新世纪研究生英语听说学生用书(下)PART B LESSON ONE

新世纪研究生英语听说学生用 书 关于书的成语关于读书的排比句社区图书漂流公约怎么写关于读书的小报汉书pdf (下)PART B LESSON ONE 新世纪研究生英语听说学生用书(下) PART B LESSON ONE Passage one Population and Resources The population of the world has been increasing faster and faster. In 10,000 B.C., there were probably 10 million people. In A.D. 1, there were 300 million. It took 1750 years for the population to reach 625 million, a little more than double the A.D. 1 figure. In 1990, there were 5.3 billion people. By the year 2000, the world’s population was over 6 billion, and by 2050, it is expected to reach 10 billion. Does the earth have enough natural resources to support this many people? Different scientists give different answers to this question. Some say that there are enough resources to support more than 6 billion people. However, the richest countries, with a small percentage of the world’s population, use most of the resources. If these resources could be distributed more equally around the world, there would be enough for everyone. Other scientists say that we must limit population growth because our resources are limited. Only 10 percent of the earth’s land can be used for farming and another 20 percent for raising animals. It is possible to increase the amount of farmland, but only a little. Some land in developing countries could be more productive if people started using modern farming methods, but this would not increase worldwide production by much. We all know that there is a limited amount of petroleum. There are also limits to the amounts of metals. There is a limit to the amount of water we can use since most of the earth’s water is salt water, and most of the fresh water is frozen at the North and South Poles. It is difficult to say how many people the earth can support, but it will help everyone if we can limit population growth before serious shortages develop. The problem is how to do it. Passage Two The Middle East’s Water Resource Crisis Fresh water, life itself, has never come easy in the Middle East. Ever since the Old Testament when God punished man with 40 days and 40 nights of rain, water supplies here have been dwindling. The rainfall only comes in winter and drains quickly through the semiarid land, leaving the soil to bake and to thirst for next November. The region’s accelerating population growth, expanding agriculture, industrialization, and higher living standards demand more fresh water. Drought and pollution limit its availability. War and mismanagement squander it. Nations like Israel and Jordan are swiftly sliding into that zone where they are using all the water resources available to them. They have only 15 to 20 years left before their agriculture, and ultimately their food security, is threatened. Even amid the scarcity there are "haves" and "have-nots". Compared with the United States, which has a freshwater potential of 10,000 cubic meters a year for each citizen, Iraq has 5,500, Turkey has 4,000, and Syria has little more than 2,800. Egypt’s potential is only 1,100, Israel has 460, and Jordan has less than 260. But these are not firm figures, because upstream use of river water can dramatically alter the potential downstream. Scarcity is only one element of the Middle East’s water crisis. Inefficiency is another, as is the reluctance of some water-poor nations to change priorities from agriculture to less water-intensive enterprises. Some experts suggest that if these nations would share both water technology and resources, they could satisfy the region’s population, currently 159 million. But in this patchwork of ethnic and religious rivalries, the water crisis is not a clear-cut issue. It is entangled in the politics that keep people from trusting and seeking help from one another. Here where water, like truth, is precious, each nation tends to find its own water and supply its own truth. LESSON TWO Passage I Purse Snatching Purse snatching is an increasingly common crime. There are estimated 50 to 100 purse snatchings each month in the New York City subways, the number often swinging widely because of the depredations( 掠夺, 破坏) of a single teenager. When such a professional is in custody(被监禁, 被拘留着), the snatches can decrease by more than 50 a month. One of the favored techniques is to stand between two subway cars and as a train starts pulling out of the station, reach out and pull free a woman’s purse. Recently, a crime analysis officer for the New York Police Department found that purse stealing in Manhattan’s top restaurants was up 35 percent over the previous year. When a woman puts her purse on an empty chair at a table or at her feet beside her chair, she is inviting a purse snatcher to take it. Purse snatchers often work in pairs. When a target in a restaurant is seen, one of them will create some kind of disturbance to gain the victim’s attention. While the woman is looking away from her table, the actual snatcher will lift the purse. A popular technique is for the thief to carry an umbrella with the curved handle down. The umbrella handle suddenly hooks the bag and in an instant it is on the thief’s wrist, or under the coat over his arm if he is a man, and on its way out of the restaurant. Police advise that women in restaurants keep their purse either on their laps or on the floor between their legs. Other purse snatchers who operate in theaters are called "seat tippers", victimizing women who put their purses down on a neighboring empty seat. Others specialize in snatching purses from ladies’ rooms. When a woman is in a toilet stall, her purse should never be placed on the floor or hung on the coat hook on the door. Thieves simply dive under the door and grab the purse on the floor, or stand on the toilet in the next stall and reach over and take the purse off the hook. The snatcher has enough time to escape since the victim can’t immediately pursue the thief. Passage II How Do Handwriting Experts Catch Criminals On the afternoon of July 4, 1995, Mrs. Beatrice Weinberger brought her one-month old baby back from an outing. She left the pram(童车;婴儿车 (亦作: perambulator))outside her house and hurried inside to get the baby a clean nappy. , When she returned a few moments later, the pram was empty and a scrawled(乱涂 潦草地写) note was lying where her baby had been. The note said: "Attention. I badly need money, and can’t get it any other way. Don’t tell the police about this, otherwise I will kill the baby." "Just put $2,000 in small bills in a brown envelope, and place it next to the road lamp at the corner of Albemarle Rd. at exactly 10 o’clock tomorrow (Thursday ) morning." "If everything goes smooth, I will bring the baby back and leave him on the same corner ‘safe and happy’ at exactly 12 noon. No excuse, I can not wait! Your baby-sitter." Despite the kidnapper’s warning, Mrs. Weinberger contacted the police. A small parcel containing broken pieces of newspaper was placed on the corner the following morning. But the kidnapper did not show up. He failed to keep two other "appointments" with the Weinbergers, and left a second note signed "Your baby-sitter". By then, the police felt that the baby was no longer alive. The FBI was called in, and the handwriting experts set to work to try to track down the kidnapper. In both notes an unusual z-shaped stroke was placed at the front of the y in words such as "money" and "baby". Starting with the New York State Police Office, the experts spent the next six weeks carefully going over local records at police offices, factories, hotels, clubs and schools and examining handwriting samples and comparing them with the writing on the kidnapper’s notes. Then, in the middle of August, the experts’ hard efforts paid off. The handwriting of John Rush Blake matched that of the kidnapper’s, especially in the peculiar formation of the ys. (While achieving success is easier said than done , persistence does in fact pay off. 