2005.5月听力长文章大意

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第一篇是讲Theodore Dreiser的小说Sister Carrie。先讲它开始如何不受欢迎重视，后来由于英国评论家的赞扬，才开始出版受到欢迎重视。

第二篇是一个woman介绍如何吸引bird到自己家的garden里，使用egg做诱饵吸引bird在自己家garden逗留，增添乐趣。讲如何把egg弄软弄脆，使bird容易啄食。

第三篇讲山体滑坡，如何预防，减轻对建筑物的影响。好像有3个措施预防，一个是植被，第二个是什么我忘了，还有一个是把雨水引走，而不是要筑墙。

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我估计第一篇文章可能与下面文章关系很大

Dreiser began work on his first novel, Sister Carrie, in the fall of 1899 and, with a few interruptions, worked on it steadily through March 1900. Revisions and cuts were made as he wrote, with the help of his wife, Sara White Dreiser, and his friend Arthur Henry, who then lived with the Dreisers. A typescript was prepared from the revised manuscript by Anna Mallon and a pool of typists. Dreiser, again aided by his wife and Henry, made further cuts and revisions in this typescript and rewrote the ending. He submitted the revised typescript to Harper & Brothers, who rejected it May 2, 1900. In the meantime, Dreiser had read and admired McTeague, by Frank Norris, and probably because Norris was an editor at the newly established company of Doubleday, Page, decided to submit the novel to that firm for publication. Norris was very enthusiastic about the novel, as apparently were others at the firm, and early in June it was accepted for fall publication without a formal contract. Soon after, Dreiser left New York to visit his wife's family in Missouri, confident that all was in order. Frank N. Doubleday, the senior member of the firm, returned to New York from Europe in July, read the novel, and decided that his firm should not publish it. However, Dreiser held Doubleday, Page to their promise to publish the book, and a formal contract was signed August 20, 1900. The publisher insisted on certain revisions, such as disguising the names of real places and people and eliminating all profanity. Although Dreiser agreed to some changes and wrote in September that "the names of Francis Wilson, Charles Frohman, Schlesinger and Meyer, the Waldorf, the Morton House, the Broadway and so on have been removed," in fact Charles Frohman, the Waldorf Hotel, the Morton House Hotel, and the Broadway Theatre are still present in the published novel. In the same letter, Dreiser disagreed with some of the judgments of "profanity" as queried in the typescript, writing, "Since when has the expression 'Lord Lord,' become profane. Wherein is 'Damn,' 'By the Lord,' and 'By God.'" Existing correspondence shows that Dreiser saw galleys and page proofs, and some of the variants between the typescript and book version of the novel are stylistic revisions that only the author would make. There is also evidence of further censoring by the publishers: for example, "you bastards!" was cut from the strike episode (382.10), "dingy lavatory" was changed to "dingy hall" (417.32), and Carrie and Hurstwood get married in the afternoon of the day they arrive at the hotel rather than the morning after (263.39-264.2). The book was published November 8, 1900. Only 1,008 sets of sheets were printed, of which 450 were left unbound. Distribution was kept to the minimum necessary to satisfy the legal obligation and the book was not publicized except by Frank Norris, who sent out 127 copies for review. From its publication to February 1902, only 456 copies of Sister Carrie were sold, and Dreiser received $68.40 in royalties. In 1901, Heinemann in London brought out an abridged edition for its Dollar Library of American Fiction. Dreiser himself took no part in preparing this edition; the work of abridgment was done by his friend Arthur Henry. Though the British edition received good reviews, Dreiser's royalties from it were less than $100.

Dreiser bought the plates for Sister Carrie in 1906 and at that time eliminated the dedication to Arthur Henry; he also rewrote a passage that one reviewer had noted was taken from George Ade's "The Fable of the Two Mandolin Players and the Willing Performer" ("Let . . . regard.", 6.7-25). A new printing from these altered plates was brought out by B. W. Dodge in 1907. Though Dreiser owned the plates and the book was reprinted many times during his lifetime, he never made any further alterations, not even when the Limited Editions Club brought out a new edition in 1939. This volume prints the text of the first printing, which includes the dedication to Arthur Henry and the original Ade passage.

Dreiser began work on Jennie Gerhardt in January 1901 and wrote forty chapters in four months; then he discovered he had made an "error in character analysis" and would have to revise the work completely. He contracted with the J.F. Taylor Company in September 1901 to deliver the novel (then titled The Transgressor) within a year and received advances against royalties of $100 a month.

