全新版第一册,听力原文unit two

Part B

How to Improve Your Conversation Skills

To speak to people in a foreign language requires courage and a willingness to make errors. Some people are so afraid of making mistakes that they never open their mouths. And that's the biggest mistake of all. Now if you have courage and are ready to make a few errors, what do you say?

First of all, you have to open the conversation. Finding an appropriate topic is half the battle. Some topics, such as the weather and news, work well. But others, such as age, money or people's appearance do not. The following are some good ways to open a conversation.

Weather -- It sure is cold today, isn't it?

News -- Did you hear about that terrible forest fire?

A conversation in a foreign language doesn't always go smoothly. Sometimes your partner talks too fast and you find it difficult to follow. Not to worry, though. You can always ask your partner to repeat what he has said or to speak more slowly. For example, \"Excuse me, but could you say that again? I didn't catch it.\" Or \"Could you speak more slowly, please?\"

At the end of a conversation you need to find a way to close it in a polite way.

\"Well, I really need to be going\by people to end a conversation.

Questions:

1. What is the biggest mistake of all according to the passage?

2. What does the speaker mean by saying \"finding an appropriate topic is half the battle\"?

3. How to end a conversation according to the passage?

4. Which of the following does the speaker intend to convey to the listeners?

Part C

Smile When You Read This

How good is your memory? Answer these four questions: What did you have for breakfast yesterday? What clothes did you wear last Friday? Who did you talk to yesterday? Where did you go last Saturday? If you can answer all four questions, your memory is very good.

Memory is important for learning language skills. Education specialists in England want to help people improve their reading abilities. They want students to remember the books and articles they read. The specialists found something to

help: facial expressions. They gave ten students a happy article to read. Five of the students read the happy article while smiling. Five students read the happy article while frowning. Then they answered comprehension questions. The smiling students remembered more of the happy article than the frowning students.

Then the specialists gave ten students another article to read. It was an angry letter to the editor of a newspaper. Five students read the angry article while smiling, and five students read the angry article while frowning. Which group remembered better? You're right. The frowning students.

The specialists don't know why facial expressions help memory. They are continuing to study the relationship between the mind and the body. Until they find the answer, keep smiling (or frowning?)!

Statements:

1. If one can answer all the four questions, his memory is thought to be good.

2. The smiling students could remember more happy articles than the frowning students.

3. Education specialists from England haven't found the best way to help people improve reading abilities.

4. The specialists are trying to explain the reason why facial expressions can

help memory.

5. According to the speaker, facial expressions might affect a person's memory.

6. In the second group five students who read the angry letter while smiling remembered less.

Part D

1. Beside Oneself

Many expressions may be used to describe someone who is excited. One such expression is to be \"beside oneself\". You can be beside yourself with anger or beside yourself with happiness, although usually not both at the same time. If you are beside yourself, you are filled with excitement.

The dictionary tells us that \"beside\" means \"next to\expression \"beside oneself\" describes something that is really not possible. You cannot be next to yourself. Some language experts, however, think the expression probably comes from an old belief that through magic, you could indeed be next to yourself. Spirits were believed to be able to have two of the same person appear, especially if that person was excited.

Today, you might hear a husband say, \"When my wife told me we were going to have a baby, I was beside myself with joy.\" Or someone might tell you he was

beside himself with anger because he had just lost his job.

When you are full of joy or are extremely excited about something, you may do something else that is strange. You may \"flip your lid\". A lid is the cover that prevents something from escaping from a container. A lid on a cooking pot, for example, keeps the heat from escaping. To flip something is to turn it over. So when you \"flip your lid\

You can \"flip your lid\" over something you like very much. A young man, for example, might flip his lid over a pretty, young woman. Or you can \"flip your lid\" if something makes you very angry.

In recent years, the word \"flip\" itself has come to mean the same thing as \"flip your lid\". It is common to hear a girl say she \"flipped\" over a new boyfriend.

An expression that means something quite similar is to \"lose your head\". The head is believed to be connected to reason and careful thought. Thus to \"lose one's head\" is to act without thinking, to be out of control.

Questions:

1. What condition does the expression \"beside oneself\" describe today?

2. What is meant by the expression \"flip your lid\"?

3. What is the meaning of the word \"flip\"?

4. What may happen to someone who loses his head?

5. What does the passage mainly discuss?

2.

Studying in the U.S.

Suppose you have the chance to study in the U.S. one day, you will find the first semester of college is always the most difficult, finding out what classes are like, what your reading load will be, how many papers you must write, etc. Organizing your time will be difficult, too. How much time do you have to devote to studying every day, how can you clean, cook and study and have time left to visit friends?

During your first semester you will also encounter language difficulties. If you cannot understand your teachers or that they are speaking too quickly, don't hesitate to ask them to slow down or speak more clearly.

Spoken English is very different from written English. It is full of idiomatic expressions that make absolutely no sense to people whose knowledge of spoken English is less than fluent.

Listening to American students talk, listening to television and radio, and using the language labs at school will help you break through the idiom barrier

quickly.