A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 词汇提示 1.holly 冬青 2.fetch 接 3.mince 绞碎 4.vanished 消失 5.financee 未婚妻 原文 Chapter III: The First Spirit When Scrooge woke up, it was very dark. The church clock struck twelve. 'Twelve!' said Scrooge, surprised. 'But it was after two o'clock when I went to bed. It's impossible! That clock is wrong.' He got out of bed and went to the window, but he couldn't see much. It was dark, foggy and very cold. He went back to bed and began to think. 'Was it all a dream? Was Marley's Ghost really here?' he said to himself. Suddenly he remembered the Ghost's words: 'The first Spirit will come at one o'clock tomorrow morning.' So he decided to wait and see. After a long time he heard the church clock. 'It's one o'clock!' said Scrooge. 'And there's nobody here!' At that moment there was a great light in the room and the curtains of his bod opened. Yes, a hand opened the curtain in front of his face! He sat up and saw a strange person. It was small, like a child, but it was also like an old man. Its long hair was white but its face looked young. It was wearing white clothes with summer flowers on them. There was a piece of green holly in its hand. 'Are you the first Spirit?' asked Scrooge. 'Yes, I am,' the visitor replied in a quiet voice. 'Who and what are you?' 'I am the Ghost of Christmas Past.' 'Whose past?' 'Your past.' 'Why are you here?' 'To help you.' 'I thank you,' Scrooge said. 'If you want to help me, let me sleep.' 'Get up and walk with me,' said the Spirit, and it took his arm. Scrooge wanted to say that it was late, the weather was very cold, and his bed was warm. But the Spirit took him to the window. 'No, I'll fall!' Scrooge said. The Spirit put its hand on his heart. 'If It ouch you here, you won't fall,' it said. Then they went through the wall, and suddenly they were standing on a road in the country. There was snow in the fields. 'Good Heavens!' Scrooge cried. This is where I was born! I was a boy here!' And here membered all his old feelings about the place. 'Your lips is trembling,' said the Ghost. Are you crying?' 'No. no...'answered Scrooge. But a tear fell from his eye. They walked along the road towards a little town with a bridge, a church and a river. Some boys came out of a school. They were laughing and singing because it was a holiday. They shouted 'Merry Christmas!' to each other. ' They are all in the past,' the Ghost said. 'They are only shadows.' Scrooge knew all of them and he felt suddenly happy. Why did his cold eyes and heart become warm with joy? What did merry Christmas mean to him? He didn't like Christmas! 'The school is not empty.' said the Spirit. 'One child is still there. He hasn't got any friends.' 'I know, I know,' Scrooge said. And there were big tears in his eyes. They went into the school, a big, old, dark place. Inside there was a long classroom. It looked sad and empty, with only a few desks and chairs in it. A little boy was sitting at one of the desks. He was reading a book by a small fire. Scrooge sat down on a chair and cried because he knew that the little boy was himself many years ago. 'That's me,' he said. 'I was left here one Christmas. Poor boy! Oh, I would like to.... but it's too late now!' 'What is it?' asked the Spirit. 'Nothing. You see, there was a poor boy outside my office last night. He was singing a Christmas carol. But I didn't give him anything and I told him to go away.' The Spirit smiled. 'Let's see another Christmas!' Then everything changed. The boy was bigger, and the room looked older and darker. Scrooge saw himself again. He was walking sadly up and down. Then the door opened and a little girl ran in. She was younger than the boy. 'Dear, dear brother!' she said happily. And she put her arms round his neck and kissed him. 'I've come to bring you home -home, home!' 'Home, Fanny?' the boy asked. 'Yes! Home for ever and ever!" the girl laughed. 'Father is kinder now and he wants you to come home. He sent me in a coach to fetch you. Oh, you'll never come back to this horrible school! And we'll be together for Christmas! I'm so happy!' She began to pull him towards the door. 'Bring Master Scrooge's luggage to the coach!' somebody shouted in a terrible voice. It was the teacher, and when he came in, the boy was very frightened. 'Goodbye, Master Scrooge!' said the teacher in his terrible voice. 'Goodbye, sir,' the boy answered, trembling. But when he got into the coach with his sister, he felt happy. 'Your sister had a very good heart,' said the Ghost. 'When she died, she left one child - your nephew.' 'Yes.' Scrooge remembered the conversation with his nephew in his office the afternoon before, and he felt bad about it. Suddenly they were standing at the door of an office in the city. It was Christmas again. 'I know this place very well! And there's old Mr Fezziwig - alive again! Oh, dear old Fezziwig!' Mr Fezziwig was a fat, happy man with a red face. He was working at a desk. 'Hey! Ebenezer! Dick! 'he shouted. 'Stop your work!' Scrooge, now a young man, came in with his friend Dick. 'It's Christmas Eve, boys! We must celebrate!' said Fezziwig. 'Let's stop work and close the office.' So they put away all the books and papers and made a big fire. Then a man came in and started to play the violin. Mrs Fezziwig and the three Miss Fezziwigs arrived, and then a lot of young people came, and everybody began to dance to the music. Then there were games and more dances; cake and hot wine and more dances. And there was lots of roast beef and beer, and mince pies too. It was a wonderful party. At eleven o'clock, every body said 'Merry Christmas!' and the party finished. While Scrooge was watching all this, he laughed and sang and wanted to dance. He remembered it all and enjoyed it very much. 