.专业.专注.Unit 8Listening inIm Standing in the Arrivals Hall of Terminal 3, Beijing Capital Airports newest terminal which became operational in March 2008. The terminal, which has a third runway and a rail link to the city centre, is the second largest in the world. Designed by the famous British architect Norman Foster, it extends almost three kilometers but took only three and a half years to build. The terminal has been designed to look and feel Chinese. The building, a mixture of glass and steel, uses the traditional Chinese colors of red and gold. Columns(柱体) inside are red and the roof is a dull gold. From the air it is said to resemble a flying dragon.The building has the largest technology. To save energy, the roof allows in the maximum amount of light and heat, and the advanced baggage system can handle up to 19,000 pieces of luggage per hour. The terminal is only one of a number of new buildings that have made Beijing a leading example of 21st century architectural design. Another design success is the capitals new National Centre for the Performing Arts, which opened in late December 2007. The centre, which has created huge interest all over the world, is based at West Changan Avenue, just west of the Great Hall of the People and Tiananmen Square. Designed by French architect Paul Andreu, it took six years to complete. The building is in the shape of a dome made of titanium(钛) and glass, and changes color depending on the amount of sunlight it receives. A manmade lake surrounds it and to enter the building you walk through an 80-metre-long underwater corridor with a glass ceiling.The inside of the centre is as light as the outside. A glass curtain that goes from the floor to the ceiling reflects sunlight during the day and the city lights at night. The floor is made in ten different colours of marble which came from all over China.The centre has three main performance venues. The Opera House, with almost 4,000 seats is the largest venue, followed by the Concert Hall with seating for 2,000 and the Theatre with seating for 1,035. Top companies from all over the world will perform there. Guests walking through the gardens and trees that surround the lake describe the building and the performances as spectacular. Listening in 2Man: Three weeks ago we asked listeners to vote for the most unusual buildings in the world. Architecture is a very popular interest with the public and the response has been astonishing-weve been flooded with emails. So heres the countdown starting with number five. Woman: yes, number five is Gaudis Batllo House in Barcelona, pain, designed by Antoni Gaudi, one of Spains greatest architects. The building was completed in 1906 and the amazing thing about it is that the exterior looks as if its been made from bones. Man: it really does. Ive seen it, its most impressive. Woman: in fact, the skulls are balconies and the bones are the pillars that support them. Its a masterpiece and a huge tourist attraction.Man: Next, at number four, is an office building in Prague, in the Czech Republic thats supposed to look like a couple dancing together and is called the Dancing House. Im not so sure it looks like a dancing couple myself.Woman: Oh, I dont know, if you use a little imagination.Man: This work of art was designed by a Czech architect, Valdo Milunic, and the great Canadian architect Frank Gehry and was completed in 1996Woman: Moving on the third place is a very strange house indeed. Its instantly recognizable by the tall long legged figures at the front. It was built by a French postman called Ferdinand Cheval and he spent 33 years constructing it from stones he collected while delivering mail. Its called the Ideal Palace and is in a small town, in France. Its quite an extraordinary from the photos. Id love to see it.Woman: Me too. And now, in second place is a hotel that, although it was only built in 1997, is already a legend. Its the Bur Al Arab Hotel on the coastline of Dubai. This building is the tallest hotel in the world and it looks like a billowing（汹涌的） sail.Man: And finally, in first place is the most unusual building of all according to our listeners, the Basket Housein Newyark, Ohio, in the United States. Its the company office of the Longaberger Basket Company and as its name suggests, it looks like a casket. The building, which was completed in 1997, is made of steel. The exterior is covered in stucco（灰泥）, a substance that gives it a rough surface and this makes it look like a basket.Woman: Actually, when you get closer it looks lees like a basket.Unit 9Listening in P: We have with us today Dr Jonathan Bingham, an expert on disappearing languages. I understand that as many as 2000 languages are in danger of disappearing?B: Yes. There are more than 6000 languages in the world, and about 2000 of them may disappear.P: Presumably this is because there are very few people left who sp