Unit 1
Passage one
Interviewer: Can you tell me…how do you think you have changed as you have matured?What
things have had a major influence on you?
Speaker 1 : Well, let me think…I suppose going to university had a big impact on my life. It
made me much more open-minded. I met so many different types of people there with weird and wonderful ideas and it changed the way I see the world. I’m much more tolerant now… It made me a more rounded person.
Interviewer: Great, and had any particular person had a central role in forming your character? Speaker 1: I guess that’d have to be my grandfather. I was very close to him, and he taught me to
stand up for my beliefs. He was always telling me about this…
Interviewer: So what people or events have had an impact on your life?
Speaker 2: I think that traveling my gap year made me grow up and see both the beauty of the
world and, well…just the generosity of ordinary people. I traveled a lot around Asia and you know, I found that in some of the poorest countries, like Cambodia and Laos, people share whatever little they have, and they possess a real joy for life. It’s probably made me a less selfish person.
Interviewer: Interesting…so you would recommend that young people take a gap year to discover
themselves and the world?
Speaker 2: Definitely. It gives you an opportunity o learn about the world beyond the one you
grew up in and I found it really…
Interviewer: Could you tell me what things in your life have had the greatest influence in
forming your personality?
Speaker 3: Well…a couple of years ago I was on a reality TV show where a group of young
people all lived in a house together. Each week some one was voted off by the audience. I got down to the final three! I suppose being on the show and seeing how the other contestants behaved made me realize how selfish and spiteful some people can be just to get what they want. I also realized it’s best to just be yourself in life. If you pretend to be someone different people will eventually see through the lies.
Interviewer: Right…And how did you feel when you were eventually voted off?
Speaker 3: Relieved, to be honest with you. But you know, a slight regret that I didn’t win
because I kind of…
Interviewer: So you can tell me, what one thing do you think that has had the biggest impact on
your life?
Speaker 4: Hmm, that’s a difficult question. But I think helping victims of the tsunami in 2004
had a very great impact on me. I’m half Thai and I’d just arrived in Thailand for a family Christmas holiday. When I heard the news I knew I had to help-you couldn’t not. I ended up acting as an interpreter for a group of volunteer doctors. It was an incredibly difficult time but you know, even in the middle of such a horrific tragedy there is still a huge amount of g kindness.
Interviewer: That’s amazing! And has it changed the way you view your future…
Passage two
Tony: Talking to us today in our Life Choices series is Joan Robinson, an academic counselor at
Manchester University. She gives advice to school students on choosing the right subject to study at university. Joan, welcome to the show. Joan: Thanks Tony.
Tony: So Joan, what do our listeners need to think about when choosing a course? It’s a huge,
potentially life-changing decision, isn’t it?
Joan: Yes. I generally give students advice in two areas. Firstly, know yourself, and secondly,
think to the future.
Tony: When you say “know yourself” what do you mean?
Joan: Basically, I mean evaluate your own personal strengths and weaknesses, your personality
traits and the things you like.
Tony: I see…So how can our listeners do this?
Joan: Well, start by asking yourself questions to help reflect on your life so far. For example, what
subjects are you good at? Are you an organized and self-disciplined person? Are you confident and outgoing? Do you like working with others in a team or do you prefer working alone? These kinds of questions will help you discover more about yourself. Tony: Sounds like good advice. How about your second point regarding the future?
Joan: Well, your choice of major subject is likely to have a significant impact on your future
career so it’s important to look into this carefully. I recommend you check not only which academic subjects will help you get into a particular area of work, but also look carefully at what universities offer. Each university has its strengths so try to choose one that is the best in your chosen field. Find out what links the department has to related industries and leading companies in it.
Tony: Good point. Now I’d like to take some calls from our listeners. First up we have James on
the line. Hi, James! How can we help?
James: Hi. I’m interested in career in IT and I’d like to ask Joan whether she thinks it’s better to
go to a highly respected university, like Oxford, or to study somewhere that has more of a vocational focus?
Joan: Well, James, you know it really depends on what you expect to get out of a university and
how you see your future. Basically a handful of the brightest graduates are picked from the top universities around the world to join the leading IT companies. So I’d say if you’re a high-flyer then this is the route that might be for you. But if you are looking for a more mainstream career then you should consider a course that helps you acquire practical, transferable skills that you can use in the workplace…and look at which universities have the best levels of graduate recruitment for the kind of job you are aiming for. James: I see! Thanks a lot. That really helps me out…
Unit 2
Passage1
One of the strangest feelings I’ve ever had was when I returned by chance to a place where I’d been happy as a child. My husband and I were visiting some friends for the weekend-----they lived about 200 kilometers away. We were driving along when I suddenly saw a church in the distance
that I recognized. My favorite aunt had lived very near it on a farm that my brother and I used to visit once a year with our parents.
We were city kids, brought up in the middle of London, and this was a working farm-----the real thing-----with cows in cowsheds, fields with ponds and a muddy yard full of smelly pigs-----we had the run of the whole place-----it was just paradise for us.
