1、Dictation 1 Superstition 迷信One person in four in Britain is, apparently, superstitious,and theyll do everything from hanging horseshoes over their fireplace to crossing their fingers,touching wood and absolutely never walking under a ladder.And theyre careful about cats.Black cats are supposed to be
2、 the familiars of witches,so if one is following you its definitely bad luck- a witch is after you!On the other hand, if one crosses your path and continues then its good luck because it hasnt noticed you.However, in some places the beliefs are different- so it pays to know where your black cat come
3、s from!Old superstitions linger even in todays modern world.The author Philip Pullman drew on them in his award winning novel “His Dark Materials“.The novel, which appeals to both children and adults,has been adapted for radio and also the theatre.Dictation 2 Graduate Student 研究生Graduate students sp
4、ecialize in a particular field of study.They study to become experts in this field and to learn new advances in their fields while they earn an M.A. or Ph.D.Sometimes when they get an M. A. in one field they begin studying another field.They hope that when they earn their graduate degrees they will
5、succeed in finding important jobs.They hope to get jobs that are interesting and high paying.The life of a graduate student is often difficult.They are usually too busy studying to make a good living.Often they have to pay high tuition fees for their education.Some give up studying before they get t
6、heir degrees.But most keep on working at their studies until they graduate.In todays world, most graduate students dont regret spending time with their studies.They are finding that new developments are occurring in all fields.For many graduate study has become a necessity.Dictation 3 April Fools Da
7、y 愚人节1st April is a day to be careful,or you could easily get tricked by someone.Its April Fools Day,a day when people traditionally like to try to make a fool of someone else and laugh at them.There are lots of theories surrounding the origins of the day,but one explanation is connected with the ch
8、ange in the calendar in the 16th century,which meant that 1st April was no longer the beginning of the year.Those who still celebrated the New Year on 1st April were called fools.So what kind of pranks do people play on April Fools Day?Well, there are lots of simple tricks that you can play on your
9、friends.For example, you could wear a black sweater and pull a piece of white thread through it,so that people try to pull it off.You could change the time on someones alarm clock so that theyre late for work.Dictation 4 Living Online 网上生活How do you meet new people, make new friends,or find out abou
10、t the latest bands?Here in the UK young people have traditionally done their socializing in bars, pubs and clubs.However, there is a new generation growing up that finds it easier to manage their social lives on the net,using free websites like MySpace, Bebo or MSN Spaces.Welcome to the social netwo
11、rking website- a place where you can present yourself to the digital community and meet other like-minded people.The most successful social networking website in the UK is MyS.As of July 2006, MySpace is the worlds fourth most popular English-language website,attracting almost 3 million visitors per
12、 month.MySpace claims to have 95 million members with 500,000 new members joining the community each week.So how has it become so successful?Perhaps its secret is in its simplicity.Each new member can build their own page simply- uploading photos, videos and MP3 files.Dictation 5 Mothers Day 母亲节Does
13、 your mother know how much you appreciate her?Well, Mothers Day is the time to show her.Its a chance to say thank you,or to tell your mum how much you love her.In Britain, Mothers Day, or Mothering Sunday,falls on a different day each year,because it takes place a few weeks before the festival of Ea
14、ster.But it is always in the early springtime,which seems appropriate,as the season when new plants emerge,and baby birds and animals are born.In the USA, Mothers Day takes place a little later, in May,and many other countries also celebrate their mothers on different days of the year.It began many
15、years ago, when children,especially girls, as young as 10 would live and work away from homeas housemaids and other types of servant.Mothering Sunday was a day when everyone was allowed to go to their home village or town, and visit their mothers.Dictation 6 Online Shopping 网上购物With only two weeks t
16、o go before Christmas,buying presents is a high priority for a lot of people.However, this year not so many people are leaving their homesto browse around the shops.These days lots of people can do their shopping in the comfort of their own home with the help of the internet.Online shopping is becom
17、ing more and more popular for a number of reasons;prices are often lower online,you dont have to queue up in busy shops and you can buy almost any product imaginable with just a few clicks of your mouse.Computer trends are often male-dominated but this year women are expected to do more shopping on
