Old superstitions linger even in today?s modern world. / The author Philip Pullman drew on

them / in his award winning novel “His Dark Materials”. / The novel, which appeals to both children and adults, / has been adapted for radio and also the theatre. /

Dictation 2 Graduate Student 研究生（157 words）

Graduate students specialize in a particular field of study. / They study to become experts in

this field / and to learn new advances in their fields while they earn an M.A. or Ph.D. / Sometimes

when they get an M. A. in one field they begin studying another field. / They hope that when they

earn their graduate degrees / they will succeed in finding important jobs. / They hope to get jobs

that are interesting and high paying. / The life of a graduate student is often difficult. / They are

usually too busy studying to make a good living. / Often they have to pay high tuition fees for

their education. / Some give up studying before they get their degrees. / But most keep on working

at their studies until they graduate. / In today?s world, most graduate students don?t regret spending time with their studies. / They are finding that new developments are occurring in all

fields. / For many graduate study has become a necessity. /

Dictation 3 April Fool’s Day 愚人节（157 words）

1st April is a day to be careful, or you could easily get tricked by someone. / It?s April Fool?s

Day, a day when people traditionally like to try / to make a fool of someone else and laugh at them. /

There are lots of theories surrounding the origins of the day, / but one explanation is

connected with the change in the calendar in the 16th century, / which meant that 1st April was no

longer the beginning of the year. / Those who still celebrated the New Year on 1st April were called fools. /

So what kind of pranks do people play on April Fool?s Day? / Well, there are lots of simple

tricks / that you can play on your friends. / For example, you could wear a black sweater / and pull

a piece of white thread through it, / so that people try to pull it off. / You could change the time on

someone?s alarm clock / so that they?re late for work. /

Dictation 4 Living Online 网上生活（159 words）

How do you meet new people, make new friends, or find out about the latest bands? / Here in

the UK young people have traditionally done their socializing in bars, pubs and clubs. /

However, there is a new generation growing up / that finds it easier to manage their social

lives on the net, / using free websites like MySpace, Bebo or MSN Spaces. /

Welcome to the social networking website / — a place where you can present yourself to the

digital community and meet other like-minded people. /

The most successful social networking website in the UK is MySpace.com. / As of July 2006,

MySpace is the world?s fourth most popular English-language website, / attracting almost 3 million visitors per month. / MySpace claims to have 95 million members / with 500,000 new members joining the community each week. /

So how has it become so successful? / Perhaps its secret is in its simplicity. / Each new member can build their own page simply — uploading photos, videos and MP3 files. /

Dictation 5 Mother’s Day 母亲节（160 words）

Does your mother know how much you appreciate her? / Well, Mother?s Day is the time to

show her. / It?s a chance to say ?thank you?, or to tell your mum how much you love her. / In Britain, Mother?s Day, or Mothering Sunday, / falls on a different day each year, / because it takes place a few weeks before the festival of Easter. / But it is always in the early springtime,

which seems appropriate, / as the season when new plants emerge, / and baby birds and animals

are born. / In the USA, Mother?s Day takes place a little later, in May, / and many other countries

also celebrate their mothers on different days of the year. /

It began many years ago, when children, / especially girls, as young as 10 would live and

work away from home / as housemaids and other types of servant. / Mothering Sunday was a day

when everyone was allowed to go to their home village or town, and visit their mothers. /

Dictation 6 Online Shopping 网上购物（159 words）

With only two weeks to go before Christmas, / buying presents is a high priority for a lot of

people. / However, this year not so many people are leaving their homes to browse around the

shops. / These days lots of people can do their shopping / in the comfort of their own home with

the help of the internet. /

Online shopping is becoming more and more popular for a number of reasons; / prices are

often lower online, / you don?t have to queue up in busy shops / and you can buy almost any product imaginable / with just a few clicks of your mouse. /

Computer trends are often male-dominated / but this year women are expected to do more

shopping on the internet than men. / It seems women are now more attracted to the convenience of

online shopping than they used to be. /

Average spending online this Christmas by women will rise to ￡240 / compared to the slightly lower average of ￡233 for men. /

Dictation 7 Reality TV 真实电视（155 words）

The latest fashion on British TV is Reality TV. / Reality TV means that shows follow and film ordinary people in an artificial situation. / This could be at work, or in some kind of competition. /

One of the first and most popular Reality TV shows is Big Brother. / In this show, 15

complete strangers have to live together in a house for 11 weeks. / They are filmed 24 hours a day,

/ and shown on television. / Each week, the viewers vote to evict one of the housemates. / Finally,

only one is left, / and they win the prize money! /

The show was an instant hit, and runs in several countries. / The housemates often become

stars as a result of the show, / and appear in national newspapers and on other shows. / Another very popular show is I?m a Celebrity — Get Me Out Of Here! / In this show, 10 celebrities have to complete tasks each week, such as eating insects. /

Dictation 8 School 学校（160 words）

September is traditionally the end of summer / and the beginning of autumn in the UK. / It is

also the month when children go back to school after their long summer holidays. /

There are two types of school in England. / State-run schools are paid for by the government,

so are free to attend. / Independent Schools are private, which means you have to pay to attend. /

The school day usually starts at 9 in the morning and finishes around 4, / with breaks for lunch of course! / In many schools, you have to wear a uniform too. /

Children start school when they are 5 years old. / This is called primary school, / and lasts until the child is 11 when he or she will go on to senior school. /

Secondary school is compulsory from 11 until 16 years of age. / At 16, students take national

examinations called GCSE?s. / After this, students can stay at school for another 2 years and take

A Level examinations. /

Dictation 9 The Modern Family 现代家庭（154 words）

Father leaves for work in the morning after breakfast. / The two children take the bus to school, / and mother stays home cooking and cleaning / until father and the kids return home in

the evening. / This is the traditional picture of a happy family living in Britain. /

The past 20 years have seen enormous changes in the lives and structure of families in

Britain. /

The biggest change has been caused by divorce. / As many as 2 out of 3 marriages now end

in divorce, / leading to a situation where many children live with one parent / and only see the

other at weekends or holidays. /

There has also been a huge rise in the number of women with children who work. / The large

rise in divorces has meant / many women need to work to support themselves and their children. /

Even when there is no divorce, / many families need both parents to work in order to survive. /

Dictation 10 Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节（146 words）

On 25th September this year, people all over China / will be getting together to eat with their

families, / look at the moon and celebrate one of the biggest festivals in the Chinese lunar calendar. /

However, the celebrations stretch far beyond the borders of China. / Here in the UK events

are taking place for Chinese people living here, / and to teach the people of Britain more about this

popular festival. /

The Soho Theatre in London conducted a study / which showed that Chinese Londoners

don?t engage much with the arts world. / As a result, ?Moon walking In China? has been created to

celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. /

This is no normal theatre production though, / as it doesn?t take place in the theatre. / Theatre

professionals and volunteers from the local community / will take audiences around the streets of

Soho / on a magical lantern-lit walk / through the landmarks and backstreets of Chinatown. /

Dictation 11 The Dragon 龙（160 words）

When many people in the west think of China, / the animal that they think of is the dragon. /

For them, the dragon is an aggressive monster that breathes fire. / Many popular legends tell of

how dragons killed brave knights and ate beautiful maidens. /

For Chinese people however, the dragon is not an evil monster. / It?s a cultural and spiritual symbol for prosperity and good luck. / The dragon?s main task is to create harmony and bring rain.

/ Dragons are celebrated in art and architecture, / and of course the dragon dance is a very