just lose
track of seasons !
(140 words)
30.
The Great American Game
Baseball is called the great American
game. Hardly a boy in the U. S. has grown up
without playing it. The game is so much
a part of American life that its terms have become
the
common
everyday
speech
of
the
people.
Scores of
baseball
terms
are
used
by
people
who may
never have seen a game in their life.
During World War II,
Germans dressed in American uniforms turned up
behind the
American
lines.
Many
of
them
spoke
English
so
well
that
they
passed
themselves
off
as
American
soldiers.
However,
the
U.
S.
Army
found
a
way
to
tell
which
were
false
and
which
were
real.
They
halted
strange
soldiers
at
check-points
and
asked
them
questions
about
baseball
and
some
of
the
star
players.
Genuine
Americans
could
answer
the
questions
easily.
But
the
Germans,
who
couldn't,
were
promptly
made
prisoners
of
war.
(146 words)
31. The U.S. Coast Guard
The U. S. Coast Guard does
what its name says. It has responsibility for many
different
duties.
The
Coast
Guard
can
be
found
at
many
large
lakes
in
America
and
in
coastal
waters. It enforces laws controlling
navigation, immigration, and fishing. It enforces
other
laws that affect the thousands of
privately-owned boats in the United States. Coast
Guard
planes,
boats,
and
helicopters
search
for
missing
boats
and
rescue
people
in
dangerous
situations. It
also does scientific research on the ocean and
clears ice from rivers or lakes,
so
boats can travel safely.
One of the
Coast Guard's most important duties now is to stop
drug trafficking into
the United
States. Armed Coast Guard boats use radio and
radar to find boats that may
carry
drugs. They stop the boats suspected of carrying
drugs and search them. They seize
10
the drugs and arrest the
people if they find any illegal drugs aboard.
(158 words)
32. Encounter with
Strangers
Talking with
a
stranger will
often
enrich
our
knowledge. For
instance,
a gardener
I
met
in a park told me more about how plants grow than
I had ever learned before. Once a
taxi
driver invited me to tea at his home and helped me
learn about a way of life different
from my own.
Through
talking
with
strangers,
we
can
learn
something
about
ourselves,
for
an
encounter with a stranger, at its best,
is a meeting of hearts and minds. To a stranger,
we
may say things that we have always
wanted to say, but never dared mention to our
family
members or friends, and thus see
ourselves through new eyes.
Meeting a stranger by
chance can result in a life-long friendship.
Thirty years ago I
met
a
stranger
at
a
station
while
waiting
for
a
train,
and
we
’
ve
been
friends
ever
since.
Come to think of it,
weren't nearly all our friends once strangers?
(160 words)
33. Laws
Before laws
were written, there was no sure way of knowing
what was permitted and
what was
forbidden. One judge might apply one set of rules
to a case while another judge
might
apply
completely
different
rules
to a
similar
case.
It
all
depended
on
the
personal
judgment of one
person.
Today
we follow the custom of recording our laws. Rules
passed by our lawmakers are
printed
and
available
for
everyone
to
see.
Unless
laws
are
publicly
available,
we
do
not
regard them as binding.
Each of us is
subject to many different sets of laws. Some laws
say what is permitted,
such as how fast
you may drive. Other laws say what is required,
such as paying a federal
income
tax.
Still
other
laws
say
what
is
prohibited,
such
as
smoking
in
elevators.
In
the
United States, federal
laws apply to everyone and state laws apply to
activities within each
state. (154
words)
34. What Can We Do
about the Water Pollution Problem?
Water pollution
has become a serious problem. Industrial wastes
have already made
many rivers lifeless.
Oil spills in the seas are killing enormous
numbers of fish and birds.
What is
more, polluted water is an increasing danger to
public health. It causes people to
become ill with all kinds of diseases.
What can we do about it in order to
survive on earth? First, we can make great efforts
to
clean
up
polluted
water
and
limit
further
pollution.
Second,
we
can
insist
that
water
pollution
control
laws
be
passed
and
strictly
enforced.
Third,
we
can
personally
help
to
prevent
water
pollution
by
not
throwing
anything
into
streams
or
lakes.
Finally,
we
can
also protect ourselves against polluted
water. If we go on a camping trip, for instance,
we
11
can avoid
drinking water that is unsafe and avoid swimming
in water that is polluted. By
doing so,
we may be able to live a healthier life. (164
words)
35. A New Way to
Clean Waste Water
American researchers have
successfully tested a new way to clean waste water
without
chemicals. It is based on the
fact that waste water is an excellent food for
green plants.
The United States Environmental
Protection Agency is supporting the test which was
carried out at an existing waste water
treatment center. The scientists put plants in
narrow
containers inside a glass
building. One end of each container was a little
higher than the
other and waste water
was directed down the containers through the
plants
’
thick roots. As
expected, the roots trapped the wastes
in the water and used them for food. At the same
time, the plants produced natural gas.
