最新task1~task3新视野大学英语视听说教程

Unit1

Task 1: Soft answers turn away wrath.

Mary: Dam! You’re spilled red wine on me. My new dress is ruined.

John: I’ m terrible sorry! What can I do to help? Here’s some water to wash it off. Mary: Stop splashing water on me! Oh, this is so embarrassing! I’m a mess.

John: Well, you do look a little upset. Please don’t blow up. Don’t lose your cool.

Mary: Hmm, you’ve got the nerve talking like that! Who shouldn’t fly off the handle?

This dress cost a fortune.

John: You look really cute when you’re mad. I kid you not. Some people do look

attractive when they are in a rage.

Mary: This is very expensive dress. I saved for months to buy it, and now it’s ruined.

Look at this stain!

John: Accidents do happen. Give me your dress, and I’ll take it to the cleaners.

Mary: Sure! You want me to take it off right here in public and give it to you? I don’t

even know you!

John: This might be a really goof time to get acquainted. I’m John Owen.

Mary: Mmm, at least you’re polite. I guess I really shouldn’t have flared up. After all,

it was an accident. I’m Mary Harvey.

John: Come on. I’ll take you home. You can change your clothes, and I’ll get the

dress cleaned for you.

Mary: Now you’re talking. Thanks. You’re a real gentleman.

John: You’d better believe it. I’m glad to see that you’ve cooled down. Feel look a

bite to eat afterward? I’m starving.

Mary: Ok. You’re pretty good. I’m not nearly as mad. If you can get this stain out, I’ll

be very happy.

John: I’ll try my best. But if I can’t get the stain out, please don’t let your happiness

turn to wrath.

Keys: 1D 2.A 3.C 4.B 5.C

Task 2: Big John is coming! Script

A bar owner in the Old West has just hired a timid bartender. This (S1) owner of the establishment is giving his new hire some instructions on (S2) running the place. He tells the timid man, “If you ever hear that Big John is coming to town, (S3) drop everything and run for the hills! He’s the biggest, nastiest (S4) outlaw who’s ever lived!”

A few weeks pass (S5) uneventfully. But one afternoon, a local cowhand comes running through town (S6) yelling, “Big John is coming! Run for your (S7) lives!” When the bartender leaves the bar to start running, he is knocked to the ground by several townspeople rushing out of town. (S8) As he’s picking himself up, he sees a

large man, almost seven feet tall. He’s muscular, and is growing as he approaches the bar.

He steps up to the door, orders the poor barkeep inside, and demands, “I want a beer NOW!”

He strikes his heavy fist on the bar, splitting it in half. (S9) The bartender nervously hands the big man a beer, hands shaking. He takes the beer, bites the top of the bottle off, and downs the beer in one gulp.

As the terrified bartender hides behind the bar, the big man gets up to leave, “Do you want another beer?” the bartender asks in a trembling voice.

“Dang it, I don’t have time!” the big man yells, (S10) “I got to get out of town! Don’t you hear Big John is coming?”

Task3: A View of Happiness

Script

Dr. Smith has proposed a reasonable, if perhaps somewhat oversimplifies, view of happiness. According to his theory, happiness might be described as a state if balance. And when human or certain animals achieve that balance, they rend to remain in that condition in order to repeat the happy feeling.

To illustrate this, we may study two magnets. When their positive and negative poles meet, they are comfortably joined, and they remain there. In other words, they have attained a balance or state of happiness. If on the other hand, one of the poles is reversed, and positive pole is presses against positive pole, there is resistance, instability, imbalance a state of unhappiness.

Animals with some degree of intelligence seem to find happiness in reinforcement. Once they have gained one or more of their goals such as food, and water, they learn to repeat the actions that led to satisfaction of those goals. This repetition or reinforcement produces a state of balance or sense of happiness.

