《英语高级口语》（文本+MP3）

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Lesson 1

            Does Television Play a Positive or
            Negative Role in the Modern Society?
 
                          Text

      Do the Advantages of Television Outweigh the Disadvantages?
  Television is now playing a very important part in our life. But television, like other things, has both advantages and disadvantages. Do the former outweigh the latter?


  In the first place, television is not only a convenient source of entertainment, but also a comparatively cheap one. For a family of four, for example, it is more convenient as well as cheaper to sit comfortably at home, with almost unlimited entertainment available, than to go out in search of amusement elsewhere. They do not have to pay for expensive seats at the theatre, the cinema, or the opera, only to discover, perhaps, that the show is disappointing.

All they have to do is press a button, and they can see plays, films, operas, and shows of every kind, not to mention political discussions and the latest exciting. football match. Some people, however, maintain that this is precisely where the danger lies. The television viewer takes no initiative. He makes no choice and exercises no judgment. He is completely passive and has everything presented to him without any effort on his part.


  Television, it is often said, keeps one informed about current events, allows one to follow the latest developments in science and politics, and offers an endless series of programmes which are hoth instructive and entertaining. The most distant countries and the strangest customs are brought right into one's stitting-room. It could be argued that the radio performs this service just as well; but on television everything is much more living, much more real. Yet here again there is a danger. We get so used to looking at it, so dependent on its flickering pictures, that it begins to dominate our lives.


  There are many other arguments for and against television. The poor quality of its programmes i.s often criticized. But it is undoubtedly a great comfort to many lonely elderly people. And does it corrupt or instruct our children? I think we must realize that television in itself is neither good nor bad. It is the uses to which it is put that determine its value to society.



II . Read
  Read the following passages. Underline the important viewpoir while reading.

1. Why Watch Television? Matthew: Television is undoubtedly a great invention, but one of the main
you've criticisms of it is that people just aren't selective
enough. I.esley,got a television; how do you pick out the sorts of
programmes you want to watch?
　

Lesley: I t.ry and look at the prograxnmes that are on to decide which  
particular ones interest me, rather than you turning it on a seven
o'clock and you leaving it on until half-past eleven when the
programmes finish.
　

Matthew: Do you think of television though as a great time-waster?
Lesley: Un ...I think it can be a time-waster and it depends on how particular  
people are about what they want to see...Mm, it can just be a sort of
total amusement for someone and totallve consuming without really
considering what it is they're watching.
　

Matthew: Aha, but how do you prevent it coming into your life and taking over
your evenings and at the same time perhaps get . . . get out of the
television some of the sort of best things...best programmes that...
that undoubtedly are on television?
　

Lesley: Well,I suppose one of the problems is ...will depend on what a person's
life style is, and that if he has other outside interests
which are equally important to him as television, he will then, you
know, mm . . . be more careful about which programmes
he wants to watch because he has time which he wants to use for
other things.
　

Matthew: Do you think though that... that in . . . in a sense television has
killed people's own er...sort of , creativity or their ability
to entertain themselves because if they're bored all they do is just
turn on the television?
　

Lesley: Yes, I think that is a danger, and I think that. .in fact is what is  
happening to a lot of people who use it as their ... their main...um
field of amusement and ... because they don't have other outside
interests and even when people come round they'll leave the television
on and not be, you know, particularly interested in talking to them,
you Know the television will be the main thing in the room.
　

Matthew: Peter, have you got a television?
Peter: I have, in fact I've got two televisions.
Matthew: Do you watch them a lot?
Peter: Er ... no I...I watch very seldom er ... In fact, I find that I watch
television most when I'm most busy, when I'm working hardest and I
need some sort of passive way of relaxing, something which requires
nothing of me, then I watch television a lot. When I've got more energy
left...um ...in my own private time, in my free time, then I find I do
moredifferent things. I do things like um reading, or going out, or
working on anything . . . my hobbies.
　

Matthew: Do you think though that people can live a perfectly happy life if
they haven't got a television?
Peter: Oh yes, I think people who don't have a television or people who    
entertainment.don' t watch television can be expected to be more
happy. You canassume I think if they never watch television they are
happier people than the people who watch a lot of television,
because I think that television goes with the kind of life which
leaves you with nothing tospare, nothing left, you have to be given
potted, passive entertainment.
　

Matthew: Bot in that case you ...you seem as though you're completely
against television, is that true?
Peter: No,it's not. I...I have a television in fact,I have two as I said, but
er I ... I ...I think there's a dilemma, a difficult situation.
Television in itself is very good; a . . . a lot of the information
and a lot of the programmes are very instructive, they introduce you
to things you may never have thought of before or never have heard
about before. But in watching, it makes you very passive; you sit for
hour after hour and you get very receptive and very unquestioning aud
it seems to me the important thing in life is to be active, to . . . to
do things, to think things and to be as creative as possible, and
television prevents this.

              2. Children and Television
  Housewife: What do I think of television? Um, um, well, um, it keeps the family at home, the kids don't go oot at night so much now, they come straight in from school most of them, they run in and straight, well the television's on when they come in, I watch it myself during the afternoon. Er, well it's company really and, er, well, then the kids come home, they eat their tea, I have no trouble with them eating their tea because they just ...

　

well, they don't even look at what they eat, they just sit down and, erm, they eat it and they like the programmes and, and it keeps them quiet while I' m cooking the tea for their dad when he comes home an hour later and tea is ready when the news is on when he comes in, and, er and the news is on or perhaps the football match or something, er, they have to be quiet then,they're not very interested in that themselves, they like the cartoons and things but, em, yeah, well, I think television's great, er, we get on

much better in the house now, um, well, we've got things to talk about, erm, you know, if I miss a programme, er, if I' m cooking or something in the kitchen, I miss a bit of what's going on, I mean I have the door open so I can hear, but if I miss a bit then they will tell me, and then perhaps later or perhaps the next day we' ll have a chat about it, you know. It gives us something to talk about really. Um, I don't think it hurts the kids, I don't think it's a problem, you know, like, er, it stops them, makes their eyes go funny or something, I don't think it,s a problem like rhat. I don't think it's a problem at all. They've... they've learned a lot from television, I think, they're always piping up with questions and learning a lot from the television.

