每天一课英语口语 UNIT 124-137

[00:00.00]124 One-child Family

[00:04.65]Many people take a positive attitude toward one-child family.

[00:10.32]They think that they will have more time to do what they are interested in if they just look after only one child.

[00:17.58]Besides, one child means less expense and less trouble.

[00:22.62]Since they have one child, they are able to pay more attention to the education and growth of the young.

[00:29.68]But some people prefer more children.

[00:33.07]These people who want to have more than one child believe that they will enjoy their later years

[00:39.86]under the care of the young generation.

[00:42.50]Some parents tend to look down upon girls.

[00:46.52]So even if they have a daughter, they will try to have a boy at any cost.

[00:52.85]However, people should be encouraged to have a one-child family.

[00:58.15]We all know that China is a densely populated country.

[01:02.69]If we don't control the birth rate,

[01:05.54]we are sure to suffer from housing problem, inadequate food supply and unemployment.

[01:12.96]It seems that more children will be better for the old parents,

[01:17.37]but when young people live in poverty, they are less likely to care

for the old.

[01:23.20]125 The Most Truthful Husband

[01:30.59]How many men do housework?

[01:33.44]Recently, a European com-mission tried to find out people's ideas and reactions to the women's movement.

[01:42.06]As part of their survey, they asked many men and women the question, "Who does the housework?"

[01:48.93]The men answered very differently from the women!

[01:53.06]The housework they asked people about was: preparing meals, washing dishes, cleaning the house and baby-sitting.

[02:02.54]48% of British husbands said they did these kinds of housework.

[02:08.31]51% of Danish men helped in the house.

[02:12.60]15% of Italian men said they did the housework.

[02:17.38]But there was an interesting point of view from the wives.

[02:21.74]According to British wives, only 38% of their husbands help in the house.

[02:28.58]And Italian wives complained that their husbands hardly ever help.

[02:33.65]The Italian and British men didn't tell the truth!

[02:37.86]The commission found that Danish men were the most truthful husbands: their answers were the same as their wives.

[02:48.44]126 Should I Live in the Countryside or in the City?

[02:55.02]By living in the countryside, we may enjoy fresh air and food.

[03:00.92]Unlike the cities, there is almost no pollution in the coun-tryside.

[03:05.91]What's more, we are much closer to nature.

[03:09.70]Green trees and grass are everywhere.

[03:13.02]Life in the countryside is also peaceful and safe, the crime rate there is much lower than in the cities.

[03:21.33]People in the rural area are much closely related with each other, and they seldom feel lonely.

[03:27.93]Whenever one is in trouble, others will lend a hand.

[03:32.56]On the other hand, to live in the cities is not a bad choice either.

[03:38.80]City traffic is so well developed that people can go any-where easily and quickly.

[03:45.49]It is also convenient to do shopping because many shops and markets are just round the corner.

[03:52.57]In addition, urban people can enjoy more leisure and entertain-ment.

[03:58.50]Cinemas, bars, restaurants and parks are everywhere and some are open day and night.

[04:06.23]In a word, city people can always have fun if they have time and money.

[04:12.16]There are both  advan-tages and disadvantages for people either living in the rural or ur-bun areas.

[04:20.08]We can't have both at the same time.

[04:23.24]As the saying goes, "you can't eat the cake and have it."

[04:28.07]As for myself I would prefer to work in a city and live in the countryside.

[04:34.16]Maybe, the suburban area is the best choice.

[04:38.67]127 Difference between Male and Female Shoppers

[04:47.43]Shopping for clothes is not the same experience for a man as it is for a woman.

[04:53.56]A man goes shopping because he needs some-thing.

[04:57.17]His purpose is settled and decided in advance.

[05:01.40]He knows what he wants, and his aim is to find it and buy it; the price is a secondary consideration.

[05:10.70]All men simply walk into a shop and ask the assistant for what they want.

[05:17.10]The job can be and often is completed in less than five minutes,

[05:22.48]with hardly any small talk to someone's satisfaction.

[05:26.97]Now how does a woman go about buying clothes?

[05:31.65]In al-most every respect she does so in the opposite way.

[05:36.25]Her shop-ping is not often based on need.

[05:40.19]She has never fully made up her mind what she wants, and she is only "having a look round".

[05:47.32]She will try on any number of things.

[05:51.01]The most important thing in her mind is the thought of finding something that everyone thinks suits her.

[05:58.37]Most women have an excellent sense of value when they buy clothes.

[06:03.52]They are always ready for the unexpected bargain.

[06:06.89]Faced with a roomful of dresses, a woman may easily spend an hour going from one shelf to another,

[06:14.91]before selecting the dresses she wants to try on.

[06:18.80]It is a long and hard job, but obviously one to be enjoyed.

