Janet: 但是我同时也搞砸了Toby Jenkins的节目录制.
Andy: 别把它放心上，Janet.每个人曾经都犯过这样的错误。在我还没来得及调整音量的时候Joe就已经开始录制节目了。这不是你的错。无论如何，曾有人说过，科技不能创造成功，而关系可以。所以不要过分自责。
Janet: 我希望如此。我下次会小心，不再犯这样的错误。
Outside view
To fly like a bird. It‘s a desire that captures the human imagination. The Greeks told stories of Daedalus, an inventor who created wings made of wax and feathers and flew. The first person who seriously tried to fly like a bird was an Italian artist and inventor, Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci designed complex and wondrous flying machines, but his designs never got off the ground. Early inventors, like da vinci, tried to fly by flapping, just like birds. Here is what happens when a bird flaps:
When a bird flaps, thrust and lift and control are created at the same time. Lift is the force that keeps the bird elevated. Lift is generated by the air under the bird‘s wings. Thrust is the force that keeps the bird moving forward. Thrust is generated by powerful muscles in the bird‘s chest and wings. The bird maintains control by constantly adjusting its flapping. Much of a bird‘s control is generated by its tail.
A successful flying machine needed to provide the same forces that a bird used, A successful flying machine needed to provide lift to overcome gravity, control to let the driver change direction. And thrust to make it move forward. And it needed to be light enough to stay in the air. Once inventors understood these three challenges separately, and stopped trying to flap,they made progress. One inventor was the Brazilian pilot and aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont. Santos-Dumont experimented with balloons. He flew his lighter-than-air flying machines in France. In 1901, Santos-Dumont was the first to fly from Sant Cloud to the Eiffel Tower and back in a given time. Meanwhile other inventors were working on heavier-than-air flying machines. With these aircraft, lift was a big problem.
German flyer, Otto Lilienthal, tackled the problem of lift. He built many large gliders, constantly refining their design. Lilienthal made thousands of flights from the top of a hill. Some that lasted as long as five hours. But he eventually died in a tragic crash. Lilienthal successfully mastered the challenge of lift, but he did not master the challenge of control.
The Wright Brothers were inspired by Lilienthal‘s inventions. The Wright Brothers started to develop and test their own flying machines. In their Ohio workshop, they built a wind tunnel and study aerodynamics. Through trial and error, they discovered how the shapes of different wings affected lift. They added a tail that moved, a stabilizer that made the front steady, and wings that were more flexible. Their 1902 glider was the first aircraft that was completely controllable. The next year they added a customed-built engine that provided thrust. The engine powered them forward and increased distance and duration. On December 17th, 1903, after about 1000 text flights, the Wright Brothers flew the first powered airplane over the sand dunes of North Carolina. Santos-Dumont invented heavier-than-air planes, too. In 1909, he developed a monoplane called Demoiselle, or the Grass Hopper. It was the first modern aircraft. After that, advances in aircraft design came quickly. More powerful engines were invented. New lightweight materials were developed so aircraft could go higher and faster. By World War Two, strong metal replaced the canvas and wood of earlier planes. In 1947, text pilot Chuck Yeager went faster than the speed of
sound in a rocket-powered plane that looked like a bullet with wings. The invention of the jet engine made even higher speeds possible and pushed aircraft design in new directions. But technology doesn‘t always push to go faster. With new ultra-light materials, the human-powered gossamer makes it almost possible for people to fulfill the age-old desire and fly like a bird.
