Unit 3 New orleans is sinking

For 300 years, the sea has been closing in on New Orleans. As the coastal erosion continues, it is estimated the city will be off shore in 90 years. Even in good weather, New Orleans is sinking. As the city begins what is likely to be the biggest demolition project in U.S. history, the question is, can we or should we put New Orleans back together again?

Life has been returning to high and dry land on Bourbon Street, but to find the monumental challenge facing the city you have to visit neighborhoods you have never heard of. On Lizardi Street, 60 Minutes took a walk with the men in charge of finishing what Katrina started.

Correspondent Scott Pelley reports.

Before Katrina, "There would be noise and activity and families and people, and children, and, you know, I haven't seen a child in a month here," says Greg Meffert, a city official who, with his colleague Mike Centineo, is trying to figure out how much of the city will have to be demolished.

Meffert, who is in charge of city planning, says it is "very possible" up to

50,000 houses will have to be bulldozed. Right now, most of the homes in the city are uninhabitable.

Meffert faces a difficult task. Every time he goes to a house site here, he says, "It's one more knife in me that says, 'She did another one. She did another one,'" explains Meffert, "she" meaning Hurricane Katrina.

When you walk through these neighborhoods and you see the houses, you get a sense of the pain of the individual families. But you don't get a sense of what has happened to the city of New Orleans itself.

It is estimated that there were 200,000 homes in New Orleans, and 120,000 of them were damaged by the flood.

The part of the city known as the lower Ninth Ward received some of the heaviest flooding. The houses are splintered block after block after block, almost as if the city had been carpet-bombed in war.

Meffert says that before the storm, New Orleans had a population of

470,000-480,000 people. Realistically, he thinks that half of those residents won't be coming back.

The possessions of thousands of families, the stuff collected over lifetimes is suddenly garbage, clawed up into mountains in city parks. With so much gone already, should New Orleans pick up right where it was?

"We should be thinking about a gradual pullout of New Orleans, and starting to rebuild people's homes, businesses and industry in places that can last more than 80 years," says Tim Kusky, a professor of earth sciences at St. Louis University.

Kusky talks about a withdrawal of the city and explains that coastal erosion was thrown into fast forward by Katrina. He says by 2095, the coastline will pass the city and New Orleans will be what he calls a "fish bowl."

"Because New Orleans is going to be 15 to 18 feet below sea level, sitting off the coast of North America surrounded by a 50- to 100-foot-tall levee system to protect the city," explains Kusky.

leave," says Vera, who has lost her home to two hurricanes.

Vera is intent on coming back. "I don't have no other home, where I'm going?"

Three generations of Fultons, Vera's son Irvin Jr., his wife Gay and their son Irvin, 3rd, live around Lizardi Street.

Irvin says his house is "just flat" and he didn't have insurance.

That's the dilemma. The only thing they have left is land prone to disaster. They want to rebuild, and the city plans to let them.

At Vera's house, Mike Centenio, the city's top building official, told 60 Minutes homes can go up as long as they meet what is called the "100-year flood level."

The federal government had set a flood-level, but didn't figure on a levee failure that would flood parts of the city.

The official level is several feet off the ground. If people meet the requirement,

they can rebuild their homes, despite the fact that we saw, for example, a refrigerator lifted to the top of a carport by the floodwaters.

Asked whether allowing people to rebuild makes sense, Centenio says it is "going to take some studying."

Right now, he says the flood level requirement is the law.

Twelve weeks after the storm hit, no one has an answer to where people should go. An estimated 80,000 homes had no insurance, and for now, the biggest grant a family can get from the federal government is $26,200.

Those without flood insurance face an uncertain road ahead, trying to piece their lives and homes back together.

"I don't think any of us get to be made whole. I don't know of anybody that's even getting back to where they were. It's just a matter of how much you lost," says Meffert.

No one wants to risk more losses until the levees are fixed but there is not a lot

of confidence in that. There's evidence some of the levee walls may have failed from bad design or lousy workmanship.