获得成功说起来比做起来容易，然而坚持不懈确实会有好结果。) Not long after, John Blake was arrested for making illegal alcohol. On being shown the handwriting samples, he confessed to kidnapping the baby. He told the police that he had left the baby alive and well in a nearby park on the day after the kidnapping . But when officers hurried to the place, all they found was the baby’s dead body. The criminal was later put into New York’s Sing Sing Prison. Even if John Blake had tried to disguise his handwriting he would still have been caught. No matter how hard someone may try to disguise his handwriting characteristics, the "individuality" of the writer shows through, the very angle at which he or she holds a pen, the way a t is crossed and an / is dotted, the height and size of capital and small letters, the amount of space between words, the use (or misuse) of punctuation marks. All these can identify a person as surely as fingerprints. LESSON THREE Passage One The Application of Computers In Education The best method for improving educational standards is to utilize every tool available including state-of-the-art达到最新技术发展水平的technology. Computers and the Internet have expanded the way in which information can be delivered to the students of today. Today’s networking technologies provide a valuable opportunity to practice new learning techniques. Educators are discovering that computers are facilitating learning. Computer-based communications, or telecommunications can offer many educational opportunities; therefore, educators will need to adapt current teaching methods to incorporate this new media into the classroom. Computers have made a fundamental impact on most industries, providing a competitive advantage that has come to be essential to many businesses. Therefore, schools must also use technology to improve the educational process. School systems often consider purchasing a compute network, and justify its purchase by applying it to routine administrative tasks, such a attendance records and grading. While these tasks are very important, they only show a small part of what technology can do for a school. Technology must go further than simply keeping attendance; it must focus on keeping students interested and productive. Since computers and the Internet have expanded the ways in which education can be delivered to students, it is currently possible to engage in "distance education” through the Internet. Distance education involves audio and video links between teachers and students in remote areas. Video conferencing allows groups to communicate with each other. Desktop video conferencing promises to bring students together from geographic and cultural distances face to face via computer. Not only will the teacher talk to the students, but the students will be able to interact with each other. This will make students more interested in learning. Passage Two E-Commerce The Internet, as a means for commerce, did not become reality until the 1990s. Before this time, it was mainly a tool for the army, and a research device for some American universities. Its popularity grew when it proved to be a fast and efficient means to conduct long distance transactions, as well as an effective way to distribute information. The first advantage that e-commerce possesses is speed. With increased speeds of communication, the delivery time is expedited 加快and that makes the whole transaction from start to finish more efficient. Also, you can find practically any product available for sale on the Internet. Even more significant is the fact that information appearing on the Internet can be changed rapidly. This gives business owners the ability to inform customers of any changes to the service that they are offering. The second advantage of electronic commerce is the opportunity it offers to save on costs. By using the Internet, marketing, distribution, personnel, phone, postage and printing costs, among many others, can be reduced. You can start doing business in cyberspace for as little as $100. The savings, therefore, are tremendous. These funds can then be diverted to marketing and advertising your product or service. Cyberspace knows no national boundaries. That means you can do business all over the world as easily as you can in your own neighborhood. Since the Internet connects everyone in cyberspace, information is transmitted at the speed of sound or the speed of light, depending on your connection. Either way, distance becomes meaningless, which enables you to link to nearly anyone on the globe, and anyone on the globe can link to you. The ability to establish links makes doing business on the Internet attractive to customers in any part of the world. A potential source of trouble is customer concerns with privacy and security. Anything sent over the Internet is sent through several different computers before it reaches its final destination. The concern regarding Internet security and privacy is that unscrupulous hackers can capture credit card or check account data as it is transferred or break into computers that hold the same Part D Extensive listening LESSON FOUR Passage One One day in 1848, a remarkable discovery was made by a carpenter named Marshall. He happened to pick up some bright yellow particles from the water near his sawmill. Not knowing what they were, he took them to his master Mr. Sutter. Sutter immediately realized the importance of the discovery and sent a man to San Francisco to inform the governor of it so that he could get permission to found a settlement on both banks of the river. Unfortunately in the beginning, the man did not believe it. Only after a reporter from a weekly newspaper went to Sutter’s sawmill to make a report, did the news spread all over the USA, and even to Europe. Within a month, thousands and thousands of people hurried towards California to search for the valuable metal. Soldiers deserted the army, sailors left their ships and all sorts of people gave up their jobs so as not to miss the chance of becoming rich. Large number of Europeans joined in the search, too. Crowds of people, ships and wagon trains rushed to the same destination. This was the California Gold Rush. While this went on, families were broken up, husbands were taken away from their wives and children from their parents. On their way to California, lots of worshippers of gold lost their lives before they got a single particle of it. Some of them were killed in storms at sea; some could not stand the extraordinary hardships, and died of hunger, cold or illness. The Gold Rush proved a disaster for Sutter himself. For years he tried to drive the prospectors off his land to keep the entire wealth for himself. The prospectors hated him very much, and did a great deal of damage to his business. All Sutter’s houses were burned down and all his family, except for himself, were killed. At the end of his life, he became a beggar, who continually stopped passers-by in the street to tell them that gold is the devil. Passage Two Functions of Money There is an ancient rhyme about money which goes like this: "How many uses does money have? Four. A means, a measure, a standard, a store." This rhyme forms an excellent basis for a discussion of the main features and functions of money. Money is a means, it is a means of exchange. It enables us to exchange goods and services. Things valued in terms of money become commodities; they