[06:24.68]Most dress shops provide chairs for the waiting husbands.

[06:30.95]128 The Private Automobile

[06:37.04]The private automobile has long played an important role in the United States.

[06:43.67]In fact, it has become an integral part of the American way of life.

[06:48.79]In 1971 eighty-three percent of American families owned at least one car,

[06:56.10]and twenty-eight percent had more than one.

[06:59.40]By giving workers rapid, convenient transporta-tion,

[07:04.20]the automobile has freed them from having to live near their place of work.

[07:09.45]This has fostered the growth of the suburbs, but it has also led to traffic problems in the city.

[07:17.55]In addition, the auto-mobile has contributed to the weakening of neighborhood ties

[07:24.29]by making it easy to keep up friendships at a distance

[07:28.55]and to enjoy leisure activities far from home.

[07:32.41]For farm families the automobile is a great boon.

[07:37.72]It has re-lieved their isolation,

[07:40.57]making it possible for them to travel to town frequently for business and for pleasure,

[07:47.02]and also to trans-port their children to distant schools.

[07:50.88]Family life has been affected in various ways.

[07:56.08]The car helps to keep families together when it is used for picnics, outings, camping trips,

[08:04.05]and other shared experiences.

[08:06.43]However, when teenage children have the use of the car(or own one), they can easily escape from family supervision.

[08:15.93]If they are immature, they sometimes become involved in situations which lead to serious trouble.

[08:23.75]For some-young or old--having the use of an automo-bile leads to dangerous traffic accidents,

[08:32.47]caused by carelessness or by deliberate breaking of the driving laws.

[08:38.14]In 1971, over 5,000 people were killed in auto accidents in the United States, and many more were injured.

[08:48.41]This toll has been somewhat reduced by the gasoline shortage which has decreased driving to some extent

[08:56.27]and has also lowered the speed limit.

[09:00.21]129 Home

[09:04.31]Home is a word that can mean different things.

[09:07.66]Home can be a tree, a cave, a boat, a hole in the ground, a house in the country, or an apartment in a tall building.

[09:18.39]People living in different places have different homes be-cause the weather conditions vary.

[09:24.85]The material used by them for building homes are always easily available.

[09:31.59]For instance, prehis-toric people usually made use of raw material around them,

[09:38.06]such as tree branches or stones and rocks.

[09:42.06]Those people who lived in hot, flat places could live in ground holes

[09:48.20]and those who lived in the mountains were usually able to find large caves.

[09:54.29]Although holes in the ground and mountain caves were not the most won-derful homes that ever existed,

[10:01.94]the people who lived in them were probably happy.

[10:05.18]And that's the most important thing about "home".

[10:08.99]It doesn't have to be huge and beautiful.

[10:11.97]It can be in the city or the country.

[10:15.65]"Home" is a place that means peace and comfort and love to the people who live there.

[10:22.47]130 A Single Leaf Over an Eye Shuts Out the View of Taishan Mountain

[10:31.69]A man of the state of Chu lived a life of poverty.

[10:37.21]In reading Huainan zi he came to the sentence which said,

[10:41.96]"If one can getthe leaf a mantis covers itself with to catch a cicada, he can be-come an invisible man."

[10:49.64]So, he stood under a tree and looked up, hoping to find such a leaf.

[10:56.17]when he saw a mantis hiding be-hind a leaf to watch for its prey,

[11:01.42]he stretched out his hand to pick the leaf, but it slipped away and fell to the ground.

[11:08.16]As there were already plenty of fallen leaves, he could not tell which was the one he wanted.

[11:15.63]In desperation, he gathered all the leaves, scores of catties of them, and returned home.

[11:23.99]At home, he covered his eye with one of the leaves and asked his wife whether she could see him now.

[11:31.72]His wife answered yes.

[11:34.05]Then he tried another and another, and every time his wife answered the same way.

[11:40.34]This went on and on and at the end of the day his wife got so bored that she could not put up with it any more.

[11:49.56]Finally she lied. "No, I can't see you this time."

[11:54.95]The man was delighted.

[11:57.98]Without a word, he took the leaf to the market, where he began publicly taking everything he could put his hands on.

[12:06.15]For this he was at last caught by a constable and sent to the magistrate in ropes.

[12:13.31]On trial before the governing official, the man told the truth from beginning to end.

[12:19.71]The official burst into laughter and set him free without punishing him.

[12:25.40]131 Retreat San Shee to Give Way

[12:32.25]When Chong'er arrived at the state of Chu, the Prince of Chu gave a banquet in his honour.

[12:40.89]"If one day you can return to your own state Jin, how would you reward me?" asked the host.

[12:48.86]"So far as beautiful girls and attendants are concerned, I know you have plenty of them.

