[00:00.00]Lesson 12  The Perfect match (Part one)
[00:07.10]I walked into the office and shook hans with a smiling man named Mr.White.
[00:13.80]He was dressed very well,compared to me.
[00:18.07]There was a pile of papers on his desk.
[00:22.25]"I'm sure you'll be very pleased with her,"he said.
[00:27.02]"She was picked by our computer out of more than ten million women in the United States.
[00:34.01]We divided them into groups according to race,religion and social background."
[00:41.02]I sat there interestedly.
[00:44.62]In many parts of the world,
[00:47.90]a young person's hasband or wife is chosen by the person's parents.
[00:54.48]In the United States,on the contrary,
[00:58.75]the choice is usually made by the young people themselves.
[01:04.03]But now it is said that certain companies can help a young person
[01:10.10]in search of the right husband or wife.
[01:14.38]Such a company collects a great deal of information about each man or woman,
[01:21.46]if they are interested in marrying,and puts the information on a card.
[01:28.03]They call it an IBM card.
[01:31.92]All the cards are then arranged by computer.
[01:36.50]The theory is that such a machine can make the best decision
[01:42.19]a bout matching the right man with the right woman
[01:47.09]because machine are not influenced by human feelings.
[01:52.56]So the young persons are encouraged to pay such companies for a perfect match.
[01:59.54]  "And now--" Mr.White said.
[02:03.34]He suddenly opened the door to the next room,and I got a surprise.
[02:09.43]She was pretty. Really,she was!
[02:13.92]I regretted not having taken a bath and dressed inmy Sunday best.
[02:19.63]  "Mr.Walker," he began to introduce,
[02:24.12]"this is Miss Alice Dunfield.Miss Dunfield,this is Mr.Franklin Walker."
[02:32.33]  "Call me Frank. Nobody calls me Franklin,"I said.
[02:37.92]I was a little excited,but pretended to be calm.
[02:43.03]She was pretty,you see.
[02:46.13]Mr.White went out,and we were left alone.
[02:50.62]  "Hello," I said.  "Hello," she answered.
[02:55.39]  "I'm --- I'm very pleased with the choice,"I said,
[03:00.17]I was trying to be careful of my words.
[03:04.34]Maybe she didn't like being called a choice.
[03:08.83]" I mean-- I'm glad the way things turned out."
[03:13.13]She smiled.She had a nice smile.Good teeth.
[03:18.22]  "Thank you,"She said."So am I."She was excited,too.
[03:24.19]  "I'm thirty-one,"I told her.
[03:27.58]"Yes,I know,"She said."it's all on the cards."
[03:32.45]Words to watch
[03:35.74]perfect              match                compare
[03:39.04]a.完善,完美          n.,v.比赛,竞赛;婚姻  v.比较,相比
[03:42.34]pile                 desk                 pick                 computer
[03:47.03]n.,v.堆,叠;堆积      n.书桌,服务台        v.拾,采,摘,挑选      n.电脑,计算机
[03:51.72]divide               group                race                 background
[03:56.81]v.分,划分;分配,分享  n.群,小组            v.,n.比赛;种族,人种  n.背景
[04:01.90]husband              wife                 choose               contrary
[04:07.09]n.丈夫               n.妻子               v.选择,挑拣          a.,n.相反(的),矛盾的
[04:12.29]company              search               collect              information
[04:17.59]n.公司               v.,n.搜索,寻找,探查  v.收集,收(税等)      n.情报,信息
[04:22.90]interest             marry                card                 theory
[04:28.09]n.,v.兴趣,关心,注意  v.结婚,嫁,娶         n.卡片,名片          n.理论,学说
[04:33.29]decision             influence            human                encourage
[04:38.39]n.决定,决心,果断     v.,n.影响            a.人的,人类的        v.鼓励,助长,促进
[04:43.49]pretty               regret               bath                 dress
[04:48.34]a.漂亮,俊俏          v.,n.遗憾,懊悔,抱歉  n.洗澡,沐浴;浴室     n.,v.服装,女装;打扮
[04:53.18]introduce            pretend              calm
[04:57.04]v.介绍,引进,传入     v.假装,假托          a.平静,镇静,沉着
[05:00.89]alone                tooth
[05:03.34]a.,ad.独自,单独;仅仅 n.牙齿