懂你英语Level 4-Unit 3
Unit 3-1 listening 时间花费
Look at these 2 pie graphs. They show how these 2 people spend their days, not including weekends. The one on the top shows how Emma divides up her days. She is a designer who works for a large company.
As Emma’s graph shows, the biggest portion of her day is spent working. She works an average of 8 hours a day, which is one third of her day. She gets an average of 6 hours to sleep which is 25% of her day. That’s less sleep than Martin gets. According to his graph, he gets an average of 7 hours to sleep which is about 29% of his day. On the other hand, Martine who is engineer, works more hours than Emma does. Martine average 9 hours a day at work compare to Emma’s 8. That’s 37.5% compare to 33%. Other factors shown in the graph included time for meals and commuting to work.
Other activities include getting dress and doing household chores such as doing laundry and paying bills. As you can see, for Martin, commuting is taking a large amount of his time. If he could reduce his commute time, he will have more time for other things. And it isn’t just the time. When the traffic is really heavy his commute is stressful. It will be great if he can work from home one or two days a week. He life will be more enjoyable.
And we look at Emma’s graph, we see she probably needs more sleep. Perhaps, she should spend a bit less time socializing with her friends. On the other hand, socializing with her friend is something she really values. As for putting on makeup, she isn’t willing to change that. For her, exercising, socializing and staying beautiful help her deal with the stressful work. In conclusion, Emma and Martin both wish there were more hours in a day.
This next graph shows how various factors compare important to 1350 jobs applicants. Applicants were between 20 to 25 years ago. They were asked to list which factors were most important for a good job. As the graph shows, money was the most important factor for 25% of the applicants. However, other factors are also important. The second most important factor was the work environment.
In other words, for many,money is everything. People want to like where they work. In fact, if we combine working environment and co-workers, the total is 35%. This is well above the 25% for salary and benefits. Taking together, they are more important than salary and benefits.Career path is also important especially for younger applicants. They want to see that their job helps to build a successful career. For older workers, this may not be as important. Older workers often put the higher value on the balance between life and work. What do you think.
Unit 3-1 vocabulary 领土、军事、政治、政权状态
The government of a country is a control system. Governments make laws and provide services to their citizens.
The land over which a government has controlled, is its territory. A country’s territory has boundaries or borders. When you leave or enter a country’s territory, you usually need a passport.
A country’s military provides defense for its territory and its citizens. The military includes an army, an air force and a navy. The main purpose of a military, is to defend a country from attack.
A country’s criminal justice system includes the police, courts and prisons. Its purpose is to enforce the law and protect the people from criminal activities.
A country social services system provides support to people in need. It provides basic health care services and helps poor people support their children.
A state of anarchy exits when a country has no effective government. In anarchy,there is nobody to make decisions or enforce the laws.
An autocracy is the simplest form of government. In an autocracy, the government is controlled by single individual, known as autocrat. Whether or not an autocracy is successful, depends on the character and ability of the leader.
In an oligarchy, a small group of people controls the government. Membership in this group often depends on family connection, wealth or military power.
In a republic, individuals are elected to represent the citizens. The power of government in a republic is limited by a constitution. A constitution is a written document that makes the rules for a government to follow. This limits the power of a government. A constitution defines the relationship between the government and its citizens.
Unit 3-1 dialogue 谈论工作
A: I hear you lost your job. Is that right?
B: Yes, that's right. I quit. I quit because of the way my boss treats people.
A: What happened?
B: I wasn't feeling good one day, and he yelled at me. When I told him not to yell at me, he threaten me.
A: Is that all? That's what bosses do.
B: Sure, sometimes maybe. But my boss treated everyone badly, and I was tired of it. It was the last straw.
A: The last straw?
B: Yes, you know, it reached the point where I couldn't take it anymore.
A: I see. So now you don't have a job?
B: Right, I don't have a job. But at least I don't have to deal with my boss anymore.
A: What are you going to do now?
B: To be honest, I'm not sure, but I'll find something. I'll get a job, even if it pays less than before.
A new job.
A: Are you sorry you quit?
B: Yes, and no. I guess I should have found another job first, and then quit.
A: Why didn't you?
B: As I said, he pushed me too far. There are some things that I just won't take.
A: What about your wife?