can be bought and sold. Money, whenever it is available, provides the opportunity to obtain useful things or replace old things with new ones. The second thing our rhyme tells us is that money is a measure. It serves as a measure of value. It enables us to measure the value of all kinds of goods and services. The items sold by a large store may be very different from each other, but all without exception can be measured by the same measuring rod, namely money. Two things which are not similar in any way may have the same price. Thirdly, money is a standard of value. This means that money itself possesses a value which can remain approximately constant. To serve as a standard, a thing or a substance must remain fixed and unchangeable in comparison with other things. The amount of money in a country should vary, but it should vary in a regular way. It should correspond to the quantity and value of goods and services available for exchange and circulation in that country; if this quantity and value increases, the amount of money in circulation should be proportionately increased. Finally, money is a "store." We store money just as we store other things. Money does not go bad, though in times of financial crisis it may lose some of its value. It enables us to provide for future needs and situations. When we save money weekly or monthly and deposit it in a bank, our savings serve as a store of value in general; they give us the opportunity to make our choices later instead of making them immediately. When we store money we store the power to choose or to decide, so that we can use this power on future occasions. LESSON FIVE Passage One The drive from England to Scotland provides the traveler with many pleasant changes of scenery. As it is a fairly long journey, it is good to be able to travel with a friend who can take turns with you at the wheel. A patriotic Scotsman traveling with English friends may tell them they are going to see the finest scenery in the world in the Highlands. This may sound exaggerated, but on arriving in the Highlands most people readily agree that the scenery is indeed magnificent. The Highlands are, as the name implies, the hilly or mountainous region of the country; they form the greater part of the western half of Scotland. On their first night in Scotland tourists may choose to stay at a hotel in the little town of Callander, which is known as one of "the Gateways to the Highlands". On the following day they can set out to see the various lakes, or rather "lochs", in the neighborhood, and will be delighted with the wild and romantic aspect of the countryside. When they return to their hotels they will be glad to eat a copious "high tea". This is a meal which, in Scotland and many parts of northern England, takes the place of tea and dinner. It consists of one substantial course, such as one would have at dinner, followed by bread and butter, with jam or honey, and some kind of cake or cakes. Tea is drunk with the meal, which is taken at about six o’clock in the evening. One has a light supper later in the evening. The next morning many tourists journey on to the west coast. The road twists and turns, dips and climbs, but is not dangerous. The greatest hazard is the black-faced sheep: these animals are as active and impudent as goats, and frequently wander recklessly into the road. The tourists may also see a herd of long-haired Highland cattle, which look savage but are no more so than ordinary cattle. Eventually the road runs parallel with the sea, along a coastline fringed with little islands and made ragged with rocky bays and the deep inlets that are also called "lochs". Passage Two On the western side of Britain lies one of the most beautiful parts of the British Isles: the Principality of Wales. The Welsh mountains have a beauty which is rugged and forbidding, but the slopes are as green and fertile as the valleys and provide rich pasture for sheep and cows. In central and north Wales, farming is the main occupation, but the valleys of south Wales are very heavily industrialized. Here the wealth of the land lies below the surface in rich coal seams, and the mining villages grew into busy towns around iron and steel foundries, chemical works and oil refineries. Wales is very popular for holidays. Every year, thousands of people spend their summer holidays at the seaside resorts on the north Wales coast or, if they prefer it, enjoy undisturbed peace and quiet in isolated villages remote from town life. Those who like to be energetic will probably choose Snowdonia. This part of the country around Snowdon, the highest peak in the Welsh mountains (and the second highest in Britain), is ideal for climbing and walking holidays. Wales has been called "The Land of Song". The Welsh people are famous for their good voices and it is rare to find a village without at least one choir competing in an eisteddfod or arts festival. The biggest festival of all is the International Eisteddfod held every year in Llangollen in Clwyd. Singers, dancers, musicians and poets come from all over the world to compete for the awards, often wearing colorful national costume. The Welsh girls contribute to the festival gaiety with their national dress --a tall black hat, a scarlet skirt and a starched white apron. The streets of this small country town bustle with the comings and goings of visitors speaking many languages. One of the foreign languages heard will be English, for in north Wales many of the local people speak Welsh as their native tongue. Today, only about a quarter of the Welsh population speak this ancient language as their first language, although many more who use English can understand Welsh as well, and encourage their children to learn it at school. The Welsh people are proud of being Celtic, with an ancient language and a heritage of their own.. LESSON SIX ONE SAT Examination Each year, millions of people around the world apply to study at American colleges or universities. The most widely used college admissions test is called the SAT. More than 3,000,000 of the tests were given in 2001. The SAT was first used for college admissions in 1926. Its purpose was to help college officials identify which students would be successful in college. Critics say the test has not always done this. Research suggests that students from rich families do better on the SAT than students whose parents are poor. For example, many rich students are able to improve their scores on the test after taking costly preparation classes. Critics also say many African-American and Hispanic teenagers score lower on the test than students of other ethnic groups. The College Board is a non-profit higher education association that owns the SAT. It recently announced major changes in the test. It says the new SAT will better test a student’s reasoning and thinking skills. Education experts say the new test will show how well students have learnt material taught in high school. The first change will end analogy questions on the SAT. Analogies are words with meaning that are linked. Critics have said that such questions show only a knowledge of words, not reasoning skills. The analogy questions will be replaced with questions that better show the student’s reading ability. The second major change will add higher level mathematics questions. The final change will add a writing test. Students will have about thirty minutes to write about their reactions to question or statement. In 2001, the president of the University of California, Richard Atkinson, called on his school to stop using the SAT as an entrance requirement. He said the skills it