'You and Dick and everybody loved Mr Fezziwig,' the Ghost said to him. 'But why? That party was a very small thing. It cost only three or four pounds. So why did you all love him so much?' 'A small thing!' answered Scrooge. 'No! ' Fezziwig was our manager, so he could make us happy or unhappy. He could make our work easy or hard. He gave us a lot of happiness - and that was like a fortune in money!' Then Scrooge looked sadly at the Ghost. 'What are you thinking about?' it asked. 'I... was thinking that I would like to speak to my clerk now...' 'Come, there isn't much time,' said the Ghost. 'We must be quick.' At that moment the scene vanished and they were standing in the open air. Scrooge saw a man of about forty. It was himself again, and his face showed the first signs of the problems of business and a passion for money. He was sitting next to a young girl dressed in black. It was his fiancee Belle. She was crying quietly. 'You love something more than me, Ebenezer,' she said. 'Oh? What?' 'Money. You are afraid of life, you are afraid of the world, and so you do only one thing: make money. Then you feel more secure. Money is your passion now.' 'No,' he said angrily. 'My feelings for you haven't changed, Belle!' 'But you have changed. When you promised to marry me, you were a different person.' 'I was a boy,' he said. 'And so my love is nothing to you now. You aren't happy with me and you don't want to marry me.' 'I've never said that.' 'Not in words, no - but I know it's true. I haven't got any money so you don't want me. Well, you're free to go. I hope you will be happy.' And Belle went sadly away. 'Spirit!' Scrooge cried. 'Don't show me anymore! Take me home!' 'There's one more scene.' 'No! No more! I don't want to see it!' But suddenly they were in a room where a beautiful young girl was sitting near a big fire. Next to her sat her mother. This was Belle, now older. The room was full of children and there was a lot of noise, But Belle and her daughter liked it, and the daughter began to play with the children. Then the father came in with a lot of Christmas presents. He gave them to the children and they laughed and shouted happily. Finally, they went to bed and the house was quiet. The father sat by the fire with his wife and daughter. Scrooge looked at them and thought: 'How sad that don't have a wife and daughter!' 'Belle,' said the husband to his wife. 'I saw your old friend this afternoon.' 'Who was it? Mr Scrooge?' 'Yes. I passed his office window and he was there. He hasn't got a friend in the world. His old partner Marley is dying.' 'Spirit, take me away!' said Scrooge. 'These things happened,' the Ghost answered, 'and they cannot be changed.' 'Please take me back! I can't watch this anymore!' At that moment the Spirit disappeared and Scrooge was in his bedroom again. He felt very tired, so he got into bed and fell asleep.

提示 一、每期五个句子，均是从四六级听力真题中选取的长难句。 二、每个句子念三遍女声，一遍男声，再一遍女声。 三、如果觉得语速过快，可以在播放器上调慢语速，多听几遍。 词汇提示 1.shrinking 减少 原文 101. They can also harm other wild species through indirect competition rather than eating them or shrinking their food supply. 它们也可以通过间接竞争而不是吃掉或减少食物供应来伤害其他野生物种。 102. I think that's a bit too formal. It's better to let people walk around and talk to each other or sit where they like. 我觉得这有点太正式了。最好让人们四处走动，互相交谈，或者坐在他们喜欢的地方。 103. With the bone finally removed from her lung, the woman is very happy that she no longer suffers from that annoying cough. 骨头终于从她的肺中取出，该女子非常高兴，她再也不用被烦人的咳嗽折磨了。 104. How about inviting people to come at 6:00 PM, then we'll have the afternoon to prepare food and drink and stuff like that? 不如邀请大家下午6点来，这样我们可以在下午准备食物、饮料之类的东西？ 105. I think I might try that big new supermarket on the other side of town, see what they have. I've not been there before. 我想我可以去镇上另一边新开的大超市，看看他们有什么。我以前没去过那家超市。

听前提示 一、三遍英文，一遍中文，再一遍英文。 二、从听懂的词入手，理解句子含义。 三、根据中英文意思，听不懂的多听几遍。 词汇提示 1.jealous 嫉妒 2.jockeys 骑手 3.grip 紧握 原文 391. In the absence of a better idea I had to choose this method. 由于没有更好的主意，我只好选择这种方法。 392. To be an interesting person you have to feed and exercise your mind. 要想成为一个有趣的人，你必须要充实大脑，锻炼思维。 393. The influence of the strong dollars on the US economy has become very serious. 强势美元对美国经济的影响已经变得非常严重。 394. The train was just on the point of starting when I got to the station. 我到车站时，火车正要开。 395. If you hear from Jenny, could you tell her I would like to see her? 如果你接到珍妮的电话，能告诉她我想见她吗? 396. Paul makes it a rule not to be late for his appointments. 保罗定下了约会不迟到的规矩。 397. In UK they have much rain at this time of the year. 英国每年这个时候雨水很多。 398. It will not make much difference whether you go today or tomorrow. 你今天去还是明天去都没有多大关系。 399. The other girls are jealous of Lily because she is extremely pretty. 其他女孩都嫉妒莉莉，因为她非常漂亮。 400. Before the horse race begins, the jockeys grip there ins tightly to restrain the impatient horses. 赛马开始前，骑手们紧紧地抓住缰绳，约束住那些性急的马儿。

