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Reading literature doesn’t just improve your power of imagination. / It also expands your capacity for creative reasoning. / A study has shown that reading literature makes you more open-minded. / It releases you from the pressures of real world decision-making, / and lets you enter the mindset of those characters / who are often very different from yourself. / You may not be as imaginative as a famous writer, / but reading helps you see the world through his/her eyes. / The simple act of opening a book and diving into its world / opens the brain up to new ways of thinking.
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Agriculture in Britain
1. British agriculture and its supporting areas
- account for around 【T1】______of GNP 【T1】______
2. Small percentage of the UK workforce in agriculture
3. Two important 【T2】______to achieve efficiency 【T2】______
- the high level of training amongst the agricultural workforce
- the recognition by farmers of the value of investing in 【T3】______【T3】______
4. A small country but rich variety in 【T4】______【T4】______
- north region: 【T5】_____land, thin soil and cool and wet climate 【T5】______
- 【T6】_____region: flatter land with fertile soils and a mixed 【T6】______
climate
- west region: warmer climate than in the north and 【T7】______【T7】______
than in the east: the rich soils provide excellent
【T8】______【T8】______
5. A strong sense of 【T9】______among regions 【T9】______
- a united front is presented in dealing with other interest-groups
- the 【T10】______is established between all the agricultural 【T10】______
training colleges
- the national structure of the Farmers’ UnionAgriculture in Britain
Good morning, everybody. I’m Elizabeth Reed. I hope that this first session, which I’ve called An Introduction to British Agriculture, will provide a helpful background to the farm visits you’ll be doing next week.
I think I should start by emphasizing that agriculture still accounts for a very important part of this country’s economy. We mustn’t let this blind us to the fact that agriculture and its supporting industries still account for around 26% of our Gross National Product.
And now just 2% of the workforce contribute 20% of GNP. How is this efficiency achieved? Well, my own view is that it owes a lot to a history, over the last 50 or 60 years, of intelligent support by the state, mainly taking the form of helping farmers to plan ahead. Then the two other factors I should mention, both very important, are the high level of training amongst the agricultural workforce. And secondly, the recognition by farmers of the value of investing in technology is also a remarkable factor. Now, although the UK is a fairly small country, the geology and climate vary a good deal from region to region. For our purpose today we can divide the country broadly into three. The region you will get to know the best, of course, is the north, where we are at present. The land here is generally hilly, and the soil thin. The climate up here, and you’ve already had evidence of this, is generally cool and wet. As you will see next week, the typical farm here in the north is a small, family-run concern, producing mainly wool and timber for the market.
If we contrast that with the eastern region, the east is flatter and more low-lying, with fertile soils and a mixed climate. Average farm-size is much bigger in the east, and farms are likely to be managed strictly on commercial lines.
The third broad region is the west, where it’s a different story again. The climate is warmer than in the north and much wetter than in the east. The resulting rich soils in the west provide excellent pasture, and the farms there are quite large, typically around 800 hectares. The main products are milk, cheese and meat.
So, clearly, there are marked differences between regions. But this does not prevent quite a strong sense of solidarity amongst the farming community as a whole, right across the country. This solidarity comes in part from the need to present a united front in dealing with other powerful interest-groups, such as government or the media. It also owes something to the close co-operation between all the agricultural training colleges, through which the great majority of farmers pass at the beginning of their career. And a third factor making for solidarity is the national structure of the Farmers’ Union, of which virtually all farmers are members. All right, that is all for today. I wish you would enjoy your farm visits next week.
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W: Hello, I’m Linda. Welcome to today’s program. I’m joined today by Finn. Hello Finn.
M: Hi Linda. You know, I’m happy you called me to present this program with you because I was there by my desk feeling a bit bored.
W: Okay. Then let’s make this a program all about boredom, shall we? And I’ll start by stimulating your imagination. How about challenging you to a question you might not know the answer to?
M: Okay, well, you can try. Go on then.
W: Well, I know you like the theatre.
M: I do. But it has to be an exciting play or I get bored.
W: Okay. I wonder how you’d feel watching the longest continuous play recorded?
M: That’s quite an offer. What do you mean?
W: According to The Guinness Book of Records, the longest continuous dramatic performance was held in New Jersey, in the US, in 2010. But do you know how long the cast was on stage for? Was it for about: a) 8 hours b) 17 hours c) 23 hours?
M: Wow! They’re all pretty long. I’ll say b) 17 hours, Linda.
W: It was even longer. The play lasted 23 hours, 33 minutes and 54 seconds.
M: Goodness!
W: Now, let’s talk more about boredom. I think this is a feeling we have to learn how to cope with.
M: Yes, we have to learn to deal with this situation successfully. People often feel they want to change their life, to change their job.
W: So you mean you’re bored with your job?
M: Yes. You know, even I sometimes dream of something a bit more exciting like being a professional diver or maybe even a pilot of a really fast plane.
W: Well, guess what: even pilots get bored, you know?
M: Not when they are flying anyway.
W: Wrong. When they’re up in the air!
M: No way! Really? I don’t believe you!
W: Well, Missy Cummings, an American fighter pilot, complains that pilots get bored because these fighter jets are very automated when it comes to just holding altitude and heading. So she turns everything in autopilot and starts listening to Oprah Winfrey TV shows.
M: Ah, so she listened to a show when flying?
W: Yes, indeed. But some experts think there’s something good about feeling bored.
M: Really?