B: She isn't happy that I don't have a job, but she understands. She knows I have a temper. And she knows I wasn't happy working there.
A: Well, I guess I'm lucky. My job isn't great, but I like the people I'm working with, and I like my manager.
B: Are you planning to stay there?
A: I don't know. For now it's OK, but of course, it all depends on how things change.
B: Well if you hear of any job openings, let me know, OK?
A: Sure, send me your resume, and I'll let people know you're looking.
B: Thanks.
Unit 3-2 listening 朗朗
Lang Lang is one of the world’s greatest concert pianist. His first contact with western music was when he was just 2 years old. He watched the canton in which a cat played a famous piece by Franz Liszt. From this experience, he decided he wanted to learn to play piano. When he was 3 and a half years ago, he started piano lessons. 2 years later, he won first place in the piano competition. This early success gave his father great hope that Lang Land will became the world greatest pianist.
When Lang Lang was 9 years ago, his father quit his job and took him to Beijing.They left everything behind including his mother who had to work. Lang Lang didn’t want to leave her behind but his father nsisted. His father wanted him to study at famous Central Conservatory of Music.
When they moved to Beijing, they rented a flat in a poor area of the city. During this time, Lang Lang practiced several hours a day. They started practicing at 5 o’clock which upset his neighbors. They would often pound on his door and ask him to stop practicing. They were so angry that he often feared that they would beat him up.
Lang Lang usually had piano lessons once a week to prepare for the conservatory.Nearly 2000 students were applying for just 12 places at the conservatory. His lessons were expensive and very difficult, especially because of his piano teacher. His music teacher didn’t like Lang Lang. he called his teacher professor Angry because she always gave him a hard time.
One afternoon, his teacher told him he had no talent and told him to go home. Upon hearing the news, his father screamed and seemed to lose his mind.His father told him that everything was destroyed and there was no reason to live. He ordered Lang Lang to jump off the 11th-floor balcony. After this, Lang Lang almost went crazy. He didn’t want to play the piano anymore.
For several months, he neither played the piano nor spoke to his father. Then some friends encouraged him to play a piece for them and he realized his great love of piano.For the next 19 months, he practiced hard and his father encouraged him. Finally, when he was ten, he was accepted into the Conservatory with a full scholarship.
In 1995, when he was 13 years old, he played music by show ? at Beijing concert hall. In that same year, he won first place at an international competition for young musicians in Japan. When he was 15, he moved to the United States and began to study with the famous pianist at Cinstitute. Since then, he career has grown and he has become a major star. One of the American music critics called him the biggest most exiting key of talent I haven’t encountered many a year of attention piano recycles.
In 2010, Lang Lang signed a recalling contract for several million dollars. In 2011, he performed at white house for president of Obama of United States and Hu Jintao of China.With all of his success and fame, Lang Lang tries to encourage others. He uses his fame to spread the popularity of classic music and encourage young musicians. And in the end, Lang Lang and his father have rebuilt their relationship. In his autobiography, Mr. Lang dedicated the book to his mother and father.
Unit 3-2 vocabulary 财务、地理
A person debt is how much he or she owes to others. Debt can be in the form of money, products and services owes to someone else. If you borrow money, they were taking on new debt.
An asset is something that has value, such as money, property or even a nice personality. Assets can be used to pay off debts. Specialized knowledge or skills are also assets that can be used to get a job or earn money.
Real estate is properties such as land, houses and buildings. Buying, selling or renting property is the business of real estate. Buying or selling real estate is popular for investments.
Inventory is a detail list of items in one’s possession. In business, one’s inventory is the supply of items that are ready for sale. If a store runs out of the things for sale, it needs to resupply its inventory.
An investment is the purchase of assets with the hope that its value will increase. A good investment can produce income, such as rent income. If the value of that assets falls, the investment will lose money.
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China is the second largest country in the world by land area.
A major issue for china is the continuing expansion of its desserts which had led the dust storms each spring.
Many of the world most polluted cities are located there.
South Asia is referred to as Indian sub-continent.
It’s called the sub-continent because it separated from the rest of Asia by mountains and sea.
It’s one of world’s poorest region with about 75% of the poor living in rural areas.
Europe is western neighbor of Asia.