词汇提示 1.monarchies 君主制 2.Tsars 沙皇 3.herit 继承 4.hemophilia 血友病 5.existence 生活 6.peasant 农民 7.slum 贫民窟 8.deposed 罢免 原文 Anastasia and the Russian Revolution The twentieth century brought many changes to traditional cultures around the world. Some of the most radical changes occurred in the Russian Empire, which had one of the oldest monarchies in Europe. In 1917-18 the rule of the Tsars was replaced by the world's first communist government led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. No one was more affected by these changes than Anastasia, the Tsar's youngest daughter. Between 1895 and 1901, Tsar Nicholas Il and his wife Alexandra, became the parents of four beautiful and healthy daughters - Olga, Tatiana, Marie and Anastasia. However, since a girl could not in herit the throne of Russia, it was important for Alexandra to give birth to a son. Finally, in 1904, the Tsar and Tsarina had a son, Aleksei. This event, which should have made the whole family very happy, proved to be a source of great sorrow. Aleksei was soon found to have an incurable disease. This disease, hemophilia, meant that Aleksei regularly suffered from uncontrollable internal and external bleedingwhich left him very weak. The Tsar and Tsarina loved their children. The girls, who didn't have to worry about becoming rulers, led a fairly carefree existence. Anastasia and her sisters lived in a palace with hundreds of servants. They attended many society parties with their parents. The most elaborate parties were the grand balls,where everyone dressed in their finest clothes and danced all through the night. The absolute rule of the Tsar was not popular with everybody. The majority of the population was poor peasant farmers who could barely keep themselves and their families alive. If they moved into the city to get jobs in the factories, they had to work long hours for very low wages,and live in slum conditions. Popular opposition forced the Tsar in 1905 to give up some of his power to an elected parliament. They all lived a happy life together. They moved from palace to palace, attended by their private tutors, visiting the beach, and sailing on the royal yacht. Anastasia was the clown of the family. Many of her photos of the royal family in happy times survive. The Empress Alexandra worried about her son and became ill. War with Germany broke out in 1914, and the Russians suffered many defeats and losses. In March 1917, there was popular revolution, and the Tsar was deposed. From that time on, the royal family was prisoners. At first, they were treated kindly, but in November, the Bolsheviks or communists gained control of the revolution. Lenin and his followers hated the Tsar. Because of fears that they might escape, they were brought back to Ekaterinburg in the Ural region. Here, after midnight on June 19, 1918, the entire royal family was shot by the Bolsheviks. To some, this news was too dreadful to be believed. The thought that the Tsar's lively and beautiful daughters had been killed was too hard to bear. Within a couple of years, a woman who went by the name of Anna Anderson appeared in western Europe. She claimed to be Anastasia. With the fall of the Soviet Union, it was possible to investigate the murder of the royal family. It was also possible to prove that Anna Anderson was not the real Anastasia. After a long search, the bodies of Anastasia and Aleksei were found. They had died with the rest of the family. 翻译 阿纳斯塔西娅与俄国革命 二十世纪给世界各地的传统文化带来了许多变化。 一些最激进的变化发生在俄罗斯帝国，该帝国拥有欧洲最古老的君主国之一。 1917-18年，沙皇的统治被弗拉基米尔·伊里奇·列宁领导的世界上第一个共产主义政府所取代。 没有人比沙皇的小女儿阿纳斯塔西娅更受这些变化的影响。 1895年至1901年间，沙皇尼古拉二世和他的妻子亚历山德拉育有四个美丽健康的女儿——奥尔加、塔蒂亚娜、玛丽和阿纳斯塔西娅。 然而，由于女孩不能继承俄罗斯的王位，亚历山德拉生下一个儿子很重要。 最后，1904年，沙皇和沙皇有了一个儿子，阿列克谢。 这件本来应该让全家人都很高兴的事，却被证明是一件令人悲痛的事。 阿列克谢很快被发现患有不治之症。 这种疾病，血友病，意味着阿列克谢经常遭受无法控制的内外出血，这使他非常虚弱。 沙皇和沙皇爱他们的孩子。 这些女孩不必担心成为统治者，过着相当无忧无虑的生活。 阿纳斯塔西娅和她的姐妹们住在一座有数百名仆人的宫殿里。 他们和父母一起参加了许多社交聚会。 最精致的派对是盛大的舞会，每个人都穿着最好的衣服，彻夜跳舞。 沙皇的绝对统治并不是每个人都喜欢的。 大多数人口是贫穷的农民，他们几乎无法维持自己和家人的生活。 如果他们进城在工厂里找工作，他们就必须工作很长时间，工资很低，生活在贫民窟。 1905年，民众的反对迫使沙皇将部分权力交给民选议会。 他们都过着幸福的生活。 他们从一座宫殿搬到另一座宫殿，由私人导师陪同，参观海滩，并乘坐皇家游艇航行。 阿纳斯塔西娅是家里的小丑。 她在幸福时光中拍摄的许多王室照片都保存了下来。 皇后亚历山德拉担心她的儿子，病了。 1914年与德国爆发战争，俄罗斯人遭受了多次失败和损失。 1917年3月，发生了人民革命，沙皇被废黜。 从那时起，王室就成了囚犯。 起初，他们受到了善待，但在11月，布尔什维克或共产主义者控制了革命。 列宁及其追随者憎恨沙皇。 由于担心他们会逃跑，他们被带回乌拉尔地区的叶卡捷琳堡。 1918年6月19日午夜过后，整个王室被布尔什维克枪杀。 对一些人来说，这个消息太可怕了，令人难以置信。 一想到沙皇活泼美丽的女儿被杀，就难以忍受。 几年内，一位名叫安娜·安德森的女士出现在西欧。 她自称是阿纳斯塔西娅。 随着苏联解体，调查王室谋杀案成为可能。 也有可能证明安娜·安德森不是真正的阿纳斯塔西娅。 经过长时间的搜索，阿纳斯塔西娅和阿列克谢的尸体被找到了。 他们和家人一起去世了。

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 词汇提示 1.lit 点燃 2.chain 锁链 3.transparent 透明 4.chin 下巴 5.tremendous 巨大的 6.trembled 颤抖 原文 Chapter II: Marley's Ghost Scrooge walked home to the rooms where he lived. Years ago his partner Marley lived there. They were very old and dark and silent. The knocker on the door was large but it was like hundreds of other door knockers. Scrooge never looked at it. And he wasn't thinking about Marley when he put his key in the door. So how did he see Marley's face in the knocker? Yes, Marley's face! There was a strange light around it. It looked at Scrooge with its glasses up in its hair, like Marley when he was alive. The hair was moving slowly, the eyes were wide open, and the face was very white. Scrooge looked at it for a moment, and then it was a knocker again. He was surprised, but he went in and lit his candle. Then he looked at the knocker again. 'Pooh, pooh!' he said, and closed the door. The sound echoed around the house, but Scrooge wasn't frightened of echoes and he went slowly up the dark stairs. He liked darkness; it was cheap. He looked around his room: nobody under the table, nobody under the sofa, nobody under the bed, nobody in the cupboards. He locked the door and put on his dressing-gown, slippers and nightcap. Then he sat in front of an old fireplace with a very small fire in it. For a moment he thought he saw Marley's face in the fire. 