听力原文2007

Part 1, Listening Comprehension

SECTION A MINI-LECTURE

Good morning. Today's lecture is the very first of a series of lectures on the art history. So I'd like to spend some time discussing with you the following topic: why do we need to study art history and what can we learn from it.

First of all, I'd say, if you study art history, it might be a good way to learn more about a cul?ture than it's possible to learn iri general history classes. You know, most typical history courses con?centrate on politics, economies and war. ( Q1) But art history focuses on much more than this, be?cause art reflects not only the political values of the people , but also their religious beliefs , emotions etc. In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors can be provided by art, like what people did for a living, what kind of dress they wore, what ceremonies they held etc. In short, art can express the essential qualities of a time and a place and the study of it clearly offers us a dee?per understanding than what can be found in most history books and enables us to learn more things about human society and civilization.

The second point, I'd like to make, is about the type of information. In history books, informa?tion is objective. ( Q2) That is, facts about the political, economic life of a country are given, but the opinions are not expressed. Art, on the other hand, is subjective. It reflects personal emotions and opinions. ( Q3) For example, Francisco Goya was a great Spanish paintIr, and also perhaps the first truly political artist. In his famous painting, the 3rd of May, 1808, he showed soldiers shooting a group of simple people. His description of soldiers and their victims has become a symbol of the enormous power or the misuse of this power that a government can have over its people. Over a hun?dred years later, on another continent, the powerful paintings of Mexican artists depicted their deep anger and sadness about social problems. In summary, through art you can find a personal and emo?tional view of history.

Thirdly, art can reflect a culture's religious beliefs. For hundreds of years in Europe, religious art was almost the only type of art that existed. Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings that showed people and stories from the Bible. ( Q4) By contrast, one of the main charac?teristics of the art in the Mid-East was and still is its absence of human and animal images. This re?flects the Islamic belief that these images are unholy. ( Q5 ) Thus, on palaces, mosques and other buildings, Islamic artists have created unique decoration of great beauty with images of flowers and geometric forms, for example, circles, squares and triangles. The same is true of other places, like Africa and the Pacific islands. Art also reflects the religious beliefs of traditional cultures in these places. As a matter of fact, religion is the purpose for this art and is, therefore, absolutely essential to it. Traditional art in Africa and the Pacific Islands is different from Christian art. Christian art in?fluences people's religious feelings towards God. But the goal of traditional art in Africa and the Pacific islands is the influence of spiritual power, that is gods to enter people's lives. Each tribe or village there has special ceremonies with songs and dances to make sure that crops, animals and peo?ple are healthy and in increasing number. ( Q6) The dancers in the ceremonies wear masks , head?dresses and costumes that they believe are necessary to influence gods. So these masks and head?dresses themselves are a very part of the art.

As we've said, art depends on culture. Different forms of art result from different cultures. Simi?larly, the way that people view art also depends on their cultural background. This is my fourth point. For most Europeans and Americans, art is mainly for decoration. ( Q7 ) It is something on a museum wall or in a glass case. It makes their homes more attractive. People look at it and admire it. " Oh , what a beautiful painting. " Besides, ideas are often expressed in this art. "This is a won?derful statue" , an admirer might say , " it makes such a strong anti-war statement. " But in other places, art is not considered to be separate from everyday existence. It has a function. It has a prac?tical role to play in people's lives. ( Q8) A person in a tribal society might look at a mask and say, " Oh , this is a good mask. It will keep my house safe. " In brief, the way in which people enjoy or appreciate art depends on their culture.

To conclude my lecture , we can say that art is a reflection of various cultures. ( Q9 ) But at the same time, we have to remember that the art also reflects the changes in society that take place when different cultures influence one another. As people from tribal societies move to urban areas , their values and beliefs change accordingly and their traditional art forms begin to loose their function.  ( Q10) At the same time , urban artists begin to learn a lot from traditional art. For example , African masks and figures had a great influence on Picasso's works. And many American and Canadian artists study the simplicity,of Japanese painting. The result is, that as the world gets smaller, the art of each culture becomes more international. OK, this brings us to the end of our lecture. I hope that after today's lecture, you'll understand better the significance of the study of art history. Art enables us?to know more about human history, for example, people's views and opinions about certain historical events, and what's more important , about different cultures , their religious beliefs , perception of art , etc.

SECTION B INTERVIEW

Interviewer: Nigel Lynch is editor of Business Travel Weekly. Nigel, thanks for being on the show. Now, what kind of problems do airline passengers face nowadays?

Nigel:      Well, most of the problems are caused by the heavy volume of traffic. You know, all

airports have a limit to the number of takeoffs and landings they can handle. ( Q1)  Interviewer: So what seems to be the problem?

Nigel:      All flights from a busy airport arrive and leave at more or less the same time. If 60 air-

crafts are scheduled to take off between 5 p. m. and 5: 15 and the airport can only han?dle 120 an hour, that means some will always be late landing or takingoff. And if the weather is bad , you can imagine what the situation is like. So passengers have to be loaded into each plane and the planes have to line up to take off.

Interviewer: So, waiting at the lounge or on the plane is quite common.

Nigel:      Certainly. And another problem that's very common is overbooking. Quite often, you

hear an announcement on the airport loudspeakers: "we have oversold on this flight and would like volunteers to go on the next flight out. If you decide to volunteer, you may get a cash bribe or a free trip , but make sure that you get a guaranteed seat on the next flight and a free phone call to whoever is meeting you on the other end. " ( Q2 ) And worse still, you arrive with a confirmed reservation and you discover you've been bumped off the flight.

