2011年3月高口听力原文完整版(附音频和解析)

Part A: Note-taking and Gap-filling
Directions: In this part of the test you will hear a short talk. You will hear the talk ONLY ONCE. While listening to the talk, you may take notes on the important points so that you can have enough information to complete a gap, filling task on a separate ANSWER BOOKLET. You will not get your ANSWER BOOKLET until after you have listened to the talk.

Everyone experiences stress on some level every day. Stress, broadly defined, is our response to events that we perceive as threatening or challenging. We may experience different levels of stress, depending on the stressors, meaning the events or circumstances that cause us to feel stress. Of course, not everyone perceives the same events or circumstances as stressful. We don’t always react the same way to the same stressors. In fact, something that is extremely stressful for one person may be exciting and non-stressful for another. In general, though, stressful events can be classified into three main categories: cataclysmic events, personal stressors and background stressors. Cataclysmic events are major events that cause stress suddenly, immediately for a great many people at once. Examples of these are earthquakes, fires, or other disasters. Personal stressors are major life events that create stress. They can include the death of a loved one, a job loss, a divorce, a financial setback, or a geographical move. They are not always events that we will perceive as negative. Many joyful life events can also cause a great deal of stress. For example, getting engaged, or married, acquiring a new family member, through birth or adoption, starting a new job, and even taking a vacation, can all be as stressful as negative life events. Finally, background stressors, which we can also think of as day to day hassles or minor irritations, can cause stress, particularly when they add up, when we are repeatedly exposed to them. Examples of background stressors are waiting in a long line, getting stuck in a traffic jam, being exposed to noise, experiencing a delay of some sort, or dealing with broken equipment. Examples of chronic background stressors, and the kind that can lead to long-term health problems include being unhappy with one’s job, living environment, marriage or relationship.

Stress is not something that only exists in our mind. Repeated exposure to stressors has both psychological and biological consequences. When we’re exposed to stressors, our adrenal gland secretes certain hormones and our heart rate and blood pressure rise. We experience a “fight or flight” response—a sense of emergency where the body prepares to defend itself. This is useful in some situations, especially where we might actually need to defend ourselves. In the long run, though, this activation of what is known as the sympathetic nervous system has negative effects and reduces our capacity to manage stress. When stress hormones are constantly secreted, and the body is continually preparing for emergencies, body tissues such as the heart and blood vessels can begin to deteriorate; the immune system functions less effectively, and reduces our ability to fight our illness.

The General Adaptation Syndrome or GAS explains the sequence of physiological reactions to stress. There are three phases to GAS. The first is the alarm and mobilization phase. This is when we first become aware of a stressor. When we respond with alarm, we may feel upset or confused. We may even feel a sense of panic or fear. After that, however, we may begin to mobilize our efforts, in other words, to take action, to remove the stressor. For example, if you receive a mid-semester report, stating that your grades were all very low, you might worry at first, but then you would probably make plans to reverse the situation to improve your grades. The second phase of GAS is the resistance stage which occurs if the stressor is not removed. This is the stage when we fight against the stressor or try to cope with the stressor. The attempt to mobilize and remove the source of stress from phase one can result in further stress. For example, if you were studying long hours to try to improve low grades, you might succeed in improving the grades but create more stress in the process. This can lead to the third GAS phase: exhaustion. In this phase, if resistance was not successful, and stressors still exist, our ability to fight or cope with the stressor diminishes. At this point, symptoms of stress manifest themselves psychologically and biologically. Psychologically, we may become irritable, short-tempered, or unable to focus. There may be a sense of being completely overwhelmed and unable to function. Biologically, our bodies may react with such symptoms as aches and pains, fatigue or illness. Interestingly, the exhaustion phase may actually be an extreme way of trying to avoid the stressors. The body may be telling us that we need to take a break, that we need to do whatever is necessary to remove ourselves from the stressor.

【解析】

本篇文章讲的主要是最近比较流行的“鸭梨”（压力）问题，话题大家应该很熟悉。本文前半部分详细的将产生压力的来源分门别类，后面就人体抗压的过程进行了详细阐述；文章较长，中间也出现了很多专业术语，可能会难倒考生；但是，并没有很复杂的句式，难度适中；只要大家平时注意上和谐首页多看看科普类的文章，积累点专业术语，相信难不倒大家。

在这里，就这篇文章提供给大家一点点小建议：首先，听力里面基本上不会涉及到很复杂的句式；其次，如果碰到一个很难的词汇，请大家仔细听是否有and, that is or that means , which 等词，因为很有可能后面跟的就是一个同义词，或者解释该词的从句；最后，大家要记住口译考试中的听力填空并不要求一定要字字正确，所以，如果实在想不起该词，可用同义词代替，毕竟，口译要求的是传达说话者的意思，而不是完全正确复制整篇文章。

关键词：
stressors n. 压力源；
cataclysmic adj. 灾变的，灾难性的；
negative adj. 消极的，负面的；
hassle n. 困难；
irritation n. 刺激，烦恼；
expose v. 暴露，显露；
chronic adj. 慢性的，长期的；
adrenal gland 肾上腺
secrete v. 分泌；
hormones n. 荷尔蒙，激素；
deteriorate v. 恶化，变坏；
immune system 免疫系统；
exhaustion n. 疲惫，耗尽；
overwhelm v. 压倒，打败；