简要介绍资料的主要内容,以获得更多的关注

大学英语听说教程3

Unit 1

Part B

Text 1

Dating with My Mother (Part One)

After 22 years of marriage, I have discovered the secret to keep love alive in my relationship with my wife, Peggy. I started dating with another woman.

It was Peggy's idea. One day she said to me, 'Life is too short, you need to spend time with the people you love. You probably won't believe me, but I know you love her and I think that if the two of you spend more time together, it will make us closer.'

The 'other' woman my wife was encouraging me to date is my mother, a 72-year-old widow who has lived alone since my father died 20 years ago. Right after his death, I moved 2,500 miles away to California and started my own life and career. When I moved back near my hometown six years ago, I promised myself that I would spend more time with mom. But with the demands of my job and three kids, I never got around to seeing her much beyond family get-togethers and holidays.

Mom was surprised and suspicious when I called and suggested the two of us go out to dinner and a movie.

'What's wrong?' she asked.

'I thought it would be nice to spend some time with you,' I said. 'Just the two of us.'

'I would like that a lot,' she said.

When I pulled into her driveway, she was waiting by the door with her coat on. Her hair was curled, and she was smiling. 'I told my lady friends I was going out with my son, and they were all impressed. They can't wait to hear about our evening,' Mother said.

Questions:

1. What would make the speaker closer to his wife, Peggy?

简要介绍资料的主要内容,以获得更多的关注

2. What do you know about the speaker's mother?

3. Which of the following adjectives best describes Peggy?

Text 2

Dating with My Mother (Part Two)

We didn't go anywhere fancy, just a neighborhood place where we could talk. Since her eyes now see only large shapes and shadows, I had to read the menu for both of us.

'I used to be the reader when you were little,' she said.

'Then it is time for you to relax and let me return the favor,' I said.

We had a nice talk over dinner, just catching up on each other's lives. We talked for so long that we missed the movie.

'I'll go out with you again,' my mother said as I dropped her off, 'but only if you let me buy dinner next time.'

I agreed.

'How was your date?' my wife asked when I got home that evening.

'Nice...nicer than I thought it would be,' I said.

Mom and I get out for dinner a couple of times a month. Sometimes we take in a movie, but mostly we talk. I tell her about my trails at work and brag about the kids and Peggy. Mom fills me in on family gossip and tells me about her past. Now I know what it was like for her to work in a factory during the Second World War. I know how she met my father there, and know how they went through the difficult times. I can't get enough of these stories. They are important to me, a part of my history. We also talk about the future. Because of health problems, my mother worries about the days ahead.

Spending time with my mom has taught me the importance of slowing down. Peggy was right. Dating another woman has helped my marriage.

简要介绍资料的主要内容,以获得更多的关注

Questions:

1. What does the story mainly tell us?

2. Which of the following is true?

3. What can you learn from the story?

Part C

Conversation 1:

W: You know, many American parents are now wondering why they can't keep their teenage children from drinking.

M: I'm aware of that. To my mind, it's the permissive attitude of the parents that is to blame.

Q: What can you learn from the man's response?

Conversation 2:

M: Don't you think it's good to give our children a monthly allowance?

W: I think so. It can teach them the value of money. With a monthly allowance they can learn to budget their expenses wisely.

Q: What are they talking about?

Conversation 3:

M: Mom, I've got a part-time job at a supermarket. Three hours a day weekdays and all day Saturday.

W: Congratulations, Tom. But are you sure you can handle it? What about your homework and your piano lessons?

Q: How does the mother feel about Tom's part-time job at the supermarket?

简要介绍资料的主要内容,以获得更多的关注

Conversation 4:

M: Hey, Mary. You look so upset. What happened?

W: My father had an accident the other day. He is now in hospital and will have an operation tomorrow. You see, his heart is rather weak. I really don't know whether he can survive it.

Q: What's the woman worried about?

Conversation 5:

W : Mother's Day is coming soon. Could you tell me what sons and daughters do in your country on that day?

M: Well, they send their mothers flowers and cards to celebrate the occasion. Besides, it is a common practice for them to wear pink carnations on that day.

