新世纪大学英语综合教程第二册Unit 5答案

Listen and Respond

Task One Focusing on the Main Ideas

Choose the best answer to complete each of the following sentences according to the information contained in the listening passage. 1 The philosophy professor began his lesson by ________. A) asking the students to be well seated B) playing a game with the students

C) asking the students to do a test on philosophy

D) filling a large and empty glass bottle with rocks

2 The professor put the items into the jar in the order of ________. A) rocks, beer, sand and pebbles

B) rocks, pebbles, sand and beer C) sand, rocks, beer and pebbles D) pebbles, rocks, beer and sand

3 According to the professor the rocks represent ________. A) different kinds of things in our life

B) the things that matter in our life, like our job or our house

C) the most important things in our life, like our family or our health D) the small stuff in our life

4 The professor poured some beer into the jar because he wanted to ________. A) mix the beer and the sand together B) arouse his students’ curiosity about nature

C) draw his students’ attention to the small things in their life

D) prove that even if our life may seem very full, there is always room for some enjoyment

5 The message the professor tried to put across in his lecture is that ________. A) we should try our best to keep balance between our work and health

B) we should set priorities in our life and take care of the most important things first

C) we should pay attention to both the big things and the small stuff in our life D) no matter how full our life may seem, we can always enjoy a couple of beers

Task Two Zooming In on the Details

Listen to the recording again and fill in each of the blanks according to what you have heard.

1 A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the desk in front of him. When the final student was seated he picked up a large and empty glass bottle and filled it with rocks . He then asked the students if the jar was full . They agreed that it was.

2 He then picked up a box of pebbles and added them to the jar, shaking it lightly. The pebbles, of course rolled into the open areas between the rocks. After that he poured some sand into bottle. The sand filled in everything else. Finally he took 2 cans of beer and poured it into the jar.

3 Through this the professor wanted his students to recognize that this jar

represents our life. The rocks are the important things in our life, like our family, our health … things that would still remain even if everything else were lost, and our life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter — like our job or our house. The sand is the small stuff in our life. If we put the sand into the jar first there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. So he told his students to set their priorities and pay attention to things that are critical to their happiness: their family, their health … The else is just sand.

Read and Explore

Task One Discovering the Main Ideas

1 Answer the following questions with the information contained in Text A.

1) Why does Helen Keller think that it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die tomorrow?

Because she believes that such an attitude would emphasize sharply the value of life.

2) According to Helen Keller, what is the right way to live each day?

According to Helen Keller, we should live each day with a gentleness, a vigour, and a keenness of appreciation.

3) What does Helen Keller mean by saying that most of us take life for granted?

Although we all know that we will die sooner or later, we tend to picture that day as far in the future. So, we go about our petty tasks, hardly aware of our listless attitude towards life. In other words, we take life for granted.

4) What does Helen Keller think of the attitude that most of us adopt towards our faculties and senses?

She thinks that we tend to take our abilities to see and hear for granted and seldom make the fullest use of these blessed faculties. That is why we often fail to make our life fuller and richer.

5) Why does Helen Keller think that it would be a blessing if each of us were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during our early adult life?

Because darkness would make us more appreciative of sight and silence would teach us the joys of sound.

2 Text A can be divided into two parts with the paragraph number(s) of each part provided as follows. Write down the main idea of each part.

Part: One; Paragraph(s): 1- 4; Main Idea: Most of us take life for granted. The author suggests that we live each day with a gentleness, a vigor, and a keenness of appreciation as if we should die tomorrow.

Part: Two; Paragraph(s): 5–10; Main Idea: We should also make full use of our faculties and senses so as to live a fuller and richer life.

Task Two Reading Between the Lines

Read the following sentences carefully and discuss in pairs what the author intends to say by the italicized parts.

1) What events, what experiences, what associations, should we crowd into those last hours as mortal beings? (Para. 2)

Suppose we know we are to die in just a few hours’ time. What should we think about doing during our last hours?

2) We know that one day we must die, but usually we picture that day as far in the future. (Para. 4)

… but often we think of our death as something that will only happen many years later.