Fixing them is up to Colonel Richard Wagenaar, who told 60 Minutes, that by next summer, the levees will withstand a Category 3 storm. But for a Category 5 storm, Congress would have to double the levee height to 30 feet.

Col. Wagenaar says building a 30-foot flood control system around the city could take five to ten years, and cost billions of dollars.

Asked whether he would live in New Orleans if the levees were restored to pre-Katrina levels, Col. Wagenaar said he would, after a long pause.

"There's a lot of long pauses in things I think about these days," Wagenaar added.

Another thing that gives you pause is the fact that one of the world's largest pumping systems can't keep the city dry with broken levees.

60 Minutes was there in September during Hurricane Rita. Crews were fighting with everything they had, cooling a pump with a hose and a coat hanger. When

the station flooded during Katrina, Gerald Tilton dove under water to open valves.

Since then, Tilton and his men have been living at the station. "Most of us, our homes have been destroyed but a large number of us are still here doing the job that we get paid to do," says Tilton.

Tilton says he hasn't seen his home since the storm hit and only took one thing from the house when he left: his diploma. "I graduated from Tulane last year and that was the one thing that I wanted. I know it might sound crazy."

But sharp minds and heroism couldn't stop a second flood.

It took another two weeks to dry out and count the losses. Now, inspectors with laptops are identifying ruined houses.

"Every house in New Orleans is loaded into this database," explains Centineo. The reports are sent instantly to a computer at city hall, where the database is linked to aerial images of every address, both before and after.

When the reports are in, they will know how many billions it will take to rebuild, but not where that money is coming from.

Mike Centineo showed us, at his house, that you can't appreciate the loss until you walk through the door. He lost pretty much everything in his home. "We've lost a lot. What hurts is family photos. They went under water and I pulled them out to try to salvage what I could," Centineo says.

Centineo says he understands, probably better than any building official ever has, what the victims of Katrina are going through. "I'm one of them, that's true, I'm one of them."

He is one of about 400,000 people still unable to come home. That's the worst part now, the deflation of the Big Easy.

There are too few people to pay taxes or keep businesses going. The world's largest domed stadium doesn't have a football team; In New Orleans, these days, not even the Saints go marching in.

Meffert has some clear feelings on whether the nation should commit billions of

dollars and several years to protect the city.

"Is it commit or invest? I mean this is the thing that that people miss. The country has to decide whether it really is what we tell the world what we are. Or are we just saying that? Because if we are that powerful, if we are that focused, if we are that committed to all of our citizens, then there is no decision to make. Of course you rebuild it," says Meffert.

新视野大学英语视听说教程三――听力原文及答案新视野大学英语视听说教程第三册 听力练习录音文本和答案 完整版 Uint1 II. Basic Listening Practice 1. Script W: Ok. It‘s your turn to pay the bill. I paid last time. M: What? You have a selective memory. You tried to pay last turn, but your credit card fail ed; so I ended up paying! It‘s definitely your turn. Q: What is true according to the conversation? 2. Script M: I‘m having real trouble reviewing for this French exam. I just can‘t memorize all the vocabulary. W: Me too. I hate having to learn things by heart. I guess we just have to keep reading the texts over and over. Q: What does the woman prefer? 3. Script W: Oh look! There‘s that guy we saw last week, playing football in the park! He

looked great in his kit, remember? M: Him? I don‘t remember him. I‘ve got a terrible memory for faces. I have a hard time even recording people I‘ve been introduced to. Q: According to the conversation, what is the man‘s problem? 4. Script M: Why is there a big sign on the back of your door that says ―keys‖? W: It‘s to remind me to take my keys when I go out because I‘m always locking myself out by accident! It doesn‘t help enough. Now I just forget to read the sign. Q: Why is there a sign on the back of the door? 5. Script M: That history exam was really hard. The essay question was terrible! W: I know, I wish I were like David. He has a photographic memory, you know. How useful that would be! Q: What is true of David? Keys: 1.C 2.D 3. A 4.B 5.C III. Listening In Script M: Tell me your secret. You‘re suddenly getting excellent marks in every subject, and