'Humbug!' he said. Then he looked at the old bell above him on the wall. He was very surprised when this bell began to move. At first it moved slowly and quietly, but soon it made a very loud sound and all the bells in the house began to ring too. Suddenly they stopped. Scrooge heard a strange noise far away in the house - a noise of metal, like chains. It was coming up the stairs. Something was coming towards his door. 'It's humbug!' he said. 'I don't believe it.' But the thing came into the room and stopped in front of him. He couldn't believe his eyes! The same face: Marley's face! Scrooge recognized his dead partner's clothes and boots, and he saw a long chain round his transparent body. The chain had heavy cash-boxes, keys, locks, and account books on it. Marley was looking at him with cold, deadeyes. There was a handkerchief round his head and chin. 'Well?' Scrooge said. 'What do you want with me?' 'Much!' It was certainly Marley's voice. 'Who are you?' 'Ask me who I was?' 'Who were you then?' 'In life I was your partner, Jacob Marley.' 'Sit down - if you can.' The Ghost sat in a chair on the other side of the fireplace. 'You don't believe in me, do you?'it said. 'No, I don't.' 'Why not?' 'Because perhaps I ate a piece of meat or cheese and my stomach didn't digest it, so you are only the consequence of a bad stomach.' Scrooge said this because he didn't want to show his terror. But the Ghost's cold eyes frightened him very much. 'If I eat this candle,' Scrooge continued, 'I'll see hundreds of ghosts like you, but they'll only be in my head.' Then the Spirit gave a terrible cry, and it shook its chain with a tremendous noise. Scrooge trembled. And then he fell out of his chair with horror when the Ghost took off the handkerchief and its chin dropped on its chest. 'Help!' he cried with his hands on his face. 'Oh, why are you here, terrible Spirit?' 'Do you believe in me or not?' 'Yes, I do – I must!' Scrooge replied. 'But why do you come to me?' 'If a man's spirit stays away from other people while he is alive, it must walk through the world after he is dead, but it cannot share the happiness of living people.' And again the Ghost shook its chain with a sad cry. 'Why are you wearing that chain?' Scrooge asked, trembling. 'Because I made it when I was alive. I stayed away from other people. I didn't try to help them. I never loved anybody; I loved only money. So I made this chain for myself and now I must wear it. I lived like you, Scrooge! Seven years ago, your chain was long and heavy. Now it is very long and very heavy!' Again Scrooge trembled in terror. 'Tell me more, old Jacob Marley. Help me!' 'I cannot help you, Ebenezer Scrooge,' answered the Ghost. 'I cannot rest, I cannot stay here. When I was alive, my spirit never walked out of our office. It was locked in there while I made all my money. So now I must travel and never stop.' 'Have you travelled all this time - for seven years?' 'Yes. No rest. No peace. Always travelling.' 'Do you travel fast?' 'Very fast. Like the wind.' 'Well, in seven years you have been to a lot of places then.' 'Oh but I am a prisoner!' cried the phantom, and it shook the chain again, a terrible sound in the silence of the night. 'I was also a prisoner in my life because I didn't try to help others.' 'But you were a good man of business, Jacob.' Scrooge was thinking of himself too. 'Business! What was my business? My business was people, my business was charity, my business was love, my business was goodness! But I didn't do anything good. I lived with my eyes closed. I didn't see the poor and hungry people in the streets. But now I must go. Listen!' 'I'm listening, Jacob,' Scrooge said. 'I am here tonight to tell you something. There is still hope for you, Ebenezer. You still have a chance.' 'You were always a good friend, Jacob. Thank you.' 'You will see three Ghosts.' Scrooge looked frightened. 'Are they the hope and the chance you spoke about, Jacob?' 'Yes.' 'Well - I don't want to see them.….' 'You must! If you don't want to be like me, you must! The first Spirit will come at one o'clock tomorrow morning.' 'Can't they all come at one o'clock and finish it quickly, Jacob?' 'The second will come on the next night at the same time. The third will come on the night after that when the church bell strikes twelve midnight. You will not see me again. Remember my words!' Then the Ghost put the handkerchief round its head and began to walk towards the window. It asked Scrooge to follow. But when the window opened, Scrooge stopped. He was very frightened because he could hear a great noise of crying outside. The air was full of ghosts. They were moving quickly here and there, and they all wore chains like Marley's Ghost. Their cries were very sad. There was one old ghost with a big metal box of money on a chain. It was unhappy because it couldn't help a poor woman and her baby out in the cold, foggy night without a home. Marley's Ghost went out into the night. In a moment, it was with the other ghosts, and all of them disappeared. Scrooge closed the window and went to the door. It was locked. Did Marley's Ghost really come through a locked door? 'Bah!' he said. And he began to say 'Humbug!' but stopped. He didn't want to say it now. It was late and he was tired. So he went to bed and fell asleep immediately.

