英语专业八级满分听力 第6期
日期:2015-01-30 16:53

(单词翻译:单击)

Test Four

SECTION A MINI-LECTURE
In this section, you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening, take notes on the important points. Your notes will not be marked, but you will need them to complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture. When the lecture is over, you'll be given two minutes to check your notes, and another 10 minutes to complete the gap-filling task. Now listen to the mini-lecture.

Good morning. We'll continue with our introduction of American minorities. Today's focus is on Chinese Americans. For many years it was common in the United States to associate Chinese Americans with restaurants and laundries. People did not realize that the Chinese had been driven into these occupations by the prejudice and discrimination that used to face them in this country. The first group of Chinese came during the California Gold Rush of 1849. Like most of the other people there, they had come to search for gold. In that largely unoccupied land, they stated a claim for themselves by placing markers in the ground. However, either because the Chinese were so different from the others or because they so patiently that they sometimes succeeded in turning a seemingly worthless mining claim into a profitable one, they became the scapegoats of their envious competitors. They were harassed in many ways. Often they were prevented working on their claims; some localities even passed regulations forbidding them to own claims. Therefore, these Chinese had to seek out other ways of earning a living. Some of them began to do the laundry for the white miners; others set up small restaurants. There were almost no women in California in those days, and the Chinese filled a real need by doing this “woman's work”. Some others went to work as farmhands or as fishermen. In the early 1860's, a second group of Chinese arrived in California. This time, they were imported as work crews to construct the first transcontinental railroad. The work was so strenuous and dangerous, and it was carried on in such a remote part of the country, that the railroad company could not find other laborers for the job. As in the case of their predecessors, these Chinese were almost all males and they encountered a great deal of prejudice. The hostility grew especially strong after the railroad project was completed, and the imported laborers returned to California, all out of work. Because there were so many more of them this time, these Chinese drew even more attention than the earlier group did. They were so different in every aspect: in their physical appearance, in their language, and in their religion. They were contemptuously called “heathen Chinese”. When times were hard, they were blamed for working for lower wages and taking jobs away from white men. And these white men were actually recent immigrants themselves. Anti-Chinese riots broke out in many cities. Some even developed into arson and bloodshed. The Chinese were not allowed to make legal appeals and they were not accepted as American citizens. Californians began to demand that no more Chinese be permitted to enter their state. Finally, in 1882, the Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which stopped the immigration of Chinese laborers. Many Chinese returned to their homeland, and their numbers declined sharply in the early part of this century. However, during World War Two, when China was an ally of the United States, the Exclusion laws were ended; a small number of Chinese were allowed to immigrate each year, and Chinese could become American citizens. In 1965, in a general revision of our immigration laws, many more Chinese were permitted to settle here. From the start, the Chinese had lived apart in their own separate neighborhoods, which came to be known as “Chinatowns'. In each of them the residents organized an unofficial government to make rules for the community and to settle disputes. Many people couldn't find jobs on the outside, and they went into business for themselves, primarily to serve their own neighborhood. As for laundries and restaurants, some of them soon spread to other parts of the city, since such services continued to be in demand among non-Chinese, too. To this day, certain Chinatowns, especially those of San Francisco and New York, are very busy, thriving communities. They have become great attractions for tourists and for those who enjoy Chinese food. Most of today's Chinese Americans are the descendants of some of the early miners and railroad workers. Those immigrants had been uneducated farm laborers in the vicinity of Canton in Southeast China before they came to America.Even after having lived here for several generations, Chinese Americans retain many aspects of their ancient culture. For example, their family ties continue to be remarkably strong. Members of the family lend each other moral support and also practical help when necessary. From a very young age children are taught with the old values and attitudes, including respect for their elders and a feeling of responsibility to the family. This helps to explain why there is so little juvenile delinquency among them. The high regard for education, and the willingness to work very hard to gain advancement, are other noteworthy characteristics of theirs. This explains why so many descendants of uneducated laborers have succeeded in becoming doctors, lawyers, and other professionals. By the way, many of the most outstanding Chinese American scholars, scientists, and artists are more recent arrivals. They come from China's former upper class and they represent its high cultural traditions. Chinese Americans make up only a tiny fraction of the American population. They live chiefly in California, New York, and Hawaii. As American attitudes toward minorities and toward ethnic differences have changed in recent years, the long-hated Chinese have gained wide acceptance. Today, they are generally admired for many remarkable characteristics, and are often held up as an example worth following. And their numerous contributions to their adopted land are much appreciated. Now, we are coming to the end of our lecture. Our focus for next week will be on African Americans. Thank you for your attention.

