C15T4P4 How the Industrial Revolution affected life in Britain
*此篇文本建议作为背景知识扩展，反复多次听
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.
这一段我加粗变色的词大家就作为听力必备词汇背一背就好了，既然是听力必备词汇，那么背诵的要求就是【关注发音 + 拼写正确】。
consumerism，这个词我们肯定都熟悉，消费主义。但是究竟什么是消费主义呢？我们看看这个词的英英释义，毕竟这个词就是从国外传进来的。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。说白了就是你只有不断消费，才会对社会以及个人有利。你买了别人的商品、别人的劳动，这样别人就会赚钱；别人用赚来的钱购买你的商品、你的劳动，这样钱就回到了你的口袋里。大家一起买买买，社会也会因此受益。想法很丰满，但是现实总是骨感的。你花出去的钱如果回不来了、你没有能力去创收，那这个时候会导致什么问题呢？感兴趣的同学可以去搜一下消费主义的弊端，为口语和写作积累素材。
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、标示。To some extent, your test score can be used as an indication of your attitude towards studying.
trigger 原指打枪时扣动扳机，可以引申为发起、触发。The use of mobile phones triggered massive changes that transformed my life. 手机的使用给我带来了颠覆人生的巨大改变。背单词关键是学以致用，下次再想表达“改变”时，don't say sth. just changed my life or sth. brought a lot of changes. 用这个，sth. triggered changes，那究竟是怎么样的 changes，我们可以通过前置或/和后置定语进行修饰。
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.
所有我没有专门展开讲解的加粗变色词，大家就当做听力必备词汇去背就好，不认识的勤查词典。
when it comes to... 提到...。这句话我们经常用在口语考试part2的开场，比如话题是一个有趣的老人，那我们开头就可以说 When it comes to an interesting old man, I'd like to talk about...
tend to 倾向于做某事，like 的常见同义替换。
textile n. 纺织品，可数。但是加上s也可以表示整个纺织业。
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 迁徙、移民，雅思听力常考词汇。
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、促进。For example, drinking Coca Cola does not contribute to weight gain. [:)bullshit]
canal 运河。注意单词的重音位置。
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、蜂拥。Thousands of people flocked to the beach this weekend.
department stores 百货公司，当成一个词组来记。
entrepreneurs 学经济人必会单词，用来形容晚上容易尿频的人--企业家。
potential customers 只要还没有买我家的产品，都可以称之为 潜在消费者。
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，在雅思听力中出现过不止一次。
读一读这段话，应该能看出来工业革命对我们的生活带来了多大的影响，一点一滴、潜移默化。