提示 一、每期五个句子，均是从四六级听力真题中选取的长难句。 二、每个句子念三遍女声，一遍男声，再一遍女声。 三、如果觉得语速过快，可以在播放器上调慢语速，多听几遍。 词汇提示 1.cultivate 培养 2.self-discipline 自律 3.penalized 处于不利地位 4.obese 肥胖 5.bonus 奖金 原文 96. At the primary level, the main aim is to cultivate good habits, like learning to plan and exercising self-discipline. 在小学阶段，作业的主要目的是培养良好的习惯，如学会列学习计划和培养自律性。 97. On one particular United States island, wild pigs themselves became an attractive food source for a species of mainland eagle. 在美国一座小岛上，野猪本身就是一种大陆鹰的诱人食物来源。 98. Children were responsible for the vast majority of cases - 95% of objects removed from noses and 85% from ears. 绝大多数病例都是儿童造成的——95%的物体是从鼻子上取下的，85%是从耳朵上取下。 99. Campaigners feel it's strange that children in British schools are penalized because they happen to be left-handed. 令活动家们感到奇怪的是，在英国的学校里，孩子们仅因为他们碰巧是左撇子而处于劣势。 100. For those who are overweight or obese, they can receive the bonus if they reduce their weight by 10% during the year. 对于那些超重或肥胖的员工，如果他们在一年内将体重减少10%，也可以获得奖金。

听前提示 一、三遍英文，一遍中文，再一遍英文。 二、从听懂的词入手，理解句子含义。 三、根据中英文意思，听不懂的多听几遍。 词汇提示 1.at home in 精通 原文 381. No matter what results may follow, I will carry out my plan. 不管结果如何，我都要执行我的计划。 382. Joan became a great actress in spite of having had a difficult childhood. 尽管童年很艰苦，但琼还是成为了一名伟大的女演员。 383. What with fatigue and lack of sleep, he has fallen ill at last. 由于疲劳和缺乏睡眠，他终于病倒了。 384. The game would not have been called off if it hadn't rained so heavily. 要不是雨下得这么大，比赛是不会取消的。 385. I don't want to put her to even a small inconvenience. 我不想给她带来任何不便。 386. Our company needs someone who is at home in advanced technology. 我们公司需要精通先进技术的人。 387. We spent the major part of our holidays in the country. 我们假期大部分时间都是在乡下度过的。 388. When we have a family argument, my husband always sides with his mother instead of me. 当我们家发生争吵时，我丈夫总是站在他母亲一边，而不是我这边。 389. From the look of the sky I'm afraid the rain won't let up for a while. 看这天，恐怕雨是一时半会儿停不了了。 390. This dog is trained to save people in the mountains. 这条狗被训练来拯救山里的人。

词汇提示 1.burial 埋葬 2.funeral homes 殡仪馆 3.plot 小块地 4.separately 独立的 5.embalms 防腐处理 6.decay 腐烂 7.acquaintances 熟人 8.deceased 死者 9.coffin 棺材 10.chest 大箱子 11.mourners 哀悼者 12.chapel 小教堂 13.hymns 唱圣歌 14.prayers 祈祷 15.sermon 布道 16.wheeled 推 17.hearse 灵车 18.cemetery 坟地 19.cremation 火葬 20.elaborate 繁复的 21.grief 悲伤 原文 North American Death and Burial Most people in North American die either in hospital or at home. When someone dies, arrangements are made with a funeral home to get the body and prepare it for burial. Funeral homes are private businesses. They usually handle most or all aspects of a funeral, except for providing the burial plot. That usually has to be purchased separately. Old roomy private homes and new modern one-level buildings are common types. When the funeral director receives the body, his staff embalms it so it will not decay quickly and will look life like at the funeral service. For one or two days before the burial, friends, relatives and acquaintances are invited to visit the funeral home and pay their respects to the dead person. The deceased person is usually dressed in their best clothes, and lying on their back in a coffin. A coffin is a large wooden or metal chest designed to hold the body. Members of the dead person's immediate family usually act as hosts for the funeral home visitation. They greet the mourners and talk to them about the deceased. Usually, there are happy photographs of the dead person near the coffin. Usually the mourners are asked to sign a guest book. The funeral service may take place at a church, if the deceased person wanted that. Frequently, however, the service is held at a chapel at the funeral home. Attending a funeral is considered a sign of respect, and people will often travel a long distance to attend. Usually friends and relatives will take a day off work for the occasion. Notices are put in the newspaper for several days before, so that people will know when to come. A minister or priest usually conducts the funeral service. There will be hymns, prayers, and perhaps a sermon, like a regular church service. Sometimes, a member of the family does this. Opportunity is allowed for other people to talk about their memories of the dead person. At the end of the service, the coffin is wheeled out to a waiting car, called a hearse, which drives the dead person to the burial place. The mourners go to their cars and follow the hearse to the cemetery. At the cemetery, a hole has already been dug to receive the coffin. Sometimes, flowers are put on top of the coffin as it is lowered into the grave. A handful of soil is tossed on the coffin, indicating burial. Usually the mourners leave before the cemetery workers cover the coffin with earth. Then the mourners may all go back toa church hall or restaurant for a meal. A funeral can be quite costly. Even an inexpensive coffin can be several thousand dollars. Sometimes, the deceased will be placed in an expensive rental