听力材料：
　　Questions 1 ~ 10 :
　　Hello, everyone. Today I will introduce you the learning chains in Britain. Here the chains refer to schools linked together as part of a group. They can offer students many practical advantages.
　　When people are asked to name a language school, more often than not, they think of one of the large international chains of schools. Some are vast language teaching organizations with schools in many different countries and may teach just one language.
　　One of the main strengths of these chains is the fact that their name is
　　familiar to people all over the world. This can be a big advantage in the con-fusing world of language learning. Most students are bewildered by the large choice of schools and courses on offer, both at home and abroad, and so many prefer to choose a school which has a familiar name and an established reputation. Chain schools know this, and part of their success is due to effective marketing and advertising, which helps to keep their name well-known.
　　But chain schools should not be dismissed by serious students just be-cause they use clever marketing techniques. They have other important strengthens which can provide advantages to students. A school is only as good as its teachers and facilities, and many chains offer very high standards in both. More chains require that their teachers have internationally recognized qualifications and a maximum amount of teaching experience. It is important for chains to maintain these standards at all schools, because the reputation of the whole chain can be affected if one school performs badly.
　　Students also benefit from the standardized structure of chains. Most chains use the same text books in all their schools, and often they produce their own coursework materials. They also organize their courses in the same way which means that starting dates and course lengths are usually the same at all schools.
　　For students, one of the main advantages of this standardized structure is simplicity. If you cannot decide whether to study in the U. S. or Britain, for example, most chains allow students to start their language course at one school and continue at another, so they can experience different regions or different countries, as part of the same study trip.
　　Chain schools tend to be larger than single center schools, which can al-so have advantages for students. With larger numbers of students, school administrators can achieve a better mixture of nationalities in classrooms. This means that students can avoid being with other students who speak their language. This gives them the chance to meet students from other countries, and to practice their English with them.
　　Some chains offer students a very simple booking and enrolment procedure which is also useful. Application forms and enrolment procedures are the same for all schools, so students need only supply their details once. Students may find that they can book their course abroad through a representative of a chain school in their own town or city. Other chains offer a centralized booking facility, so students only have to contact one center to make a booking anywhere in the world.
　　Chain schools often operate in different locations, whereas a single school is likely to be based permanently in one building. Many chain schools operate temporary schools, particularly during the summer holidays. In Britain, they often use secondary school premises which are empty during the school holidays.
　　Studying English in an English-speaking country is the most effective way to learn the language, but for many students this is only one stage of their learning career. Most students start learning English in their own country and they will probably want to continue learning once they return from their study trip. An international chain can usually offer you a continuous learning program from one country to the next.
　　Language school chains can offer students high standards of teaching
　　based on widespread experience. For students it can be a useful way of making learning more flexible.
　　Questions 11 - 13 :
　　M: Now, I' d like to say that I think that this government proposing to build more nuclear power stations in this country is really being stupid. The point about nuclear power is that we haven' t learnt to do away with the waste. We haven' t learnt to cope with the waste from it yet.
　　W: Well, I sometimes think that, you know, they' ve got an impossible job. I mean all the impression I get is that there is no alternative.., well, that' s the impression I get.
　　M: No, no, no I... I don' t agree with that at all. There are plenty of alter-natives. There' s the sun.., solar power.., that is a source that is always there, we always have it.
　　W: I don' t... I don' t quite see what you' re getting at actually, solar power,
　　what' s that?
　　M: Well, the heat from the sun, it can be used in solar panels on the tops of houses for heating, storing up power to heat water and to heat the houses, you know, some solar panels are in operation already and they are saving money...
　　W: That' s a good point actually, but is it really viable, that, I mean because
　　I'd...
　　M:Sorry it must be! And the one great advantage is that I can see, if the government set up small units to build solar panels and to install them, it would be creating employment which would improve the unemployment situation and bring terrific advantages.
　　W: I have heard that in England, I mean, there' s not enough sun, is there?
　　For, I mean, solar panels here?
　　M:Yes, well, that' s not quite true. I... there is quite a bit of sun.., you
　　may not feel the actual heat of it on some occasions.
　　W: No, you are right there !
　　M:But the light power from the sun will...
　　Questions 14 ~ 16 :
　　M : Cigarette?
　　W :No, thank you. I' ve given up, you know.
　　M:Oh.
　　W : It' s ten days ago. Haven' t had one.
　　M : Well, you don' t mind if I had one.
　　W: Well, all right, then... Oh my goodness ! That' s a terrible cough.
　　M: No, no, it' s not. It' s only... I only get it first thing in the morning.
　　W: That' s going to make you very unfit, you know.
　　M : No, it' s all right. It goes in a minute.
　　W:Why don't you try and give up?
　　M : Oh, no. I ought to, but I can' t. It relaxes me, smoking.
　　W: Really?
　　M : It does.
　　W:Well, have you ever thought of just cutting down?
　　M : Oh, no, that' s all very well but... I wouldn' t enjoy it. I depend a bit
　　on my smoking. I must say.
　　W:You should do it gradually. I mean.., well, if you tried.., have you
　　thought of just giving up one day?
　　M:Yes, oh well, yes, that is quite a good idea.
　　W:It is.
　　M : But I think I' d lose count or something.
　　W: Oh dear ! Well, it might be an idea if you started eating sweets.
　　M : Oh no, I couldn' t do that. I couldn' t possibly...
　　W:Why?