The gas could be collected and sold as fuel.
This technique of cleaning
waste water is more effective than most chemical
systems.
Many places in the
United States have now begun to use green plants
to clean their waste
water. (157 words)
36. Heat
If
you
are
asked
to
name
the
one
factor
that
has
contributed
most
to
modern
civilization, you will probably answer
“heat”
. Modern civilization
really began when man
learned how to
make heat engines. Heat is needed for various
purposes in every industry. It
is
a
form
of
energy.
Therefore,
studying
heat
mainly
consists
in
studying
changes
in
the
forms
of
energy.
For
example,
one
of
the
most
important
uses
of
electricity
is
the
production
of
heat.
Electricity
is
used
as
a
source
of
heat
where
extremely
high
temperatures
are
needed.
Let
us
take
another
example.
When
you
go
into
the
broad
sunshine, you at once
become aware that the sun is one of the important
sources of heat. If
there
were
no
sunlight,
life
on
this
earth
would
be
impossible.
Indeed,
we
would
all
be
frozen to death if the
sun were cold. (144 words)
37. Eating Habits
City people in my country
eat three times a day as the Americans do:
breakfast, lunch,
and supper or dinner.
Meals are served at the following times: morning,
noon, and evening.
Ordinary families
most commonly eat meals of meat, fish, rice,
flour, vegetables and fruits.
Our
eating habits are not very different from those of
the Americans.
Americans
have their Thanksgiving dinner in late November,
in order to celebrate the
gratitude of
the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New
World. In my country we have
a special
family dinner on New Year
’s
Eve in order to celebrate Spring Festival. Also,
like
many Americans, when I am in a
hurry, I just have a snack for lunch. Therefore,
it seems
that human beings are just the
same everywhere; they become hungry about every
four to
five hours, regardless of
nationality. (143 words)
12
38. Population Growth
A UN report shows that if the present
growth rate continues, world population will hit
6. 4 billion by the year 2000.
What
’s
more, the
greatest part of the growth will be in the poor
developing countries.
These are the
nations where providing enough food for millions
of people proves to be a
difficult
problem to solve.
Food
isn
’
t
the
only
problem
that
such
a
population
explosion
presents.
The
more
people
there
are
and
the
worse
their
living
conditions,
the
greater
the
possibility
for
all
kinds of social
problems.
Actually,
the
world
’
s
birth
rates
are
falling.
But
so
are
death
rates,
as
medical
advances have made it possible for man
to live longer than before. Such advances have
also
reduced infant death rates. Unless
population growth is reduced, the world population
may
reach 12 billion in a century. Is
the earth capable of providing a decent life for
so large a
population?
(151 words)
39. A World without TV
Television hasn't been with
us very long, but we are already beginning to
forget what
the world was like without
it. Before we admitted the one-eyed monster into
our homes, we
never found it difficult
to occupy our spare time. We used to enjoy
civilized pleasures. For
instance, we
used to have hobbies, we used to entertain our
friends and be entertained by
them,
we
used
to
go
outside
for
our
amusement,
to
theaters,
cinemas,
restaurants
and
sporting
events.
All
that
belongs
to
the
past.
Now
all
our
free
time
is
regulated
by
that
monster. We have even given up sitting
at table and having a leisurely meal, exchanging
the
news
of
the
day.
A
sandwich
and
a
glass
of
beer
will
do
—
anything,
provided
it
doesn’t
interfere with the
program. The monster demands absolute silence and
attention. If anyone
dares to open his
mouth during a program, he is quickly
silenced.
(157 words)
40. Exploring
Explorers
have
gone
all
over
the
world,
and
most
parts
of
it
are
well
known
today,
though
there
are
still
some
forests
and
mountains
about
which
one
would
like
to
know
more. But it is not necessary to go
abroad in order to learn something new about the
world.
In our own city or town, even in
our own village, there is probably a great deal to
be learnt,
and certainly no one has
seen all that is beautiful or interesting in his
own country.
We can usually see
mountains that we have not climbed, and if we
reach the top of one
we
can
see
others
in
the
distance.
If
we
walk
along
a
river
we
shall
find
other
streams
running into it, and
wonder where they come from. Every valley gives us
a new view. Even
on a short walk we may
see birds and trees and flowers of which we do not
know the names.
(159 words)
13
41. Human
Language
Human language is a system of symbols,
primarily spoken. It is composed of sounds
that describe things, ideas, actions,
and the like. Written language uses letters and
other
signs to represent the sounds of
speech.
We
learn
to
read
by
noticing
or
being
taught
groups
of
letters
that
stand
for
the
sounds
that
we
already
know
how
to
speak.
We
learn
to
write
by
learning
to
form
the
letters and to put them together
s
o that others can read what we
“say”.
