UNIT 8Section One Tactics for ListeningPart 1 Spot DictationOnce upon a time, all- or almost all- businesses were (1) greedy and rapacious, sparing a thought for their (2) workers or the environment only in order to (3) work out how to exploit them. Then bosses found their (4) consciences, guided (or sometimes forced) by (5) customers or critics from the (6) non-profit world. They discovered the idea that companies should not exist only to make a profit but to (7) serve society. Thus corporate social responsibility (CSR) got its (8) start as a business fashion, and it is now hard to find a firm that has not (9) come up with an earnest (10) statement about its relations with the wider world. Thanks to this development, everyone, both (11) within and outside the business, will live happily (12) ever after.Or will they? In the past two (13) decades, as CSR has become more and more popular, its (14) virtues have passed more or less (15) unquestioned. That is a pity. Even if it (16) turns out to be a good development for businesses and society alike, it ought to be able to (17) stand a little more rigorous scrutiny. Should company managers be allowed to (18) divert potential profits - money that would otherwise be returned to shareholders - to (19) charities? Should firms refuse to do business in troubled countries? Are (20) recycling efforts, if more expensive and less efficient, worth pursuing?Part 2 Listening for GistSmall retailers across the United States are facing the same challenge: competition from shopping malls and chain stores. But, in downtown Dickson, Tennessee, a group of retail merchants have banded together to win back their customers who have been attracted to shopping areas in the neighboring big city.Dickson is a typical small American city. It has quiet residential areas and a nice little downtown that was once a thriving retail center. But according to David Hamilton, president of Dickson's Chamber of Commerce, highway construction over the past several years changed that. Being just 65 kilometers away from a big city like Nashville, Mr Hamilton says, presents another challenge to Dickson's downtown shopping area. "Because we're so close to Nashville, and because so many people work in Nashville, when they think about shopping, they think of going to Nashville malls."But small business owners in downtown Dickson didn't give up. Instead, they decided to fight back. More than 40 of them founded the Retail Merchants Association of Downtown Dickson. Members of the new association are committed to success; they pay monthly dues and meet periodically to suggest and discuss creative ways of attracting more shoppers to downtown. Mr Williams says one idea is creating events modeled on the annual Christmas parade through the downtown area that attracts a large number of city residents. Free refreshments and giveaways will be part of these regular events. Mr Williams says the group is also planning to beautify the downtown area withplants and paint.Though it might seem hard to compete with big chain stores, small retailers have an advantage. They have a personal approach in serving customers. Chamber of Commerce president David Hamilton agrees. He says retailers in his city serve customers well, and customers in return, should support them by shopping in their stores.The downtown area is the heart of a city. And members of Dickson's new Retail Merchants Association are determined to work together to keep the heart beating - to revitalize downtown Dickson so it is once again a busy, welcoming place for people to come and shop.ExerciseDirections: Listen to the passage and find its topic sentence.The topic sentence is "In downtown Dickson. Tennessee. a group of retail merchants have banded together to win back their customers who have been attracted to shopping areas in the neighboring big city."Section Two Listening ComprehensionPart 1 DialogueHaving Their Babies at Home- What about ... um ... the number of mothers who are now choosing to have their babies at home. Is that a, a growing number in Australia?- It's still a very very small proportion at the moment and therefore many, um, hospitals are thinking of actually introducing birthing centres, birthing units. We have one at our hospital at the moment, where the, the unit is set up as a bedroom and a kitchen and the woman can actually walk around in comfort and just pretend it's her own home.- So it's like a home in the hospital?- Yeah, it's like a little maisonette in the hospital and, er, it's so close by to the theatre and delivery suites that if anything should go wrong and did go wrong they could be moved around quite quickly and safely.- Margaret, do you think it's safe to have a baby at home?- There are risks involved, er, I personally would prefer not to have my baby at home. I mean it would be {well you're a midwife} ... I know it would be quite ideal but the risk of something going wrong and if I was to lose that baby I think that I would be quite devastated.- Aren't there dangers in hospital because there are more people involved?- There are dangers in hospital, I mean you, you wouldn't want to know that there is a particularly resistant staphylococcal infection running around the hospital and, er, that would be quite a risk. In some countries it's been proven that having the baby at home is as safe as having a baby in hospital.- Does it get a lot of encouragement having, er, a baby at home?