8. greedy adj. 贪婪的immoderately desirous of acquiring . wealth eg:

The greedy little boy ate all the candy at the party.

Understanding Short Conversations Now you will hear ten short conversations. A question will follow each conversation. Listen carefully and choose the best answer from the four possible choices.

1. M: I have just found out that my teenage daughter is pregnant1! I don’t know what to do!

W: It’s too late for tears. Sounds like all you can do now is to comfort2 her and tell her you’ll support her.

Q: What is the woman’s advice to the man?

2. W: Have you read this book called No More Worries and Tears? It’s full of advice on raising children.

M: I sure have! It has been a big help. Now I understand my two sons much better than before.

Q: What does the man think about the book?

3. M: I took our daughter to the doctor. The doctor took one look at her lungs, and he knew she had been smoking.

W: I knew it! But why won’t she listen to us? I tell her all the time that smoking is bad.

Q: What does the woman tell her daughter?

4. W: I’m very impressed3 by your daughter! She has such good manners and seems so well-behaved4!

M: She’s a good girl. We’ve always had a good relationship. We’re able to talk about things that worry us as well.

Q: What do the man and woman agree upon?

5. M: Thank you for meeting with me. Can you tell me how my daughter is doing in class?

W: Since our last meeting, there has been a great improvement5 in her work. Q: What has taken place since the man and the woman met the last time?

6. M: I can’t believe that you bought our daughter eye-liner6. Didn’t we agree she was too young for it?

W: I’m sorry. But she just kept asking and asking. I couldn’t stand7 the constant8 begging and it made her happy.

Q: What is the argument between the man and the woman about?

7. M: Every time I teach my son a lesson9, he sees something on TV that undermines10 what I’ve done.

W: Maybe you should think about getting rid of11 your television. TV often has a bad influence on12 people.

Q: What does the woman think about television?

8. M: My parents are very generous with13 me. Sometimes I wonder if their generosity has been bad for my character.

W: You seem al right—not too greedy14 or selfish. I don’t think it has done you any harm.

Q: How does the woman feel about the man’s parents?

9. W: Do you think our son is getting into trouble15! Is he violent16?

M: Our son? No way! He knows right from wrong17. We’ve made it clear to him that violence is never the answer to a problem.

Q: What is the relationship between the two speakers?

10. W: How’s your reading on teenage behavior going? Have you leaned anything? M: Yeah. It says here that 50 percent of all teenagers are from broken homes and that these children are 73 percent more likely to commit crimes18.

Q: How much more likely is it that teenagers from broken homes will commit crimes?

注释：

1. pregnant adj. 怀孕的;富含的 1) carrying developing offspring within the body or being about to produce new life 2) filled with or attended with eg:

She is expecting (ie is pregnant with) her first child. 她不久要生头胎。

His words were followed by a pregnant pause. 他说完话，接着是一段意味深长的停顿。

2. comfort 1) n. 舒适，安逸，安慰，慰藉a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain；a feeling of freedom from worry or disappointment

2) vt. 安慰，使舒适give moral or emotional strength to；lessen pain or discomfort; alleviate eg:

The dress is carefully styled for maximum comfort. 这服装精心设计，力求达到最大限度的舒适。

I tried to comfort him after he was defeated by his opponent. 他被对手击败后，我尽力安慰他。

3. impressed adj. deeply or markedly affected or influenced; have a deep impression 令人印象深刻的

4. well-behaved adj. 很乖的，行为端正的

5. improvement n. 改进，改善the act of improving something; eg:

There is need for improvement in your handwriting.

I see little prospect of an improvement in his condition.

6. eye-liner n. 眼线(笔) makeup applied to emphasize the shape of the eyes 其它合成词： eyebrow 眉毛 eyelash 睫毛

eyelid 眼皮，眼睑 eyesight 视力 eyewitness 目击者

eyesore 剌眼的东西，眼中钉 eyeshadow 眼影膏

7. stand

1) n. 站立，停顿，楼台，货摊 eg:

报摊 newsstand

2) v. 站立，位于，停滞，忍受 eg:

This work will hardly stand close examination. 这种作品很难经得起认真的检验。

8. constant adj. 经常的，不变的 continually recurring or continuing without interruption eg:

The children's constant chatter was irritating. 那些孩子们喋喋不休的说话声使人心烦。

The machinery requires constant maintenance. 这些机器需要经常保养维修。

9. teach sb. a lesson 教训某人

10. undermine vt. 暗中损害，逐渐削弱，在(某物)下挖洞或挖通道，从根基处损害destroy property or hinder normal operations eg:

Beware of the fifth column. They often infiltrate into key positions and seek to undermine the body politic from within. 要提防隐蔽的敌人，他们经常渗透到关键岗位企图从内部破坏国家政体。

11. get rid of 摆脱，除去dispose of; do away with eg:

We have an extractor fan in the kitchen to get rid of the smell of cooking. 我们的厨房里有台排气扇，用来消除油烟。

The fat boy went on a diet to get rid of his excess weight. 这个胖男孩节制饮食以减轻过量的体重。

12. has/have influence on 对 ... 有影响 eg:

Listening to the music has a calming influence on her. 听音乐对她起了一种镇静的作用。

This example has great influence upon /on young people. 这个事例对年轻人有重大的影响。

13. be generous with 用 ... 很慷慨 eg:

be generous with one's money 花钱很大方 其它短语：

be generous in 乐于 ... 的，在 ... 上不吝惜的 eg:

Students should be generous in doing hard jobs. 学生应该乐于做艰苦的工作。 She was always very generous in her charity. 她行善时总是很慷慨。

14. greedy adj. 贪婪的 immoderately desirous of acquiring . wealth eg:

The greedy little boy ate all the candy at the party.

15. get into trouble 陷入困境，惹上麻烦 eg:

Nobody likes to get into trouble. 没有谁愿意惹麻烦。

16. violent adj. 暴力的，猛烈的，极端的acting with or marked by or resulting from great force or energy or emotional intensity eg:

Violent crime is only one of the maladies afflicting modern society. 暴力犯罪仅仅是危害社会的弊病之一。

She was in violent temper. 她暴跳如雷。

17. tell/ know/ distinguish right from wrong 明辨是非

18. commit crime 犯罪