Since human language is a form of human
behavior, there is nothing absolute about it.
It has developed slowly throughout
human history and will continue to develop.
In the English language there are
perhaps 600,000 words, but most of them are known
only
to
specialists
and
are
rarely
used.
The
average
mature
person
has
a
working
vocabulary of about 10,000 words and a
recognition vocabulary of 30,000 to 40, 000
words.
(150 words)
42. Why I Attend
college?
Why did I choose to attend
college? Is the four-year academic life
worthwhile? I have
put these questions
to myself many times in the past two years, and
now I have reached the
conclusion that
a college education is something that I truly want
and it is worthwhile.
I chose to attend college
because I enjoy learning. I felt that I wanted to
continue to
study. I simply
couldn
’
t end my education
upon graduation from the high school and enter
the working world so soon. I chose to
attend college also because I feel college is more
than
a place which offers knowledge. It
can expose one to a rich variety of ideas.
Finally, I feel
that
in
today
’
s
world,
a
college
education
has
become
almost
essential
if
one
wishes
to
compete
in the job market. Attending college is a
practical and necessary step to a secure
future. (153 words)
43.
Dried Food
Centuries
ago,
man
discovered
that
removing
water
from
food
helps
to
preserve
it,
and
that
the
easiest
way
to
do
this
is
to
expose
the
food
to
the
sun
and
wind.
All
foods
contain water. Cabbage and other leaf
vegetables contain as much as 93% water, potatoes
and other root vegetables 80%, and fish
from 80% to 60 %, depending on how fatty they
are. If this water is removed, food
wo
n’
t go bad easily.
Dried foods take up less room and weigh
less than the same food packed in cans or
frozen, and they do not need to be
stored in special conditions. For these reasons
they are
invaluable to climbers,
explorers and soldiers in battle, who have little
storage space. They
are also popular
with housewives because it takes so little time to
cook them. Usually it is
just a case of
replacing the water removed with boiling water.
(150 words)
44 Teaching
Teaching
is
supposed
to
be
a
professional
activity
requiring
long
and
complicated
training. The
act of teaching is looked upon as a flow of
knowledge from a higher source
14
in
to an empty
container. The student’s role is one
of
receiving information; the teacher
’s
role is one of supplying it. However,
teaching need not be the province of a special
group,
nor need it be looked upon as a
technical skill. Teaching is not forcing
information into a
supposedly empty
head but guiding and assisting. If you have a
certain skill you should be
able to
share it with someone. All of us, from the
youngest child to the oldest member of
our society, should come to realize our
own potential as teachers. We can share what we
know,
however
little
it
might
be, with
someone who
has
need of
that
knowledge
or
skill.
(145 words)
45. Energy from
the Sun
The
energy
from
the
sun
goes
in
every
direction.
However,
only
a
minute
part
of
it
falls
on
the
earth.
Even
so,
it
represents
the
power
of
about five
million
horsepower
per
square mile per day. The sun gives us
as much energy every minute as mankind uses in a
year.
At present, we use this
energy indirectly, and it is our only final source
of power. Coal
represents
the
chemical
action
of
the
sun
on
green
plants
thousands
of
years ago.
Water
power results from the sun
’s
creating vapor and
the resulting rain.
Even windmills operate
because
of
air
currents
set
in
motion
by
the
sun.
Some
day,
through
some
type
of
solar
motor, we shall use
this source of energy more directly. Already, a
scientist has worked out
a
surprisingly
efficient
engine,
which
uses
a
series
of
mirrors
to
concentrate
the
sun
’
s
energy to create steam. (152 words)
46. Women
’
s
College in the United States
In the United States 84
colleges now accept just women. Most of them were
established
in
the
19th
century.
They
were
designed
to
offer
women
the
education
they
could
not
receive
anywhere else. At that time major universities and
colleges accepted only men. In
the past
20 years many young women have chosen to study at
colleges that accept both men
and
women. As a result some
women
’
s colleges decided to
accept men students too. Others,
however, refused to change.
Educational
experts
say
that
men
students
usually
speak
more
in
class
than women
students
do.
In
a
women
’
s
college,
women
feel
free
to
say
what
they
think.
Women's
colleges also bring out leadership
capability in many women. Recent studies show that
this
leadership continues after
college. The studies also show that American women
who went
to
women
’
s colleges are more
likely to hold successful jobs later in
life.
(153
words)
47. The Value of a Name
Names can
affect the way people see themselves. If a person
likes his name, he is likely
to have
high self-esteem. However, the value of a
person
’
s name to his or her
self-esteem is
mostly influenced by
other people's opinion of that name. For example,
some teachers like
students because of
their names. A tea
cher’s
tone of voice, smile, and warm treatment of
certain students show his or her
preference.
This
does
not
happen
only
in
the
classroom.