Not Your Average Teen Lots of teenage girls dream of becoming rich and famous. But it's not a fantasy for Michelle Wie. Just before her 16th birthday last fall, she became the highest-paid woman golfer in history simply by turning professional and lending her name to commercial endorsements that will pay her between $10 million and $12 million a year, most of which will go into a trust fund until she becomes an adult. Wie has been a celebrity since she was 13, when people began predicting she would become the Tiger Woods of women' sgolf. But, as correspondent Steve Kroft reports, that has never been enough for Wie. She wants to become the first woman ever to successfully compete with men in a professional sport. She has tried a couple of times on the PGA Tour without embarrassing herself. As you will see, she has changed a lot since we first talked to her way back in 2004, when she was 14. At the time, Wie told Kroft her ultimate goal was to play in the Masters. "I think it'd be pretty neat walking down the Masters fairways," she said. It was a neat dream for a 14-year-old kid. Nothing has happened in the last two years to change Wie's mind or shake her confidence. She is stronger now, more mature and glamorous. She has already demonstrated that she can play herself into the middle of the pack against the best men on the PGA Tour and has come within a shot of winning her first two starts on the LPGA Tour this year as a part-time professional. The day before 60 Minutes interviewed her at the Fields Open in Honolulu, she shot a final round of 66, coming from six strokes off the lead to just miss a playoff. "You won your first check yesterday," Kroft says. "Uh-huh," Wie says. "It was, it was really cool. I mean, I was like looking at how much I won. I was like 'Oh my God.' " Wie says she won around $72,000. Asked whether she gets to keep that money, Wie said she didn't know. "I'm trying to negotiate with my dad how much I can spend of that, and stuff like that. We're still working it out. But, you know, I'm definitely gonna go shopping today," she says, laughing. Half of her life is spent in the adult world, competing with men and women twice her age for paychecks they may need to make expenses and dealing with the media, sponsors and marketing executives. The rest of the time she is a junior at Punahou High School in Honolulu, where she is an A student and claims to lead the life of a typical 16-year-old.

视听说3 unit1— unit6 Unit l, Lesson A Track 3-1-1Track 3-1-2 Leticia: Hello? Paula: Hi, Leticia. It's Paula. Leticia: Hi, Paula. How are you? Have you finished packing yet? Paula: Almost. Leticia: You must be excited. When's your flight? Paula: Tomorrow. At 9 a.m. Listen, Leticia, I need your help. Leticia: OK. What's up? Paula: Well, as you know, I'm going on vacation for two weeks. Do you think you could water my plantswhile I'm away? Leticia: Sure. No problem. Paula: Great. They need water twice a week. There's one plant in the bedroom and one in

the kitchen. Leticia: OK--say, how about your dog? Should I feed her, too? Paula: No, that's OK. I’m putting her in a kennel. Leticia: All right, then, I'll water your plants---and---oh, how about the mail? Should I pick it up for you? Paula: Actually, I've already asked the mailman to stop mail delivery. Thanks for asking, though. Leticia: Well, have a great trip! Paula: Thanks, Leticia. I really appreciate your help. Leticia: My pleasure. Wait a second. I don t have any keys to your place. Paula: Oh, that's right. Will you be home around 8 tonight? Leticia: Yeah, I think so. Paula: OK, I’ll drop by—I’ll give you the keys then. Leticia: OK! See you tonight. Bye! Paula: Bye! Thanks again! Track 3-1-3；3-1-4；3-1-5 W: Wow, Jun, you look relaxed! Did you enjoy the long weekend? J: I sure did actually. Actually I took a big trip. W: Over the weekend? We only had three days off!

