大学听说教程3 Unit 2 Coincidence

5. What could Andrew do with the money?

He could use the money to cover the tuition of his first year at a medical college. 6. What do you know about Andrew now? He is a doctor in Illinois.

Speaking Tasks

Pair Work

Debating — Arguments for or against believing in the supernatural

A Sample

People hold different views toward coincidences. Some think that they are mere chance while those who believe in the supernatural search for some higher order behind them. What’s your view? Express and defend your view from the perspectives given in the card below.

Topic: Are there mysterious forces at work when coincidences occur? Perspectives: 1. From the perspective of a person who believes in the supernatural (positive) 2. From the perspective of a person who believes in science (negative) Possible Arguments (for reference)

From the perspective of a person who believes in the supernatural (positive)

A lot of strange coincidences happen around us. And so far science hasn’t been able to provide answers to them. For example, a friend of mine told me that he dreamed that his uncle had died and the death was confirmed by a phone call he received the next morning immediately after he woke up. Wasn’t that odd? There was no way he could have known about his uncle’s death beforehand. My friend believed that it was his uncle coming to bid him farewell before he left the world for good. And I don’t know whether he is right or not. It couldn’t be just a coincidence, I think. There seems to be some mysterious forces at work. If not, how can we explain it?

From the perspective of a person who believes in science (negative)

I don’t think there are mysterious forces at work when coincidences occur. Most coincidences are simply the result of pure chance. And some coincidences, unusual though they may be, can actually be explained. Take coincidental birth dates for example. An experiment mentioned in an article by a professor at the University of Virginia shows that if you randomly select a group of 23 persons, there is a 50 per cent chance that at least two of them celebrate the same birth date. Unbelievable, isn’t it? Few people would have guessed that could be so common. If that’s the case with birth dates, isn’t it likely that many other coincidences are probable as well?

This experiment proves that it is possible to calculate the probabilities of some seemingly coincidental happenings. In real life, however, we tend to give coincidences a lesser probability than they deserve.

Now use the above sample as a model and carry on similar activities with your partner. You can

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refer to the notes below for ideas and vocabulary. You are also welcome to contribute ideas of your own.

Topic: Do you think one’s fate is a decisive factor in one’s life? Perspectives: 1. From the perspective of a person who believes in fate (positive) 2. From the perspective of a person who believes that success depends on human effort (negative)

Some Ideas for Reference The Argument (positive)

1. Effort alone sometimes can do nothing. In the old days, many girls were deprived of their

right to education simply because they were girls.

2. People are sometimes too weak to fight against their fate.

3. We can never choose our parents / what families or what regions we were born in. 4. Our birth often determines what we can achieve in future.

5. We can be limited in what we can achieve by forces beyond our control.

6. There are things that we can hardly control. Natural disasters, diseases, wars are some of the

things that can prevent our dreams from coming true no matter what great efforts we make. 7. We human beings appear so fragile and helpless before misfortunes that may fall on us. 8. All our efforts would be wasted if we were unlucky enough to be the victim of an ill fate.

The Counter-argument (negative)

1. The success stories of many people at home and abroad have shown that so long as you persevere in doing what you aim to do, you will succeed one day no matter who you are.

2. There are many factors contributing to a person’s success in his or her life. According to Abraham Lincoln, our resolution to succeed is more important than anything else.

3. A person’s clear goal and his or her perseverance in realizing it are really something that counts.

4. For us college students, to have a clear aim and to work hard toward its realization is of vital importance.

5. One’s success has nothing to do with his or her fate. 6. We are not destined from birth for what we are or will be. 7. We create our fate every day we live. 8. Our fate is in our own hands.

9. Fate is a cover-up for the fact that you don’t have control over your own life.

Part C

Test Your Listening

A Compound Dictation

Listen to the passage three times and supply the missing information.

One of the best-known 1) collections of parallels is between the careers of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Both were 2) shot on a Friday, in the 3) presence of their wives; both were succeeded by a Southerner named Johnson; both their killers were themselves killed before they

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could be brought to 4) justice. Lincoln had a secretary called Kennedy; Kennedy a secretary called Lincoln. Lincoln was killed in the Ford 5) Theater; Kennedy met his death while riding in a Lincoln convertible made by the Ford Motor Company — and so on.

Similar coincidences often 6) occur between twins. A news story from Finland reported of two 70-year-old twin brothers dying two hours apart in separate accidents, with both being hit by trucks while crossing the same road on bicycles. According to the police, the second 7) victim could not have known about his brother’s death, as 8) officers had only managed to identify the first victim minutes before the second accident. Connections are also found between identical twins who have been separated at birth. Dorothy Lowe and Bridget Harrison were separated in 1945, and did not meet until 1979, when they were flown over from Britain for an investigation by a psychologist at the University of Minnesota. They found that when they met they were both wearing seven rings on their hands, two bracelets on one wrist, a watch and a bracelet on the other. 9) They married on the same day, had worn identical wedding dresses and carried the same flowers. Dorothy had named her son Richard Andrew and her daughter Catherine Louise; Bridget had named her son Andrew Richard and her daughter Karen Louise. In fact, she had wanted to call her Catherine. Both had a cat called Tiger. They also had a string of similar mannerisms (习惯性的举止) when they were nervous.

10) How can we explain the above similarities? 7