新编大学英语自主听力 2Unit 4

[00:00.00]Unit 4:Lesson One Marriage
[00:04.50]Practice One Ideal Weight         Words You Need to Know
[00:11.59]ideal       file       petition       divorce
[00:29.38]Exercise 1:Directions:Listen to the passage and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).
[00:41.65]The sweet Helen has been married for six months.
[00:45.43]Her mother visits her for the first time.
[00:48.56]When Harold, Helen's husband, has gone to the office to work, Helen's mother says, "Now tell me, how are you in your marriage?"
[00:59.04]Helen cries, "Terrible, Harold is terrible. He criticizes me from the early morning till the late evening.
[01:08.65]He quarrels with me all the time.
[01:11.57]I've already lost ten kilograms in weight."
[01:15.56]"Oh, you poor girl. You must file a petition for divorce!"
[01:20.57]"I will, Mum, I will, but not before three months."
[01:25.10]"Why in three months and not at once?" Her mother asked in surprise.
[01:30.72]"Because I haven't reached yet my ideal weight of fifty-two kilograms." (117 words)
[01:35.47]1)Helen got married six months ago.
[01:40.91]2)After her husband had gone to work, Helen's mother came to visit her daughter.
[01:48.18]3)Helen didn't want to divorce because she lost 10 kilograms in weight.
[01:55.52]4)Three months later, Helen would file a petition for divorce.
[02:02.11]5)Helen wanted to lose fifty-two kilograms in weight.
[02:08.34]Exercise 2:Directions:Listen to the passage again and answer the following questions briefly.
[02:17.45]1)Where is Helen's husband when Helen talks about her marriage with her mother?
[02:25.08]2)Why does Helen think her husband is terrible?
[02:30.62]3)What is her mother's suggestion?
[02:34.87]4)Why is Helen unwilling to divorce her husband at once?
[02:41.28]5)What probably is Helen's weight now?
[02:46.97]Exercise 3:Directions:Retell the story in the first person of Helen's mother with the following words to remind you.
[02:58.31]Practice Two A Puzzling Tradition
[03:02.48]Words You Need to Know
[03:04.64]reluctance      symbolize     represent
[03:22.64]Exercise 1:Directions:Listen to the passage and answer the following questions briefly.
[03:32.29]The Chinese people, I found out, hold onto many traditions that are both interesting and puzzling.
[03:39.42]For instance, women customarily walk behind their husbands, and often three of four generations live together in the same house.
[03:48.60]None of these customs troubled me, however, until the day I found out that my wedding dress was to be red.
[03:57.28]This is America, I thought,not China,and I am not going to make myself look silly by wearing that dress.
[04:05.12]What would my friends and family think?
[04:07.90]My future mother-in-law soon caught wind of my reluctance to wear the dress and came to visit me.
[04:14.63]"I know it is difficult for you to accept wearing a red wedding dress," she said.
[04:20.24]"I would like to help you understand our marriage customs.
[04:24.71]All Chinese women marry in a red dress because this color symbolizes great happiness, good luck, and a bright future.
[04:34.46]To marry in a white dress would bring very bad luck, for white represents mourning and deep sorrow."
[04:42.64]Hearing this, I felt there was no way that I could refuse to wear that dress on my wedding day.
[04:49.73]Then she smiled and said, "You must promise to pass on this particular tradition to your own daughter one day. Old ways should never be forgotten."
[05:00.82]Now so many years have passed since that day, but some things never change.
[05:06.32]And one of them is the attitude of people growing up in a new generation.
[05:11.47]When I told my own daughter the history of the red dress, she replied, "I'm not wearing that dress!" (262 words)
[05:19.36]1)Why was she unwilling to wear the red wedding dress?