大学英语四级听力在线练习

大学英语四级考试,即CET-4,College English Test Band 4的'缩写,是由国家教育部高等教育司主持的全国性英语考试。以下是小编为大家搜索整理的大学英语四级听力在线练习，希望能给大家带来帮助!

大学英语四级听力在线练习 篇1

How Did Thanksgiving Turkey Get its Name?

感恩节“火鸡”是如何得名?

The U.S. Thanksgiving holiday is symbolized by its traditional food,a large bird we call a turkey. But turkey is certainly not from Turkey.

In fact,its English name is based on one big mistake. We could say it is a case of mistaken identity.

Let’s set the record straight.

The word “Turkey” has meant “the land of the Turks” since ancient times. The word “turkey” as it refers to the bird first appeared in the English language in the mid-1500s.

The misunderstanding over the word happened because of two similar-looking kinds of birds.

There is an African bird called the guinea fowl. It has dark feathers with white spots and a patch of brown on the back of its neck. Portuguese traders brought the guinea fowl to Europe through North Africa.

This foreign bird came to Europe through Turkish lands. So,the English thought of the bird as a “Turkish chicken.”

When Europeans came to North America,they saw a bird that looked like the guinea fowl. This bird was native to the North American continent.

Orin Hargraves is a lexicographer,someone who writes dictionaries. Hargraves explains what happened.

“Some Europeans saw an American turkey,thought that it was the guinea fowl,which at that time was called the ‘turkey cock,’ and so gave it the same name."

Hundreds of years later,we continue to call this North American bird “turkey,” even though it has no connection at all with the country Turkey,or even with Europe.

But English is not the only language with interesting -- and even questionable -- names for this North American bird.

The Turkish,for their part,call turkey “hindi,” the Turkish name for India. The reference to India probably comes from the old,wrong idea that the New World was in Eastern Asia.

The French call it “dinde,” a name that also connects the bird to India. “D’Inde” means “from India” in the French language. “Turkey” has similar names in several other languages.

So,what do they call this North American bird in India? Well,in the Hindi language,“turkey” is “tarki.”

But wait,there’s more. In Portuguese,the same bird is called “Peru,” after the South American nation.

Thanks to our VOA Learning English Facebook friends,we have a few more names for “turkey” to share with you.

The Vietnamese word for the bird is “gà ty” or western chicken. Our Facebook friend Nguyen Duc explains that “local chicken is smaller than western chicken.”

A Facebook friend in Myanmar explained that the Burmese word for “turkey” is “kyat sin.” The name translates to “elephant chicken” in English.

“That animal looks like a big chicken,” Zaw Myo Win explained.

The Dari language name for the bird,"fel murgh" also translates to “elephant chicken.”

Abdulla Kawer explained to us that “here in Afghanistan this name represents the size of this delicious meal.” He adds that he thinks the descriptive name “elephant chicken” is “better than a country name.”

I’m Ashley Thompson.

_______________________________________________________

Words in This Story

symbolize - v. to represent or express a particular idea or quality

translate - v. to change words from one language into another language

大学英语四级听力在线练习 篇2

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators announced Tuesday that they have agreed to an extended ceasefire after seven weeks of deadly fighting in Gaza.

The ceasefire took effect at 7 p.m. local time . Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced the truce from his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Egypt organized the truce. It calls for Israel to ease its blockade of Gaza. The agreement will permit shipments of humanitarian aid and building materials for repair and reconstruction in Gaza. The two sides will continue talks about Israels demand that Hamas militants surrender their weapons.

The United States said it strongly supports the truce.

Over 2,000 Palestinians,mostly civilians,and more than 60 Israelis were killed in the almost two month long conflict.

Belarus Meeting Fails to End Fighting in Ukraine

Ukraines President Petro Poroshenko and Russias President Vladimir Putin met in the Belarusian capital,Minsk,Tuesday. They failed to reach agreement about the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Mr. Poroshenko said the conflict would end with a secure border for Ukraine. He said there must be a block to transports of arms from Russia to the rebels.

Mr. Putin demanded that Russia be permitted to meet with the rebels and supply humanitarian aid.

