1、Unit 1 IdentityListening task 1The neighborhood children my age played together: either active, physical games outdoors or games of doll-and-house indoors. I, on the other hand, spent much of my childhood alone. Id curl up in a chair reading fairytales and myths, daydreaming, writing poems or storie

2、s and drawing pictures. Sometime around the fourth grade, my “big” (often critical, judgmental) Grandma, whod been visiting us said to me, “Whats wrong with you?” I remember being startled and confused by her question. Id never been particularly interested in playing with the other children. It hadn

3、t, till then, occurred to me that that was either odd or something wrong with me. Nor had it occurred to me that they didnt “want to play with” me. My first conscious memory of feeling different was in the forth grade. At the wardrobe, listening to classmates joking, chattering and laughing with eac

4、h other, I realized I hadnt a clue about what was so funny or how to participate in their easy chatter. They seemed to live in a universe about which I knew nothing at all. I tried to act like others but it was so difficult. I felt confused and disoriented. I turned back to my inner world: reading b

5、ooks, writing and daydreaming. My inwardness grew me in ways that continued to move me further away from the world of my age peers. The easy flow of casual social chat has remained forever beyond my reach and beyond my interest, too.Listening task 2The greatest difficulty for me is that as a person

6、of mixed origin I am at home neither here nor there. Wherever I am, I am regarded as being foreign, either “white” or “black”. It happens to me when I live in my mothers country of origin, in Switzerland, and it happened to me when I was living in my fathers country, Ivory Coast. I would feel at hom

7、e where I could feel that people accept me just the way I am. When you are a small child you first do not feel that you are different from the others. But soon the others will make you feel differentand children too can be very cruel in their behavior against the “strange child”. Sometimes incredibl

8、e incidents happen. Some time ago I was riding my bike somewhere in a little place in Switzerland nearby to where I live. A car drove by, and the male driver opened the window and yelled at me: “ScheissNegerdirty nigger!” I almost froze. I felt helpless and unable to defend myself. When I looked at

9、the number plate, I saw that it was a German number plate. This means that the insulting person himself was a foreigner in this country! How could he dare insult me like this? I felt that I wanted to kill this man. When I recovered I was able to think about it more clearly. These racist people are j

10、ust stupid and do not know anything about life.Real World ListeningMelanie: Your story of identity theft is quite scary. What happened?Nick: One day early in the morning, I was awakened by a loud knock. When I opened the door, five policemen were standing there telling me to go to jail. I asked why

11、and they said that I was wanted for bank fraud. I said “I never did that!” and they said “thats something weve never heard beforetell it to the judge.”Melanie: Did you really have to spend time in jail?Nick : Yes, I certainly did.Melanie: How could you prove it wasnt you who committed the crime?Nick

12、 : Frankly, I never did. I simply paid the amount owed and all the charges were dismissed. It was really a debt to a casino and, although it was a felony, all they wanted was their money.Melanie: Whew! For me, perhaps the most alarming aspect of your story is that you had to spend several days in ja

13、ilin spite of the fact that they knew that the person who committed the fraud was of a different race than you. That is truly scary.Nick : Yes. People suffer because others steal their identities to work illegally. Someone used anothers identity for years and ruined their credit. When their kids wan

14、t to get their first cars or student loans it takes them years to settle the damage.Melanie: Did they catch the person who used your identity to commit the crimes?Nick : Yes. He was put in jail for identity fraud.Unit 2 PersonalityListening task 1Everybody cheats. Whether its the taxi driver who tri

15、cks a visitor and takes him the long way round, or the shop assistant who doesnt give the correct change, or the police officer who accepts a bribeeverybodys at it. Cheats in the news include the scientist whose research was based on fake data, the game show contestant who collaborated with a friend

16、 in the audience to win a million pounds, and the doctor who forged his qualifications and wasnt really a doctor at all. Everybody cheats; nobodys playing the game.Is cheating acceptable, a natural way of surviving and being successful? Or is it something that should be frowned on, and young people

17、discouraged from doing? If its the latter, how can we explain to children why so many bend the rules?Take sport for example. The pinnacle of football, the World Cup, was rife with cheating. Whether pretending to be hurt or denying a handball, footballers will do anything for a free-kick or a penalty

18、 shot. French player Henry denied cheating to win the free-kick which led to his sides second goal in their 3-1 victory over Spain. Whatever the nationality theres one common strategy: the player rolls over holding his leg, ankle or head seeming to be in great pain. As a result a yellow card or free

19、-kick is given for the foul and then, a few seconds later, the player is up and about as if nothing had happened!Of course its not just the footballers. In 1998 the Tour of France, the worlds greatest cycling event, was hit by a drug-taking scandal. Forty bottles of drugs found with a team triggered

