1、ti:Dictation 1 Superstition00:00.50Dictation 1 Superstition 迷信00:05.39One person in four in Britain is, apparently, superstitious,00:11.35and theyll do everything from hanging horseshoes00:14.58over their fireplace to crossing their fingers,00:17.84touching wood and absolutely never walking under a
2、ladder.00:22.40And theyre careful about cats.00:25.58Black cats are supposed to be the familiars of witches,00:30.02so if one is following you its definitely bad luck00:34.70- a witch is after you!00:36.46On the other hand, if one crosses your path and continues00:41.17then its good luck because it
3、hasnt noticed you.00:45.15However, in some places the beliefs are different00:49.53- so it pays to know where your black cat comes from!00:53.36Old superstitions linger even in todays modern world.00:59.10The author Philip Pullman drew on them01:02.57in his award winning novel “His Dark Materials“.0
4、1:06.78The novel, which appeals to both children and adults,01:11.26has been adapted for radio and also the theatre.ti:Dictation 2 Graduate Student00:03.50Dictation 2 Graduate Student 研究生00:07.17Graduate students specialize in a particular field of study.00:11.77They study to become experts in this
5、field00:15.03and to learn new advances in their fields00:18.05while they earn an M.A. or Ph.D.00:20.88Sometimes when they get an M. A. in one field00:24.47they begin studying another field.00:26.42They hope that when they earn their graduate degrees00:29.02they will succeed in finding important jobs
6、.00:31.99They hope to get jobs that are interesting and high paying.00:35.74The life of a graduate student is often difficult.00:39.11They are usually too busy studying to make a good living.00:42.97Often they have to pay high tuition fees for their education.00:46.72Some give up studying before the
7、y get their degrees.00:50.74But most keep on working at their studies until they graduate.00:55.01In todays world, most graduate students00:58.31dont regret spending time with their studies.01:01.13They are finding that new developments01:03.46are occurring in all fields.01:05.47For many graduate st
8、udy has become a necessity.ti:Dictation 3 April Fools Day00:03.00Dictation 3 April Fools Day 愚人节00:05.631st April is a day to be careful,00:08.89or you could easily get tricked by someone.00:11.59Its April Fools Day,00:13.82a day when people traditionally like to try00:17.18to make a fool of someone
9、 else and laugh at them.00:20.39There are lots of theories surrounding the origins of the day,00:25.02but one explanation is connected with the change00:28.67in the calendar in the 16th century,00:31.32which meant that 1st April00:33.40was no longer the beginning of the year.00:36.66Those who still
10、celebrated the New Year00:39.52on 1st April were called fools.00:42.56So what kind of pranks00:45.27do people play on April Fools Day?00:47.97Well, there are lots of simple tricks00:50.51that you can play on your friends.00:53.49For example, you could wear a black sweater00:56.41and pull a piece of
11、white thread through it,00:58.95so that people try to pull it off.01:01.04You could change the time on someones alarm clock01:04.33so that theyre late for work.ti:Dictation 4 Living Online00:03.00Dictation 4 Living Online 网上生活00:06.10How do you meet new people, make new friends,00:09.25or find out a
12、bout the latest bands?00:11.84Here in the UK young people have traditionally00:14.66done their socializing in bars, pubs and clubs.00:18.12However, there is a new generation growing up00:21.58that finds it easier to manage their social lives on the net,00:25.24using free websites like MySpace, Bebo
13、or MSN Spaces.00:30.88Welcome to the social networking website00:34.25- a place where you can present yourself00:36.39to the digital community and meet other like-minded people.00:40.45The most successful social networking website00:43.51in the UK is MyS.00:47.07As of July 2006, MySpace is the world
14、s00:51.45fourth most popular English-language website,00:54.66attracting almost 3 million visitors per month.00:58.73MySpace claims to have 95 million members01:03.72with 500,000 new members joining the community each week.01:08.45So how has it become so successful?01:11.86Perhaps its secret is in i
15、ts simplicity.01:15.64Each new member can build their own page simply01:19.29- uploading photos, videos and MP3 files.ti:Dictation 5 Mothers Day00:03.50Dictation 5 Mothers Day 母亲节00:06.14Does your mother know how much you appreciate her?00:09.41Well, Mothers Day is the time to show her.00:13.44Its a
16、 chance to say thank you,00:16.19or to tell your mum how much you love her.00:18.78In Britain, Mothers Day, or Mothering Sunday,00:23.35falls on a different day each year,00:26.30because it takes place a few weeks00:28.69before the festival of Easter.00:30.67But it is always in the early springtime,
17、00:33.63which seems appropriate,00:35.46as the season when new plants emerge,00:37.85and baby birds and animals are born.00:40.74In the USA, Mothers Day takes place a little later, in May,00:46.54and many other countries also celebrate00:49.09their mothers on different days of the year.00:51.98It be
18、gan many years ago, when children,00:56.07especially girls, as young as 1000:58.57would live and work away from home01:01.01as housemaids and other types of servant.01:03.80Mothering Sunday was a day when everyone was allowed01:08.03to go to their home village or town, and visit their mothers.ti:Dic
19、tation 6 Online Shopping00:02.50Dictation 6 Online Shopping 网上购物00:05.15With only two weeks to go before Christmas,00:08.31buying presents is a high priority for a lot of people.00:12.13However, this year not so many people are leaving their homes00:16.45to browse around the shops.00:18.30These days
20、 lots of people can do their shopping00:21.46in the comfort of their own home00:23.55with the help of the internet.00:25.63Online shopping is becoming more and more popular00:29.56for a number of reasons;00:31.33prices are often lower online,00:33.97you dont have to queue up in busy shops00:36.56and
21、 you can buy almost any product imaginable00:39.57with just a few clicks of your mouse.00:41.80Computer trends are often male-dominated00:45.58but this year women are expected to do00:47.72more shopping on the internet than men.00:50.66It seems women are now more attracted to00:53.88the convenience
22、of online shopping than they used to be.00:56.67Average spending online this Christmas by women will rise to 240 pounds01:03.73compared to the slightly lower average of 233 pounds for men.ti:Dictation 7 Reality TV00:03.50Dictation 7 Reality TV 真实电视00:05.91The latest fashion on British TV is Reality
23、TV.00:11.15Reality TV means that shows follow and film00:15.31ordinary people in an artificial situation.00:18.47This could be at work, or in some kind of competition.00:22.65One of the first and most popular Reality TV shows00:27.73is Big Brother.00:29.10In this show, 15 complete strangers00:32.77h
24、ave to live together in a house for 11 weeks.00:36.23They are filmed 24 hours a day, and shown on television.00:40.95Each week, the viewers vote to evict00:43.85one of the housemates.00:46.44Finally, only one is left,00:48.68and they win the prize money!00:50.66The show was an instant hit,00:53.34an
25、d runs in several countries.00:55.47The housemates often become stars as a result of the show,00:59.40and appear in national newspapers and on other shows.01:03.06Another very popular show is01:05.95Im a Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here!01:09.15In this show, 10 celebrities01:12.05have to complete task
26、s each week,01:14.64such as eating insects.ti:Dictation 8 School00:03.50Dictation 8 School 学校00:05.66September is traditionally the end of summer00:09.18and the beginning of autumn in the UK.00:11.77It is also the month when children go back to school00:15.64after their long summer holidays.00:17.83
27、There are two types of school in England.00:20.55State-run schools are paid for by the government,00:23.64so are free to attend.00:25.53Independent Schools are private,00:27.92which means you have to pay to attend.00:30.17The school day usually starts at 9 in the morning00:34.65and finishes around 4
28、,00:36.48with breaks for lunch of course!00:38.81In many schools, you have to wear a uniform too.00:42.42Children start school when they are 5 years old.00:45.52This is called primary school,00:47.96and lasts until the child is 1100:50.51when he or she will go on to senior school.00:53.11Secondary s
29、chool is compulsory00:56.20from 11 until 16 years of age.00:58.91At 16, students take national examinations called GCSEs.01:03.95After this, students can stay at school for another 2 years01:08.27and take A Level examinations.ti:Dictation 9 The Modern Family00:04.00Dictation 9 The Modern Family 现代家庭
30、00:06.38Father leaves for work in the morning after breakfast.00:10.47The two children take the bus to school,00:13.56and mother stays home cooking and cleaning00:16.70until father and the kids return home in the evening.00:20.45This is the traditional picture00:23.02of a happy family living in Brit
31、ain.00:25.88The past 20 years have seen enormous changes00:30.18in the lives and structure of families in Britain.00:33.46The biggest change has been caused by divorce.00:37.46As many as 2 out of 3 marriages now end in divorce,00:42.38leading to a situation00:44.30where many children live with one p
32、arent00:47.18and only see the other at weekends or holidays.00:50.48There has also been a huge rise00:53.92in the number of women with children who work.00:56.76The large rise in divorces has meant01:00.01many women need to work01:01.84to support themselves and their children.01:04.59Even when there
33、 is no divorce,01:07.01many families need both parents to work in order to survive.ti:Dictation 10 Mid-Autumn Festival00:03.00Dictation 10 Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节00:05.68On 25th September this year, people all over China00:10.01will be getting together to eat with their families,00:13.20look at the
34、moon and celebrate one of the biggest festivals00:16.40in the Chinese lunar calendar.00:18.29However, the celebrations stretch00:20.64far beyond the borders of China.00:23.05Here in the UK00:24.27events are taking place for Chinese people living here,00:27.53and to teach the people of Britain00:29.5
35、2more about this popular festival.00:31.85The Soho Theatre in London conducted a study00:35.61which showed that Chinese Londoners00:37.64dont engage much with the arts world.00:40.55As a result, Moon walking In China00:43.50has been created to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.00:46.60This is no normal theatre production though,00:49.85as it doesnt take place in the theatre.00:52.46Theatre professionals and volunteers from the local community00:56.11will take audiences around the streets of Soho00:59.11on a magical lantern-lit walk01:01.36through the landmarks and backstreets of Chinatown.
