学术综合英语 听力字幕Word文档下载推荐.docx

学术综合英语 听力字幕Word文档下载推荐.docx

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Goodmorning,everyone.TodayI’llbetalkingabouttherelationshipbetweenroadbuildingandthedevelopmentoftheAmericaneconomyduringthe18thcentury.About300yearsago,theUnitedStates’economywasgrowingrapidly,mainlybecauseofaboomingtradeintwoimportantagriculturalproducts:

grainandcotton.

GrainoutputintheeasternpartofAmericaincreasedquicklyatthattimeduetotherapidlygrowingpopulationandthelargenumberofimmigrantsfromEurope.Asaresult,thedemandforgrainalmostdoubled.

Forthisreason,thetradeingrainfirstdevelopedinthispartofthecountry.Atthesametime,theroadsystemwasgraduallybuiltupinordertotransportthegrainfromtheruralareastovariouscities.Theroadbuildingclearlyhelpeddeveloptheeconomyquicklyintheseareasandinthecitiesaswell.

Duringthesameperiod,farmersintheSouthcouldgetalargeamountoflaborersfromAfrica,andtheystartedtogrowcotton.Asthecottonoutputincreased,thefarmersneededtosellitinotherplaces.Asaresult,manyroadswerebuilttolinktheruralareastothecities.

Atfirst,thistradeofgrainandcottontookplacealongthecoast,ornearriversandlakes.Ittookplacetherebecauseitwaseasyandcheaptotransportgoodsfromoneplacetoanother.Before1700,itwasveryexpensivetomovethegoodsbyroad.So,farmershadtorelymainlyonriverstomovetheircropstomarkets.

Atthattime,therewasonlyonecontinuousroadthatexistedintheUS.Itranfromnorthtosouthalongcountryroads,whichwerelinkedtogethertomakeonelongroad.Withinashorttime,thefirsteast-to-westroadswerebuilt.Theywerecalledturnpikes.Privatecompaniesbuilttheseroadsandcollectedfeesfromallvehiclesthattraveledonthem.

Eventually,becauseoftheboomingtradeofgrainandcotton,anetworkofroadwayswascompletedthatconnectedsomemajorcitiesandtowns.Althoughtravelingwasstillcostlyforfarmers,theysoonpreferredtomovetheircropstocitiesandotherareasonroadwaysratherthanbyboatbecauseitwasfasterandmoreconvenient.

SoherewecanseearatherclearpictureofroadbuildingintheUnitedStatesanditsimpactoneconomicdevelopmentduringthatperiod.

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Lesson1-B

TheMississippiRiverinAmerica

Goodafternoon.Todaywe’regoingtotalkabouttheMississippiRiver.TheMississippiRiveristhelargestriveroftheNorthAmerica.Itsmajortributariesdrainanareaofapproximately3,000,000squarekilometers,oraboutone-eighthoftheentirecontinent.TheMississippiRiverliesentirelyintheUnitedStates.FromitssourceatLakeItascainMinnesota,itflowsfromtheNorthalmostduesouthacrossthecontinentalinterior,collectingthewatersofitsmajortributaries,downtotheGulfofMexico.TheMightyMississippi,asitisaffectionatelyknown,flowsatotaldistanceabout4,000kilometersfromitssource.Withitstributaries,theMississippidrainsallorpartof31U.S.statesandtwoCanadianprovinces.

Aseveryoneknows,inthepasttheriverwasthemostimportantwayoftransportinggoodsfromtheNorthtotheSouth,orfromtheSouthtotheNorthintheUnitedStates.

TheMississippiRiverisalsoariverthatcansometimesgetoutofcontrolandcauseseriousfloodinginsummer.Nowadaysengineersusefourdifferentmethodstocontrolthefloodwatersoftheriver.Thesefourwaysare:

floodways,dams,leveesandreservoirs.I’lldiscusseachofthesehere.

FloodwaysarethefirstwayofcontrollingthefloodwatersoftheMississippiRiver.Floodwaysareemptychannelsreadytoholdwaterfromtheriver.WhentheMississippiRiveristoohigh,thefloodwaysareopenedandsomeofthewatercanflowintothefloodways.ThereareseveralfloodwaysalongthelowerMississippiRiver,whichhelppreventfloodingeffectively.

ThesecondwayofcontrollingthefloodwatersoftheMississippiRiveriswithdams.Damsarewallsthatarebuiltacrossarivertocontrolthewater.Therearemorethan30damsontheMississippiRiver.Damscontrolthewaterbyholdingthewaterbehindthemuntiladecisionismadetoreleaseit.

LeveesareathirdwayofcontrollingthefloodwatersoftheMississippiRiver.Leveesareearthenwallsbuiltalongsideariver.Theyholdthewaterintheriverandkeepitfromcoveringthelandbesidetheriver.Therearemorethan2,000milesofleveesalongtheMississippiRiver.

Inthe19thand20thcenturies,severalreservoirswerebuiltalongtheMississippiRivertoharnessthewater.Theyhavetwofunctions.Oneistoholdwater,andtheotheristogenerateelectricitythroughhydroelectricpowerstations.Sincethe20thcentury,nohugefloodhasbrokenoutoftheMississippiRiver.