coffin for the visitation and funeral,but buried in a less expensive coffin. Even so, a full funeral rarely costs less than $5,000, and usually quite a lot more. And this does not include the price of the burial plot or the stone grave marker. Sometimes poor people are buried at government expense. It is traditional in North American to bury the whole body in the ground. The advantage of cremation is that it is less expensive, uses less land,and it appeals to people who don't want an elaborate funeral. Some people may wonder why so much attention is paid to a dead person. But funerals are really for the living. They are a way of saying goodbye to the dead person and receiving mutual support and encouragement from friends and family. Some funeral homes help to organize grief counselling or support groups to grieving family members. Usually the funeral service is performed in the Christian traditionand refers to the hope of resurrection or rebirth from the dead that Christians believe in. It is now becoming common for people to plan their own funeral service before they die. And usually attempts are made to make the service appropriate to the person who died. This makes it more satisfying and memorable for the family and friends. 翻译 北美的死亡与埋葬 北美大多数人要么死于医院，要么死于家中。 当有人死亡时，会安排殡仪馆来取尸体并准备埋葬。 殡仪馆是私营企业。 他们通常处理葬礼的大部分或所有方面，除了提供埋葬地点。 通常需要单独购买。 老式宽敞的私人住宅和新的现代化单层建筑是常见的类型。 当葬礼主管收到尸体时，他的工作人员会对尸体进行防腐处理，这样尸体不会很快腐烂，而且看起来像葬礼上的一样。 在葬礼前的一两天，朋友、亲戚和熟人都会被邀请去殡仪馆，并向死者表示敬意。 死者通常穿着最好的衣服，躺在棺材里。 棺材是用来装尸体的大木箱或金属箱。 死者的直系亲属通常担任殡仪馆探视的主人。 他们问候哀悼者，并与他们谈论死者。 通常，棺材附近都有死者高兴时的照片。 通常，送葬者会被要求在一本留言簿上签名。 如果死者愿意，葬礼可以在教堂举行。 然而，葬礼通常在殡仪馆的小教堂举行。 参加葬礼被认为是一种尊重，人们通常会长途跋涉参加葬礼。 通常朋友和亲戚会为此请假休息一天。 通知在报纸上刊登了几天，这样人们就知道什么时候来了。 牧师或神父通常主持葬礼。 会有唱赞美诗、祈祷，也许还会有布道，就像教堂的常规仪式一样。 有时，家庭成员会这样做。 其他人有机会谈论他们对死者的记忆。 服务结束后，棺木被推到一辆等候的车上，这辆车被称为灵车，将死者送往墓地。 送葬者走到自己的车上，跟随灵车前往墓地。 在墓地，已经挖了一个洞来安放棺材。 有时，当棺材被放进坟墓时，鲜花会放在棺材的顶部。 一把土被扔在棺材上，表示埋葬。 通常，送葬者在墓地工人用泥土覆盖棺木之前离开。 然后，送葬者可能都会回到教堂大厅或餐厅用餐。 葬礼可能会很昂贵。 即使是一个便宜的棺材也要几千美元。 有时，死者会被安置在一个昂贵的租赁棺材中，用于探视和葬礼，但埋葬在一个较便宜的棺材中。 即便如此，一场完整的葬礼的费用很少低于5000美元，而且通常要高得多。 这还不包括墓地或石墓标记的价格。 有时穷人被政府埋葬。 在北美，将全身埋在地下是一种传统。 火葬的优点是成本更低，使用更少的土地，并且它吸引了那些不想举行精心葬礼的人。 有些人可能会想，为什么这么多人关注一个死人。 但葬礼真的是为活人准备的。 这是一种向死者道别的方式，也是一种从朋友和家人那里得到相互支持和鼓励的方式。 一些殡仪馆帮助为悲痛的家庭成员组织悲痛咨询或支持小组。 通常，葬礼是在基督教传统中进行的，指的是基督徒所信仰的从死者中复活或重生的希望。 现在，人们在死前计划自己的葬礼已经很普遍了。 通常会尝试使服务适合死者。 这让家人和朋友更加满意和难忘。

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 词汇提示 1.scrooge 吝啬鬼 2.funeral 葬礼 3.miser 守财奴 4.solitary 孤独的 5.fog 雾 6.nephew 外甥 7.Bah 呸 8.humbug 谎言 9.clapped 鼓掌 10.carol 颂歌 原文 Chapter I: Scrooge Marley was dead. That was certain because there were people at his funeral. Scrooge was there too. He and Marley were business partners, and he was Marley's only friend. But Scrooge looked very happy at the funeral, because on that day he made some money. Scrooge was a clever businessman. Yes, old Marley was certainly dead. But years later his name was still there above the office door. Scrooge and Marley. That was the company's name. Sometimes people called Scrooge 'Scrooge' and sometimes 'Marley'. He always answered. It was all the same to him. Oh, but he was a mean man, Scrooge! He never spent any money and he never gave any away. He was an old miser. And he was a cold and solitary man. The cold was inside him. You could see it in his red eyes and on his blue nose and thin, white lips. You could hear it in his hard voice, and it made his office cold, especially at Christmas. Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, 'My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will you come and see me?' Children never spoke to him, and even dogs ran away from him. But Scrooge didn't care. He liked it. That was what he wanted. One Christmas Eve, Scrooge was sitting in his office. It was only three o'clock in the afternoon, but it was already dark. The weather was very cold and there was a lot of fog. It came into the office through the windows and doors. Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's clerk, was copying letters in a dark little room, and the old man watched him carefully. Bob had a very very small fire in his room. It was even smaller than Scrooge's, and he tried to warm his hands at the candle, but he couldn't do it. 'A merry Christmas, uncle!' said a happy voice. And Scrooge's nephew Fred came in. 'Bah!' answered Scrooge. 'Humbug!' His nephew looked warm. His face was red and his eyes were bright. 'Christmas a humbug, uncle?' he cried, surprised. 'Bah!' answered Scrooge. 'Humbug!' 'You don't mean that, I'm sure.' 'Yes, I do,' said Scrooge. 'Merry Christmas! Why are you merry? You're a poor man, aren't you?' 'Well, why are you so unhappy? You're rich.' 'Bah! Humbug!' 'Don't be angry, uncle,'said Fred. 'Why not? There are too many fools in this world. You say "Merry Christmas" when you're a year older and poorer. That's stupid!' 'Uncle - please!' 'Nephew! You have your own Christmas and I'll have mine. Leave me alone.' 