tests are not taught in high school. He said the results of the test do not show if students are prepared to attend college. College Board officials say those comments caused them to move quickly to change the test. However, they say they had been discussing such changes for some time. They say students will begin taking the new SAT in March, 2005. It will affect students planning to enter college in the fall of 2006. TWO Medical Education Men and women in the United States who want to become doctors attend four years of college or university. They usually study science intensively. They study biology, chemistry and other sciences. If they do not, they may have to return to college for more education in science before trying to enter medical school. Some students work for a year or two in a medical or research job before they try to seek a place in a medical college. There are 125 medical colleges in the United States. More than 66,000 students are attending medical colleges. It is difficult to gain entrance to them. In 2001, about 35,000 students applied to medical schools in the United States. About 17,000 were accepted. A medical education is very costly. It costs as much as 30,000 dollars for each year. After entering medical school, students spend the next four years studying only medical sciences. The first two years of medical school are spent mainly in class. The students learn about the body and all its systems. They learn about chemistry and medicines, and they begin studying diseases and how to recognize and treat them. Many students say the first year of medical school is the most difficult. They must remember a great deal of information. For example, many schools require that students remember the names of every bone in the body. By the third year of medical school, students are ready to use their knowledge to begin helping sick people in hospital. These students work under the guidance of experienced doctors. Students observe the treatment of patients. They also examine patients and advise treatment. As the students watch and learn, they think about the kind of medicine they would like to practice when they become doctors. During the fourth year of medical school, students begin seeking to enter a medical training program in a hospital. This training program is called a medical residency. Medical school graduates face strong competition to gain a resident position at the hospitals they want most. Hospitals want the top medical school graduates. Most states require that a person complete at least one year of medical residency before being permitted to take examinations to practice medicine. Some doctors work for many years as residents in hospitals and the length of the residency depends on which medical field they have chosen. LESSON SEVEN ONE How to Increase Business Profits Managers of most businesses want high profits in order to pay high dividends to investors. For this reason, they aim to keep costs as low as possible. They also want to set high prices to gain high revenues. But competition within the industry often prevents them from doing so. Generally, a business will not increase the price of its output if its competitors will not increase their prices. If a business sets its prices higher than those of its rivals, many of its customers will buy the output from its rivals. An important decision managers make is their choice of input-mix---what combination of capital, labor, and raw materials to use in production. The object is to keep production costs as low as possible. If labor costs are high, for example, a firm may invest in automatic machinery so that fewer workers are needed to accomplish the same task. If labor is cheap, the company may decide to employ extra workers instead of buying a machine to do the job. The combination of inputs that permits a firm to produce its goods or services at the lowest possible cost without reducing quality is called the most productive input-mix. The goal of keeping production costs low also affects a company’s choice of location. The resources an industry needs and the customers it serves are rarely close to each other. As a result, a business must transport inputs, outputs, or both. A business also tries to keep transportation costs as low as possible. Transportation costs are based on weight and bulk as well as distance. The location a company selects thus depends on whether the company’s product is heavier or lighter than the materials used to make it. The soft drink industry, which adds water to other ingredients to make its products, is an example of an industry that produces weight-gaining products. Soft drink companies choose locations near their customers. The paper industry is an example of industries that produce weight-losing products. Many such industries are located near sources of raw materials. Passage Two Advertisements can be thought of as "the means of making known in order to buy or sell goods or services". An advertisement aims to increase people’s awareness and arouse interest. It tries to inform and to persuade. Various media are all used to spread the message. Advertising in newspapers offers a fairly cheap method, and magazines are used to reach special sections of the market. The cinema and commercial radio are useful for local markets. Television, although more expensive, can be very effective. Public notices are fairly cheap and more permanent in their power of attraction. Other ways of increasing consumer interest are through exhibitions and trade fairs, as well as direct mail advertising. There can be no doubt that the growth in advertising is one of the most striking features of the Western world in this century. Many businesses such as those handling frozen foods, liquor, tobacco and medicine have been built up largely by advertising. We might ask whether the cost of an advertisement is paid for by the producer or by the customer. Since advertising forms part of the cost of production, which has to be covered by the selling price, it is clear that it is the customer who pays for advertisements. However, if large scale advertising leads to increased demand, production costs are reduced, and the customer pays less. It is difficult to measure exactly the influence of advertising on sales. When the market is growing, advertising helps to increase demand. When the market is shrinking, advertising may prevent a bigger fall in sales than would occur without its support. What is clear is that businesses would not pay large sums for advertising if they were not convinced of its value to them. LESSON EIGHT PASSAGE ONE Tax There are many different kinds of taxes paid in the U.S. The most common tax is sales tax. When someone buys something, he pays the price of his purchase plus a small additional percentage. This percentage is the sales tax. The revenue from the sales tax goes to the state government to help pay for public schools, public safety, roads, parks and benefits for the poor. Each state sets its own tax percentage. Some states are considerably lower than others. In some states there is no sales tax. A second type of tax is income tax. This tax is a percentage of all the money earned by a family each year. Americans pay income taxes to the federal government which uses the revenue for national expenses such as defense, help for the needy and other public services. Some states also have a state income tax. Income tax, like other taxes, is usually graduated. This means the tax percentage increases as a family’s income increases. A third kind of tax is property tax. This tax is paid by anyone who owns land or a house. The amount of the tax is