According to this theory, only animals with a significant capacity to learn should be able to experience happiness. But in truth learning can take place through surprisingly simple short-term action such as scratching an itch, followed by pleasure, followed by more scratching, and so on. Thus learning can occur with almost no conscious thought.

For human beings, blessed with the ability to reason, goals are not limited to the short-term satisfaction of needs. Indeed, there is a strong link between happiness and the fulfillment of long-term goals. Even if human strive for goals that are more complex and longer-term than the animals’ goals, once those goals are gained, happiness is reinforced.

Keys: 1D 2.C3. B 4.D 5.A

Unit2

Task 1: A Friendly Stylist

Stylist: Morning, sir. This chair, please. What can I do for you? Nick: A simple haircut: short on the back and sides.

Stylist: Very good. I can, of course, do something fashionable for only $60. Nick: 60 dollars! That’s highway robbery—twice what I ordinarily pay.

Stylist: Perhaps, sir. But your haircuts haven’t been in harmony with your character.

Your hair is at war with your soul. Nick: I’ve never heard of such a thing.

Stylist: If I may say, I’m an expert at matching hairstyle to personalities. Believe me;

you’re suffering a “disjunction”.

Nick: A disjunction? What the devil is a disjunction? Stylist: Your hair does not match you.

Nick: This is utter nonsense. However, I’d like to hear how you’d solve this so-called problem.

Stylist: Your character is artistic, imaginative. But your hair is dull. I can correct that

imbalance in seconds.

Nick: Okay, let me see what can you do about the…uh…disjunction, as you call it. Stylist: We’re going to use scissors to create peaks, which we’ll keep in place with a liberal helping of gel….This tuft in the back we’ll braid into a pigtail. Now, it’s the new you!

Nick: I love it. It’s just like me: imaginative and artistic. Now what are you doing?

What’s wrong? Don’t you see harmony in my new hairstyle?

Stylist: Something’s preventing your hairstyle from being a true fashionable

statement.

Nick: For heaven’s sake, tell me what’s missing.

Stylist: Streaks. By putting in a few yellow streaks in your hair, it will become a work of art. Streaking will cost you more, but…

Nick: Do it. Forget the cost. But, by the way, what is the total getting to be? How much am I paying to avoid disjunction?

Stylist: That’s…$135. Sir? Sir, are you all right? Oh, he fainted.

Keys: 1C.A 3.D4.B 5.A For Reference:

1. It means there is no match between you and your hair. 2. That’s…$135. Sir? Sir, are you all right? Oh, he fainted.

Task 2: The Voice Lift

After the face-lift, the forehead tightened, and the (S1) nose job, something still might be revealing your age: your (S2) voice.

For patients who think their trembly, hoarse words don’t (S3) match their newly face and figure, there’s a procedure that claims to make them (S4) sound younger too: the voice lift.

There are two general kinds of voice lifts. In some cases, implants (S5) inserted through an incision in the (S6) neck bring the vocal cords closer together. Doctors also use injections of (S7) fat or other substances to plump up the cords, so that the voice sounds younger.

(S8) The voice lift is becoming more widely known among an aging population, who try to make themselves sound younger.

“I speak in a great deal, or I was shouting, on a particular day, at the end of the day, I would feel exhausted,” said Robert Brown, 75, (S9) a retired construction engineer who underwent the voice lift several years ago, “I don’t know if I sound younger, but the hoarseness is gone, which is such a great improvement.”

(S10) Voice lift can also benefit people like performers, lawyers, teachers, and telephone operators who need to have a strong voice and hope to shave years off the sound of their voice.

Task3: Plastic Surgeries For Men

Script

Men are turning to plastic surgery and cosmetic化妆品 procedures to brighten up their appearances at a faster rate than women, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Men’s use of fat injections to soften deep wrinkles leaped 47 percent last year from the previous year. Women’s use of the injections fell 36 percent, according to a survey by the American Academy of Facial and Plastic Reconstructive Surgeons.

Men’s use of botox injections to eliminate frown lines rose 88 percent, while women’s botox use fell 8 percent.

And for smoothing skin, the use of laser resurfacing among men rose 13percent, the survey showed. Meanwhile, women’s use of laser resurfacing dropped 38 percent during the same time period.

The number of men getting nose jobs rose 47 percent, while the number of women doing so rose 5 percent.

Typically, men and women visiting plastic surgeons for cosmetic reasons were age 40 to 59.

The study said 44 percent of men and 57 percent of women tell their doctor that looking younger is the reason they are choosing cosmetic surgery. By about 18 percent, men are more likely than women to say they want facial cosmetic surgery for work-related reasons.

The study was conducted by written questionnaires from January 20 to March 3 among more than 2,600 members of the association, who focus on treatment of the face, head, and neck.

By comparison, in the previous year, women’s use of botox rose 60 percent while men’s fell 14 percent; women’s use of laser resurfacing rose 13 percent while men’s fell 19 percent; women’s use of fat injections fell17 percent and men’s fell percent.

Keys: 1C 2.C3. B 4.B 5.D

Uint3

III. Listening In

Task 1: Is tsunami delicious?

Son: Hi, mom, what are we having for dinner tonight? Mom: I haven’t started yet. Why, have you any requires?

Son: How about tsunami for a change—I don’t know what is, but I heard

some Japanese people using the word on the bus the other day. Sounds like a food. Maybe it’s similar to sushi.

Mom: Nonsense. Tsunami comes from Japanese words meaning harbor and wave.

If we had a tsunami, it would be the other way around, young man. Son: Why? What is it?

Mom: I mean it may swallow you up. A tsunami is an enormous series of

very powerful waves.

Son: Could you surf on them? That could be cool.

Mom: They’re not cool. They are very destructive. When they pound the shore

of populated areas, they cause tremendous damage. They destroy everything in their path. Son: What causes them?

Mom: I think they are caused by some sort of shock, like an earthquake,

volcano, or landside that starts a chain reaction in the ocean. Son: Do the waves get to big that they crush buildings?

Mom: Easily. They can be dozens of meters high. They toss cars and houses

around as though they were children’s toys. Son: Can you see them coming?

Mom: You can see them at quite a distance. But there’s not much you can

do. In the open ocean they move at up to 800km per hour, but when it reaches the shore, the system slows down and the waves get bigger. Son: How big?

Mom: They can reach 30 meters. Big enough to finish you off in one gulp.

Keys: 1B 2.C 3.A 4.D 5.C

For Reference

1. In the open ocean they move at up to 800km per hour, but when it reaches

the shore, the system slows down and the waves get bigger.

2. They can reach 30 meters. Big enough to finish you off in one gulp.

Task 2: Flooding in Haiti and the Dominican Republic Script

The death too continues to (S1) climb from last week’s flooding in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The U.S. Agency for International Development (S2) reports that at least1,068 people are dead, 1,600 are (S3) missing, and 25,000 are in need of emergency food and other forms of (S4)assistance. In Dominican Republic, 414 are dead and 274 are missing, all from the town of Jimani.

A key(S5) factor in the widespread destruction is the extensive deforestation and the (S6) presence of settlements along the floodplains of rivers.

The flooding was driven by intense rainfall. A low-pressure system (S7) originating in Central America brought exceptionally heavy rain and thunderstorms to Haiti and the Dominican Republic from May 18 t o25. (S8) Rainfall exceeded 500 mm (or 19.7 inches) along the border areas of Haiti and the Dominican Republic during that period. At the town of Jimani, Dominican Republic, 250mm (or 10 inches) of rain fell in just 24 hours, causing the Solie River to overflow its banks from May24 to 25.The heavy rainfall resulted in flash flooding and extensive debris flowed over the entire region. Swollen rivers and debris cut off many of the roads traversing the area along the base of the mountains. (S9) This made it difficult for humanitarian relief worker to rescue stranded people and deliver badly. Now people want to know: How often do floods and related landmass movement also caused landsides in a few places.

