Lesson 114 Part I

Lesson 114

Part I Warming-up Exercises

Spot Dictation: Synthetics

Training Focus:

Spot dictation

Directions: You are going to listen to a passage. Some words on the printed passage have been taken out. Listen carefully. Fill in the blanks with the words you hear on the tape.

Key:

Nowadays we wear orlon sweaters that look like wool, dacron shirts that resemble cotton, and nylon blouses that remind us of silk. At night we snuggle under blankets whose comforting warmth does not owe anything to the fleece of a sheep. Our shoes are soled with rubber that comes out of a factory instead of from a plantation. We walk on nylon or acrilan carpets that are startling in their similarity to wool. The chairs we sit on are cushioned with a plastic foam, cover ed with an imitation of fabric or leather. The table top only looks like wood; it is really plastic. Our food is stored in transparent bags, instead of paper.

We are living in the age of chemicals. Sometimes it seems that everything from the frames of our glasses to the fillings in our teeth is made of synthetics. This is the word commonly used to describe man-made or artificial products.

The development of synthetics is a perfectly natural thing. It is human nature to want something better. Better than what, you may ask ? Better than the things we have, is the answer.

Lesson 114 Part Ⅱ The Story Of Silk

Lesson 114

Part Ⅱ The Story Of Silk

Ex. Ⅰ

Directions: Write down some important words and phrases while listening and then retell the story by using these words and phrases.

Key: (see tapescript)

Ex. Ⅱ

Directions: Fill in the blanks with the words you hear on the tape.

Key: (see tapescript)

Tapescript

The Story Of Silk (1'30 ")

The story of silk is a fascinating one.

About 4,000 years ago the Chinese discovered the secret of the cocoon. No one knows exactly how or when this important discovery was made. One story says that a young princess was drinking tea in her garden and watching the silkworms spin cocoons. By chance one dropped into her tea and the hot liquid softened it. When the girl tried to take the cocoon out of her tea it unraveled and she pulled out a long silk thread.

The Chinese learned to weave the silk thread into cloth. For 2,000 years they were the only people who knew how to make silk. The Chinese merchants sold silk cloth throughout Asia and Europe and became rich. Silk was so expensive that it was called“the cloth of kings.”

Everyone wanted to learn how to make silk, but the Chinese kept the secret carefully guarded. They put to death anyone who tried to steal silkworms or eggs.

Finally the secret was stolen. In the sixth century, two monks learned about the silkworms and their cocoons. They spent several years in China and finally found a way to take some silkworm eggs out of the country. The monks always carried bamboo canes. One day they hid some eggs in the hollow canes, and walked out of China with them. It is said that the development of the silk industry in other countries came from those few eggs which the monks had carried out of China.

Lesson 114 Part Ⅲ Clothing

Lesson 114

Part Ⅲ  Clothing

Ex.

Directions: Complete the outline according to what you hear on the tape.

Key:Ⅰ. A. Food B. Shelter C. Clothing

Ⅱ. A. Protection B. Decoration C. Modesty D. Magic

Ⅲ. A. cotton, linen

B. wool, silk, leather, fur

Ⅳ. A. artificial silk

B. nylon, dacron, orlon

C. disposable paper clothing, artificial leather

Ⅴ. Specific fibers for specific purposes

Tapescript

Clothing (2'22 ")

In addition to food and shelter, man has a third basic need. This is clothing.

Modern man wears clothing for three purposes: for protection, for decoration, and for modesty. It is thought that prehistoric man wore clothing for a fourth reason, as a kind of magic. For example, he may have worn the skins of animals either to celebrate his victories over them, or perhaps to lain strength and wisdom from the animals he had killed.

Until fairly recently it was possible to use only natural materials of various kinds for the making of clothing. Both plants and animals supply these natural materials. From plants we get cotton and linen. From animals we get such materials as wool, silk, leather and furs.

Wool was one of the first fibers to be used for cloth, and for a long time it was the most common textile fiber in Europe. The fiber which we call wool comes mainly from sheep, but the hair of a few other animals is also used for cloth.

Cotton has been used for over three thousand years, cspe cially in warm countries. Cotton material was not known in Europe until much later. Material made from the cotton plant can be very soft, cool and comfortable. The finest cotton materials were very expensive at one time, and only the rich people could buy them. Two other Fibers, linen and silk, have also been used extensively in the making of clothing.

In addition to the natural materials from plants and animals, modern man now has cloth which is made synthetically. Early in the seventeenth century it was first suggested that fibers could be produced synthetically. However, it was not until 1884 that the first artificial fiber was made. Called artificial silk, the fiber was made by treating cellulose with chemicals. (Cellulose is a woody material found in all plants.) Scientists continued to experiment with various ways of working with cellulose and they produced many different kinds of fibers----among them, rayon.

In the twentieth century, man has learned to create completely synthetic fibers. These are made from coal, glass, petroleum, milk and wood. Nylon, dacron and orlon are the names of a few of these synthetic fibers. Recent synthetic products include disposable paper clothing and artificial leather.

In many ways synthetic fibers are much better than natural fibers. It is possible to create specific fibers to be used for specific purposes. Of all the fibers now used by man, a very large percentage is man made.