Studies
show
that
youngsters
with
15
aggressive
names
actually
commit
more
crimes
than
teenagers
who
have
quiet,
peaceful-sounding names.
The
studies
described
above
emphasize
the
disadvantages
of
uncommon
names.
However, uncommon
names may also have advantages in certain
occupations. So if your
name is
unusual, you may one day become a well-known
scientist or the president of your
own
business! (147 words)
48. The horse
The
horse preceded man on earth. The earliest remains
of primitive horses have been
found on
the North American continent. Many scientists
believe this small species travelled
over a land mass to Asia to found the
beginning of the modern Asian horse. Yet it became
extinct in America. Other scientists
believe that the horse may have originated in
Asia. In
any event the animal soon
spread to China, Europe, and the Middle East. The
first modern
horses to be introduced
into the American continent came with the early
Spanish explorers.
Horses
are
said
to
rate
in
intelligence
after
the ape,
the
elephant
and
the
dog. They
have
excellent
memories
and
can
sometimes
find
their
way
home
when
lost,
and
sense
danger better than
their masters. The early civilizations of man that
made use of the horse
developed more
rapidly than those which did not. (147 words)
49. Space and Distance
The
study
of
space
and
distance
concerns
the way we
use
the
space
around us. The
minute you
enter a classroom, for example, you will have to
decide where to sit. You may
choose to
sit in the back because you do not want to be
noticed, or because you do not want
people
behind
you
to
look
at
you.
On
the
other
hand,
you
might
select
a
front-row
seat
because you have a lot of confidence or
because you want to be noticed.
What
is
interesting
about
your
choice
of
seating
is
that
you
might
be
sending
your
instructor a message. When he sees you
sitting in the back or in the far corner, he might
decide that you are not very interested
in the subject. If you are in the front row, he
might
conclude
that
you
are
an
unusually
attentive
student
and
he
should
give
you
special
attention.
(155 words)
50.
Travel and the Hotel Business
A hotel is a temporary home
for
travelers. In a hotel the traveler
can rest and have
food and drink. The
hotel may also offer facilities for recreation,
such as a swimming pool,
or a golf
course. In many cases, the hotel also provides
free parking space for the
traveler
’s
means
of transportation.
Travel
and
hotels
have
always
been
closely
related.
In
Europe
and
America,
for
example, inns were built along the
roads. The inns were primitive by modern
standards.
The
traveler
usually
had
to
share
his
bed
with
other
people.
The
old
fashioned
inns,
however,
did
provide
food
and
shelter
for
both
men
and
horses
and
therefore
became
a
symbol
of
hospitality.
Indeed,
the
word
has
been
used
by
many
modern
hotels
to
suggest the image of people warming
themselves in front of a cheerful fire while
waiting to
16
be
called to a rich dinner. (153 words)
51. A new Era
A new era is upon us. We
can call it the service economy, the information
age, or the
knowledge society. It all
translates to a fundamental change in the way we
work. Already
we are partly there. The
percentage of people who earn their living by
making things has
fallen dramatically
in the Western World. Today the majority of jobs
in America, Europe,
Japan, and many
other countries are in the service industry, and
the number is on the rise.
More women
are in the work force than ever before. There are
more part-time jobs. More
people
are
self-employed.
But
the
breadth
of
the
economic
transformation
can't
be
measured by numbers
alone, because it is also giving rise to a radical
new way of thinking
about the nature of
work itself. Long-held notions about jobs and
careers, the skills needed
to
succeed,
even
the
relation
between
individuals
and
employers---all
these
are
being
challenged.
(160
words)
52. Nuclear Power
The
big
advantage
of
nuclear
power
is
the
large
amount
of
energy
released
from
a
relatively small amount of material.
Nuclear power has become an
important source of
energy in some
countries, especially in Germany and Japan. The
United States and Canada
are
less
dependent
than
Europeans
on
nuclear
energy,
in
part
because
of
their
more
abundant coal reserves.
Five
problems
severely
restrict
the
use
of
nuclear
power
instead
of
coal
to
generate
electricity. The first problem is the
danger of an accident. The second is the need to
store
waste products following the
reaction. No country has devised an effective
storage system
for
waste
products.
The
third
problem
is
that
a
bomb
can
be
made
from
the
material.
Nuclear
power
has
been
used
in
warfare
twice.
The
final
problem
is
its
high
cost.
The
future of nuclear power has been
seriously affected by its high risks and costs.
(151 words)
53. Diet and Health
Even though we
have more choice of what to eat than forty years
ago, the diet of the
average American
is less healthy. In fact, according to a recent
study, American pets, eating
specially
prepared tinned food, have a healthier diet than
most of their owners.
The Health Department was alarmed at
recent figures which show that America has
the third highest record in the world
for heart disease. Cancer is also a growing cause
of
death.
