1、Unit 1 Starting out Listening in Passage 1 Interviewer Can you tell me something about the Ivy League? You're a professor at Harvard, is that right? Professor That's right, yes. Interviewer Tell me how many universities are there? How many institutions? Professor In total there are eight in
2、stitutions: There's Harvard, Yale, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Princeton, and the University of Pennsylvania. Interviewer Ah, OK. And what's the sporting ... I believe there's some link with sports. Professor There certainly is, yes. Originally the Ivy League referred to the sports teams
3、from the universities which competed against each other, especially in football, basketball and ice hockey. Now sometimes these universities, institutions, chose their students on the basis of their skills at these particular sports. But in the last 50 years, Ivy League schools have accepted a wider
4、 range of students because it wasn't possible to be both world-famous for research and also top class in sport. Interviewer And what about their academic importance? I gather they're academically very, very important, they're very well-known. Professor Absolutely at the top. They're near or at the
5、 top of the USA colleges and university rankings. And they're almost always in the top one per cent of the world's academic institutions for financial resources. Interviewer And what does it mean socially to go to an Ivy League university? Professor Certainly if you've been to one of these institu
6、tions, you are presumed or assumed to be at the top end of the scale. The Ivy League institutions have a reputation for social elitism, many of the students are rich, intellectual, white Anglo-Saxon, protestants. Not all of them of course, but quite a lot of them. Interviewer And do you know ... wh
7、y's it called the Ivy League, what's the origin of the name? Professor There are a number of stories, derivations, but possibly it's based on four universities, and IV, the letters IV, that's the Roman numeral for four. Another more likely story is that ivy plants, which are symbolic of the age of
8、the universities, you know, would be grown at the walls of these universities, these institutions, they cover the walls of the buildings. The term was created by a sports journalist, I think in the 1930s. Interviewer Right, OK. And which is the oldest university? Professor The oldest goes back to
9、the 17th century, that's Harvard which was founded in 1636. And the youngest of the institutions is Cornell which was founded in 1865. Interviewer And which has the largest number of undergraduates? Professor Cornell has the largest number, about 13,000, 13,500 undergraduates. The institution with
10、 the smallest number is Dartmouth College with a little over 4,000. Interviewer And what about the acceptance rate? Is it hard to get into? Professor That ranges from about seven per cent to 20 per cent. Interviewer And any famous alumni? Famous old boys? Professor Hundreds! Hundreds of them. Bu
11、t I suppose worldwide, the two that would be definitely known all over the world would certainly be George Bush who went to Yale, and John F Kennedy, President Kennedy, who was at Harvard. Interviewer Thank you. Passage2 Andy Did you see the film on television last night? Jane No, I was out. W
12、hat was it? Andy A Beautiful Mind. It's about John Forbes Nash, the mathematician who won the Nobel Prize. Jane I've heard about that film, yes. He's played by Russell Crowe, isn't he? I like Russell Crowe, he's great. Andy That's the one, yes. Jane What's it about? Andy Well, the story begins
13、in the early years of Nash's life at Princeton University as a graduate student. Jane That's one of the Ivy League schools, isn't it? Andy Yes, it's all set in New England, lovely old buildings, beautiful autumn colours. It's lovely to look at. Anyway, Nash meets his roommate Charles, a literature
14、 student, who soon becomes his best friend. Nash admits to Charles that he is better with numbers than people, and the main thing he's looking for is a truly original idea for his thesis paper. Jane So he's not interested in having fun? Andy Well, yes, but he's not very good with people or success
15、ful with women, that's all. But, you know, it's one of these bad experiences with people which ultimately inspires his brilliant work in mathematics. Jane No good at relationships, so he becomes a genius at maths? Andy That's about right, yes. So when he finishes his studies at Princeton, he accep
16、ts a job at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Five years later, he meets Alicia, a student who he falls in love with and eventually marries. Jane Ah! At last, the love interest! Andy Yes, but wait a moment. Nash believes that he's been asked to work by William Parcher for the US Department of
17、 Defense on breaking Soviet codes. At one point he's chased by the Russians, and it's after this that he becomes mentally ill. Jane I think I've seen this in the trailer to the film. Andy So when he's put in a psychiatric hospital, he thinks the Soviets have captured him. He's given this painful t
18、reatment which affects his relationship with his wife. And his intellectual skills. So he stops taking the medicine. Jane It sounds quite hard to watch. Andy Well, it is, but it's well acted and directed, and so, you know, there's a-bit of distance between the audience and what's happening on film
19、 Jane So what happens next? Andy Well, then his illness returns, so he and his wife decide to try and live with it. It all gets a bit complicated, because we're no longer sure if Charles, you know, his old friend, or even Parcher were real, or if they were just people that existed only in Nash's
20、mind. Jane That sounds awful. He must have been so ill, Andy Actually, I'm kind of giving away the twist in the story. Anyway, later in his life, while he's using the library at Princeton again, he asks his rival Martin Hansen if he can start teaching again. And so the story ends when he goes on t
21、o win the Nobel Prize in Economics. Jane Well, it sounds like a great film. Andy Yes, you should see it sometime. Unit 7 Family affairs Listening in Passage 1 Host There's a question that's been argued about for a long time. Which is more important, your family environment or your genes?
