1/4 Listening
- 2017-07-03 13:04:01
- 2017-07-03 13:57:10
- 53 minutes 441 words 8.23w/m
Christian is on a 2 weeks vacation.
This is the first vacation she has had for a long time.
The last vacation she took was more than 2 years ago.
Now she is visiting a friend in San Francisco.
Her friend and her husband are living near the center of the city.
He worked for a startup company in Silicon Valley.
While he is working she works part-time in a department store.
Christina hasn't seen her friend for a long time.
The last time they saw each other was 3 years ago.
At that time they were both working at a department store.
Then Christina quit her job and started her own business.
She designs women's clothing.
She has 2 employees now, and her company is slowly growing.
Christina has come to San Francisco by herself.
Her husband didn't come because he has to work.
He tried to start a company 2 years ago.
But it didn't work out.
His company failed after only a few month.
So now he is working at another company and saving money.
Once he saves enough money he plans to start another company.
He doesn't want to give up.
This is the second time Christina has been to San Francisco.
The first time was when she was a high school student.
That was more than 10 years ago.
During that trip she was only in San Francisco for a few days.
After that she went to Los Angeles and New York.
This time she and her friend plan to relax and have fun.
Christina arrived 2 days ago.
The day before yesterday.
Her friend met her at the airport and drove her to her apartment.
Her apartment is just north of the airport about 20 minutes from San Francisco.
It's a small apartment but it's on a hill and it has a great view.
Yesterday they went downtown and rode 搭乘 the cable cars 纜車.
Christina was surprised by how steep 陡峭 the hills are.
Then they walked along the ocean and ate lunch at a seafood restaurant.
From the restaurant they could see the Golden Gate Bridge.
Tomorrow they're planning to drive to Yosemite National Park 優(yōu)勝美地國(guó)家公園.
By car it's about 4 hours away.
Christina has never been there before so she is excited.
She has heard that the park is very beautiful.
Her friend has been to Yosemite several times.
She says it's one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Christina just hopes that her friend is a good driver.
1/4 Vocabulary
- 2017-07-03 22:16:44
- 2017-07-03 22:42:49
- 26 minutes 223 words 8.57 w/m
A sore throat can be caused by virus or bacteria.
A burn is an injury to the skin cause by fire or heat.
Mountain are land forms higher than 2000 feet or about 600 meters above sea level.
Hills are like mountains but not as tall.
Mountains are formed by forces deep within the earth and made of many types of rocks.
Rivers are streams of water that usually begin in mountains and flow into the sea.
Many early cities were built alongside rivers.
Most of the world's water is in the oceans which are large bodies of 一大片 salt water.
The oceans are also an important source of oxygen.
Deserts are areas of land that received little or no rainfall.
The amount of rainfall in some deserts is so low that only a few plants can survive.
A valley is a low, relatively flat area between hills or mountains often with a river running through it.
Some valleys are formed by flowing water and others are formed by glaciers 冰川.
Desert temperatures can range from cold at night to very hot during the daytime, often above 120 degrees F.
2/4 Listening
- 2017-07-04 13:44:29
- 2017-07-04 13:58:09
- 14 minutes 133 words 9.5 w/m
Today Christina and her friend are enjoying themselves.
This morning they got up very early and drove out of San Francisco.
They crossed the Bay Bridge before the early morning commute and drove south.
Because it was so early, there were almost no cars.
After driving for an hour and a half, they stopped and have breakfast.
They ordered pancakes and coffee.
They also had some fresh fruit.
When they finished eating, it was 7 o'clock.
Then they got back into the car and drove south.
Christina want to listen to music, so they turned on the radio.
An hour later they stopped for gas.
They noticed that there was also a charging station for electric cars.
- 2017-07-04 22:10:37
- 2017-07-04 22:34:17
- 25 minutes 279 words 11.16 w/m
It's now 1:15 and they're in Yosemite Park.
They have been there for 2 hours since 11:15.
They're looking at Yosemite Falls, which is the highest water fall in the park.
The water drops a total of 740 meters from the top of the upper fall to the base of the lower fall.
In another 15 minutes. They planned to eat lunch at Magnificent Old Hotel in the park.
It was built in 1927 and has a great view.
They want to stay there, but they couldn't get reservations.
To get a room at that hotel you usually need to make reservations several months in advance.
They planned to stay in the park until around 4 o'clock.
By then they will have been in the park for nearly 5 hours.
Then they'll get back into the car and drive back to San Francisco.
They plan to eat dinner somewhere alone the way.
If the traffic isn't too bad.They should be back in San Francisco by 10 o'clock.
Early tomorrow morning they're going to cross the Golden Gate Bridge and go north alone the coast.
From some places you can look out on the oceans and see whale and other sea life.
Christina has never seen a whale before so she is looking forward to it.
And tomorrow night they have something special planned.
They are going to watch a baseball game.
Christina has never seen a baseball game but she is heard that it is very popular in the U.S.
And San Francisco baseball team is one the best.