Unit 3 New orleans is sinking For 300 years, the sea has been closing in on New Orleans. As the coastal erosion continues, it is estimated the city will be off shore in 90 years. Even in good weather, New Orleans is sinking. As the city begins what is likely to be the biggest demolition project in U.S. history, the question is, can we or should we put New Orleans back together again? Life has been returning to high and dry land on Bourbon Street, but to find the monumental challenge facing the city you have to visit neighborhoods you have never heard of. On Lizardi Street, 60 Minutes took a walk with the men in charge of finishing what Katrina started. Correspondent Scott Pelley reports. Before Katrina, "There would be noise and activity and families and people, and children, and, you know, I haven't seen a child in a month here," says Greg Meffert, a city official who, with his colleague Mike Centineo, is trying to figure out how much of the city will have to be demolished.

Unit1 InsideView Conversation1 Janet:Hi,it’s meagain,JanetLi.I’m stillastudentattheUniversitRofORfordinE ngland.ButI’mnotinORfordrightnow.AndIhaven’tgonebackhometo Chinaeither.It’sthelongvacationnow,andbelieveitornot,it’sthemiddle ofsummer.I’mspendingmRsummerinoneoftheworld’sgreatestcities.I ’minLondon,hometotheHousesofParliament,BigBen,TowerBridge …andthedouble-deckerbus.Iwanttofindoutwhatit’sliketoliveinthisbu sR,livelRcitR.SoI’mworkingforLondonTimeOff,awebsiteaboutwhat ’soninLondon.ThisisJoe…,he’smRboss,andthisisAndR,whoisarepor ter.Andwhat’smRjob?Well,Idon’tknowRet,becauseit’smRfirstdaR.B utI’mmeanttobeshadowingAndR,oh,whatImeanis,I’m goingtobehelp inghim.SocanRoutellmesomethingaboutLondon,AndR? AndR:It’sthegreatestcitRintheworld.. Joe:ERceptforNewRork! AndR:NewRork?Don’tmakemelaugh! Joe:AndRourpointis…? AndR:Look,ifRouwantmRopinion,LondonisgreaterthanNewRork…Joe:No,Idon’twantRouropinion,thankRouverRmuch.It’safact. AndR:Afact!AreRouserious? \Janet:AndhereweareinLondon,probablRthegreatestcitRintheworld. AndR:What?ProbablR?ERcuseme,IprefertodealwiththismRself… Joe:Ah,dreamon,AndR……… 珍妮特：嗨，又是我，珍妮特.李。我目前还是一位英国牛津大学的学生，但我现在不在牛津，也还没有回中国的家。现在在放 长假，而且不管你信不信，现在是夏天的中期。我现在正在 世界上最棒的城市之一里度过我的夏天。我在伦敦，它是英 国国会大厦、大本钟、塔桥…和双层巴士的故乡。我想知道 住在如此热闹和生气勃勃的城市里是什么感觉。所以，我现 在在为伦敦下班网效劳。它是一个报道伦敦时事的网站。这 是乔，他是我的老板，而他是安迪，一位记者。我的工作是 什么呢？这个我也不知道，因为今天是我的第一天，但我会 注定跟随着安迪。喔，我的意思是，我将会协助他。那么安 迪，你能告诉我一些关于伦敦的事情吗？ 安迪：伦敦是世界上最棒的城市。 乔：除了纽约以外！ 安迪：纽约？别逗我笑了！ 乔：那你的观点是…? 安迪：注意，如果你真的需要我的观点，伦敦确实比纽约棒…

