新世纪视听说教程听力课本第三版Book4-Unit1听力原文整理者：电气 杨红叶，王雪Audio Track 4-1-2 第四页Blake: What are you working on, Mary?Mary: Im finishing my paper. Its due tomorrow, Blake.Blake: Whats the topic?Mary: Its about Greenland.Blake: Greenland. Hmmmthats part of Canada, right?Mary: I think you need to study your world geography, Blake.Blake: Well, isnt it near Canada?Mary: Yes, Its off the coast of northeast Canada, but its part of Denmark.Blake: Oh, I didnt know that. Well, whats your paper about exactly?Mary: In my paper, I answer the question. “Is Greenland really green? In other words, is Greenland covered by a lot of plants and tree?Blake: Is it?Mary: What do you think?Blake: Lets seeGreenland is in the Arctic Circle-way up north. Its cold so “Is Greenland really green? Id answer probably not.Mary: Youd be correct. Its too cold there. In the north, a lot of the ground is frozen. The summer are short, so only the surface thaws.Blake: That sounds tough.Mary: Its hard for the construction industry. Its not easy to build in Greenland.Blake: It sounds so harsh. Why would anyone want to go there?Mary: There are big mountain ranges on the coasts. Theyre great for hiking and outdoor sports. And there are lots of animals there. You can sometimes see whales swimming in the harbors.Blake: That sounds cool! Ok, so if its not really a “green place, why was it named “Greenland? Mary: The first settlers wanted to attract other people. They give it an attractive name.Audio Track 4-1-4 第5页Jay: Come in here, Elise. You should see this show!Elise: What is it?Jay: Its called “The Titanic of the sky. Its about the Hindenburg. a great engineering feat.Elise: The HindenburgJay: You know, that giant zeppelin that crashed in 1934.Thirty-five people died.Elise: Oh, yeah, I remember now. It was flying from Germany to the United States. It crashed as it was landing.Jay: Right. Its so funny looking, dont you think? It doesnt look anything like the airplanes we have today.Elise: Thats true. Why would people ride in a zeppelin anyway? It seems so dangerous.Jay: Well, some people called the Hindenburg “mans greatest achievement in flight. They thought it was safe, I guess.Elise: Who rode in it anyway?Jay: Mostly wealthy people. It accommodated between 30 and 40 passengers and crew. One person said it was like a “flying hotel.Elise: It sounds pretty great.Jay: Yeah, and it was fast. Thats why people rode it. They wanted to get to there destination faster.Elise: Why didnt they just take a jet plane?Jay: Elise1 you know they didnt have jets back then. Look, in 1934 it took five days to travel from Germany to the US by ship. The zeppelin could do it in half that time. It was speedy.Elise: Well, maybe Ill sit down and watch a little bit. Maybe Ill learn something Audio Track 4-1-9 第7页My country has two very famous buildings called the Petronas Towers. The buildings are made of glass, steel, and concrete. They were designed by an American architect, but he used a Malaysian style. They were finished in 1998, and they were the tallest buildings in the world at that time. Each tower has 88 floors, and is 452 meter high. I really like the Petronas Towers. They show both the modern and the traditional side of my country.Audio Track 4-1-10 第7页Modern buildings: we love them, we hate them.The world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris is almost 500 years old, and it faced a very modern problem: there simply wasnt enough space for six million visitors each year. In 1989, American architect I.M.Pei designed a striking glass pyramid in the buildings center to be a visitors entrance and shopping arcade. But he also started an angry debate. Some people felt his glass building was a piece of art, like the ones inside the museum. Others said it was just an ugly, modern mistake.Kyoto, Japan, is the countrys ancient capital, and the heart of its culture. Its railroad station was too small for the millions of visitors. In1997, the city completed a new station in a huge shopping center, right in the oldest part of the city. Designed by Hiroshi Hara, the building also contains a hotel and department store. Before it was built, critics said that the high, wide, modern building would destroy the citys traditional look. On the other hand, supporters said it would bring new life into the city center.Audio Track 4-1-12 第8页Interviewer: What do you think is the biggest problem facing our cities?Erika: I think its overcrowding. Talk to anyone living in a major metropolitan area and they will say the same thing. Theres no space. Even the suburbs are getting crowded.Interviewer: Well, in some places there simply isnt any land left for building, right?Erika: Yes, thats true, but you have to think creatively. You cant give up so easily.Interviewer: Think creatively? What do y