　　M:Well, it makes you fat.
　　W:Well, do you think that matters? Don' t you think it is better to be fat
　　than to be unhealthy?
　　M : No, I don' t. I' d rather be fat... Well, I' d rather be thin than fat, certainly.
　　W : Oh dear. Well. Hey ! I' ve got a good idea !
　　M:What' s that?
　　W:Why don't you go to a hypnotist? My sister did!
　　M : Oh, look, you don' t seem to realize that I like smoking. If I gave it up,
　　if I didn' t smoke at all, I' d probably end up attacking people !
　　W : Oh, don' t be so silly ! Of course you wouldn' t !
　　Questions 17 ~ 20 :
　　Farmers usually use plows to prepare their fields for planting crops. Plows cut into the ground, and lift up weeds, and other unwanted plants. However, plowing is blamed for causing severe damage to top soil by removing the plants that protect soil from being blown or washed away. Many farmers in South Asia are now trying a process called Low Till Fanning. Low Till Farming limits the use of plows. In this method of farming, seeds and fertilizer are put into the soil through small cuts made in the surface of the ground. Low Till Agriculture leaves much or all the soil and remains of plants on the ground. They serve as a natural fertilizer and help support the roots of future crops. They take in rain and allow it to flow into the soil in-stead of running off. It has been proved that Low Till Fanning increases har-vests and reduces water use, and this method reduces the need for chemical products because there are fewer unwanted plants. Scientists say Low Till Farming is becoming popular in South Asia, which is facing a severe water shortage. They say the area will become dependent on imported food unless water is saved through methods like Low Till Farming. Currently, more than150 million people in South Asia depend on local rice and wheat crops. Farmers grow rice during wet weather. During the dry season they grow wheat in the same fields. Farmers are using the Low Till Farming method to plant wheat after harvesting rice. Scientists say Low Till Agriculture is one of the best examples in the w0fld of technologies working for both people and the environment.
　　Questions 21 ~ 30 :
　　Today we take it for granted that the mail will be delivered daily at our door. But many years ago it might have been placed in a tree trunk or underneath a rock. In the early days of the mail no one could be sure about where or when it would arrive.
　　At the southern tip of Africa there was once a post office under a rock. In the old days the route from England to India was around the Cape of Good Hope. The journey was stormy and dangerous. It took six long months. Sailors often wished to send mail home, but they seldom met ships bound back to England. So at the cape the sailors would go .ashore. They headed for a certain large stone. On the stone were scratched the words "Look here-under for letters. " They would leave their letters there, knowing that the
　　next homeward-bound ship would stop and pick them up.
　　There was another post office like this at the southern tip of South America. During the gold rush days, boats sailed around Cape Horn to California. At Cape Horn was a keg nailed to a post. Boats coming from the east coast would send a small boat ashore to this post office. They picked up any letters in the keg. At the same time they mailed letters home that boats sailing east could pick up.
　　In the state of Washington stands the stump of a huge cedar. It, too, was once a post office. Settlers needed a place for the mail carders to leave their letters. Their houses were so widely scattered that the mail carrier could not reach all of them, and the post office was far away over rough roads. So the settlers found a tree that stood where several trails crossed. They cut the tree down ten feet from the ground, hollowed it out, and covered it with a roof. Inside, they nailed a row of wooden boxes. Each box was marked with a family' s name. The mail carder could leave letters there for everyone for miles around.
　　For the first few years after the English colonists came to America, there was no regular postal service. People gave their letters to any traveler who happened to be going in the right direction. Often they gave them to a peddler or a traveling shoemaker. When the traveler reached the town where the letter was going, he might stop at an inn. He would leave the letters there. But there they stayed until the .person they were addressed to happened to come by and stopped at the inn.
　　What about places like Virginia where there were very few inns? People who wished to send letters would leave them at one of the large plantations. The owners of the plantation would then send the letters on to a neighbor. The neighbor would do the same. It was a slow mall system.
　　After many years, regular mail carriers on horseback were hired. They went from one big town to another. Between New York and Boston, for ex-ample, there was one "postrider" a month. He traveled only by day and took two weeks for the trip. often the postrider left all the mail for a whole town at a crossroads store. It still took many weeks for a letter to reach the person it was addressed to.
　　Finally, about two hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin was made postmaster for all the colonies. His first act was to make a long journey to find out the best routes for carrying the mail. Then he set up a line of post station between the northern and southern colonies. He ordered his postriders to travel by night as well as by day.
　　Franklin' s postriders could carry more letters in a shorter time from one colony to another. The letter service helped the young American colonies learn more about each other. They learned that they were all interested in the same things. This gave them the feeling of unity that later helped them win their independence.
　　In time, the nation set up its own government. But there were still only seventy five post offices in the whole country. Between cities along the coast, mail was sent in sailing boats. But most letters were carried from one post office to another in stagecoaches. Trips were three times a week in summer and twice a week in winter. The stage stopped in all towns. Large and small. It stopped fifteen minutes in a small town and two hours in a larger one. But still the people of the town might reach the post office too late tocatch the stagecoach. Sometimes, too, the drivers forgot the mall or even
　　lost it. It still took a week for news to go from Washington D. C. to New York.
　　Today an airmail letter can travel across the world in much less time than that, let alone the e-mail through computers. A modern post office handles more mall in a day than the colonial carders handled in a whole year. You know that the letter you send will go anywhere you want it to go, and whenever.