20、 a massive investigation that almost caused the cycling tour to be abandoned. One rider was banned for nine months.Listening task 2A climate of mistrust surrounds everyone.In the field of business, Enron, Americas seventh largest company, could serve as an unfortunate example. Its collapse in 2001 c

21、aused thousands of people to lose their jobs and life savings. The company had fooled investors into believing it was healthier than it really was. One boss now faces the rest of his life in prison.Meanwhile companies around the world are losing billions of dollars to the counterfeit trade. From cut

22、-price CDs and DVDs to sportswear and cosmetics, cheap fake products are everywhere. It has become socially acceptable to buy fake Gucci bags and illegal copies of films. If parents are doing this, their children will follow.So perhaps its not surprising that around the world more pupils than ever a

23、re caught cheating during exams. In one case keys to exam papers were put up for sale on the Internet. In another, widespread cheating took place by pupils using their mobile phones to receive texted answers. In a third case, pupils admitted to candidate substitution. They blame the pressure put on

24、them to do well in exams. It doesnt help that their role models are also cheats. Surely we cant complain when were setting such a bad example.Real World ListeningMr. Washington: George, are you sure you had nothing to do with chopping down the cherry tree?George : I dont clearly recall chopping this

25、 tree down.Mr. Washington: Isnt this your axe?George : That appears to be very similar to my axe.Mr. Washington: But your axe is right here, and the tree is freshly cut, and you are the only person around.Mrs. Washington: Oh, just drop it, and its only a tree.Mr. Washington: But its not just the tre

26、e. We really need to find out if hes being honest with us. I wont put up with lying, and he shouldnt get you to cover up for him.George : Im going to say this one more time: I didnt chop down that treethe cherry treeand I did not ask anyone to lie. Not one time. Never!Mr. Washington: George, theres

27、no fresh-cut firewood around, but your hair and clothing are full of wood chips, and the chips look like cherry wood to me. How do you explain that?George : Clearly my behavior has been inappropriate. I deeply regret the damage which seems to have been done to the tree. But I really need to get back

28、 to my chores now.Mr. Washington: Were not finished yet. Now Im going to ask you directly. Did you chop down the cherry tree?George : Well, its possible that I might have swung the axe in an inappropriate manner which might have resulted in some harm to the tree, but at the moment you asked me, I wa

29、s thinking of what “chop” means and my action didnt meet my definition of “chopping”, so I didnt lie.Mrs. Washington: This is not really worth all the fuss. Even if he did it, its only a tree. Lets forget it and enjoy this lovely afternoon.George : Thank you, Mom. We have a stately oak tree on the f

30、ront lawn. Can I try my axe again there?Unit 3 LifestyleListening task 1When she has young children, a stay-at-home mom has two jobs. Her house and her kids. A stay-at-home mom is expected to do all the house cleaning. She is expected to always be the one to get up in the middle of the night, do the

31、 school thingsroom-mother, baker, coordinator, chauffeur and carpooler, etc. Often, a stay-at-home mom is expected to take over “daddy type” chores such as lawn-mowing and taking cars for repair. Imagine sitting in a repair shop with two squirmy toddlers! The worse thing is that the stay-at-home mom

32、 is made to feel guilty for saying “no”. The reason the stay-at-home mom does not get her nails done or have a spa day is she feels guilty for spending family money on herself.Gosh, you all have such hectic lives. Im dizzy just hearing your daily activities. I guess I have it nice. I have no schedul

33、e at all! I get up when I want. I work my business when I want. I shop when I want to. I wash my hair when I bathe or I dont wash my hair. When I go to work all I have to do is open up my office door in my house and Im at work already. No traffic to deal with and there can be 10 feet of snow on the

34、ground and I wouldnt have to walk an inch of it because my house connects directly to my warehouse! If I get up and dont feel like working I dont.Listening task 2I took my first drink and smoked my first marijuana cigarette when I was 12 years old. In high school, I used all kinds of drugs. After hi

35、gh school until I was 21, I did a lot of binge drinking. When I was 31, I started using crack cocaine. Thats when the real problems began.I was addicted to alcohol and cocaine, and my life was a wreck. I tried to quit a number of times. I moved to Mexico and gave up cocaine. I still drank and smoked

36、 marijuana, but for the time I lived there, I was off cocaine. I thought that that time off cocaine would completely cure me of any desire for it, but when I got back in town two years later, I started using it again only five days later. Every part of my life was messed up. I remember my oldest son

37、 being embarrassed to be seen with me. He would pass me on the street with his friends but he wouldnt even speak to me. The bottom came for me when I was finally evicted from my apartment. I lost my car, my home and my sons. I looked in the mirror that day, and I couldnt look myself in the eyes. The

38、 next morning, I showed up at the treatment center. The first few days of detox and treatment were hard, but I was convinced that I needed help, so I stayed. Ive been clean now for five years, and I have a new life.Real World ListeningReporter: Are you treated differently in the workplace as a woman