            3. Television Is Doing IrreparabIe Harm
  "Yes, but what did we use to do before there was television?" How often we hear statements like thisl Television hasn't been with us all that long, but we are already beginning to forget what the world was like without it. Before we admitted the one-eyed monster into our homes, we never found it difficult to occi.spy our spare time.

We used to enjoy civilised pleasures. For instance, we used to have hobbies, we used to entertain our friends and be entertained by them, we used to go outside for our amusements to theatres, cinemas, restaurants and sporting events. We even used to read books and listen to music and broadcast talks occasionally. All that belongs to the past. Now all our free time is regulated by the `goggle box' . We rush hom.e or gulp down our meals to be in time for this or that programme.

We have even given up sitting at table and hading a leisurely evening meal, exchanging the news of the day. A sandwich and a glass of beer will do-anything, providing it doesn't interfere with the programme. The monster demands and obtains absolute silence and attention. If any member of the family dares to open his mouth during a programme, he is quickly silenced.


  Whole generations are growing up addicted to the telly. Food is left uneaten, homework undone and sleep is lost. The telly is a universal pacifier. It is now standard practice for mother to keep the children quiet by putting them in the living-room and turning on the set. It doesn,t matter that the children will watch rubbishy commercials or spectacles of sadism and violence-so long as they are quiet.


There is a limit to the amount of creative talent available in the world. Every day, television consumes vast quantities of creative work. That is why most of the programmes are so bad: it is impossible to keep pace with the demand and maintain high standards as well. When millions watch the same programmes, the whole world becomes a village, and society is reduced to the conditions which obtain in pre -literate communities. We become utterly dependent on the two most primitive media of communication: pictures and the spoken word.


  Television encourages passive enjoyment. We become content with second-hand experiences. It is so easy to sit in our armchairs watching others working. Little by little, television cuts us off from the real world. We get so lazy, we choose to spend a fine day in semi-darkness, glued to our sets, rather than go out into the world itself . Television may be a splendid medium of communication, but it prevents us from communicating with each other. We only become aware how totally irrelevant television is to real living when we spend a holiday by the sea or in the mountains, far away from civilization. In quiet, natural surroundings, we quickly discover how little we miss the hypnotic tyranny of King Telly.



                4. Television Is Good for People
  TV may be a vital factor in holding a family together where there are, for example, economic problems and husband and wife seem at breaking point. The dangerous influence is surely no more than what all of us are exposed to every day. . . in advertising, in the press.


  Primary and secondary education have improved out of all recognition
since the arrival of TV in the home and this is not only because of programmes designed for schools. Through TV a child can extend his knowledge and it provides vital food for his imagination.



                5. Television Is to Blame
  TV passes on to children the corrupting values of a corrupt society.
It's only a matter of time before we can give statistical evidence'of how many criminals society has given birth to in front of the TV on Saturday night.
You can blame TV for the fact that children take longer to learn to read these days and barely see the point any more of acquiring the skill. In my opinion watching TV should be strictly confined to "treats".
[此贴被竹影无风在2004-04-27 20:37重新编辑]

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Lesson 28

              Are Cars Doing More Harm Than Good?

                          Text

              Cars Only Bring Peogle Trouble

  Today any Chinese can enjoy the luxury of owning a private car--if he can afford it, that is. And to be able to afford it, you have first of all to pay a five or six figure sum to buy a machine. Even the toylike Polish midget Fiat costs something
like 20,000 yuan. Any decent car would cost ten times that much.
  But however large this initial sum you have to pay, the real drain on your purse is yet to come, in the running and maintenance of the machine--the various taxes, the fuel, and of course the repairs. The last item especially is a bottomless
pit. Any single repair may cost you thousands. If your car is of foreign make and you have to change a spare part, then God help you!

  The financial burden is not your only worry. When you buy a car, you are like an elderly.man who marries a young wife. You have to guard her jealously, and protect her from prowling wolves who are constantly at your gate. A famous violinist who bought a second-hand car last year had to buy a pair of binoculars at the same time too, because he had to watch the car from his window every few minutes. Not only the car itself, but accesories such as rear-view mirrors, batteries, even wheels are all objects of prey.


  I once read about a man in Shanghai who had the luck to win a car in a savings' lottery. Of course it was the cheapest of all cars, a Polish midget Fiat mentioned above. Nevertheless for the rnan who won it, it was the chance of a life time, and he could hardly believe in his own luck. But his joy was short-lived, for the troubles that followed were enough to put any man into utter despair.
  First of all he couldn't get a license plate. He was sent from place to place, and after months of running around and after having handed out around four thousand yuan ( the greater part of which as "good will gifts") he finally becarr.e the proud legal owner of the car.


  But his troubles were by no means over. Like the violinist, he found he had to guard his newly-wedded "bride" from all sorts of violations. In fact the whole family had to take turn s for the "night shift", which meant sleep in the car to protect her from night prowlers. Our friend had the hardest time because he is a tall fellow with long limbs.For him to sleep in a toy-like midget car was literally a form of torture. When he clarnbered out of the car in the morning, he found he could hardly walk. Obviously things couldn't go on like that and so in the end he found a place to park his car for the night-in a school about two bus-stops away. The distance was noth ing compared with the parking fee he had to pay the school every month.But the greatest inconvenience was the fact that he had to get his car out of the school before eight every morning when school starts.


  With conditions as they are in our country, one may well wonder who would ever want to own a private car. According to officially published figures, there were over 4,000 private cars in Beijing at the beginning of this year. That's a big leap from just over a hundred five years ago-a forty times increase. But in proportion to Beijing's population, the figure is piteously low, probably the lowest compared to other capitals in the world.


II . Read
  Read the following passages. Underline the important viewpoints while reading.

                1. The Advantages of the Car

  The use of the motor car is becoming more and more widespread in the twentieth century. As an increasing number of countries develop both technically and economically, so a larger proportion of the world's population is able to buy and use a car. Possessing a car gives a much greater degree of mobility, enabling the driver to move around freely. The owner of a car is no longer forced to rely on public transport and is, therefore, not compelled to work locally.

