M: I’ve done the same. But it’s useless. My English hasn’t improved. I don’t think it ever will.
W: You should have confidence in（对…有信心） yourself. You can learn English OK so long as （只要）you persist（坚持）. Believe me.
M: Perhaps, you’re right. Anyway, thanks a lot for the advice. W: You’re welcome. Good luck.
1. Why does the man look sad? B
2. What does the woman think about her English now? D
3. What is one of the ways in which the woman improved her English? A 4. What does the woman suggest to the man? C
5. What does the man think about the woman’s advice? C
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.
My daughter, Ellen, is ten years old. She was born with a hearing problem. She has been diagnosed（被诊断） as half-deaf（半聋） as she has poor hearing and a slow response-time （反应慢）to sounds. She came home one spring day to tell me she had competed in（参加比赛） a sports meet, where they had lots of races and other competitive events（有竞争性的项目）. Because of her listening disability, I tried to think of words to encourage her. I didn’t want to let her down（让…失望）. I have heard many famous coaches（教练） do so when the athletes （运动员）are faced with defeat（面对失败）. But before I could speak, she looked up and said, “Daddy, I won two of the races.” I couldn’t believe it. And then Ellen said, “I had an advantage（优势）.” Ah, I knew it. She must have been given a head start（先起步的优势） – some kind of physical（身体的） advantage. But before I could say anything, she said, “Daddy, I didn’t get a head start… My advantage was I had to try harder.”
1. What is Ellen’s problem? B
2. What did Ellen tell her father when she came home one spring day? D 3. Why did her father try to encourage Ellen? C 4. How did Ellen perform? C
5. Why was Ellen able to perform so well? B
Listening and Speaking Americans believe that individuals （个人）must learn to rely on（依靠） themselves or（否则） risk losing their freedom（冒失去自由的危险）. This means they achieve（获得） both financial and emotional independence （经济和情感的独立） from their parents as early as possible, usually by the age of 18. It means that Americans believe they should take care of themselves, solve their own problems, and stand on their own two feet. The strong belief in self-reliance （自立）continues today as a basic American value. This is perhaps one of the most difficult aspects（方
面） of the American personality（人格） to understand, but it is important. Americans believe that they must be self-reliant in order to keep their freedom if they rely too much on their families or the government or any organizations they may not be free to do what they want. By being dependent, they will not only risk losing freedom, but also risk losing the respect of others. Even if they are not really self-reliant, most Americans believe they must appear to be so. Although receiving financial support from family or government is allowed, it is never admired. Many people regard it as setting a bad example.
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: Hello. This is the emergency （急救）911 operator（接线员）. M: Help! Help! Please help me!
W: Yes, sir. Please calm down and explain exactly what is happening.
M: Calm down? My car is stalled（熄火） on the freeway（高速公路）. I have a female passenger, and she’s going into labor.（生孩子）
W: Now relax sir. Can you tell me where exactly you are?
M: I’m … I’m in the southbound lane of the Lincoln Expressway, about 15 miles from the Washington Tunnel（隧道）, and this lady isn’t going to wait. W: OK. What’s your name sir? I also need your passenger’s name.
M: It’s … it’s Bob, and I have no idea about the woman. She’s in no condition to tell me.
W: OK, now what’s the nearest landmark（路标）? M: Um, I see the Golden Arches… McDonald’s. W: OK, is there anyone else with you?
M: No, and I’ve already tried to get someone else to stop. W: Hey, what was that?
M: The traffic’s terrible and I’m blocking （堵塞）the lane（车道）. It’s all piling up（堵起来） behind me but no one will help. How soon can someone get here? W: I’ve just dispatched（派） an ambulance（救护车） to your location（地点）. They should be there any second.
M: Oh, good! Hey, is there anything I can do while we wait for the ambulance? W: Yes, uh, keep her calm and warm.