This
has
led
to
governments
to
try
to
launch
a
campaign
to
encourage
healthier
eating habits. The campaign will urge
people to eat less salt, sugar, animal fat than
they do
today. It will show the
advantages of eating more fresh fruits and
vegetables.
The
Health Department is going to issue a booklet that
will give guidance on which
foods to
eat and which to avoid.
(148 words)
54. New
Y
ear
’
s
Celebration
New
Year's Day is the world
’
s
oldest celebration. In fact, ancient people
celebrated the
new year even before
they had exact ways of measuring time. New Year's
Day is also the
17
one holiday that is observed by people
of all national and religious groups.
Not
everyone
celebrates
the
new
year
at
the
same
time.
The
Chinese
celebrate
at
different times each year, sometime
between January twenty-first and February
nineteenth.
But the majority of people
today celebrate it on January first.
In
some
countries,
the
New
Year's
holiday
is
the
most
important
celebration
of
the
year.
But
this
is
not
true
in
the
United States,
even though
it
is
a
celebration
that
many
people enjoy. One
reason may be that Christmas comes just one week
before the new year.
Christmas is
America
’
s biggest holiday.
And the American people give it the importance
that people in other countries give the
start of a new year.
(158
words)
55. Seasons and Human
Intelligence
If you are like most
people, your intelligence varies from season to
season. You are
probably a lot sharper
in the spring than you are at any other time of
the year. A noted
scientist concluded
from other men's work and his own that climate and
temperature have
a definite effect on
our mental abilities.
He
found
that
cool
weather
is
much
more
favorable
for
creative
thinking
than
is
summer
heat. This does not mean that all people are less
intelligent in the summer than
they are
during the rest of the year. It does mean,
however, that the mental abilities of large
numbers of people tend to be lowest in
the summer.
Spring appears to be the best period of
the year for thinking. One reason may be that
in the spring man's mental abilities
are affected by the same factors that bring about
great
changes in all nature. (150
words)
56. A False Alarm
Last night I
had a frightening experience. While I was eating
at a fast-food restaurant,
the manager
came to announce that everybody would have to
leave the building because a
bomb was
reported
to
be
hidden
somewhere
in
the restaurant. When
the
announcement
was made, the
place was immediately thrown into confusion as
everyone was determined to
get
out
first.
To
make
matters
worse,
an
elderly
woman,
who
must
have
weighed
300
pounds, had just come up to the
entrance, which was also the only exit. In the
meantime, I
suddenly remembered that I
had left my purse in the chair in which I had been
sitting. It
was
certainly
not
convenient
now
to
return
to
get
it.
When
I
finally
managed
to
get
my
purse and go outside, I
saw the police had arrived and were searching the
area. Eventually
they determined that
it had been all a false alarm. (154 words)
57. Air-conditioning
With air-
conditioning, you can be comfortable anywhere
indoors even on the hottest
summer day.
Inventors had been trying to come up with methods
of keeping the air cool.
There were
hundreds of ideas, but none of them really worked.
The
first machine was developed by Willis H. Carrier,
who is often called
“
the
father
of
air-
conditioning
”
.
He
built
the
machine
for
a
printing
plant
in
New
York.
Soon
air-
conditioning
was
being
used
in
many
factories.
But
the
public
did
not
really
know
18
about
this
invention
until
the
1920s
when
movie
theaters,
department
stores
and
restaurants had air conditioners
installed. As air conditioners became popular
during the
1930s,
central
air-conditioning
systems
were
developed.
A
whole
office
or
apartment
building
could
he
cooled
from
one
unit.
After
World
War
II,
large
numbers
of
air
conditioners began to be used in both
public buildings and private homes. (150
words)
58. Helen
Keller.
Helen Keller was born in 1880 into a
middle-class family. Her father was a newspaper
editor. They lived in a comfortable
house on a farm. From the time she lost her
eyesight
and
hearing
until
she
was
nearly
seven,
she
was
cared
for
by
her
loving
family,
who
allowed
her
uncontrolled
freedom
around
the
home.
She
had
the
servants
’
children
as
playmates, and she ruled them like a
little queen. She did not sit at the table at
dinner, but
wandered around helping
herself to food from other people's plates.
Without any discipline,
she
grew
up
to
be
a
little
wild
animal.
She
behaved
very
badly
if
anyone
prevented
her
from doing or having what she wanted.
But
later, with the help of her teacher, Helen Keller
managed to overcome the double
disabilities of blindness and deafness
and became one of the most remarkable persons in
the nineteenth century.
(151 words)
59. The
Submarine
Trying
to
describe
a
submarine
is
like
trying
to
describe
an
automobile.
There
are
dozens
of
different
kinds
of
automobiles
and
each
is
different
from
any
other.
So
a
description of any one
automobile would fail to describe the rest. And
yet all automobiles
are
alike
in
the
most
important
things:
all
have
engines,
wheels,
steering
devices,
and
certain
other
vital
parts.
