全國英語等級考試教材第三級Unit19

[00:00.00] CHAPTER 19 HISTORY [00:12.90]Unit 19 History [00:17.55]Conversations [00:20.90]1 Chang and Hank are in the same university. [00:27.25]They are talking about the western frntier in America. [00:32.39]Chang:Recently I have studied American history. [00:37.43]I am very interested in the western frontier in your country. [00:42.89]Could you tell me something about it,Hank? [00:47.26]Yes,of course. [00:50.60]The life to the frontiersmen in the west [00:54.96]has always been an attraction to us American people. [01:00.00]My grandmother often told me stories about her grandfather [01:05.25]who was a pioneer in the early days. [01:09.62]Really?Her accounts must be trustworthy. [01:14.68]In the 1870s,my great-great-grandfather heard that [01:20.25]gold had been found in the west. [01:25.11]Like many other easterners,he felt an urge to go west [01:30.85]And he took the wagon across the plains and deserts. [01:37.33] Was that a long,risky journey? Yes.It was really a bard journey. [01:45.27]Did he go to a villalge or a town? Oh,no,the frontier was none of these. [01:53.14]It was just wild uncultivated land. [01:58.10]What kind of houses did they live in? [02:02.78]If they happened to be near a forest,they built log cabins. [02:08.94]In such a wild place,what did they eat? [02:14.30]They ate whatever was available. [02:18.55]Those people were really fearless and self-reliant. [02:24.80]You are right. [02:27.85]That's perhaps one reason why we Americans [02:32.82]still look back upon the past with respect and admiration. [02:38.15]Thank you very much. [02:41.78]2 A guide is leading the visitors to visit some historic places. [02:49.82]Carol and Clive are among them. [02:54.79]Ladies and gentlemen. [02:58.44]If you will just pause for a moment on this terrace, [03:03.90]you will get a good general view of the rains, [03:08.66]with the Forum in front of you,the Temple of Jupiter to the left, [03:14.82]and the Baths and the Amphitheatre beyond. [03:19.37] Hurry up,Clive.I can't hear what the guide is saying. [03:25.40]Al right.Just let me stay in the shade for a minute while I change the film. [03:32.04]Is that your last roll? [03:35.80]No,I've got two more rolls after this. [03:40.53]Don't worry.We'll have enough slides to bore our friends for months. [03:47.06]The town of Pompeii was a favourite resort of rich Roman families. [03:53.43]Emperors often stayed here too. [03:57.48]As I'm sure,you know, [04:00.93]it was destroyed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius [04:06.20]which occurred in the year 79 AD. [04:10.96]The streets and houses were buried under a thick layer of lava. [04:16.42]Excavation of the site began in 1748 and,as you can see, [04:24.28]it has uncovered a wonderful picture of life in ancient times. [04:29.92] It certainly is wonderful. [04:34.29]You can almost imagine the ancient Romans are still here, [04:40.24]eating and drinking in their houses. [04:44.81]If you see any,let me know. [04:48.57]I haven't got any shots of ancient Romans singing. [04:53.43]As we walk down towards athe Forum,notice how the streets are designed. [04:59.89]There are high pavements on either side, [05:04.01]and pedestrian crossings in the form of stepping stones. [05:08.87]Between the stones, [05:12.24]you can see quite clearly the deep marks made by the Chariot wheels. [05:18.09]Goodness me! It is really a historic site. [05:23.74]3.A small white Ford shot out in front of a blue car. [05:29.87]The two lawyers are questioning the driver of the blue car. [05:36.04]Please tell the court exactly what happened. [05:40.40]Certainly.I was driving home along Harbour Road. [05:46.64]I was just going to slow down when I saw a small white Ford in a side road. [05:54.59]I was sure he was going to wait there until I drover past. [06:00.02]I had no idea he was going to shoot out in front of me. [06:05.66]In other words,the driver of the white Ford shot out without any warning,is that right? [06:13.11]Exactly. It was completely unexpected. [06:18.57]And you had no idea that was going to happen? [06:23.84]No! None whatsoever! Thank you. [06:29.20]Hmm....you say you were going to slow down when the accident happened, [06:36.15]is that right? [06:39.10]Yes,it is. I was going to slow down. [06:43.85]I see. I suppose you were going very fast at the time. [06:49.73]No,not