[12:56.20]As to birds' feather, elephant's tusks and animal skin, they are your native products.

[13:04.01]Of all these the state of Jin feels an obvious lack;

[13:08.82]what's been imported into Jin amounts only to a fraction of what you have.

[13:15.40]I really don't know how I'm to compensate you," answered Chong'er.

[13:21.52]What you have said is true. But, is there any way in which you can reward me.?"

[13:29.20]"If with your blessing I were able to return to my own state, then let me now make this promise:

[13:37.89]In case our two states came to be engaged in war and had to encounter each other in the central plain,

[13:45.86]I would order my troops to retreat san she without hesitation.

[13:51.48]How about that.?

[13:53.18]Suppose I still fail to convince you of my good will,

[13:57.83]then I shall take up my bow and whip with my left hand and my quiver with my right to deal with you."

[14:07.49]132 Groundless Worry that the Sky Might Fall

[14:13.66]There was a man in the state of Qi who was haunted by the fear that one day the sky might fall and the earth collapse,

[14:23.97]and he would have no place to settle.

[14:26.69]So worried was he that he could not eat and sleep in peace.

[14:32.59]Someone, anxious that the man would be worried to death,  went to reassure him about this.

[14:40.14]He said to the man: "The sky is only an air mass and there's air everywhere.

[14:47.09]You move about all day long in the air, inhaling and exhaling,

[14:53.65]bending and stretching your limbs--why do you have to worry about the sky's falling,

[15:00.08]when it is never likely to happen?"

[15:02.53]"It's true that the sky is a congregation of air," the man re-joined, "but how about the sun, the moon and the stars?

[15:14.05]They will surely fall, won't they?"

[15:17.08]"The sun, the moon and the stars are merely such bodies in the congregated air as happen to shine,"

[15:24.97]the persuader replied.

[15:27.45]"Even if they did fall, they would hit nothing."

[15:30.87]"Then suppose the earth collapses. What should I do?"

[15:36.26]"The earth is merely amassed dust and rocks filling up the space everywhere.

[15:42.29]There is no spot that has no such masses.

[15:45.58]And you move about on the earth every day, stepping on it and walking on it.

[15:51.35]Why worry that it might collapse?"

[15:54.46]The man was gladly relieved, and so was the successful persuader.

[16:01.83]133 When the Old Man on the Frontier Lost His Mare

[16:10.01]On the frontier there was a man who was skilled in divina-tion.

[16:15.67]One day his mare, for an unknown reason, fled north into the domain of the Hu tribes.

[16:23.64]On learning this, sympathetic peo-ple came to console him,

[16:28.74]but his father remarked, "Who says that this may not be a blessing?"

[16:33.86]Several months later, the mare returned, not alone but with a fine steed of the Hu breed.

[16:42.63]Sympathizers again came to con-gratulate the owner of the new horse,

[16:47.78]but again his father ob-served, "who says this won't be a misfortune?"

[16:53.42]Now that there was a fine steed in his stable, the son, fond of riding, mounted the new horse.

[17:02.04]During the ride he fell from the horse and broke his hip bone.

[17:06.95]Sympathetic people again came to console him, but his father as usual passed the matter off with the same remark,

[17:16.51]"Who says this won't be a blessing?"

[17:19.31]A year went by. The Hu tribes made inroads, crossing the frontier line.

[17:26.65]The able-bodied took up arrows and bows to fight, and nine out of every ten of the frontier inhabitants were killed.

[17:36.21]But the son, being crippled, had not gone to fight, so he and his father survived.

[17:43.58]Therefore, a blessing may turn out a misfortune and a mis-fortune, a blessing.

[17:50.99]It is extremely difficult to tell, as things are so changeable.

134 Once It Cries, the Cry Shocks All

[18:05.81]King Wei of the state of Qi loved not only to use enigmatic language but also to spend whole evenings drinking.

[18:15.89]Because of his indulgence, he stopped dealing with state affairs and left them to his ministers.

[18:23.33]As a result, things went from bad to worse, as most of his officials, big and small,

[18:31.38]also neglected their trusted duties and led an easy life.

[18:35.90]This gave other princi-palities a chance to make inroads into Qi.

[18:41.38]The state was on the way to falling apart at any moment.

[18:46.30]No one around the prince, however, dared to remonstrate with him.

[18:51.39]There was one man, a certain Chunyu Kun, who ventured to speak to the King.

[18:58.70]Using careful innuendo, he said, "There is a large bird perching in this court,

[19:05.34]and for three years it has not taken wing nor uttered a cry.

[19:11.32]Probably Your Highness can tell what has happened to this bird."

[19:16.05]"Well, I know this bird.