He can choose from a greater variety of jobs and probably changes his work more frequently as he is not restricted to a choice within a small radius. Travelling to work by car is also more comfortable than having to use public transport, the driver can adjust the heating in winter and the air conditioning in summer to suit his own needs and preference. There is no irritation caused by waiting for trains, buses or underground. trains, standing in long patient queues, or sitting on draughty platforms, for as long as half an


hour sometimes. With the building of good fast motorways long distances can be covered rapidly and pleasantly. For the first time in fhis century also, many people are now able to enjoy their leisure time to the full by making trips to the country or seaside at the weekends, instead of being confined to their immediate neighbourhood. This feeling of independence, and the freedom to go where you please, is perhaps the greatest advantage of the car.

　

                2. The Drawbacks of the Car

  When considering the drawbacks, perhaps pollution is of prime importance. As more and more cars are produced and used, so the emission from their exhaust pipes contains an ever larger volume of poisonous gas. Some of the contents of this gas, such as lead, not only pollute the atmosphere but cause actual harm to the health of people. Many of the minor illness of modern industrial society, headaches, tiredness, and stomach upsets are thought to arise from breathing polluted air. Doctors' surgeries are full of people suffering from illness caused by pollution.

　

It is also becoming increasingly difficult to deal with the problem of traffic in towns. Most of the important cities of the world suffer from traffic congestion. In fact, any advantage gained in comfort is often cancelled out in city by the frustration caused by traffic jams, endless queues of cars crawling bumper to bumper through all the main streets. As an increasing number of traffic regulation schemes are devised, the poor bewildered driver finds himself diverted and forced into one-way systems which cause even greater delays than the traffic jams they are supposed to prevent. The soaring cost of petrol and the increased licence fees and road tax all add to the driver's worries In fact, he must sometimes wonder if the motor car is such a boon, or just a menace.

　

          3. Cars Are the Major Cause of Road Accidents

  From the health point of view we are living in a marvellous age. We are immunised from birth against many of the most dangerous diseases. A large number of once fatal illnesses can now be cured by modern drugs and surgery. It is almost certain that one day rsmedies will be found for the most stubborn remaining disease. The expectation of life has increased enormously. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater than ever before, every day we witness the incredible slaughter of men, women and children on the roads. Man versus the motor-car! It is a never- ending battle which man is losing. Thousands of people the world over are killed or horribly mutilated each year and we are quietly sitting back and letting it happen.


  It has been rightly said that when a man is sitting behind a steering wheel, his car becomes the extension of his personality. There is no doubt that the motor-car often brings out a man's very worst qualities. People who are normally quiet and pleasant may become unrecognizable when they are behind a steering-wheel. They swear, they are ill-mannered and aggressive, wilful as two-year-olds and utterly selfish. All their hidden frustrations, disappointments and jealousies seem to be brought to the surface by the act of driving.


  The surprising thing is that society smiles so benignly on the motorist and seems to condone his behaviour. Everything is done for his convenience. Cities are allowed to become almost uninhabitable because of heavy traffic; towns are made ugly by huge car parks; the countryside is desecrated by road networks; and the mass annual slaughter becomes nothing more than a statistic, to be conveniently forgotten.


  With regard to driving, the laws of some countries are notoriously lax and even the strictest are not strict enough. The driving test should be standardised and made far more difficult than it is; all drivers should be made to take a test every three years or so; the age at which young peopleare allowed to drive any vehicle should be raised to at least 21; all vehicles should be put through stringent annual tests for safety.Even the smallest amount of alcohol in the blood can impair a person's driving ability.

Present drinking and driving laws (where they exist) should be made much stricter. Maximum and minimum speed limits should be imposed on all roads. These measures may sound inordinately harsh, but surely nothing should be considered as too severe if it results in reducing the annual toll of human life. After all, the world is for human beings, not motor-cars.

　

                  4. Road Accidents

  There are far too many road accidents in this country: too many deaths and too many people injured. One wonders who are most to blame: drivers or pedestrians. Some people say that the blame cannot be put fairly without considering the roads and the whole transport system. In crowded cities like London, Birmingham or Manchester, road conditions are so chaotic that both driver and pedestrian often endanger lives through no fault of their own. Such deficiencies as too many road signs, faulty traffic lights, sudden narrowing of a street, congested parking are all a sure indication of bad ioad conditions. On the other hand, many experts are convinced that the larger part of the blame for the death toll must be put on persons and persons alone: drivers who drive too fast and without any consideration for others, drivers

　

          One Day We May Need to Use This Ambulance

who think they are safe at the wheel even though they have drunk too much alcohol, drivers who, out of some curious sense of power, are incapable of understanding that their car is a lethal weapon if improperly used. Pedestrians, likewise, must share the guilt: stepping off the pavement without first looking to the left or right, crossing roads when the traffic lights are against them, jumping off a moving bus. To be fair, pedestrians, drivers and road conditions are all to blame.
  One looks forward to the day when the motor car has been replaced by some less dangerous means of transport.

　

              5. At the Scene of the Accident

Policeman:   Now, sir, I,m sorry to have kept you waiting. I had to look after the  
  traffic on the road until some more police arrived. You,re the driver
  of the blue car, I believe.
Mr.Simpson:   Yes.
Policeman:   Just a few questions, sir. Do you feel all right?
Mr.Simpson:   Yes, I'm... I'm fine now. I was a little shaken up at first.
Policeman:   Well, I'll try not to keep you long. I just want a few details, and the
  rest of the information I can get tomorrow. Can I have your name and
  address, please?
Mr.Simpson:   Jeremiah Simpson, 15 Portland Crescent, Leeds.
Policeman:   Have you got your driving licence and insurance certificate with you?
Mr.Simpson:   Yes... Oh, here they are.
Policeman:   M'hm... Thank you... Oh... Yes, they're all right. Now, were there any
  passengers in the car?
　

Mr.Simpson   Er yes, er my wife and a friend - a young lady. My wife was itting
  in the back and her friend in the front passenger seat.
Policeman:   Where are they now?
Mr.Simpson:   The ambulance has just taken them to hospital. You spoke to the
  ambulance driver before he set off. Did he say anything about
  the young lady?
Policeman:   He said that her injuries looked worse than they really were. The other  
  woman--that'd be your wife, I assume--appeared to be suffering from
  shock.
Mr.Simpson:   Yes, I know. They advised her to go to hospital for a check-up, just in
  case.
Policeman:   Mm. Was the young lady wearing her seatbelt?
Mr.Simpson:   No, unfortunately. I told her to put it on, but she couldn't adjust it.
  I didn't think it was worth stopping the car because we were only
  going a few miles.
　

