英语专八听力讲座练习材料

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[00:28.55]SECTION A MINI-LECTURE

[00:28.54]In this section,you will hear a mini-lecture.

[00:31.72]You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY.

[00:34.34]While listening, take notes on the important points.

[00:37.84]Your notes will not be marked,

[00:39.81]but you will need them to complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture.

[00:43.97]When the lecture is over,

[00:46.27]you’ll be given two minutes to check your notes,

[00:48.56]and another 10 minutes to complete the gap-filling task.

[00:51.84]Now listen to the mini-lecture.

[00:54.25]Good morning.

[00:56.76]Today’s lecture is about the motivation for words.

[01:00.27]First, what is motivation?

[01:02.56]Motivation deals with the connection between name and sense.

[01:06.72]In the previous lecture,

[01:08.47]we have mentioned two rival schools of thought:

[01:11.31]one school is the Naturalists,

[01:13.39]who believed that there was an intrinsic connection between sound and sense;

[01:17.65]the other school is the Conventionalists,

[01:20.28]who held that the connection between sound and sense was purely a matter of tradition and convention.

[01:25.64]The first motivation is the onomatopoeic motivation.

[01:29.25]The word onomatopoeia is derived from the Greek word onomatopoeia,

[01:33.85]which means “word-making”.

[01:35.81]Onomatopoeic motivation means defining the principle of motivation by sound.

[01:41.28]The sounds of such words as cuckoo,

[01:44.24]ding-dong, buzz seem to be appropriate to their senses.

[01:48.06]But it has to be pointed out that onomatopoeic words

[01:51.89]constitute only a small part of the vocabulary.

[01:54.73]According to Stephen Ullmann,

[01:56.95]onomatopoeic formation can be divided into primary onomatopoeia

[02:00.78]and secondary onomatopoeia.

[02:02.53]Primary onomatopoeia means the imitation of sound by sound.

[02:06.90]Here the sound is truly an “echo to the sense”.

[02:10.40]Terms like crack, growl, hum, roar, squeak,

[02:15.65]whiz and a great many fall into this category.

[02:19.04]Secondary onomatopoeia means that certain sounds and sound-sequences

[02:23.74]are associated with certain senses in an expressive relationship.

[02:27.79]In this form, the sounds evoke a movement,

[02:30.42]as in such words: quiver, wriggle, slither.

[02:34.03]The sound may also evoke some physical or moral quality,

[02:37.75]usually unfavorable.

[02:39.39]For example, gloom, slimy, sloppy, sloth.

[02:43.21]Some of these onomatopoeic terms have certain elements in common.

[02:47.04]For example, the sound /sn/ may express three types of experiences.

[02:52.18]They are, first, “breath-noise” as in sniff, snuff, snore, snort,

[02:58.77]second,“quick separation or movement” as in snip, snap, snatch,

[03:04.79]and third, “creeping” as in snake, snail, sneak.

[03:09.83]Final groups have similar functions.

[03:12.88]For example, the combination of –

[03:15.14]are at the end of a word suggests “big light or noise”

[03:18.74]as in blare, flare, glare, stare;

[03:22.90]the combination of -ump at the end of a word suggests “heavy fall”

[03:28.15]as in dump, crump, plump, slump, thump.

[03:32.75]Another interesting feature of onomatopoeic patterns

[03:36.79]is that they often work by vowel alternation.

[03:39.54]By substituting one vowel for another, one can express different noises.

[03:44.35]For example: snip---snap, sniff---snuff, flip---flap---flop.

[03:50.81]Closely connected to this tendency are reduplicated words and phrases,

[03:55.84]such as wishy-washy, tit-tat, tick-tock, click-clack.

[04:01.09]It should be noted that many onomatopoeic forms are based on alternations

[04:06.95]of not vowels but of initial consonants,

[04:09.68]such as higgledy-piggledy, helter-skelter, namby-pamby, roly-poly etc.

[04:15.92]The second motivation is semantic motivation.

[04:19.53]Semantic motivation means that motivation is based on semantic factors.