22、Well, a story has come up in the news about identical twins, separated at birth. They've just been reunited - and guess what - there are some amazing coincidences in their life stories. Here's the story - two American girls called Tamara and Adriana were separated at birth and adopted by two differ
23、ent sets of parents. And this is where the coincidences begin. Both families ended up living 25 miles apart. Both girls decided to study psychology at universities that are only a mile apart from each other. Isn't that strange? And this girl, who's a friend of both of them, insists they meet. Just
24、 before they meet, Adriana's mother tells her that she has a twin sister. Can you imagine how that must feel when you're 20 years old to learn you have a twin? And when the girls meet, it's like looking in a mirror - they're identical! Now get this! Both Tamara and Adriana's adoptive fathers died wh
25、en the girls were children. Both girls fell through glass doors at the age of five - that's hard to believe, isn't it? Their boyfriends look alike and have similar names - Alex and Adam. And this is the best part - both of them have the same recurring dream. Isn't that incredible - they have the sam
26、e dream! I think it's an amazing story. So, for all those of you out there who have comments, and I'm sure you do, the lines are open. OK, we've got Josh on the line. Hi Josh! Josh Hi. Host So, what do you make of this story? Josh It's a great story but it doesn't surprise me at all. I'm an iden
27、tical twin. Host You are? Josh Yeah, my brother's called Toby, and we're 22, and we're going out with two sisters ... and we're having a double wedding next June. Host Congratulations! So-what do you think-is it our genes that decide who we are? These kind of stories seem to suggest it. Josh Wel
28、l, I'm not a scientist, but I think so. Host Research tells us that it's about fifty-fifty. Josh I, I disagree. Host Thanks Josh. OK, our next caller is ... Passage 2 Part 1 Voice-over Kidney transplants are of two kinds -transplants from dead people and living transplants, transplants from
29、people who are alive. Mostly the donor, the person who gives the kidney, is a relative - a parent, brother or sister. We all recognize that it's one of the most selfless things a person can do, to give a kidney to someone, but as the operation becomes safer and safer, more and more people are doing
30、it. We talked to two sisters who have had the experience -Henrietta Longmore, a journalist aged 40, married with one son, and her sister, Teresa Parker, aged 38, married with two children. They come from a family with four children. Here's their story. Teresa Henrietta and I were close as children.
31、 She was the big sister and she was -just like a mother to us younger kids. Our parents were both doctors and our mum was very busy. We were close right through our teenage years. And then we shared a flat and had a lot of the same friends. It was great. Henrietta Yes, we've always been close. I f
32、elt very protective of my brother and sisters because, like Teresa says, our parents were always so busy. But I also felt a bit jealous of Teresa - she was my dad's favourite -but it didn't affect our relationship. Teresa Henrietta got kidney failure five years ago, but for several years she was fi
33、ne and seemed quite healthy. Henrietta Yes, I never thought of asking my family for a kidney. The hospital was brilliant and I really did feel fine, most of the time. Part 2 Teresa But then a year ago she became very ill and almost died. I was terrified. I knew if she died, I'd blame myself. Yo
34、u know, why I hadn't done more to help her. So I decided to find out more about giving her a kidney. Henrietta Yes, I did almost die. It was awful. I, I was never going to ask Teresa for a kidney but I kind of knew that she would offer. To be honest, I felt I would have done the same. Teresa Yes.
