Useful Words

diameter  n. 
     (the length of) a straight line going from one side of a circle to the other side, passing through the centre of the circle 直径，对径

jar n.
    a short-necked wide-mouthed pot or bottle made of glass, stone, clay, etc 坛子，罐子；广口瓶

pebble▲ n.
   a small roundish smooth stone found esp. on the seashore or on a riverbed  卵石，小圆石，小漂砾

Task One: Focusing on the Main Ideas

▇Choose the best answer to complete each of the following sentences according to the information contained in the listening passage.

TaskTwo: Zooming In on the Details

▇ Listen to the recording carefully and fill in each of the following blanks according to what you have heard.

Script:

Life is a Bottle of Rocks

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the desk in front of him. When the final student was seated, he picked up a large and empty glass bottle and filled it with rocks about 2 inches in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full.They agreed that it was.

He then picked up a box of pebbles and added them to the jar, shaking it lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. “Is this jar filled now?” Yes, the students said.

But then he picked up a bag of sand and poured it into the bottle. The sand filled in everything else. Once more he asked if it was full and after some thinking they said that it was.

The professor then took two cans of beer and poured the beer into the jar. The students laughed loudly.

After the laughter stopped, the professor spoke again: “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things in your life, your family, yourpartner, your health, your children—things that would still remain even if everything else were lost, and your life would still be full. The pebbles arethe other things that matter—like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks.”

“The same goes for your life. If you spend your life on small stuff, you will never have room for things that are important to you. Pay attention to things that are critical to your happiness: your family,your health. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house and soon. Take care of the rocks first—the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The else is just sand.”

After the impact of what he said settled, one of the students raised his hand and inquired what the beer represented. 

“I am glad you asked.” He replied. “It just goes to prove that no matter how full your life may seem, there is always room for a couple of beers.”