UNIT 7

Section one Tactics for Listening

Part 1 Spot Dictation

Meet Your Chiropractor

The doctor of chiropractic (D.C.) is a (1) well-recognized member of the health team who (2) considers the human body as a total functioning (3) unit and gives special attention to the spine, (4) muscles, nerves, circulatory and skeletal (5) systems. The chiropractor seeks to (6) relieve pain.

The procedures utilized are primarily focused on the (7) spine. The chiropractor is concerned about the spine's relationship to the (8) nerve system, which controls important body functions. The chiropractor knows that a malfunctioning* spinal joint can not only cause (9) back pain or headaches, it can also (10) interfere with the nerves leading from the spine, thereby (11) affecting other portions of the body.

Millions of Americans are chiropractic patients for a wide variety of (12) health disorders. They depend on their chiropractor as their (13) family doctor to help them maintain their health through proper (14) diagnosis, treatment, and referral when (15) necessary.

A minimum of six years of college study including internships (16) goes into the making of a chiropractic physician. Many doctors of chiropractic choose to (17) limit their practices to certain specialties, such as (18) sports injuries, nutrition, orthopedics or radiology.

As a (19) licensed and regulated member of the healing arts, the doctor of chiropractic must pass a state (20) licensing board examination in order to practice.

Part 2 listening for Gist

Like the "Iron Age" volunteers, Paul has also chosen to cut himself off from many aspects of modem life, not, however, as an experiment but because he feels it is a more satisfactory way to live. He is talking about his small cottage in the Welsh mountains:

"And that brings me to say what is primitive about it, namely, it is anything that has to be done, and there are obviously certain basic needs of life, is 'DIY' as they say: Do it yourself. There is no labor to be had nowadays in such a remote part. Er, there are no neighbors for most of the year and so you are on your own entirely. The place itself is extremely primitive. Er, I mentioned the water. I mentioned that we now have got electricity. Er, the building itself - it's important to keep it clean and it's stupid to try. We try to keep it tidy, and reasonably clean. It is very difficult to keep it warm, warm enough particularly in winter and that we do by an old kitchen range with coal and wood."

Exercise

Directions: Listen to the passage and find its topic sentence.

The topic sentence is "The place itself is extremely primitive."

Section Two Listening Comprehension

Part1 Dialogue

A Healthy Life

Dr Martin Answay writes a column in a popular women's magazine on health problems. He is also an expert on heart disease.

Q: Is there a secret to good health? I mean, is there some way we can achieve it which is not generally known?

A: It certainly isn't a secret. However, there is a great deal of ignorance, even among supposedly educated people, about how to be reasonably healthy.

Q: Well, what advice do you give, then?

A: Vh ... to begin with, take diet. I believe that one of the greatest dangers to health in Britain and other countries ... particularly developed countries ... is the kind of food we tend to prefer.

Q: Such as?

A: Such as that great national institution, the British breakfast, for example, ham and eggs. Or the kind of lunch so many people in this country have: sausage and chips! Or all the convenience foods like hamburgers. Or even things we regard as "healthy", such as full-fat milk. Or Cheddar cheese. The list is endless.

Q: What's wrong with those things?

A: The excessive consumption of such things leads to the overproduction of cholesterol, which in turn results in heart attack ...

Q: Excuse me, but what exactly is cholesterol?

A: It's a ... wax-like substance ... yellowish ... and it's produced naturally in our livers. We all need some cholesterol for survival.

Q: Well, if we need it, in what way is it bad for us?

A: Too much of it is bad for us. It builds up in our arteries, causing them to get narrower, so that our blood supply has difficulty in getting through ... and this, of course, can eventually end in a heart attack or stroke. The point I'm trying to make here is that, even though we all need some cholesterol in order to insulate our nerves, and to produce cell membranes and hormones, the things many of us eat and even consider healthy lead to the overproduction of cholesterol. And this is very dangerous.

Q: How can we avoid this overproduction of cholesterol?

A: By cutting down our consumption of animal fats: things like red meat, cheese, eggs, and so on. And by increasing our consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables, and also by eating more potatoes, rice, pasta and bread.

Q: Pasta? Potatoes? But ... aren't such things fattening?

A: Nonsense. It isn't pasta, potatoes or bread that makes us fat. It's what we put on such things! Cheese, Butter, Meat!

Q: So anything we like, anything that's delicious, is bad for us. Isn't that what you're saying?

A: Rubbish! I'm simply saying we eat too much of these things. And there are many ways of preparing delicious food without using such large quantities of animal fats.

Q: Last of all, what about exercise? You recently warned against certain forms of exercise, which you said could be dangerous.

A: What I said was that if people aren't used to getting regular and vigorous exercise, they should begin slowly, and not try to do too much at the beginning! I also said that certain games, such as squash, can be dangerous, particularly if you aren't used to playing them. A number of injuries are due to sudden, twisting movements that games like squash involve.

Q: What kinds of exercise do you recommend, then?

