听力练习

【NPR边听边练】致力于提供新鲜有趣、饶有意味的时讯资料，致力于通过精听的方式促进听力提高，致力于不断开阔眼界和深入了解美国观点。

精听建议：
先完整地把一条新闻听一到三遍，争取掌握大意。然后，一句一句精听，力争每句话都听明白。遇到实在不懂的地方，再听写。

下面的文本材料中空缺部分里面要填的词都很简单，不过是一些值得注意的连读或者典型的美式发音哦，有些语速比较快。试试看，你能不能全部写对？

（参考文本，欢迎指出错误^^）

I'm 16. The other night, while I was busy thinking about important social issues, like what to do over the weekend and ___1___, I overheard my parents talking about my future. My dad was upset -- not the usual stuff that he and Mom and, I guess, a lot of parents worry about, like which college I'm going to, how far away it is from home and how much it's going to cost. Instead, he was upset about the world his generation is turning over to mine -- a world he fears has a dark and difficult future, if it has a future at all. He sounded like this: "There will be a pandemic that kills millions, a devastating energy crisis, a horrible worldwide depression and a nuclear explosion ___2___." As I lay on the living room couch, ___3___ their conversation, starting to worry about the future my father was describing, I found myself looking at ___4___ family photos. There was a picture of my grandfather in his Citadel uniform. He was a member of the class of 1942, the war class. Next to his picture were photos of my great-grandparents, Ellis Island immigrants. Seeing those pictures made me feel ___5___. I believe tomorrow will be better than today -- that the world my generation grows into is going to get better, not worse. Those pictures helped me understand why.

词汇解析

1.overheard

vt. 串音(偶而听到)

例句与用法:
I overheard him say/saying he was going to France.
我偶然听到他说他要到法国去.
I overheard them quarrelling.
我无意中听到他们吵架.

2.pandemic [pæn'demik]

adj. 全国流行的

3.devastating ['devəsteitiŋ]

adj. 破坏性的, 全然的

例句与用法:
The area is subject to devastating seasonal winds.
这个地区常遭破坏性季风的袭击。

4.horrible ['hɔrəbl]

adj. 可怕的,令人毛骨悚然的,令人讨厌的

例句与用法:
What a horrible pong!
臭死了!
My first attempt at a chocolate cake tasted horrible.
我首次试做的巧克力蛋糕难吃极了。
Horrible, isn't it?
讨厌极了，不是吗?

5.couch [kautʃ]

n. 长椅,睡椅,卧榻
v. 横躺,睡,暗示

例句与用法:
A couch performs a double service.
躺椅可以（坐卧）两用。

6.eavesdrop ['i:vzdrɔp]

v. 偷听