Interviewer: Presumably, if you choose to travel at off-peak times, there are a few problems.

Nigel: Well, there are no off-peak times. All flights seem to be full except Saturday. I don't quite understand why this is so. You know, if there is a public holiday, things are like?ly to be especially busy. The special fare systems on the airlines' computers encourage more people to fly on less popular flights and this means, that, as a result, all flights are equally full.

Interviewer: So, what advice would you give to business travelers?

Nigel:      I'd say, avoid big airports, if you can. The reason is that there are too many flights

there. ( Q3) Then, remember not to check your baggage if you can help it. Another thing is , be prepared for delays. Take something to eat and drink in your hand luggage. Interviewer: Nigel, what kind of mistakes do inexperienced travelers make?

Nigel:      The first mistake business travelers make is to take far too much luggage. ( Q4 ) Re

member, take only carry-on luggage, because in most airports, you can get away with two small bags.

Interviewer: Oh, I see.

Nigel:      Another mistake people make is to think that you have to pay full price for air tickets.

( Q4) You shoiild find out about the different ticket options. For example, an RTW fare can save up to 40% on normal fare.

Interviewer: Excuse me, what is RTW?

Nigel:      Round The World. For example, if you're going to Australia from the USA, you could

go out via Singapore , and come back via North America. And another way to save mon?ey is to see if a ticket to a destination beyond is cheaper. For example, a ticket from Amsterdam, from London to New York may be cheaper than one straight from London to New York.

Interviewer: Urn, that's very useful information.

Nigel:      And another mistake is to go away for too long. ( Q4) Most people's efficiency and ener

gy start to fall off after two weeks away. So my advice is to keep your trip short, only go for two weeks and never for a longer than three. Another point is, don't expect every?thing to go according to plan. You need to learn to expect the unexpected. ( Q5) There may be a typhoon in summer, or your taxi may break down on the way to the airport. In other words, don't be optimistic about plans and don't schedule important meetings too closely together. You need to allow time for delays and breakdowns.

Interviewer: Yeah, this is something travelers have to remember when they plan their trips.

Nigel: And another thing, get to know a good travel agent and make sure he gives you the best possible service. Take discounts for example, a good travel agent can get first-class tickets for the price of business class. This is because he does enough volume of busi?ness and he can get discounts with airlines on his own behalf. He should pass them on to you. So make sure he indeed does.

Interviewer I think the worst part of a trip is having to travel overnight , or being stuck for a weekend in some dreadful place. Are there any ways of avoiding that?

Nigel:      Yes. A weekend break or a stopover in a more relaxing or a lively place is often availa

ble at a special cheap weekend rate. Various airlines and hotel chains offer these and it's always more pleasant to stay the night in a hotel than on a plane even if you travel business class.

Interviewer: Yes. OK, thank you, Nigel, for all this useful information and advice. Nigel   Pleasure!

SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST

News Item 1(for question 6)

The death toll rose to 74 on Tuesday in Japan's deadliest rail crash in decades, as crews pulled more victims from the wreckage. Investigators focused on whether excessive speed or the driver's in?experience had caused the train to derail and slam into an apartment building. ( Q6) The seven-cart commuter train carrying 580 passengers left the rails Monday morning near Amagasaki, a suburb of Osaka, about 250 miles west of Tokyo. It injured more than 440 people.

News Item 2(for questions 7-8)

Twenty of the world's top economies promised to help Iraq lower its debt and to help restart glob?al trade talks after a two-day meeting in Mexico on Monday. Officials from the group of Twenty, G20  Nations also discussed the possibility of sanctioning countries that refused to cooperate in the fight a?gainst terrorism. ( Q7 ) Possible sanctions were not outlined at the meeting. In a declaration released at the end of the meeting, ministers called on World Trade Organization, WTO , members to restart the trade talks that collapsed in Kankong last month. Nations must quickly reenergize the negotiation process , recognizing that flexibility and political will from all are urgently needed , it said. G20 min?isters also talked about the possibility of creating a voluntary code of conduct to govern negotiations between creditors and countries on the verge of defaulting on debt. The code would outline the steps that should be taken to prevent a financial crisis. Created in 1999 to avoid financial .disasters and to keep the global economy stable , the G20 is made up of the European Union and 19 other countries ,  including Australia, Brazil, China, Japan and the US. ( Q8)

News Item 3(for questions 9-10)

The United Nations celebrated the 60th anniversary of its Charter on Monday with speakers ad?dressing the UN General Assembly. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the UN had both succes?ses and failures in carrying out the pledges in the Charter. The UN Charter is the Constitution of the organization. It was signed in San Francisco on June 26th, 1945 by the 50 original member coun?tries. It took effect on October 24th , 1945 after being approved by the five founding members : Chi?na, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. ( Q9 ) And the majority of the other countries did -sign the Charter. The Charter is a constitutional treaty. All countries that signed it are hound by 'its articles. It states that the Charter comes first above all other treaties.  ( Q10) Its main purposes include the prevention of new conflict, building peace and protecting hu?man rights and social progress. The most important chapters are those dealing with the enforcement powers of UN bodies. They describe, for example, the Security Council's power to investigate and mediate disputes. They also describe its power to authorize economic, diplomatic and military sanc?tions as well as the use of military force to resolve disputes: The UN late last year revealed the pro?posal to overhaul the organization including the Security Council. This could be the most comprehen?sive UN reform since its foundation.