政法类大学现代大学英语听力2听力原文及题目答案Unit 2

《现代大学英语听力

2

》听力原文及题目答案

Un it

2Unit

2

Task

1

【答案】

1)

b

2) a

3) d

【原文】

Texas was the biggest state before Alaska became the forty-ninth state in 1959. One good

way to understand the size of Texas is to learn about its weather. Different parts of the state have

very different kinds of weather.

Laredo is one of the hottest cities in the United States in summer. The best time to visit

Laredo is in winter, when it is pleasantly warm.

Amarillo

gets

very

cold

in

winter.

Sometimes

there

is

more

snow

in

Amarillo

than

in

New York, which is a northern city. Summers are better, but sometimes it gets quite hot. The best

time to visit Amarillo is in the autumn when it is cool.

If

anyone

asks

you about

the

weather

in

Texas,

ask

him,

“What

part

of

Texas

do

you

mean”

Task 2

【答案】

A.

1)

T

2) F

3) F

B.

1) d

2) c

3) c

C.

climate, reputation, extraordinary, unreliable, dry, wet, clear, dull, hot, cold, bad, mild

【原文】

Our friend, Nick, whose English gets better and better, declared solemnly the other day that

he thought that the British climate was wonderful, but the British weather was terrible. He went

on to explain by pointing out that the British climate was a temperate one. This meant, he said,

—

at any rate not for

any length of time

—

never very hot and never very cold.

rainfall in Britain, according to the statistics, was not very heavy.

British climate such a bad reputation

unreliable weather. There was no part of the year at which you could be certain that the weather

would be dry or wet, clear or dull, hot or cold. A bad day in July could be as cold as a mild day in

January.

Indeed

you

could

feel

cold

at

almost

any

time

of

the

year.

Nick

blamed

drafty

British

houses

for

this,

but

agreed

you

could

also

blame

the

small

amount

of

sunshine

and

a

great

amount of dampness. He advised every student coming to Britain to bring

an umbrella and to

understand the meaning of that splendid word

Task 3

【答案】

I.

the country; Trees, grass, lakes and steams

II.

A.

1. concrete, iron, steel

2. take in the heat during the day and throw off heat into the air at night

B. Warmer winters, car engines; electrical appliance

Ⅲ

.

A. air pollution may stop sunlight from reaching the earth

B.

1. Ice near the North and South poles to melt

2. to be slowly flooded and people living in these cities to move to higher land

【原文】

Cities

change

the

climate

around

you.

In

the

country,

there

are

trees,

grass,

lakes,

and

streams. In hot weather, the trees and grass cool the area around them. Lakes and rivers also cool

the area around them.

But cities are not cooled in these natural ways. Cities are built of asphalt, concrete, iron, and

steel.

There

are

few

trees

and

usually

not

much

grass. Rain

falls

onto

the

streets

and

into

the

sewers.

When the summer sun shines, streets and buildings take in the heat; after the sun sets, the

streets and buildings throw off heat into the street. Once the sun sets, the countryside cools off,

but a city may stay hot all night.

Cities

are

hotter

than

the

countryside

in

winter,

too.

Standing

near

a

car

with

its

motor

running, winter or summer, you will feel the heat thrown off by the engine. The heat comes from

the

gasoline

burned

by

the

engine.

This

heat

warms

the

air

and

the

ground

around

the

car.

Thousands of running cars are almost like thousands of small fires burning.

Carefully put your hand near a light bulb or television set. As you can see, electricity creates

a lot of heat. This heat from electricity warms the house and the outside air.

The heat given off by cities can affect the climate. Some experts even believe that cities can

change

the

climate

of

the

whole

world.

They

think

that

air

pollution

may

stop

sunlight

from

reaching the earth. If less sunshine reaches the earth, the earth may become cooler.

Still

other

experts

think

the

world

will

get

warmer.

If

the

world

did

get

warmer,

great

changes

would

occur.

Ice

near

the

North

and

South

poles

would

melt.

This

would

make

the

oceans rise. Cities near oceans

—

like Los Angeles, Boston, and Miami

—

would slowly be flooded.

People living in these cities would have to move to higher land.

Task 4

【答案】

A.

1)

b

2) c

B.

night, delight; morning, warning; gray, way, red, head

C.

1) F

2) T

3) F

【原文】

A red sky at either dusk or dawn is one of the spectacular and beautiful weather predictors

we have in nature. By closely observing this phenomenon, you can achieve short-range accuracy

of the weather as good as, or better than your local weatherman. In the Bible, Jesus in Matthew

16, 2-

3 is quoted as saying, “When it is evening, it will be fair weather: for the sky is red

. And in

the morning it will be foul weather today: for the sky is red

”

when speaking to the Pharisees. An

old English weather proverb based on this passage is:

Red sky at night, sailors delight.

Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.

Or

Evening red and morning gray,

Sends the traveler on his way.

Evening gray, morning red,

Brings the rain down on his head.

At dusk, a red sky indicates that dry weather is on the way. This is due to the sun shining

through dust particles being pushed ahead of a high pressure system bringing in dry air. A red sky

in

the

morning

is

due

to

the

sun

again

shining

through

dust.

In

this

case

however,

the

dust

is

being pushed on by an approaching low reassure system bringing in moisture. Don't confuse a

red

sky

in

the

morning

with

a

red

sun

in

the

morning.

If

the

sun

itself

is

red

and

the

sky

is

a

normal color, the day will be fair.

Task

5

【答案】

1)

c

2) b

3) d

4) c

5) c

【原文】

Mark:

I

am

an

avid

fly

fisherman

and

frequently

find

myself

on

the

river

in

a

raft

during lightning storms. We always have a debate at these times on where we

are safest

—

pulling into shore or staying on the water. Since I have heard one

is safe in a car when lightning strikes I wonder if the raft floating on the water

is insulated, and therefore the safest place to be.

Meteorologist A: We spoke with some scientists about

your question, and they all agreed that

under

no

circumstances

should

you

remain

on

the

water

during

a

lightning

storm. If your raft is made of rubber, you might feel that you're .well insulated,

but don't kid yourself. Typical lightning flashes travel 10 to 15 kilometers and

can deliver as much as 100,000 amps of current. In comparison, a toaster uses

about 10 amps of current. If lightning strikes the water near you, it will have no

trouble traveling through a few extra centimeters of rubber.

Meteorologist B: So, if you're on the water and a thunderstorm approaches, get to the shore and

seek shelter on land. Try a building or car. If neither is available, look for a cave,

cliff, wall, or a group of trees. Never take shelter under an isolated tree- it's also

a good target for lightning.

Task

6

【答案】

A.

1)

F

2) T

3) F

4) T

5) F

6) T

B.

Incredible, one minute, one kilometer, destroyed, lifted up, carried away, killed, injured

【原文】

Every spring and summer many inland areas are hit by tornados. A tornado is a kind of storm.

It's a revolving, funnel-shaped column of air that moves through the sky at very high speeds. A

tornado looks like a huge, black ice cream cone whirling through the sky. The speed of a tornado