39、?Nancy: Between changing gender and becoming a blonde, Ive lost 20 IQ points in the publics eyes. Its kind of a hoot, and something you can use to your advantage though, Im not pretty enough to do it well. It is a challenge. I kind of broke through the glass ceiling from the wrong direction.Reporter

40、: Switching from slacks to pantyhose cannot be easy, even if you hate slacks.Nancy: To tell the truth, it took a lot of time for me to get comfortable with the whole thing. Comfortable with your new self, your new presentation, learning how to deal with society. Women spend their whole lives knowing

41、 what makeup works well for them, what clothing works on them. For people like me, it takes a while to do. Im tall, when I walk into a room, its like someone from the NBA showed up. Trying to find clothing that fits me is just not that easy.Reporter: How do the people you work with, the ones who kne

42、w you as Neil, consider you now?Nancy: The response for me was really positive. We all joked about wearing pantyhose, whether “my condition” was contagious, those sorts of things. But when all was said and done and the dust settled, everyone got back to work. Now if you were to talk with anyone who

43、works with me, theyd say, “Whats the issue? Shes just Nancy.” The whole transgender thing is well behind us.Unit 4 FamilyListening task 1The traditional American family is a “nuclear family”. A nuclear family refers to a husband and wife and their children. The average American family today has two

44、or three children. In some cultures, people live close to their extended family. Several generations may even live together. In America, only in a few cases does more than one household live under one roof.American values are valued in the home. Many homes are run like a democracy. Each family membe

45、r can have a say. A sense of equality often exists in American homes. Husbands and wives often share household chores. Often parents give children freedom to make their own decisions. Preschoolers choose what clothes to wear or which toys to buy. Young adults generally make their own choices about w

46、hat career to pursue and whom to marry.Families in America, like those in every culture, face many problems. Social pressures are breaking apart more and more American homes. Over half of US marriages now end in divorce. More than one in four American children are growing up in single-parent homes.

47、As a result, many people believe the American family is in trouble.Even so, there is still reason for hope. Many organizations are working hard to strengthen families. Americans almost unanimously believe that the family is one of the most important parts of life. They realize that problems in famil

48、y life in recent years have brought serious consequences. As a result, more and more people are making their family a priority. Many women are quitting their jobs to stay home with their children. Families are going on vacations and outings together. Husbands and wives are making a concentrated effo

49、rt to keep their marriages solid.The United Naitions has declared 1994 the “International Year of Family”. Not just in America, but all over the world, people recognize the importance of a strong family bond.Listening task 2Women are beginning to rise steadily to the top in the workplace all over th

50、e developed world, but in the US they are forging ahead. New figures show that in almost a third of American households with a working wife, the woman brings home more money than her husband. They are gaining more college degrees and Masters of Business Administration qualifications than men and now

51、 occupy half the countrys high-paying, executive administrative and managerial occupations, compared with 34 percent 20 years ago.The trend is caused by two main factors, experts saya growing acceptance of men as househusbands and mass redundancy of male white-collar workers from the technology, fin

52、ance and media industries in the last three years.The University of Maryland has produced a report that shows women to be the familys bread-earner-in-chief in 11 percent of all US marriages. And where both spouses work, she now brings in 60 percent or more of the family income in 30.4 percent of the

53、 householdsAn economist at the University of Wisconsin said that ambitious women are increasingly looking for househusbands and leave men at the kitchen sink.Real World ListeningMrs. White: What do you think is the most sensible choice for a woman in this century? Should she return to being a housew

54、ife or combine career and family?Daisy: I think it is rewarding for a woman to have her own career or something else to do outside the home. Nowadays, many women are highly educated and they have enormous earning potential.Mrs. White: I think “being a full-time housewife” is a wise choice in this co

55、mpetitive world. After all, there is an increasing need for one parent to hold down the fort and take care of the kids.Daisy: Nowadays, many women are as capable as men. Why should they, instead of their husbands, quit their career for family?Mrs. White: In fact, young women today are increasingly p

56、utting their personal happiness before a big salary or high-powered career. Many women even prefer to be called “home managers”.Daisy: Of course there is nothing new about women giving up their careers to look after children, but dropping out of the workforce means a progressive reduction in work ex

57、perience, perhaps the loss of a promotion, so her social status falls. She will completely lose her identity.Mrs. White: But children are young for such a short time, careers can wait. Once the child has grown up, that time can never be returned. And for a mother, I think, watching her children grow

58、 up is the greatest pleasure ever in the world. Its understandable that women crave a work-life balance. Anyway, the age of the “superwoman”, who wants to be the worlds best mother, wife and boss, is dead.Unit 5 Health and DietListening task 1I had just turned 40, and had spent most of my adult life as a public relations consultant with little time to cook, let alone learn how to cook. But a few years ago I made a resolution to start writing down the recipes I had grown up with and posting them to my website. I come from a big familysix kidsand thought what a terrific