新視野大學(xué)英語視聽說BOOK4聽力原文

1、UNIT1M: Im beside myself with joy. Im so lucky. Guess what? Ive won a lot of money in the lottery.W: Yeah? Well, you do know that money is the root of all evil, right?Q: What does the woman mean?W: Mary was furious. Her son wrecked up her car.M: He shouldnt have driven a car without a drivers licens

2、e. Hes still taking driving lessons.Q: What do we know about Marys son?M: Susan, I hear youre going to marry that guy. Some people think youll regret it.W: Is that so? Only time will tell.Q: What does the woman imply?M: Mary, I just want to say how sorry I was to learn of your mothers passing. I kno

3、w how close you two were.W: Thank you. It was so sudden. Im still in a state of shock. I dont know what to do.Q: Which of the following is true?W: I get furious at work when my opinions arent considered just because Im a woman.M: You should air your views more emphatically and demand that your voice

4、 be heard.Q: What is the woman complaining about?Soft answers turn away wrath.Mary: Darn! Youve spilled red wine on me. My new dress is ruined.John: Im terribly sorry! What can I do to help? Heres some water to wash it off.Mary: Stop splashing water on me! Oh, this is so embarrassing! Im a mess.John

5、: Well, you do look a little upset. Please dont blow up. Dont lose your cool.Mary: Hmm, youve got nerve talking like that! Who wouldnt fly off the handle? This dress cost a fortune.John: You look really cute when youre mad. I kid you not. Some people do look attractive when they are in a rage.Mary:

6、This is a very expensive dress. I saved for months to buy it, and now its ruined. Look at this stain!John: Accidents do happen. Give me your dress, and Ill take it to the cleaners.Mary: Sure! You want me to take it off right here in public and give it to you? I dont even know you!John: This might be

7、 a really good time to get acquainted. Im John Owen.Mary: Mmm, at least youre polite. I guess I really shouldnt have flared up. After all, it was an accident. Im Mary Harvey.John: Come on. Ill take you home. You can change your clothes, and Ill get the dress cleaned for you.Mary: Now youre talking.

8、Thanks. Youre a real gentleman.John: Youd better believe it. Im glad to see that youve cooled down. Feel like a bite to eat afterward? Im starving.Mary: OK. Youre pretty good. Im not nearly as mad. If you can get this stain out, Ill be very happy.John: Ill try my best. But if I cant get the stain ou

9、t, please dont let your happiness turn to wrath.Big John is coming!A bar owner in the Old West has just hired a timid bartender. The owner of the establishment is giving his new hire some instructions on running the place. He tells the timid man, If you ever hear that Big John is coming to town, dro

10、p everything and run for the hills! Hes the biggest, nastiest outlaw whos ever lived!A few weeks pass uneventfully. But one afternoon, a local cowhand comes running through town yelling, Big John is coming to town! Run for your lives!When the bartender leaves the bar to start running, he is knocked

11、to the ground by several townspeople rushing out of town. As hes picking himself up, he sees a large man, almost seven feet tall. Hes muscular and is growling 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

12、 the bar, splitting it in half. 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 a

13、sks in a trembling voice.Dang it, I dont have time! the big man yells. I got to get out of town! Didnt you hear Big John is coming?A View of HappinessDr. Smith has proposed a reasonable, if perhaps somewhat oversimplified, view of happiness. According to his theory, happiness might be described as a

14、 state of balance. And when humans or certain animals achieve that balance, they tend to remain in that condition in order to repeat the happy feeling.To illustrate this, we may study the action of two magnets. When their positive and negative poles meet, they are comfortably joined, and they remain

15、 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 pressed against positive pole, there is resistance, instability, imbalance or a state of unhappiness.Animals with some degree of intelligence seem to f

16、ind 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 animal

17、s with a significant capacity to learn should be able to experience happiness. But in truth learning can take place through surprisingly simple short-term actions such as scratching an itch, followed by pleasure, followed by more scratching, and so on. Thus learning can occur with almost no consciou

18、s thought.For human beings, blessed with the ability to reason, goals are not limited to the short-term satisfaction of basic needs. Indeed, there is a strong link between happiness and the fulfillment of long-term goals. Even if humans strive for goals that are more complex and longer-term than the

19、 animals goals, once those goals are gained, happiness is reinforced.Causes of DepressionHello, everyone. Today I invite you to join me in an exploration of the causes of depression. There are many factors involved, but I believe some deserve special attention.Heredity certainly plays a role. The te

20、ndency to develop depression may be inherited; there is evidence that this disorder may run in families.Physiology is another factor related to depression. There may be changes or imbalances in chemicals which transmit information in the brain, called neurotransmitters. Many modern antidepressant dr