18、the internet than men.It seems women are now more attracted to the convenience of online shopping than they used to be.Average spending online this Christmas by women will rise to 240 pounds compared to the slightly lower average of 233 pounds for men.Dictation 7 Reality TV 真实电视The latest fashion on
19、 British TV is Reality TV.Reality TV means that shows follow and film ordinary people in an artificial situation.This could be at work, or in some kind of competition.One of the first and most popular Reality TV shows is Big Brother.In this show, 15 complete strangers have to live together in a hous
20、e for 11 weeks.They are filmed 24 hours a day, and shown on television.Each week, the viewers vote to evict one of the housemates.Finally, only one is left,and they win the prize money!The show was an instant hit,and runs in several countries.The housemates often become stars as a result of the show
21、,and appear in national newspapers and on other shows.Another very popular show is Im a Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here!In this show, 10 celebrities have to complete tasks each week,such as eating insects.Dictation 8 School 学校September is traditionally the end of summer and the beginning of autumn in
22、 the UK.It is also the month when children go back to school after their long summer holidays.There are two types of school in England.State-run schools are paid for by the government,so are free to attend.Independent Schools are private,which means you have to pay to attend.The school day usually s
23、tarts at 9 in the morning and finishes around 4,with breaks for lunch of course!In many schools, you have to wear a uniform too.Children start school when they are 5 years old.This is called primary school,and lasts until the child is 11 when he or she will go on to senior school.Secondary school is
24、 compulsory from 11 until 16 years of age.At 16, students take national examinations called GCSEs.After this, students can stay at school for another 2 yearsand take A Level examinations.Dictation 9 The Modern Family 现代家庭Father leaves for work in the morning after breakfast.The two children take the
25、 bus to school,and mother stays home cooking and cleaning until father and the kids return home in the evening.This is the traditional picture of a happy family living in Britain.The past 20 years have seen enormous changes in the lives and structure of families in Britain.The biggest change has bee
26、n caused by divorce.As many as 2 out of 3 marriages now end in divorce,leading to a situation where many children live with one parent and only see the other at weekends or holidays.There has also been a huge rise in the number of women with children who work.The large rise in divorces has meant man
27、y women need to work to support themselves and their children.Even when there is no divorce,many families need both parents to work in order to survive.Dictation 10 Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节On 25th September this year, people all over China will be getting together to eat with their families,look at t
28、he moon and celebrate one of the biggest festivalsin the Chinese lunar calendar.However, the celebrations stretch far beyond the borders of China.Here in the UK events are taking place for Chinese people living here,and to teach the people of Britain more about this popular festival.The Soho Theatre
29、 in London conducted a study which showed that Chinese Londoners dont engage much with the arts world.As a result, Moon walking In China has been created to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.This is no normal theatre production though,as it doesnt take place in the theatre.Theatre professionals and
30、volunteers from the local community will take audiences around the streets of Soho on a magical lantern-lit walk through the landmarks and backstreets of Chinatown.Dictation 11 The Dragon 龙When many people in the west think of China,the animal that they think of is the dragon.For them, the dragon is
31、 an aggressive monster that breathes fire.Many popular legends tell of how dragons killed brave knights and ate beautiful maidens.For Chinese people however,the dragon is not an evil monster.Its a cultural and spiritual symbolfor prosperity and good luck.The dragons main task is to create harmony an
32、d bring rain.Dragons are celebrated in art and architecture,and of course the dragon dance is a very popular ritual.Millions of Chinese have the word long,meaning dragon, as part of their name.China isnt the only country to have the dragon as its symbol.Wales, one of the four countries in the UK,has
33、 a red dragon proudly displayed on its flag.The only other country in the world with a dragon on its flag is Bhutan,the tiny country between China and India.Dictation 12 Rainy Britain 阴 雨的英国Britain is famous around the world for its rainy weather,but many parts of the country this June are experienc
