新标准大学英语视听说2听力材料文本及答案(19)

1984. It quickly became a success and in 1987 it was made into a movie by Hollywood director, Steven Spielberg. Let’s move on to the novel itself. Empire of the Sun tells the story of how a young boy, Jim Graham, survives the Japanese occupation. Interestingly, Jim is J G Ballard’s first name and his second name is Graham. Also, Jim is the same age as Ballard – 11 – when the occupation begins. At the start of the story, Jim is living with his parents in a wealthy part of Shanghai. When the invasion begins, many of Shanghai’s inhabitants flee from the city and Jim’s parents do the same. But the boy becomes separated from them and finds himself all alone. He goes back to their empty home and lives alone there. Inevitably, he’s found and then he’s sent to a prison camp. It’s a terrible four years, but the boy somehow survives. He steals food, finds ways of getting in and out of the camp, and is befriended by some Americans and a Japanese boy. Is there a happy ending? Yes and no. Jim sees many people die; his Japanese friend is killed by the Americans. But at the end of the war, he gets back to Shanghai and is reunited with his parents. Jim’s experiences are terrible, as a child who discovers the depths of human cruelty. But he learns also about the strength and courage that is possible, even in these circumstances. Both the great power and the truth of the novel come from the fact that it’s based on the author’s own experiences. The general opinion of critics is that Empire of the Sun is one of the best war novels ever written – so read it, it’s worth it.

Passage2 Host

On Women’s World today, we look at women’s role in the Second World War and the important part they played in it. In the First World War, women had worked in factories and as nurses, both at home and at

the front. In the Second World War, women were even more essential to the war effort. Doris Watts was just 18 when the war began and Mavis Grey was only 20. Host

Do you remember how you felt, Doris, the day the war was declared?

Doris

Oh yes … of course I do. I felt frightened of course, but we had known it would happen. The first thing, more than anything I think, that I felt was … was that I wanted to do something! You know, do something useful, so I joined the Land Girls.

Host

Ah, yes, the Women’s Land Army. That was an organization started in the First World War. Women worked in agriculture as the men were away fighting. Did you enjoy the experience? Doris

Not really. It was very hard work, very physical. You never saw anybody except the officer coming to inspect your work. So when I heard about the WAAF I signed up. Host

That’s the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. WAAF, for short. So why the WAAF? Doris

I’d always thought planes were very exciting. And it’s silly but I liked the light blue uniforms. Host

That’s a good enough reason! Now, Mavis, you were in the WAAF at the same time as Doris. Can you tell us more about it? Mavis

Yes. Organizations like the WAAF were a way for women to join the armed forces, since they weren’t allowed to fight. Instead, the army, the navy and the air force all had support services, which women could join.

Host

And Doris. What kind of things did you have to do?