新东方梅雪老师主讲的听力讲义
acupuncture as a way of treating pain.
An American journalist who stood beside a patient during an operation in Shanghai recently described the process and its effects. To keep the patients from feeling pain during the operation，four needles were used，each about an inch and a half long. Two needles were inserted under the skin on each side of the patient's neck. The top of the needles were attached to wires which led to a small electrical device.
Throughout the operation the patient talked calmly to those standing around him，insisting that he felt perfectly normal.
How does acupuncture work? How is it able to keep a patient from feeling pain? No very satisfactory answer has been given，but there are at least three theories.
Some doctors believe that acupuncture somehow produces an effect upon the central nervous system. Others believe that acupuncture produces a chemical change in the body's fluids. Still another theory is that the needles make contact with an unknown system of energy in the body which travels along certain routes under the skin. The true explanation may be one of these or a combination of more than one. Or it may be something entirely different.
Main points:
① Acupuncture has been used in China for more than 2000 years，but it's still new in western world.
② An American journalist himself saw the process of acupuncture.
③Three theories of acupuncture are given.
Computers
One hundred and thirteen million Americans have at least one bank-issued credit card. They give their owners automatic credit on stores，restaurants，and hotels，at home，across the country，and even abroad，and they make many banking services available as well. More and more of these credit cards can be read automatically，making it possible to withdraw or deposit money in scattered locations，whether or not the local branch bank is open. For many of us the “cashless'' society is not on the horizon—it's already here.
While computers offer these conveniences to consumers，they have many advantages for sellers too. Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply ring up sales. They can keep a wild range of records，including who sold what，when and to whom. This information allows businessmen to keep track of their list of goods by showing which items are being sold and how fast they are moving. Decisions to record or return goods to suppliers can then be made. At the same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most efficient，allowing personnel and staffing assignments to be made accordingly. And they also identify preferred customers for promotional campaigns. Computers are relied on by manufacturers for similar reasons. Computer-analyzed marketing reports can help to decide which products to emphasize now，which to develop for the future，and which to drop.
Computers keep track of good in stock，of raw materials on hand，and even of the production process itself.
Main points:
① The birth of the computers.
② The advantage of computer for sellers.