Word Bank

In this section you will listen to a short passage about smile. The following words andphrases may be of some help.

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 

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

Task Two

Listen to the recording again and fill in each of the 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 bottle was full. They agreed that it was.

     He then picked up a box of pebbles and added them to the bottle, shaking it lightly. The pebbles, of course rolled into the open areas between the rocks. “Is this bottle 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 2 cans of beer and poured the beer into the bottle. The students laughed loudly.

     After the laughter stopped, the professor spoke again: “I want you to recognize that this bottle represents your life. The rocks are the important things in your life, your family, your partner, your health, your children — things that would still remain even if everything else were lost, and your life would still be full. The pebbles are the 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 bottle 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 so on. 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.”