A: Gentle jogging, swimming, cycling, brisk walking ... exercise that is rhythmic and gentle, and above all, sustained. That is, done for at least fifteen minutes uninterruptedly at least three times a week. We all need such exercise, and the fact is that far too few of us get enough of it, particularly if we live in large cities and regularly use cars.

Exercise

Directions: Listen to the dialogue and complete the following grids.

A. Cholesterol

B. Exercise

Part 2 Passage

Aging of America

1) The impending collision between the boomers and the nation's retirement system is naturally catching the eye of policymakers and the boomers themselves.

2) Retirement income security in the United States has traditionally been based on the so-called three-legged stool: Social Security, private pensions, and other personal saving.

3) Retirement planning takes time, and these issues need to be addressed sooner rather than later.

4) One found that in 1991 the median household headed by a 65-69-year-old had financial assets of only $14,000, but expanding the measure to include Social Security, pensions, housing, and other wealth boosts median wealth to about $270,000.

5) Only one or two generations of Americans have had lengthy retirements, and the crucial retirement issues keep changing rapidly, making long-term predictions even harder.

The Baby Boom* generation - the roughly 76 million people born between 1946 and 1964has been reshaping American society for five decades. From jamming the nation's schools in the 1950s and 1960s, to crowding labor markets and housing markets in the 1970s and 1980s, to affecting consumption patterns almost continuously, boomers have altered economic patterns and institutions at each stage of their lives. Now that the leading edge of the generation has turned 50, the impending collision between the boomers and the nation's retirement system is naturally catching the eye of policymakers and the boomers themselves.

Retirement income security in the United States has traditionally been based on the so-called three-legged stool: Social Security, private pensions, and other personal saving. Since World War II the system has served the elderly well: The poverty rate among elderly households fell from 35 percent in 1959 to 11 percent in 1995 .

Are the baby boomers making adequate preparations for retirement? In part, the answer depends on what is meant by "adequate". One definition is to have enough resources to maintain pre-retirement living standards in retirement. A rule of thumb* often used by financial planners is that retirees should be able to meet this goal by replacing 60-80 percent of pre-retirement income. Retired households can maintain their pre-retirement standard of living with less income because they have more leisure time, fewer household members, and lower expenses. Taxes are lower because retirees escape payroll taxes and the income tax is progressive. And mortgages have, for the most part, been paid off. On the other hand, older households may face higher and more uncertain medical expenses, even though they are covered by Medicare.

From a public policy perspective, assuring that retirees maintain 100 percent of pre-retirement living standards may be overly ambitious. But should policymakers aim to ensure that they maintain 90 percent of their living standards? Or that they stay out of poverty? Or use some other criterion? Retirement planning takes time, and these issues need to be addressed sooner rather than later.

A second big question is how to measure how well baby boomers are preparing for retirement. Studies that focus only on personal saving put aside for retirement yield bleak conclusions. One found that in 1991 the median household headed by a 65-69-year-old had financial asset of only $14,000. But expanding the measure to include Social Security, pensions, housing, and other wealth boosts median wealth to about $270,000.

A third issue - crucial but as yet little explored - is which baby boomers are not provided adequately for retirement and how big the gap is between what they have and what they should

have. Some boomers are doing extremely well, others quite poorly. Summary averages for an entire generation may not be useful as descriptions of the problem or as suggestions for policy.

The uncertain prospects for the baby boomers in retirement are particularly troubling because, as a society, we as yet understand little about the dynamics of retirement. Only one or two generations of Americans have had lengthy retirements, and the crucial retirement issues - health care, asset markets, Social Security, life span - keep changing rapidly, making long-term predictions even harder.

Exercise A Pre-listening Question

As China's aging population is increasing rapidly, there should be a well-funded pension system put in place. However, the country's pension system only covers a fraction of the work force. It predicts that China will have an elderly population of about 400 million by 2040, which will be a large burden on the economy if an effective pension system is not established.

The Chinese government, aware that the old pension system in the planned economy could not keep pace with the market economy, started to reform a purely "pay-as-you-go" pension system in 1997 and introduced one that combines a basic pension with personal savings accounts. The accounts are jointly paid into by employers and employees, as saving to support employees' retirements. The state is considering expanding a reformed pension insurance system nationwide.

China is also accelerating the reform of China's pension system.

It has been trying to find appropriate ways to invest pension funds in the capital market rather than simply putting them in banks or buying treasury bonds.

It has also been trying to find appropriate ways to invest pension funds in the capital market overseas.

To ensure the maintenance and appreciation of the pension pool, more investment tools should be allowed, with sound governance and parallel reform in the financial sector to ensure returns.

Exercise B Sentence Dictation

Directions: Listen to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times.

Exercise C Detailed Listening

Directions: Listen to the passage and choose the best answer to complete each of the following sentences.

l.D 2.D 3. B 4.B 5.C 6.C 7.A 8.C

Exercise D After-listening Discussion

Directions: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions.

1) The boomers have altered economic patterns from jamming the nation's schools in the 1950s and 1960s, to crowding labor markets and housing markets in the 1970s and 1980s, to affecting consumption patterns almost continuously.

2) (Open)

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