Cambodian Opposition Gets Parliamentary Commissions

大学英语四级听力在线练习 篇3

From Learning English,this is In the News.

Nouri al-Maliki said Thursday that he would leave his position as prime minister of Iraq. His decision opened the way for Haider Jawad al-Abadi to take Mr. Malikis place.

Former colleagues describe Mr. Abadi as a good speaker and a direct person who is open to the ideas of others. He will need strong qualities. Among the issues facing the new prime minister are extremist militancy,religious division and political disputes.

The man now responsible for leading Iraq out of crisis was born in Baghdad. But he has lived much of his life outside the country. For example,he worked in Britain as an advisor in the engineering industry until the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.

His family suffered under the rule of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Saddams government arrested two of Mr. Abadis brothers in 1980 for their association with the Dawa Party and executed them two years later. In 1981,the government arrested a third brother for the same reason. That brother survived. But he spent 10 years in prison.

Mr. Abadi also was involved in the Dawa Party while in London. He served as an active party leader in exile.

He returned home to enter politics after Saddam was ousted from leadership. As communications minister,Mr.Abadi rebuilt telephone systems that had been destroyed by war. He also brought the first mobile and Internet communications services into the country.

大学英语四级听力在线练习 篇4

From Learning English,this is the Education Report.

During 3 months in 1994,800,000 Rwandans were killed in attacks led by ethnic Hutu militias. Most of the victims were ethnic Tutsis. Many organizations around the world are observing the 20th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide.

One of these groups is Shoah Foundation Student Association at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. It invited survivors to share their memories of the horrific event.

Yannick Tona has been traveling the world to talk about the genocide. He spoke about his experiences to a crowed of students at USC. He told them what happened in his country,and what happened to his own family.

I remember the first time I saw the killing. The first time I saw people been killed. The first time I saw bodies,said Tona.

He was only four years old at the time. He said he hid in bushes and heard screaming. He said he saw big bloody knives and bodies on the street everywhere. Mr Tonas one-year-old brother and his grandmother were killed.

Rwandan Edith Umugiraneza said she struggled with the guilt,she fought for surviving when her mother,brothers and many other relatives did not.

Because I was blaming,Why did I survive why I did not go with others? I had the question,Why,why? all the time,said Umugiraneza.

Ms Umugiraneza now lives in the United States. She said prayer and sharing stories with other survivors has helped her to heal.

大学英语四级听力在线练习 篇5

From Learning English,this is the Technology Report.

There are increasing calls for lawmakers to reconsider copyright laws that protect the owners of 3-D printing designs. But there is also concern that extensive laws could suppress new ideas. 3-D printers have spread from scientific labs to industrial workshops to private homes. And prices of 3-D printers continue to drop.

Designers demonstrate a large number of different machines at 3-D print shows. There are models that can produce complex copies of human organs. There are less costly 3-D printers that make toys for children or parts for home electrical devices.

One German automaker recently demonstrated an example of a car structure printed in one piece. And a Chinese manufacturer advertised a house created in a 3-D printer.

With the help of computer,almost anyone can print exact copies of many kinds of objects. But they also violate the law in doing so.

Julie Samuels is a lawyer with the civil liberties group,Electronic Frontier Foundation. She says people should be careful about what they create when using 3-D printers.

If a certain design that you want to print is covered by copyright,then if you print that you are infringing,arguably,someones copyright,said Julie Samuels.

But 3-D companies are concerned about passing more restrictive copyright protection laws. They think these laws could place bans on the rights of citizens. They also believe restrictive copyright laws could suppress technological invention.

大学英语四级听力在线练习 篇6

From Learning English,this is the Economics Report.

International economists say they are hopeful about Africas economy. They say economic growth on the continent will increase by as much as five or six percent over the next two years. That would be the continents highest growth rate since the worldwide economic recession in .

Economic experts say the growth is partly because governments have established policies inviting to foreign investors. They say increased trade among African nations is also growing the continents economy. And the experts say the growth is widespread. They made the observations in the African Economic Outlook report.