(S10)Analysis of the past date shows that major floods in the Dominican Republic and Haiti are now a near-annual event. Since 1986, twelve lethal events have occurred on the island.

Task3: A Blizzard

Script

A blizzard is a sever weather condition characterized by low temperatures and strong winds, greater than 15 miles per hour, bearing a great amount of snow.

Because the factors for classifying winter storms are complex, there are many different definitions of what a blizzard truly is. But it is generally agreed that in order to be classified as a blizzard, as opposed to merely a winter storm, the weather must meet several conditions. The storm must decrease visibility to a quarter of a mile for three hours running. Include snow or ice as precipitation, and have wind speed of at least 32 miles per hour, which means Force 7 or more on the Wind Scale.

Another standard, according to Environment Canada, is that the winter storm must have winds of 40 kilometers per hour or mi=ore, plenty of snow, visibility less than 1 kilometer, a temperature of less than -25 degrees Celsius, and all of these conditions must last for 4 hours or more, before the storm can properly be called a blizzard.

When all these conditions continue after snow has stopped falling, the storm is referred t o as a ground blizzard.

An extensive form of blizzard is a whiteout, when the downdrafts, together with snowfall, become so sever that it is impossible to distinguish the ground from the air. People caught in a whiteout can quickly become disoriented, losing their sense of up and down as well as their sense of direction. Severe blizzard can also occur along with arctic cyclones.

Keys: 1A 2.B3. C 4.D 5.C For Reference

They can quickly become disoriented, losing their sense of up and down as well as their sense of direction.

Unit4

Task 1: You’re fired!

Joan: Come in, come in. Have a seat. Ah…uh…I want you to know this is going to

hurt me more than it will hurt you.

Carl: Yes, ma’am. But I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about. Joan: You’re fired. That’s what I’m talking about.

Carl: I find that surprising, Miss Jackson. After all, I sold twenty-five percent more of our products than any other salesperson.

Joan: Look, I’m not here to argue. You’re fired. Understand?

Carl: I understand perfectly. I just wonder what’s going to happen to the contract I’ve

been arranging. It would be a shame to lose it; it could mean a lot of our company. And I’m the only one who knows the details.

Joan: No one is indispensable. Just clear out your desk, and that’s the end of it. Do I

make myself clear, Mr. Westlake?

Carl: Crystal clear—apart from one small detail. Joan: And what, pray tell, is that detail? Carl: I’m not Mr. Westlake. I’m Carl Smith.

Joan: Well then, that’s a different kettle of fish, Mr. Smith. I know you’ve bee n

working late almost every night and coming in on Saturdays to get work done. The company is very happy with your progress.

Carl: That’s good to know. I was beginning to think that I wasn’t appreciated. Joan: You’re doing well. We have approved your first salary increase.

Carl: That’s great! Thank you! I’ll certainly try to live up to the trust you have

demonstrated in me with this raise in pay.

Keys: 1C 2.B 3.D 4.A 5.A For Reference

1. I want you to know this is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you.

2. That’s great! Thank you! I’ll certainly try to live up to the trust you have demonstrated in me with this raise in pay.

Task 2: SOHO Script

The modern concept of small office and home office, or small and home office, often (S1) shorted to SOHO, is concerned with business that employ from one to ten workers. Also (S2) known as a virtual business, the SOHO has not evolved beyond the idea of an (S3) independent business person who has a few support stall members. Business (S4) enterprises that are large are often called Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

Before the19th century and the (S5) spread of the industrial revolution around the globe, (S6) nearly all offices were small offices or home offices, with only a few exceptions. Most businesses were small, and (S7) so was the amount of paperwork that went with their business activities.