And then-----there was the food-----home-made jam and bread and cakes, milk fresh from the cow. And my aunt Lottie-----a farmer’s wife-----and her husband, uncle George and their kids, Katie and Ben, our two cousins who my brother and I really got on with. It was heaven that week we used to spend there. They moved from the farm when I was… how old? ----- about 14. So I’d never been back or seen it again.
Anyway, there we were, and I’d just seen the church-----, so we turned off and drove down this really narrow lane. And before I knew it we were in front of Aunt Lottie’s farm. The extraordinary thing was that it hadn’t changed------ not one tiny bit.
It was a lovely old place with a typical country cottage garden, full of flowers. There were lots of barns and sheds-----they were next to-----next to the farm. And you know, I can’t even begin to describe the feeling I had standing there. It was-----oh, what was it? an incredibly powerful feeling of longing-----nostalgia for the past-----for times I’d been very very happy. But it was the past. I hadn’t been there for 20 years and I couldn’t go back, so also I had a feeling of huge sadness, that I couldn’t have those times again. And-----at the same time-----great sweetness, because those times had been so happy, so innocent-----because I was a child. So there was this extraordinary mix-----of longing, sadness and sweetness, all at the same time. It was the strangest feeling I’ve ever had.
Passage2 Script
Interviewer: So what's your first memory of school, Kevin?
Kevin: I was really looking forward to school, I remember that, I just couldn't wait. Yeah,
Johnny, my brother, was a year older than me and he seemed so grown-up, with his red blazer and smart shoes. And I wanted to go to school and be grown-up too. I don't remember much of the first day actually, apart from this little boy lying on the floor and screaming and screaming and me thinking what a baby he was. Interviewer: Right! What about you, Eva?
Eva: I just have this one memory of this coat rack with all our coats. And I was looking for my
peg which had a little picture of an elephant next to it. I remember I was crying because I wanted to go home and I couldn't get my coat on. I was crying so much and then the teacher came and helped me.
Interviewer: OK, so what about your first best friend at school?
Kevin: Oh, yeah, well, Steve, I remember him, because he's still my best friend! Interviewer: Still your best friend! Eva: That's so great!
Kevin: Yeah, we didn't know each other before we started school but we became really good
friends and so did our mums. Our families ended up going on holiday together and that kind of thing. But we used to fight a lot, Steve and I, and the teachers used to get very cross with us. But we were just having fun.
Interviewer: Cool! And what about you, Eva?
Eva: My best friend was a girl called Robina. She had short blond hair, I remember I thought she
looks like an angel. We sat next to each other and held hands and played fairies in the playground. She left in Year 3 and I cried for days.
Interviewer: Oh, how sad! So what about the day you left school? How was that?
Eva: I had a lot of mixed feelings, I remember walking home with this amazing feeling of freedom,
you know, no more rules, no more bossy teachers. But I also felt pretty sad, because I'd had some good times. I was in a group of girls who were so supportive of each other.
Kevin: I couldn't wait to leave, I was counting the days.I just wanted to get a job, get a life, earn
some cash. The day I left, I went out to celebrate with a couple of my mates and--had a very good time!
Unit 6
Passage1
A US Airways jet landed in the icy Hudson River in New York this afternoon after apparently hitting a flock of geese.Miraculously,no one was killed and there were few injuries.James Moore,our correspondent at the scene,has more.
An Airbus 330 took off from La Guardia Airport.New York,at 3:26pm this afternoon,bound for Charlotte Airport in North Carolina.It had 155 people aboard.Thirty to 45 seconds after take-off,a flock of geese apparently flew into the plane,causing it to lose power in both engines and one engine to catch fire.Without power the plane was unable to return to La Guardia Airport and the pilot decided to land in the Hudson River in order to avoid crashing in a populated area. Two minutes later the plane made a successful landing in the Hudson and passengers were able to climb out through the emergency exits.
The plane immediately started taking in water but fortunately water taxis and boats that had seen the crash were waiting by the aircraft. Passengers and crew stood on the wings of the plane in the icy cold water and were helped into the boats.Over the next hour,as New York watched the event on television,everyone on the plane,including a baby,were taken to hospitals for treatment,mostly because of the extreme cold,Their injuries are not reported to be serious.One of the passengers,Alberto Panero,said people had bugun praying as the plane approached the river but that everyone had stayed clam.
The pilot of the plane has been named as Chesley Sullenberger.Aged 57,he has 29 years experience of flying and at one time had been a US fighter pilot.Sullenberger was the last to leave the plane and walked up and down it twice to make sure it was empty before climbing out.He has already been described as a hero.The Governer of New York,David patersm,said at a news conference this afternoon,“I believe now we've had a miracle on the Hudson.This pilot,somehow without any engines,was somehaw able to land this plane and perhaps without any injuris to the passengers.”
It is thought that the survival of all on board is because the plane did not break up when it hit water and because of the immediately arrival of the water taxis and boats.
Passage 2
Streets Full of Heroes
A:Hi,we are asking people who their personal hero is. Someone they really admire and who’s
相关推荐：
loading