By mid-June 1902, suffering from depression and nervous collapse, he realized he would be unable to complete the novel in time for fall publication, and not long after, payments from Taylor stopped. When he recovered his health, Dreiser worked as an editor with the New York Daily News, Street & Smith, Smith's Magazine, Broadway Magazine, and the Butterick Company and by 1907 was able to repay J.F. Taylor the $750 advanced. There is evidence that he did some work on the novel between 1903 and 1905 and that he prepared twenty chapters to show publishers in 1908. After losing his job with the Butterick Company in 1910, he again took up the manuscript and by the end of December completed the first draft. This draft was read by Sara Dreiser, who advised cutting it, and Lillian Rosenthal and Fremont Rider, who both thought that the "happy ending" was wrong. The manuscript was cut and the ending was rewritten. The new version was sent to H. L. Mencken, James Huneker, and others. Every reader but Mencken advised cutting, and Huneker did not like the epilogue and thought it should be left out. The manuscript was rejected by Macmillan, but it was accepted by Ripley Hitchcock for Harper & Brothers in April 1911. Hitchcock insisted on further cuts and revisions, and Dreiser was charged $600 against royalties for editorial work. The novel was published October 19, 1911, and received good reviews. Some alterations were later made in the plates: for example, the second printing contains a correction of "is" to "it" (477.9), and at some time still later Harpers eliminated the epilogue, "In Passing."

Dreiser's role in dropping the epilogue, however, is unclear. Subsequent printings by Burt (1924), Boni & Liveright (1924), and others reprint the cut version. No other changes were made in the later printings or editions of the novel during Dreiser's lifetime. The text of the first printing of the first edition, which includes the epilogue, is printed in this volume.

Dreiser published versions of seven of the twelve "narratives" (the term is Dreiser's) that make up Twelve Men in various magazines over a period of seventeen years: "A Doer of the Word" in Ainslee's (June 1902); "The Country Doctor" in Harper's Monthly (July 1918); "Culhane, the Solid Man," based on "Scared Back to Nature," in Harper's Weekly (May 16, 1903); "A True Patriarch" in McClure's (Dec. 1901); "The Mighty Rourke," as "The Mighty Burke," in McClure's (May 1911); "A Mayor and His People" in Era (June 1903); and "W. L. S." as "The Color of To-Day" in Harper's Weekly (Dec. 14, 1901). The magazine publication dates are misleading: "The Country Doctor" was written before July 1902, and "The Mighty Rourke" was written before June 1904. Other narratives, though they appeared first in Twelve Men, were written much earlier. "Peter" and "My Brother Paul" were probably written between 1908 and 1909; "The Village Feudists" was written soon after the summer of 1901. Only two of the narratives seem to have been written close to the time of the book's appearance: "De Maupassant, Jr." and "Vanity, Vanity." In 1918, Dreiser gave these narratives to Dorothy Dudley for preliminary editing and then carefully went over them himself. Collation of the published articles with the book versions reveals that he made few cuts in the articles and added many passages of social commentary and criticism. Some of the additions, of course, may simply be to restore sections that had been removed for the magazine publication. Twelve Men was published by Boni & Liveright April 14, 1919. It was not revised in later printings or editions. The first printing of the first edition published by Boni & Liveright furnishes the text printed in this volume.

This volume presents the texts of the original editions chosen for inclusion here. It does not attempt to reproduce features of the typographic design, such as the display capitalization of chapter openings. The texts are reproduced without change, except for the correction of typographical errors. Spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are often expressive features, and they are not altered, even when inconsistent or irregular.

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第二篇文章可能摘录于此文章 Natural Life Magazine -  July/August 1996

How to Attract Wild Birds to Your Garden
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be awakened by a chorus of singing birds under your window? Have you ever thought of the pleasure you could derive from of a bird sanctuary in your own yard? All this could be yours with a little planning and a small cash investment. “Bird Lady” Eva Dannacker explains how.
By Eva Dannacker

In order to be able to attract birds, you should have at least one tree. Most birds prefer a deciduous tree, although robins will nest in evergreens. Baltimore orioles like to build their neatly woven hanging nests in tall poplars. A mountain ash is popular with waxwings, who will stay in your yard until they devour every red berry in sight.

A well stocked feeding station for your winged visitors is the next consideration. Most people want to attract several species of birds: some insect eaters, some seed eaters and the omnivorous mixed eaters, which consume both seeds and insects.

Canola or rape seed is a favourite with American gold finches. This seed is also acceptable to pine siskins and many other smaller birds, and is obtainable in most seed stores.

Sunflower seeds are a great favourite with evening grosbeaks, blue jays, chickadees, nuthatches and if you purchase the small, black variety, gold finches, purple finches and many other species will dine on them too. Ground, unsalted peanuts will appeal to most birds.

Spring, summer or early fall are the best times to erect feeding stations, in order to allow birds to get used to them. It often takes a week or two before the birds lose their fear and try out a new feeder.