It’s separated from Asia by Ural Mountains which extent for 1500 miles in the north south direction from the Antarctic ocean.
The Philippines is the only country in Asia with a majority of Christians.
The Philippines is an island Nation with over 7000 islands.
It’s located on the south China sea. The country’s capital city is Manila.
Asia is the world largest continent covering about 30% of the earth land area.
Several island nations are also a part of Asia, including Japan.
The world’s tallest mountain is in Asia, including Mount Everest.
Unit 3-2 dialogue 谈论投票选举
Hey, have you decided how you’re going to vote.
Not, I haven’t. I don’t like any kind of candidates.
So you aren’t going to vote.
Mu. I don’t know. Probably not. It seems like a waste of time.
Really, why do you think of a waste of time.
Have you listened to any of their speeches?
Yes, I have and I agree that their speeches aren’t very good.
Exactly. I can’t believe anything they say.
They are just saying what they think we want to hear.
Sure, you want to get elected.
I admit that the system isn’t perfect and it’s always have.
Whether I vote or not won’t make a difference. It’s all the show.
Well, I think you should vote. Do a little research about the candidates.
Have you?
Yes, I have. I have looked into their backgrounds and their education.
How can that help?
For example, if they know something about science,
it could help the government
make a better decision about issues such as climate change.
Yes, that’s good point. We need well-educated people make decisions.
And I look to see what kind of people are supporting them.
What issues do you think are most important?
I guess for me, pollution, housing and taxes are important.
I want to know how government plans to deal with these issues.
Yes, I agree with you. Maybe I will vote,
especially if we could get together and talk more about it.
What about dinner tomorrow night?
Sorry, I’m busy tomorrow night.
Oh, that’s too bad. Do you have any time in the next few days?
I will take you to a nice restaurant.
Actually, I’m quite busy. But I may have time Sunday afternoon.
We can have lunch someone near the office.
Sure, that was for me. I will give you a call on Saturday and
we can decide the details, ok?
OK, I will be looking forward to seeing which candidate you support.
Unit 3-3 listening 蜜蜂、蜂农与环境
Honeybees play an interesting and important role in nature. In additional to making honey, honeybees help many plants reproduce. They do this by pollinating the plant which means to transfer pollen. Pollination occurs when pollen is moved within a plant’s flower or carried to another flower. This is how the plant reproduce. For reproduction to succeed, the pollen must be transferred from the male part of the flower to the female part.
Many plants depend on the pollen for reproduction. This included many fruits and vegetables.Beside honeybees, there are many other pollinators including birds, insects and other kind of bees. Without enough pollinators, many of our favorite fruits and vegetable will become more expensive and hard to find. This included almonds and cherries.
Honeybee are important pollinators and play an important role in agriculture.Beekeepers are people who keep honeybees. In addition to collecting honey, some beekeepers provide pollination services for farmers. They do this by raising and managing colonis of bees. Farmers need colonies to pollinate their crops. Beekeepers can provide and manage of bee colonies to farmers.
Honey bees are social insects that live in colonies. A bee colony consists of a queen bee, male drones and thousands of male worker bees. Each colony also contains eggs and immature bees in various stage of development. The number of bees within a colony depends on the seasonal changes. A colony’s population increases during the warm season and decreases during the colder season.
In recent year, many bee colonies have collapsed or disappeared. A bee colony collapses occurs when a majority of bee in colony disappear and leave behind the queen. Some beekeepers have reported losing 30 to 90 % of their colonies. This loss of bee colonies can cause significant problems for farmers who depend on them to pollinate their crops. In some parts of the world, a shortage of bees has increased the cost of renting bees by up to 20%.
There are several possible causes for bee colony collapse. One possible collapse is the use of new pesticides. Other possible causes include infections from viruses, genetic factors and alnutrition（营养不良）. Changing weather patterns may also play a role as summers get hotter and winters get colder. These changes in weather may weaken the bees, making it more difficult for them to fight infections.
Whatever the causes of colony collapse, it’s important to understand that many parts of our world are interdependent. Changes that effect on one species may have serious effects on other species. A change to our environment, can start a chain of event that is difficult to predict. In any complex system such as the earth environment, small changes can cause a un consequences. The danger of un consequences is something that we all need to understand better.