Policeman:   Did she go through the windscreen?
Mr.Simpson:   No, she was very lucky. But she hurt her leg on the dashboard.
Paliceman:   Mm. It could've been much worse. Now, sir, will you tell me in your own
  words what happened?
Mr.Simpson:   Oh... Well, as you can see, I was travelling along this?main road when
  suddenly er the other car came out of er that sidestreet. It all
  happened so quickly. I just didn't see him until he hit me.
Policeman:   I've just spoken to the other motoriest and he says that you were
  speeding.
Mr.Simpson:   What?
Policeman:   Is this true?
Mr.Simpson:   That,s a lie. My wife and Becky'll tell you that I stopped at the away.
  pedestrian crossing just down there. You can see it's only fifty yards
  I could hardly have reached thirty miles an hour by the time I got here.
  Goodness knows what would've happened if I'd been going faster.
　

Policeman:   The other driver said that he stopped at the junction. When he pulled
  out there was nobody coming, so you must have been speeding.
Mr.Simpson:   Well, it' s not true. I've witnesses to prove it. He couldn't have
  stopped. The lighting is very good here along this stretch
Policeman:   Yes.He should have stopped.Why did you stop at the pedestrian crossing?
Mr.Simpson:   There were two old ladies on it. I'm always a bit careful with old
  people because they're likely to walk across the road without looking
  properly.
Policeman:   I shouldn't worry, sir. We don't think you were speeding--even without
  measuring the skid marks.
Mr.Simpson:   Er, was he-er, the other driver-drunk?
Policeman:   I don't know yet.He's admitted that he's had one or two drinks,but says  
  it was only two half-pints. We're going to give him a breathalyser test
  to see whether he's over the limit. If he is, he'll be asked to have a
  blood test.
　

Mr.Simpson:   Well, I haven't touched a drop all night!
Policeman:   No, sir. It's surprising how much a driver's breath smells even if he's  
  only had one drink. Well, sir, I don't think I need to detain you
  any longer. We shall want written statements from you, your wife and
  the young lady tomorrow.
Mr.Simpson:   Yes... What'll happen to my car? It's obvious that with that
  badly-damaged wheel I shan't be able to drive it.
Policeman:   We'il have to take some measurements of the skid marks and the
  positions of the cars. We' 11 arrange to have it towed away when we've  
  finished. If you ring the police station tomorrow, they'll tell you what
  to do.
　

Mr.Simpson   Thank you very much.
Policeman   Oh, er, by the way, is the young lady staying with you?
Mr.Simpson   No, she's a friend of my wife. She's staying at the Station Hotel.
  Her name is er Becky Softe. She has a friend with her and she'll need to
  be told about the accident, I suppose. I--I don,t know...
Policeman   We'll see to that. I expect you'll want to go to the hospital
  to see how your wife is.
Mr.Simpson   Yes, er I must go there now. I told my wife to wait there until I could
  collect her in a taxi. I hope they don't keep her in.
Policeman   If you feel well enough, you can get a taxi just around the next corner.
Mr.Simpson   Yes, I'm fine. Goodnight.
Policeman   Goodnight.

           

                6. The Alcohol Limit and the Punishment

  The limit of the amount of alcohol a driver is allowed to have in his blood is 80 milligrams for every 100 millilitres of blood: that is about one and a half litres of beer, or one double whisky.
  If the driver is convicted of "being drunk while in charge of a motor vehicle", the usual sentence is a ) a heavy fine. b ) disqualification from driving for 12 months.
  If the driver causes an accident, the sentence can be stricter. For example, a drunken driver who killed a pedestrian was sent to prison for 9 months, as well as being fined and losing his licence for a year. (A demonstrator who destroyed a tennis court as a protest was sent to prison for 18 months.)

　

            7. How Do Police Detect Drunk Drivers

  If the police suspect you of having drunk more than the limit (see above) they can ask you to blow into a breathalyser, which is a plastic bag; if the crystals inside turn green, the police can take you to a police station and take a blood sample. If the driver has had a drink less than 20 minutes before he is stopped, the breathalyser cannot be used.
  Officially the police can stop you only if they think you are driving badly, but in practice they sometimes simply stop drivers, and give them the breathalyser test.

　

          8. Different Opinions on the Alcohol Limit

  Chief Inspector Kale (Head of Southern Police) would like the alcohol limit lowered and sentences made tougher.
  Mrs. Nash (a lawyer) is often professionally involved in drinking and driving cases. She thinks judges are too kind, and that seniences should be made tougher.
Dr.Smalby has been asked to explain the effects of alcohol. He says fhat it slows down reactions, and affects vision.
  Mrs.Houghton, whose six-year-old son, Tommy, was killed by a drunken driver. She thinks the driver should have been sent to prison for life.


  Mr.Lambert knocked down a pedestrian while slightly drunk. He feels very guilty, and is convinced it would not have happened if he had not had a few drinks.
  Mr.Crosby lost his licence six months ago, and, as a result, his job. He feels he was driving quite properly, and that the law was, and is, far too stiict.
  Mrs.Austin lost her licence after having three whiskies. She was driving because her husband was drunk. She thinks she drives perfectly well after three whiskies and that the law is unfair.
  James Connery (a famous racing driver) thinks that everybody reacts differently to alcohol. (He would be quite safe after drinking three whiskies. ) He thinks the limit should be raised.
  Gabrielle Savage (a famous film actress) thinks ihe law should be abolished because it stops people having a good time.
（完）

Lesson 27

          Is the Prospect of Growing Old a Bleak One?

                          Text

            The Prospect of Growing OId Is Horrifying

  My father has an organic brain disease. It's Parkinson's disease, and in his case it has led to the additional trauma of Parkinsonian dementia. He is in and out of reality. At times, he is as clever as can be--until he sees snakes or space stations or trucks in his room.
  My mother and I together could no longer handle him at home. He required physical assistance for every move and his behavior became too unpredictable. At home, he never slept and neither did we. He also suffers from a narrowing of his spinal column, which pinches the nerves in his back and leaves him unable to find a painless position in bed.