- I don't think so, no, it doesn't. I think ... um ... doctors and ... I think mainly doctors probably, I think they scare the women saying, well this might go wrongor that might go wrong at home so it's better for you to come into hospital.ExerciseDirections: Listen to the dialogue and answer the following questions.1. It's like a little maisonette, a home in the hospital.2. Because it's still a very small proportion of mothers who are now choosing to have their babies at home at the moment and the birthing unit is set up as a bedroom and a kitchen and the woman can actually walk around in comfort and just pretend it's her own home.3. Because it's so close by to the theatre and delivery suites that if anything should go wrong and did go wrong they could be moved around quite quickly and safely.4. Something may go wrong during the delivery and that would be quite devastating.5. There could be a particularly resistant staphylococcal infection running around the hospital.Part2 PassageBridging Generations1. Seniors today are better educated, healthier, and more vivacious than at any time in our nation's history.2. They are active, energetic, and willing and can meet many program needsthrough their volunteer efforts.3. Because they are living longer than ever before, seniors can anticipate up to 30 years of productive activity after retirement.4. When choosing where and how to volunteer, seniors should pick the type of activity that best suits their personal goals as well as the needs of the recipients.5. We want to help them embrace the world with their numerous gifts and talents, instead of the world embracing them with handcuffs and incarceration.Mention the word retirement, and you'll likely invoke a range of reactions. Some think of retirement as a rite of passage, others as a time to relax. The cynical * may view it as a point beyond which one can no longer contribute to society. This is far from the truth! Seniors today are better educated, healthier, and more vivacious than at any time in our nation's history. They are active, energetic, and willing and can meet many program needs through their volunteer efforts. Seniors are a valuable resource with many gifts to offer - among them, experience, patience, skills, time, and wealth - that are unique to them.The senior population, and its proportion relative to the rest of the population, is increasing rapidly. The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNS) estimates that, in 2000, some 35 million people aged 65 or older were living in the United States, accounting for 13% of the total population. The aging baby boom generation is expected to double the senior population over the next 30 years. And because they are living longer than ever before, seniors can anticipate* up to30 years of productive activity after retirement.Seniors share their gifts and life experiences to address issues in school systems, public safety, the environment, and other human needs.Many seniors do not volunteer through formal programs. Some are one-time volunteers; others volunteer for a seasonal or special event. When choosing where and how to volunteer, seniors should pick the type of activity that best suits their personal goals as well as the needs of the recipients. Most importantly, be creative, selective, and have fun -like the volunteers featured here.Like many Americans, Eloise Bowers and Joan Gross recognized the need for additional support for juveniles as they develop and mature into adults. These seniors, however, decided to give back to their community and develop positive relationships with juveniles through FGP.The "grandmas", now in their second year with the program, have helped more than 50 of the most at-risk youth in the District of Columbia turn their lives around. "It is our job to help youth link with their peers and the community, as well as help their community and their peers link with them," they stress. "For the link to be strong, it must be mutual."Some youth in the program have children of their own and need child-rearing tips. Others use inappropriate language and need to expand their vocabulary. Many respond with violence and need avenues to vent* anger, whereas others dress inappropriately and need fashion tips. "We are committed to helping these youth help themselves," Bowers explains. "We want to help them embrace theworld with their numerous gifts and talents, instead of the world embracing them with handcuffs and incarceration."Bowers and Gross say their goals as foster grandparents are to serve as role models; make appropriate referrals for resources; teach respect with language and dress; share ways to manage anger, conflict, and anxiety; support successful transitions to mainstream schools, job training, and employment; and provide sincere love and understanding.Exercise A Pre-listening QuestionGovernmental provision for social security is slow to develop in the US, though there are now some elements of a comprehensive system, with some serious gaps, as well as variations between the states.For both old age and illness, provision is now partly private, partly public. Most Americans when at work make some provision for their retirement, through savings, investment and insurance policies, company or union pension funds. Federal government social security provides pensions for retired people, and also unemployment benefit for six months, based on compulsory contributions by people at work. The rate of the pension gives an income above the official poverty line, and sufficient for minimal comfort, but