2/4 Dialogue
- 2017-07-05 13:39:52
- 2017-07-05 13:56:27
- 18 minutes 204 words 11.3 w/m
Have you finished eating yet?
No I haven't. Why are you in such a hurry?
I'm sorry but you're such a slow eater.
A slow eater? Well I tried to enjoy my food.
You just eat and swallow, I don't see how you can even taste it.
Okay I'm sorry. Do you mind if I get another glass of wine?
No, go ahead. I don't want you to sit there and put pressure on me.
I thought we were going to have a relaxing evening.
Yes you're right. I'd like to relax but I have a lot of my mind.
Work related?
Yes it is. I've been getting some strange emails from my boss.
He wants me to cut down on my expenses, maybe he wants to fire me.
Is business bad?
Yes it is.
But I don't want to talk about it.
Okay, but I'm a good listener.
You can tell me if you'd like to.
Thanks maybe some other time.
I'll try to stop thinking about it and deal with it tomorrow.
Good idea, you need to take a break from work.
Your health is important and so am I.
Yes you are. I don't know what I would do without you.
2/4 Speaking
- I don't see how you can even taste it!
- They are looking at Yosemite falls, which is the highest waterfall in the park.
- Early tomorrow morning they are going to cross the Golden Gate Bridge and go north alone the coast.
- An earache is sharp, dull or burning pain in the ear.
- By then they will have been in the park for nearly 5 hours.
- Deserts are areas of land that receive little or no rain fall.
3/4 Listening
- 2017-07-06 13:04:08
- 2017-07-06 13:59:41
- 55 minutes 630 words 11.7 w/m
Harry is an American businessman.
His job requires him to do a lot of traveling.
He takes 9 or 10 trips a year.
In the past six month. He has made 5 trips.
3 were to Asia and 2 were to Europe.
The purpose of these trips is to attend meetings and make presentations.
Harry loves to travel and he has traveled to many countries.
Most of his trips are for one or two weeks.
His first international trip was 15 years ago when he was 20 years old.
He really wanted to see Asia, so he and a friend flew to Tokyo, Japan.
From Tokyo they traveled around Japan 日本???? for 2 weeks.
The people they met were very nice but most of them didn't speak English.
Harry tried to speak a little Japanese but it was difficult.
He didn't do very well.
When he spoke to people, most of them just looked at him.
They didn't understand what he was trying to say.
From Japan they went to Korea 韓國(guó)???? for a week and then they went to China 中國(guó)????.
In China they visited the Great Wall near Beijing.
They stayed in Beijing for a few days.
And then boarded a train for Shanghai.
It was an overnight train with sleeping cabins 房艙.
During the journey they enjoyed looking out the window at the countryside.
The view from the train was wonderful.
Harry will never forget watching the Sun go down in the evening.
It was a beautiful sunset.
The journey to Shanghai took many hours but it was an unforgettable experience.
On the train they met a Chinese professor who spoke English.
He was a middle aged man who's hair was turning grey.
He told them about how things were changing in China.
It was wonderful to watch him as he was speaking.
His eyes were full of energy and excitement.
They only stayed in Shanghai for a couple of days.
Then they returned to the US and went back to school.
They had one more year to finish their studies.
Harry's next few trips were to different parts of the world.
He went to Europe twice each time to different countries.
On one trip he traveled trough UK 英國(guó)???? and France 法國(guó)????.
On the next trip he went to Italy 意大利???? and Greece 希臘????.
After Europe he traveled to Mexico 墨西哥???? and South America.
In South America he went to Argentina 阿根廷???? and Brazil 巴西????.
He enjoyed watching some great soccer matches.
Then he decided to go back to Asia.
But this time he went to Southeast Asia.
He visited Vietnam 越南????, Thailand 泰國(guó)???? and Singapore 新加坡????
Each country had a charm of its own.
After all this travel, Harry decided to make travel part of his career.
He didn't want to work only in the US.
He didn't want to work only work with Americans.
He want to experience other countries and other cultures.
His dream was to work at an International company.
Five years ago his dream came true.
Now he is working for a German Hi-Tech company.
As a part of his job he has to travel a lot.
As a result, he has been to many cities and countries.
And he has met many interesting people.
3/4 Vocabulary
- 2017-07-07 13:28:08
- 2017-07-07 13:59:58
- 2017-07-07 22:41:00
- 2017-07-07 22:53:43
- 359 words 43minutes 8.3w/m
A dental cavity 齲洞 is a hole in the tooth.
A cavity is caused by bacteria 細(xì)菌 in the mouth.
Brushing your teeth frequently and regularly can help prevent cavities.
A cracked tooth can be caused by bitting down something hard.
Dentists treated cracked tooth by covering it with a crown.
A dental X-ray is a picture of your teeth and gums 牙齦.
An X-ray shows what can't be seen on the surface of the teeth and gums.
Braces 牙箍/支架 are used by dentists to straighten teeth over a period of years.
The braces are usually for children they can also be used for adults with crooked 歪斜的 teeth.
To extract a tooth means to remove it from a mouth.