based on the property’s value. The revenue from this tax goes to the local governments for schools and community services. In addition people must pay luxury tax when they purchase certain things such as cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. A fifth kind of tax is inheritance tax. When someone dies, usually his family inherits the dead person’s wealth and property. However, those who inherit must pay a percentage of this wealth to the government as an inheritance tax. As we have heard, there are five kinds of taxes that Americans pay. Most Americans don’t want any more taxes. PASSAGE TWO Religion The freedom to choose his or her own religious faith and to worship according to individual conscience is the right of every American. The first amendment to the Constitution of the United States says: "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof... ." Americans in every state have the same freedom to worship. One of the biggest increases in church membership in the United States occurred between 1950 and 1970. Today about 60 of every 100 Americans are members of a church or temple. Only nine percent say they are not religious at all. The country’s 219 religious denominations are organized into more than 341,000 local congregations. Protestants outnumber other religious groups: 76.8 million list themselves as Protestants, while 52 million are Roman Catholics, 3.9 million are members of the Jewish faith, and 4 million are in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Both children, more than 45 million of them, and adults attend classes in religious study provided by various religious groups. No public educational institution can give religious instruction, because of the constitutional separation of church and state. But this does not preclude teaching the history of religion and related courses in many schools. Each week, too, radio and television programs of a religious nature are presented by the various faiths. And the Bible remains one of the most popular books in America; about nine million are sold or distributed each year. Support of the churches and synagogues comes from voluntary donations by their members. The government gives no direct subsidy to any faith. LESSON NINE PASSAGE ONE College Search Student: Dear Professor, can you tell me what is the first thing that I should do to start my college search? Thank you. Professor: Finding the best college for you begins with you. With thousands of colleges and universities out there, the best way to choose the one for you is by What are process of elimination. First, ask yourself some very important questions: --you looking for in a school? Do you want to attend a large university or a small private college? Or would you rather go to a junior college or a technical college? Do you want to stay close to home? Or is it time for a change, a new city, a new state? What can you afford to spend on education? How much can your parents afford to pay? Are you going to receive any scholarships? Are you willing to take out a student loan if needed? What are you thinking about as a major? If you change your mind, will your school of choice have a wide range of majors for you to choose from? This list could go on and on but I hope you get the idea. Start looking at those schools that have characteristics that are important to you! Once you’ve narrowed the search, take advantage of college representatives who visit your school by asking them questions and getting literature from them. Finally, visit your top choices. Seeing the campus, its students and some of its faculty should give you a good idea if it’s right for you. Hope this helps. Good luck. Student: Thanks a lot, Professor. PASSAGE TWO How to Get a Master’s degree Mary: Do you know how many credits are required to get a master’s degree? Peter: Usually about 36 credits. If you take five courses per term, you’ll have enough credits after just two semesters of work. Usually each course is worth three credits. To get the remaining credits you either prepare a thesis or take two more courses. Mary: I am afraid I might find that course load a little too heavy. Peter: Well, many foreign students carry a light load especially in the first term. Mary: What’s the rule about auditing courses? Peter: As a full-time student, you have the right to audit whatever courses that might interest you. Mary: Is there any credit given for audited courses? Peter: No, no credit is given and no record is kept of your audited courses. But you have to pay the same fee as the regular students and the professor counts you in the roll call too. You don’t have to do any assignments or take any tests. Mary: Is there anything else besides 36 credits for the master’s degree? Peter: You have to take an oral examination. Mary: What is an oral exam? Peter: Well, usually three of your professors make a committee. This committee is called by your advisor. They ask you different questions about your thesis if you submitted one. If not, they ask you questions about the courses you took. Mary: How long does that take? Peter: About two hours. If you don’t pass that test, you’re not allowed to graduate. Mary: Sounds terrible. Do they need to do the same thing for a doctorate degree? Peter: Yes, but you have to submit a dissertation. Mary: Thank you for being so helpful. Peter: Don’t mention it. Lots of luck to you. LESSON TEN PASSAGE ONE Women in Southern Europe It is not often realized that women held a high place in southern European societies in the 10th and 11th centuries. As a wife, the woman was protected by the setting up of a dowry or decimum. Admittedly, the purpose of this was to protect her against the risk of desertion, but in reality its function in the social and family life of the time was much more important. The decimum was the wife’s right to receive a tenth of all her husband’s property. The wife had the right to withhold consent in all transactions the husband would make. And more than just a right, the documents showed that she enjoyed a real power or decision, equal to that of her husband. In no case did the documents indicate any degree of difference in the legal status of husband and wife. The wife shared in the management of her husband’s personal property, but the opposite was not always true. Women seemed perfectly prepared to defend their own inheritance against husbands who tried to exceed their rights, and on occasion they showed a fine fighting spirit. A case in point is that of Maria Vivas, a woman of Barcelona. Having agreed with her husband Miro about selling a field she had inherited, for the needs of the household, she insisted on compensation. None being offered, she succeeded in dragging her husband to the scribe to have a contract drawn up assigning her a piece of land from Miro’s personal inheritance. The unfortunate husband was obliged to agree, as the contract said. "for the sake of peace." Either through the dowry or through being hot-tempered, the wife knew how to win herself a powerful economic position within the context of the family. PASSAGE TWO American Women Women in America have achieved substantial gains in terms of social and economic equality with men particularly in the present generation. Statistically, they outnumber men by about 51.4 to 48.6 percent and they live longer. An American woman can choose virtually any career she wants, and increasing numbers are entering the fields of law, medicine and government. Politics is especially appealing to women who wish to effect social changes. Since 1916, 120 women have served in the Congress of the United States, 7 women have been governors of their states, and 9 have been presidential cabinet officers. During the current congressional session 23 women are serving elected terms in the House of Representatives, and 2 women are U. S. Senators. 993 women represent their constituents in state legislatures, and many hold important positions in national, state and local governments. About 48 percent of the total labor force is female. The largest group of women is employed in offices as clerks and secretaries; more workers--almost 15 million -- than 5 million work in industrial plants. Women comprise 64 percent of medical and other health care workers, 70 percent of teachers in elementary and secondary schools and 98 percent of stenographers, typists and secretaries. Some American women are top business executives, and many own businesses. The science professions are attracting more women than ever before. Recent years have seen a rapid increase in the number of women joining the paid labor force. Today, almost 54 percent of all women of working age are employed. Over 50 percent of working women are married, and 60 percent of working wives have school-age children. In order to develop their careers, working women often marry later and have fewer children. Although husbands are increasingly sharing in housework, many women still carry a double load as they continue to fulfill their traditional responsibilities for homemaking and child rearing. LESSON ELEVEN PASSAGE ONE William Jefferson Clinton During the administration of William Jefferson Clinton, the U.S. enjoyed more peace and economic well-being than at any other time in its history. He was the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second term. He could point to the lowest unemployment rate in modern times, the lowest inflation in 30 years, the highest home ownership in the country’s history, dropping crime rates in many places, and reduced welfare rolls. He proposed the first balanced budget in decades and achieved a budget surplus. As part of a plan to celebrate the millennium in 2000, Clinton called for a great national initiative to end racial discrimination. He sought legislation to upgrade education, to protect the jobs of parents who must care for sick children, to restrict handgun sales, and to strengthen environmental rules. President Clinton was born William Jefferson BIy the IV on August 19,1946, in Hope, Arkansas, three months after his father died in a traffic accident. When he was four years old, his mother wed Roger Clinton. In high school, he took the family name. He excelled as a student and as a saxophone player and once considered becoming a professional musician. As a delegate to Boys Nation while in high school, he met President John Kennedy in the White House Rose Garden. The encounter led him to enter a life of public service. Clinton graduated from Georgetown University and in 1968 won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University. He received a law degree from Yale University in 1973, and entered politics in Arkansas. Clinton was elected Arkansas Attorney General in 1976, and won the governorship in 1978. After losing a bid for a second term, he regained the office four years later, and served until he won the 1992 presidential race. In 1998, as a result of issues surrounding personal indiscretions with a young female White House intern, Clinton was the second U.S. president to be impeached by the House of Representatives. He was tried in the Senate and found not guilty of the charges brought against him. He apologized to the nation for his actions and continued to have unprecedented popular approval ratings as president. PASSAGE TWO William Shakespeare Most people have heard of Shakespeare and probably know something of the plays that he wrote. However, not many people know much about the life of this remarkable man, except that he was born in the market town of Stratford-upon-Avon. We know nothing of his school life and nothing certain is known of what he did between the time he left school and his departure for London. According to a local legend, he was apprenticed to a Stratford butcher, but did not like the life and for this reason decided to leave Stratford. Whatever caused him to leave the town of his birth, the world can be grateful that he did so. What is certain is that he set foot on the road to fame when he arrived in London. It is said that at first he was without money or friends there, that he earned a little by taking care of the horses of the gentlemen who attended the plays at the theater. In time, as he became a familiar figure to the actors in the theater, they stopped and spoke to him. They found his conversation so brilliant that finally he was invited to join their company. Earlier than 1592 there was no mention of Shakespeare either as actor or as playwright, and the name of the theater he worked in was not known. However, by this date he had become one of the three leading members of a company of actors called the "Lord Chamberlain’s Men". From what we know of his later life, it is clear that Shakespeare’s connection with the theater made him a wealthy man, since his plays attracted large audiences and he shared in the profits. Towards the end of the sixteenth century he bought a large property in Stratford. It is not certain when he went back there to live, but it was probably around 1603. He is not recorded as having acted in any play after that date, though he continued writing. No less than eleven of his plays were produced during the next ten years. Shakespeare died in 1616. Some years earlier he chose a gravestone under which he was to be buried. He had a curse engraved on this stone which threatened to bring misfortune on anyone who might remove his body from his grave. LESSON TWELVE Passage One A hutong is an ancient city alley typical of Beijing. Surrounding the Forbidden City, many were built during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. In the prime of these dynasties the emperors, in order to establish supreme power for themselves, planned the city and arranged the residential areas according to the etiquette systems of the Zhou Dynasty. The center of the city of Beijing was the royal palace--the Forbidden City. One kind of hutong, usually referred to as the regular hutong, was near the palace to the east and west and arranged in orderly fashion along the streets. Most of the residents of these hutongs were imperial kinsmen and aristocrats. Another kind, the simple and crude hutong, was mostly located far to the north and south of the a palace. The main buildings in the hutong were almost all quadrangles---building complex formed by four houses around a quadrangular courtyard. The quadrangles varied in size and design according to the social status of the residents. The big quadrangles of hig h-ranking officials and wealthy merchants were specially built with roof beams and pillars all beautifully carved and painted, each with a front yard and back yard. However, the ordinary people’s quadrangles were simply built with small gates and low houses. Hutongs, in fact, are passageways formed by many closely arranged quadrangles of different sizes. The specially built quadrangles all face south for better lighting; as a result, a lot of hutongs run from east to west. Between the big hutongs many small ones go north and south for convenient passage. In recent years, the houses in many hutongs have been pulled down and replaced by modern buildings. Many hutong dwellers have moved to new housing. In the urban district of Beijing today, houses along hutongs still occupy one third of the total area. The hutong today is fading into the shade for both tourists and inhabitants. The White Wedding Dress Most American brides choose to be married in white. The color has long been associated with weddings because of its supposed symbolic link to virginity. Viewed historically, the link between white and virginity is not as absolute as is often supposed. Brides in ancient Rome married in white because the color signified joy. They wore a bright orange veil, which suggested the flames of passion. In the western Catholic tradition, too, white has always been the color of joy. In some other societies, white is used to denote the significance of various ceremonies, among them funerals as well as weddings. For example, among the Andaman Islanders, white indicates simply a change of status; and for the traditional Chinese it is a symbolic representation of hope in funerals. Chinese brides usually wear a red dress during the wedding ceremony. The "traditional" white wedding dress, moreover, is a recent innovation. It did not become popular until about the early 19th century. Its popularity may be due less to its association with virginity than to showing off one’s privilege. Most Victorian brides wore traditional national costumes. The white dress, an impractical innovation, became popular among the upper classes precisely because of its defects. Victorian brides from privileged backgrounds wore white to indicate that they were rich enough to wear a dress for one day only. Later, the white wedding dress also became popular among brides from somewhat less privileged backgrounds, but till the first part of the 20th century they would put on their white dress on special occasions throughout the first year of their marriage. The custom of locking it away after the wedding is less than a hundred years old. LESSON THIRTEEN PASSAGE ONE Cloning Mount Vernon’s Trees Tree experts have begun an effort to rebuild forests near the home of America’s first president, George Washington. Earlier this month, workers gathered buds from tall, old trees on the grounds of George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon. It is in the state of Virginia, near Washington, D.C. The experts hope to produce genetic copies, or clones, of the trees and plant them on the property. Tree experts David Milarch and his son, Jared, are leading the efforts. As a special project, David and Jared Milarch offered to make clones of the thirteen oldest trees at Mount Vernon. They are huge, beautiful trees. George Washington supervised the planting of these trees more than two hundred years ago. The Milarch family plans to grow fifty copies of each tree in tree nurseries in Alabama and Oregon. They will return the trees to be planted at Mount Vernon in two years. Some copies of the trees will be sent to the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts for safe keeping. Grafting is the name of the process used to clone trees. It has been done for thousands of years. A method called the T-bud technique often is used to copy trees. Workers begin by cutting the bark, or covering, on the side of a young tree. The cut is made in the shape of a cross, or the letter T. Next, the workers find a bud, or small growth, on the tree to be copied. A small piece of wood under the bud is carefully removed from the tree. The bud is then put into the hole on the other tree. The bud is tightly tied in place and begins to grow. Mount Vernon officials say George Washington was interested in his tree collection. The officials add that he was a strong environmentalist. They say the old trees are important because they existed when America’s first president was alive. PASSAGE TWO Dinosaur Noses An American scientist named Lawrence Witmer, of Ohio University, has found that many images of dinosaurs may be wrong. For years, pictures of the ancient creatures have shown their nose openings near the top of the head. The new study suggests the dinosaurs’ nostrils were just above the mouth. Dinosaurs used their nostrils to breathe, smell and control their body temperature. The new theory could help explain how the huge creatures were able to survive by using their sense of smell to find food, a mate and possible enemies. Many of the early dinosaur remains recovered by scientists were from huge creatures called sauropods. Scientists believed that sauropods must have lived in water because their bodies were so huge and their necks were so long. Nostrils high on the head would have permitted the dinosaurs to breathe while partly under water. The discovery of a sauropod head bone in 1884 added support for this belief. The skull had a large hole at the top of the head. Professor Witmer says experts learned years later that sauropods generally were not sea creatures. But he says the earlier theory about nostril position was extended to other dinosaurs. Only dinosaur bones have survived as fossil remains. Scientists have never recovered dinosaur remains of soft tissue. Scientists interested in the physical appearance of dinosaurs often study birds and animals similar to the ancient creatures. Professor Witmer examined forty-five kinds of birds, crocodiles and lizards that are the closest living relatives to dinosaurs. He noted the placement of soft tissue through hundreds of x-ray images and by cutting pieces of tissue. Soft tissue leaves markings on bone. Professor Witmer used this information to make a map of the likely position of soft tissue in the dinosaurs’ noses. He found that the birds and reptiles he studied share a common nostril position. Professor Witmer found that the hole scientists once thought was a nostril in dinosaurs is just one part of the larger nasal passage. He found that the nostrils were farther forward and closer to the mouth. He says this new nostril position was true for all dinosaurs. &n bsp; LESSON FOURTEEN The Famous Bicycle Racer On July 28th, 2002, American Lance Armstrong won the most famous bicycle race in the world, the Tour de France. Experts say the race is one of the most difficult competitions in all sports. And Lance Armstrong has won it four times. Thirty-year-old Lance Armstrong is only the second American to win the famous race. The first was Greg LeMond. LeMond won three races with a European team. Armstrong has won his four races as a member of the United States Postal Service team. Experts say Lance Armstrong is important in American sports history not just because he has won four Tour de France races. He is important because he has done it as a cancer survivor. In 1997, doctors found that Lance Armstrong had cancer of the reproductive organs. The cancer had spread to his lungs and his brain. Doctors removed the affected testicle. They also operated on his brain. Later, Armstrong was treated with powerful and dangerous anti-cancer drugs. Lance Armstrong survived the cancer and the treatments. His condition improved. Armstrong said he survived because he had excellent doctors and because he truly believed he would get better. He also considers himself to be very lucky. Lance Armstrong began riding his racing bicycle as soon as he was feeling better. Then he began racing. He again became one of the top bicycle racers in the world. No one thought he could be good enough to win the Tour de France, however. But he did. He won his first Tour de France race in 1999. He has won every Tour de France for the past four years. After winning his fourth Tour de France, Armstrong said that he will continue to compete in the race for two more years. After that, he wants to spend more time with his wife, son and two daughters. But winning many races is not what Lance Armstrong says he wants to be