Unit 3-3 vocabulary 商品、服务和工作
Goods and services supply what people need or want. Goods are things such food and clothing. Services included things such as health care and police protection.
A country needs natural and human resources. Natural resources include fresh water supplies, farmland and energy sources such as oil and wind. Human resources includes a skilled workforce that can produce goods and services.
Once we had supplies of goods and services, they need to distribute throughout the country. Highways and railways are both way to transport thing from one part of country to another.Electricity are distributed through a system of transmition lines.
We live in an age of advertising. Advertising lets people know about goods and services. It educates people about a product being advertised.
Trade allows for the exchange of goods and services between different countries.Exports are goods and services that are sold to another country. Imports are goods and services that are brought from other country. For example, many countries import oil from countries such as Saudi Arabia.
Employees are the people who work for a company. Some employees do basic work such as operating a machine or driving a track. People who hire and direct the work of other are managers.
Interview is one way to find out about a person who applies for a job. In an interview, the applicants can ask question about a company and company can find out about a person’s skills and experience.
An entrepreneur is someone who starts a company. Entrepreneurs often have new ideas and ways of doing things that can give company advantage.
Salary and benefits are used to attract new employees into a company. If the salary and benefits are good enough, employees may take a job and stay with the company. Benefits includes vacation time, health insurance and bonuses for employees who do a good job.
When apply for job, it’s important to have skills and experience needed for the job.Developing and increasing skills and experience is good way to prepare for a job. Each job a person has is an opportunity to learn new things and develop new skills.
Advertises try to increase to the demand for a product or service.Education and training are ways to develop a skilled workforce. unforeseen
Unit 3-3 dialogue 谈论租房与房东
You don’t look good, is something bothering you.
Yes, it’s my landlord.
Oh, is it something wrong with your flat.
No, that’s not something wrong with the flat. But I’m going to have to move out.
Why did you have to move out?
For the last 2 month, a friend has been staying with me.
She stayed until she could find a job.
That’s nice of you.
Yes, but I’m not supposed to have anyone staying there.
Was that in the rental agreement.
Yes, it was. It’s ok if a friend stays for few days but not for more than that.
So you broke the agreement even though it was for a good reason.
Anyway, one of my neighbors told the landlords about my friend.
So now I’m in trouble. The landlord is angry and says she can’t trust me.
That’s ridiculous.
I told her about my friend and how I’m trying to help her, but she doesn’t care.
Wow, she doesn’t sound very nice.
That’s right, she isn’t nice. She’s just interested in money.
In fact, she is going to keep my security deposit.
How can she do that. Nothing is damaged, right.
Right, everything in the flat is fine.
She’s keeping the deposit because I broke the rental agreement.
What about your rent.
Yes , that’s another problem.
I already pay 3 months rent so I hope I can get it back.
What can you do if she doesn’t return it.
I don’t know. I told to my agent. He’s nice and maybe he can help.
Maybe I should refuse to leave the flat until I get it back.
Be sure to take picture of your flat.
What for?
Just to show the condition of your flat.
Then she can’t say your friend damaged it anyway.
Good idea. She’s a small-minded, evil woman.
I should never have rented it from her in the first place.
Unit 3-4 listening 职业
What kind of career is the best and what kind of qualification?One of most popular careers for kids is the to become an astronaut. Many kids dream of going space when they grow up. They dream of work on a space station or exploring deep space. To become an astronaut, it’s important to have the right background. Many astronauts have a background in engineering, physics or medicine. Sometime they have a military background, such as flying military aircraft. As for pay,astronaut can earn a good salary but not great.
Another popular career is to become a musician or actor. Many kids dream of become a famous singer or movie stars. However, most of musician or actor don’t become famous. They are usually paid by the hour or by the performance. Only a very few have lots of money. So the best advice is not to be a musician or actor unless that’s your real passion.
Becoming a professional athlete is another dream job for many. It’s nice to imagine play a favorite sport and getting paid for it. However, becoming a famous athlete takes a lot of work and practice. Great athletes practice for hours a day with teammates and coaches. They also work regularly with trainers to keep their body strong. The level of pay for athletes depends on the success and the level of their performance. Athletes often have short career because of the physical requirement of their sport. When you are no longer able to compete in a high level, some athletes become coaches.