M: OK. Please hurry. Oh! The ambulance is too late. It’s a boy! 1. What is the man? A
2. What is the problem with woman? C 3. Where is the man now? D
4. What did the operator tell the man to do? B 5. What happened in the end? 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.
As a mother of three children, not yet teenagers, I often found myself complaining（抱怨）. I complained to anyone who would listen that I needed some peace and quiet. I longed for （渴望）it. I would think about what I would do if I had some hours to myself to do whatever I wanted. However, with three children there was never any peace and quiet. I always found myself taking someone somewhere, picking someone up, or baking （烤面包）for someone. But throughout everything, I really wished for some peace and quiet. Eventually（最终）, my time came. Last month, for the first time, my kids went away together on vacation （度假）for a whole week. I finally had my peace and quiet. I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I slept late. I didn’t make breakfast and it was certainly quiet. But to my surprise（让我吃惊的是）, I found that there is a thing as too much quiet. The first few days were wonderful. But later I felt lonely and missed my kids very much. I looked forward to （期待）them coming back. When they did return, I was only too pleased to drive them, pick them up and bake for them. After all, one day they’ll go for more than just a week’s vacation.
1. What did the mother complain about? C 2. What did the mother long for? A 3. What happened last month? B
4. What did the mother feel in the first few days? C 5. What did the mother hope later on? A
Unit 10 Warming Up
Look at how World War II changed the world. Sixty million people died; bombing destroyed cities（轰炸摧毁了城市）; the United States and the Soviet Union became superpowers（超级大国）; new technologies were developed; and nations discovered the need to work together to avoid further wars. The United Nations was formed and most governments have tried to solve problems through discussion, rather than by violence（暴力）.
These are only a few of the effects that have come about （发生）because of World War II. In this special program, “The Tragedy（悲剧） of War”, we will discuss the war, its causes and its effects, as well as the terrible events that occurred. As we commemorate（纪念） the 60th anniversary（周年纪念日） of this conflict（冲突）, we should remember the terrible effects of war. Hopefully, we will never allow another world war to occur.
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. W: I’ve heard you are going to teach students about World War II in class next week.
M: That’s right—I am. Above everything, I’m going to tell them never to forget the tragic（悲惨的） effects of war. War is such a terrible and sad thing. Q: What is the man going to tell his students to remember most of all?
2. M: World War II brought so much good to the world—freedom, technology, and more.
W: But at what cost? The two atomic bombs alone killed more than 200,000 people. Altogether, the war killed about 35 million people who weren’t soldiers. Q: Who were the 35 million people killed?
3. M: The heroes of World War II fought through the greatest nightmare（噩梦） the world has ever seen.
W: That’s true. And even though those great heroes are growing old, we shouldn’t forget them.
Q: What shouldn’t we forget?
4. W: Did you see the war film on television last night? It was so exciting I couldn’t sleep afterwards.
M: I saw it. It was on World War II, and it reminded me of（提醒） how important the war was in bringing peace to the world. Q: What was the man reminded of?
5. M: I’ve learned about World War II in my classes. How could Germany and Japan have been so terrible? W: Many people think the peoples of those countries were deceived（被欺骗） by their leaders. I don’t think it will happen again though.
Q: According to the man, why did Germany and Japan do terrible things?
6. M: Could you clarify （澄清）your statement? What did you mean when you said history could repeat itself?
W: I meant that if we did not learn from the lesson of World War II, we might repeat the mistakes that led to（导致） it.
Q: What does the woman think of World War II?
7. W: By the time they returned from war, millions of boys had been transformed （变成）into men.
M: I guess seeing death and destruction （破坏）had a terrible impact（影响） on them and made them grow up（成长）. Hopefully, they learned how to avoid （避免）war.
Q: What caused millions of boys to grow up?
8. M: Part of the public has a positive perception （正确的理解）of war. Some even think it is a game of some sort.
W: That’s because they have never seen war for themselves. Having lived through