21、ugs attempt to increase levels of certain neurotransmitters so as to increase brain communication. While the causal relationship is unclear, it is known that antidepressant medications do relieve certain symptoms of depression.Researchers also study psychological factors. They include the complex de

22、velopment of ones personality and how one has learned to cope with external environmental factors, such as stress. It is frequently observed that low self-esteem and self-defeating thinking are connected with depression. While it is not clear which is the cause and which is the effect, it is known t

23、hat sufferers who are able to make corrections to their thinking patterns can show improved mood and self-esteem.Another factor causing depression is ones early experiences. Events such as the death of a parent, the divorce of parents, neglect, chronic illness, and severe physical abuse can also inc

24、rease the likelihood of depression later in life.Some present experiences may also lead to depression. Job loss, financial difficulties, long periods of unemployment, the loss of a spouse or other family member, or other painful events may trigger depression. Long-term stress at home, work, or schoo

25、l can also be involved.It is worth noting that those living with someone suffering from depression experience increased anxiety, which adds to the possibility of their also becoming depressed.Reason and EmotionEmotion is sometimes regarded as the opposite of reason, as is suggested by phrases such a

26、s appeal to emotions rather than reason and dont let your emotions take over. Emotional reactions sometimes produce consequences or thoughts which people may later regret or disagree with; but during an emotional state, they could not control their actions. Thus, it is generally believed that one of

27、 the most distinctive facts about human beings is a contradiction between emotion and reason.However, recent empirical studies do not suggest there is a clear distinction between reason and emotion. Indeed, anger or fear can often be thought of as an instinctive response to observed facts. The human

28、 mind possesses many possible reactions to the external world. Those reactions can lie on a continuum, with some of them involving the extreme of pure intellectual logic, which is often called cold , and others involving the extremes of pure emotion not related to logical argument, which is called t

29、he heat of passion. The relation between logic and emotion merits careful study. Passion, emotion, or feeling can reinforce an argument, even one based primarily on reason. This is especially true in religion or ideology, which frequently demand an all-or-nothing rejection or acceptance. In such are

30、as of thought, human beings have to adopt a comprehensive view partly backed by empirical argument and partly by feeling and passion. Moreover, several researchers have suggested that typically there is no pure decision or thought; that is, no thought is based purely on intellectual logic or purely

31、on emotion - most decisions are founded on a mixture of both.DepressionPat: You look depressed. Are you feeling blue? Ive come to cheer you up.Ted: But theres nothing that can cheer me up. Im down in the dumps. Lifes miserable.Pat: You have to try to get your mind off things.Ted: But I cant. I just

32、feel theres too much pressure on me sometimes!Pat: You cant let things get you down. Learn to relax and stop worrying all the time. Whats your problem anyway?Ted: I failed my last exam, and another exam is coming. What can I do?Pat: If I were you, Id start working hard. If you work hard for a long t

33、ime, youre bound to get better grades. You see, no pain, no gain.Ted: Its easier said than done. If I read for fifteen minutes, I get bored.Pat: You have to learn some self-discipline.Ted: Worse than that! If I work for half an hour, I get a headache. Then I start to worry about passing the next exa

34、m.Pat: Its all in your mind. If you stay cheerful like me, everything will soon be OK.Ted: But how can I stay cheerful all the time?Pat: Try to look on the bright side of things.Ted: But what if there isnt a bright side?Pat: You know the saying: Every cloud has a silver lining. It means therere alwa

35、ys two sides to everything - both the dark and bright sides. So, try to identify your strengths and then bring them into full play.Ted: Oh no! Your corny old sayings are making me even more depressed.AngerAnger is an emotion that can be hard to control. Despite this, we should learn how to manage an

36、ger in a constructive manner. In the most intense moments of anger, we usually have two choices: to fight or to run. Some choose the option of violence, which is a negative reaction to anger; and others choose to run. Some may think running means you are a coward. But the option of walking away and

37、calming down is the more productive method of handling anger. It is difficult to walk away, especially when your heart is racing, and your anger is boiling over.There are constructive ways of handling anger in any situation. First, you have to stop for a brief moment and think before you act. Take t

38、hat moment and calm down if you feel yourself being pushed.At that moment you should admit you are angry. If you refuse to admit that youre angry or hurt, or if you make it appear that everything is peaches and cream, you are not managing anger in a productive way. You should first admit you are ang

39、ry and let your feelings out before you blow up. For example, you can stay in a quiet place by yourself and shout; or you can talk to a close friend to vent your rage. If you do not acknowledge your anger, it only builds up inside you and will eventually explode like a volcano.Then, in order to mana

40、ge your anger, you can ask yourself an important question that we all must ask ourselves, What made me angry? When you get the answer, then ask yourself, Why did that make me angry? Through such logical reasoning, one tends to calm down and move toward a sensible solution.U.S. Roller CoasterThe worl