  We brought him to the hospital, where he stayed for seven weeks, until its utilization review board decided he no longer needed hospital care. They kicked him out.
  We put him in a nursing home, recommended as top of the line, with one nursing aide for every 15 patients(if everyone shows up for work). My father cannot feed himself nor get to and from the bathroom. One nurse's aide with 15 patients cannot attend to his needs.


  So my mother spends seven to eight hours each day at the nursing home. My father cries, yells and does all he knows to keep her there. He thinks he is home and can't understand why she leaves him each evening. He thinks she has other men.
  He tells her she is boring a hole in his heart. She cries. The nursing home costs  $ 45, 000 per year. My father is lucky: Unlike most Americans, he has a decent union pension. But his pension, added to his Social Security paymet, puts him over the income eligibility levei for Medicaid in Florida. Not only is he disqualified from receiving Medicaid itself, his insurance only pays for claims certified by Medicaid.


  None of the diseases afflicting my father are fatal. He is 69 year's old, and both his parents lived to be 90. My family could be spending  $ 45, 000 a year for the next 20 years. It's money we don't have.
  My mother is heartsick. They worked and saved and bought insurance all their lives so that they could grow old in peace Now she doesn't know how she will live, let alone how to take care of him.
  A lawyer suggested to my mother that she divorce my father. Yet she is the one who feeds him, cleans him and loves him. Now, after 48 years of marriage, she is being counseled to divorce him so she can keep some funds back from the nursing home. We think about canceling his pension, but then neither of them would have any income.


II . Read
  Read the following passages. Underline the important viewpoints while reading.

                      l. About Old Age

Day:   - Professor McKay, can you tell me what you think your report on old people  
  will achieve?
Mckay:   We hope that it will help to change people's feelings about old age. The.
  problem is that far too many of us believe that most old-.people are poor,
  sick, lonely and unhappy. As a result, we tend to find old people, as a
  group,unattractive. And this is very dangerous for our society.
Day:   But surely we cannot escape the fact that many old people are lonely and
  many are sick.
Mckay:   No, we can't. But we must, also remember that the proportion of such people
  is no greater among the 60 to 70 age group than among
  the 50 to 60 age group.
Day:   In other vords, there is no more mental illness, for example, among the
  60's to 70's than among the 50's to 60's?
　

Mckay:   Right. And why should there be? Why should we expect people
  to suddenly change when they reach their 60th or 65th birthday any more than
  they did when they reached their 2lst? Now that the computer age has
  arrived in industry, the normal age for retirement
  may be lowered to 60 or even 55. Shall we then say that old age begins at
  55?
Day:   But one would expect there to be more physical illness among old people,
  surely?
　

Mckay:   Why should one expect this? After all, those people who reach the age of 65
  or 70 are the strong among us. The weak die mainly in childhood,then in
  their 40's and 50's. Furthermore, by the time people reach 60 or 65, they
  have learnt how to look after themselves they keep warm, sleep regular
  and eat sensibly. Of course, some old people do suffer from physical who
  illnesses, but these do not suddenly develop on their 65th birthday.People
  are healthy in middle age tend to be healthy in old age, just as one would
  expect.
Day:   Are people's mental abilities affected by old age?
Mckay:   Certain changes do take place as we grow older, but this happens
  throughout life. These changes are very gradual, and happen at different
  times with different people. But, in general, if you know a person well in
  his middle age and have seen how he deals with events and problems, you will
  easily recognize him in old age.
　

Day:   So that someone who enjoys new experiences--travel, education, and so on--in
  his middle years will usually continue to do so into old age?
Mckay:   Exactly. We have carried out some very interesting experiments in which a
  group of people aged 60 to 70 and a group aged 30 to 40 had to learn the
  same things. For example, in one experiment they began learning a new  
  language. In another, they learnt how to use three machines in order to make
  a piece of furniture. The first thing we discovered was that the young
  group tended to be quicker at learning than the old group. However,
  although the old group took longer to learn, eventually they   performed
  as well as the young group. And when we tested the two groups several weeks
  later, there was again no difference between the two groups.
　

Day:   That's very interesting indeed. What else did your experiments show?
Mckay:   Well, one group of old people agreed to attend evening classes for a year to
  study English and Mathematics. In fact, most of this group became so
  inteiested in their studies that they continued them for another year.
  Anyway, we discavered that they did best in the English classes, and that  
  most of them steadily improved their ability to communicate in both the
  written and the spoken language. This didn't really surprise us because
  other studies have had similar results. And, of course, you can think of a
  dozen writers who continued working almost to the day they died.
　

Day:   What about the group who studied Mathematics?
Mckay:   Well, that's a different story. There seems to be no doubt that people find
  maths more difficult as they grow older. Though why this is so, I cannot
  say.
Day:   Perhaps cheap pocket computers will solve this problem.
Mckay:   I think you're right. In fact, I'm sure that you are.
　


              2. The Oldest People in the World

  Thousands of people in the world are a hundred years old--or more. There are about two thousand centenarians in Britain alone, and certain parts of the world are famous for the long lives of their inhabitants: Georgia in the Soviet Union, the Vilacamba Valley in Ecuador, and the home of the Hunzas in the Himalayas. But the oldest person in the world is Japanese. In 1983 Mr.

Shigechiyo Izumi, aged 118, held first place in The Guinness Book of Records . He was born on June 29th, 1865 and beat the previous record on his 114th birthday. Before Mr. Izumi broke the record, the longest life was that of an American woman, Mrs. Eveline Filkins. She lived for 113 years, 214 days, from 1815 to 1928. During her lifetime she saw the invention of the first camera, the first telephone, the first car, the first aeroplane and the first television. There are official papers to prove the date of birth of Mr. Izumi and Mrs. Filkins, but many other people claim to be as old or older.



                3. The Secret of a Long Life

  Why do so many people live to a healthy old age in certain parts of the world? What is the secret of their long lives? Three things seem to be very important: fresh air, fresh food and a simple way of life. People work near their homes in the clean, mount.ain air instead of travelling long distances to work by bus, car or train. They do not sit all day in busy offices or factories, but work hard outdoors in the fields. They take more exercise and eat less food than people in the cities of the West. For years the Hunzas of the Himalayas did not need policemen, lawyers or doctors. There was no crime, no divorce and not much illness in thier society. They were a happy, peaceful people, famous all over India for their long, healthy lives.



