练习八 听力原文及解析
Section C
Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 16 to 19.
Today I want to start talking about Western music，and I’m going to start in Ancient Greece.But，we’re not going to talk very much about the actual music.Instead，we’re going to talk about what the Greeks believed about music.Now，there are many good reasons to approach materials in this way.Well，we don’t have very much Ancient Greek music studied.Only about 45 pieces survived.What we do know about，and this really is the most important reason I’m approaching today’s lecture the way I am，is the Greek philosophy about music and its continuing influence on Western attitudes toward music.
Music for the Greeks was about much more than entertainment.Yes，there was music at festivals，and we have sculptures and paintings showing people listening to music for many of the same reasons we do.But，this isn’t the whole story.The important thing about music was that it was governed by rules，mathematical rules.And for those of you who are also studying music theory，you’ll see that it is in fact highly mathematical.And for the Greeks，the same mathematical principles that govern music also govern the universe as well as the human character，the essence of personality.People’s characters were believed to be very sensitive to music.If you started playing around with the rules，you know messing up the mathematical order，you could do serious harm.That’s why music was considered so powerful.If you knew the rules you could do great good，but if you broke them you could do great harm to the character of the listener.So，we have this Greek idea that music is directly related to human character and behavior.
The philosopher Plato talked about this in the context of education.For Plato，music is an important element in education，but only the right kind of music.That means the kind of music that builds the kind of character of a good citizen or a future leader we need.Yes，for Plato，there is a kind of music that instills the qualities of leadership，just as there is a kind of music that makes a person soft and weak.Now，Plato has very specific，very conventional kinds of music in mind.He is not fond of innovation.There were musicians in Plato’s day who were experimenting with different melodies and rhythms，a definite no no for Plato.He thinks that breaking with traditions leads to all sorts of social problems，serious problems，even the breakdown of the fabric of society.
I’m thinking back now to when I first started listening to rock and roll and I remember my father saying it was a bad influence on us.I think he would have gotten along well with Plato.Anyway，I don’t need to tell you what I think about Plato’s ideas about innovations，do I/ Though I have to say it’s interesting that the same arguments against new music and art are still being made.Perhaps like the Greeks，we recognize and maybe even fear the power of music.
16.What is the main topic of the lecture？
A.The history of Greek music from ancient times to the past.
B.The influence of ancient Greek music on the music of neighboring countries.
C.The characteristics of ancient Greek songs.
D.TheattitudeoftheancientGreektowardsmusic.
17.According to the speaker，what did the ancient Greeks believe about music？
A.Music could not be illustrated by mathematics.
B.Thesamelawsruledmusicandtheuniverse.
C.Music allowed people to express their individuality.
D.Music connected them to the behavior of ancestors.
18.According to the professor，what was Plato’s attitude towards music？
A.Musichadthepowertohelpcreatethefutureleadersofasociety.
B.Music needed to be constantly evolving to keep up with social change.
C.Music distracted attention from social problems.
D.Music’s primary purpose was entertainment.
19.Why does the speaker mention rock-and-roll music？
A.to make contrast with the features of ancient Greek music
B.toshowthesimilarancientandmodernattitudetomusic
C.to prove the great power of ancient Western music
D.to introduce a topic he will discuss later in the lecture
【解析】讲座从古希腊对音乐的态度角度谈论了西方音乐。第一题是主旨题，文中明确指出讲座内容是what the Greeks believed about music，因此答案选D。第二题是细节题，希腊人认为音乐、宇宙和人性都受着同样的mathematical principles的约束，因此答案选B。第三题是细节题，柏拉图认为有种音乐能传授leadership的品质，因此答案选A。第四题是观点推论题，父亲担心摇滚乐对孩子产生不良影响，柏拉图认为打破音乐传统会造成社会问题，二者对新音乐均持保守态度，因此答案选B。
Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 20 to 22.
Every morning，Tony Diamond goes to a local park for an hour of fast walking.Then he runs for another hour.He also goes to a gym two or three times a week for muscle training.The retired navy captain won three medals at the 2015 National Senior Games in the road race and the race walk in his age group，85 to 89.“My current age is 86 years old and my fitness age is 44.I think I have such a good number because I did a lot of exercise during my life.I’ve been exercising since I was a little boy.”
Helen White plays basketball and also teaches the sport to senior groups.The versatile athlete won a silver medal in ping-pong ball at the 2013 National Senior Games.“I’m 62 years old and my fitness results showed that I was 32 years.”White and Diamond are among about 5，000 senior game competitors who took part in the study on fitness age.Pamela Peeke is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Maryland.She conducted the study with Ulrik Wisloff at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology，who developed a fitness calculator.“You simply input very straightforward data.We ask you questions：your age，your height，your weight，how much you work out，your waist size，heart rate，blood pressure，and it goes on.And then you press a button，you find out what your actual fitness age is.”Anyone can use the online calculator for free.“This kind of testing，an assessment of fitness age，was actually very valid and it helps us understand the benefits of being fit and healthy.”