34、ing much more rain than they have ever seen before.Torrential downpours have caused rivers to burst their banks,roads have been closed and many people have been evacuated from their homes because of the floods.The worst hit area seems to be the north of England.There have even been fatalities as peo
35、ple got stuck in the rain or were washed away by the floodwaters.Flood warnings have been issued in many parts of the UK and it is said that over a months worth of rain has fallen in just the last couple of days.The rain has also caused chaosat some of Britains famous June events.The Glastonbury fes
36、tival is a four-day-long outdoor music festival and while it is traditionally quite rainy and muddy there,this year was particularly bad.Dictation 13 Christmas traditions 圣诞节传统There are many ways to celebrate Christmas,and some British people like to go on holiday,go out for lunch to a restaurant,or
37、 spend the day with friends.But most peoples idea of a traditional Christmas involves spending a few days with their family- sometimes their extended family.The day is the most exciting for the children.They may have spent weeks or even months dreaming of the presents they want most.Since the beginn
38、ing of December,they may have opened their advent calendars,finding a new festive picture, chocolate, or small gift,to count down each day until 25th December.On Christmas Eve, they hang up stockings,ready to be filled with presents by Santa Claus.Often a thank you gift of a mince pie and a glass of
39、 sherry will be left,as well as a carrot for those hungry reindeer.Dictation 14 Olympic Slogan 奥运口号Beijing unveiled the slogan for the 2008 Olympics “One World, One Dream“ was finally selected from more than 210,000 entries from around the world.Beijings original bid to host the 2008 games had a dif
40、ferent slogan “New Beijing, Great Olympics“.The organizers felt the new slogan shifted the focus nicely from the city of Beijing itself to the spirit of the Olympics- unity, friendship amongst nations and progress.It was also felt that the “One World, One Dream“ slogan captured the traditional Chine
41、se values of peace and harmony.The Olympics hasnt always had a slogan attached to each host country.In fact it wasnt until 1988 at the Seoul Olympics in South Korea that the first slogan appeared.“Harmony and Progress“ was chosenand it seems to have been a popular theme over the years.Dictation 15 S
42、unbed 太阳床In the UK, a country known for its bad weather and lack of sunshine,there appears to be an ever increasing number of very tanned young people.So just how are they achieving their golden tans?Some are opting for the sun-free option and are getting their tan from a bottle.However, it appears
43、that others are turning to tanning salons,of which there are thousands in the UK.While in China young people often prefer to remain fair,in the UK there seems to be a growing desire for tanned skin.So why do the British prefer to be bronzed?Often, they are trying to emulate their favorite celebritie
44、s,footballers, or footballers wives.Research from the British Sunbed Association suggests that many people believe a tan makes them feel and look healthier.This is a belief that is most definitely not shared by Cancer Research UK.They firmly state that being tanned is not a sign of health.Dictation
45、16 Speechwriting 写演讲稿The success of a speech is often attributed to the skill of the speaker,with merit being given to speakers who are confident, articulate,But often it is not the speakerswho write these moving speeches,it is a speechwriter.And one industry in which this practice is common is that
46、 of politics. Well according to a recent job advertisementfrom the US Embassy in Britain,a political speechwriter needs to have exceptional interpersonal skills, be detail oriented and able to demonstrate a deep knowledge of their subject.They must also work closely with speakers and be able to rela
47、te to their style.Some believe that the best speechwriters have an inherent talent,a natural creative instinct,and that speechwriting is an art form.Dictation 17 A Walk in the Park 在公园散步Exercising in natural areas is not only good for your physical health-it can improve your mood and sense of well-b
48、eing in as little as five minutes. Environmental Health and Technology.Exercise alone is known to make you happier.So is being in a natural setting.So scientists wanted to see the effect of combining the two.They evaluated 10 different UK studies involving more than 1,200 people.Participants had tak
49、en part in activities such as gardening,sailing and country walks, and rated their mood and self-esteem.The research showed that both areas get a significant boostwith as little as five minutes of outdoor exercise.And people with mental disorders benefited the most.The study authors say this is the first study to quantify the amount of time needed to get a positive effect.Dictation 18 Fast food Makes Us Less Patient 快餐使我们失去耐性Fast food is a multibillion-dollar industry,and for some of us, drive-through dinner has become a way of life.Granted, some
