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1、Unit 1The Hospital Window Jack and Ben, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. Jack, whose bed was next to the rooms only window, was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. But Ben had to spend all day and night flat on his bed.
2、To kill time the two men began to talk. They talked for hours about their wives, families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, and where they had been on vacation. As days went by, a deep friendship began to develop between them. Every afternoon when Jack could sit up
3、, he would pass the time by describing to Ben all the things he could see outside the window. And Ben began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks a
4、nd swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees beautified the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As Jack described all this in exquisite detail
5、, Ben would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scenes. One warm afternoon Jack described a parade passing by. Although Ben couldnt hear the band - he could see it in his minds eye as Jack portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed. One morning the day nurse arrived to bring w
6、ater for their baths only to find the lifeless body of Jack, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away. Ben was heart broken. Life without Jack was even more unbearable. How he longed to hear Jacks voice and his melodious descript
7、ions of the outside world! As he looked at the window, an idea suddenly occurred to him. Perhaps he could see for himself what it was like outside. As soon as it seemed appropriate, Ben asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he wa
8、s comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself! He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall! What could have comp
9、elled my roommate to describe such wonderful things outside this window? Ben asked the nurse when she returned. Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you to live on, she said. You know, he was blind and could not even see the wall.Unit 2Embarrassing ExperiencesInterviewer: Rob, you went to Brazil, did
10、nt you?Rob: Yes, I did. Interviewer: So, what happened?Rob: Well, I went into this meeting and there were about, er. seven or eight people in there and I just said Hello to everybody and sat down. Apparently, what I should have done is to go round the room shaking hands with everyone individually. W
11、ell, you know, its silly of me because I found out later it upset everyone. I mean, I think they felt I was taking them for granted. Kate: Well, I know that because when I was in France the first time, I finished a meeting , with Goodbye, everyone! to all the people in the room. There were about hal
12、f a dozen people there but I was in a hurry to leave, so I just said that and left. Well, I later found out that what I should have done is shake hands with everyone in the group before leaving. Now, apparently, its the polite thing to do.Interviewer: Well, people shake hands in different ways, dont
13、 they?Rob: Oh, yes, thats right, they do. See, normally I shake hands quite gently when I meet someone. So when I went to the US for the first time, I think people there thought my weak handshake was a sign of weakness. Apparently, people there tend to shake hands quite firmly.Kate: Oh, gosh, you kn
14、ow, that reminds me: on my first trip to Germany, it was a long time ago, I was introduced to the boss in the company when he passed us in the corridor. Well, I wasnt prepared, and I mean, I had my left hand in my pocket. And when we shook hands I realized my left hand was still in my pocket. Well,
15、that was, you know, very bad manners and I was quite embarrassed.Interviewer: And how about using first names? Have you made any mistakes there?Rob: Oh, yes, I have! When I first went to Italy I thought it was OK to use everyones first name so as to seem friendly. And I later discovered that in busi
16、ness you shouldnt use someones first name unless you are invited to. Oh, and you should always use their title as well. Kate: Hm, yeah, well, when I met people in Russia, you know, they seemed to be puzzled when I shook hands with them and said How do you do? Well, what they do when they greet a str
17、anger is to say their own names, so I had that all wrong!Rob: Oh, yes, I agree with that. Remembering names is very important. Interviewer: Shall we take a break? When we come back well move on to our next topic.Kate & Rob: OK.Unit 3Birthday Celebrations Around the World Chairman: Welcome to this sp
18、ecial birthday edition of One World. Yes, folks, weve been on the air for exactly one year now, and we thought it would be a nice idea to have a special program dedicated to birthday celebrations around the world. With us in the studio tonight we have Shaheen Hag and Pat Cane, who have a weekly colu
19、mn on birthdays in the Toronto Daily Star.Shaheen: Good evening.Pat: Good evening.Chairman: Shaheen, perhaps we could begin with you. How are birthdays celebrated in India?Shaheen: Well, perhaps were all assuming that everyone in the world celebrates their birthday. This just isnt the case. Low-inco
20、me families in India, for instance, simply cant afford any festivities. And most Muslims dont celebrate their birthdays.Pat: I think Shaheen has raised an interesting point here. The Christian church, too, was actively against celebrating birthdays, and in any case most people, until a couple of hun
21、dred years ago, couldnt even read and wouldnt have even been able to spot their birthday on a calendar anyway.Shaheen: Of course some Muslims do celebrate their birthdays. In Egypt, Turkey and Indonesia, for example, the rich people invite friends and families around. But not in small villages.Chair
22、man: Here in England your twenty-first used to be the big one. But now it seems to have moved to eighteen. Is that true?Pat: Yes, in most parts of the West eighteen is now the most important birthday. In Finland, for example, eighteen is the age when you can vote, you know, or buy wines, drive a car
23、 and so on. But in Japan I think you have to wait till youre twenty before you can smoke or drink.Shaheen: I know in Senegal, which is another Muslim country, girls get to vote at sixteen and boys at eighteen. And in Bangladesh, girls at eighteen and boys at twenty-one.Chairman: Thats interesting. I
24、 mean is it typical that around the world girls are considered to be more mature than boys?Shaheen: Yes, I think so, and there are some countries, particularly in South America, which have a big party only for girls. In Mexico and Argentina, for example, they have enormous parties for 15-year-old gi
25、rls.Pat: You know in Norway they have a great party for anyone whos not married by the time theyre thirty. Its kind of embarrassing. I mean you get pepper thrown at you.Chairman: Pepper? Why pepper?Pat: Im not really sure.Shaheen: So does that mean that on your 29th birthday you can start thinking G