at all! I was doing 30,that's all. [06:55.48]Well,why were you going to slow down,then? [07:00.23]That suggests to me,and I'm sure to the court as well, [07:05.98]that you were going too fast in the first place. [07:11.02]NO! The reason I was going to slow down was very simple. [07:16.77]I was going to turn into the next side road. [07:21.34]Really? Why? Because I live there,that's why! [07:27.09]Passage The Battle of Britain 1940 [07:32.65]In the summer of 1940, [07:36.88]the German Air Force attempted to win air superiority [07:42.73]over southern Britain and the English Channel [07:47.30]by destroying the Royal Air Force and the British aircraft industry. [07:54.07]This attempt came to be known as the Battle of Britain, [07:59.71]and victory over the RAF was seen by the Germans as absolutely essential [08:07.97]if they were eventually to mount an invasion of the British Isles. [08:13.82] The Germans had conquered Belgium, [08:18.26]the Netherlands and northern France in May 1940, [08:24.32]uning the Blitz("Lightning War") technique that relied, [08:30.56]among other things, [08:34.22]on close corrdination between ground troops and the German Air Force. [08:40.70]Although the German Air Force proved vey competent in this role, [08:46.65]it was not trained or equipped for the longer-rane operations [08:52.82]that became part of the Battle of Britain. [08:57.26]It is widely believed [09:00.50]that had the Germans succeeded in their aim of destroying the RAF. [09:07.63]they would have been able to invade Britain relatively easily. [09:13.40]This was,after all, [09:17.35]at a time when the country was the only European power resisting Nazi Germany, [09:25.21]even though she did enjoy massive support from her Commonwealth partners. [09:31.85] A plan to use the German Air Force as the prelude to the invasion of the UK [09:38.98]had been discussed in 1939,and was at first rejected. [09:45.85]However,in view of the strength of the Royal Navy, [09:51.41]the Germans did eventually decide they had to crush the RAF first. [09:58.67]They had won convincingly in the Polish campaign in 1939 [10:05.23]and the Scandinavian and French campaigns in 1940, [10:11.08]but they were now up against a well-organized air defense system, [10:17.46]and things were going to be more difficult for them. [10:22.50]The British,on the other hand,over0estimated German strength and competence. [10:29.58]This was worrying,but not something that would lose them the battle, [10:35.74]and they also had a new invention -- radar [10:41.38]-- to help direct the fighters to intercept attacking German aircraft. [10:48.65]Furthermore, [10:51.60]the British were starting to get intelligence from intercepting German communications, [10:59.17]having cracked the Enigma code system. [11:04.03]The Battle officially began on 13 August,with an all-out assault on "Eagle day". [11:12.86]The German Air Force lost a total of 1 733 aircraft from July to October, [11:22.74]the RAF 915. [11:27.49]The Germans were actually winning the battle of attrition but, [11:34.26]frustrated by the unexpected numbers of Allied planes opposing them, [11:40.92]switched in early September to night bombing of cities. [11:46.98]This was a fatal mistake. [11:51.24]The earlier dilution of effort was made worse [11:56.98]as the German Air Force wandered between attacks on transport, [12:03.25]civilian morale and the aviation industry. [12:08.22] The Blitz,as it was known,continued after the Battle of Britain had finished. [12:15.37]During the Blits,between September 1940 and May 1941, [12:23.11]the Germans dropped more than 35 000 tons of bombs for the loss of 650 aircraft. [12:32.95]London was attacked 19 times with 18 800 tons of bombs. [12:42.38]On 17 September, [12:46.51]two days after the German Air Force's worst day in the Battle of Britain, [12:53.59]Hitler cancelled his plan for the invasion of Britain. [12:59.55]The campaign kof city bombing continued, [13:05.01]but Hitler by now was focusing on Russia-and on 22 June 1941, [13:14.57]he launched the greatest land-air campaign in the history of war [13:21.52]and its aim was the invasion of the Soviet Union. [13:27.58]Words and Expressions [13:31.13]attempt superiority channel absolutely [13:34.76]嘗試 優(yōu)越;優(yōu)勢 海峽 完全地 [13:38.39]essential mount invasion conquer [13:41.81]必需的;基本的 開始，著手 侵略 征服 [13:45.23]coordination competent invade range [13:48.67]協(xié)調(diào) 有能力的 侵略 范圍 [13:52.10]resist massive commonwealth prelude [13:55.38]抵抗 巨大的 英聯(lián)邦 前奏，序幕 [13:58.66]bomb reject in view of crush [14:02.14]轟炸 拒絕 考慮到 壓倒;摧毀 [14:05.61]convincingly campaign over-estimate fighter [14:09.40]令人信服地 戰(zhàn)役 過高估計(jì) 戰(zhàn)斗機(jī) [14:13.19]intercept furthermore communication crack [14:16.75]攔截 另外 交流;通信 破解 [14:20.32]enigma code assault frustrated [14:23.74]密碼 密碼 襲擊 沮喪的 [14:27.16]unexpected allied oppose switch [14:30.64]出其不意的 同盟的 反對，對抗 轉(zhuǎn)換 [14:34.11]fatal dilution civilian morale [14:33.61]致命的 削弱 平民 士氣 [14:33.11]aviation cancel launch [14:35.84]航空 取消 發(fā)動 [14:38.57]Exercises Section I Listening Comprehension [14:45.23]Listen to the record. [14:49.20]Answer each question by choosing A,B,C or D from the four possible choices. [14:58.94]A 1.W:Where did you and your friend go on your vacation? [15:06.21]M:We spent two days in Spain,four days in Sweden and five days in Scotland. [15:14.36]2.W:I wonder what's happened to Jane. [15:19.79]She has been absent for almost two weeks. [15:24.62]M:She took a leave to see her father in Canada. [15:29.59]3.W:Hi,Jack.So glad to see you! [15:35.05]M:Likewise.I remember the last time we met was eight months ago [15:41.81]at John's wedding party.How are you doing? [15:46.57]4.W:Did you see last night's film? [15:51.61]M:Well,I meant to see it,but one of my classmates came. [15:57.25]We had a long talk about our schooling. [16:01.51]5.W:Did you visit the Bell Tower when you had your vacation in Xi'an last year? [16:09.97]M:I couldn't make it last time.I plan to visit it next month. [16:15.72]6.W:How did you like the program last night? [16:21.78]M:Unfortunately,I came back too late to watch it. [16:27.24]7.W:How did you like the play? [16:32.88]M:Generally speaking,it was good. [16:37.35]The part of the lady was played well, [16:42.00]but I thought the man who played the husband was too dramatic to be realistic. [16:48.48]8.W:How did you enjoy your trip to China? [16:53.83]M:It was a wonderful trip. [16:57.98]We went to Beijing to see the Great Wall,to Xi'an to see the Dayan Pagoda, [17:05.04]and then flew to Shanghai. [17:09.11]B M:Well,this is it!What do you think of it? [17:14.99]W:I can hardly believe it's real. [17:19.43]I've dreamed of seeing it ever since I saw it in books when I was a child. [17:26.51]Just think of all this being built by hand more than 2000 years ago! [17:34.37]No wonder it is one of the wonders of the world. [17:39.94]M:Actually it was started more than 2500 years ago, [17:46.28]when China was divided into various states. [17:51.25]Three of the northern states built defensive walls along their borders [17:57.78]to keep off the enemies. [18:01.75]W:But I thought the wall had always been built by Qin Shihuang, [18:08.52]the first emperor of China. [18:12.67]M:Well,yes.You see,he united the whole country in the third century BC, [18:20.43]and one of the things he did was to join the separate walls into one wall [18:26.98]and to build more walls from the East Coast [18:31.63]right across the length of North China to the west. [18:36.70]W:It is certainly something any nation could be proud of. [18:42.63]I hear this is the only human construction on earth [18:48.20]that can be seen from the moon. [18:52.04]By the way,how high is the wall? [18:56.89]M:The average hewight is 7.8 metres, [19:02.04]the average width is 6.5 meters at the base and 5.8 meters at the top. [19:10.58]Would you like to go up to the top? [19:14.42]W:Yes!I'd like to have a look from the top. [19:19.28]C Today,I want to tell you about my life in the past. [19:26.23]Twenty years ago,I was a boy.At that time,things were different. [19:32.99]Usually I had to get up at six every morning. [19:38.45]That was not very bad in summer,but in winter it was cold. [19:44.70]And we didn't have any hot water in the house.We had to wash in cold water. [19:51.54]We didn't have a bathroom.My mother had many chickens. [19:57.60]I had to feed them every morning [20:01.47]and then I had to walk to school with other classmates. [20:07.03]It was two miles to school and two miles back in the evening. [20:12.78]But it always seemed longer in the morning when we were going to school. [20:19.15]There was a bus,but I had no money. [20:24.12]And we had to go to bed at eith o'clock every