0:00 2009年英语专业四级 短文1
1:52 2009年英语专业四级 短文2
3:52 2009年英语专业四级 短文3
2009年英语专业四级 短文1
For shopaholics, the post-Christmas period means only one thing-sales!
对于购物狂来说，圣诞节后的这段时间只意味着一件事——销售！
Across the country, prices are slashed on clothing, electronics, home furnishings and more.
在全国范围内，服装、电子产品、家具等等的价格都在大幅下降。
But London is the place for serious shopping, and you can certainly pick up some amazing bargains.
但是伦敦是一个可以进行重大采购的地方，你当然可以买到一些很便宜的商品。
The sales start on Boxing Day-26th December, and continue for the month of January.
12月26日节礼日开始销售，然后1月继续销售。
But the keenest bargain hunters get there early to be first through the doors.
但是，最热衷于讨价还价的人会早早到达那里，成为第一个通过大门的人。
In Oxford Street, queues formed outside shops ahead of pre-dawn openings for the start of their sales.
在牛津街，在黎明前开业前，商店外面排起了长队等待着销售。
At Brent Cross in north London, more than 1,000 people were queuing at 3:30 a.m.for the "next" clothing store's sale which began at 4 a.m.
在伦敦北部的布伦特十字，超过1000人在凌晨3：30排队等待“下一个”服装店4点的销售。
Some people even camped outside the shops to be first in the line.
有些人甚至在商店外面扎营以抢在前面。
Some people are taking their friends shopping with them and buying their Christmas presents in the sales-a practical but unromantic way of making sure you get the gift you really want.
一些人带着他们的朋友去购物，在商店里买他们的圣诞礼物-—种实用但不浪漫的方式来确保你得到你真正想要的礼物。
For a less exciting but less stressful shopping experience, online retailers are also getting in on the act with January sales of their own.
对于一种不太刺激但压力较小的购物体验，在线零售商也在积极参与1月份的销售。
The most organized of all are those who are already doing their present for next Christmas in the January sales!
最具组织性的是那些已经在为明年1月的销售做圣诞礼物的人！
2009年英语专业四级 短文2
Ballroom dancing used to be seen as something rather unfashionable that old people might do.
交际舞过去被认为是老年人可能会跳的一种不太时髦的舞蹈。
For the past five years, though, the popularity of ballroom dancing has soared thanks to a reality TV show.
然而，在过去的五年里，交际舞的受欢迎程度因电视真人秀节目而飙升。
"Strictly Come Dancing" is one of the big TV shows.
《舞动奇迹》是大型电视节目之一。
Millions of people tune in every Saturday night to watch the show which airs from September right up to Christmas.
数以百万计的人每周六晚上收看从九月到圣诞节播出的这档电视节目。
In the show, a number of professional ballroom dancers each dance with a celebrity.
在节目中，一些专业的交际舞演员与一位名人共舞。
Every week, they have to learn a different ballroom dance and perform it live on TV on Saturday night.
每周，他们都要学习一种不同的交际舞，并在周六晚上在电视上现场表演。
The show demonstrates how glamorous ballroom dancing is.
这个节目展示了交际舞的魅力。
The celebrities get to wear colorful dresses and suits to dance in, and it lookslike a lot of fun.
名人可以穿着五颜六色的礼服和套装跳舞，看起来很有趣。
The TV programme also shows what good exercise it can be to ballroom dance, and what hard work is involved in learning the dances and performing them properly.
这个电视节目还展示了交际舞的好处，以及学习舞蹈和恰当地表演舞蹈需要付出多大的努力。
Dance schools around the country have seen a boost in the number of people wanting to learn how to dance.全国各地的舞蹈学校都发现，想学跳舞的人越来越多。
And it's not only older people who're interested. Lots of children and young people in their 20s are keen to learn.
不仅老年人对此感兴趣。许多20多岁的孩子和年轻人都渴望学习。
2009年英语专业四级 短文3
Recently,a couple in New Zealand were forbidden from naming their baby son 4Real.
最近，新西兰一对夫妇被禁止给他们的宝贝儿子取名4Real。
Even though New Zealand has quite liberal rules about naming children, names beginning with a number are not allowed.
尽管新西兰对给孩子起名有相当宽松的规定，但以数字开头的名字是不允许的。
They decided to call him Superman instead.
他们决定称他为超人。
In many countries around the world, unusual names for children are becoming more popular, especially since the increasing trend for celebrities to give their children unusual names.
在世界上许多国家，孩子们不寻常的名字越来越流行，尤其是在名人给自己的孩子起不寻常名字的趋势越来越明显之后。
Some parents choose names which come from popular culture.
一些家长选择的名字来自流行文化。
For example, there have been six boys named Gandalf after the character in the Lord of the Rings novels and films.
例如，有六个男孩以《指环王》小说和电影中的甘道夫的名字命名。
Equally,names related to sports are fairly common-since 1984, 36 children have been called Arsenal after the football team.
同样，与体育相关的名字也相当普遍——自1984年以来，已有36名儿童以足球队的名字阿森纳命名。
Other parents like to make up names, or combine names to make their own unique version,
其他的父母喜欢编名字，或者把名字组合起来成为包含他们名字的独特版本，
a method demonstrated by Jordan, the British model, who recently invented the name Thiáamii for her daughter by combining the names Thea and Amy-the two grandmothers.
英国模特约丹用一种方法证明了这一点，她最近为自己的女儿发明了一个名叫蒂亚米的名字，改名字是把西娅和艾米这两位祖母的名字组合起来。
She was quoted as saying that the accent and double letters were added to make the name "more exotic".
她说，加了重音和两个字母是为了让这个名字“更有异国情调”。
Other countries have much stricter rules when it comes to naming children.其他国家在给孩子起名方面有更严格的规定。
Countries including Japan, Denmark, Spain, Germany and Argentina have an approved list of names from which parents must choose.
日本、丹麦、西班牙、德国和阿根廷等国家都有一份经过批准的名单，家长必须从中选择。
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