Section B INTERVIEW
In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow.Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview, you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following 5 questions. Now listen to the interview.
Interviewer (W): Well, Mr. Fox. Would you please describe your feelings towards criminals?
Superintendent(M): It is true to say there are criminals, certain types of criminals who policemen have...er...I have to be very careful with what I say.
W: Umm.
M: You see, I know a...a person who has been caught so many times that he's...he becomes part and parcel of the station.
W: Umm. He's been brought in all the time.
M: He's always in and he's a cheerful sort of character. And it's his way of life. And this sort of people of course...are people that you...well, I say, have an affinity with, that's not the right word to use, but you have a closeness with, you know.
W: They are part of your work, aren't they?
M: You know, Old Sam is always in. And you can always guarantee that Old Sam is always in. And you can always guarantee that Old Fred will do something stupid about a week before Christmas so that he can spend Christmas in a certain prison.
W: Which he likes.
M: Which he likes because he has a good Christmas. Then, of course, you go to the other end of the scale where you have a hard-core minority who are the professional criminals. And of course, one has no sympathy for them.
W: British policemen are not armed, that is they do not carry guns. How do policemen feel about this?
M: I don't think the average policeman really thinks about it, you know. I honestly think he does not think about it at all. I am sure he did, he would probably be a worried man.
W: Umm.
M: The reason I say that is this, that the average policemen in this country feels that the average Englishman or Britisher is such a person that the use of arms and that sort of thing is foreign to his nature.
W: Um, he just wouldn't think of using a pistol or something.
M: Of course, it is true to say that there are certain elements in the world who are...er...resorting to firearms.
W: The organized professional criminals?
M: The organized professional criminals, this sort of people. Well, of course, one takes one's chances which you don't think about, you know?
W: But your impression is that England is not a violent society.
M: Well, I don't think we are a violent people. You see, I think as a nation, if I can put it that way, we are...er...we love compromise, you know?
W: Umm.
M: Everything we do is a compromise and I think in that...er... because of that I think probably we are not so violent.
W: Have you faced a man with a weapon for instance?
M: I haven't faced a man with a weapon. I have had an occasion where I had a man he has...er...locked himself into a house and he wouldn't come out and he was threatening people with all sorts of things.
W: What did you do in that particular case?
M: Well, you just go and sit down and have a chat with him. You talk to him. You start talking outside the building and you walk in and you eventually get to the bottom of the stairs and you talk and talk and you try to build up some understanding or some common point, some common denominator between you.
W: Understanding?
M: Understanding...once you do that then you have this...
W: You mean you have to get his trust first?
M: I think so.
W: This is what you did on this particular occasion?
M: Yes, and I hope this doesn't sound pompous?
W: No.
M: And this is it and of course, everything works out quite well. You have got to be patient.

Section C NEWS BROADCAST
In this section, you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Questions 6 to 7 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the two questions. Now listen to the news.
This month Reader's Digest is publishing its 1,000th issue. The magazine boasts a mammoth circulation of 41 million worldwide, reaching 48 countries and is publishing in 19 languages. Recently, it held a gala party in New York City with a futuristic theme. The robot greeting partygoers to Reader's Digest's celebration of the publication of its 1,000th issue is not really high tech, just an actor hiding behind a wall with a microphone. And some of the futuristic trends showcased at this party don't seem all that new. The car of the future is no ingenious hybrid running on innovative fuel, it is a gas-guzzling Mercedes SUV and some of the furniture in the home of the future has a distinctly 1960s look. Reader's Digest?founders Dewitt Wallace and his wife Lila launched the magazine in 1922 with a mission: to help new immigrants learn how to become American citizens. They reprinted condensed articles from around the country. Articles that heralded the individual's triumph over adversity, but in as few words as possible. Professor Don Ranly, head of the magazine department at the University of Missouri's School of Journalism, says brevity was Mr. Wallace's genius. Question 8 is based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the question. Now listen to the news. The European Union is not on its knees, said Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister of Luxembourg and President of the European Council at the recent summit in Washington. Yet, several days earlier, Mr. Juncker declared in Brussels the Continent is in a state of deep crisis over the failure of European leaders to agree on the Union's budget. Failure to find common economic ground came just weeks after voters in France and the Netherlands dealt, what some observers call, a lethal blow to the Union's proposed new constitution. And they say the first casualty of Europe's latest crisis is EU's further expansion. Questions 9 and 10 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the two questions. Now listen to the news. India's textile exports to Western countries have surged following the abolition of global quotas earlier this year. The old quotas limited the amount of textiles any country could export to another. India's textile and garment exports to Europe between January and May rose by 11 percent compared with the same period last year, and to the United States by more than 20 percent. However, India has only a four percent share in the global textile and garment market -- far behind China. Indian exporters say some Western retailers have begun increasing purchases from India partially to offset any future appreciation of the Chinese yuan, which Beijing allowed to rise by two percent recently. But exporters such as Mr. Hinduja warn that the Indian industry must introduce economies of scale and better technology to remain competitive. Officials estimate that India's exports will rise nearly four times, to $50 billion by 2010, up from $13.5 billion last year.

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重点单词
  • minorityn. 少数,少数民族,未成年
  • pistoln. 手枪 vt. 用手枪射击
  • legaladj. 法律的,合法的,法定的
  • appreciationn. 欣赏,感激,鉴识,评价,增值
  • communityn. 社区,社会,团体,共同体,公众,[生]群落
  • affinityn. 姻亲,密切关系,吸引力
  • hostilityn. 敌意,敌对状态,公开战争
  • thrivingadj. 旺盛的;蒸蒸日上的;繁荣的 v. 兴旺(thr
  • claimn. 要求,要求权;主张,断言,声称;要求物 vt. 要
  • profitableadj. 有益的,有用的