And
a
description
of
a
sort
of
automobile
would
in
some way describe all
others.
The
same
is
true
of
submarines.
There
are
many
kinds
and
sizes,
but
all
work
basically the same way and all must
have the equipment necessary for sailing, for
diving
beneath the sea, for
communicating with their home bases, for housing
and feeding a crew
and so on. So it is
possible to describe a sort of
something about all submarines and how
they all operate.
(154
words)
60. Motel
The word
motel”
m
eans motorist hotel and it is used
chiefly by people traveling by car.
Parking space is always available.
Motels are usually outside the center of town near
major
roads and are less expensive than
hotels. Rates in motels are about $$10 to $$15 per
person a
day
for
a
room
and
bath.
Motels
in
and
near
large
cities
tend
to
be
more
expensive.
In
smaller towns the prices may be lower.
Because motels are often located outside the
center
of town, it will probably be
inconvenient to stay in a motel unless you have a
car or unless
the
motel
is
located
near
public
bus
or
train
lines. Although
reservations
in
advance
are
usually required in motels in busy
areas, this is not always the case in less crowded
parts of
the country. Because of their
convenience and economical prices, it is easy to
understand
19
why they are so popular with Americans.
(155 words)
61. Shrinking Families
Challenge Traditions
It
has
been
a
Chinese
tradition
for
several
generations
to
live
under
the
same
roof.
However,
this
tradition
is
being
challenged
by
new
ideas
brought
about
by
economic
development
in
the
last
decade.
The
concept
of
an
extended
family
is
disappearing
in
China.
Experts point out that the
traditionally large families are splitting into
smaller nuclear
families. Along with
one-child families, there are single-parent
families and
Single parent families are the result
of the increasing divorce rate, which has caused
problems in child care and education.
As more and more women are working outside the
home,
they
choose
either
not
to
have
children
or
leave
their
children
in
the
care
of
grandparents.
Thus,
the
number
of
families
and
families
in
which
grandparents
live with their
grandchildren is on the rise.
(147 words)
62.
How Your Memory Works
In all human communication, information
is transferred from one person's memory to
another's.
No
matter
how
the
message
is
sent,
it
must
arrive
in
a
form
that
can
be
understood,
held
and
recalled
later
by
the
brain.
How
do
these
three
memory
processes
function? Before answering this
question, we need to consider the fact that there
are two
kinds of memory: short-term and
long-term memory.
Your short-term memory can hold only
five to seven items of information such as five
numbers,
six
words,
or
seven
syllables.
However,
unless
you
repeat
that
information
to
yourself
over
and
over
again,
you
will
forget
it
in
less
than
a
minute.
This
temporary
memory is used when you try to remember
a name or telephone number that someone told
you
a
moment
ago.
Short-term
memory
plays
an
important
part
in
thinking
and
understanding.
(148 words)
63. The United
Nations
The
most
important
international
organization
is
the
United Nations,
created
at
the
end of World War II by the victorious
allies. When it was established in 1945, the
United
Nations comprised 49 states. But
by the early 1990s it had grown to 159 members.
However,
the
United
Nations
is
now
frequently
criticized
for
various
reasons.
It
is
criticized,
for
example,
for
failing
to
keep
world
peace.
Members
can vote
to
establish
a
peace-keeping force and request states
to contribute soldiers. However, any one of the
five
permanent members of the Security
Council may veto the operation. It is also
attacked for
being
one-sided
on
a
number
of
world
issues.
Yet,
with
all
its
weaknesses,
the
United
Nations still represents a place where
for the first time in human history nearly all
states of
the world can meet and vote
on important issues.
(144 words)
64. A Change of Interests
on Campus in China
There
has
been
a
change
of
interests
on
campus
in
recent
years.
Many
excellent
20
students used to show a great interest
in liberal arts. To become a writer was their
life-long
dream. Now, top students go
in for computer science, business studies and
other subjects
concerning
finance.
Obviously,
they
believe
if
they
master
such
subjects
they
are
more
likely
to
get
well-paid
jobs
in
the
future.
Moreover,
students
display
greater
enthusiasm
than ever for learning English. A good
command of the language will open up new windows
for
them
and help
widen
their
scope
of
knowledge. Besides, with
the
carrying
out
of
the
open-door policy and
the rapid development of
our economy,
more and more
companies
have
business
ties
with
foreign
firms.
So
university
graduates
with
a
good
knowledge
of
English will find it easier to win good
positions. (150 words)
65. Education in
America
Life in the twentieth century
demands preparation. Today, all individuals must
have
adequate schooling to prepare them
for their work and for their responsibilities as
citizens.
In
America,
government
officials,
parents,
and
teachers
are
working
hard
to
give
the
children
the best preparation available. There is no
national school policy in the US. Each
state makes its own education rules and
regulations, but there are many similarities among
the school systems. Public schools in
all states are supported by taxes paid by the
citizens of
the
individual
state.