Q: Which of the following is true of the customs of Mother's Day in the man's country?

Part D

My First Job

My parents ran a small restaurant. It was open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. My first job was shining shoes for customers when I was six years old. My duties increased as I grew older. By age ten I was clearing tables and washing plates. My father made it clear that I had to meet certain standards. I had to be on time, hard-working and polite to the customers. I was never paid for any work I did. One day I made the mistake of telling Dad I thought he should give me ten pounds a week. He said, "OK, then how about you paying me for the three meals a day when you eat here and for the times you bring your friends here for free drinks?" He figured I owed him about 40 pounds a week. This taught me quite a lot.

Statements:

1. The speaker had more than one responsibility at his parents' restaurant.

2. The speaker's parents kept their business open around the clock.

简要介绍资料的主要内容,以获得更多的关注

3. It can be inferred that the speaker's family lived in the United States.

4. It seems that the speaker's father was very strict with him but quite kind to his friends.

5. The father finally agreed to pay his child for his work but would deduct the cost of his meals.

6. This story shows that the speaker has very unhappy memories of his childhood.

重点单词及词组

Part B

relationship 关系

widow 寡妇

curled 卷曲的

driveway 车道

Part C

Wondering 显出惊奇

be aware of 知道

permissive 许可的 见

allowance 津贴，零用钱

handle 处理，操作

occasion 时机，机会

Part D

encouraging 奖励的 demands of 要求 suspicious 可疑的 got around to 抽出时间（做某事） teenage 年青的 attitude 态度 to one’s mind 根据某人的意 budget 预算 survive 幸存 carnation 康乃馨

简要介绍资料的主要内容,以获得更多的关注

restaurant 饭馆

standard 标准

shining 光亮的，华丽的

Unit 2

Part B

Text1

What a Coincidence! (Part One)

Andrew had always wanted to be a doctor. But the tuition for a medical school in 1984 was 15,000 dollars a year, which was more than his family could afford. To help him realize his dream, his father, Mr. Stewart, a real estate agent, began searching the house-for-sale ads in newspapers in order to find extra business. One advertisement that he noted down was for the sale of a house in a nearby town. Mr. Stewart called the owner, trying to persuade him to let him be his agent. Somehow he succeeded and the owner promised that he would come to him if he failed to get a good deal with his present agent. Then they made an appointment to meet and discuss the thing.

As good things are never easy to acquire, the time for the appointment had to be changed almost ten times. On the day when they were supposed to meet at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. Stewart received another call from the owner. His heart sank as he feared there would be another change of time. And so it was. The owner told him that he couldn't make it at three but if he would come right then, they could talk it over. Mr. Stewart was overjoyed. Leaving everything aside, he immediately set out to drive to the house.

As he approached the area, he had a strange feeling of having been there before. The streets, the trees, the neighborhood, all looked familiar to him. And when he finally reached the house, something clicked in his mind. It used to be the house of his father-in-law! The old man had died fifteen years ago but when he was alive, he had often visited him with his wife and children. He remembered that, like his son Andrew, his father-in-law had also wanted to study medicine and, failing to do so, had always hoped that one of his two daughters or his grandchildren could someday become a doctor.

简要介绍资料的主要内容,以获得更多的关注

Questions:

1. Who are the two main characters in the story you have just heard?

2. How did Mr. Stewart get to know the owner of the house?

3. What problem did Mr. Stewart have?

4. What is the coincidence in the story you have just heard?

Text2

What a Coincidence! (Part Two)

When he entered the house, Mr. Stewart was even more amazed to find that the house was decorated exactly as he had remembered it. He told the owner about this and the latter became intrigued too. However, they were in for even greater surprises. It so happened that in the middle of their discussion, a postman came to deliver a letter. And the letter was addressed to Mr. Stewart's father-in-law! Were it not for Mr. Stewart's presence there and then, the letter would be returned as no person of that name lived in the house any longer. As the postman demanded a signature on the receipt slip, Mr. Stewart signed for his long-deceased father-in-law. Mystified, the owner urged Mr. Stewart to open the letter and see what it contained. The letter was from a bank. When he opened it, two words immediately met his eye -- 'For education'. It was a bank statement of an amount his father-in-law had put in years ago for his grandchildren's education needs. With the interest it had earned over the years, the standing value of the amount came to a little over $15,000, just enough money to cover the tuition of Andrew's first year at a medical college!

