全國英語等級(jí)考試教材第三級(jí)Unit20

[00:00.00] CHAPTER 20 GEOGRAPHY [00:11.78]Unit 20 Geography [00:16.54]Conversations [00:20.30]1.Bing,an American tourist in Edinburgh for the Edinburgh Festival, [00:28.66]has arranged to meet someone at the Greyfriar's Bobby, [00:34.12]a public house,but he can't find it.He's walking east along Princes Street. [00:42.48]Bing:Oh,excuse me.Er.Madam! T.W:Yes? [00:48.12]Bing:Um,I wonder if you could help me. [00:52.48]I'm trying to find a pub called Greyfriar's Bobby. [00:57.94]It's on the Mond,somewhere down this-off this street. [01:04.18]T.W.:Well,that's right.Um,have you got a map there? [01:09.83]We can have a look at it. [01:13.48]Bing:Yes,Madam.Right here. [01:17.74]T.W.:I'll just show you on it.It's quite easy. [01:22.60]Now you're just here in Princes Street. [01:27.25](Bing:Uhuh.)What you have to do is to walk along a litle bit and then turn right, [01:35.40]and you go up the mound.You see up the hill there.There's a buil-... [01:42.95]Bing:Oh,yeah.The Mond.The Mond is the name of a road,is it?I see.Uhuh. [01:51.49]T.W:That's right.That's right,and you walk past the Assembly Hall. [01:57.05]Can you see there up on the hill,if you just look up to your right there? [02:04.00]Bing:That big building up there?OK. [02:09.57]T.W.:That's right.You just keep on walking past,and you go across the High Street, [02:17.01]or the Royal Mile,as we call it... [02:21.45]Bing:Across it?And you cross over it? [02:26.31]T.W:That's right.You just keep going,and up on your right hand side, [02:33.29]you'll see a little monument,and that's the monument to Greyfriar's Bobby. [02:40.34]You know,there was a wee dog.. [02:47.11]T.W.:Well,if you just go in there,the pub is just next door. [02:53.95]I think you'll find it quite easily. [02:58.10]Bing:Great.I really appreciate it.Thanks very much. [03:03.95]T.W:OK.Goodbye. [03:07.19]Bing:Bye-bye. [03:10.35]2.Tom and Susan spent a few days in London last month. [03:17.30]They left their car at home and stayed in a good hotel in the centre of town. [03:23.65]They spent a lot of money.This is what happened the day they went home. [03:30.00]Susan:Why do we have to walk to the staiton?And where is it? [03:36.03]Tom:It's just down that road...I think. [03:41.07]Susan:Look!There's a policeman!Ask him the way. [03:46.82]Tom:All right.Excuse me.Can you tell me the way to Waterloo Station? [03:53.48]Policeman:Yes.Walk down this road,take the first turning on the left. [04:00.14]Then walk until you come to the river and... [04:05.00]Tom:The river? [04:08.37]Policeman:Yes.You can't see it very clearly from here. [04:13.62]When you come to it,there's bridge.Just walk across it. [04:19.47]Follow the signs that say"To Waterloo Station".You can't miss it. [04:25.95]Tom:And is it very far?I mean,how long does it take to walk there? [04:32.30]Policeman:About fifteen minutes,if you walk quickly. [04:37.05]Tom:I see.Thank you very much. [04:41.31]Policeman:Not at all. [04:44.68]Susan:Fifteen minutes!And with these heavy suitcases,too! [04:51.34]I think we ought to take a taxi. [04:55.39]Tom:Not at this hour.Look at the traffic.It's moving very slowly. [05:02.34]We can get there just as quickly as on foot. [05:07.38]Susan:Well,I can't possibly carry this case any farther. [05:13.76]Tom:All right.let me take it,then. [05:18.41]Susan:Don't be silly.You can't carry your case and mine as well! [05:25.04]Tom:Yes,I can.The cases aren't that heavy..hmm! [05:31.89]Susan:You see!They're heavier than you thought! [05:36.43]Tom:Perhaps it's not such a bad idea after all. [05:41.39]Susan:What isn't such a bad idea?What do you mean? [05:46.96]Tom:Taxi!Taxi! [05:51.40]3.Jane is a foreign visitor who wants information [05:58.84]about how to visit places in Britain. [06:03.31]Now she is asking an assistant at the Tourist Office. [06:09.16]Assistant:Morning.Can I help you? [06:12.72]Jane:Yes.What's the best way of getting to Windsor,please? [06:19.09]Is there a bus from central London? [06:23.35]Assistant:Well,there are Green Line buses- [06:28.08]or of course there are guided coach tours,but they're more expensive. [06:34.61]Jane:What's a Green Line bus? [06:38.97]Assistant:Oh,they're green buses-single-decker buses- [06:44.40]that