In
most
states,
the
children
are
required
to
attend
school
until
they
reach
sixteen. When they become six years old, children
begin elementary school. After six
years in elementary school, they go
into junior high school and remain there for three
years.
The last three years of their
public school education are spent in senior high
school, from
which they graduate at the
age of eighteen. (157 words)
66. Work
and Careers
Sometimes
we
say
that
someone
we
know
is
“
a
square
peg
in
a
round
hole.
”
This
simply means that the
person is not suited for his job. He may be a
bookkeeper who really
wants to be an
actor or a mechanic who likes cooking.
Unfortunately, many people in the
world
are
us
spend a
great
part
of
our
lives
at our
jobs. For
that
reason we
should
try
to find out
what our talents are and how we can use
them. There are many careers open to each of us.
Perhaps
we
like
science.
Then
we
might
prepare
ourselves
to
be
chemists,
physicists,
or
biologists. Maybe our
interests take us into the business world or the
medical profession.
Teaching,
newspaper
work,
and
engineering
—
these
and
many
other
fields
all
offer
satisfying careers to persons with
talent and training.
(158
words)
67. Automobiles
It
is
impossible
to
say
that
any one
man
invented
the
automobile.
Many
individuals
living
and
working
in
different
countries
and
at
different
times
contributed
to
its
development. Many of the discoveries
that went into the creation of the automobile were
small in themselves. But together they
were important. Here are two examples.
On
Christmas
Eve
1801,
the
silence
of
the
English
countryside
was
shattered
by
a
steam-powered carriage
running at a speed of 8 to 9 miles an
hour
—
almost unheard of in
21
those
days.
According
to
automobile
historians,
this
was
the
first
practical
use
of
mechanical power to move a vehicle.
After its first run, the machine reportedly burned
up
while the inventor and his friends
were celebrating its success at a pub.
Henry
Ford
is
considered
the
father
of
modern
automobile
mass
production.
His
famous Model T car, because of its low
price, made it possible to produce cars on a large
scale.
(155
words)
68. Automation
For
thousands
of
years
man
has
been
busy
making
tools
and
machines
to
make
his
work
easier.
Automation
is
the
latest
stage
in
this
process
of
replacing
manpower
with
machines.
Automation is as up-to-date
as space flight, yet some of the ideas behind it
are nearly
200
years
old.
The
steam
engine
invented
in
1784
is
one
of
the
first
examples
of
the
automatic
control
of
machinery.
A
big
step
toward
automation was
taken
when
the
first
electronic computer was devised by
American scientists during World War II.
Automation is
not the same as mechanization. With mechanization,
workers are still
needed
to
operate
the
machines.
With
automation,
the
machines
are
controlled
by
other
machines, without a
human worker.
Not all things can be done by
automation. The machine will not replace man in
tasks
that
involve
the
use
of
judgement,
imagination,
artistic
creation
and
personal
care
or
service.
(150 words)
69. Newspapers
Almost every
family buys at least one copy of a newspaper every
day. Why do people
read newspapers?
Five hundred
years ago, news of important happenings took
months and even years to
travel
from
one
country
to
another.
Today
we
can
read
in
our
newspapers
of
important
events that occur in faraway countries
on the same day they happen.
Apart from supplying news
from all over the world, newspapers give us a lot
of other
useful information. There are
weather reports, TV and film guides, book reviews,
and, of
course,
advertisements.
Companies
pay
newspapers
thousands
of
dollars
for
the
advertising space, but it is worth the
money, for news of their products goes into almost
every
home
in
the
country.
For
those
who
publish
newspapers,
advertisements
are
also
very
important.
Money
earned
from
advertisements
makes
it
possible
for
them
to
sell
their newspapers at a low price and
still make a profit.
(153 words)
70.
The Source of Energy
All the useful energy at
the surface of the earth comes from the activity
of the sun. The
sun heats and feeds
mankind. Each year it provides men with two
hundred million tons of
grain
and
nearly
ten
million
tons
of
wood.
Coal,
oil,
natural
gas,
and
all
other
fuels
are
stored-up
energy
from
the
sun.
Some
was
collected
by
this
season's
plants
as
carbon
compounds. Some was stored by plants
and trees ages ago. Even waterpower derives from
22
the sun.
Water turned into vapor by the sun falls as rain.
It courses down the mountains
and
is
converted
to
electric
power.
Light
transmits
only
the
energy
that
comes
from
the
sun’s ou
ter
layers, and much of this energy that is directed
toward the earth never arrives.
About
nine-tenth of it is absorbed by the atmosphere of
the earth. In fact, the earth itself
gets only half-billionth of the
sun
’
s entire output of
radiant energy.
