北外英语中级听力 listen to this-5

　　Herbert Wilson and his wife went to the Isle¹ of Wight for their summer holiday. But they were by no means pleased with their hotel. As soon as they returned home, Herbert decided² to write to the Manager of Happytours.
Herbert: Can you spare a moment, dear? I want you to listen to this letter.
Margaret: Go ahead, then.
Herbert: Dear Sir, my wife and I arrived home last night after a holiday arranged by your firm, in Jersey³. We stayed at the hotel described in your brochure as a comfortable, medium sized hotel, with a magnificent view of the sea, offering courteous⁴, old fashioned service and excellent food, served in a relaxed friendly atmosphere.
Margaret: Yes, that's what the brochure said.
Herbert: In fact the hotel is situated⁵ at least half a mile from the sea. Our room overlooked a car park ...
Margaret: Through the gates of which motor vehicles were constantly arriving or departing.
Herbert: Yes, that's good. The food was strictly⁶ beef burgers and chips or fish and chips. Wine was available, but at exorbitant⁷ prices, and as for the courteous, old fashioned service, the majority of the staff were foreign and virtually incapable⁸ of speaking or understanding the English language.
Margaret: Yes, that's quite true.
Herbert: In addition to this, we were most unhappy with the arrangements for our journey home. We were instructed to catch the 11:00 am ferry ...
Margaret: Wasn't it 12:00?
Herbert: No, 11:00 ... but this was apparently¹⁰ delayed and we did not get away till 6 o'clock in the evening. Now that our holiday is over, it seems fairly pointless writing this letter, but I should like you to know that we were most disappointed with the hotel and travel arrangements and shall certainly not be booking any future holidays through Happytours. Yours faithfully, Herbert Wilson.
Margaret: Yes dear, that's a very good letter.
Miss Bush is talking to a travel agent in London.
Travel Agent: Good morning. Can I help you?
Miss Bush: Hello. Er, my name's Miss Bush and I'm intending to go to a conference in Sydney for three weeks.
Travel Agent: I see. Er, do you want the excursion fare or the full return fare.
Miss Bush: Now, can I get a stopover on an excursion fare?
Travel Agent: Yes, you're allowed only one stopover on the excursion fare.
Miss Bush: Oh, only one.
Travel Agent: Yes. But of course, if you pay the full return fare then you can have unlimited¹¹ stopovers.
Miss Bush: Oh that's much better. Yes. You see, the thing is that I've got two weeks' holiday after the conference and I've never been out that way before at all to Australia or the Far East, and I, I wanted to go, you know, shopping or seeing Hong Kong or India or somewhere round there.
Travel Agent: Yes. Uhum.
Miss Bush: Um, where exactly can I go?
Travel Agent: Well, lots of places. There's Singapore or um, Teheran, Kuwait, Athens, you've really got quite a lot of choice you know.
Miss Bush: Mm. Well, it sounds marvellous. Um, how much would that cost? How much is the full fare?
Travel Agent: The full fare? Well, that's really quite a lot. It's ￡1204.
Miss Bush: (laughs) Yes, a thousand two hundred and four. Well, it's once in a lifetime, you know, I've never been.
Travel Agent: Mm.
Miss Bush: The thing is, actually that, um, I'm absolutely terrified of flying. I've never done it before.
Travel Agent: Oh dear. UhumMiss Bush: And er, um, I'm hoping that I can persuade my two friends, who are also going to the conference, to stop over with me on the way back.
Travel Agent: Yes, that would be a good idea, yes.
Miss Bush: Mm, yes. By the way, one of them's in Cairo at the moment. Would it be possible for me to stop over there on my way to Sydney?
Travel Agent: Yes of course. There are plenty of flights to Cairo and, and then plenty more onwards from Cairo to Sydney. And then you can stay, there, in Cairo, for as long as you like.
Miss Bush: Oh that's great? Now, the thing is, I think I'd better go and persuade Mr. Adams that, you know, he'd like to stop with me in Cairo ...
Travel Agent: I see.
Miss Bush: ... go and discuss it with him and then come back to you in a day or two, if that's all right.
Travel Agent: Yes. Certainly. Of course, madam.
Miss Bush: Oh, thank you very much. OK. Goodbye.
Travel Agent: Thank you. Goodbye.
Gillian felt slightly uneasy as the porter unlocked the gates and waved her through. St Alfred's Hospital was not an ordinary mental institution. It was the most exclusive institution of its type in the country. You had to be not only mentally ill, but also extremely wealthy to be accepted as a patient. She parked her car outside the main entrance of the imposing¹² eighteenth century building. She paused on the steps to look at the superb ornamental¹³ gardens and surrounding parkland. An old man in a white panama hat was watering the flowerbed beside the steps. He smiled at her.
Old man: Good afternoon, miss. A lovely day, isn't it?
Gillian: Yes, it certainly is.
Old man: Are you a new patient?
Gillian: Oh, I'm not a patient. I'm just here to do some research.
Old man: Will you be staying long?
Gillian: I really don't know. I wonder if you could direct me to Dr. Carmichael's office?
Old man: Certainly, miss. Just go through the main door, turn left, walk down to the end of the corridor, and it's the last door on the right.
Gillian: Thank you very much indeed.
Dr. Carmichael was waiting for her. He had been looking forward to meeting his new research assistant. He himself had always been interested in the special problems of long stay patients. Dr. Carmichael was very proud of his hospital and she was impressed by the relaxed and informal atmosphere. She spent the mornings interviewing patients, and the afternoons writing up the results of her research in the gardens. Some of the patients were withdrawn¹⁴ and depressed¹⁵, some seemed almost normal. Only one or two had to be kept locked up. She found it hard to believe that all of them had been thought too dangerous to live in normal society. She often saw the old man in the panama hat. He spent most of his time working in the gardens, but he always stopped to speak to her. She found out that his name was Maurice Featherstone. He was a gentle and mild-mannered old fellow, with clear, blue, honest eyes, white hair and a pinkish complexion¹⁶. He always looked pleased with life. She became particularly curious about him, but Dr. Carmichael had never asked her to interview him, and she wondered why. One night, at dinner, she asked about Mr. Featherstone.
Dr. Carmichael: Ah, yes, Maurice. Nice old chap. He's been here longer than anybody.
Gillian: What's wrong with him?