像鸟一样飞。这种渴望激发了人类的想象力。希腊人讲述了有关代达拉斯的故事，他发明了用蜡和皮毛制作的翅膀并且飞了起来。第一个认真地尝试像鸟一样飞起来的人是意大利的艺术家、发明家李奥纳多达芬奇。达芬奇设计了一种复杂奇妙的飞行机器，但是他的设计从未实现。像达芬奇一样早期的发明家，试着通过鼓翼而飞，就像鸟一样。以下是当鸟拍打翅膀时发生的事：
当一只鸟拍打翅膀时，推力和升力以及对飞行的控制都在同时间产生。升力是保持鸟上升的力。它通过鸟翅膀下的空气流动产生。推力是保持鸟向前运动的力，它由在鸟胸部和翅膀上强有力的肌肉产生。鸟通过持续不断地调整摆翅从而维持对飞行的控制。一只鸟的飞行控制大部分是由它的尾巴实现的。
一个成功的飞行机器需要上述要素。一个成功的飞行机器需要提供升力来克服重力，还能够操控好让驾驶员改变方向，并且要有推力使其前进。同时它还需要足够轻才能待在空中。一旦发明家们了解了这三个难题，并且停止继续尝试鼓翼的方法，他们就能够取得进步。有位发明家叫作Alberto Santos-Dumont，他是巴西的飞行员。他用气球做实验，在法国起飞他的轻飞行器。1901年，Santos-Dumont是第一个在规定时间内往返飞行于圣克劳德和埃菲尔铁塔的人。其间，其他的发明家也在努力研发着重飞行器。对于这些飞行器，升力是个巨大的问题。德国飞行家Otto Lilienthal克服了这个问题。他建造了许多大型的滑翔机，并且不断地改良着设计方案，在一山丘的顶上进行了成千上万次飞行实验，有些持续飞行了5小时之久。但是他最终在一次悲惨的撞击中去世了。Lilienthal 成功解决了升力的难题，可惜却没能掌握机身的控制。莱特兄弟被Lilienthal的发明所鼓舞，开始改进并测试他们自己的飞行器。在他们俄亥俄州的车间，他们建造了一个风洞和机翼模型，帮助他们了解学习空气动力学。通过无数的试验和错误，他们终于探索出不同形状的机翼是如何影响升力的。莱特兄弟们在飞机上增加了机尾，以及使前端更加稳定的稳定装置，并且使用了更加灵活柔韧的机翼。他们1902年发明的滑翔机是第一个能够完全可控的飞行器。次年他们添加了一个定制的引擎来提供推力。这个引擎为他们前进、增加飞行距离和飞行持续时间提供了动力。1903年12月17日，在将近1000次的试飞后，莱特兄弟在北卡罗纳州的沙丘上飞起了第一假机动飞机。Santos-Dumont也发明了重飞行器。1909年，他改进了单翼机，命名为Demoiselle或者叫Grass Hopper。它是第一架现代飞行器。在那以后，飞机的设计飞快地进步着。更多强劲的引擎被发明出来。新型轻型材料也改进了，以至于飞机能飞得更高更快。二战前，坚固的金属取代了早期飞机的帆布和木头。1947年，试飞员Chuck Yeager在一假长得像带翅膀的子弹的火箭推进动力飞机里飞得比声音还快。喷气式引擎的发明使得更快的速度成为可能，同时促使飞机向新的方向设计。但是技术并不总是向更快迈进，借着超轻型材料的出现，如薄纱做的人力驱动飞机使得满足人们像鸟一样飞翔的夙愿成为可能。
Listening in Passage1
Traditional jobs like the chimney sweeps and coal miners from our history lessons don't really exist anymore. During the 20th century the number of people working in agriculture and manufacturing decreased significantly. In contrast, the number of people doing office-based jobs has more than doubled from 18 percent of the working population in 1901, to over 40 percent by the end of the 20th century. Modern society has changed the way we work but these changes are
not always positive. They can also create problems we may not be aware of.
What does the modern office mean for the nation's health, for example? Well，firstly, office jobs are sedentary. We're sitting at our desks all day working on computers. And this means we're not exercising our bodies in the way people used to when they did more traditional jobs. It's not surprising then that we're all putting on weight .In fact, a fifth of adults over 16 were classified as over weight in 2001.
But there are other less obvious dangers connected with office work. Repetitive strain injury, or RSI, another disorders like muscle strain, neck and backache are a growing problem. It's estimated that in 2002, over a million people suffered from these kinds of health problems. As a result, 123 million working days were lost. The cause is simple: long periods spent sitting at the computer typing and using a mouse.
Many companies now employ ergonomic experts to ensure staff are sitting correctly at their computers and take frequent breaks from typing to try and prevent injury. Another problem of the modern office is the building itself. People tend to feel tired and irritable after a day stuck inside a modern office and often get colds and flu. This phenomenon is known as ―sick building syndrome\air and light. Secondly, within the enclosed space of an office environment, there is a high concentration of electronic devices. And as well as this, air-conditioning systems in large buildings recirculate the air around the office, carrying germs from workstation to workstation. Research suggests sick buildings syndrome can be found in roughly 30 percent of new or refurbished buildings.
But there is some good news for office workers. A lot of companies are making efforts to improve office workplaces. They're installing better lighting and ventilation. They're increasing the number of plants. And they're encouraging employees to take regular breaks from their computers. So if anyone listening is in an office, take this simple advice: get up, have a stretch, open a window-if you can-and think of ways you can stay healthy in this most unnatural environment.