                4. How Long Will You Live?

  Do you want to live to be a hundred? Here are some rules for success. First, choose your parents and grandparents carefully. If they lived to a good old age, so will you. Secondly, live in the right place. If you were not born in Georgia or Ecuador, there are other healthy places in the world, like East Anglia in Britain. Thirdly, c.hoose the right kind of job. Doctors, dentists and bus-drivers die young. Farmers, priests and orchestral conductors live much longer. If you are in the wrong kind of job, you can still improve your way of life.


  An old man in the Caucasus was talking about his past life. "I was young then," he said, as he described his 87th year. His secret and his advice was: "Think young and stay young.?An old woman from Missouri, USA, gives this advice . "Drink a little whisky and some warm beer every day." An English lady centenarian just said, "Take a cold bath every morning." On her 102nd birthday Miss Julia Thompson 2xplained the secret of her long and happy life. "Never have anything to do with men," she said. The shortest, simplest piece of advice came from Mr.Jim Chapman, aged 103. "Just keep breathing," he told reporters. What about Mr. Izumi? "I watch TV," he said, "and I never worry."
  But do you really want to be a hundred? What's wrong with the old saying, "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die."?

　

            5. Colleges for Old People Blooming

  China has set up 916 colleges for senior citizens, educating about 200,000 people in the pastfive years.
  The colleges offer more than 60 courses ranging from calligraphy, painting and gardening to qigong, massage and foreign languages.
  The students are mainly retired government functionaries but, according to an official from the Association of Colleges for the Elderly, the colleges are trying to serve senior citizens from the whole of society.


  Some institutions are already giving courses in gardening, crop planting and animal husbandry to old people from the countryside. According to a poll conducted by the Harbin senior citizens college in China's northeastern province of Heilongjiang, of its first 200 graduates, 71 per cent had recovered from chronic diseases since their registration, and 85 per cent were "very confident" that they will live longer.
  Many of the students are again working for the society instead of being just consumers. During each semester, about 60 per cent of the students of the college serve society while studying.

　

              6. The Fulfilment of One's Dreams

  It's only natural to look forward to something better. We do it all our lives. Things may never really improve, but at least we always hope they will. It is one of life's great ironies that the longer we live, the less there is to look forward to. Retirement may bring with it the fulfilment of a lifetime's dreams. At last there will be time to do all the things we never had time for. From then on, the dream fades. Unless circumstances are exceptional, the prospect of growing really old is horrifying. Who wants to live long enough to become a doddering wreck? Who wants to revert to that most dreaded of all human conditions, a second childhood?

Lesson 26

        Does Divorce Represent Social Progress?

                        Text

            Divorces-a New Social Phenomenon in China

  Divorce used to be very rare in our country. In old times it was not necessary for a man to divorce his wife as he could easily marry another or many others. But women were expected to suffer in silence, and for those who could not, suicide
was the only way out. Despite the new marriage laws after Liberation, women still found the feudal conventions too strong for them to break away from. The film The Well drove home this point only too well.

  It's only in the past decade, ever since our opening up to the outside world, that things are really beginning to change. The following story, dramatic as it sounds, is a true and far from unique story of our times.
  Thirty-year old Xia Yafang used to work in a research institute in Shanghai. Like most young people of her age her ambition was to go abroad and somehow she managed to land herself in Japan. She started to work as a casual labourer in a tourist company in Tokyo. Because of her industry and exceptional ability, and also partly due to chance, she worked herself up to the position of assistant-manager. A brilliant career lay ahead of her and her future looked ever so bright.


  When all seemed to be plain sailing Xiao Xia suddenly lost her peace of mind when she found the admiring eyes of the manager constantly fixed on her. The message the eyes sent out was too obvious to be mistaken. She read in them admiration, love and desire. She could not remain unmoved, but she was caught in a dilemma. She had a husband at home and also a little son. So when the manager formally proposed to her she naturally told him that the whole thing was impossible as she already had a happy little family. But nothing could put the manager off. So deep was his love for her. He pressed his suit and wanted her to divorce her husband and marry him instead. If she had been a single woman she would have accepted him without any hesitation. Now she did not know what to do.


  The manager gave her a fortnight's leave to go home and talk things over with her husband. If he agreed to let his wife go, the manager would pay him a substantial sum as compensation, and also make arrangement for their son to be brought up and settle in Japan.
  When she stepped down from her plane at the airport in Shanghai, she immediately spotted her husband with their child in his arm waiting in the crowd. When she saw him pushing his way through the crowd towards her, tears welled up in her eyes and she started to sob uncontrollably.


  In the days that followed, she was overwhelmed by her husband's loving care and tenderness. She just could not bring herself to talk about a divorce. In the end she left Shanghai without mentioning a word about her manager and his offer.
  But that was not the end of the affair. The manager just would not give her up. He decided to come to Shanghai in person and talk to her husband direct. For the first three days he behaved as if there was nothing between him and Xiao Xia. He let the couple take him around in Shanghai, having a nice time like any other tourist. In the process he managed to win the husband's friendship and trust. Then on the third night he invited the husband to his room in his hotel alone. There he put the whole thing to him openly and frankly, disguising nothing. The shock for the husband can well be imagined.


  He went home to his wife in a dazed state of mind. He didn't mention a word to his wife about his conversation with her manager. There was no need to. She didn't say anything either. She just gave him time to sort things.out for himself.
  When the initial shock was over, he started to do some clear thinking and cool calculation. His wife no longer loved him, at least not undividedly as before. Even if he should forcibly keep her, the shadow of the manager would always stand between them. She would have a much better future with the manager who could offer her much more than he could ever hope to offer. And their son, too, would have a much better future in that fabulously rich land.

Yes, he must admit it, he was thinking for himself too. The "compensation" the manager offered him was an astronomical figure. With it he could say good-bye to poverty for ever. He could even buy a luxury apartment, a car, and find a beautiful young wife... And so his feeling of loss, his wounded pride gave way to a new found equilibrium.
  After the necessary procedure of a divorce and her arrangements and application for another marriage, he saw his former wife and her future husband to the airport. What went through his mind as he watched their retreating figures walking
towards the plane?