night. [20:29.08]We couldn't watch TV because there wasn't any. [20:34.04]On Sundays we had to go to cut grasses for pigs two times-morning and afternoon. [20:42.51]In our free time we could go out and our parents didn't have to worry about us. [20:48.85]At that time there weren't so many motors on the roads, [20:54.73]so the streets were safe to play in. [20:58.99]And there were not many robbers and thieves in those days. [21:03.85]We had to work hard [21:07.38]and we were no able to have enough money to buy things which we needed. [21:12.94]Life was hard,but it was simple and people were happier. [21:19.00]I often look back to the past. [21:23.13]Supplementary Reading [21:27.36]The civil War [21:30.60]American slavery,or Negro slavery,existed before the War of Independence. [21:39.06]During the drafting of the Declaration of Independence [21:44.81]and again in the drawing up of the Constitution, [21:50.37]opposition to slavery was put aside for a greater objective. [21:56.54]In the early 1800's,the Northern Stated,especially those in New England, [22:03.80]turned from farming to manufacturing. [22:08.66]Black slavery soon disappeared in the North. [22:14.51]One reason was that the Africans could not stand cold winters in the North. [22:21.88]Another was the high price of slaves. [22:26.84]Finally,as the North turned toward industry, [22:32.17]mechanics but not farmhands were needed. [22:37.50]But,conditions were different in the South. [22:42.77]Farming remained the most important way of making a living. [22:48.94]To meet a rising worldwide demand fo rcotton and tobacco, [22:55.42]the planters farmed large areas of land. [23:00.98]Slave labor seemed best suited for producing these crops. [23:07.23]By 1850,when the total population of the country was over 23 million, [23:15.06]the total number of slaves was 3.2 million. [23:20.81]In South Carolina and Mississippi, [23:25.56]their number was preater than that of whites and in Louisiana, [23:31.91]they nearly equaled the whites. [23:36.27]The slave population was greatest where the climate was hot, [23:42.62]the soil flat and rich,and cotton,sugar and rice were grown. [23:50.28]With the territorial expansion towards the west, [23:55.73]the problem of whether slavery should be allowed to spread into these areas arose again. [24:03.60]It became a serious political issue [24:08.25]because it might tip the balance of power in the Senate. [24:13.60]After much debate and fierce struggle, [24:18.28]the Compromise of 1850 was passed [24:23.84]which allowed California to be accepted as a free state, [24:29.30]New Mexico and Utah to be organized as territories without legislation [24:36.85]either for or against slavery [24:41.21]and a more efficient machinery to be set up for returning runaway slaves to their masters. [24:49.55]When Abraham Lincoln was elected president, [24:54.20]the southern states broke away and formed a new nation, [25:00.07]the Confederate States of America. [25:04.93]However,Lincoln was determined to maintain the Union, [25:11.18]so war broke out on April 12,1861. [25:17.24]At the beginning of the war,the Union army suffered a lot of setbacks. [25:24.50]Lincoln realized that he could win support for the Union at home [25:30.56]and abroad by making the war a just war against slavery. [25:37.33]So he issued the famous Emancipation Proclamation. [25:43.07]Thus England and France stood by the Union's side. [25:48.19]Later the Union army under the command of Ulysses S.Grant [25:55.56]defeated the Confederate army at Gettysburg,Pennsylvania. [26:01.72]This victory was the turning point of the Civil War. [26:07.29]On November 19,1863,Abraham Lincoln made a short speech [26:15.44]on the occasion of dedicating the national cemetery at Getysburg. [26:21.89]He ended his speech with these memorable words: [26:26.85]"That government of the people,by the people, [26:33.12]for the people,shall not perish from the earth." [26:38.77]After a series of battles,Robert E.Lee could no longer hold Richmond. [26:46.13]He surrendered on April 9,1865.The war that cost America 618000 lives was over. [26:57.78]Five days later,on April 14,Lincoln was shot dead by John Wikes Booth. [27:06.93]The Thirteenth Amendment,which banned slavery, [27:12.49]was added to the Constiution in December,1865.

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