(159 words)
71. The
Influence of Fire
In
the
early
times
when
human
beings
hunted
and
gathered
food,
they
were
not
in
control of their
environment. They could only interact with their
surroundings as the other
lower
animals
did.
When
they
learned
to
make
fire,
however,
they
became
capable
of
altering their environment. To provide
themselves with fuel, they cut down trees. They
also
burned clearings in forests to
increase the growth of grass and to provide a
greater grazing
area for the wild
animals
that human beings fed upon.
This development led to farming
and the
domestication of animals. Fire also provided the
means for cooking plants which
had
previously
been
inedible.
Only
when
the
process
of
meeting
the
basic
need
for
food
reached a certain level
was it possible for humans to follow other
pursuits such as setting
up families,
forming societies and founding cities.
(144 words)
72.
A Dream Laboratory
There
is
a
dream
laboratory
at
the
University
of
Chicago
where
researchers
are
studying dreamers. Their findings have
revealed that everyone dreams from three to seven
times a night, although in ordinary
life a person may remember none or only one of his
dreams.
While
the
subjects
are
asleep,
special
machines
record
their
brain
waves
and
eye
movements
as well as body movements that signal the end of a
dream.
Observers
report
that
a
person
usually
appears
restless
before
a
dream.
Once
the
dream
has
started,
his
body
relaxes
and
his
eyes
become
more
active.
As
soon
as
the
machines
indicate that the dream is over, the sleeper is
awakened.
Researchers have found that if the
dreamer is awakened immediately after his dream,
he can usually recall the entire dream.
If he is allowed to sleep even five more minutes
his
memory of the dream will have
faded.
(151 words)
73. Qualifications for a Flight
Attendant
One
of the most important qualifications for flight
attendants is education. Applicants
must have at least a high school
education to be accepted by any airline. And while
this is a
minimum requirement, most
airlines prefer either some college education or a
year or two
of business experience.
Most
international airlines consider fluency in a
language an important factor, and a
few
have
special
language
requirements.
A
flight
attendant
must,
of
course,
speak
the
language
of
the
country
in
which
the
airline
is
based.
The
large
international
airlines
require
fluency
in
English.
Most
of
them
have
some
additional
requirements
as
well,
depending on where they fly.
23
In some cases, the language requirement
can be met at some time during service, and
the
airline
helps
the
attendant
to
learn
a
second
or
third
language
by
providing
special
classes. Language
classes are sometimes part of the training
program.
(151
words)
74. Another Route to Take
The United
States is well-known for its network of major
highways designed to help a
driver
get
from
one
place
to
another
in
the
shortest
possible
time.
Although
these
wide
modern
roads
are
generally
smooth,
straight
and
well-maintained,
a
direct
route
is
not
always
the
most
enjoyable
one.
These
highways
generally
connect
large
urban
centers,
which means that
they often become crowded with heavy traffic
during rush hours, when
the
However, there is almost
always another route to take if you are not in a
hurry. Not far
from the new
through the countryside. These
secondary routes may go up steep slopes, along
high cliffs,
or down frightening
hillsides to towns lying in deep valleys. Through
these indirect, longer
routes, the
drivers may have a chance to get a fresh, clean
view of the world.
(160
words)
75. Living in an Apartment
Living
in
an
apartment
while
attending
college
is
advantageous
for
many
students
because it helps them to develop
maturity. For one thing, it promotes self-
confidence and
self-reliance.
To
manage
apartment
living
successfully,
students
have
to
do
their
own
washing
and
cleaning,
and
buy
and
cook
their
own
food.
Since
they
are
faced
with
expenditures they
didn
’
t have at home, such as
rent, utility bills, food and furniture, they
must
also
learn
to
budget
their
money
and
spend
it
wisely.
If
they
do,
they
will
take
an
important step along the road to
maturity. Finally, living in an apartment
stimulates pride
of ownership.
Decorating and furnishing an apartment, however
simply, requires thought
and taste in
the purchase and arrangement of furniture and
other things. Those who have
invested
their time and energy in acquiring such
possessions are apt to take care of them.
(148 words)
76.
Newspapers and Magazines
Most
British
people
begin
their
day
by
reading
newspapers.
In
this
way
they
learn
what
is going on in the world. Sometimes, however, they
don't have time to read the news
carefully and must be satisfied with a
quick look at the front page. There are newspapers
to
satisfy
every
reader.
In
big
cities,
there
are
many
types
of
papers,
with
several
different
editions
every
day.
In
small
towns
there
are
fewer
newspapers
and
perhaps
only
one
edition each day. Most
newspapers have several sections, especially on
Sundays, when the
edition is larger
than usual. There are, in addition to the front
page, the sports section, the
amusement
section, and so on. Another type of publication
which helps keep the population
informed
is
the
magazine.
There
are
news
magazines,
literary
magazines
and
magazines
for a wide range
of other interests. In Britain, there are
publications for every taste and
interest.
(153 words)
24