听力短文

Going Digital：California' Textbook Project

California approves traditional textbooks in six-year cycles. Digital ones can offer the latest information. They lighten the load of school bags. They save paper and trees, and make learning more fun and interactive. And lastly they help schools with their finances.

The state has had to make severe cuts in school spending because of deep financial problems. More than six million students attend California public schools.

Earlier this year, California invited content developers to offer digital math and science materials for high schools. These had to meet at least ninety percent of the state's learning requirements. Specially trained teachers examined sixteen textbooks and approved ten of them.

School administrators point out that the texts may be free online, but students need a way to access them. Not everyone has a computer or electronic reader. Schools could print out copies, but that would not help the environment. Also, there is the cost to train teachers to use digital textbooks effectively. (165 words)

American and British English

Language experts say that spoken English was almost the same in the American colonies and Britain. Americans began to change the sound of their speech after the Revolutionary War in 1776. They wanted to separate themselves from the British in language as they had separated themselves from the British government. Webster published The American Dictionary of the English Language in 1828. It established rules for speaking and spelling the words used in American English.

The different languages of the immigrants who came to the United States also helped make American English different from British English. Many foreign words and expressions became part of English as Americans speak it.

Sometimes Americans and British people do not understand each other because of different word meanings. For example, a “wastebasket” in America is a “dustbin” in Britain. French fried potatoes in the United States are called “chips” in Brit ain. All these differences led British writer George Bernard Shaw to joke that Britain and America are two countries separated by the same language. (170 words)

An Old Saying

Today we explain a very old saying that has had a big influence on rock-and-roll music. That saying is a rolling stone gathers no moss. It has several meanings. One meaning is that a person who never settles down in one place will not be successful. Another is that someone who is always moving, with no roots in one place, avoids responsibilities.

This proverb was said to be first used in the 1500s. But in the 1960s, the expression rolling stone became famous in the world of rock-and-roll music. It became the name of a rock group, a song and a magazine.

Experts say it all started with a song by the American singer and guitarist Muddy Waters. He was one of the country's top blues musicians until his death in 1983. His music influenced singers

like Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. In 1950, Muddy Waters recorded a song called "Rollin' Stone." (153 words)

Death Valley: A Beautiful but Dangerous Place

Death Valley is a land of beautiful but dangerous extremes. There are mountains that reach more than three thousand meters into the sky. There is a place called Badwater that is the lowest area of land in the Western Hemisphere. If there were water there, it would be eighty-six meters below the level of the ocean.

Death Valley can be dangerously cold during the winter months. Storms in the mountains can produce sudden flooding on the floor of the Valley.

The extreme heat in summer has killed people in the past. It will continue to kill those who do not honor this extreme climate. Death Valley does not forgive those who are not careful.

It is a good example of the violence of nature. However, it would be wrong to think that nothing lives there. The Valley is full of life. Wild flowers grow very quickly after a little rain. Birds, snakes and other animals always enjoy their stay. (159 words)

A Popular Pastime of the English People

One of the best means of understanding the people of any nation is watching what the do with their non-working time.

Most English men, women and children love growing things, especially flowers. Visitors to England in spring, summer or autumn are likely to see gardens all they way along the railway lines. There are flowers at the airports and flowers in factory grounds, as well as in gardens along the roads. Each English town has at least one park with beautifully kept flower beds. Public buildings of every kind have brilliant window boxes and sometimes baskets of flowers are hanging on them. But what the English enjoy most is growing things themselves. If it is impossible to have a garden, then a window box or something growing in a pot will do. Looking at each other’s gard ens is a popular pastime with the English.

A Free Dress Every Week

The temptation to steal is greater than ever before especially in large shops and people are not so honest as they once were.

A detective recently watched a well-dressed woman who always went into a large store on Monday mornings. One Monday, there were fewer people in the shop than usual when the woman came in, so it was easier for the detective to watch her. The woman first bought a few small articles. After a little time, she chose one of the most expensive dresses in the shop and handed it to an assistant who wrapped it up for her as quickly as possible. The woman simply took the parcel and walked out of the shop without paying. When she was arrested, the detective found out that the s hop assistant was her daughter. Believe it or not, the girl “gave” her mother a free dress

every week!

Water Pollution

Water is very important to us. Factories and plants need water for industrial uses and large pieces of farmland need it for irrigation. Without water to drink, people die in a short time.

Today most water sources are so dirty that people must purify water before drinking. Water becomes dirty in many ways: industrial pollution is one of them. With the development of industry, plants and factories pour tons of industrial wasters into rivers every day. The rivers have become seriously polluted, and the water is becoming unfit for drinking or irrigation. The same thing has also happened to our seas and oceans. So, the problem of water pollution is almost worldwide. Scientists of many countries have done a lot of work to stop pollution. The polluted water in some places has become clean and drinkable again. Perhaps one day the people in all towns and cities will be drinking clean water. That day, we believe, is not very far off.

Every artist knows in his heart that he is saying something to the public. Not only does he want to say it well, but he wants it to be something which has not been said before.