Another thing that is worth mentioning is about the postman. The original postman, who had worked in this neighborhood, called in sick that day. So the postman, who was new to the area, came to deliver mail in his place. Had it been the old postman, the letter would undoubtedly be returned to the sender as he knew full well that no person bearing that name lived in that house any longer.

The miracle was a blessing for Andrew. With the money given to him by his grandfather he was able to study medicine. Now he is a doctor in Illinois.

Statements:

简要介绍资料的主要内容,以获得更多的关注

1. Several coincidences happened in the story.

2. The coincidences made it possible for the owner to sell his house at a good price.

3. No one actually benefited from the coincidences.

4. It can be inferred that Mr. Stewart did not have to seek extra work from then on.

5. With the extra money Mr. Stewart had earned, Andrew's dream finally came true.

Part C

Dad Stops for Gas, Finds Lost Son

Nueng Garcia was the son of an American serviceman stationed in Thailand in 1969. But his father went back to the States when Nueng was only three months old. When he grew up Nueng immigrated to the United States and worked as a gas station clerk in Pueblo, Colorado. His dream was to find his father John Garcia. Year after year, he tried in vain to search for information about the whereabouts of his father.

It was a fine day in Pueblo. There was not a cloud in the blue sky. But for him, it was just another day on the job. Suddenly he noticed the name of one customer who paid with a check. The man, who was in his fifties, had the same surname as his own. Nueng raised his head from the check and looked at the man. Could this be his father?

"Are you John Garcia?" he asked.

"Yes," came the answer.

"Were you ever in the Air Force?"

"Yes."

"Were you ever in Thailand?"

"What's that to do with you?" answered the man, who became suspicious by then.

"Were you or were you not?" Nueng persisted.

"Yes."

简要介绍资料的主要内容,以获得更多的关注

"Did you ever have a son?"

At this truth dawned on the man. They stared at each other and realized at the same moment that they were father and son who were separated 27 years ago and half a world away.

John Garcia hadn't seen his son since 1969. He lost touch with Nueng's mother when she started seeing another man. He moved to Pueblo nine years ago. He said he never went to that gas station, wasn't even low on gas that day and hardly ever paid with a check.

Statements:

1. Nueng's parents divorced when he was only 3 months old.

2. After moving to the U.S.A., Nueng worked at a gas station in Colorado.

3. Nueng never gave up his efforts to find his father, but John Garcia had never looked for his son.

4. One day while at work Nueng's eyes fell on the photo of a customer's driver's license, and the man in the photo looked like his father.

5. John Garcia was once in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Thailand.

6. John Garcia and his son didn't meet each other again until 1996.

7. Nueng's father said he often went to that gas station but never paid with a check.

8. It was by coincidence that John Garcia and his son were reunited after many years of separation.

Part D

Unexplained Parallels

One of the best-known collections of parallels is between the careers of Abraham

简要介绍资料的主要内容,以获得更多的关注

Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Both were shot on a Friday, in the presence of their wives; both were succeeded by a Southerner named Johnson; both their killers were themselves killed before they could be brought to justice. Lincoln had a secretary called Kennedy; Kennedy a secretary called Lincoln. Lincoln was killed in the Ford Theater; Kennedy met his death while riding in a Lincoln convertible made by the Ford Motor Company -- and so on.

Similar coincidences often occur between twins. A news story from Finland reported of two 70-year-old twin brothers dying two hours apart in separate accidents, with both being hit by trucks while crossing the same road on bicycles. According to the police, the second victim could not have known about his brother's death, as officers had only managed to identify the first victim minutes before the second accident.

