英语专业八级满分听力 第10期
日期:2015-02-05 17:32

(单词翻译:单击)

Test Eight
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.

Seven Types of Evidence Good morning. Today we will talk about how to use evidence in writing. In much of your college writing, you will try to persuade your readers to see things your way. Without good evidence to support your ideas, you will hardly persuade anyone of anything. So today we'll look at seven kinds of evidence that are widely used in argumentative writing.
The first type of evidence is expert testimony. An expert is someone who has special skill and knowledge based on careful study and wide experience in a certain area. More than that, an expert has tested his or her skill and knowledge in a public forum. Once your opinion is firm, you can use expert testimony to support it. To use expert testimony wisely, you need to be both respectful and critical. You will need to differentiate among three kinds of evidence that experts provide: facts, informed opinions, and speculations. Generally, you can use facts and informed opinions, but must be cautious with speculations. This is because speculations are just what one person thinks is plausible, so they should be treated as something that could be true.
The second type of evidence is statistics. Statistics are numerical data gathered and tabulated to yield information. Whether they are raw data or translated into charts and figures, numbers are powerful evidence. If they are properly used, data can prove a claim rapidly and conclusively. When a survey shows that 95 per cent of senior students are satisfied with the courses they have taken at a university, we can persuade readers that the university is a good one. But you must be careful with numbers. Only when the data are valid, accurate and up to date can they really support your point. So when you want to use data, examine carefully before putting them down in your article.
Next comes the third evidence, examples. Every day you use examples as evidence for your claims. You might write to your parents, "Sorry I haven't written much but I've been very busy. I spent last week in the library, bent over the books studying for two midterms." In this case, you establish your claim and back it up with a specific example. Examples serve three purposes. First, they clarify meaning. Your parents may not know exactly what you mean by busy until you show them. Second, examples demonstrate why, at least in one instance, you are justified in making your claim. Studying for two midterms does sound like being busy. Third, examples make for entertaining reading. Abstractions are dry. Claiming that you are busy isn't very interesting. But the image of you bent intently over a book probably pleases your parents, who may now forgive you for not writing.
The fourth type of evidence is personal experience. If we actually experience something directly, we don't need experts or statistics to back us up. Although we know that our experience is not totally reliable, we trust our senses and our ability to understand our personal experience. And in some cases, our own experience can persuade readers to accept our statement. In complex matters, however, be aware of jumping to conclusions based on limited personal experience. Your experience may help to explain, but it cannot prove a more general thesis. Knowing someone who cheats on her income tax does not prove that the problem with income tax cheaters is pervasive. Even if you know five or ten or twenty cheaters, all that proves is that you are unlucky in your acquaintances. For such a complex subject, you need more than personal experience. You need statistics and expert interpretation.
Analogy is the fifth type of evidence on our list. An analogy is a comparison of apparently dissimilar things, and its purpose is to illuminate one thing by showing how it is like and not like the other. If well used, an analogy can make an abstract, unfamiliar topic easy to understand. For example, if a writer wants to directly persuade readers that it is our work that determines our social role, he would face a tough task. But analogy can help him out. Here is his analogy: Human beings in a society are like the bees in a hive. Each person's identity is determined by his or her place in the overall system. Like drones,no one has any identity but the work he or she does. And if one doesn't work, he will be kicked out of the society just like a drone out of the hive. However, analogies should be used with caution. To the extent that analogies make a point easy to see, they are evidence. But they don't prove the point —they can never be sufficient evidence for a complex idea.
After analogy, let's look at the next type of evidence, known facts. When writing, you can safely assume that you and your readers share a vast body of facts and beliefs. You don't need to point out Columbus arrived in America in 1492, or that China has a history as long as 5,000 years. But these facts can be used as evidence in your writing.
The last type of evidence we usually use is logic and reasoning. In some cases, we use them because we can't find any other factual evidence. And in some cases where we can find factual evidence, reasoning can make our argument more persuasive. People in China believe that good argument should appeal to both sense and sensibility, which means that both factual evidence and reasoning are necessary. OK, these are the seven types of evidence.
Before we end today's lecture, I would talk about three criteria for good evidence. First, good evidence should be relevant. It should speak directly to the point. You should select particular evidence because it supports the point, not because it is novel or comic. Second, good evidence should be representative. It should represent its source or the situation it describes. Last, good evidence should be accurate. It is the writer's duty to ensure the accuracy of the evidence. In order to do this, you must check the evidence carefully, and present it in your writing carefully.
Well, with that, we will end today's lecture. We hope that you now understand evidence better, and we look forward to seeing well-supported articles from you in the future.

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.

