Unit3
II.ListeningSkillsUnderstandingTimesandDates
1.W:Oh,lookattheclock.It‘s5:15.I‘llbelateforJennifer‘sbirthdayparty!Iwassupposedtoleaveat5o‘clock.M:Don‘tworry!Youstillhavesometime.Theclockistwentyminutesfast.Q:Whattimeisitnow?2.W:It‘s7:50,lazybones,andyou‘regoingtobelateforthemeeting.M:God!Iwassleepinglikeadog.Well,Istillhavetenminutes.Q:Whenistheman‘smeeting?3.M:Thankyou,Laura.We‘dliketogotothebarbecuewithyou.WhattimeshouldwebethereW:Somepeoplearecomingaround11:00,andwe‘regoingtoplaybadminton,butwewon‘teatuntilaround12:30.Q:Atwhattimearetheygoingtoeat?4.M:IknewDr.Smith‘sbirthdaywasOctober26th,butIdidn‘trealizeitwasthisSaturday.W:Let‘sgivehimasurpriseparty.Wecouldaskhimtomeetusathisofficeat5,andthenwecouldtakehimtodinnerattherestaurantaround5:30.Q:WhattimedoesthewomansuggestmeetingDr.Smith?5.M:IjustreadthatEinsteinwasbornonMarch14,1879,whenverylittlewasunderstoodabouttimeandenergy.W:Absolutely.ButwhenhediedonApril18,1955,peopleknewalotmore,andnuclearpowerstationshadbeenbuilt.Q:WhenwasEinsteinborn?1.D2.B3.C4.A5.BIII.ListeningInTask1:APictureIhaveapicturethatsitsonmydeskinmybedroom.WhenIhavetroublestudying,orI‘mworriedaboutanexam,Ijusttakealookatit.Itisapictureofmybestfriendstakenyearsagowhenwewereinhighschool.Itremindsmeofthegoodtimewe‘vesharedandthesupporttheirfriendshipstillgivesmetoday.Eventhoughourliveshavegoneindifferentdirections,thebondwecreatedhaskeptusclose.EveryweekIgetamessageonmyansweringmachinefromoneofthem,oraletterinthemailwiththelatestnewsorvacationphotos.Ioftengete-mailwithajokefortheday,orwordsofcomfortaboutsomeproblemsinmylife.Myfriendshaveshownupforsurprisebirthdayparties,andoneofthemeventraveledtwohoursfromtheotherendoftownjusttowatch
myfirstEnglishspeechcontest.Ourfriendshiphascarriedmethroughalotofdifficultexperiences,andhasenrichedthegoodones.Itisthekindoffriendshipthatoutlastsdisagreements,changes,andseparation.1.C2.A3.D4.B5.BTask2:ProblemofMeetingPeopleAsaforeignstudent,Ihaveanumberofproblems,bothacademicallyandsocially.Thebiggestoneismeetingpeople.Ifeelconfidentaboutmyabilitytocopewithproblemsfrommystudies,butI‘mnotcomfortablemakingfriendswithotherstudents,especiallylocalones.PerhapsI‘mworryingunnecessarily,butIfinditdifficulttotalktothemandtomakefriends.Theprimaryreasonsisthelanguagebarrier.MyEnglishisquitestandardandforma,andalthoughthathelpsmewithmyacademicwork,Ihavetroubleunderstandingotherstudentswhentheyarejusttalking.ItseemstomethatinordertomeetwithotherstudentsIreallyneedinformal,colloquialEnglish.Besides,there‘stheculturalgap.That‘swhyit‘ssodifficultforoverseasstudentsandnativeEnglishspeakingstudentstoreallygettoknoweachother.Ireallywanttoovercomethisdifficulty.Iguessthebestwaytobeginistostarttalkingaboutcourseworkthatweshare;andthenIcouldsuggestgoingforacupofteaorcoffee.Overcoffeewecouldgettoknoweachother.Anotherwaywouldbetojoinaclub,likeatenniscluboraphotoclub,becausethatimmediatelygivesyousomethingincommonwithotherpeoplethere.Itgivesyouastartingpointtobuildon.1.Hehasbothacademicandsocialproblems.2.Hefellsconfidentabouthisabilitytocopewithhisstudies.3.Thelanguagebarrieristhemainreasonwhyhefindsithardtomakefriendswithlocalstudents.4.ItisdifficultforoverseasstudentsandnativeEnglishspeakingstudentstoreallygettoknoweachotherbecausethereistheculturalgap.5.TebestwayfortheoverseasstudentstoactuallyovercomethedifficultyofmakingfriendswithnativeEnglishspeakingstudentsistostarttalkingaboutcoursework.Task3:LongDistanceFriendshipsIhavequiteafewlongdistancefriendships.HowdoImaintainstheserelationships?Well,Ibelievefriendshipisveryimportant,ButIalsothinkfriendshipreallyneedstending—likeplantsinthegarden.It‘simportanttokeepuptodatewithmyfriends,somethingthat‘shardtodowithlongdistancesbetweenus.ButovertheyearsIhavemanagedtostayverytightwithmyfriends,eventhoughdistancesseparateus.Janelivesinanothercity,andshe‘snotmuchforwritingletters,sowetalkonthephoneatleastonceaweek,usuallyforanhouratatime.Wetaketurnscallingeachother,soIstayclosetoherthroughthephone.Myphonebillsarehigh,butIconsiderthemjustanotherlivingexpense,likerent.OtherfriendsIe-mail.Ihaveonefriendwhojustisn‘tintowritingletters.I‘veknownherforalongtime.We‘vealwaysconsideredourselvesfriends,butovertimeI‘vealwaysbeeninandoutoftouchwithher.Butsheisalwayson-line—e-mailisherthing.SinceI‘vegottenane-mailaddress,Ie-mailhertwiceaweek.Now,I‘mbackingoodtouchwithher.She‘lloftensitdownandwritemee-mail,butshejustwouldn‘tdoitwithpenandpaper.E-mail‘sreallyagreatwaytokeepintouchwithfriends.1.maintain2.tending3.date4.phone5.turns6.bills7.expenses8.e-mail10.touch