35、At first I was a bit scared. But we went for a three-hour talk at the hospital and it was very reassuring. My whole family came. And they felt OK about it too, which was very important. Henrietta People don't know that you only need ten per cent of one kidney to be completely healthy, and kidney do
36、nors often live longer than other people. Teresa Yes, you have to be very healthy to give a kidney. The hospital makes sure of that. Anyway, after the operation I got better very fast - probably because you know you've done something worthwhile and it does make you feel very good. Henrietta I can'
37、t describe how grateful I feel to Teresa. It's such an amazing thing to do. What can I say? Her courage was, was extraordinary. She just didn't seem afraid at all. Teresa You do get a lot of praise for doing something like this. I'd like to do something that no one knows about. Unit 9 Body
38、 and mind Listening in Passage 1 In 1812 a young man called James Barry finished his studies in medicine at Edinburgh University. After graduating he moved to London where he studied surgery at Guy's Hospital. After that, the popular young doctor joined the army and over the next 40 years had a b
39、rilliant career as an army medical officer, working in many far off countries and fighting successfully for improved conditions in hospitals. It was a remarkable career - made even more remarkable by the discovery upon his death that James Barry had kept an extraordinary secret. Barry was a pleasan
40、t and good-humoured person with high cheek bones, red hair, a long nose and large eyes. He was well-liked by his patients and had a reputation for great speed at surgery — an important quality at a time when operations were performed without anaesthetic. He was also quick-tempered. When he was worki
41、ng in army hospitals and prisons overseas, the terrible conditions often made him very angry. He fought hard against injustice and cruelty and his temper sometimes got him into trouble with the authorities. After a long career overseas he returned to London where he died in 1865. So was this the en
42、d of the story? Not quite. When they were preparing his body for his funeral, they discovered James Barry's secret. HE was in fact a SHE. James Barry was a woman. No one was more surprised at this discovery than her many friends and colleagues. It was true that throughout her life people had remark
43、ed on her small size, slight build and smooth pale face. One officer had even objected to her appointment as a medical assistant because he couldn't believe that Barry was old enough to have graduated in medicine. But no one seriously suggested that Barry was anything other than a man. So why did J
44、ames Barry deceive people for so long? At that time, a woman couldn't study medicine, work as a doctor or join the army. Perhaps Barry had always wanted to do these things and pretending to be a man was the only way to make it possible. Perhaps she was going to tell the truth one day, but didn't bec
45、ause she was enjoying her life as a man too much. By the time it was discovered that she was the first woman in Britain to have qualified as a doctor, it was too late for the authorities to do anything about it. Passage 2 Speaker 1 Interviewer Tell me about medical care in Britain. What happens
46、 when you need to go to the doctor? Speaker 1 Well, first of all, you need to register with your local doctor. And, then of course, if you need to see him or her, you have to phone in and make an appointment which can be two or three days later. But, of course, if you have an accident and it's more
47、 urgent, you go to a department called the Accident and Emergency Department, which is usually in a hospital. And, if it's really urgent, someone will call a number, which is 999 here in Britain and you, er, get an ambulance. Interviewer What about getting medicine? Do you get it from the doctor or
48、 do you get it from the chemist? Speaker 1 Well, you actually get the medicine itself from the chemist but the doctor has to prescribe the medicine first. So, you then take the prescription to the chemist's and the chemist then gives you your medicine. The medicine isn't actually at the doctor's su
49、rgery. Interviewer Right. Right. What happens about paying for medical care? How do you pay for medical treatment? Speaker 1 Ah, yea. You don't pay the doctor. The payment is covered by taxes or medical agreements between the UK and your country. But you pay a fixed charge for the medicine. Inter
50、viewer Right. Speaker 1 That you're prescribed. Interviewer I see, yes. And what happens if... you know, I hope it never happens. What happens if you, you stay in hospital? Speaker 1 Well, if you are seriously ill, you will stay in hospital and your family and friends can visit and come and see h






