英语初级听力mp3下载和原文文本力(新版)  Lession29

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Woman: What did you do during the earthquake, James?
James: Stayed in bed.
Woman: What do you mean? Didn't you try to get outside?
James: No. I'd got terrible flu, so I just stayed in bed.
Woman: So what happened?
James: Well, I must have slept through the first earthquake although nobody believes me. They said it was so noisy. Then I woke up about four in the morning. Still feeling terrible with the flu. Eyes running, nose running. You know how you feel when you've got the flu.
Woman: Don't I just. I've been lucky so far this year, though.
James: So I decided to get up and make a cup of tea. I'd just got into the kitchen when I started to feel all unsteady on my feet. Then I got this roaring noise in my ears. I still thought it was the flu, you see.
Woman: So what happened then?
James: Well, I slowly realized that it wasn't me feeling dizzy and the noises weren't in my head. I heard the people upstairs screaming. The wooden floor started moving up and down, the doors and windows started rattling and banging, all the kitchen cupboards were thrown open and cups and saucers came crashing to the floor, the kitchen clock fell from the wall ...
Woman: Well, what did you do?
James: What could I do? I just stood there and watched.
Woman: Why didn't you try to get out?
James: Oh, I couldn't be bothered. I was feeling so terrible with the flu. I just went back to my bedroom. Some books had fallen from the bookcase and that little porcelain vase had rolled to the floor but fortunately didn't break. I even had to look for my transistor radio under the bed. I picked it up and switched it on and they were telling people to go and sleep in the parks.
Woman: So why didn't you?
James: I told you, I was feeling too ill. And the nearest park is a long walk from my flat. And I didn't want to be with a lot of people. So I just stayed in bed and hoped for the best. I didn't really think the house was going to fall down around me. Though several did, I found out later.
Woman: Yes. I was sitting in a cafe when the first one started and the whole place started to shake. People were running and screaming and pushing to get out ...


Martin, Robert and Jean are being interviewed on the subject of friendship.
Interviewer: How important are friends to you, Martin?
Martin: I've never had a lot of friends. I've never regarded them as particularly important. Perhaps that's because I come from a big family. Two brothers and three sisters. And lots of cousins. And that's what's really important to me. My family. The different members of my family. If you really need help, you get it from your family, don't you? Well, at least that's what I've always found.
Interviewer: What about you, Jean?
Jean: To me, friendship ... having friends ... people I know I can really count on ... to me that's the most important thing in life. It's more important even than love. If you love someone, you can always fall out of love again, and that can lead to a lot of hurt feelings, bitterness, and so on. But a good friend is a friend for life.
Interviewer: And what exactly do you mean by a friend?
Jean: Well, I've already said, someone you know you can count on. I suppose what I really mean is ... let's see, how am I going to put this ... it's someone who will help you if you need help, who'll listen to you when you talk about your problems ... someone you can trust.
Interviewer: What do you mean by a friend, Robert?
Robert: Someone who likes the same things that you do, who you can argue with and not lose your temper, even if you don't always agree about things. I mean someone who you don't have to talk to all the time but can be silent with, perhaps. That's important, too. You can just sit together and not say very much sometimes. Just relax. I don't like people who talk all the time.
Interviewer: Are you very good at keeping in touch with your friends if you don't see them regularly?
Robert: No, not always. I've lived in lots of places, and, to be honest, once I move away, I often do drift out of touch with my friends. And I'm not a very good letter writer, either. Never have been. But I know that if I saw those friends again, if I ever moved back to the same place, or for some other reason we got back into close contact again, I'm sure the friendship would be just as strong as it was before.
Jean: Several of my friends have moved away, got married, things like that. One of my friends has had a baby recently, and I'll admit I don't see her or hear from her as much as I used to ... She lives in another neighborhood and when I phone her, she always seems busy. But that's an exception. I write a lot of letters to my friends and get a lot of letters from them. I have a friend I went to school with and ten years ago she emigrated to Canada, but she still writes to me every month, and I write to her just as often.


Bill Walker works for an import-export company. Last Wednesday morning Bill rang his office at nine o'clock. His boss, Mr. Thompson, answered the phone.
Mr. Thompson: Hello, Thompson here ...
Bill: Hello. This is Bill Walker.
Mr. Thompson: Oh, hello, Bill.
Bill: I'm afraid I can't come to work today, Mr. Thompson.
Mr. Thompson: Oh, what's the problem?
Bill: I've got a very sore throat.
Mr. Thompson: Yes, you sound ill on the phone.
Bill: Yes, I'll stay in bed today, but I'll be able to come tomorrow.
Mr. Thompson: That's all right, Bill. Stay in bed until you feel well enough to work.
Bill: Thank you, Mr. Thompson ... Goodbye.
Mr. Thompson: Goodbye, Bill.
* * *
Mr. Thompson liked Bill very much. At 12:30 he got into his car, drove to a shop and bought some fruit for him. He went to Bill's flat and rang the doorbell. Bill's wife, Susan, answered the door.
Susan: Oh, Mr. Thompson! Hello ... how are you?
Mr. Thompson: Fine, thanks, Susan. I've just come to see Bill. How is he?
Susan: He doesn't look very well. I wanted him to see the doctor.
Mr. Thompson: I'll go in and see him ... Hello, Bill!
Bill: Oh ... hello ... hello, Mr. Thompson ... er ... er ...
Mr. Thompson: I've brought some fruit for you, Bill.
Bill: Thank you very much, Mr. Thompson.
Mr. Thompson: Well, ... I had to pass your house anyway. How's your throat?
Bill: It seems a little better. I'll be OK tomorrow.
Mr. Thompson: Well, don't come in until you feel better.
Bill: All right ... but I'm sure I'll be able to come in tomorrow.
Mr. Thompson: Goodbye, Bill.
Bill: Goodbye, Mr. Thompson.
* * *
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. Thompson locked his office door, and switched on his portable television. He wanted to watch an important international football match. It was England against Brazil. Both teams were playing well, but neither team could score a goal. The crowd were cheering and booing. It was very exciting.
* * *
Then at 3:20, England scored from a penalty. Mr. Thompson jumped out of his chair. He was very excited. He was smiling happily when suddenly the cameraman focused on the crowd. Mr. Thompson's smile disappeared and he looked very angry. Bill Walker's face, in close-up, was there on the screen. He didn't look ill, and he didn't sound ill. He was smiling happily and cheering wildly!