Connections are also found between identical twins who have been separated at birth. Dorothy Lowe and Bridget Harrison were separated in 1945, and did not meet until 1979, when they were flown over from Britain for an investigation by a psychologist at the University of Minnesota. They found that when they met they were both wearing seven rings on their hands, two bracelets on one wrist, a watch and a bracelet on the other. They married on the same day, had worn identical wedding dresses and carried the same flowers. Dorothy had named her son Richard Andrew and her daughter Catherine Louise; Bridget had named her son Andrew Richard and her daughter Karen Louise. In fact, she had wanted to call her Catherine. Both had a cat called Tiger. They also had a string of similar mannerisms when they were nervous.

How can we explain the above similarities?

Statements:

1. Both Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy were killed by a Southerner.

2. John F. Kennedy's secretary was named after Abraham Lincoln.

3. The news story told about the traffic accidents that killed two twin brothers.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that more parallel phenomena are studied in the United States than in any other country.

5. Coincidences occurring in three nations are described in the passage.

简要介绍资料的主要内容,以获得更多的关注

6. Some psychologists' interest is the research on coincidences between twins.

7. According to the speaker, coincidences occur much more often between twins than between people who are not related.

8. The speaker does not mention his/her own opinion on whether these parallels can be explained.

重点单词及词组

Part B

coincidence 一致，巧合

real estate 房地产

appointment 约会

be supposed to 应该，被指望

intrigue 激起…的兴趣

receipt slip 收款便条

tuition 学费

Part C

immigrate 移来，移居

whereabouts 下落，行踪

lost touch with 和某人失去联系

Part D

unexplained 不清楚的 tuition persuade acquire decorate signature mystified parallels 学费 劝说 获得，学会 装饰 签名 迷惑 导轨

简要介绍资料的主要内容,以获得更多的关注

in the presence of 在面前 justice 正义，合理

convertible 可改变的 victim 受害人，牺牲者

identify 识别，鉴别 investigation 调查，研究

psychologist 心理学者 bracelet 手镯

string 一串，一行 mannerism 特殊习惯，怪僻

Unit 3

Part B

Text 1

A Marriage Agreement (Part One)

(Tom and Linda have signed a marriage agreement. Both agree not to break the rules outlined in the agreement. John, a reporter, is talking to them about the agreement.)

John: Tom, Linda, first I'd like to ask you why you decided to write this unusual agreement.

Tom: We found that many problems are caused when a person has different expectations from his or her spouse. We wanted to talk about everything openly and honestly before we started living together.

Linda: Also we both know how important it is to respect each other's pet peeves. Like, I can get very annoyed if others leave stuff -- clothing, papers, everything! -- lying around on the floor. It really bugged me, so we put that in the agreement.

John: This is mentioned in Article 1: Cleaning Up, isn't it? It says, "Nothing will be left on the floor overnight. Everything must be cleaned up and put away before going to bed."

Tom: Then I'll know clearly what Linda's expectations are.

John: I see. What about Article 2: Sleeping? It says, "We will go to bed at 11 p.m. and get up at 6:30 a.m. except on weekends." I'm sure some people hearing this will think that this agreement isn't very romantic.

简要介绍资料的主要内容,以获得更多的关注

Tom: Well, we disagree. We think it's very romantic. This agreement shows that we sat down and talked, and really tried to understand the other person. A lot of problems occur in a marriage when people don't talk about what they want.

Linda: That's right. When we disagreed about something, we worked out a solution that was good for both of us. I would much rather have Tom really listen to me and understand my needs than give me a bunch of flowers or a box of candy.

Questions:

1. Which statement best summarizes the marriage agreement between Tom and Linda?

2. According to Tom, what will give rise to problems in a marriage?

3. What can be inferred about Linda from the conversation?

Text 2

A Marriage Agreement (Part Two)

John: Linda, do you spend a lot of time checking to see if the other person is following the rules? Arguing?

Linda: No, not at all.

Tom: A lot of couples argue because they don't understand each other's expectations. I think we spend less time arguing than most couples because we both know what the other person expects.

John: What happens if one of you breaks a rule?

Tom: Well, that's in Article 13 of our agreement.