41、ds first 4D roller coaster, X, took on its first passengers last week at the Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park, just outside Los Angeles.After climbing on board and properly securing their safety harnesses, X riders are first taken to a height of over 66 meters. At the top, the passenger train is

42、released and builds up enough speed to race and plummet around the track at speeds of over 130 km an hour.The ride takes the daring passengers down an incredible 66m dive and over the top of a 62m loop, in cars that spin independently of the roller coaster train. This unique design allows riders to

43、spin 360 degrees, both forwards and backwards, throughout the entire ride.Passengers hurtle through this ride often moving in many different directions at the same time as the cars somersault back and forth and the roller coaster twists, loops, and dives.The complicated series of maneuvers includes

44、two raven turns, one front flip, one twisting front flip, and two back flips.Since passengers arent always facing the right direction to see whats coming up next, the element of surprise is high. For X riders, this adds to the thrill of the ride.The track of this newest roller coaster runs a total l

45、ength of a little over 1,100 meters. The passenger trains measure 6 meters wide and 21 meters long, large enough to carry 28 passengers at a time. At full capacity , the trains can take 1,600 passengers for the ride of their lives each hour.The entire ride lasts for only a total of about 2 minutes,

46、but you can tell from the exhilarated faces of passengers returning to the boarding dock that they were two of the most thrilling minutes of their lives.UNIT2W: Did you hear? Helen got that modeling job! Shes going to be sashaying down the catwalk.M: Wow, thats great! All that walking practice reall

47、y paid off. And for once she wont be complaining about being so tall.Q: Why did Helen get the modeling job?M: Julia, come and see the Miss America contest on TV. All those beautiful girls are walking around in bathing suits so the judges can decide who has the best figure.W: Bah! Thats the worst kin

48、d of exploitation. They are treating women like toys for people to enjoy. I would never take part in this kind of contest.Q: What do the man and the woman think about the beauty contest?W: What shall I do? Im fat. I want to be slim and beautiful, but Im fat. Ive tried all the new diets, high carb an

49、d low carb, but nothing works.M: Those diets are just fads, popular for a while and then forgotten. Just follow the usual diet with fruits, vegetables, fish, water, and get plenty of exercise. Before long youll see results.Q: What has the woman tried?W1: I think Lily is really attractive. Shes half

50、Spanish and has this really sultry look about her.W2: That explains why she tans so well. Ive always been jealous of her skin color in the summer.Q: Which of the following is true of Lily?M: Trust me, it was right there on the Internet: Plastic Surgery Increasing at a Faster Rate Among Men. Apparent

51、ly more and more men are trying to improve their appearance.W: I saw it too on the news. Face-lifts, nose jobs, and botox to hide wrinkles are now very popular with men. Men say its for business reasons, but we know its vanity.Q: What does the woman think the real reason is that men have plastic sur

52、gery?A Friendly StylistStylist: 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 more fashionable for only $60.Nick: 60 dollars! Thats highway robbery - twice what I ordinarily pay.Stylist:

53、Perhaps, sir. But your haircuts havent been in harmony with your character. Your hair is at war with your soul.Nick: Ive never heard of such a thing.Stylist: If I may say, Im an expert at matching hairstyles to personalities. Believe me, youre suffering a disjunction.Nick: A disjunction? What the de

54、vil is a disjunction?Stylist: Your hair does not match you.Nick: This is utter nonsense. However, Id like to hear how youd 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 you can

55、 do about the. uh. disjunction, as you call it.Stylist: Were going to use scissors to create peaks, which well keep in place with a liberal helping of gel. This tuft in the back well braid into a pigtail. Now, its the new you!Nick: I love it. Its just like me: imaginative and artistic. Now what are

56、you doing? Whats wrong? Dont you see harmony in my new hairstyle?Stylist: Somethings preventing your hairstyle from being a true fashion statement.Nick: For heavens sake, tell me whats missing.Stylist: Streaks. By putting in a few yellow streaks in your hair, it will become a work of art. Streaking

57、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: Thats. $135. Sir? Sir, are you all right? Oh, he fainted.The Voice LiftAfter the face-lift, the forehead tightener, and the nose job, something s

58、till might be revealing your age: your voice.For patients who think their trembly, hoarse words dont match their newly firm face and figure, theres a procedure that claims to make them sound younger too: the voice lift.There are two general kinds of voice lifts. In some cases, implants inserted thro

59、ugh an incision in the neck bring the vocal cords closer together. Doctors also use injections of fat or other substances to plump up the cords, so that the voice sounds younger.The voice lift is becoming more widely known among an aging population, who try to make themselves sound younger.If I spok

60、e 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, a retired construction engineer who underwent the voice lift several years ago. I dont know if I sound younger, but the hoarseness is gone, which is such a great improvement.