[00:06.79]Lesson 33 1 Read and act
[00:15.12]Do you think the air in Beijing is bad?
[00:19.77]Yes, it's often quite dirty.
[00:24.03]But don't you think it's better than it used to be?
[00:28.79]Well,I can't say for sure.I've only lived here for a year.
[00:36.55]Me too. But my uncle knows.
[00:41.09]He's lived here all his life.
[00:45.06]Oh, really!What does he say?
[00:49.50]He says Beijing's sky is much clearer than a few years ago,
[00:55.67]although people still complain a lot.
[00:59.79]Hmm ... Did he tell you why it's better?
[01:05.85]Yes, he said that fewer homes are using coal for cooking and heating.
[01:12.83]Also,most of the factories that produced pollution
[01:18.29]have been closed or moved out of the city.
[01:23.15]That's true.And many more parks will appear before the 2008 Olympic Games.
[01:31.98]Yes, and the city is planting more trees near the roads.
[01:38.04]My uncle also told me that more public transportation is planned by the city.
[01:44.80]That's really good.I think Beijing has too many cars and trucks.I agree.
[01:53.95]If more people leave their cars at home when they go to work,that will help a lot.
[02:00.89]Lesson 34 2 Read THE SKY OF LOS ANGELES
[02:20.25]When most Americans mention Los Angeles,they think of lots of sun and fun.
[02:27.62]They picture the place with palm trees,beaches,and Hollywood,
[02:33.36]where so many famous movies have been made.
[02:37.49]Los Angeles, or LA, is in south California.
[02:43.06]It is the largest city in the state
[02:46.90]and the second largest city in the United States.
[02:51.55]Its western part lies by the Pacific Ocean.
[02:56.27]To its east are the Santa Monica Mountains.
[03:01.03]Los Angeles,meaning"city of angels"in Spanish,is only 200 kilometres from Mexico.
[03:11.29]It is a city of immigrants,many of whose grandparents came from Mexico,
[03:18.37]the Philippines,China,and Japan.
[03:23.52]Millions of Americans from other states have also moved to LA.
[03:29.76]You might imagine that LA must be a very beautiful city.
[03:34.91]Although it often is,it also has days when the sky is not so clear.
[03:41.28]On these days,you cannot see the mountains.
[03:46.04]Some people stay inside so that they don't have to breathe the bad air.
[03:52.99]A lot of work has been done to improve the air in the past thirty years,
[03:58.65]though much still needs doing.
[04:03.20]As early as 1953,natural gas was used instead of coal.
[04:10.62]Later on,cars were made to drive with cleaner petrol.
[04:16.47]Factories were told to control their smoke,and thousands of buses were provided.
[04:23.55]Most importantly,
[04:26.61]people realized that they must learn to care for their living environment.
[04:32.77]During the 1970s,many people moved to LA from other places.
[04:39.72]The city was growing very fast.
[04:43.66]At that time,air pollution was a very serious problem.
[04:48.71]Cars jammed the roads in the mornings and evenings.
[04:54.14]It was called rush hour
[04:57.67]because everyone was in a hurry to get to work or leave work.
[05:04.14]The air was filled with smog coming from hundreds of factories
[05:09.29]as well as the heavy traffic.
[05:13.13]City planners knew they had to do something.
[05:19.97]More public transportation was provided and cars were made to drive cleaner.
[05:27.24]Nowadays the air in LA is usually quite good.
[05:34.00]Lesson 35 2 Read and act
[05:45.36]Hey,Bill,I'm tired of driving in heavy traffic every morning.
[05:51.43]Me too.I'm also tired of looking for a place to park my car.
[05:58.58]Well,I don't have that problem.
[06:02.55]My company gives me a place,although I have to pay a lot of money for it.
[06:09.21]My wife has the same problem.
[06:13.16]Bill,what do you say if we try a car pool?
[06:18.62]Why,that's a good idea.And we can get Steve to join us!
[06:25.38]3.Read
[06:29.02]Read and pick out the sentences in passive voice.
[06:34.87]People had been talking about it for months,
[06:41.03]although few knew what it really was
[06:46.31]It was called "Ginger".
[06:50.38]We were told it was invented by Dean Kamen,a 49 year-old American scientist.
[06:59.53]Some people said it would change the way we do things every day.
[07:06.08]Others said it would be the greatest invention since the personal computer.
[07:13.14]This invention had been kept secret until December 3,2001
[07:21.18]when Ginger was shown to the world.
[07:24.53]It is an "HT" Human Transport.It looks a bit like a very short scooter.
[07:35.76]One can make it turn left,turn right or stop very easily.
[07:43.12]It is faster than a bike but not as fast as a motorbike.
[07:49.79]It gets its power from a big battery.
[07:54.75]It is heavier than a bike but not as heavy as a motorbike.
[08:01.31]It is so small that only one person can ride on it.
[08:07.86]The company hopes to sell millions of these machines.
[08:13.51]Words And Expressions 9
[08:22.54]all one's life coal heating transportation
[08:27.96]终生;一辈子 n.煤 n.加热;供暖;暖气装置 n.交通;交通工具
[08:33.38]underground monorail Los Angeles Hollywood
[08:38.82]n.地铁 n.单轨铁路 n.洛杉矶 n.好莱坞
[08:44.25]movie Santa Monica Mexico the Philippines
[08:49.78]n.(美)电影 n.圣莫尼卡(山名) n.墨西哥 n.菲律宾
[08:55.30]gas realize jam rush hour
[09:00.17]n.煤气;气体;瓦斯 v.认识到;领悟 v.挤塞;阻塞 高峰期
[09:05.04]nowadays scooter power battery
[09:10.07]adv.如今;时下 n.小型摩托车 n.动力v.使…有力量 n.电瓶;电池
[09:15.10]highway include Bangkok
[09:19.23]n.公路 v.包括;包含 n.曼谷
[09:23.36]Manila Jakarta New Delhli
[09:27.22]n.马尼拉 n.雅加达 n.新德里 |