only about a quarter of median earnings from employment. It is not related to a person's income from private pensions or other sources.Exercise B Sentence DictationDirections: Listen to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times.Exercise C Detailed ListeningDirections: Listen to the passage and choose the best answer to complete each of the following sentences.1.C2.C3.A4.C5.A6.D7.D8. DExercise D After-listening DiscussionDirections: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions.1. Bowers and Gross say their goals as foster grandparents are to serve as role models; make appropriate referrals for resources; teach respect with language and dress; share ways to manage anger, conflict, and anxiety; support successful transitions to mainstream schools, job training, and employment; and provide sincere love and understanding."It is our job to help youth link with their peers and the community, as well as help their community and their peers link with them." "We want to help them embrace the world with their numerous gifts and talents, instead of the world embracing them with handcuffs and incarceration. "2. (Open)Section Three NewsNews Item 1Return to MarsMars Odyssey may be the most intensely scrutinized* mission NASA has ever mounted. Only 60 percent of US spacecraft ever bound for the planet have reached it.Mars Odyssey continues NASA's effort to learn the planet's geologic history to better understand the Earth's evolution. It carries instruments to measure the distribution of minerals and chemical elements in the surface.The instruments are especially seeking traces of water, which is thought to have flowed when the red planet was warmer early in its evolution. Water could indicate past or present life, but would also be a resource for eventual human visits. The instruments will seek surface hydrogen, one element of water. Project scientist Steve Saunders says they will also look for evidence of surface heat that might indicate hot water below.NASA Mars scientist Jim Garvin says Odyssey and each successive wave of robotic visitors is to continually narrow the number of locations to which to send a mission to return a Martian soil sample between 2011 and 2014.Exercise ADirections: Listen to the news item and complete the summary.This news item is about the launch of Mars Odyssey, a continuation of NASA'seffort to learn the planet's geologic history.Exercise BDirections: Listen to the news again and answer the following questions.1. It is a spacecraft that will be sent to Mars by the US space agency.2. It carries instruments to measure the distribution of minerals and chemical elements in the surface of the planet.3. Water could indicate past or present life.4. They will also look for evidence of surface heat that might indicate hot water below.5. They will send a mission to return a Martian soil sample between 20 II and 2014.News Item 2Space Station ResearchZvezda - the Russian word for "star" - has living quarters for three crewmembers. But the two Russian cosmonauts and US commander who will become the first inhabitants in late October or early November will not do research. Their job is maintenance and assembly.The senior space station scientist at the US space agency NASA - Kathryn Clark - says research awaits the second crew, due to arrive early next year after the US laboratory module* named Destiny arrives. That is scheduled for late January -if NASA keeps to its tight schedule of shuttle launches.Even then, research will take second place to construction until the space station is complete, sometime around 2005. The ideal situation, says Ms Clark, would have been to build the outpost first, then begin research. But the 1O-to-15-year station lifetime is too short for this.NASA is counting on the orbiter* to make new discoveries in biology, chemistry, medicine, engineering, and materials science - for the benefit of both long-duration space missions and life on the Earth.Eventually, the International Space Station will have five more research modules - two Russian, one European, one Japanese, and a second US laboratory.Exercise ADirections: Listen to the news item and complete the summary.This news item is about the construction of the International Space Station.Exercise BDirections: Listen to the news again and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).1.F2.T3.T4.F5.F6.TNews Item 3First Spaceman from AfricaThe Soyuz rocket lifted off on schedule from launch pad number one at Russia's Baikonur base in Kazakhstan. Aboard was the ship's commander, veteran cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko, Italian Air Force pilot Roberto Vittori and South African Internet entrepreneur* Mark Shuttleworth. The 28-year-old multimillionaire had trained for eight months and spent a reported $20 million to fulfill his childhood dream of going into space. Members of his family had flown to Kazakhstan for the occasion, and they reportedly watched the launch with big smiles and tears of joy.The Soyuz will fly to the International Space Station, where it is expected to dock on Saturday.The crew's main mission is to deliver a new Soyuz capsule to be kept at the space station for use as an escape vehicle if needed. Mark Shuttleworth is also to conduct experiments on how animal stem cells react in zero gravity.The space tourist's trip has been warmly welcomed in South Africa, where his adventure has received blanket media coverage. He is the first Mrican to go into space and has