[04:23.90]It is a kind of mental association.

[04:26.85]When we speak of the bonnet of a car, a coat of paint,

[04:30.79]or when we speak of potatoes cooked in their jackets,

[04:33.75]these expressions are motivated by the similarity

[04:36.81]between the garments and the objects referred to.

[04:39.21]In the same way, when we say the cloth for the clergy,

[04:42.38]“town and gown” for “town and university”,

[04:45.01]there is semantic motivation due to the fact

[04:47.74]that the garments in question are closely associated

[04:50.65]with the persons they designate.

[04:52.17]Both types of expressions are figurative:

[04:54.79]the former are metaphoric and the latter are metonymic.

[04:58.84]We can see that semantic motivation is closely connected with figures of speech.

[05:02.99]Here I’ll name three of them.

[05:05.29]First, metaphor.

[05:06.60]Metaphor is a figure of speech containing an implied comparison.

[05:10.32]For example: “he has a heart of stone”.

[05:13.06]“The curtain of night has fallen.”

[05:15.57]Another figure of speech is metonymy.

[05:18.30]It is a device in which we name something by one of its attributes,

[05:22.13]as in crown for king, the turf for horse-racing,

[05:26.51]the White House for the US president.

[05:29.46]Similar to metonymy is synecdoche,

[05:32.63]which means the substitution of a part for a whole or a whole for a part,

[05:36.68]as in bread for food, the army for a soldier, etc.

[05:40.97]Apart from onomatopoeic motivation and semantic motivation,

[05:45.13]there is also logical motivation.

[05:47.32]Logical motivation deals with the problem of defining a concept by means of logic.

[05:52.46]A definition has two forms.

[05:54.76]A common form of definition

[05:56.43]is“This means such and such.”

[05:58.94]“Fat” means “having much flesh”.

[06:01.57]Another form of definition is

[06:03.65]“This means the same as that”

[06:05.41]or“This is equivalent to that”.

[06:07.38]“Fat” means “the same as obese’.

[06:10.00]These two forms of the definition show that a definition has two parts:

[06:14.70]the word being defined,

[06:16.46]and the definition that is being made.

[06:18.43]Giving a definition involves two steps to be taken.

[06:22.03]One step is to identify the concept of a genus,

[06:24.99]that is, a class of things made up of two or more subordinate classes or species.

[06:29.80]The other step is to identify the attributes distinguishing

[06:33.52]one species from other similar species in the same genus.

[06:37.13]A combination of these two approaches helps to define a concept.

[06:41.07]For example, in the 1950’s,

[06:44.13]there appeared a new crisis gripping the minds of part of the American youth.

[06:48.07]These young people felt disturbance and anxiety

[06:51.24]about their personality development and adjustment.

[06:53.97]This crisis is called an identity crisis.

[06:57.14]The word “crisis’ is a genus,

[06:59.55]which consists of two or more species,

[07:02.29]such as spiritual crisis, economic crisis, political crisis, etc.

[07:08.19]The expression “identity crisis” is used to distinguish itself from other crisis.

[07:13.33]So far we have covered the three motivations for words:

[07:17.05]onomatopoeic motivation, semantic motivation, and logical motivation.

[07:22.74]However, it is not always easy to identify clearly the motivation

[07:26.35]for each word in our vocabulary.

[07:28.20]In such case, we may say the motivation is lost.

[07:31.70]There may be two factors which lead to loss of motivation.

[07:34.88]One is a change in the morphological structure of a word,

[07:38.37]and the other factor is change of meaning.

[07:40.78]In next lecture, we’ll discuss these two changes in detail.

[07:44.06]This is the end of today’s lecture. Thank you for your attention.

[09:50.47]Section B INTERVIEW

[09:52.10]In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY.

[09:56.04]Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow.

[09:59.54]Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview.

[10:02.61]At the end of the interview,

[10:04.47]you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following 5 questions.

[10:09.17]Now listen to the interview.

