講座：

　　Recording 1

　　American researchers have discovered the world's oldest paved road, a 4,600-year-old highway. it linked a stone pit in the Egyptian desert to waterways that carried blocks to monument sites along the Nile.

　　The eight-mile road is at least 500 years older than any previously discovered road. It is the only paved road discovered in ancient Egypt, said geologist Thomas Bown of the U.S. Geological Survey. He reported the discovery Friday, "The road probably doesn't rank with the pyramids as a construction feat, but it is a major engineering achievement," said his colleague, geologist James Harrell of the University of Toledo. "Not only is the road earlier than we thought possible, we didn't even think they built roads."

　　The researchers also made a discovery in the stone pit at the northern end of the road: the first evidence that the Egyptians used rock saws. "This is the oldest example of saws being used for cutting stone," said Bown’s colleague, James Hoffmeier of Wheaton College in Illinois,"That's two technologies we didn't know they had," Harrell said. "And we don't know why they were both abandoned."

　　The road was discovered in the Faiyum Depression, about 45 miles southwest of Cairo. Short segments of the road had been observed by earlier explorers, Bown said, but they failed to realize its significance or follow up on their observations. Bown and his colleagues stumbled across it while they were doing geological mapping in the region.

　　The road was clearly built to provide services for the newly discovered stone pit. Bown and Harrell have found the camp that housed workers at the stone pit. The road appears today to go nowhere, ending in the middle of the desert. When it was built, its terminal was a dock on the shore of Lake Moeris, which had an elevation of about 66 feet above sea level, the same as the dock.

　　Lake Moeris received its water from the annual floods of the Nile. At the time of the floods, the river and lake were at the same level and connected through a gap in the hills near the modern villages of el-Lahun and Hawara. Harrell and Bown believe that blocks were loaded onto barges during the dry season, then floated over to the Nile during the floods to be shipped off to the monument sites at Giza and Saqqara.

　　Q16: What do we learn from the lecture about the world's oldest paved road in Egypt?

　　Q17: What did the researchers discover in the stone pit?

　　Q18: For what purpose was the paved road built?

　　Recording 3

　　Ronald and Louis married for 2 decades consider themselves a happy couple but in the early years of their marriage both were disturbed by persistent arguments that seemed to fade away without ever being truly resolved. They uncovered clues towards what was going wrong by researching a fascinating subject: How birth order affects not only your personality but also how compatible you are with your mate.

　　Ronald and Louis are only children, and "onlys" grow up accustomed to be the apple of parents’ eyes. Match two “onlys”, and you have partners who subconsciously expect each other to continue fulfilling this expectation, while neither has much experience in the giving end. Here is a list of common birth order characteristics, and some thoughts on the best and worst, marriage would match for each.

　　The oldest tends to be self-assured, responsible, a high-achiever and relatively serious and reserved. He may be slow to make friends, perhaps contained with only one companion. The best matches are with a youngest, an only or a mate raised in a large family. The worst match is with another oldest, since the two will be too sovereign to share a household comfortably.

　　The youngest child of the family thrives on attention, and tends to be out-going, adventurous, optimistic, creative and less ambitious than others in the family. He may lack self-discipline, and have difficulty making decisions on his own.

　　A youngest brother of brothers, often unpredictable and romantic, will match best with an oldest sister of brothers. The youngest sister of brothers is best matched with an oldest brother of sisters who will happily indulge these traits.

　　The middle child is influenced by many variables; However, "middles" are less likely to take initiative, and more anxious and self-critical than others. "Middles" often successfully marry other "middles", since both are strong untacked, not so strong on aggressiveness, and tend to crave affection.

　　The only child is often most comfortable when alone. But since an only tends to be a well-adjusted individual, she’ll eventually learn to relate to any chosen spouse. The male only child expects his wife to make life easier without getting much in return. He is sometimes best matched with a younger sister of brothers. The female only child who tends to be slightly more flexible is well matched with an older man who will indulge her tendency to test his love. Her worst match? Another only. Of course.

　　Q22: What does the speaker say about Ronald and Louis’s early years of married life?

　　Q23: What do we learn about Ronald and Louis?

　　Q24: What does the speaker say about the oldest child in a family?

　　Q25: What does the speaker say about the only children?

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