Lesson2-A

AnEyewitnesstoChangesinChina

（Y:

YangRui,anchorofDialogue,CCTV-NEWS

R:

SidneyRittenberg,presidentofRittenberg&

Associates.）

Y:

Mr.Rittenberg,youareasuccessfulbusinessmanandalsoabignametotheChineseduetoyourcloseassociationwiththefirstgenerationofthePRCleaders.HowdoyoulookattheimpactthatthatexperiencehashadonyourcurrentperceptionofChina’sreformanddevelopment?

IfeelinmyheartthatwhatI’mdoingtodayisacontinuationofwhatIwastryingtodointhepast.Andthatis,Ihadthisambition,thisdream,fromthetimethatIbeganstudyingChineseatStanfordUniversityin1943,IhadthisdreamofworkingtobuildbridgesbetweenChinesepeopleandAmericanpeople,andtohelpthemunderstandeachotherandcooperatetogether.AndItriedtodothatinthepast,workinginChinainMao’sday.Andthat’sexactlywhatI’mtryingtodotoday.IreallythinkthatwhatI’mdoingtodayismoreeffectivethanwhatIwasabletodointhepast.

AtthattimemanyforeignerscametoChina,butyouwereamongtheveryfewwhogotclosetotheCommunistPartyofChina.

Youknow,it’squiteobvioustomethattheonlyreasonthattheCommunistPartyofChinawasabletowininthefinalstagesoftheCivilWarisbecauseoftheirextremelycloserelationswiththepeople.TheChinesepeoplethatcametoknowthem,trustedthemandconsideredthemtheirrepresentatives.ThissmallpeasantarmyledbyMaoZedonghadnotanks,nobigguns,noplanes,andwasgreatlyoutnumberedbytheopposition,whichwasthemostpowerfularmedforceinAsiaaftertheSecondWorldWar.Andyetinonlythreeandahalfyears,theNationalistswerecompletelydefeatedanddrivenofftotheislandprovinceofTaiwan.Why?

BecausethetiesthattheCommunistshadwiththeChinesepeoplewereunbreakable.Theyhadtheirtrust.Theyhadtheirconfidenceandsupport.AndthatwassomethingthattheNationalistswerenotabletoget.Youknow,theRevolutionaryArmywasapoorarmy,evenintermsofthefoodtheygot.Thesoldiershadgrasssandalsthattheymadethemselvesalongthemarch.Butwhatmadethemdoit?

Thefactthattheyhadavision.Theybelievedthattheywerefightingfortheirland,fortheirfamilytohavetheirownfarmland,andforafairgovernmentthatwouldlistentothepeopleanddowhattheyneeded.SothisistheonlyexplanationIcanthinkofforwhytheywereabletowin.

IntheLongMarchyoujusttalkedabout,theCommunistarmyhadtoovercomeextremedifficulties.ButinthenewLongMarchofmodernizationtoday,wearealsofacingdifficulties,thoughverydifferent.What’syourviewofthisnewLongMarch?

IagreewithcallingthisanewLongMarch,onlythebarriersareverydifferent.Thosebarrierswerecertainlyverygrimandthreatening.Someofthesebarrierslookverygoodandinvitingbutactuallytheyarenot.Imean,inthedaysbeforeandduringtheLongMarch,theleadershadthetaskofstudyingtheChineserealityandgettingeverybodythattheycouldinfluencetostudyrealityandfromittoderiveasetofpolicies,practicalstrategiestoguideeverybody.Sopeoplehadasharedvisionanddream.Theyweremotivatedbythiscommondreamtoworktogether.AndIthink,duringthecurrentLongMarchofmodernization,Chinawouldneedtodothesamething,tograduallystudyChineserealityanddevelopasetofstrategies,acommonvisionandasetofvaluesthatmostpeoplewillshare.Andthenyou’llfindthatyoudon’thaveaproblemofdisconnectionbetweenthecentralgovernmentandlocalgovernments,oraproblemofabiggapbetweencityandcountrylife.

Still,peoplearewonderinginthiscountrywhywewereabletolivewithpovertybuthaveproblemslivingwiththenewwealth.

Againit’sthelackofapractical,down-to-earth,realisticvisionthateveryoneshares,inmyopinion.Irememberafterthe“GreatLeapForward”whentherewasafamine,many,manypeopleinBeijing,includinggovernmentworkers,professorsinschools,theirfaceswereswollenbecausepeopleweren’tgettingenoughfood.Butnobodyadmittedthatitwasbecauseofmalnutrition.Noonesaid,“It’sbecausewedon’thaveenoughfood.”Youknow,Ipersonallydon’tthinkthat,formostpeople,theyweremotivatedjustforadistantfuturedreamofCommunism.Itwasbecauseofwhatthenewgovernmenthadactuallyalreadydoneforthepeople:

workersgottheireighthoursaday,farmersgottheirownlandforthefirsttime,thepublichealthcampaigns,etc.Thesethingsraisedthestandardsofliving,especiallyduringthefirstfiveorsixyearsfrom1949to1955.Tremendoussocialchangesmadepeoplefeel,“Thisismygovernment;

theyrepresentmyinterests;

theybringmerealbenefits.”

Whatl