John: Is it? Oh yes, Article 13: Breaking Rules. "If you break a rule, you must apologize and do something nice for the other person to make it up."

Linda: Yeah, like last time Tom broke the rule of driving.

John: What's the rule?

简要介绍资料的主要内容,以获得更多的关注

Linda: The rule is we must ask for directions if we are driving and get lost for more than five minutes.

John: What happened?

Tom: We were driving to a friend's wedding, and we got lost. Linda wanted to stop at a gas station to ask for directions, but I thought I could figure it out.

Linda: Then we drove forty miles in the wrong direction and ended up being late for the wedding.

Tom: So I took her out to dinner. I knew what I should do to apologize.

John: That's very important, I think, knowing how to apologize. By the way, do you plan to update your agreement at all? What if things change in your life and a rule doesn't work anymore?

Linda: We've thought about that too. Article 14 states that we must review this agreement once a year and make necessary changes.

John: Well, it was really nice talking to you both. Thank you very much for your time.

Tom & Linda: Thank you.

Statements:

1. Tom and Linda never argue because they both know what the other person expects.

2. Once Tom broke Article 14 and apologized to Linda by taking her out to dinner.

3. If some of the rules in the marriage agreement become outdated, changes will be made to update them.

4. It seems that both Tom and Linda are satisfied with their marriage agreement.

Part C

A Perfect Match

Are you looking for a good relationship with someone special? What type of

简要介绍资料的主要内容,以获得更多的关注

person is the best person for you? Is it the person with the highest IQ? Is it the most beautiful or most handsome person? How about the richest person or the most ambitious? Is your ideal partner the most traditional or the most modern person? Is he or she the person most like you, or most unlike you?

The answer, psychologists say, is none of the above. Why? Because they are all extremes. In a number of research studies, psychologists asked couples these questions. The answers were clear. Most people are happy with moderation -- with partners who are not the most or the best (or the least or the worst). People are more comfortable with partners who are not so special.

The research showed several other important things. In a love relationship, two things can cause trouble. First, trouble happens when both people get angry quickly. This is not surprising. Second, trouble happens when people don't expect to change themselves in a relationship. Do you stay calm when you disagree with someone? Are you ready to change yourself? If you can tolerate disagreement and are willing to change, maybe you are ready for a serious relationship.

Statements:

1. The passage implies that the perfect match for you is a person who is most unlike you.

2. The author argues that the most beautiful or most handsome person may not be your perfect partner.

3. Moderate person, that is, the partners who are not the most or the best can be your perfect match.

4. The research showed that an extreme love relationship between the two can cause trouble.

5. The passage states that the anger is one of the causes that lead to the breakup of a love relationship.

6. The perfect match lies in the people's attitudes to tolerate disagreement and be willing to change in a relationship.

Part D

Husbands and Wives Don't See Things Alike

简要介绍资料的主要内容,以获得更多的关注

Let's face it -- husbands and wives just don't see things alike. Take TV remote controls, for example. I'm a channel-grazer. When I watch the news, I flip back and forth through four different networks.

"It drives me crazy when you do that," my wife complains. I don't understand why she has no interest in other channels. After all, she is a woman who wants to know everything going on in the neighborhood and among all the relatives. Just one button away might be an interesting program on How to Lose Fifty Pounds by Eating Chocolate Sundaes or How to Understand Weird Husbands. But, no, she won't change channels, not even if she dislikes the program she's watching.

"This talk show host makes me so angry!" she cried one evening.

"Then why don't you change the channel?" I asked.

"Because I can't stand people who are always changing channels."

Differences. No right or wrong, just differences.

"The first law of civilization," said an old philosopher, "is to let people be different."

I don't need to convert my wife to my ways, and she doesn't try to make me be like her. We simply take turns monitoring the remote control.

Statements:

1. The major difference between the speaker and his wife is their TV viewing habits.

2. According to the speaker, he is more interested in talk shows while his wife is more interested in news programs.

3. The wife seems to be more weird than the husband is.

4. The speaker and his wife usually take turns working the remote control when they watch television.

5. It can be inferred that women are generally more tolerant than men of their spouse's