been dubbed the "Afronaut" by many back home, including Nelson Mandela.Russia initiated the space tourism idea, seeing it as a way to bring badly needed cash into its ailing space program.Exercise ADirections: Listen to the news item and complete the summary.This news item is about the first spaceman from Africa and his adventure with astronauts.Exercise BDirections: Listen to the news again and complete the following passage.The Soyuz rocket lifted off on schedule at Russia's Baikonur base in Kazakhstan. Aboard was the ship's commander, an Italian Air Force pilot and South African Internet entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. The 28-year-old multimillionaire had trained for eight months and spent a reported $20 million to fulfill his childhood dream of going into space. Members of his family watched the launch with big smiles and tears of joy.The Soyuz will fly to the International Space Station, where it is expected to dock on Saturday. The crew's main mission is to deliver a new Soyuz capsule for use as an escape vehicle if needed. Mark Shuttleworth is also to conduct experiments on how animal stem cells react in zero gravity. He is the first African to go into space and has been dubbed the "Afronaut" by many back home.Section Four Supplementary ExercisesPart 1 Feature ReportSolar FlareTo the naked eye, the sun appears to be a benign, peaceful star that provides the energy for life. But the sun is really a violent body spitting out streams of hot, electrically charged atomic particles that can disrupt life on the earth. The US space agency NASA is launching [has launched] a spacecraft to investigate this phenomenon, known as solar flares. The craft will enter [has entered] the Earth orbit after being launched from a small rocket released from the wing of an Airplane over the Atlantic Ocean. David McAlary examines its mission. Imagine an unbelievably powerful explosion that shuts down electrical generating systems ver a wide territory. Is this the scenario for a terrorist attack? No, just our sun acting up again.The sun's atmosphere periodically emits gigantic explosions called flares. Robert Lin is a solar physicist at the University of California at Berkeley. He says the most powerful solar flares can throw tons of charged atomic particles at us at nearly the speed of light and wreak havoc on communications and electrical power systems.Previous observations indicate that solar flares occur when energy stored within solar magnetic fields is suddenly released. The magnetic fields twist, snap, and recombine heating liar gas to tens of millions of degrees. This causes the solar atmosphere, or corona*, to sizzle with high-energy x-rays and gamma rays and eject proton* and electron particles out toward the planets.But knowing what occurs is not enough. Robert Lin says scientists want to know what triggers the energy release."Our main objective is to understand how all the energy can be released from the sun in such a short time and how it can accelerate those particles to such high energies."To understand what causes solar flares, scientists must identify the different kinds of particles the sun spews out, locate the regions where this occurs, and determine when the particles get accelerated.That is where the NASA spacecraft called HESSI comes in. HESSI is the English acronym for High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager. Mr Lin, the principal investigator for it, says the craft will trace the origin and movement of the particles."HESSI is going to look at these particles by looking at the x-rays and gamma rays that these particles produce. These are the very highest energy light that one can .see."Although several US, European, and Japanese satellites are observing atmospheric process on the sun, HESSI will be the first to trace the atomic particles from their origin. NASA solar physicist Brian Dennis says the spacecraft will do it with high-resolution* color motion pictures.NASA says that HESSI, working with the other solar observatories, will provide scientists with vital insight into the sun's impulsive energy release.Exercise ADirections: Listen to the science report and complete the summary.This science report is about the study of solar flares.Exercise BDirections: Listen to the report again and fill in the following passage with the missing words.The sun is spitting out streams of hot, electrically charged atomic particles that can disrupt life on the earth. This phenomenon is known as solar flares. The most powerful solar flares can throw tons of charged atomic particles at us at nearly the speed of light and wreak havoc on communications and electrical power systems.Previous observations indicate that solar flares occur when energy stored within solar magnetic fields is suddenly released. The magnetic fields twist, snap, and recombine heating solar gas to tens of millions of degrees. This causes the solar atmosphere, or corona, to sizzle with high-energy x-rays and gamma rays and eject proton and electron particles out toward the planets.NASA is launching a spacecraft, HESSI, the English acronym for High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, to investigate this phenomenon, to understand what causes solar flares. HESSI will be the first to trace the atomic particles from their origin.Part2 PassageWhy Abortion in America Has Become a Social Problem!1. As legalized abortion has become an everyday part of American life, a different side to it has emerged.2. The