2010专业八级(TEM8听力原文
PART I: LISTENING COMPREHENSION— SECTION AMINI-LECTURE
Paralinguistic Features of Language
Good morning, everyone. Today we'll continue our discussion on describing language. Last week we examined such features of language as grammar, vocabulary, the sounds of language, etc. In this lecture, we'll look at another important aspect of language. Perhaps some of you may wonder what is this important aspect of language. Let me tell you. It refers to features of communication that take place without the use of grammar and vocabulary. They are called "paralinguistic features of language". These features fall into two broad categories: those that involve the voice and those that involve the body.
Now, the first category, is what we call vocal paralinguistic features. Vocal features are actually tones of voice. While they are, perhaps, not central to meaning in communication in the same way as grammar or vocabulary, they may, nevertheless, convey attitude or intention in some way . Let me give you some examples. The first is whispering, which indicates the needs for secrecy. The second is breathiness. This is to show deep emotion. The third is huskiness, which is to show unimportance. The fourth is nasality. This is to indicate anxiety. The last is extra lip-rounding, which expresses greater intimacy, especially wit
h babies, for example. So we can see that there are a number of ways of altering our tone of voice. And when we do this consciously, we do it to create different effects in communication.
Now, let's come to the second category, physical paralinguistic features, which involves the body. In addition to convey meanings with tone of voice, we can also express our intention through the ways in which we use our bodies. You may ask: what are the ways, then? Let me cite some brief examples. The expression on our face, the gestures we make and even proximity or way we sit, are some of the ways we send powerful messages about how we feel, or what we mean. Let me explain some of these in
more detail. First, facial expression. Facial expression is a powerful conveyer of meaning. We all know smiling is an almost universal signal of pleasure or welcome. But there are other facial expressions that may not be so common. For instance, raising eye-brows suggests that you are surprised or interested in something . Other facial actions, such as biting your lip, which indicates that you are deep in thinking, or are uncertain about something; compressing the lips, which show that you are making decisions; and a visib le clenching of the teeth, to show that you are angry, are all powerful conveyers of meaning, too. The second in this category is gesture. You see, we use gesture to indicate a wide range of meanings. Though I have to emphasize that the actual gestures we use may be specific to pa
rticular cultures. That is to say, different cultures have their own favorite gestures in conveying meaning. Here, a few examples may show you how powerful gestures can be. In British English behavior, shrugging shoulders may indicate an attitude of "I don't care", or "I don't know". Crossing your arms may indicate relaxation. But it can also powerfully show you are bored. Waving can mean welcome and farewell. While scratching your head may indicate that you are at a loss. In other cultures, placing your hand upon your heart is to indicate that you are telling the truth. Pointing your finger at your nose means "It's a secret". That's why we say that gestures are culture bound. The third is proximity, posture and echoing. Proximity refers to the physical distance between speakers. This can indicate a number of things and can also be used to consciously send messages about intent. Closeness, for example, indicates intimacy or threat to many speakers. But distance may show formality, or lack of interest. Once again, I'd like to say, proximity is also both a matter of personal style, and is often culture bound. So, what may seem
normal to a speaker from one culture may appear unnecessarily close or distant to a speaker from another. And standing close to someone may be quite appropriate in some situations such as an informal party, but completely out of place in other situations, such as a meeting with a superior. Next, posture. Posture means the way in which someone holds his or her body, especially the back, shoulders and head, when standing, walking or
sitting. A few examples. Hunched shoulders and a hanging head give a powerful indication of whether the person is happy or not. A lowered head when speaking to a superior, with or without eye contact, can convey the appropriate relationship in some cultures. On the other hand, direct level eye contact changes the nature of interaction, and can been seen as either open or challenging. Last, echoing. Now, what is echoing? Let me start with an example. Some of you may have noticed this phenomenon in your experience. When two people are keen to agree with each other, they would likely, though unconsciously, adopt the same posture, as if an imitation of each other. They sit or stand in the same manner. When used in this way, echoing appears to complement the verbal communication. Of course, when such imitation is carried out consciously, it often indicates that someone is marking at another speaker. Ok, in today's lecture, we looked at some paralinguistic features, such as tone of voice, gesture and posture. These features, together with linguistic features of language, like grammar or vocabulary, are all part of the way we communicate with each other in face to face encounters. In our next lecture, we'll watch some video material, and see how people actually use paralinguistic means in communication to express their intention or desire or mood.
SECTION B INERVIEW
F: The word diversity has become a cliché in the United States today. It seems to me that nowadays A
mericans cannot turn on the television or read a newspaper without seeing the word pop out somewhere as a description of American demographic. Then what is this diversity in the US? Today we're very pleased to have Dr. Jeans Johnson here on our talk show. Welcome Dr. Johnson.
M: Thanks!
F: Dr. Johnson, we know you have done extensive research on diversity. So what is, how do you define diversity in the American context?somewhere
M: Well, at one time, the US was called the melting pot, you know, which means that people of many different religions, cultures and races could share their traditional cultural identities and blend into one homogenous nation.
F: And am I right in saying that melting pot was emphasizing the idea of all-in-one or being the same? M: Yes, you may say so. Eh, of course, when the phrase melting-pot was popular, there was also the idea of being different. But being different then simply meant Catholic as opposed to protestant or Irish as opposed to Swedish or Italian.
F: Has the idea of being different changed over the years?
M: Yes, of course. You see, today we use the word diversity to refer to more visible ethnic differences: Asian American, African American and Latino, for instance. And religious diversity refers to the variety of world religions, not merely different branches of Christianity.
F: And now is America as a whole truly diverse?
M: Well, I think in all this talk about diversity, there was a critical point that may be missed, that is, diversity is not occurring everywhere in the US, or at least not to a degree that would alter the demography of every region of the country.
F: Oh, really?
M: I can give you an example. Recently a New York Times article describes the town Selinsgrove in
Pennsylvania. You see in the last ten years, things have barely changed at that town. The population has dropped by one, from 5,384 to 5,383 and the town remains virtually 100% white. The article thus concludes that many portions of the country remain, like Selinsgrove, virtually unchanged on its march towards diversity.
F: So regions vary in terms of the degree and types of diversity?
M: That's correct. Let's say there are three types of diversity in the US and they differ from region to region.
F: Could you elaborate on that?
M: Ok, the first is racial diversity. States with the most racially diverse populations stand in stark contrast to those of the least racially diverse populations. Ah, let's look at the two states, California and Maine. From 1990 to 2000 California's Caucasian population, meaning non-Hispanic whites, declined from 57% to 48%. By 2025 it is predicted that figure will drop to just 34%, which indicates the future change in racial composition of California. On the contrary, Maine's Caucasian population was 98% of its total population throughout the 1990s, and by 2025 Maine's population will still be 97% Caucasian, which means virtually no change in Maine's racial diversity over the next 20 or so years.
F: This shows that racial diversity is not occurring everywhere. Then what about other types of diversity?
M: Right. The second type of diversity is age diversity. There are some interesting age gaps developing between states. For example, there is a large gap between the average age of the five states with the youngest populations and the five states with the oldest populations. This, of course, is
well-known. What is less discussed is the difference between the racial make-up of younger and older populations. Most of the populations having the greatest racial diversity are younger on average than the populations with greater Caucasian representation. It is also well-known that Caucasians tend to be more affluent than other ethnic groups on average. In our pay-as-you-go social security system, workers are taxed to pay the benefits of retirees. So this could lead to a future where wealth is systematically redistributed from younger, poorer minorities to older, wealthier whites.
F: This is a very interesting point. Then what is the third type of diversity in the US?

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