The National Senior Games are a biennial competition for athletes over 50 and consist of a variety of sports — from track and field to triathlon.This year，the average age of the competitors was 68.Their average fitness age was 43.Peeke，the board member of the organization that runs the games，says many of the competitors didn’t start training until later in life.“It really wasn’t until I turned to 50 that I decided to become much more serious and focused about play，and to just make sure it’s a daily part of my life.It doesn’t matter how old you are，20，25，30 … who cares，all of us can lower our fitness age by staying right on top of it and taking good care of ourselves，especially with physical activity.”Peeke says it’s never too early or too late to start exercising and reaping its benefits.
20.What is the point of Tony Diamond by mentioning his current age and fitness age？
A.to testify that exercises are not exclusive to younger generation
B.to demonstrate the level of his physical condition
C.toprovethatexercisedoeshelplowerfitnessage
D.to display his long history of exercising from a young age
21.What contribution did Ulrik Wisloff make to the study on fitness age？
A.National Senior Games are organized annually for the old.
B.Onlinefitnesscalculatorisdevelopedandavailableforanyone.
C.Straightforward data for the study can be generated automatically.
D.The assessment of fitness age can tell potential illness.
22.Why did Peeke stress that she started exercising till turning fifty？
A.to explain that this is the case with many competitors
B.to explain that physical activity helps to prolong people’s life
C.to explain that people tend to care more about health when getting older
D.toexplainthatexerciseisreallynotamatterofage
【解析】本文报道了运动有助于降低健康年龄。第一题是细节题，对比Tony Diamond的实际年龄与健康年龄的巨大差距，原因在于他一生中做了很多运动，因此答案选C。第二题是细节题，Ulrik Wisloff的贡献在于开发了fitness calculator供网上所有人免费使用，因此答案选B。第三题是细节题，Peeke用自身的经历告诉大家锻炼无关实际年龄，确定答案选D。
Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 23 to 25.
If anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades，it’s most likely to be a highly infectious virus rather than a war.Not missiles，but microbes.But we’ve actually invested very little in a system to stop an epidemic.We’re not ready for the next epidemic.
We didn’t have a group of epidemiologists ready to go，see what the disease was，see how far it had spread.We didn’t have a medical team ready to go.We didn’t have a way of preparing people.We were far slower than we should have been getting the thousands of workers into these countries and a large epidemic would require us to have hundreds of thousands of workers.There was no one there to look at treatment approaches，no one to look at the diagnostics，no one to figure out what tools should be used.As an example，we could have taken the blood of survivors，processed it，and put that plasma back in people to protect them.But that was never tried.
The failure to prepare could allow the next epidemic to be dramatically more devastating than Ebola.Let’s look at the progression of Ebola over this year.About 10，000 people died，and nearly all were in the three West African countries.There’re three reasons why it didn’t spread more.The first is that there was a lot of heroic work by the health workers.They found the people and they prevented more infections.The second is the nature of the virus.Ebola does not spread through the air.And by the time you’re contagious；most people are so sick that they’re bedridden.Third，it didn’t get into many urban areas.And that was just luck.If it had gotten into a lot more urban areas，the case numbers would have been much larger.
But in fact，we can build a really good response system.Now I don’t have an exact budget for what this would cost，but I’m quite sure it’s very modest compared to the potential harm.The World Bank estimates that if we have a worldwide flu epidemic，global wealth will go down by over three trillion dollars and we’d have millions and millions of deaths.These investments offer significant benefits beyond just being ready for the epidemic.So I think this should absolutely be a priority.If we start now，we can be ready for the next epidemic.
23.According to the speaker，what is more likely to pose a threat to human life in the next few decades？
A.nuclear wars B.mass destruction weapons
C.ahighlyinfectiousvirus D.natural disasters
24.Which is NOT the reason this year’s Ebola didn’t spread further？
A.ThosecontagiouswithEbolahavealreadybeendead.
B.The medical staff has worked to prevent more infection.
C.People are not infected with Ebola through breathing.
D.It broke out merely in the rural areas.
25.What is the speaker’s attitude towards the cost of a response system？
A.It will absolutely cost trillions of dollars.
B.Its potential benefits are still vague.
C.Itiscomparativelylowandworthwhile.
D.It requires further investment.
【解析】这是一篇关于预防未来疫情暴发的演讲。第一题是细节题，讲话开头，演讲者说未来数十年，如果什么东西导致上千万人丧生，那很可能是感染性极强的病毒而不是战争。因此第一题答案选C。第二题是细节题，今年埃博拉病毒未进一步扩散，原因在于医疗人员的努力、病毒本身的特性以及爆发在非城区，确定答案为A。第三题是细节题，对比疫情暴发可能带来的财产和人员损失，安全响应系统的建立费用并不高，确定答案选C。