businesses. Soon, goldsmith tokens or certificates began to circulate as money because they were more convenient and less risky to carry around. The goldsmiths also offered certification of value services - what we today might call property appraisals*. Customers would bring in valuables to have an expert certify that these items were indeed real and not fakes - a service many banks still provide their customers.
When colonies were established in North and South America, Old World banking practices were transferred to the New World. As the 19th century began, state governments in the United States began chartering* banking companies. The development of large, professionally managed banking firms was centered in a few leading commercial centers, especially New York. The federal government became a major force in US banking during Civil War.
A: Pre-listening Question A bank is, actually, a business organization, usually a limited company, which trades mainly in money, receiving and holding deposits and paying sums out of them by order of the customer, lending money at interest, discounting bills of exchange, moving from one place to another, acting as customer's agent in buying and selling securities, serving as trustee or executor, and performing various extra services for customers, e.g. arranging travel and insurance and advising on tax and investment. B: Sentence Dictation Direction: Listen to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times. 1. Situated usually at a table or in a small shop in the commercial district, the bankers aided travelers who came to the town by exchanging foreign coins for local money.
2. It wasn't long before the idea of attracting deposits and securing
temporary loans from wealthy customers became an important source of bank funding.
3. The banking industry gradually spread outward from the classical
civilizations of Greece and Rome into northern and western Europe. 4. The early banks in Europe were places for safekeeping of valuable
items as people came to fear loss of their assets due to war, theft, or expropriation by government.
5. As the 19th century began, the development of large, professionally
managed banking firms was centered in a few leading commercial centers, especially New York.
C: Detailed Listening Directions: Listen to the passage and choose the best answer to each of the following questions. l. B 2. A 3. C 4. D 5. D 6. A 7. C 8. B D: After-listening Discussion Directions: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions. The early banks in Europe were places for safekeeping of valuable items (such as gold and silver bullion) as people came to fear loss of their assets due to war, theft, or expropriation by government. In England during the reigns of Henry VIII and Charles I, government efforts to seize private holdings of gold and silver resulted in people depositing their valuables in goldsmiths' shops, who, in turn, would issue tokens or certificates, indicating that the customer had made a deposit at these businesses. Soon, goldsmith tokens or certificates began to circulate as money because they were more convenient and less risky to carry around. The goldsmiths also offered certification of value services - what we today might call property appraisals. Customers would bring in valuables to have an expert certify that these items were indeed real and not fakes - a service many banks still provide their customers.
Section Three News
News Item 1
Greenland Ice Sheet
A US Space Agency study finds that Greenland is melting around the edges. The loss to the world's second largest ice sheet - more than 50 cubic kilometers per year - is enough to raise global sea level by 0.13 millimeters. NASA scientist Bill Krabill says the data indicates a process of change that does not immediately threaten coastal regions.
\climate change and to monitor it in case it starts to accelerate.\
Eighty-five percent of Greenland is covered by ice and is more accessible for scientific study than Antarctica, which is under the world's largest ice sheet.
\it's positioned - much more north south, and the southern tip of Greenland protrudes into the more temperate* latitudes* - it may react much quicker to global climate change than Antarctica does.\A: Directions: Listen to the news item and complete the summary. This news item is about the rapid thinning of the ice sheet on Greenland.
B: Directions: Listen to the news again and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). 1.F 2.F 3.T 4.T 5.T
News Item 2 Cooling Antarctica
A new study says Antarctica, the southernmost continent, has cooled measurably in recent years. The findings are a departure from global trends that show significant warming during the last century.
University of Chicago Professor Pete~ Doran monitors the pulse* of Antarctica. He and other researchers have plotted* climate trends in the
region. They are working with data from weather stations in Antarctica's Dry Valleys, a perpetually snow-free, mountainous zone, and from stations across the continent.
Their records show a decrease by 0.7 degrees Celsius per decade in the Dry Valleys since 1986 and a similar cooling trend across the continent since 1978.
Doran said, \ocean current* that constantly circles around the continent and actually sort of isolates it, and that's what makes it cold. And, that may be a factor in why we are seeing Antarctica cooling is that slight disconnect from the rest of the globe, and it's not behaving in the same way.\A: Directions: Listen to the news item and complete the summary. This news item is about the result of a new study that suggests Antarctic cooling.
B: Directions: Listen to the news again and answer the following questions. 1. A new study says Antarctica, the southernmost continent, has cooled measurably in recent years.
2. Professor Peter Doran and other researchers have plotted climate trends in the region.
3. Antarctica's Dry Valleys is a perpetually snow-free, mountainous zone. 4. The records show a decrease by 0.7 degrees Celsius per decade in the Dry Valleys since 1986 and a similar cooling trend across the continent since 1978.
5. There is a big ocean current that constantly circles around the continent, so Antarctica is somewhat isolated from the rest of the globe, and does not behave in the same way.
News Item 3 Climate Change The UN study predicts global temperatures will increase by nearly six degrees Celsius during this century. It says this will lead to increased flooding, drought, a rise in sea levels, and other climatic effects.
What’s more, it says all regions of the world will suffer adverse effects of climate change. The panel's co-chairman, James McCarthy, says some plant and mammals will be irreversibly damaged; others will become extinct.
Mr. McCarthy says millions of people will be made homeless in low-lying countries such as Bangladesh because of sea level rise. Some islands will disappear completely. Economic losses will be incalculable
In addition, the report says crop and water loss will lead to more famine in dry areas of the world, such as Africa.
A: Directions: Listen to the news item and complete the summary This news item is about a study report on the dangers of global warming.
B: Directions: Listen to the news again and complete the following outline. Global Warming
Global temperatures increase
A. Global temperatures will increase by nearly six degrees Celsius. II. Unfavorable effects
A. Increased flooding, drought with crop and water loss
a. Some plants and mammals will be irreversibly damaged or become extinct.
b. More famine in dry areas of the world, such as Africa. B. A rise in sea levels, and other climatic effects
a) Millions of people will become homeless in low-lying countries such
施心远主编听力教程3_(第2版)Unit_9答案