大学英语视听说3听力原文翻译Unit-3

Unit 3 II. Basic Listening Practice 1.Script W: Chinese students are often too shy to say anything in class. M: I think they don’t speak because their culture values modesty，and they don’t want to be showing off. Goes back to Confucius. Q: Why don’t Chinese students say in class according to the man? C) They are modest. W：中国学生往往羞于说话在课上。 M：我想他们不说话是因为他们的文化价值观的谦虚，他们不想炫耀。回归到孔子。 问：为什么没有中国学生在课堂上说话？ C）他们是温和的。 2.Script W: The government is doing something at last about sex discrimination in the work place. Women deserve the same pay as men for the same work. M: Yeah. In the United States, women earn only 70 percent of what men get for the same job. It’s a situation that has to be changed. Q: What does the man say about the women? A) They earn less than men. W：政府现在在做的事情，工作场所的性别歧视。女人的付出男人一样。 M：是的。在美国，同样的工作妇女的工资只有男性的百分之70。这一情况已经有所改变。 问：什么人说的女人？ 一）他们的收入比男性少。 3. Script W: I admire Michael Dell. He had a dream to be the world’s largest manufacture of personal computers, and he has realized that dream. M: And he dropped out of university to become a success. I wonder if there is a lesson in that. Q: What do we learn about Michael Dell from the dialog? D) He succeeded in his career though he did not complete his education.

Unit 1 Pirates of the Internet It’s no secret that online piracy has decimated the music industry as millions of people stopped buying CDs and started stealing their favorite songs by downloading them from the internet. Now the hign-tech thieves are coming after Hollywood. Illegal downloading of full-length feature films is a relatively new phenomenon, but it’s becoming easier and easier to do. The people running America’s movie studios know that if they don’t do something----and fast---they could be in the same boat as the record companies. Correspodent: “What’s really at stake for the movie industry with all this privacy?” Chernin: “Well, I think, you know, ultimately, our absolute features.” Peter Chernin runs 20th Century Fox, one of the biggest studios in Hollywood. He knows the pirates of the Internet are gaining on him. Correspont: “Do you know how many movies are being downloaded today, in one day, in the United States?” Chernin: “I think it’s probably in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions.” Correspondent: “And it’s only going to grow.” Chernin: “It’s only going to grow. √Somebody can put a perfect digital copy up on the internet. A perfect digital copy, all right. And with the click of mouse, send out a million copies all over the world, in an instant.”

Unit 5 Student Life Listening Audio Track 3-5-1 A: You’re majoring in international business law, is that correct? B: That’s correct. A: And what made you choose this university? B: Well, I want to be a lawyer and this university has one of the most respected law departments in the country. It was an easy choice. What about you? A: My major is international business. I researched several universities but decided on this one because it has strong links with many multinational businesses. I hope that will help when I graduate and start looking for jobs. B: How did you find the application process? A: Well, I had to take an entrance examination, of course. Then, I submitted an application form along with my official high school transcripts and a letter of recommendation. B: And did you get accepted immediately? A: No, I had to attend an interview. I remember I was very nervous. B: It was exactly the same for me. But we must have interviewed well as we’re here now. Audio Track 3-5-2/Audio Track 3-5-3 C=Counselor, K=Kai C: Hello, Kai. Have a seat. K: Hi, Ms. Danielson. C: How’s it going? Are you excited about graduating? K: I guess so. But there’s so much to do between now and then. C: Well, let’s talk about that … Let me check your file here. So, what’s new? Have you researched any colleges or universities? K: Well, I researched three … like you told me to. C: Good, good. Which ones? K: Let’s see … California State University, Harvard University, and City College. C: And? K: Well, I applied to two: Harvard and City College. Cal State is just too far away. C: Sounds like you’ve been thinking about this seriously. That’s good. K: Yep. C: Any news yet? K: Well, I got accepted to City College. I haven’t heard anything from Harvard. I probably won’t get accepted there.

