Unit1
Track-4-1-OL-5
Modern buildings: We love them, We hate them
The world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris is almost 500 years old, and it face a very modern problem. There simply wasn’t enough space for six million visitors each year. In nineteen eighty-nine, American architect I. M. Pei designed a striking glass pyramid in the building’s center to be a visitor entrance and shopping arcade. But he also started and angry debate. Some people felt his glass building was a piece of art, like the ones inside the museum. Others said it was just an ugly, modern mistake.
Kyoto, Japan, is the country’s ancient capital, and the heart of its culture. Its railroad station was too small for the millions of visitors. In 1997, the city completed a new station in a huge shopping center, right in the oldest part of the city. Designed by Hiroshi Hara (原广司), the building also contains a hotel and department store. Before it was built, critics said that the high, wide, modern building would destroy the city’s traditional look. On the other hand, supporters said it would bring new like into the city center.
Track-4-1-OL-7
The future building boom?
Interviewer: What do you think is the biggest problem facing our cities?
马上有Erika: I think it’s overcrowding. Talk  to anyone living in a major metropolitan area and they will say the same thing: There’s no space. Even the suburbs are getting crowed.
I: Well, in some places there simply isn’t any land left for building, right?
E: Yes, that’s true, but you have to think creatively. You can’t give up so easily. I: Think creatively? What do you suggest?
E: What I’m saying is that we can build more structures underground. We can add parking lots, malls, hotels, and even apartment buildings. There’s plenty of space. I: Isn’t it expensive?
出卖我程响
tik tok 歌词E: Yes, it can be. In the past building underground has been very expensive. However, we have new technology that will bring the cost down. It involves using robots. You don’t have to pay robots a salary!
I: Isn’t “building down”more dangerous than other kind of construction? E: Actually, I think it’s safer th
这一瞬间有一百万个可能an building skyscrapers, for example. Remember, we already do it. We have subways and underground shopping malls. I’m just suggesting we invest in a variety of bigger projects and that dig deeper.
安增多杰
I: What would you say to people who doubt your idea?
E: I can understand their feelings. Whenever there’s a new idea, it can cause controversy. But “building down”is not some kind of impractical idea. It makes sense. There is so much space underground: It can accommodate a lot of traffic,
storage, and people. With the new technology we have, we’d be crazy not to consider the idea –it’s the wave of the future!
Unit 2
Track-4-2-OL-5
In today’s report, we look at a new technology called pervasive computing. Pervasive computing means putting tiny computers into everyday electronic appliances, such as toasters and microwaves. With pervasive computing, appliances can communicate with their users –and with other appliances!
Some companies now sell pervasive computing products like a “smart”toaster. It remembers your favorite kind of toast: light or dark. Companies are designing a “smart”coffee maker and a “smart”clock. The coffee maker can measure the water and coffee. It can even put milk in your breakfast coffee and make black coffee in the afternoon. The clock will check the time on other clocks in your home, and give information about other appliances. For example, it can tell you, “Your coffee maker needs more water.”
And that’s only the beginning. One company is now advertising “Save time –phone your washing machine!”Engineers are making a “smart”house. In the house, the lights, heater, and air conditioner change automatically when family
members come home. This makes the home comfortable, and it saves a lot of energy. Pervasive computing could change many parts of our daily lives.
葫芦丝曲谱But do people really want pervasive computing? Do they really need technology everywhere? One company asked people about their opinions on “smart”appliances. There were surprises. A “smart”refrigerator can buy more food on the Internet, but people didn’t want it, because it might make mistakes. “Pervasive computing is as important as a telephone,”says Rebecca Blair, president
of InnoTech Corporation. But some of these products are not useful, or even practical. Companies should learn more about the technology that people really want.
Track-4-2-OL-7
Local girl rescued
She may have a broken leg, but she can’t be happier. Morgan Bailey, 11, is happy to be alive.
Tuesday was like any other day for Morgan. She was at school. It was fourth period, and she was the first student to arrive in the gymnasium for her physical education class.
Suddenly there was a loud noise.
“There was a sharp cracking noise and then a loud boom. After that, I don’t remember anything,”said Morgan.
The roof of the gymnasium had collapsed under the heavy snow. Morgan was trapped underneath. She couldn’t escape.
“I woke up and there was a big piece of wood on my leg. I couldn’t move it. I was starting to get cold.”
Fortunately, help was nearby. A new program using “rescue robots”was tried for the first time.
“We were nervous about using the robot,”said Derrick Sneed, the man in charge of the program. “But in the end, the robot gave us reliable information. It was extremely well.”
The rescue robot was able to go into the gym and locate Morgan’s exact position. “We send in robots first because it may not be safe for humans,”said Mr. Sneed. “Human beings are not as useful as robots in some situations. A gas leak, for example, could kill you or me but wouldn’t hurt a robot.”
Although it didn’t happen in Morgan’s case, some robots can bring fresh air or water to people who are trapped.
Rescue robots go into rough, dangerous places. They work in life or death situations. They have to be durable.
Doctors say that Morgan is doing well. She should be going home in two or three days. What is the first thing she wants to do after she gets out of the hospital?
“I want to meet my hero,”laughs Morgan. “That little robot that saved my life!”