What visual artists, like painters, want to say is easy to make out but difficult to explain, because painters translate their experiences into shapes and colors, not words. They seem to feel that a certain selection of shapes and colors, out of the countless billions of possible, is exceptionally interesting for them and worth showing to us.

Most artists take their shapes and colors from the world of nature and from human bodies in motion and response; their choices indicate that these aspects of the world are worth looking at, that they contain beautiful sights. Contemporary artists might say that they merely choose subjects that provide an interesting pattern, that there is nothing more in it. Yet even they do not choose entirely without reference to the character of their subjects.

英语短文听力

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2015医学博士听力原文(短文部分)

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江苏省初中英语听力口语自动化考试训练材料朗读短文

2017年江苏省初中英语听力口语自动化考试训练材料朗读短文 https://www.docsj.com/doc/cd16605247.html,work Information Technology Company.2020YEAR

2017年江苏省初中英语听力口语自动化考试训练材料 第一部分朗读短文 用正确的语音语调朗读下面的短文 1（新） Everybody thinks I have a real gift for painting. However, I once did not like art lessons because I could not draw very well. One day, I was playing with some paint as usual in Ms Lou’s art lesson. I mixed the paint with water. As I took the brush away, I dropped some paint onto the paper. Looking at the mark, I decided to blow it. The paint began to run, so I blew harder. The paint ran in all directions and made a very interesting picture! “That’s a very good picture, Sandy.” Ms Luo encouraged me to keep trying. Since then, I have been crazy about crayons and paints. 2（新） Winter is my favourite season. It is very cold and everyone has to wear thick warm clothes, but I always enjoy the winter here in Harbin. The temperature is usually below zero and it is often snowy. Everything is covered in deep white snow, and the lakes and rivers are frozen. During this season, you cannot see beautiful flowers or green trees, but the land is quiet and beautiful. My friends and I love playing outside in winter. It is exciting to have big snowball fights. We also make snowmen and use carrots for their noses. They look funny. Winter is great! 3（新） My farther has worked in a local factory for years. You will not find anything unusual about him until you learn more. My father has always been kind and helpful. He has donated blood many times since 1990. The blood he has donated is enough to save over 70 lives. He has also donated blood cells to people with blood cancer. To my surprise, he has decided to donate his body for medical research after his death. When I was a little girl, I could not understand why my father always seemed to be kinder to others than to his own family. Now I realize that he has a heart full of love. 4 Zhalong Nature Reserve is in North-east China. It is one of the world’s most important wetlands. The area provides food and cover for a lot of wildlife. It is a perfect place for some rare birds. Some people want to make the wetlands smaller in order to have more space for farms and buildings. This will lead to less and less space for wildlife. Now the Chinese government has made laws to protect Zhalong.

听力课文

11．Where to Spend the Last Day What is the best choice of a dying person who is sinking fast, to stay in a hospital or at home? The choice is hard to make and it depends critically on specific situations. Some people insist that if there is still a ray of hope for the sick, it is better for him to stay in a hospital. Along with advanced equipment, there are qualified doctors and nurses, who are eager to offer the best service, though it will cost some money. Who knows whether doctors will not work wonders at a critical moment? At least they can alleviate the patient’s pain. However, a luck star is not always shining over the head of every incurable patient. In most cases, no miracle emerges. Otherwise, he is not a dying person at all. That being the case, some people prefer that the sick person should stay at home with his folks, who love and care about him. No place is like home. Since there is nothing doctors can do to save him, why should he spend a large sum of money staying in a hospital at the end of his life, lonely and sadly? In my opinion, both choices are good according to different situations. If possible, it is better for the patient to make his final choice at his free will because nobody has the right to do it for him. 判断 1) Where to spend the last day depends critically on specific situations. ( ) 2) It is better for a patient to stay in the hospital because the hospital will offer the best service to alleviate the patient’s pain. ( ) 3) The disadvantage of staying in a hospital is the cost of much money. ( ) 4) The author prefers to staying in a hospital, because the hospital may work wonders at a critically moment. ( ) 5）If possible , it is better for the family members to make decisions because the patient will hesitate at the critical moment. 填空 Some people insist that if there is still a _________________ of hope for the sick, it is better for him to stay in a hospital. Along with _________________ equipment, there are ____________ doctors and nurses, who are _________________ to offer the best service, though it will cost some money. Who knows whether doctors will not work ___________ at a ___________ moment? At least they can ________________ the patient’s pain. 12. The Best Age to Be Each age has its pleasure, and its pains. The happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting his time in useless regrets. Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities to make life difficult. A child finds pleasure in doing almost anything. But a child has his pains: he is not free as he wishes, as he thinks people are. A young man becomes free from the discipline of school and parents, when he starts to earn his own living; but at the same time ha is forced to accept responsibilities. He has to work hard if he wants to live comfortably. If he breaks the laws of the society as he used break the laws of his parents, he may be put into prison. If he work hard, he may have a happiness of seeing his own success. Old age has always been thought of as the worst age to be, but the old can have the joy of