At the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, the term “Small or Home Office” and (S8) the acronym SOHO have been used t to great extent by companies that sell products to large number of small business with a small-sized office.

Some products are often designed specifically for the SOHO market. (S9) Many books are written and sold specifically for this type of office to tell people how to equip a small office. Nowadays many consultants, lawyers, and real estate agents in small and medium- sized towns operate from such home offices.

(S10) In the field of software development, engineers often have to work 20 hours or more at a stretch, so they can hardly adapt to normal office hours. They often work in small offices to have more freedom.

Task3: The Role of Job Descriptions

Script

People who don’t understand what their employers expect them to do may be headed for one of the most common and yet most avoidable career traps. If your boss doesn’t take the time to explain properly what you are expected to do in your position. Then keep asking questions until you know precisely what it is. Don’t limit your questions to matter of everyday routine. Lee Colby, a management consultant based in Minneapolis, offers his advice. He says you can ask more significant questions like, “What are our departmwnt’s goals? How does my work fit in with the overall objective of the company?”

That method helped Lisa James, an assistant manager at an electronics company. When James was transferred to a new department seven years ago, she found herself not only working for the manager of quality control, but assisting three other managers. Because the job was both demanding and ill-defined, James had to put in ten-hour days as well as take work home. To clarify what was expected of her and what she hoped to get from her job in terms of career department, she drafted a list of goals in collaboration with her principal boss. The list proved so well though out that her boss used it as the basis for her annual performance reviews. Shortly afterwards, she was given a raise for her efficient work.

If your boss is vague about what your goals should be, try this technique suggested by Atkin Simon, director of a Boston-based management-consulting firm: Read your position description, which most large firms provide, and identify the two or three most important tasks it mentions. Then meet with your boss, point out the tasks you’ve chosen and ask if they accurately reflect what your boss considers important.

Keys: 1B 2.D3. D 4.A 5.C

For Reference

Read your position description and identify the two or three most important tasks it mentions. Then meet with your boss, point out the tasks you’ve chosen and ask if they accurately reflect what your boss considers important.

Unit5

Task 1: How to Avoid Bankruptcy

Manager: Adam! Have you any suggestions about how we can avoid bankruptcy? Adam: Downsizing would certainly reduce our operating costs. You know, make

us lean and mean, the way you have to be in today’s market.

Manager: Where do you suggest we start making these staff cuts?

Adam: The logical place to start would be in administration. They usually

overstaffed.

Manager: That’s not going to go over very well with our employees. Some of them

have been with the company for years.

Adam: It’s painful process, but there’s no choice. They’ll just have to get used to

the idea.

Manager: We can give them a fairly decent severance package when they’re fired. Adam: I know. And I think that if we computerize the office, we could reduce

office staff by about 20 percent just by eliminating a lot of paperwork.

Manager: OK. If we lay off 20 percent of the administrative staff, will that be enough

to get the company back on its feet?

Adam: Unfortunately not. We’ll also need to make some cuts in the service

department.

Manager: How can we do that and maintain the level of service that we offer our

passengers?

Adam: Well, we’ll have to retrain the service staff and streamline our operations,

so we won’t need as many people to run things smoothly.

Manager: Well, this is serious, but I really don’t think we have any other choice. If

we keep losing money like this, we’ll have to shut everything down.

Keys: 1B 2.D 3.A 4.C 5.C

For Reference

1. He suggests retaining the service staff and streaming their operations, so they won’t need as many people to run things smoothly.

2. That is a serious step, but she thinks they haven’t any other choice. If they keep losing money, they will have to shut everything down.

Task 2: A Hard-nosed Boss Script

Mr. Stone was known far and wide as a hard-nosed boss who (S1) watched his employees like a hawk. He was making one of his regular tours of the factory (S2) when he spotted a young man leaning against a (S3) pile of boxes just outside the foreman’s office. Since George, the foreman, wasn’t around. Stone stood off to the side and watched to see just how ling the young men would stand (S4) around doing nothing.

