*此篇文本建議作為背景知識(shí)擴(kuò)展，反復(fù)多次聽(tīng)

Hi everyone, in this session I'll be presenting my research about the social history of Britain during the Industrial Revolution. I particularly looked at how ordinary lives were affected by changes that happened at that time. This was a time that saw the beginning of a new phenomenon: consumerism— where buying and selling goods became a major part of ordinary people's lives.

• 這一段我加粗變色的詞大家就作為聽(tīng)力必備詞匯背一背就好了，既然是聽(tīng)力必備詞匯，那么背誦的要求就是【關(guān)注發(fā)音 + 拼寫正確】。

• consumerism，這個(gè)詞我們肯定都熟悉，消費(fèi)主義。但是究竟什么是消費(fèi)主義呢？我們看看這個(gè)詞的英英釋義，畢竟這個(gè)詞就是從國(guó)外傳進(jìn)來(lái)的。consumerism --?the belief that it is good for a society or an individual person to buy and use a large quantity of goods and services。說(shuō)白了就是你只有不斷消費(fèi)，才會(huì)對(duì)社會(huì)以及個(gè)人有利。你買了別人的商品、別人的勞動(dòng)，這樣別人就會(huì)賺錢；別人用賺來(lái)的錢購(gòu)買你的商品、你的勞動(dòng)，這樣錢就回到了你的口袋里。大家一起買買買，社會(huì)也會(huì)因此受益。想法很豐滿，但是現(xiàn)實(shí)總是骨感的。你花出去的錢如果回不來(lái)了、你沒(méi)有能力去創(chuàng)收，那這個(gè)時(shí)候會(huì)導(dǎo)致什么問(wèn)題呢？感興趣的同學(xué)可以去搜一下消費(fèi)主義的弊端，為口語(yǔ)和寫作積累素材。

In fact, it was in the 19th century that the quantity and quality of people's possessions was used as an indication of the wealth of the country. Before this, the vast majority of people had very few possessions, but all that was changed by the Industrial Revolution. This was the era from the mid-18th to the late 19th century, when improvements in how goods were made as well as in technology triggered massive social changes that transformed life for just about everybody in several key areas.

• indication ?n. 象征、標(biāo)示。To some extent, your test score can be used as an indication of your attitude towards studying.

• trigger ?原指打槍時(shí)扣動(dòng)扳機(jī)，可以引申為發(fā)起、觸發(fā)。The use of mobile phones triggered massive changes that transformed my life. ?手機(jī)的使用給我?guī)?lái)了顛覆人生的巨大改變。背單詞關(guān)鍵是學(xué)以致用，下次再想表達(dá)“改變”時(shí)，don't say sth. just changed my life or sth. brought a lot of changes. 用這個(gè)，sth. triggered changes，那究竟是怎么樣的 changes，我們可以通過(guò)前置或/和后置定語(yǔ)進(jìn)行修飾。

First let's look at manufacturing. When it comes to manufacturing, we tend to think of the Industrial Revolution in images of steam engines and coal. And it's true that the Industrial Revolution couldn't have taken place at all if it weren't for these new sources of power. They marked an important shift away from the traditional watermills and windmills that had dominated before this. The most advanced industry for much of the 19th century was textiles. This meant that fashionable fabrics, and lace and ribbons were made available to everyone.

• 所有我沒(méi)有專門展開(kāi)講解的加粗變色詞，大家就當(dāng)做聽(tīng)力必備詞匯去背就好，不認(rèn)識(shí)的勤查詞典。

• when it comes to... ?提到...。這句話我們經(jīng)常用在口語(yǔ)考試part2的開(kāi)場(chǎng)，比如話題是一個(gè)有趣的老人，那我們開(kāi)頭就可以說(shuō) When it comes to an interesting old man, I'd like to talk about...

• tend to ?傾向于做某事，like 的常見(jiàn)同義替換。

• textile ?n. 紡織品，可數(shù)。但是加上s也可以表示整個(gè)紡織業(yè)。

Before the Industrial Revolution, most people made goods to sell in small workshops, often in their own homes. But enormous new machines were now being created that could produce the goods faster and on a larger scale, and these required a lot more space. So large factories were built, replacing the workshops, and forcing workers to travel to work. In fact, large numbers of people migrated from villages into towns as a result.

• migrate, migration ?遷徙、移民，雅思聽(tīng)力?？荚~匯。

As well as manufacturing, there were new technologies in transport, contributing to the growth of consumerism. The horse-drawn stagecoaches and carts of the 18th century, which carried very few people and goods, and travelled slowly along poorly surfaced roads, were gradually replaced by the numerous canals that were constructed. These were particularly important for the transportation of goods. The canals gradually fell out of use, though, as railways were developed, becoming the main way of moving goods and people from one end of the country to the other. And the goods they moved weren't just coal, iron, clothes, and so on - significantly, they included newspapers, which meant that thousands of people were not only more knowledgeable about what was going on in the country, but could also read about what was available in the shops. And that encouraged them to buy more. So faster forms of transport resulted in distribution becoming far more efficient - goods could now be sold all over the country, instead of just in the local market.?

• contribute to ?有助于、促進(jìn)。For example, drinking?Coca?Cola?does not?contribute to?weight gain. ??[:)bullshit]

• canal ?運(yùn)河。注意單詞的重音位置。

The third main area that saw changes that contributed to consumerism was retailing. The number and quality of shops grew rapidly, and in particular, small shops suffered as customers flocked to the growing number of department stores - a form of retailing that was new in the 19th century. The entrepreneurs who opened these found new ways to stock them with goods, and to attract customers: for instance, improved lighting inside greatly increased the visibility of the goods for sale. Another development that made goods more visible from outside resulted from the use of plate glass, which made it possible for windows to be much larger than previously. New ways of promoting goods were introduced, too. Previously, the focus had been on informing potential customers about the availability of goods; now there was an?explosion in advertising trying to persuade people to go shopping.

• flock ?群聚、蜂擁。Thousands of people flocked to the beach this weekend.

• department stores ?百貨公司，當(dāng)成一個(gè)詞組來(lái)記。

• entrepreneurs ?學(xué)經(jīng)濟(jì)人必會(huì)單詞，用來(lái)形容晚上容易尿頻的人--企業(yè)家。

• potential customers ?只要還沒(méi)有買我家的產(chǎn)品，都可以稱之為 潛在消費(fèi)者。

• explosion ?激增、猛增，可以用在雅思小作文中，但是注意它的上升方式（a large, sudden or rapid increase）。e.g. a population explosion ?人口激增
  

Flanders claims that one of the great effects of the Industrial Revolution was that it created choice. All sorts of things that had previously been luxuries —from sugar to cutlery -became conveniences, and before long they'd turned into necessities: life without sugar or cutlery was unimaginable. Rather like mobile phones these days!

• cutlery ?餐具，includes knives, spoons and forks，在雅思聽(tīng)力中出現(xiàn)過(guò)不止一次。

• 讀一讀這段話，應(yīng)該能看出來(lái)工業(yè)革命對(duì)我們的生活帶來(lái)了多大的影響，一點(diǎn)一滴、潛移默化。