  Xiao Xia's story was carried in Shanghaz Legal World. While refraining from moralizing himself, the writer asks the readers to draw their own moral and ethical conclusions. I know many similar cases involving people close to me. In fact I had to act as the legal representative for one. The woman in the office that handled the case told me that such divorce cases ( involving one party that has gone abroad ) are very common. So long as no questions of property or care of children are involved, divorces are granted without any questions asked.




II . Read
  Read the following passages. Underline the important viewpoints while reading.

                  1. On Splitting

  One affternoon recently, two unrelated friends called to tell me that, well, their marriages hadn't made it. One was leaving his wife for another woman. The other was leaving her husband because " we thought it best."
  As always after such increasingly common calls, I felt helpless and angry. What had happened to those solemn vows that one of the couples had stammered on a steamy August afternoon three years earlier? And what had happened to the joy my wife and I had sensed when we visited the other couple and their two children last year, the feeling they gave us that here, in this increasingly fractionated world, was a constructive union?


  I did not feel anger at my friends personally: Given the era and their feelings, their decisions probably made sense. What angered me was the loss of years and energy. It was an anger similar to that I feel when I see abandoned faundations of building projects - piled bricks and girders and a gash in the ground left to depress the passerby.
  When our grandparents married, nobody except scandalous eccentrics
divorced. "As long as we both shall live?was no joke. Neither was the trepidation brides felt on the eves of their wedding days. After their vows, couples learned to live with each other-- not necessarily because they loved each other, but because they were stuck, and it was better to be stuck comfortably than otherwise.


  Most of the external pressures that helped to enforce our grandparents' vows have dissolved. Women can earn money and may enjoy sex, even, bear children, without marrying. As divorce becomes more common, the shame attendant on it dissipates. Some divorcees even argue that divorce is beneficial, educational, that the second' on third or fifth marriage is "the best". The only reasons left to marry are love, tax advantages, and, for those old-fashioned enough to care abour such things, to silence parental kvetching.


  In some respects, this freedom can be seen as social progress. Modern couples can flee the corrosive bitterness that made Strindberg's marriages
night-mares. Dreiser's Clyde Griffiths might have abandbned his Roberta instead of drowning her.
  In other respects, our rapidly-rising divorce rate and the declining. marriage rate (as more and more couples opt to forgo legalities and simply Iive together) represent a loss. One advantage of spending a lifetime with a person is seeing each other grow and change. For most of us, it is possible to see history in the bathroom mirro--gray Hairs, crow's feet, yes, but not a change of mind or temperament. Yet, living with another person, it is impossible not to notice how patterns and attitudes
change and not to learn - about yourself and about time --from those perceptions.


  Perhaps the most poignant victim of the twentieth centatry is our sense of continuity. People used to grow up with trees, watch them evolve from saplings to fruit bearers to gnarled' and unproductive grandfathers. Now unless one is a farmer or a forester there is almost no point to planting trees because one is not likely to be there to enjoy their maturity. We change addresses and occupations and hobbies and lifestyles and spouses rapidly and readily, much as we change TV channels.


  In our grandparents' day one committed oneself to certain skills and disciplines and developed them. Caipenters spent lifetimes learning their craft; critics spent lifetimes learning literature. Today, the question often is not "What do you do?" but "What are you into?" Macrame one week, astrology the next, health food, philosophy, history, jogging, movies, EST - we fly from "commitment" to "commitment" like bees among flowers because it is easier to test something than to master it, easier to buy a new toy than to repair an old one.


  I feel sorry for what my divorced friends have lost. No matter how earnestly the former spouses try to "keep in touch," no matter how generous the visiting privileges for the parent who does not win custody of the children, the continuity of their lives has been broken. The years they spent together have been cut off from the rest of their lives; they are an isolated memory, no more integral to their past than a snapshot. Intelligent people, they will compare their next marriages -- if they have them - to their first. They may even, despite not having a long shared past, notice growth. What I pray, though, is that they do not delude themselves into believing, like so many Americans today, that happiness is only measurable moment to moment and, in the pursuit of momentary contentment, forsake the perspectives and consolation of history.


  There is great joy in watching a tree grow.

                    2. Kramer vs Kramer

  Ted Kramer is a rising young executive in an advertising firm. He has just been promoted to a new responsible post and a brilliant career is before him. When he comes home with the happy news, his wife Joanna announces her decision to leave him. At first he doesn't take her seriously, thinking it was just a passing mood. He just can' t imagine why she should want to abandon a comfortable life (he brings in good money) and a happy family (they have a lovely boy). In all fairness he has never ill-treated her.


  But to Joanna her married life has been an utter failure -- meaningless fatal hour, Joanna turns up, not to take Billy away, but to announce her decision to give up her claim to the custody of her son. She has come to realize how much father and son now mean to each other and she has no heart to upset their lives again. In sorrow and in tears all she asks for is a last meeting with her son before she goes out of their lives forever.

　

            3. Problems Arising from Living Apart

  The Chinese household registration system forbids permanent dwelling without legal registration with the local public security units. Yet many people leave their hometowns - bringing with them their residence cards -- to get further education or to join the army, or because they are transferred to jobs in other places.


  The separation of married couples thereby occurs, and it has become a growing concern in China for the various problems it causes. Separation can lead to family crisis or divorce. Just as a society as a Whole requires solidity, a family.demands unity and stability. But this is exactly what separated couples lack -- as well as the happiness that comes from living together. As a result, some couples end up permanently separated and divorced, as emotional ties between husband and wife erode.
  The damage is not confined to the couples alone. The absence of normal family life can leave the children ill-educated and the aged uncared for, which can contribute to the instability of the whole society.


  For those living apart (an estimation of 6 million), the government grants one month paid home leave every year to one spouse. This equals more than 10 million lost work days, the equivalent of 300, 000 people not working at all each year. In addition to the travel expenses, this costs the government a total of 2.2 billion yuan a year.
  Moreover, these "travellers" add to congestion in the already overloaded public transportation system.


  To end the misery of living apart, some couples seek.solutions by "back-door" means, by inviting officials to parties or presenting them with gifts. While some succeed, most couples meet with frustration. Of the ones who succeed, some fail to find new jobs that match their skills and specialties.
  Unremitting efforts have been made by the government to ease the problems arising from living apart. Yet, they cannot be solved cornpletely.. There are several reasons for this.