go farther out than the double-decker buses- [06:49.84]red buses which you see in central London. [06:54.48]Jane:Thanks.I'm sorry,but I have another question. [07:00.15]Can we go to Green-wich by boat? [07:04.59]Assistant:Yes,you can get a boat from Westminster Pier. [07:09.95]Oh,but not in the winter,I'm afraid.You'll have to go by train. [07:16.51]Jane:The underground? [07:20.03]Assistant:No,an ordinary train from Charing Cross Statin. [07:25.88]There's no tube to Greenwich. [07:29.65]Jane:Thank you.And one final question. [07:34.32]What's the best way of getting to Hatfield? [07:39.28]Do we need a train there,too? [07:43.54]Assistant:No,you can go by Green Line.Here's leaflet with all the details. [07:51.12]Passage [07:54.04]Earthquake Prediction [07:57.49]Humans are forever forgetting that they can not control nature. [08:03.55]Exactly 20 years ago,a Time magazine cover story [08:09.80]announced that"scientists are on the verge of being able to predict the time, [08:16.56]place and even the size of earthquakes." [08:21.52]The people who are suffering from quakes [08:26.07]learned last week how wrong that assertion was [08:31.43]Two of the main instruments in use [08:35.58]to predict earthquakes are seismgraphs and tilt meters. [08:42.06]The former records any shaking of the earth. [08:47.20]By means of calculations,experts can give their predictions on earthquakes. [08:54.57]The latter,as the name suggests, [08:59.04]is used to record any changes in the tilt of the land. [09:04.78]However,neither has yet to discover [09:09.83]a uniform warning signal that preceded all quakes, [09:15.86]let alone any sign that would tell whether the ecoming tremble is mild or a killer. [09:23.41]Earthquake formation can be triggered by many factors,says Tom Hocking, [09:30.17]an expert on earthquake at the California Institute of Technology. [09:36.73]The actual cause of quake itself is the breaking apart of rocks [09:43.50]at or below the earth's surface. [09:47.75]It is believed by scientists that two of the many reasons are the expansion [09:55.12]and contraction of the earth's crust and continental drift, [10:00.27]which are both complex processes. [10:04.71]So,finding one all-purpose warning sign is impossible. [10:11.47]One reason:quakes start deep in the earth, [10:17.22]so scientists can not study them directly. [10:22.86]If an early sign of quake is found, [10:27.93]it would still be impossible to warn humans in advance of all dangerous quakes. [10:35.87]Places like Japan and California are puzzled with hundreds, [10:43.03]if not thousands,of minor faults. [10:47.76]Prediction would be less important [10:52.30]if scientists could easily build structures to withstand shakes. [10:59.25]While engineering on earthquakes [11:03.69]has improved dramatically in the past 10 to 15 years, [11:09.65]every new quake reveals new weaknesses in"quake-resistant"structures, [11:17.09]says an expert at Brown University. [11:21.64]In Kobe,for example,a highway that opened only last year was damaged. [11:28.77]In the Northridge earthquake,on the other hand, [11:33.63]well-built structures generally did not colapse. [11:38.98]A recent report in Science adds yet more anxiety about life on the faulty lines. [11:47.45]Researchers ran computer simulations to see how quake-resistant buildings [11:55.21]would fare in a moderate-size earth-quake, [11:59.96]taking into account that much of a quake's energy travels [12:06.44]in a large"pulse"of focused shaking. [12:11.48]The results:both steel-frame buildings [12:16.94]and buildings that sit on insulating rubber pads suffered severe damage. [12:24.59]More research will help experts desian stronger structures [12:30.65]and polssibly find early signs. [12:35.62]But it is still a certainty that the next earthquake will prove once again [12:42.78]that every fault can not be monitored [12:48.10]and every highway can not be compoletely quake-proofed. [12:54.45]Words and Expressions [12:58.11]prediction on the verge of predict assertion [13:01.23]預(yù)測 接近于 預(yù)測 說法;斷言 [13:04.35]instrument seismograph tilt meter latter [13:08.32]工具 地震儀 測量地面傾斜度的儀器 后者 [13:12.29]uniform precede let alone tremble [13:16.12]統(tǒng)一的 在...