remembered for. He wants people to remember that the winner is a cancer survivor. Lance Armstrong says his Tour de France victories are a message to all cancer survivors. That message says that they can return to what they were doing before the disease affected them and become even better. The Williams Sisters Recently, two young American women played against each other for the top prize in professional tennis ?the Women’s Championship at Wimbledon, England. The two women are sisters. Venus Williams is twenty-two years old. Serena is twenty. Earlier this month, Serena defeated Venus to win the championship at Wimbledon. That victory was perhaps the most important event in professional tennis. And it was only one of many victories in the past three years. Serena had already won the French Open Tennis Championship before her win in England. Serena’s recent victories mean that one of the Williams sisters has won seven of the last twelve major international tennis tournaments. Venus won the Wimbledon Championship in 2000 and 2001. She also won the United States Open Championship in both of those years. And the two sisters also won the women’s doubles match at Wimbledon earlier this month. Tennis experts say Richard Williams is the main reason that his daughters are the two top players in women’s professional tennis. He taught them how to play the game and he taught them well. Both women say their father is the reason for their success. About 15 years ago, he told Venus that she was going to be one of the best tennis players in the world. He then told Venus and Serena that one day they would compete for the professional tennis championship at Wimbledon. No one would have believed Richard Williams at the time. The Williams family lived in a poor area of Los Angeles, California. And only one other African-American woman had ever won the championship at Wimbledon. That was Althea Gibson in the 1950s. Critics say the two sisters do not play their best tennis against each other. The Williams sisters deny this. But they say that they know each other’s game extremely well because they have played against each other since they were children. Sports reporters say the two Williams sisters are not only great tennis players. They are also intelligent and strong young women. One reporter asked Serena if Venus was upset or angry about losing to her sister. Serena looked a little confused. Then she said, "No, Venus is not angry. She is happy for me. We will always be family first, and then tennis players." LESSON FIFTEEN Passage One The Federal Bureau of Investigation is the main investigating agency of the United States Department of Justice. The justice department recently announced new measures to help the FBI fight terrorism. For many years, FBI agents investigated threats to national security. Now, however, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller has told Congress that the Bureau’s main responsibility must be to protect the United States from terrorist attacks. The justice department recently announced a major reorganization of the FBI. The size of the agency will be increased. FBI agents also will have new powers to investigate inside the United States. Most of the reforms are to improve the FBI’s ability to gather and study intelligence information about terrorists planning attacks on the United States. The changes are in reaction to recent criticism of the FBI. Many people have questioned its actions in relation to the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001. The FBI plans to hire 900 more agents. They include people skilled in computer technology, science and languages. They will join about 11,500 other FBI agents. A central Office of Intelligence will be established in the FBI’s Washington headquarters. The FBI has already appointed a number of officials to intelligence positions. FBI Director Mueller and justice department officials say the new rules will greatly improve FBI performance. For example, commanders at agency offices will now be able to order investigations that are limited in time. In the past, they needed permission from FBI headquarters to do this. The commanders can also start limited investigations when no crime has taken place. Eviden ce gathered during this time could help launch extended investigations. In addition, agents will be able to gather information about religious and political organizations from the Internet and from libraries. And agents will be able to observe activities in public places, including religious centers. Some civil rights groups, however, say the new rules interfere with traditional American rights. They say privacy and free speech might be threatened. Critics of the new rules say the FBI might investigate political dissenters without any evidence of wrongdoing. Many American Muslims say they fear the possibility of FBI agents targeting them unfairly. ii. Listen to the passage again and complete the paragraph below. According to FBI Director Mueller and Justice Department officials, the new rules will 1) greatly improve FBI performance. Commanders at agency offices will now be able to 2) order investigations that are limited in time. They can also start limited investigations 3) when no crime has taken place. In addition, agents will be able to gather information about 4) religious and political organizations from the Internet and from libraries. And they will be able to 5) observe activities in public places, including PASSAGE TWO The United States Senate has given final congressional approval for a project to bury nuclear waste material under Yucca Mountain in the state of Nevada. The project calls for burying more than 70,000 tons of radioactive nuclear waste material. The material includes used nuclear fuel from power centers and waste from the production of nuclear weapons. The waste is now stored at power centers around the country. However, these power centers have little storage space left. The federal government owns Yucca Mountain. No one lives there. It is in an extremely dry area more than 145 kilometers northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. The dispute about burying nuclear waste under Yucca Mountain has continued for many years. Bush Administration officials support the nuclear waste burial project. They say it is scientifically acceptable. They say the area is a good place to bury nuclear waste because of its lack of population and low rainfall. They also say placing all of the country’s nuclear waste in one place would help protect against terrorist attacks in other parts of the country. Supporters of the plan say it is important for the future of the nuclear power industry. However, there is much opposition to the plan. Opponents include environmental groups, Nevada state officials and many members of Congress. They say the area is near potentially active volcanoes and has experienced earthquakes. Movements in the earth could spread the radioactive material. Opponents say the rock might not be able to hold the waste and keep it from entering water underground. Opponents also say the dangerous nuclear waste would have to be transported by trucks and trains across about forty states. They fear accidents or threats from terrorists could endanger the population in many areas. Now that Congress has approved the plan, the Energy Department must request and receive permission for the project from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Energy Department must provide evidence about the safety of the project. Supporters of the project hope it will begin in 2010. However, opponents say they will continue to fight against it.