Unit 1 Inside View Conversation 1 Janet: Hi, it’s me again, Janet Li. I’m still a student at the University of Oxford in England. But I’m not in Oxford right now. And I haven’t gone back home to China either. It’s the long vacation now, and believe it or not, it’s the middle of summer. I’m spending my summer in one of the world’s greatest cities. I’m in London, home to the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Tower Bridge…and the double-decker bus. I want to find out what it’s like to live in this busy, lively city. So I’m working for London Time Off, a website about what’s on in London. This is Joe…, he’s my boss, and this is Andy, who is a reporter. And what’s my job? Well, I don’t know yet, because it’s my first day. But I’m meant to be shadowing Andy, oh, what I mean is, I’m going to be helping him. So can you tell me something about London, Andy? Andy: It’s the greatest city in the world. . Joe: Except for New York! Andy: New York? Don’t make me laugh! Joe: And your point is…? Andy: Look, if you want my opinion, London is greater than New York… Joe: No, I don’t want your opinion, thank you very much. It’s a fact. Andy: A fact! Are you serious? \Janet: And here we are in London, probably the greatest city in the world. Andy: What? Probably? Excuse me, I prefer to deal with this myself… Joe: Ah, dream on, Andy……… 珍妮特：嗨，又是我，珍妮特.李。我目前还是一位英国牛津大学的学生，但我现在不在牛津，也还没有回中国的家。现在在放长假，而且不管你信不信，现在是夏天的中期。 我现在正在世界上最棒的城市之一里度过我的夏天。我在伦敦，它是英国国会大厦、 大本钟、塔桥…和双层巴士的故乡。我想知道住在如此热闹和生气勃勃的城市里是 什么感觉。所以，我现在在为伦敦下班网效劳。它是一个报道伦敦时事的网站。这 是乔，他是我的老板，而他是安迪，一位记者。我的工作是什么呢？这个我也不知 道，因为今天是我的第一天，但我会注定跟随着安迪。喔，我的意思是，我将会协 助他。那么安迪，你能告诉我一些关于伦敦的事情吗？ 安 迪： 伦敦是世界上最棒的城市。 乔 ： 除了纽约以外！ 安迪：纽约？别逗我笑了！ 乔：那你的观点是… ? 安迪：注意，如果你真的需要我的观点，伦敦确实比纽约棒… 乔：不，我不需要你的观点，非常感谢！这是事实！ 安迪：事实！你是当真的吗？ 珍妮特：我们现在在伦敦，或许是世界上最棒的城市。 安迪：什么？或许？对不起，我宁可自己处理这个… 乔：啊，安迪，继续做你的美梦吧... Conversation 2

Burning Rage This story originally aired on Nov. 13, 2005. When they first emerged in the mid-1990s, the environmental extremists calling themselves the "Earth Liberation Front" announced they were "the burning rage of a dying planet." Ever since, the ELF, along with its sister group, the Animal Liberation Front, has been burning everything from SUV dealerships to research labs to housing developments. In the last decade, these so-called "Eco-terrorists" have been responsible for more than $100 million in damages. And their tactics are beginning to escalate. Some splinter groups have set off homemade bombs and threatened to kill people. As correspondent Ed Bradley first reported last November, things have gotten so bad, the FBI now considers them the country's biggest domestic terrorist threat. 错误! The biggest act of eco-terrorism in U.S. history was a fire, deliberately set on the night of August 1, 2003, that destroyed a nearly-completed $23 million apartment complex just outside San Diego. The fire was set to protest urban sprawl. "It was the biggest fire I have ever responded to as a firefighter," remembers Jeff Carle, a division chief for the San Diego Fire Department. "That fire was not stoppable. At the stage that the fire was in when we arrived, there were problems in the adjacent occupied apartment complexes. Pine trees were starting to catch fire. Items on patios were starting to light up and catch fire. And we had to direct our activity towards saving life before we could do anything about the property." Hundreds were roused from their beds and evacuated. Luckily, nobody –including firefighters – was injured. By the time the fire burned itself out the next morning, all that remained was a 12-foot-long banner that read: "If you build it, we will burn it." Also on the banner was the acronym: E-L-F. When Carle saw the banner, he says he knew he had a problem. A problem, because he knew what ELF stood for: the Earth Liberation Front, the most radical fringe of the environmental movement. It's the same group that set nine simultaneous fires across the Vail Mountain ski resort in 1998 to protest its expansion, causing $12 million in damage. And it is the same group that has left SUV dealerships across America looking like scenes from Iraq's Sunni triangle, their way of protesting the gas-guzzling habits of American car buyers. The ELF is a spin-off of another group called the ALF, or Animal Liberation Front, whose masked members have been known to videotape themselves breaking into research labs, where they destroy years of painstaking work and free captive animals. In recent years,

