精听建议：

　　先完整地把一条新闻听一到三遍，争取掌握大意。然后，一句一句精听，力争每句话都听明白。遇到实在不懂的地方，再听写。

　　下面的文本材料中空缺部分里面要填的词都很简单，不过是一些值得注意的连读或者典型的美式发音哦，有些语速比较快。试试看，你能不能全部写对？

　　（参考文本，欢迎指出错误^^）

　　Pluto's fate is being decided in hotel bars and convention rooms in Prague, where scientists with the International Astronomical Union are meeting. Astronomers say 1 , 2 . Before this meeting, the IAU convened a secret panel to come up with an official definition of the word "planet". 3 , and it would have counted anything in that sense that was round, and principally orbited the sun. That meant Pluto and possibly dozens of other small objects were in. * of Harvard University chaired the committee that came up with the proposal, and he said 4 : "It was a very noisy cacophonous meeting. Just a little bit more difficult than 5 cats. I suppose it would be like 5 tigers."

　　答案：

　　1.the gatherings are sober, sometimes dull affairs

　　2.not when you mess with Pluto

　　3.It was unveiled last week

　　4.it did not go over as he had hoped this week

　　5.herding