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 believe in cultivating hidden talents, buried and unrelated to what we do for a living.In ordinary life, I'm a civil engineer. I make a satisfying, comfortable living working quietly in my cubicle. But in my other life, I am a pianist, bringing to life with my own hands the genius of Bach, Mozart and Chopin.While __1__my engineering degree, I worked as a waitress in the dining hall of a retirement community. One day during a break, I discovered a piano in a meeting room. I sat down to play a few Bach Two-Part Inventions. Those crisp, driving rhythms and harmonics __2__into the hallways. Residents, numb from ceaseless easy-listening radio, tentatively peeked in, __3__ sat to listen.Disbelieving, they saw plain, old, invisible Mel, the lunch waitress."She plays the piano!" "Where did you study?" "How long have you played?" "Can you play Rachmaninoff?"They no longer wanted me to quickly and quietly disappear from their dining tables. "Mel, wait a minute. Who do you think was better, Gould or Horowitz?" I answered "Gould," and __4__.

词汇解析

1.cultivate

v. 培养,耕作,栽培

例句与用法:
The farmer still must cut down trees, clear a lot of land and cultivate the soil.
农民们还必须砍倒树木，清理大片土地进行耕耘。
We must cultivate our own garden and find the joy of doing it in our own heart.
我们都要做好自己工作，并且要在工作中找到精神上的乐趣。
John always tries to cultivate people who are useful to him.
约翰经常设法和对他有用的人结交。

2.talents

人才

例句与用法:
Her talents are quite extraordinary.
她才华出众.
She has a healthy respect for her rival's talents.
她有雅量, 能钦佩对手的才能.

3.buried

v. 埋葬
adj. 埋入的(沉没的)

例句与用法:
Both his grandparents were buried here.
他的祖父母都葬在这里。
He was buried in meditation.
他沉溺于沉思冥想。

4.cubicle

n. 寝室,小卧室

例句与用法:
A cubicle, used for work or study.
小房间小室，用于工作或学习
A technical sergeant hunches in a cubicle.
一位技术军士在一间小屋里弯腰坐着。

5.tentatively

adv. 试验的

例句与用法:
Tentatively it can be suggested that this is the main influence upon those who urge the abolition of capital punishment.
可以这样探讨性地提出，那些竭力主张废除死刑的人们主要是受怜悯的影响。