Dr. Carmichael: Nothing. His family put him here thirty-five years ago. They never come to visit him, but the bills are always paid on time.
Gillian: But what had he done?
Dr. Carmichael: I'll show you his file. It seems that he burnt down his school when he was seventeen. His family tried to keep the incident quiet. Over the next few years there were a number of mysterious fires in his neighbourhood, but the family did nothing until he tried to set fire to the family mansion¹⁷. He was in here the next day. Maurice never protested.
Gillian: And that was thirty-five years ago!
Dr. Carmichael: I'm afraid so. If I'd had my way, I'd have let him out years ago.
Gillian: But he can't still be dangerous!
Dr. Carmichael: No. He's had plenty of opportunities. We even let him smoke. If he'd wanted to start a fire, he could have done it at any time.
Gillian was shocked by the story. She became determined¹⁸ to do something about it. She wrote letters to Maurice's family, but never received a reply. He had never been officially certified¹⁹ as insane, and legally, he could leave at any time. Dr. Carmichael was easily persuaded to let her talk to Maurice.
Gillian: Maurice, have you ever thought about leaving this place?
Maurice: No, miss. I'm very happy here. This is my home. And anyway, I've got nowhere to go.
Gillian: But wouldn't you like to go into the village sometimes ... to walk around, to buy your own tobacco?
Maurice: I've never thought about it, miss. I suppose it would be nice. But I wouldn't want to stay away for long. I've spent twenty years working on this garden. I know every flower and tree. What would happen to them if I weren't here?
Gillian realized that it would be unkind to make him leave the hospital. However, she found out that the next Saturday was his birthday. She arranged with the staff to give him a party. They wanted it to be a surprise and Dr. Carmichael agreed to let him go out for the afternoon. There was a flower show in the village. Maurice left at two o'clock. He seemed quite excited. They expected him to return about four o'clock. The cook had made a birthday cake and the staff had decorated the lounge.
Gillian was standing⁹ in the window when she saw him. He was early. He was walking up the drive towards the house, whistling cheerfully. Behind him, above the trees, several thick black columns of smoke were beginning to rise slowly into the clear blue sky.
1.The student, puzzled about a particular point, decides to ask a question. As so often happens when under pressure, he tends to concentrate most of his attention on the subject matter and he pays practically no attention to the language. Consequently, (pause) he fails to employ the correct question form.
2. However, even though the student does employ an appropriate question form, (pause) difficulties may still arise.
3. The basic difficulty may, in fact, be one of several different types. It may lie in the student's limited aural²⁰ perception, in other words, (pause) the student may not have clearly heard what was said.
4. Learners of English have, for example, said to me such things as "See me here tomorrow" or "Explain this". Fortunately, as I deal with non-native speakers and as I understand their language problems, I interpret this as inadequacy²¹ in the language rather than rudeness. Other teachers, however, (pause) may feel angry at receiving such orders.
5. Today I'm going to consider, very briefly²², a problem concerned with the competition for land use, that i... that is (pause) whether crops should be used to produce food or to ... should be used to produce fuel.
6. A particularly interesting possibility for many developing countries has been the conversion²³ of plant material to alcohol. Th... this is interesting because in many developing countries there is a large agricultural sector²⁴, and at the same time (pause) a small industrial sector.
The School Holidays Are Too LongToday the children of this country have at last returned to work. After two months' holiday pupils have started a new term. How many adults get such long holidays? Two to four weeks in the summer and public holidays-that's all the working man gets. As for the average woman, she's lucky to get a holiday at all. Children don't need such long holidays. In term-time they start work later and finish earlier than anyone else.
In the holidays most of them get bored, and some get into trouble. What a waste! If their overworked parents were given more free time instead, everyone would be happier.
This isn't just a national problem either-it's worldwide. Dates may be different from country to country, but the pattern's the same. Why should children do half as much work and get twice as much holiday as their parents?

1 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 courteous   

adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的

参考例句：

• Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。
• He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

5 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

6 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

7 exorbitant   

adj.过分的；过度的

参考例句：

• More competition should help to drive down exorbitant phone charges.更多的竞争有助于降低目前畸高的电话收费。
• The price of food here is exorbitant. 这儿的食物价格太高。

8 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

11 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

12 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

13 ornamental   

adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物

参考例句：

• The stream was dammed up to form ornamental lakes.溪流用水坝拦挡起来,形成了装饰性的湖泊。
• The ornamental ironwork lends a touch of elegance to the house.铁艺饰件为房子略添雅致。

14 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

15 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

16 complexion   

n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格

参考例句：

• Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
• Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

17 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

18 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

19 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

20 aural   

adj.听觉的，听力的

参考例句：

• The opera was an aural as well as a visual delight.这部歌剧对于听觉和视觉都是一种享受。
• You can use these tapes as aural material.你可以把这些磁带当作听力材料。

21 inadequacy   

n.无法胜任，信心不足

参考例句：

• the inadequacy of our resources 我们的资源的贫乏
• The failure is due to the inadequacy of preparations. 这次失败是由于准备不足造成的。

22 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

23 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

24 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。