W: Tiffany Watt-Smith from Centre for the History of Emotions at the Queen Mary University of London says that boredom is a very useful emotion. It’s an emotion which spurs people on to change something about their environment. If you’re bored, that gives rise to creativity.
M: So boredom spurs people on to change something.
W: So what are you going to do, Finn?How will you change your life?
M: Change my life? Okay. I’m going to book myself a fantastic holiday!
W: Yeah, it sounds very exciting. Thanks Finn. That’s it for this program. I hope you didn’t find it boring.
M: Not at all. I loved it!
This is the end of Conversation One. Questions 1 to 5 are based on Conversation One.
1. Why is the man happy to join the program?
2. How long is the longest play on stage?
3. Why would pilots feel bored when flying?
4. Why is boredom good?
5. What is Finn going to do to combat boredom? He has always wanted to be a TV host. He feels bored. He likes talking to the woman. He is interested in the program.
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W: For decades, white, Hispanic and black Americans have felt similarly optimistic about their chances of improving their lives and economic prospects. But a study out this week shows that, since about 2006, whites have become more pessimistic. At the same time, blacks and Hispanics have grown more optimistic. Joining me is Matt Barreto, a political science professor at the University of Washington and co-founder of the opinion research group Latino Decisions. Professor Barreto, by so many measures, white families are doing better. You know, simply taken in the aggregate, the socioeconomic measurements are just better. Why so much pessimism?
M: Well, I think it reflects what we call a ceiling effect, and that is that whites have been doing better for a very long time. You can go back to the post-World War II era, when whites really started moving into the suburbs and the upper middle class, and so they have occupied that top rung of doing better for a very long time. And now as they start to evaluate their position, I think a lot of white Americans are saying we don’t see ourselves growing anymore. We have been at this top rung and we’re not growing. And instead we see other groups are also growing. And that leads to a little bit more pessimism in their own reflection of their group, that perhaps they have already achieved the highest rung that they’re going to achieve.
W: Conversely, black and brown Americans are more likely to be unemployed, less likely to have a college credential, by a lot of socioeconomic metrics, just doing worse. How do you explain the optimism?
M: Easy.
I was speaking when I was doing research to a guy named Dave Thomas, who is a business school professor at Harvard, and he used the phrase “irrational exuberance“ to explain what we were then picking up in the polls, because this poll finding is not new. It goes back several years. And in essence, part of it that what African-Americans are looking at and Latinos as well is aspirational. They’re looking at the future. We have gone, as Matt basically said, from being a country that was basically and totally dominated by whites to something very different now. And so for the first time you have African-Americans who are saying it’s possible to break through some of these ceilings that it was impossible to break through a generation ago. And when you’re talking about the future, the fact that unemployment for African-Americans has been roughly twice what it is for white Americans pretty much forever, mat doesn’t affect how you see the prospects for your child, because you say my child might be able to become a CEO of a corporation. My child may be able to become a big talk show host My child may be able to become president of the United States. That’s something you couldn’t say a generation ago, and that’s revolutionary.
This is the end of Conversation Two. Questions 6 to 10 are based on Conversation Two.
6. How optimistic are Americans now?
7. How are white families doing now?
8. What is ceiling effect?
9. Why are Latinos more optimistic?
10. According to the man, what may happen to the black in the future? They are more optimistic than before. They are more pessimistic than before. The Hispanic and black are more optimistic and the white are more pessimistic. The white are more optimistic and the Hispanic and black are more pessimistic.
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“Despite proving their grit in the two-month Ranger course, the two women are still unable to join infantry, armor and special forces units, but that could change after the Pentagon makes its recommendations.“ The modal auxiliary verb “could’’ in the sentence expresses______. low possibility in the past high possibility in the past low possibility in the future high possibility in the future
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“Hotel workers suspect that the fire was ignited by a cigarette and that a guest may have thrown the cigarette into a bush from the pool deck.’The modal auxiliary verb phrase “may have thrown“ in the sentence expresses______. high possibility in the past low possibility in the present high possibility in the present low possibility in the past
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Among the four sentences below, the tag question in sentence______is used to seek confirmation of the asker’s opinion or belief. She’s French, isn ’t she? Do listen, will you? Let’s have a beer, shall we? Oh, I’m lazy, am I?
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______the sense of someone watching him, Joey would take a shower right now in this beautiful river. Despite Except But for Except for
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In China, the South generally receives more sunshine than______the North. does it does does it it does in
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Even if he himself______tomorrow, it______too late to do anything. will come...is should come.. .were comes.. .will be comes.. .would be
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I should say he is not______a teacher as a scholar. too much very much so much as much
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Our teacher recommended that we______as attentive as possible when we visit the chapel. are shall be be were
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Some companies have introduced flexible working time with less emphasis on pressure______. than more on efficiency and more on efficiency and more efficiency than efficiency
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Advertising media like direct mail, radio, television and newspapers____to increase the sales of industrial products. have been used will be used is being used has been used
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While being questioned on the court, the man denied____the guy. having murdered murdering to have murdered to murder
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The______of AIDS his led to an expansion in research seeking a cure. innovation selection proliferation conviction
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Most importantly， such an experience helps______ a heightened sensitivity to other cultures and will bring about a greater appreciation of one’s own culture as well. coach forsake foster censor
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He would never forget the hardships he witnessed during the Great______of the 1930s. Unemployment Starvation Depression Renaissance
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After an exhausting tour, she fell into a heavy______and slept long and late. slumber fatigue nightmare relaxation
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If you want to make money, buy cheap and sell______. high dear expensive costly
