研究生英语视听说英语听力(课后第四题)(4)

研究生英语视听说听力原文

5) Since the man has been studying Chinese for a long time, he knows all the customs

quite well.

Unit 8 — Transportation and City Life

4. Foggy California City is Tops With Tourists

B Directions: Listen to the passage again and decide whether the following

statements are true or false.

1) Each year Los Angeles ranks first or second in the nation in tourist

visits. ( F )

2) Considering so many attractions, it‘s no wonder San Francisco is a desirable and

expensive place to visit. ( T )

3) San Francisco gets a lot of rain, but its winters are cold and its summers warm.

( F )

4) San Francisco has a fleet of 37 cable cars which are the only ones of their kind

remaining in the world. ( T )

5) The ―hippie‖ experience of San Francisco‘s 1967 ―Summer of Love‖ has quite

far-reaching influence on some American people. ( T )

Tapescript

Foggy California City is Tops With Tourists

Hilly San Francisco is America‘s 13th-largest city. Three other California cities

— Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose — are larger. Yet each year, San Francisco

ranks first or second in the nation in tourist visits.

What‘s the attraction? Why did singer Tony Bennett, in his signature song, leave

his heart in San Francisco, rather than, say, Boston or Cincinnati?

Perhaps it‘s the setting: shrouded in fog along 40 steep hills, overlooking

glistening San Francisco Bay. Many of the densely-packed neighborhoods clinging to

these hills are filled with ornate Victorian houses called ―painted ladies.‖

Considering its ocean beaches, bustling commercial waterfront, two of the

world‘s most striking bridges, and the largest urban park west of Philadelphia, it‘s no

wonder San Francisco is a desirable and expensive place to live and a treat to visit.

Add in its lively theater scene, the oldest ballet company in the United States,

dozens of art galleries, and thousands of fine restaurants, and San Francisco exudes

sophistication.

The city does get a lot of rain, but its winters are mild and its summers cool.

Really cool. In fact, there‘s a delightful saying — incorrectly credited to humorist

Mark Twain — that the natives enjoy: ―The coldest winter I ever spent was a

summer in San Francisco.‖

Among the city‘s top visitor attractions is Chinatown — the largest Asian

community outside Asia. And one of the enduring symbols of San Francisco is its

fleet of 37 cable cars — the only ones of their kind remaining in the world.

San Francisco‘s hills themselves are tourist attractions — especially a