New College English视听说教程 3听力原文 第一单元 Mike: Hey, guys. Come and look. I've found an interesting Web site on star signs. (The others come close to the computer and look at the star signs on the screen.) Ted: Hey, that's interesting! What's your sign, Sam? Sam: I'm a Scorpio. What's yours, Ted? Ted: I have no idea. I've never really thought about that. Let's have a look. I was born on September 5. Oh, I'm a Virgo. Simon: And I'm a Libra. Sam: What do they say about Libra, Simon? Simon: (He reads.) You're a sociable, charming person. You go out of your way to avoid confrontation and do everything in your power to make your life an easy one. Although you're generally likeable, you can be changeable, superficial and critical. But you manage to hide those traits most of the time. Mike: Do you agree with that? Are you that type of person? Simon: What do you think? I think there is something in what it says. I am social and outgoing. But I am not changeable, am I? What's your sign, Mike? Mike: I'm a Taurus. Ah, what's yours, Lilly? Lilly: I'm a Cancer. Ted: Now let's look at Taurus.( He reads.) You're a patient, practical type. Good points include your affectionate, kind nature, your trustworthiness and strength of character. Bad points include your possessiveness, self-indulgence and stubbornness. Do you think your character fits well? Mike: No, not at all. I'm not patient, and I'm not practical either. I am kind of quick-tempered and ambitious. That's definitely not me! But one thing is right: I AM stubborn. Simon: Sam, let me read yours. (He reads.) You are secretive, and sexy. You have the worst reputation in the zodiac. Scorpio has a dark side, which includes revengeful and destructive traits. Yet despite this, you can be the wittiest, kindest and most entertaining of all the signs. Sam: Oh, that can't be true! Are you sure you were reading Scorpio? Simon: Yes, of course! Look for yourself. Sam: But that's unfair! I have the worst reputation in the zodiac?! The others: (They all laugh and say.) Ha ha... Poor Sam! Sam: Who could believe such silly things! Really, I think I'm intelligent, humorous, and kind-hearted. Mike: Yes, but those are just your good traits. Don't forget about your bad ones! Sam: Come on! Oh, Lilly, we haven't looked at your sign yet. Eh, you are a Cancer, right? You want me to read yours? Lilly: No, thanks. I'm afraid you'll distort what's written there. Let me read it myself. (She reads.) To some people, you appear tough and determined, but that's just a "front" you put up to protect the real you, which is rather more sensitive and softer. You can be moody, touchy and irritable, but you make up for those negative traits with your kindness, great intuition and protective nature. That's not bad, is it? Simon: No. But what counts is not what it says, but how you really are, what you are actually like. Lilly: (She is a bit defensive.) What do you mean? What are you trying to say about me? Simon: I think you are much nicer than what it describes. (Lilly smiles.) The other boys: Oh, Simon, don't sweet-talk her! We know what you are thinking. Ted: Hey, I haven't seen mine yet. Now it's my turn. Mike: Go ahead, Ted! Be our guest! Ted: It says: Virgo people like order in all things and are neat, clean and precise in their habits. Virgo people are perfectionists and they sometimes can be critical. They do not like to draw attention to themselves. Virgo people are modest, and careful about what they eat or drink. Sam: Do you have any objections to that? Ted: I think the description matches me quite well. I AM a perfectionist. I like things to be in order. Erm, I...I'm careful about what I eat and drink. But it doesn't mention my weak points. Lilly: Oh! And what are those?