The young man yawned, scratched his head, looked at his watch, and sat on the floor. After ten minutes or so he yawned again and (S5) leaned back on the pile of boxes. Stone stepped from his (S6) hiding place and walked up to the young man. “You!” he yelled, “How much do you make a week?”

The young man looked up (S7) indifferently. “Two hundred and fifty dollars,” He said.

(S8) Stone rushed into the cashier’s office, took$250 from the cash box, and returned. “Take it,” he said, “and get out! Don’t let me see you around here again!”

The young man took the cash, put it in his pocket, and left. (S9) Seeing the young man showed no sign of embarrassment, Stone got furious. Then he went looking for George. When he found him, Stone was red with anger. “That lazy boy in front of your office,” Stone said, “I just gave him a week’s pay and fired him. What’s the matter with you, letting him stand around as though he has nothing to do?” “You mean the kid in the red shirt?” George asked. “Yes! The kid in the red shirt!”

George said, “(S10) He was waiting for the 20 dollars we owe him for lunch. He works for the coffee shop around the corner.”

Task3: Layoffs can be predicted.

Script

In some cases companies inform their employees in advance that layoffs are coming. In other cases, they come without warning: You arrive on time for work on a Friday, but you are told not to come next week. Ouch!

In either case, you may be able to sense some bad signs in advance. Maybe the company has tried very hard to avoid layoffs; maybe it has been preparing for the worst for quite some time. If you think about the bad omens carefully, you might know as much or more than some of the employees in managerial positions with management responsibilities.

For example, if you work in sales, you might know that quotas have not been met. If you work in field engineering, you might notice far fewer customer installations. If your company’s competitors, suppliers or customers are laying off employees, it’s likely your company will too, especially if economic conditions are affecting your industry. Check the layoff statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Search the Net and your local newspaper too for articles concerning layoffs in your industry. Do things like bad sales always mean that layoffs are coming to your company? Not necessarily. Companies have seasonal and economic sales dips all the time, and are always looking for ways to improve their performance. So, if you see only one or two bad signs, don’t jump to a hasty conclusion. But if you see more, especially along the lines of earnings warnings, budget cuts, hiring freezes, restructuring, and massive layoffs in your industry, it might just be time to get your resume up to date and start looking for a new job. Also, it might e a good idea to cancel your vacation, implement money-saving measures, and become more useful on your job. You should prepare in advance if you think you might get the axe soon.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

2. According to the passage, when can one sense layoffs are coming? 3. What is mentioned as a bad sign for the field engineering department? 4. According to the passage, what do bad sales signal?

5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a sign for you to update your resume?

Keys: 1D 2.C3. B 4.C 5A

For Reference

You may get your resume up to date and start looking for a new job. Also, it might e a good idea to cancel your vacation, implement money-saving measures, and become more useful on your job.

Unit6

Task 1: David Copperfield is coming.

W: My brother is going to pick up some tickers for the David Copperfield show.

You interested in coming with us?

M: I don’t know. I’ve been card tricks before, and rabbits from hats. I even do

tricks myself—watch me change this coin into an ice cream cone.

W: Very funny. David Copperfield is the world’s greatest magician; he’s

certainly worth a look.

M: Actually, I have seen him on television. He pulls off some pretty amazing

stunts. I wish I knew how he performed his tricks. Then I could also make a person float in the air. I could pull a rabbit out of my hat. I could escape from a straitjacket and handcuffs—all underwater. And I could saw a woman in half.

W: A magician never tells his secrets. David attempts the impossible and no

one has any idea how he does it. I saw him on TV when he walked through the Great Wall of China.

M: How could he do that?

W: I have no idea, but I know what I saw: He entered a canvas shelter on one

side of the wall, and he came out of a canvas shelter on the other side.

M: yes, bur was he always in full view of the camera, or did they cut to a

commercial or something else?