original idea was that women who truly did not want a baby, should not have to have one.3. For thousands of years, women have become pregnant in their teens and early twenties, and the babies they bore grew up to be the next generation of the human race.4. A mother who wants to be with her baby, but can't be, will be having a very difficult time at work.5. If we do not take steps to provide more support for our young women, and their pregnancies and childbearing, Post Abortion Stress Syndrome will rise to the level of a national epidemic, with serious consequences for society as a whole.Before 1973, abortion was illegal in America unless the woman's health was threatened. If medically contraindicated, a woman could choose to not carry the baby to term, a doctor could perform the abortion, and it would not be a crime. As legalized abortion has become an everyday part of American life, a different side to it has emerged.The original idea was that women who truly did not want a baby, should not have to have one. While pregnancy may be a blessed act when planned or wanted, forced pregnancy is anathema to American values and traditions. Our Constitution protects women against forced pregnancy.Where women once were aborting because they "did not want a child", the reasons being given now are becoming very different. Abortion has turned into something that women are being coerced into from boyfriends or husbands unwilling to be fathers, out of fear of the financial pressure, out of panic from losing their jobs, out of panic from having to quit school, or become homeless, or out of fear of their parents kicking them out into the street.Abortion for these reasons can lead to problems that develop when a woman is unable to work through her emotional responses resulting from the trauma of an abortion. P.A.S.S. (Post Abortion Stress Syndrome) can have many serious side effects, ranging from depression to eating disorders, to as severe as suicide. There are women who abort and do so completely of their own free will. These women have no regrets, no remorse, and are happy they had this choice available. But a growing number of women are speaking up about how abortion affected them adversely.For thousands of years, women have become pregnant in their teens and early twenties, and the babies they bore grew up to be the next generation of the human race. However in the last 25 years, our society has changed. Should young women who are pregnant have to give up their schooling if they want to continue it? No. Should the government provide the daycare? Yes. Should the government pay if the woman wants to stay home and care for her baby herself? Yes. Why? Because a mother takes the best care of her child. A mother who wants to be with her baby, but can't be, will be having a very difficult time at work.So it's obvious that the United States stands alone in their view that pregnant women and parents with infants and young children should take care of all their needs themselves: My solution to this conflict is that our government should take a more "European" view of childbearing and cares of young children, and increase support in this area. If we do not take steps to provide more support for our young women, and their pregnancies and childbearing, I believe that Post Abortion Stress Syndrome will rise to the level of a national epidemic, with serious consequences for society as a whole.Exercise A Pre-listening QuestionAbortion, termination of pregnancy before birth, especially induced abortion, has become one of the most intense and polarizing ethical and philosophical issues of the late 20th century. Modern medical techniques have made induced abortions simpler and less dangerous. But in the United States, the debate over abortion has led to legal battles in the courts, in the Congress of the United States, and state legislatures.On one side are pro-choice supporters - individuals who favor a woman's reproductive rights, including the right to choose to have an abortion. Pro-choice defenders believe the fetus is only a potential human being until it is viable. Until this time the fetus has no legal rights - the rights belong to the woman carrying the fetus, who can decide whether or not to bring the pregnancy to full term. On the other side are the pro-life advocates, who oppose abortion except in extremecircumstances, as when the mother's life would be threatened by carrying a pregnancy to term. Pro-life supporters believe the fetus is a human being from the time of conception. As such, the fetus has the legal right to life from the moment the egg and sperm unite.A variety of ethical arguments have been made on both sides of the abortion issue, but no consensus or compromise has ever been reached.Exercise B Sentence DictationDirections: Listen to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times.Exercise C Detailed ListeningDirections: Listen to the passage and answer the following questions.1. In the year of 1973. Before that, abortion was illegal in America unless the woman's health was threatened.2. A different side to abortion has emerged when legalized abortion has become an everyday part of American life.3. Americans think that a forced pregnancy is anathema to American values and traditions.4. The speaker says the Constitution protects women against forced pregnancy.5. Boyfriends or husbands are unwilling to be fathers out of different fears.6. Abortion for these reasons can lead to problems that develop when a woman。