'But you don't celebrate Christmas, uncle.' 'Because I never make any money at Christmas. I don't like it. Leave me alone.' 'But Christmas is a good time,' said the nephew. 'It's the only time in the year when people open their hearts and help each other. They become kind and generous. I like Christmas and I say God bless it!' The clerk in his little room clapped his hands happily and said, 'Yes, that's right!' 'Another word from you and you'll lose your job,' Scrooge said to him. 'Don't be angry, uncle. Come and eat with us tomorrow,' said his nephew. 'No! Go away! I'm busy.' 'But why won't you come?' 'Why did you get married?' Scrooge asked. 'Because I fell in love.' 'Because you fell in love! Bah! That's more stupid than a merry Christmas. Good afternoon.' 'But why don't you ever come to see me, uncle?' 'Good afternoon,' said Scrooge. 'Can't we be friends?' 'Good afternoon,' said Scrooge. 'Well. I'm very sorry about this, but I wish you a merry Christmas with all my heart, uncle.' 'Good afternoon,' said Scrooge. 'And a happy new Year!' 'Good afternoon!' said Scrooge. So his nephew went to the door and opened it. But before he left, he said 'Merry Christmas!' to the clerk, who answered with a warm 'Happy Christmas!' 'Are you stupid too?' Scrooge said. At that moment two fat gentlemen came in. 'Excuse me, is this Scrooge and Marley's?' said one of them. 'May I ask if you are Mr Scrooge or Mr Marley?' 'Mr Marley is dead. He died on Christmas Eve seven years ago.' 'At this festive time of the year, Mr Scrooge,' said the man, taking a pen from his pocket, 'we ask people to give some money to help the poor. There are thousands of people with nothing to eat at Christmas.' 'Aren't there any prisons?' asked Scrooge. 'Yes, lots of them.' 'And what about the workhouses? Aren't there still lots of them?' 'Unfortunately, yes.' 'Good. I'm happy to hear it.' 'We don't think the people in the workhouses or prisons are happy about it. They don't have much to eat or drink, and they're always cold. How much can you give us, sir?' 'Nothing!' Scrooge replied. 'Leave me alone. I don't celebrate Christmas and I don't give money to lazy people. I help to pay for the workhouses and prisons. That's enough.' 'But many people can't go there and they'll die in this cold weather.' 'Well, there are too many people in the world already, so that's a good thing. Good afternoon, gentlemen!' So the two men went out and Scrooge continued his work. It became colder and foggier and darker. When a boy came to sing a Christmas carol outside Scrooge's door, he stood up and shouted angrily, 'Go away!' The boy was frightened and ran away very quickly. Finally, it was time to close the office and go home. Scrooge stopped his work and put down his pen. The clerk put on his hat to go. 'You want all day tomorrow, do you?' said Scrooge. 'If it's all right, sir - yes.' 'It's not all right,' Scrooge answered. 'I must pay you for a day's holiday.' 'It's only once a year, sir. ' 'Bah! Every December 25th you get money for nothing! Well, arrive here extra early on the 26th - do you hear me?' 'Yes, sir,' said the clerk. And when he left the office, he ran and danced all the way home because it was Christmas Eve.

提示 一、每期五个句子，均是从四六级听力真题中选取的长难句。 二、每个句子念三遍女声，一遍男声，再一遍女声。 三、如果觉得语速过快，可以在播放器上调慢语速，多听几遍。 词汇提示 1.intact 完整的 2.perspective 远见 原文 91. Exhausted and hungry racers are greeted with delightful pies of all kinds, such as apple, orange, lemon, or banana. 疲惫不堪、饥肠辘辘的选手会得到各种令人愉快的馅饼，如苹果、橘子、柠檬或香蕉。 92. The study showed that the mice kept much of their routines intact, including cleaning themselves and eating when hungry. 研究表明，老鼠的日常活动基本保持没变，包括清洁自己以及饥饿时进食。 93. Almost half the center of Paris will be accessible only by foot or bicycle this Sunday to mark World Car-Free Day. 为了纪念世界无车日，本周日，巴黎市中心几乎一半的地方将只能步行或骑自行车进入。 94. If you do several jobs in a relatively short span of time, perspective employers might see that you lack loyalty. 如果你好几份工作干的时间都很短，有远见的用人单位可能会觉得你缺乏对公司的忠诚度。 95. Hi, my name is Gene Seaman. I recently bought an office chair from your company, but I returned it about a week ago. 你好，我叫姬恩·西曼。我最近在贵公司买了一把办公椅。但我在大约一周前把它退掉了。

听前提示 一、三遍英文，一遍中文，再一遍英文。 二、从听懂的词入手，理解句子含义。 三、根据中英文意思，听不懂的多听几遍。 词汇提示 1.lecture 讲座 2.dreadful 糟糕 原文 371. Kate thought the teacher's lecture was dull, boring and endless. 凯特认为老师讲的课枯燥无聊，没完没了。 372. Our captain got sick, so I attended the meeting in his place. 我们的队长病了，所以我代替他参加了会议。 373. I intend to take a month's vacation on completion of this job. 完成这项工作后，我打算休一个月的假。 374. The hardness of diamond is such that it can cut glass. 金刚石的硬度非常高，可以切割玻璃。 375. The money that Chris has not paid back adds up to a large sum. 克里斯还没有还的钱加起来数额不小。 376. I had to attend two meetings yesterday, and there was no time to have lunch between. 我昨天要参加两个会议，中间没有时间吃午饭。 377. The scientist gave a lecture on the structure of the universe. 科学家做了一个关于宇宙结构的讲座。 378. Had he taken his doctor's advice, he might not have died. 如果他听了医生的劝告，也许就不会死了。 379. We all try hard to make the grade in life, but only a few succeed. 我们都努力在生活中取得好成绩，但只有少数人成功。 380. This is the first time I've seen such a dreadful movie. 这是我第一次看这么糟糕的电影。