[10:11.25]Interviewer(W): Today I’d like to welcome Edward Fox,

[10:14.64]a seasoned real-estate agent,

[10:16.72]who is going to talk to us about buying a house. Hello, Edward.

[10:21.17]Edward Fox (M): Hello.

[10:21.63]W: Now Edward, for most people buying a house is a major life event,

[10:26.55]and probably the single most expensive item they are ever likely to buy.

[10:31.69]What precautions do they have to take before a real purchase?

[10:36.07]Can you give some suggestions?

[10:38.15]M: You are right in saying buying a house costs a lot.

[10:41.54]But as to me, the most important thing to consider

[10:44.82]before buying any property is the location.

[10:47.88]W: Location?

[10:49.09]M: Right. Because it is where you plan to spend a large part of your life.

[10:53.35]Or, indeed, the rest of your life in some circumstances.

[10:56.31]Therefore, consider the type of life you enjoy leading.

[10:59.37]If you are a very sociable person who enjoys nightclubs and discos,

[11:03.63]you may consider something close to a city.

[11:06.37]Anyway, a city is convenient for all types of nightlife.

[11:09.54]W: Then, for those who seek a quiet life,

[11:12.49]do you recommend a house in the countryside?

[11:14.90]M: Well, countryside is a tranquil place.

[11:17.74]However, do remember that proximity to the place of work also counts.

[11:22.01]Indeed, we spend most of our life at work,

[11:24.53]and you don’t want to have to spend two or more hours

[11:27.15]every day traveling to work, do you?

[11:29.34]Therefore, transport is of the utmost importance.

[11:32.18]City suburbs, however,

[11:34.03]are often conveniently located for commuting to work,

[11:36.89]or for shopping,

[11:37.98]without being in the heart of a busy city.

[11:40.16]W: But houses in the suburbs are far more expensive than those in cities.

[11:45.41]M: They seem to be,

[11:46.84]but actually houses located in cities can often exceed the price of suburban houses,

[11:51.76]so check out the prices.

[11:53.94]You may be surprised.

[11:55.04]W: Really? So we should consider our place of work

[11:58.65]and personality in choosing the location.

[12:01.18]Is that so?

[12:02.05]M: I’m afraid you have to take family into consideration as well.

[12:05.77]You may prefer a house that is away from a busy street or main road.

[12:09.71]And of course, remember that children have to attend school.

[12:13.10]If you have children,

[12:14.63]or you plan to have children,

[12:16.27]location is a very important factor.

[12:19.11]And of course, remember that a family influences the size of the property.

[12:23.16]W: Oh, I see. How many types of houses can we choose?

[12:27.32]M: There are various types of houses.

[12:29.83]The first is called detached houses,

[12:32.02]which stand alone, and are not joined by another building.

[12:35.63]Then there are semi-detached houses,

[12:37.93]which are the most common.

[12:39.57]This is because they are, in fact,

[12:41.75]two houses joined together,

[12:43.29]and therefore take up less space.

[12:45.15]And there are town houses, too,

[12:47.78]which are many houses joined together to form a long row.

[12:50.95]But don’t think that town houses are less expensive than semi-detached houses.

[12:55.98]They rarely are.

[12:57.62]This is because they are usually built in cities

[13:00.24]where the price of property is very expensive.

[13:02.65]W: Then what about old houses?

[13:05.83]They must be cheaper than new ones.

[13:08.01]M: Maybe they are. But if the house is too old,

[13:10.96]you may be faced with expensive repairs and renovation bills.

[13:14.58]So have a house thoroughly checked by a professional surveyor

[13:18.18]before you decide to buy.

[13:20.15]W: I agree. It’s economical to buy old houses

[13:23.43]only when they are in good condition.

[13:25.73]By the way, a lot of property has a garden attached to it.

[13:29.78]Do you think it’s a good choice?

[13:31.53]M: It’s true that a lot of property has a garden.

[13:34.37]If you enjoy gardening,

[13:36.01]that’s fine.

[13:36.88]But if you don’t enjoy gardening then you may prefer a small garden,

[13:41.48]as opposed to a big one.