类似打扫烟囱和挖掘煤矿这类出现在我们历史课本上的传统工作将不会继续存在下去。20世纪，从事农业和工业劳动的人数急剧减少。与之相反的是，在办公室里办公的人员人数从1901年仅占劳动力总数的18%增长到20世纪末的40%，翻了一倍。现代化的社会改变了我们的工作方式，但这些改变并不总是积极的。它们也可能产生一些我们意料之外的问题。
例如，现代化的办公对于国民的健康意味着什么呢？首先，办公室的工作往往缺少身体活动。我们常常坐在电脑前工作一整天。这就意味着我们没能像过去从事传统劳动人们那样在工作中锻炼我们的身体。这样一来我们体重增加就没什么值得吃惊的了。事实上，在2001年16岁以上的成年人中有五分之一属于超重人群。
另外，还有一些由办公室工作带来的并不太明显的危险。例如重复性的肌肉拉伤和紧张劳损，还有一些其他的身体混乱症状例如肌肉拉伤，颈部以及背部的疼痛问题越来越多。据预计，在2002年，超过100万人将会遭受上述的健康问题，这将导致1230万个工作日的损失。造成这种现象的原因很简单：长期坐在电脑前打字和使用鼠标。
现在许多公司雇佣人类工程学专家来确保员工在电脑前坐姿正确并且在操作电脑中足够频繁地得到休息，以此避免长时间工作带来的伤痛。
在现代办公室中存在的另一个问题是办公室这个建筑物本身。人们常常在现代办公室里呆上一整天后感觉到疲劳和急躁，并且常常患感冒和流感。这个现象被称为“室内空气综合
症”，它是由多种因素引发的。首先，在许多办公室中缺少自然的空气和阳光。其次，在办公室的封闭环境中聚集着大量电子设备。另外，在大型建筑中的空调系统使办公室中的空气不断循环，将病菌从一个工作区带到另一个工作区。研究指出，在大概30%的新建或翻新的办公室中存在室内空气综合症患者。
但这里也有一些关于办公室共工作人员的好消息。许多公司都在努力提升室内工作环境。他们正在提供更好的的照明和通风系统，增加室内植物的数量，并且鼓励员工在使用电脑的过程中有规律地休息。如果有人正在办公室里收听该文的话，请听从下述简单建议：站起来，伸展一下四肢，打开窗户（如果你做得到的话），然后想想你该怎么样在一个很不自然的环境下保持健康。
Passage 2
Karen: Jim, you‘ve been a farmer for a long time. Can you explain how farming methods have
changed?
Jim: Well, in the past, most agriculture was small-scale and labour-intensive, and on the whole
worked in harmony with nature. But in the last 50 years, things have changed dramatically, particularly in the industrialized world. Now 41 percent of the world‘s farmland is managed intensively.
Karen: And what does this mean in practice?
Jim: You see, nowadays, most farms have high productivity which，in one sense, is a good thing.
However, it can mean that vast areas are the farmed with the same crop. Hedgerows are removed and chemical pesticides and fertilizers used. This has a negative effect on the ecosystem and destroys other forms of natural vegetation and local wildlife. Karen: So do you think we are interfering too much with nature?
Jim: Obviously farmers these days need to produce enough food at a reasonable price. But I
think the problem is that modern agriculture encourages the use of a unlimited numbers of species of each crop. Some traditional varieties of apples or grains, for example, are becoming extinct. The new varieties of seed they sell need pesticides and fertilizers and aren‘t as resilient to pests as many tradition varieties. And they don‘t always produce higher yields for farmers. Karen: And how about wild life?
Jim: Well, modern agriculture sometimes kills off wildlife which it also needs for its own
survival. In order to bear fruit, 75 percent of flowering plants need to be pollinated. This is traditionally done by bees, butterflies and birds whose populations are actually declining Honey bees are essential for more than 90 commercially grown crops. Farmers in California, for example, now have to release millions of bees to pollinate their almond trees.
Karen: So what in your opinion is the answer?
Jim: Going back to more traditional ways of farming. Small-scales farms are producing a variety
of crops and working with nature. Farmers can leave some land uncultivated to create ―wildlife corridors‖. This will provide a habitat for a variety of traditional plants as well as for the bees and insects needed to pollinate them. Another solution is planting indigenous， or local species. For example, in Africa researchers are encouraging farmers to plant a local wild species of mango that actually produces fruit in four years. Most cultivated varieties take 12 years. People are also starting seed banks to conserve local varieties of
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