之前 更不要說 戰(zhàn)栗 [13:19.95]mild formation trigger factor [13:23.74]輕微的 形成 引發(fā) 因素 [13:27.52]contraction crust continental drift [13:31.30]收縮 外殼 大陸的 漂流 [13:35.07]process minor withstand dramatically [13:38.70]過程 輕微的 抵擋 鮮明地 [13:42.33]reveal resistant collapse anxiety [13:45.97]顯現(xiàn) 抵抗的 倒塌 憂慮 [13:49.60]simulation fare moderate pulse [13:53.23]模擬 順利 中等的 脈搏 [13:56.86]frame insulating pad [13:59.74]框架 絕緣的 墊,襯墊 [14:02.63]severe quake-proofed [14:04.90]嚴(yán)重的 防震的 [14:07.18]Exercises Section I Listening Comprehension [14:13.94]Listen to the record. [14:17.81]Answer each quesstion by choosing A,B,C or D from the four possible choices. [14:28.26]A 1.W:How many countries have you been to? [14:35.62]M:Australia,America and Austria.I'll be back home in Japan next week. [14:44.17]2.W:I hear you've been to Russia in 1990s,Mr.White.Was that your first visit? [14:53.10]M:No,it was not my first visit to Russia. [14:57.78]I had visited Russia twice before 1980. [15:03.13]3.W:Do you always have weather like this in January? [15:09.30]M:Generally it is much colder than this. [15:13.84]But I can't remember when we had such a snowy day. [15:18.99]4.W:Excuse me,could you tell me the way to the airport? [15:25.47]M:Sorry,I'm a stranger here,too. [15:29.83]5.W:Where shall I plant these seeds,Jack? [15:36.18]M:Let me see.In tront of the house?No,I think right here would be better. [15:44.12]6.W:Excuse me,where is the closest place to eat? [15:50.88]M:Down the street about four blocks.I can take you there if you like. [15:57.54]B M:Jane!Imagine seeing you here. [16:03.47]W:Jack!Glad to see you too.I haven't seen you for ages. [16:11.02]M:You know,I've been hoping to get hold of you. [16:16.17]Would you be able to come over this Friday? [16:20.90]My sister just returned from a trip to Canada. [16:26.07]She'll be staying with Su for a few days. [16:31.22]I thought you two might like to get to know each other [16:36.21]since you two are both botanists. [16:40.65]W:Oh!I'd love to.But I can't. [16:46.00]I have to go up to my younger brother's graduation on Friday right after work. [16:53.05]It takes about four hours to get to Seattle,you know. [16:58.70]M:Seattle?I thought you were from Portland. [17:03.95]W:No,I just lived there for a few years. [17:08.91]M:Well,it's really too bad you can't make it. [17:13.95]When my sister was in Canada,she spent the whole time taking pictures of plants. [17:21.32]I can't believe how good some of them are. [17:25.89]W:Is there any chance that you could ask her to stay around for a little bit longer? [17:32.73]I'll be getting back early Sunday. [17:37.41]M:I doubt whether we can get her to stay much longer.She is busy. [17:43.86]W:Well,if I can't get hold of her this time, [17:49.03]maybe I'll have to wait till the next time she comes around. [17:54.49]C M:How do you do? [17:58.94]W:How do you do?What can I do for you? [18:03.98]M:Well,I've just got off an international flight, [18:09.54]and I'm not sure which mode of transport I should make use fo on my trip. [18:15.89]So I need some advice. [18:19.86]W:Go on,please. [18:23.20]M:I'm planning to travel to some famous places-Beijing, [18:29.76]Xi'an and Guilin in China. [18:34.62]Which mode of transport is the best for me? [18:39.48]W:Well,that depends on how much time and money you're going to spend on your trip. [18:47.03]M:I see. [18:50.19]I'm traveling at my expense, [18:54.73]so I want to save to both time and money spent on my way. [19:00.51]W:Oh,I know what you mean. [19:04.27]Now that you are in Beijing,you should visit the Great Wall,the Summer Palace, [19:11.22]the Imperial Palace and Tian'anmen Square as well. [19:16.68]During your trip in Beijing, [19:20.62]make use of the underground which is faster and cheaper. [19:26.68]M:How can I get to Xi'an? [19:30.34]You know I have to go to Beijing after I've finished all my travelling. [19:36.69]W:It's much cheaper to take a train to Xi'an than to fly. [19:43.22]In my opinion,you should take the train to Xi'an and then to Guilin. [19:50.09]You will not only save money but also have a close beautiful scenic trip. [19:58.13]After that,fly directly from Guilin to Beijing. [20:04.19]M:Good!That's a really good idea.I'll do as you have suggested. [20:12.13]Thanks.Thanks