(经历)World War II, I know that war is a terrible thing. Q: How does the woman know about war?
9. M: Why did World War II have such far-reaching effects(深远的影响)? W: Well, many people think it was the first truly global(全球的) war because nearly all the major powers of the world were involved. Fifty-six countries had soldiers fighting and about 35 million people were killed. Q: How many nations took part in World War II?
10. M: Have you been paying attention? Can you tell me what I just said abut World War II?
W: Yes, sir. I have been listening carefully. You said, “Soldiers protested(抗议) other wars after returning from World War II.” Q: Where is the conversation taking place?
Understanding a Long Conversation
Now you will hear a long conversation followed by five questions. Listen carefully and choose the best answer from the four possible choices.
M: Good evening! For today’s program, we have invited a lady who worked as a nurse during World War II.
W: Good evening! At the outbreak of World War II, the government called on all its citizens 18 years old and over to help out. I started training as a nurse in November, 1940. It was two months of being taught basic skills in the School of Nursing. M: What happened to you during the blitz(大规模空袭)? You know, when Nazi Germany bombed Britain?
W: Manchester was bombed on the 22nd and 23rd of December, 1940. On December 24 I received a telegram requesting my immediate return from leave for nursing duties. Many volunteers in the Manchester Social Services had taken a week’s leave for the Christmas holidays, so the Manchester City Rest Centers were short of staff(人手). Christmas Day was therefore my first day of nursing. We worked almost without sleep for days until the crisis (危机)eased(停止).
1. What sort of work did the woman do during World War II? D 2. What did the government ask all adults to do? C 3. How did she prepare for her job? A
4. Why were the Manchester City Rest Centers short of staff? B 5. When were they finally able to relax? D
Understanding a Passage
Now you will hear a passage followed by five questions. Listen carefully and choose the best answer from the four possible choices.
I was born in Liverpool in February, 1938, so I only 18 months old when World War II broke out(爆发). During the bombings, my family lived in an air raid (空袭)
shelter (防空洞)in the back garden of our house. My father did his normal work during the day and Home Guard duties at night. After the terrific(极大的) pounding (连续重击)that Liverpool endured(忍受)in May, 1941, from German bombers, my family had to move away to the countryside. I started school in 1943 but I had to carry a gas mask (毒气面罩)with me everywhere I went. Liverpool suffered heavily in the bombing and it became quite common to see the horrible bomb sites(场所). But everyone remained tough(坚强) in the face of so much danger, and Britain won in the end.
1. How old was the speaker when World War II started? B 2. Where did they live during the bombing of their city? C 3. Why did his family move away? D
4. What did he carry to school with him? D
5. What was common for him to see during that difficult time? A
Listening and Speaking
Previously(以前) unpublished (未出版的)letters by Albert Einstein to a Japanese pen pal show the physicist condemned(谴责) the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The widow (遗孀)of Einstein’s Japanese pen pal chose to go public with the letters on the 60th anniversary(周年纪念日)of the world’s only nuclear attacks. Einstein’s opposition (反对)to nuclear warfare has already been recorded, but his letters also show him defending (辩护)himself on a personal level. The correspondence(通信) began in 1953 when the Japanese individual (个人)sent a letter to Einstein criticizing (批评)the physicist over his role in developing nuclear weapons.
Einstein responded(回信) by hand on the back of the typed letter. “I have always criticized the use of the atomic bomb against Japan, but I could not do anything at all to prevent that fateful (灾难性的)decision,” Einstein wrote in German in a letter dated June 23, 1953.
The Hiroshima bombing killed around 140,000 people (almost half the city’s population) immediately or in the months afterward from radiation (辐射)injuries or horrific(可怕的) burns.
Homework
Supplementary Listening Task 1
Now you will hear a long conversation followed by five questions. Listen carefully and choose the best answer from the four possible choices.
W: When my brother came back from fighting in the war, he was a changed man. M: He doesn’t seem any different to me. W: He’s changed. Believe me.
M: OK. So, what have you noticed?
W: He seems tougher now, not so gentle. M: Can you give me some examples?
W: Yeah. Just the other day he beat his dog for not listening to him.
M: That doesn’t sound like your brother at all.
W: That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. He seems like a different person. M: Have you thought about talking to him? W: I’ve tried. But he only yelled(吼叫) at me. I was hoping you could say something to him. M: Me?
W: You’re his closest friend. I think he’d listen to you if you talked to him. You’re probably the only person who could get through to (使…明白)him. Would you please give it a shot(努力)?
M: All right. I’ll try. I’ll speak to him when he gets home from work. 1. How has the woman’s brother changed? D
2. Why did the woman’s brother beat his dog? D
3. What happened when the woman tried talking to her brother? C 4. Why is the man a good person to talk to the woman’s brother? A 5. When will the man talk to the woman’s brother? B
Task 2
Now you will hear a passage followed by five questions. Listen carefully and choose the best answer from the four possible choices.
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer (志愿者)at Stanford Hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare (罕见的)and serious (严重的)disease. Her only chance of recovery (康复)seemed to be a blood transfusion (输血)from her five-year-old brother, who had miraculously (奇迹般地)survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies(抗体). The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate(犹豫) for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes, I’ll do it if it will save Liz.”
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled. Then, his face grew pale and his smile faded(消失). He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling(颤抖的) voice, “Will I start to die right away?”
As a little boy, he had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to give his sister all of his blood.
1. What happened to little Liz? C
2. What was the only way for Liz to recover? B 3. What had happened to Liz’s brother? D
4. Why did the little boy hesitate for a while? B
5. What do you think is the best title for this passage? A