Feeders need not be elaborate. A coconut cut in half and the milk and meat removed will serve as an excellent cup-type feeder. A tray-like feeder can be attached to the outside frame of your living room or kitchen window. A free-standing bird table could also be erected away from your window, but in easy view of it.

If you have several feeders scattered around your garden, and an effort is made to cater to various kinds of birds, it will not take long before they pass the “word” around.

Few people realize that birds, like humans, need calcium in their diets. You can supply their need for this mineral if you save your fresh eggshells, dry them, then offer small fingernail-sized pieces to your summer birds. I have seen purple martins, tree swallows, barn swallows and purple finches enjoying the eggshell pieces and carrying some back to their nests to feed their growing young. If they can get enough calcium before egg laying, it will help them produce strong eggshells.

You can easily construct an eggshell feeder. All you require is a flat piece of wood with some rim around it to hold the eggshells. Erect this feeder seven to eight feet above the ground on a metal pipe, or use your flat-roofed bird feeder to scatter some eggshells for the mineral-needy birds.

Many people seem to overlook the importance of having an adequate supply of water in their gardens for their feathered friends. A bird bath will not only provide birds with a drink and bath, but it will beautify your garden.

Place the bird bath fairly close to a tree, but not too close to bushes or large shrubs where cats can lurk, ready to pounce. The bird bath should be cleaned frequently and fresh water should be provided for the birds daily. A few pebbles or stones can be placed in plastic bird baths to make them less slippery.

If you want to attract hummingbirds to your garden, this can be accomplished in several ways. If you plant honeysuckle, common lilac (with purple flowers), red geraniums, nasturtium, red petunias, red salvia, coral bells, columbine, fuchsia and even scarlet runner beans, there is a good chance that you will see hummingbirds feeding among your flowers.

Or you may prefer to entice them by hanging a hummingbird feeder near your flowers. The best type of hummingbird feeder is a hanging one with a bee guard. Contrary to popular belief, the red coloured, commercially prepared nectar you can buy for your feeder is not good for hummingbirds. In fact, the dye in the artificial nectar can cause kidney damage in birds.

So make your own syrup using three to four parts water to one part sugar. Since your hummingbird feeder is most likely red, it will attract the birds, eliminating the need for coloured water. Never use artificial sweeteners, since these birds need the sugar for high energy.

Hummingbird feeders should be cleaned thoroughly and filled with fresh sugar water at least twice a week to prevent water-borne bacteria from contaminating the food supply.

If you are good with hammer and saw, you might want to build nesting boxes for your feathered friends. Books are available on this at the library or in book stores. You must remember that the nest box you design for the wren should only accommodate the wren and not an English house sparrow. Hole size is important.

An American robin will only require an open shelf with a roof and one side closed, an inch-and-a-half rim around it, securely fastened to a tree branch with wire. Some people may wish to attach the robin nesting shelf to a building under the eaves, facing south or east.

Tree swallows and purple martins begin to show up in April and May. Young, first-time nesting purple martins born the previous summer usually arrive between the middle of May and early June. They, too, will nest and raise a family.

While a tree swallow will occupy an individual wooden birdhouse with a 1-1/2-inch entrance hole close to the roof, the more gregarious purple martins need apartment-style birdhouses that accommodate from six to 24 pairs. The entrance hole should be between 2 and 2-1/8-inches for martin compartment, and the birdhouses should always be white to reflect heat.

Many people confuse purple martins with tree swallows. It is easy to distinguish the two species. While tree swallows are small (about five inches in length) and sport a snow white belly, their cousins the purple martins are about eight inches long, and the adult males have black chests. Female martins are plain chested and you can observe a pale band resembling a necklace around the adult females' necks.

Both purple martins and tree swallows devour large numbers of flying insect pests, which they capture on the wing. While tree swallows will look for food closer to the ground as well as at treetop level, most purple martins search for butterflies, damsel flies and flying beetles at a much higher altitude. Martins soar like a hawk riding the air currents. Both species show dark plum, iridescent reflections on their wings.

The amateur bird watcher can often be at a loss when trying to recognize a bird. Fortunately, several books are available on how to identify your feathered visitors. The most popular books are written by Roger Tory Peterson: A Field Guide to Eastern Birds and A Field Guide to Western Birds.

Another good book for the novice bird watcher is Field Guide to the Birds of North America, published by the National Geographic Society.

Now that you have your tree, and have erected feeding stations well supplied with a variety of food meant for various species of birds, now that there is water in the bird bath to invite the thirsty guests, and a few birdhouses for the cavity nesters, get your binoculars ready. Happy bird watching to you!

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第三篇可能是与下面类似的文章

Homeowner's guide to recognizing and reducing landslide damage on their property

Why landslides commonly occur

Areas generally prone to landslides

Features indicating landslide movement

How you can reduce the likelihood of landslide

ESeraph

强！