[19:19.45]If it ever flies, it will soar into the sky; and if it ever cries, it will amaze the world,"

[19:27.26]answered the King, knowing what Chunyu was driving at.

[19:32.95]After this talk, the King summoned all the seventy-two country magistrates in the state to his presence.

[19:40.08]Among the group he rewarded one good one and executed one bad one;

[19:46.22]then he mustered all his troops, who were now greatly encouraged and ready for action.

[19:53.20]Courageously they went out to repel the in-vaders.

[19:57.56]In great alarm, the other principalities returned to Qi all the lands they had seized from it.

[20:04.56]Qi' s power thus remained strong for the next thirty-six years.

[20:11.74]135 Break the Camp Cauldrons and Sink the Boats

[20:18.56]After slaying his superior for his inaction, Xiang Yu aston-ished the whole state of Chu with his might and power

[20:28.91]and estab-lished his name among all the principalities, that were fighting jointly against the Qin Dynasty.

[20:36.82]He then put twenty thousand troops under the command of Dagyang Jun@ and General Pu,

[20:44.84]ordering them to cross the Zhang River to rescue the prince of the state of Zhao who was at the time besieged at Julu.

[20:54.95]As the bat-tle brought about a small victory,

[20:58.06]Chen Yu asked for reinforce-ments from Xiang Yu who then took all his troops to cross the riv-er.

[21:05.84]Soon after crossing, Xiang Yu ordered his troops to sink all the boats, break all the camp cauldrons and cookers,

[21:15.53]and burn all the tents and living quarters.

[21:19.06]And the men were also asked to bring with them food enough for three days only.

[21:25.33]All this was to show that they were fully determined to fight a last-ditch fight

[21:31.52]and entertain no thought of coming back alive.

[21:35.20]As soon as Xiang Yu's troops arrived at the battle scene,

[21:40.22]they surrounded the army of Qin's general Wang Lian and en-gaged them in nine battles.

[21:47.17]Having succeeded in cutting off the enemy's food supply line,

[21:52.29]Xiang Yu beat his opponents hollow, killing Su Jiao, capturing Wang Lian.

[21:59.55]She Jian refused to surren-der and burned himself.

[22:04.12]136 Castles in the Air

[22:11.17]Once upon a time there was a man of wealth who was ig-norant and foolish.

[22:16.79]When he was on a visit to another rich family, he saw they had a three-storeyed house.

[22:23.11]It was a grand and lofty one and had bright spacious rooms.

[22:28.21]In secret admiration he said to himself: I am no less wealthy than he.

[22:35.60]Why did it not occur to me to build one like this?

[22:39.36]Upon returning he sent for a carpenter and asked: "Was it you who built the magnificent house for that family?"

[22:48.71]"Yes, it was my work," the carpenter answered.

[22:53.10]"Now I want you to build one exactly the same as theirs," said the rich man.

[22:59.16]As agreed, the carpenter soon surveyed the land, laid bricks and began constructing.

[23:06.37]Seeing all that was going on, the foolish man became doubtful, not knowing what laying bricks was for.

[23:15.31]So he asked the carpenter: "What kind of house are you building?"

[23:20.40]"A three-storeyed house, of course," was the reply.

[23:24.55]"No, I don't want the first two storeys.

[23:28.31]You may build me the toppest one first."

[23:31.34]"That' s impossible. How can the second storey go up with-out the first?

[23:37.77]And without the second, where comes the third?"

[23:41.64]"I tell you I'm not going to use the first two.

[23:45.63]You must just build the top one for me."

[23:48.43]On hearing this, people burst out laughing and all had but one remark to make:

[23:54.70]"How can a multi-storeyed house go up without building the base?"

[24:00.31]137 An Illusory Snake in a Goblet

[24:07.68]Yue Guang had a frequent guest, who used to call on him regularly but had failed to turn up for some time.

[24:16.75]When Yue asked the reason, the man answered: "On my last visit you kindly treated me to wine.

[24:24.92]Just as I was going to take a sip, I saw a snake wriggling in the goblet and I felt quite sick.

[24:33.67]Never-theless, I drank; then I soon fell ill."

[24:38.66]Now in those clays it was a custom prevailing in Henan Pre-fecture

[24:44.33]for a prefect to have a bow painted to look like a snake and hung in his hall.

[24:50.99]Suspecting that the snake alluded to was nothing but a reflection of the decorated bow,

[24:58.02]he invited the man again for a drink and set the table in the usual spot.

[25:04.00]"Do you still see something in the wine?" asked the host.

[25:09.20]"Yes. Exactly as before," was the answer.

[25:13.82]Then Yue Guang explained what he thought the whole trou-ble must have been.

[25:19.67]At that, the guest, realizing what had hap-pened, was instantly relieved of his obsession, and retumed to normal.