新標準?學英語視聽說教程聽?原?Unit6-Conversation1Janet:Whatareyoureading,KateKate:AliceinWonderland,byLewisCarroll.DoyouknowitJanet:I'veheardofit,yes,butI'veneverreadit.It'sa19thcenturychildren'sstory,isn'titKate:That'sright.It'sveryfamous.It'ssetinOxford.Itstartswiththisyounggirlsittingonariverbank.Theinterestingthingis,theauthor,LewisCarroll,hewasanOxfordprofessorandheusedtohaveteawiththegirl'sfamilyonthisriverbank.Janet:Oh,that'sfascinating!I'llputitintomydiary.Kate:Isthatwhatyou'rewritingIknowyou'vebeenkeepingadiaryalltheyear.Janet:It'sbeenagreatyear.I'vehadsuchagoodtime—soluckytohaveMarkandKateasfriends.FeelI'vebeendoingwellwithwork.Muchhappieraboutaskingquestionsintutorials.Janet:Myscreen'sgonedark.Mark:You'reusingthebattery,remember.It'srunout,obviously.Janet:Itcan'tbethebattery.It'sstillcharged.Ohnoit'sstillblack.Ohdear,Ihopeit'snothingserious.Ihaven'tbackedanythinguprecently.Kate:That'snotlikeyou,Janet.Janet:Iknow,butIlostmymemorystick.Ireallyshouldhavebackedthingsup.Howstupidofmenottodothat!SupposingI'velosteverything!Mark:Letmetakealook.Thepowerisstillon.Andalsotheoperatingsystemstillseemstobeworking...Ithinkithastobethegraphicscard...Butmaybethat'snottheproblem...Janet:IfonlyI'dbackedthingsup!Kate:Relax,Janet!We'lltakeittothecomputershopthisafternoon.I'msureit'llbeOK.Janet:Ihopeso.Unit6-Conversation2Janet:TellmeaboutAliceinWonderland.Kate:Itellyouwhat,I'llreadittoyou.Kate:Alicewasbeginningtogetverytiredofsittingbyhersisteronthebankandhavingnothingtodo:Onceortwice,shehadpeepedintothebookhersisterwasreading,butithadnopicturesorconversationsinit,"andwhatistheuseofabook,"thoughtAlice,"withoutpicturesorconversation"Soshewasconsideringinherownmind(aswellasshecould,forthehotdaymadeherfeelverysleepyandstupid)...Janet:Kate,Mark,whereareyougoingYou'vegotmylaptop!Kate:It'sallright,Janet,we'retakingittothecomputershop.We'llbebacksoon.Mark:It'snotlikeJanettoforgettobackupherwork.Kate:Sheshouldhavebeenmorecareful.Janet:Itwasstupidofme,Iknow!Stupid,stupid!Janet:Oh!Itwasadream!Whatarelief!Kate:Youweretalkinginyoursleep.Janet:WhatwasIsayingKate:"Stupid,stupid."Mark:I'vesortedoutyourcomputer.Janet:HaveyouOh,thankgoodness!Whatwastheproblem

Mark:Itwasthegraphicscard,asIpredicted...Janet:Isthatwhatitwas!I'msorelieved!Thanks,Mark.Kate:He'sgreat,isn'theJanet:Yes.Soareyou,Kate.Kate:You'resuchagoodfriend.Unit6-OutsideviewComputersareaveryimportantpartofourlives.Theytellusaboutdelaystotransport.Theydrivetrains,analyzeevidenceandcontrolbuildings.Didyouknowthat60percentofhomesinBritainhavegotaPC(apersonalcomputer)Formanyyoungpeople,playingcomputergamesistheirfavoritewayofspendingsparetime.ComputersareaveryimportantpartofmostareasoflifeinBritain-libraries,thepoliceandinschool.Buttheyarebecomingmoreimportantinourhomesaswell.They’llevencontrolthewaywelive-in“smarthomes”orcomputer-controlledhouses.Thesmarthomeisnowarealpossibility.Itwillbecomeverycommon.Acentralcomputerwilladjustthetemperature,actasaburglaralarmandswitchonlights,readyforyoutocomebackhome.Andofcourseyouwillbeabletogivenewinstructionstothecomputerfromyourmobilephone.Soifyourplanschange,yourhomewillreacttomatch.Manyhomeshavegotlotsoftelevisionsandseveralcomputers.ThesmarthomewillprovideTVandInternetsocketsineveryroom,soyou’llbeabletodowhatyouwantwheneveryouwant.Ifthetemperatureoutsidechanges,thesmarthomewilladjustthetemperaturelevelsinside.Thecomputerwillalsoclosetheblindswhenitgetsdarkortostopsomuchsunfromenteringaroom.Andifyouwanttoeatwhenyougethome,thecomputerwillturntheovenonforyou!ArecomputerstakingoverourlivesInasurvey,44percentofyoungpeoplebetween11and16saidtheirPCwasatrustedfriend.Twentypercentsaidtheywerehappierattheircomputerthanspendingtimewithfamilyorfriends.AnothersurveyfoundthatpeopleinBritainspendsomuchtimeonthephone,textingandreadingemailsthattheynolongerhavetimeforconversation.WhatdoyouthinkaboutthatUnit6-ListeninginNewsReportUSScientistshaveannouncedthediscoveryofgravitationalwaves,whicharetinywavesproducedbymassiveobjectsmovingveryquickly.Twoblackholesproducedthewaveswhentheycrashedintoeachotheraboutbillionyearsago.Ablackholeisaplaceinspacewherethegravityissostrongthatevenlightcannotescape.ThisannouncementofthediscoverycomesacenturyafterAlbertEinsteinfirstpredictedgravitationalwaveswouldexist.Thediscoverywasmadepossiblebyusingahighlysensitiveinstrumentdesignedtodetectsignalsofgravitationalwavesandidentifytheirsources.Thisdiscoveryprovesthattherearegravitationalwaves,andstronglyconfirmstheexistenceofblackholes.Withthisdiscovery,scientistsaregivenanewtooltostudyandunderstandtheuniverse.Thewavescouldhelpscientistslearnmoreaboutwhathappenedimmediatelyaftertheuniversebeganandhowtheuniverseexpanded.Scientistshopethattheymaybeabletoobservepartsoftheuniversethatwerepreviouslyundetectable.1.WhatdiscoveryhaveUSscientistsmade2.Whatfeaturesdoblackholeshaveaccordingtothenewsreport3.WhyisthediscoveryimportantPassage1Whenyouhaveabiscuitwithyourcupoftea,doyoudunkitAndifso,what’stheperfectwaytodoitThat’sthesubjectoftoday’sScienceinActionreport.ItmaybehardtobelievebutscientistsattheUniversityofBristolhavebeenanalyzingthisquestion.Andafteratwo-monthstudytheydevisedamathematicalformulafordunkingbiscuits.Sonomoremeltingchocolate,orbiscuitcrumbsinthebottomofyourcup,whichisthefateofoneinfourbiscuitsthataredunkedintea,accordingtoresearchbyabiscuitmanufacturer.Doughnutdunkersdon’tfacethesameproblemsbecausedoughnutsareheldtogetherwithanelasticnetofprotein,gluten.Thissubstanceallowsthedoughnuttoabsorbliquidwithoutbreakingdownitsstructure.Thestructureofabiscuit,however,isheldtogetherbysugarwhichmeltswhenplacedinhotteaorcoffee.SowhatistheanswerTheresearcher,letbyDr.LenFisher,discoveredthatholdingthebiscuitinahorizontalposition–or“flat-on”–hasasignificanteffectontheamountoftimethatabiscuitcanstayinhotliquidbeforefallingapart.Infactthishorizontaldunkingresultsinadunkingtimeuptofourtimeslongerthantraditionalverticaldunking.What’sthereasonforthisItseemsthattheanswerisrelatedtodiffusion,inotherwords,thelengthoftimeittakesforthe

liquidtopenetratethestructureofthebiscuit.Basically,ittakeslongerfortheliquidtotravelthroughthechannelsofabiscuitwhenitislaidflatonthesurfaceoftheliquid.Alsothefactthatwhenabiscuitisdunkedhorizontally,withthebiscuitsubmergedintheliquid,andthechocolatecoatingstayingoutoftheliquid,thechocolatehelpsholdthebiscuittogether.Anotherfactorinfluencingtheequationisthetemperatureofthetea–thehotterthetea,thefasterthesugarmelts.Researchersalsofoundthatbydunkingabiscuitintoteaorcoffee,uptotentimesmoreflavorisreleasethanitthebiscuitiseatendry.Soit’sworthexperimentingyourself.Ifyouarewonderinghowyoucanperfectthehorizontaldunk,theresearchershavecomeupwithanideaforabiscuit-holdingdevicetomakedunkingbiscuitseasier.Theyareevenmowworkingonproducingatablegivingguidelinesondunkingtimesfordifferenttypesofbiscuit.Onthatnote,Ithinkit’stimetogoofftothecanteenforateabreak!Passage2Peter:HeyLouise,lookatthisbookaboutcropcircles-someofthephotosareabsolutelyunbelievable.Louise:Youdontbelieveinallthatstuff,doyouPeterPeter:I'mnotsayingIbelieveinUFOsandthings,butsomeoftheformationsarefascinating.They’remadeupoflotsofinterconnectedcirclesandgeometricalshapes.Youknow,inthepastfewyears,therehavebeenmorereportsofthem.Thecirclesaregettinglargerandthedesignsaregettingmoreintricate...I'msurethattheycan'tallbeman-made.Thinkaboutit-they'resocomplicated,andtheyappearatnightinthemiddleoffieldsofwheatbarleyorcorn.It’sdefinitelyprettyweird!Louise:Iknow,butlsawaTVdocumentaryaboutit,andtheyshowedhowagroupofhoaxersmadeanelaboratecropcircleinafieldatnightusingwoodenplank,ropes,plastictubesandagardenroller.Theyevenfooledsomeofthepeoplewhobelieveintheparanormal-alienscomingdowninUFOsandalienscomingdowninUFOsandcreatingthem,andsoon.Peter:I'msurelotsofthemarecreatedbypeoplejusttogetpublicitybutlookhere-itsays,“Thefirstrecordsofcropcirclesgobackasfarasthe17thcentury.Sincethe1970stherehavebeenover12,000reportsfromcountri