Dentists have to pull hard to extract a tooth.
The heart pumps blood to all parts of the body through a system of atrium 心房 valve 瓣膜.
It's located in the chest 胸口 between the lungs 肺 and beats about once a second.
The kidneys remove wastes and toxins from the blood.
They are bean shaped organs and are about 10 centimeters long and 6 centimeters wide.
The lungs exchange oxygen from the air with carbon dioxide from blood.
They expand with inhaling 吸氣 air and contract 縮小/合同 when exhaling 吐氣 air.
The stomach is below the heart. And it's a part of the digest system.
It uses acids to digest food before passing it the small intestine 小腸.
The bladder is a bloom shaped organ that collect urine from kidney 腎臟.
In an adult the bladder can hold about half a liter of urine.
4/4 Listening
- 2017-07-08 20:29:13
- 2017-07-08 20:50:15
- 212 words 21 minutes 10.1 w/m
Quick Serve is a successful home repair company.
It provides quick reliable repair services to homes.
It was established 5 years ago, and has been expanding rapidly.
In the last 2 years, it has opened new offices in 3 new cities.
Because of it's rapid growth, it has to hire many new employees.
In the last 6 month, it is hired 50 new employees.
The total number of employees in the company is now over 500.
And the number of customers has increased to 5000.
The company has also improved it's business model.
Instead of offering only repair services, it can now help customers upgrade their appliances.
Quick Serve does this by giving a choice.
Customers can choose to repair an appliance or upgraded by buying a new one.
If they choose to buy a new one they will get a discounted price.
So a customer can either repair a broken refrigerator for a small fee or buy a new one.
If they buy a new one they will get a discounted price alone with free installation.
This is possible because several appliance manufacturers have agreed to give Quick Serve big discounts.
Quick Serve then installs the new appliance and removes the old one.
Feedback from customers has been positive.
- 2017-07-08 22:02:07
- 2017-07-08 22:33:27
- 325 words 31 minutes 10.5 w/m
A high percentage of customers have taken advantage of this new service.
As a result Quick Serve has developed a great reputation.
It's dedication to high quality services have proven to be successful.
Its word-of-mouth approach 接近 to advertising has been cost effective.
The appliance manufacturers have also been happy with the results.
Their growing relationship with Quick Serve has helped to increased their sales.
The world's population is growing.
There are now over 7 billion people in the world.
During the 20th century the population grew from 1.65 billion to 6 billion.
It's now growing at a rate around 1.1 percent per year.
That means an increases about 80 million a year.
By 2024 the population is expected to be around 8 billion people.
The growth rate used to be higher.
In the late 1960s, the rate of growth was about 2%.
Since then the growth rate has declined 下降.
It is estimated that the growth rate will be less than 1% by 2020.
By the year 2050 the growth rate should be even less.
Even with a declining growth rate the population will continue to grow.
But it will grow at a slower rate.
In the past 50 years the world's population has more than doubled.
It is doubled from around 3 billion in the 1960 to more than 7 billion in 2011.
The rate of growth varies vary 相異的 by country.
The growth rate in India is more than twice that of China.
And the growth rate in Nigeria 尼日利亞???? which is in Africa is more than twice India's growth rate.
Russia on the other hand has had a negative growth rate in some years.
When a country has a negative growth rate, its population is decreasing.
4/4 Vocabulary
- 2017-07-09 18:05:48
- 2017-07-09 18:51:51
- 378 words 46 minutes 8.2 w/m
Co-founder of Apple this entrepreneur 企業(yè)家 was a major figure in the computer industry.
He was self centered and difficult to work for, but he lead the development of many great products.
He died of cancer when he was just 56 years old.
Jack Ma is one of the richest and most famous man in China.
He comes from a poor family and failed his college entrance exam twice.
Despite 盡管 his many failures he has built one of world's largest internet companies.
David Beckham is one of world's richest and most famous athletes.
He started playing professional football when he was just 17.
Much of his successes athletes is because he played harder than many other players.
As a young girl in Pakistan 巴基斯坦???? Malala became famous for her writing some women's education.
In 2012 she was shoot in the head and nearly killed.
She survived the injury and became a world's most famous teenager.
Born in 1942 Steven Hawking is one of the world's most famous scientists.
When he was 23 he was diagnosed with ALS 漸凍人癥 a rare diseases of nerves 神經(jīng)系統(tǒng).
Because of his diseases he is unable to walk and talk.
Shy people are usually quiet and uncomfortable around other people.
They generally dislike going to social events such as parties.
It's often difficult to make friends with a shy person because they won't open up.
Outgoing people enjoyed being with others and are comfortable with social situations.
They're friendly and pleasant to be with. Though sometimes they can't be trusted.
Self-centered people like to be the center of attention.
They like people to look at them and pay attention to them.
Self-centered people often talked too much and don't listen enough.
Selfish and greedy people don't share things with others.
They keep things for themselves and always want more.
People who are responsible and trustworthy are important in almost any situation.
They can be depended on to get things done.
These people can be trusted.