  One obstacle involves job transfers. Most work units are unwilling to accept administrative personnel, and they do not wish to hand over the valuable mernbers of their staff to other units. In addition, most separated spouses who live in large cities dislike moving to small cities or to the countryside, and southerners do not want to go to the north.
  For another thing, some enterprises hxve become highly money oriented, demanding steep compensation for training fees from those who want to quit their jobs. In 1988, 300 to 700 yuan was demanded, but this fee has risen to 1,000 to 7,000 yuan this year. Similarly, the fee for those who apply for a new post grew from between 1,000 and 5,000 yuan last year to between 7,000 and 13,000 yuan early this year, and in some large cities, the fee runs.as high as 40,000 yuan.


  Job mobility should be encouraged and special consultations should be held for the purpose of exchanging employees in different parts of the country. Meanwhile, granting job transfers should not be treated as a good profit-making deal, and people who offer or accept bribes should be penalized.

              4. Fake Advertising Seeks the Gullible

  Want to make gasoline and diesel fuel in your own home?
  Want to have the capacity to drink a thousand shots of booze without being tipsy?
  Want to add three centimetres a month to your height?
  Sounds ridiculous? These impossible dreams have been offered to people in this country. And they are just a few examples of the false advertising that has become one of the major problems hounding a modernizing Chinese society.


  Last year, the Chinese Consumers ' Association alone received 55,871 complaints about the deceptive advertising, more than doubling the figure for 1987.
  In spite of repeated crackdowns their numbers are still increasing each year, according to officials with the State, Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC).
  Fake advertising, which appears mostly in print media, cheats consumers, and in some serious cases, threatens gullible people's lives.


  As part of the latest campaign against phoney hucksters this year,the Beijing Administration of Industry and Commerce has just forbidden all publications to carry the column called "Tips on how to get rich. " Though many people have learned about a product or a technology through the column, much of the information in the column is provided by swindlers.
  For instance, after a private school advertised that it was offering a course on how to make fluorescent lamp tubes at home, a farmer from Jilin Province came to Beijing to learn the skills.


  However, after spending 30, 000 yuan of family savings, the farmer didn't produce a single tube. Realizing the whole tbing was a hoax, the bankrupt farmer repeatedly attempted suicide.
  According to SAIC officials, there are several reasons for the rampant
fake advertising.
  First, some enterprises, especially township and private ones, use fake advertising to push sales of their substandard or fake products.


  Sheng Xincheng, a private businessman in Xinjiang, advertised for his "fine cow-hide shoes." Customers outside Xinjiang sent him 180,000 yuan(  $48,000) only to get back inferior plastic shoes.
  Second, many newspapers, magazines and other media take the advertising because they need the money and don't care about the ethics of the ad's contents.
  Third, China does not have effective laws and regulations to prevent such advertising.
       


          Gifts from heaven -- Jahn's Slimming Cream

            5. The Language of Advertising

              1

  Some products are advertised as having a remarkable and immediate
effect. We are shown the situation before using the product and this is contrasted with the situation that follows its use. Taking a tablet for a headache in such advertisements can have truly remarkable results. For not only has the headache gone, but the person concerned has often had a new hair-do, acquired a new set of clothes and sometimes even moved into a more modern, betterfurnished house.

              2

  One thing reminds us of another - especially if we often see them together. These reminders are sometimes more imaginary than real: for some people snow may suggest Christmas, for others silver candlesticks may suggest wealth. Theadvertiserencourages us to associate his productwith those things he thinks we really want -- a good job, nice clothes, a sports car, a beautiful girlfriend -- and, perhaps most of all, a feeling of importance. The "image" of a product is based on these associations and the advertiser often creates a "good image" by showing us someone who uses his product and who leads the kind of life we should like to lead.

              3

Advertisements often encourage us to believe that because someone has been successful in one field, he should be regarded as an authority in other fields.
The advertiser knows that there are certain people we admire because they are famous sportsmen, actors or singers, and he believes that if we discover that a certain well-known personality uses his product, we will want to use it too. This is why so many advertisements feature famous people.

              4

  Maybe we can' t always 6elieve what we' re told , but surely we must accept what we're actually shown The trouble is that when we look at the photograph we don't know how the photoraph was taken, or even what was actually photographed. Is that delicious-looking whipped cream really cream, or plastic froth? Are the colours in fact so glowing or has a special filter been used?
  It is often difficult to tell, but you can sometimes spot the photographic
tricks if you look carefully enough.

              5

  If you keep talking about something for long enough, eventually people will pay attention to you. Many advertisements are based on this principle.
  If we hear the name of a product many times a day, we are much more likely to find that. this is the name that comes into our head when the shopkeeper asks "What brand?" We usually like to choose things for ourselves, but if the,advertiser plants a name in our heads in this way he has helped to make the choice for us.6 In this age of moon flights, heart transplants and wonder drugs, we are all impressed by science. If an advertiser links his claim with a scientific fact, there's even a chance we can be blinded by science. The question is simply whether the impressive air of the new discovery or the "man-made miracle" is being used io help or just to hoodwink us.

              7

  Advertisers may try to make us want a product by suggesting that most people, or the "best"people, already use it and that we will no doubt want to follow them. No one Iikes to be inferior to others and these advertisements suggest that you will be unless you buy the product.

              8

  The manufacturer needs a name for his product, and of course helooks for a name that will do more than just identify or label: he wants a name that brings suitable associations as well -- the ideas that the word brings to mind will help sell the product.

              9

  Most advertisements contain certain words ( sometimes, but not always, in bold or large letters, or beginning with a capital letter) that are intended to be persuasive, while at the same time appearing to be informative. In describing a product, copy-writers insert words that will conjure up certain feelings,associations and attitudes. Some words--"golden", for example - seem to have been so successful in selling that advertisers use them almost as if they were magic keys to increase sales.

              10

  Advertisers may invoke feelings that imply you are not doing the best for those you love most. For example, an advertisement may suggest that any mother who really loves her children uses a certain product. If she does not, she might start to think of herself as a bad mother who does not love her family. So she might go and buy that particular product, rather than go on feeling bad about it.