[13:42.68]But even if you do enjoy gardening it is important to remember

[13:46.84]that gardens take up a lot of your time.

[13:49.03]So keeping a garden in good order may be very difficult if you work long hours.

[13:53.84]W: You are quite right. Any other suggestions?

[13:57.31]M: One final thing is the general feel of the place.

[14:01.14]Does it have a good atmosphere?

[14:02.89]And most important of all,

[14:05.08]would you feel comfortable living there?

[14:06.83]W: Edward, I never knew I had to consider so many things while buying a house.

[14:11.97]Thank you very much for talking with us.

[14:14.70]M: My pleasure.

[15:05.85]Section C NEWS BROADCAST

[15:08.36]In this section, you will hear everything ONCE ONLY.

[15:11.75]Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow.

[15:15.26]Questions 6 to 7 are based on the following news.

[15:21.05]At the end of the news item,

[15:23.79]you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the two questions.

[15:28.05]Now listen to the news.

[15:30.45]This is Nicodemus, the first all-black pioneer town,

[15:36.03]established on the prairie 128 years ago.

[15:40.30]Every summer this tiny town holds a homecoming

[15:43.03]with a gathering and parade to celebrate its heritage.

[15:46.76]In 1877 freed slaves came to a barren spot in Kansas to make a place

[15:53.53]where they could determine their own lives.

[15:56.16]They had been encouraged to come to the barren prairie by unscrupulous land agents.

[16:01.19]Living in earth-covered huts the settlers used their determination and farming skills

[16:07.10]and a town began to take shape.

[16:09.61]Some of the original structures remain.

[16:12.35]First built were two churches, then a schoolhouse and later a small hotel and a town hall.

[16:19.12]Today, Nicodemus is like many struggling mid-western towns

[16:23.72]where the young people leave for the cities.

[16:26.02]It is now a National Historic Site and tourists and African-Americans

[16:31.05]from all over come to see where black pioneers built their own town from the ground up.

[16:58.30]Question 8 is based on the following news.

[17:01.47]At the end of the news item,

[17:04.97]you will be given 10 seconds to answer the question.

[17:09.02]Now listen to the news.

[17:11.97]Mechanized carnival attractions draw big crowds at the Maryland State Fair.

[17:17.99]But there is another side to this event.

[17:20.61]It is a scene that looks like it is right off the farm.

[17:23.56]The fair is a yearly event that helps America's largely urban-dwelling population

[17:28.93]reconnect with its agrarian roots.

[17:31.44]Fairs were originated hundreds of years ago

[17:35.05]in various forms and certainly the fair as we know it is about a hundred years old.

[17:40.19]It was a place for the agricultural community to get together and show off

[17:44.79]what they had done over the past year.

[17:46.86]Farmland scenes like this have become ever less common across the United States.

[17:51.78]But it seems they will always be preserved at America's state fairs.

[18:07.41]Questions 9 and 10 are based on the following news.

[18:10.15]At the end of the news item,

[18:12.99]you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the two questions.

[18:17.26]Now listen to the news.

[18:19.77]The World Health Organization warns

[18:24.04]between 25 and 35 percent of the world population

[18:28.08]could be affected by a human influenza pandemic,

[18:32.24]but the WHO says most people would survive.

[18:35.52]Health experts are meeting at the World Health Organization

[18:39.78]in Geneva to map out a plan of action to combat the possible spread of avian flu.

[18:46.08]The World Health Organization Global Influenza Program

[18:50.78]Director Klaus Stohr says between two and seven million people

[18:55.48]would die from a mild pandemic and up to 28 million would be hospitalized.

[19:00.73]He adds everything has to be put into perspective.

[19:04.56]The WHO calculation is based on the prospect of a mild influenza outbreak,

[19:10.36]such as those which occurred in 1957 and 1968.

[19:15.17]Those pandemics killed three million people.

[19:18.78]It acknowledges that deaths could skyrocket

[19:21.73]in the event of a severe influenza pandemic,

[19:24.68]such as the one that swept the world in 1918,

[19:28.29]killing more than 40 million people.