a lot. [20:16.39]W:Not at all! Goodbye! [20:20.05]M:Goodbye! [20:23.10]Supplementary Reading [20:26.47]Rivers and Lakes in the United States [20:31.80]Lying between the Appalachian Mountains [20:36.35]and the Rocky Mountains is one of the world's greatest continental rivers- [20:42.91]the Mississippi. [20:45.96]The Mississippi rises in the lake region in Noth Minnesota [20:52.13]and flows south to the Gulf of Mexico. [20:56.67]It is 3 782 kilometers long. [21:02.42]But if it is measured from the source of its chief headstream,the Missouri, [21:08.98]it is over 6 000 kilometers before it joins the Mississippi at St.Louis. [21:16.34]Another major river which flows from the rainy east at Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania [21:22.82]and joins the Mississippi at Cairo,Illinois,is sthe river Ohio. [21:29.66]It is about 1 500 kilometers long. [21:35.44] These rivers are very important in American life. [21:40.69]The Mississippi has been called "Father of Waters" or "Old Man River". [21:47.66]The Mississippi and its tributaries drain one of the richest farm areas in the world. [21:55.11]They form a 19 000 kilometers system of waterways [22:01.59]that are connected to the Great Lakes in the north by canals [22:07.05]and serve as a means of transportation and as a source of fertility to the soil. [22:13.50]But just like the Yellow River in China, [22:17.94]the Mississippi has frequently flooded its banks and caused much destruction. [22:24.89]The Ohio River has been called the American Ruhr (after the Ruhr River in Germany). [22:32.75]As in Germany,the area along the river [22:37.82]is rich in valuable deposits of high-grade coking coal [22:43.46]and is well-known for its steel industry. [22:47.82]The river provides cheap water transportation for raw materials. [22:53.88]On the pacific side ther are two great rivers: [22:58.64]the Colorado in the south,and the Columbia,which rises in Canada. [23:05.19]The Colorado River rises in the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. [23:10.84]It flows 2 330 kilometers through mountains, [23:17.32]plateaus and deep canyons and empties into the Gulf of California. [23:24.68]In the dry western country,both rivers are vital sources of life. [23:31.24]The Colorado drains and enormous area. [23:35.60]All the farms and cities of the southwestern corner [23:40.56]of the country depend on its water. [23:45.42]Today a system of dams has been buillt on the river [23:50.49]to supply water and electricity for farms,factories and homes. [23:57.26] The Rio Grande River rises in the southern Rocky Mountains [24:02.90]and flows to the Gulf of mexico. [24:06.87]It is about 3 200 kilometers long [24:12.20]and forms a natural boundary between Mexico and the United States. [24:18.23]Other well-known rivers include the Hudson [24:23.20]which meets the Atlantic Ocean at New York City [24:28.34]and the Potomac bordering the national capital of Washington. [24:33.91] The most important lakes in teh United States are the Great Lakes. [24:39.68]They are Lake Superior,which is the largest fresh water lake in the world, [24:46.73]Lake Michigan (the only one entirely in the US), [24:52.48]Lake Huron,Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. [24:58.44]They are all located between Canada and the United States except Lake Michigan. [25:05.28]These lakes are joined together by canals [25:09.85]and are linked to the Mississippi River and its tributaries in the Interior Plants [25:08.85]and the Atlantic Ocean forming a complete system of waterways. [25:14.91]Even though the cities on the Great Lakes [25:19.59]are over 1 600 kilometers away from the sea, [25:25.23]they can be reached by ships from the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. [25:32.07]The Great Lakes are the economic lifeline of the Midwest. [25:37.85]They provide cheap transportation for materials [25:42.81]such as iron ore,coal,and grain. [25:47.85]The upper lakes region is a land of great natural wealth, [25:53.52]whereas the lower lakes region is a land of industries. [25:58.67]The cheap and easy transportation between these two regions is of great importance.

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