Firefighters and police officers are important job that help and protect people. These careers require applicants to complete training programs and pass the written and physical tests. These jobs can be exciting and dangerous so they require courage and sometimes sacrifice.
When considering salary and benefits, some of the lowest paying jobs are in the hospitality and beauty industries. For example, food service worker and hairstyles generously have low salaries. This kind of job don’t require much of the education or training. But again, if you enjoy what you’re doing, that may be good enough. for example, you may really enjoy talking with your customers. Spending your life doing something you dislike can be very unsatisfying, even if the salary is high.
Some of the highest paid professions includes doctors, lawyers and scientists.However, these professions require high level of education and training. The path to becoming a doctor, for example, is a long one. Doctors require a university degree,several years in medical school, and several more years in experience. Only then are they certified as a medical doctor or MD. So it doesn’t make sense to consider these professions unless you are willing to work hard for many years. And because, you should really care doing the work well.
Unit 3-4 vocabulary 战争和生物
Civil wars are fought between citizens of the same country and are fought within the country. If citizens of a country disagree about the policy or leader, they may fight a civil war.
A world war is fought when countries form alliances and these alliances fight each other. A world war involves many or most of the world’s most powerful countries.There were 2 world war in the 20th century.
Terrorism involves groups of individuals rather than countries. Terrorists may come from different countries and they may share the same beliefs. Terrorists often use carbombings or suicide attacks on innocent people. A terrorist attack can happen at any time and any place.
An invasion occurs when one country attacks another. It sends its army to the other country and attempts to take control. One of most famous invasions was when France invaded Russia in 1812.
A defensive war occurs when a country is attacked and needs to defend itself. Most of countries have military so that it can defend itself if it’s attacked. when France invaded Russia in 1812, the Russia army fought a defensive war and defeated the French army.
A cell is the basic unit of life. A cell is smallest structure that can live and reproduce.Cells grow and develop, reproduce and interact with the environment.
Photosynthesis was one of most important biological processes. It allows plants to capture and use light as an energy source. photosynthesis is the process of converting light energy into chemical energy.
A virus is small biological structure that attacks and enters cells. Once inside a cell, a virus reproduces and makes many copies of itself. Some diseases such influenza (流感)are viruses.
Bacteria are one-celled forms of life that are all around us. Although they have a single cell structure, they are very important. Many bacteria are inside us and help us digest our food.
DNA is a complex molecule that stores information and can make copies of itself.Nearly any cells in a person’s body has the same DNA. The information stored in DNA tells cells what to do and it’s necessary for reproduction.
Unit 3-3 dialogue 旅馆更换房间
Good evening, sir. How can I help you?
Yes, we just check in and our room is unacceptable. It’s room 1810.
Is there something wrong with the room?
Yes, there certainly is.
We requested a non-smoking room but the room smiles of smoke.
Let me check. Yes, that room is supposed to be a non-smoking room.
Well, somebody certainly doesn’t follow the rules. The current smoke is cigars.
We can hardly breath and the windows don’t open.
Right, the windows don’t open, sir. I really sorry about this.
Let me see if I can find you another room.
Yes, please. We certainly can’t stay in that room. Both our kids have asthma,
so the smell of smoke can cause breathing problems.
Yes, I understand your concern. Sir, I’m afraid we don’t have any other rooms
with two double beds. If you’ll excuse me, I will speak with my manager.
Thank you. We were really tired and we would like to get rest as soon as possible.
Yes, I understand.
If you don’t mind, could you wait in the lounge near the elevators?
I shouldn’t be long.
Sure, I hope it doesn’t take time.
Good evening, I’m the manager here. I’m sorry to hear about your room.
Yes, we are not happy and we were really tired. I hope you can help us.
I’m sure we can. Since we don’t have another non-smoking room for you,
we will upgrade your suite. Will that be ok?
Yes, there will be fine. There is no extra cost, right.
No, sir. There would be no extra charge.
And it’s non-smoking, right.
Yes, sir. I’ve confirmed that is non-smoking.
Thanks I really appreciate your help.
It’s my pleasure,
sir. I hope you and your family have a wonderful stay with us.
Here is my card.
If there is anything else I can do for you, please let me know.
I will. Have a good evening.
Thank you, sir.
And once again, let me apology for the same inconvenience.