M: Welcome to our show. Today we're going to discuss some important questions about women and inheritance. For example, what happens to a woman when her husband dies, and who becomes the rightful owner of his property? Is there anything a woman can do to ensure that she receives the property? To help us answer these and other questions, we've invited a lawyer, Mrs. Elizabeth Mutwa, to join us. Welcome to the show Mrs. Mutwa.
W: Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.
M: Mrs. Mutwa, let me start by asking you this. What are some of the concerns you have about women and the inheritance laws that affect them?
W: Every day I meet women whose husbands are dying. These women are afraid that they are going to lose everything —their home, their land, their livestock... and they believe there is nothing they can do about it. That is a terrible, desperate feeling.
M: Yes, to feel that you are going to lose everything is terrifying.
W: Of course it is. And I'm sorry to say that often a woman does lose everything —because the property is taken by her husband's relatives. We call this property grabbing.
M: Is there any way to prevent property grabbing and return property to the woman?
W: Yes. Women have legal rights to land and other properties. But unfortunately, most women don't know this. So they don't take any action.
M: You mean women think that the law is against them —so they don't challenge it?
W: That's right. But again, I want to make this very clear. The law is not against women. Women have rights to keep property —they just don't know it!
M: So, it's important for women to understand what rights they have, and how the law works.
W: Exactly. Once they know the laws, they can take steps to make sure that they keep their home and their land.
M: Okay, so I guess that when women come to you for help, this is one of the things you recommend —learn about the local laws. What else can a woman do?
W: I always recommend that a woman do three things. Firs
t:Discuss the importance of making a will with your husband. Encourage him to make a will in the presence of witnesses. Number tw
o: Find out if it is possible to register the home where you live with your husband. If you can, you will remain the owner of the land and house after your husband's death. Number thre
e: Get legal advice from a lawyer, a paralegal or a local organization that offers this type of assistance. They can help you understand your rights and the law.
M: Mrs. Mutwa, I think the advice that you've offered here on the program will help many women. Do you think that this kind of property grabbing will definitely affect women's lives after their husbands' death?
W: Definitely. Some of the women hope that the inheritance given by their husbands would help them out. Well, as a matter of fact, however, the fact proves that they always lose their things left by their husbands as their husbands' relatives always ask her to divide the things with them. The relatives put forward that property and asset in her family are mostly produced by the husband. And so the wife should not take all of them away. The women have no idea about what she deserves, some of them even take it for granted that the property should be returned to the husband's family. This is the essence of the problem. I hope that women should have this kind of awareness that they should go to seek for help from some professional lawyers.
M: Thank you for joining us today.
W: You're most welcome.

Section C NEWS BROADCAST
In this section, you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Question 6 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.

Up to yesterday, China had raised an estimated US $ 65.3 million in government, charitable and public donations. The number will rise as more organizations report figures.
Premier Wen Jiabao flew to Indonesia to attend a summit organized by the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. More than 20 heads of state or government and representatives of international organizations will also be in attendance to discuss the aid efforts to help Asia's quake-tsunami-hit countries.

Question 7 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.

A fire broke out in a Buenos Aires nightclub, which packed with young revelers celebrating the New Year holidays. It killed at least 175 people when a crowd was trapped by locked doors, officials said on Friday.
At least 619 people were injured in the blaze, after a flare fired into the club's ceiling during a rock concert.
The blaze may have claimed more victims because four of the club's six doors were inexplicably tied shut with wire.

Questions 8 and 9 are 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.

An official from the Philippines' Presidential palace says the government is still functional after the resignations of 10 cabinet ministers. The official told reporters Saturday that President Gloria Arroyo has not been found guilty of any wrongdoing and will continue to run the government according to the constitution.
He said forcing her to step down before she is declared innocent or guilty would be more damaging for the country than the current uncertainty. The Philippines' Army on Saturday lowered the high state of alert to normal level in the capital Manila.
On Friday, ten out of 24 cabinet members resigned from the government including the Finance Secretary, asking Arroyo to step down. The same day, the President reiterated that she wouldn't resign, adding that she would unveil a new cabinet in a couple of days.
Arroyo has been plunged into a political crisis by allegations that she conspired with election officials to fix last year's presidential elections.

Question 10 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.

Luxembourg goes to the polls on Sunday in last referendum on the draft of EU constitution of 2005. Luxembourg's Prime Minster Jean Claude Juncker vows to resign if the country says "no" to the treaty, which is aimed at streamlining decision-making in Europe after the trading bloc enlarged from 15 to 25 member states.
French and Dutch voters have already sent a resounding "no" to European leaders that they do not want the 448-article treaty. Opinion polls taken in July last month indicate that the poll could go either way. Opinion polls are banned during the month prior to the election.
Luxembourg's parliament ratified the treaty in its first reading on June 28th, but a second reading will be axed if the voters say no.

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重点单词
  • vastadj. 巨大的,广阔的 n. 浩瀚的太空
  • essencen. 本质,精髓,要素,香精
  • identityn. 身份,一致,特征
  • ceilingn. 天花板,上限
  • havenn. 港口,避难所,安息所 v. 安置 ... 于港中,
  • currentn. (水、气、电)流,趋势 adj. 流通的,现在的,
  • legaladj. 法律的,合法的,法定的
  • affectvt. 影响,作用,感动
  • indicatev. 显示,象征,指示 v. 指明,表明
  • sourcen. 发源地,来源,原始资料