26、od I better get married?Pat: Well, Im not sure how seriously they take it.Chairman: In England we have quite big parties for your fortieth, fiftieth, sixtieth and so on.Pat: Well, in Japan your eighty-eighth is considered .Chairman: Eighty-eighth?Pat: . to be the luckiest birthday. Eight is a very l
27、ucky number in Japan.Unit 4How to Use an OHP M: I want to use the overhead projector for my presentation. Could you show me how to use it?W: OK, let me show you. Just watch what I do. I. Ill talk you through the procedure.M: Thanks. W: Right, well. First of all, you put the OHP on the table here, ab
28、out 2 meters from the wall or the screen. Er.do you have a screen?M: Er.no. I thought Id just use the wall.W: Oh, er.well, a screens better, but I suppose this wall will be all right. It is sort of white. Anyway, lets try it. So, the next thing you have to do is press these buttons in and lift this
29、part up until it snaps into place. M: I see.W: And then turn it round so the head is facing towards the screen, I mean the wall, and now we can plug it in. M: Right, and you switch it on?W: Yeah. Then I press the switch here on the front. M: Right. W: There! And the light should come on.M: Right, OK
30、.W: Yeah, there we are. So, you just place your transparency here on the glass.M: OK, there, oh!W: Oh, no! No, the other way up.M: Oh yes, of course.W: Thats right, yeah. And to raise or lower the image you move this flap up or down. There, thats better.M: Right, OK.W: And finally, to focus the imag
31、e you turn this wheel to make it sharp. There we are, thats not too bad.M: Oh, thats great, yeah. OK, thanks.W: Oh, one more thing: whatever you do, dont keep switching it on and off. Im going to switch it off now. Now, when you use it in your presentation, you should leave it switched on, with a pi
32、ece of paper over the glass.M: Right, I.er. I dont understand why you have to leave it on.W: Well, the reason why you have to do that is that you dont want the bulb to fail. The bulb fails easily if the machine is on and off frequently. If it does, youll have to replace the bulb, which will be very
33、hot and you may not have a spare anyway. So thats about it. Any questions?M: Erm.no, that seems all very clear. Thank you very much. W: Youre welcome. Oh, and I really do think you need to get a screen, by the way. The picture would be much brighter than on that wall, you know.M: Oh, OK. Well, Ill a
34、sk Jim if hes got one.W: Oh, good idea! And make sure he shows you how to put it up! M: I will. Thanks again.Unit5How Our Memory Works Try to imagine a life without a memory. It would be impossible. You couldnt use a language, because you wouldnt remember the words. You couldnt understand a film, be
35、cause you need to hold the first part of the story in your mind in order to understand the later parts. You wouldnt be able to recognize anyone - even members of your own family. You would live in a permanent present. You would have no past and you wouldnt be able to imagine a future. Human beings h
36、ave amazing memories. Apart from all our personal memories about our own lives, we can recall between 20,000 and 100,000 words in our own language as well as possibly thousands more in a foreign language. We have all sorts of information about different subjects such as history, science, and geograp
37、hy, and we have complex skills such as driving a car or playing a musical instrument. All these things and countless others depend on our memory. How well you remember things depends on many different factors. Firstly, some people naturally have better memories than others, in just the same way as s
38、ome people are taller than others, or have different color eyes. Some top chess players, for example, can remember every move of every game that they have ever seen or played. Secondly, research shows that different things are stored in different parts of the brain. Ideas, words, and numbers are sto
39、red in the left-hand side, while the right-hand side remembers images, sounds, and smells. In most people one side of the brain is more developed than the other, and this may explain why some people can remember peoples faces easily, but cant remember their names. Thirdly, we all remember exciting,
40、frightening, or dramatic events more easily. This is because these experiences produce chemicals such as adrenaline, which boost your memory. They say that anyone who is old enough to remember knows exactly where they were on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, when radio and TV programs around the world w
41、ere interrupted with the shocking news that the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York were hit. Fourthly, the context in which you learn something can affect how well you remember it. Tests on divers, for example, showed that when they learned things underwater, they could also remember
42、those things best when they were underwater. Lastly, the more often you recall a memory the more likely you are to remember it. If you dont use it, youll lose it. A telephone number that you dial frequently will stay in your memory easily, but you will probably have to write down one that you use on
43、ly now and again.Unit 6The Embarrassment of RichesThe meaning of wealth today is usually defined as the amount of money and material goods that one has accumulated and the ability to purchase more goods at an ever-increasing rate. A wealthy person possesses so much money that it would be difficult f
44、or him to spend it all in his lifetime without being wasteful and extravagant.Speaking from a strictly practical point of view, the trouble with wealth is not that it arouses envy in the hearts of others but that it weighs very heavily upon the resources of its owner. Those who have never tasted lux
45、ury imagine that a new Porsche, a Picasso in the drawing room, an apartment in the Trump Tower, will bring them ease and happiness. If that were true, owners of the Porsches, Picassos, and Trumps of the world would all be happy souls. One glance at history tells you they are not.The problem is not s
46、imply that owning goods feeds upon itself, generating desires to possess more and to outdo other owners in a competitive madness. Its that goods themselves are an endless responsibility. They must be not only paid for but also stored, insured, and publicly admired. All of those cost not just money b
47、ut personal freedom. As James Boswell, the famous British biographer, once wrote in his diary, If a man with a fortune cannot make himself easier and freer than those who are not, he gains nothing. Nothing except glittering baggage that must be attended to. In some Oriental countries poverty has nev
48、er been such a disgrace as it is in the get-rich-quick zone. Wise men from these lands often remark on the tyranny of goods. According to an old Persian proverb, The larger a mans roof, the more snow it collects. And in his discussion of Houses, a Lebanese poet and philosopher compares the lust for comfort to a stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host, and then a master. The same sentiment is also expressed here in America by the great philosopher Ralph Emerson, who scorns the