W: Not only was the camera running all the time, but he was hooked up a heart

monitor, and you could track his progress as he moved through the wall.

M: It’s difficult to know what to believe. I know it’s not possible for him to do

that, but…

W: It sounds to me like it’s a show worth watching.

M: Count me in. Instead of an ice cream cone, I’ll turn my money into a ticket.

Keys: 1C 2.B 3.A 4.D 5.C

For Reference

1. He could make a person float in the air, pull a rabbit out of his hat, escape from a straitjacket and handcuffs—all underwater, and saw a woman in half.

2. She thinks Davis Copperfield in the world’s greatest magician and he’s certainly worth a look.

Task 2: Is it really bad luck? Script

Are you worried because you have just broken a mirror? Some people believe that breaking a mirror is a (S1) terrible thing to do. They say it will bring you seven years of (S2) misfortune. The reason behind this belief stems the old idea that a person’s soul is in their (S3) reflection, so that if you smash your mirror, you soul will be (S4) damaged too, dooming you do an early death, and not giving you entry to (S5) heaven. Is there any way to reverse this bad luck? Yes—if you very carefully (S6) pick up all the broken pieces of the mirror and throw them into a river or stream, then the bad luck will be”(S7) washed away”..

Of all number, 13 is the most associated with bad luck. (S8) Some people claim that the number is bad luck because thirteen people sat down for the Last Supper before Jesus was crucified, and with this in mind few hosts will serve dinner with thirteen at the table. And according to an ancient Norwegian tale, twelve gods had gathered for a feast when a thirteenth, Loke, entered. After the meal, Loke killed Balder, who was the most beloved of all the gods.

(S9) Friday the thirteenth of any month is considered especially bad or unlucky, and Friday the thirteenth of March is the worst of the all.

The number seven also has some superstition connected to it. It is said that God created the world in seven days, and any association with the number is luck. The seventh son of the seventh son is said to be the luckiest of men, and (S10) When people talk about the “seven-year itch” they mean that every seven years a person undergoes a complete change in personality.

Task3: The Status on Easter Island

Script

One of the greatest mysteries on Earth is the statues on Easter Island. The island is one of the most remote places on Earth, located in the southern Pacific Ocean. It was almost uninhabited when it was discovered on Easter Day in 1722 by a Dutch captain, but it is covered with hundreds of giant statues, each weighing several tons and some standing more than 30 feet tall.

Who carved these statures, and how and why were they put there?

Nobody knows the answer for sure, but many ate trying to find out. There are many theories to explain this mystery. It has even been suggested the space aliens may have played a role regarding these giant statues. Another theory relates to the fact that Easter Island was inhabited by Polynesian seafarers, who traveled thousand of miles in their canoes, guided by the stars, the color of sky and the sun , the shapes of clouds, and the presence of birds making flights out to sea seeking food. The Polynesians first arrived on the island in 499A.D.However, the ocean currents which carried them there would mot take them back. They were trapped and, having arrived there, could not leave. The Polynesians probable cared the statues themselves, perhaps as religious symbols.

To date, 887 statues have been discovered on the island. However, only a few statues were carried intended destination. The rest were abandoned along the way.

The statues appear to have been carved out of the top edge of walls of a volcano on the island. After a statue was carved, it may have been rolled or dragged down to the base of the volcano. Then it was put upright, and ropes were tied around it. Using a pulley system, the statue was moves to its intended destination.

At its peak, the population of Eater Island is believed to have reached 11,000. Eventually, the resources of the island were exhausted, and the people resorted to cannibalism, eating one another. Work on the statues stopped and the statues were knocked over. When the first Europeans finally arrived on the island, most of the people lad died out.

Keys: 1A 2.B3. D 4.D 5B

For Reference

The resources of the island were exhausted, and the people resorted to cannibalism, eating each other. When the first Europeans finally arrived on the island, most of the people lad died out