词汇提示 1.undefended 不设防的 2.deserter 逃兵 3.outnumber 比...点 4.troops 军队 5.bold 勇敢 6.ally 联盟 7.scattered 分散的 8.treaty 协议 原文 The War That Both Sides Won Today, the 3000 mile boundary between Canada and the United States is known as "the longest undefended boundary" in the world. But for three years in a row--1812, 1813and 1814--U.S. armies invaded Canada. When both sides failed to win a clear victory, and the costs of the war kept growing, the two countries decided that peace was the best policy. On June 18, 1812, the United States declared war on Great Britain. The United States had proclaimed their independence from Britain in 1776--36 years earlier. There were still bad feelings between the two countries. Great Britain was not treating the United States as an equal independent country. British ships were stopping American ships from trading with Europe. British sailors went aboard American ships looking for deserters from the British Navy. If an American sailor could not prove that he was an American, he was taken to work for the British. At the same time, the population of the United States was expanding. Americans wanted to move west into lands held by various American Indian tribes. Some Americans felt that Britain was encouraging the Indians to fight them and was supplying guns to the Indians. In 1812, Canada was made up of a small number of British colonies just north of the American border. Americans felt that it would be easy to take over Canada;then Canadian land would provide homes for their growing population. Since Americans outnumbered Canadians ten to one, the U.S. government thought that no one in Canada would dare to oppose them. Moreover, Britain was fighting a terrible war in Europe against Napoleon, the Emperor of Francem, and could not spare any troops to help defend Canada. But, in 1812, Canada had one advantage over the U.S.A. - good leadership. British General Isaac Brock had served in Canada for ten years. He knew how to inspire both his own soldiers and the ordinary people of Canada to fight for their country. He was a bold and energetic leader who moved quickly to attack American positions before they could attack him. Brock found a valuable ally in the American Indian Chief Tecumseh. Tecumseh had been trying to unite the scattered groups of Indians to fight together against American expansion. He convinced the Indians that their best chance for success was to join the British and Canadians against the Americans. Although both Brock andT ecumseh were killed in battles,their example continued to inspire the defenders of Canada to fight against the American invasions. Before the end of 1814, all American forces had been driven out of Canada. By 1814, Britain had defeated the French Emperor Napoleon. Now it was the turn of the United States to be invaded,and burned the government buildings at Washington. Another British force attacked the U.S.A. near the mouth of the Mississippi River, but it was defeated at the Battle of New Orleans. Both sides were tired of fighting by this time, and a peace treaty was signed on December 24, 1814. This agreement restored everything to the way it had been when the war began. Although this really meant that no one had won the war, both sides claimed victory. The Americans felt that they had gained full recognition of their independence. Britain would no longer board their ships, or encourage the Indians to fight them. Canadians felt that they had shown Americans that they wanted to develop heir own country in their own way,separate from the United States. But the biggest result of the war was the decision by both countries never to fight each other again. 翻译 双方都赢了的战争 今天，加拿大和美国之间3000英里的边界被称为世界上“最长的不设防边界”。 但连续三年，即1812年、1813年和1814年，美国军队入侵加拿大。 当双方都未能取得明显的胜利，战争的代价不断增加时，两国决定和平是最好的政策。 1812年6月18日，美国向大不列颠宣战。 美国于1776年宣布脱离英国独立，距今36年。 这两个国家之间仍有不好的感情。 英国没有将美国视为一个平等的独立国家。 英国船只正在阻止美国船只与欧洲进行贸易。 英国水手登上美国船只，寻找英国海军的逃兵。 如果一名美国水手不能证明他是美国人，他就被带到英国工作。 与此同时，美国的人口也在增加。 美国人想向西迁移到由美洲印第安部落控制的土地上。 一些美国人认为英国在鼓励印第安人与他们作战，并向印第安人提供枪支。 1812年，加拿大由美国边境以北的少数英国殖民地组成。 美国人觉得接管加拿大很容易；那么加拿大的土地将为他们不断增长的人口提供住房。 由于美国人的人数比加拿大人多十倍，美国政府认为加拿大没有人敢反对他们。 此外，英国正在欧洲与法国皇帝拿破仑进行一场可怕的战争，无法腾出任何军队来帮助保卫加拿大。 但是，在1812年，加拿大比美国有一个优势——良好的领导能力。 英国将军艾萨克·布洛克在加拿大服役十年。 他知道如何激励自己的士兵和加拿大普通民众为国家而战。 他是一位勇敢而精力充沛的领导人，在美国的阵地攻击他之前，他迅速行动起来。 布洛克在美国印第安酋长特库姆塞身上找到了一个宝贵的盟友。 特库姆塞一直试图团结分散的印第安人群体，共同对抗美国的扩张。 他让印度人相信，他们取得成功的最佳机会是加入英国和加拿大对抗美国。 尽管布洛克和特埃克姆什都在战斗中阵亡，但他们的榜样仍激励着加拿大的守军抗击美国的入侵。 在1814年底之前，所有美国军队都被赶出了加拿大。 到1814年，英国击败了法国皇帝拿破仑。 现在轮到美国被入侵，烧毁了华盛顿的政府大楼。 另一支英国军队在密西西比河口附近袭击了美国，但在新奥尔良战役中被击败。 双方此时已经厌倦了战斗，并于1814年12月24日签署了和平条约。 这项协议使一切恢复到战争开始时的样子。 虽然这真的意味着没有人赢得这场战争，但双方都声称胜利。 美国人觉得他们已经充分认识到自己的独立性。 英国将不再登上他们的船，或鼓励印第安人与他们作战。 加拿大人觉得，他们已经向美国人表明，他们希望以自己的方式发展自己的国家，与美国分开。 但这场战争的最大结果是两国都决定不再相互开战。