The African Development Bank,the United Nations Development Program and the OECD Development Center produced the report together. Angela Lusigi is a U. N. Development Program economist and policy adviser for Africa.

A lot of people think growth in Africa,they think the only driven by mineral wealth or oil-exporting countries,but we find now the report that even countries that are not resource rich are still growing effectively. This is mainly because of their agricultural sector but also growth in services [including tourism] and a little in manufacturing,said Lusigi.

The report says Africas top foreign trade partner is Europe. About 40 percent of African trade is with European nations. 25 percent is with Asian countries and about 12 percent is with North America.

大学英语四级听力在线练习 篇7

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem says his nation is willing to work with the international community in the fight against Islamic State militants. He also appealed to others to end their support for the militants. The official spoke Monday; the day after Syria lost a major airbase in the northern Raqqa province.

Mr. Moallem said,My government is ready to cooperate and coordinate both regionally and internationally to fight terrorism.

He said that the Islamic State militants and Jabhat al-Nusrat,another jihadist group,are more dangerous than the Taliban or al-Qaida. The two groups have fought against the U.S. and its NATO allies since 2001

But,Mr. Moallem warned against U.S. airstrikes in Syria. He said any action in Syria must be approved by Syria. He warned that Syria could attempt to shoot down U.S. warplanes that take action without approval. The Syrian foreign minister also accused both Qatar and Turkey of supporting the militants.

Ukraine Says Russian Military Has Crossed Its Border

A top Ukrainian official said Monday Russian tanks and other military vehicles had crossed into southeastern Ukraine.

A spokesman for Ukraines National Security Council,Andriy Lysenko,said the group of 10 tanks,two armored vehicles and two trucks crossed the border near Shcherbak. He said the Russian military vehicles were flying flags of separatist Donetsk rebels.

大学英语四级听力在线练习 篇8

From Learning English,this is Science in the News. Im Faith Lapidus.

And Im Mario Ritter. Today we tell about herbs and spices,and some of their many uses.

People have been using herbs and spices for thousands of years. Generally,herbs come from the green leaves of plants or vegetables. Shttps://p.9136.com/1ce from other parts of plants and trees.

Some herbs and spices are valued for their taste. They help to sharpen the taste of many foods. Others are chosen for their smell. Still others were used traditionally for health reasons.

When people think of improving their diet,they often talk about eating more fruits and vegetables. Others want to eat more fish and less red meat,in addition to reducing the amount of food they eat. But,they can improve their diets even more with just a simple addition.

American researchers have found that a diet rich in spices can help reduce the harmful effects of eating high fat meals. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University reported the findings.

Penn State Associate Professor Sheila West led an investigation of the health effects of a spice-rich diet. Her team knew that a high-fat meal produces high levels of triglycerides,a kind of fat,in the blood.

She said,If this happens too frequently,or if triglyceride levels are raised too much,your risk of heart disease is increased. We found that adding spices to a high-fat meal reduced triglyceride response by about 30 percent,compared to a similar meal with no spices added.

大学英语四级听力在线练习 篇9

From Learning English,this is the Agriculture Report.

Climate researchers met recently in Cameroon to talk about threats to Africas land and animals. They said they believe the continent may lose as much as 30 percent of its animal and plant species by the end of this century. They blame the expected losses on the warming of earth,population growth and unrestricted development.

The researchers represent 20 African,American and European universities. They say countries south of the Saharan desert are losing forest faster than any place on earth. Wood companies are cutting down trees to meet growing demand from China,Europe and the United States.

The population is growing at 3 percent per year. There are now homes,factories and farms on land that once was forest. Many African animals and plants no longer have a place to live as result. Climate change also continues to threaten species.

Thomas Smith is the director of the Center for Tropical Research at the University of California.

With a 1.5 degree rise in global temperature,Africa may lose 30 percent of its animals and plants. And unfortunately with the increase in CO2 that has been now estimated to be up to three degrees in terms of rising global temperatures -- that means we may lose 40 percent of all mammal species in Africa by the end of the century,said Smith.

The African chimpanzee is one such animal at risk. Mary Katherine Gonder is a professor in the Department of Biology at Drexel University in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania.