新题型大学英语四级听力全真模拟试题听力原文 (16)
全新版大学英语视听说教程4听力原文
Unit OneTrac k 4-1-OL-lA. Jay and Elise are talking about an accident. Listen and check the correct picture.Jay: Come in here, Elise. You should see this show!Elise: What is it?Jay: It's called "The Titanic of the Sky." It's about the Hindenburg, a great engineering feat. Elise: The Hindenburg ...Jay: You know, that giant zeppelin that crashed in 1934. Thirty-five people died.Elise: Oh yeah, I remember now. It was flying from Germany to the United States. It crashed as it was landing.Jay: Right. It's so funny looking, don't you think? It doesn't look anything like the airplanes as have today.Elise: That's true. Why would people ride in a zeppelin anyway? It seems so dangerous.Jay: Well, some people called the Hindenburg "man's greatest achievement in flight." They thought it was safe, I guess.Elise: Who rode in it anyway?Jay: Mostly wealthy people. It accommodated between 30 and 40 passengers and crew. One person said it was like a "flying hotel."Eise: It sounds pretty great.Jay: Yeah, and it was fast. That's why people rode it. They wanted to get to their destination faster.Elise: Why didn't they just take a jet plane?Jay: Elise! You know they didn't have jets back then. Look, in 1934 it took five days to travel from Germany to the U.S. by ship. The zeppelin could do it in half that time. It was speedy. Elise: Well, maybe I'll sit down and watch a little bit. Maybe I'll learn something ...Trac k 4-1-OL-2B. Listen again. How was the zeppelin described? Check your answers.Track 4-1-OL-3A. Listen to the conversation and check the correct picture.Jack: I think we should buy a bigger car. Big cars are safer.Kayla: Yes, but on the other hand, they consume more oil.Jack: They also look really cool.Kayla: That's true, but there are some SUVs which are not big but also very beautiful.Jack: And 1 think big cars are more fun to drive.Kayla: But then again, it's very expensive.Jack: Well, let's get more information about several kinds of cars, okay?T r a c k4-1-O L-4Listen to another person talking about famous buildings in his country and fill in the blanks with information you hear.My country has two very famous buildings called the Petronas Towers. The buildings are made of glass, steel, and concrete. They were designed by an American architect, but he used a Malaysian style. They were finished in 1998, and they were the tallest buildings in the world at that time. Each tower has 88 floors, and is 452 meters high. I really like the Petronas Towers. They show both the modern and the traditional side of my country.T r a c k4-1-O L-5A. Listen to a talk on controversies about modern buildings. Then fill in the blanks to complete the sentences.Modern buildings: We love them, We hate themThe world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris is almost 500 years old, and it faced a very modern problem: There simply wasn't enough space for six million visitors each year. In 1989, American architect . Pei designed a striking glass pyramid in the building's center to be a visitor entrance and shopping arcade. But he also started an angry debate. Some people felt his glass building was a piece of art, like the ones inside the museum. Others said it was just an ugly, modern mistake.Kyoto, Japan, is the country's ancient capital, and the heart of its culture. Its railroad station was too small for the millions of visitors. In 1997, the city completed a new station in a huge shopping center, right in the oldest part of the city. Designed by Hiroshi Hara, the building also contains a hotel and department store. Before it was built, critics said that the high, wide, modern building would destroy the city's traditional look. On the other hand, supporters said it would bring new life into the city center.Track 4-1-OL-6B. Now listen again and complete the chart with the information you hear.Track 4-1-OL-7B. Listen to the interview with Erika Van Beek, an engineer. According to Erika, what should be done about overcrowding in cities?The future building boom?Interviewer: What do you think is the biggest problem facing our cities?Erika: I think it's overcrowding. Talk to anyone living in a major metropolitan area and they will say the same thing: There's no space. Even the suburbs are getting crowded. Interviewer: Well, in some places there simply isn't any land left for building, right? Erika: Yes, that's true, but you have to think creatively. You can't give up so easily. Interviewer: Think creatively? What do you suggest?E r i k a: What I'm saying is that we can build more structures underground. We can add parking lots, malls, hotels, and even apartment buildings. There's plenty of space. Interviewer: Isn't it expensive?E r i k a: Yes, it can be. In the past building underground has been very expensive. However, we have new technology that will bring the cost down. It involves using robots. You don't have to pay robots a salary!Interviewer: Isn't "building down" more dangerous than other kind of construction?E r i k a: Actually, I think it's safer than building skyscrapers, for example. Remember, we already do it. We have subways and underground shopping malls. I'm just suggesting we invest in a variety of bigger projects and that we dig deeper.Interviewer: What would you say to people who doubt your idea?E r i k a: I can understand their feelings. Whenever there's a new idea, it can cause controversy. But "building down" is not some kind of impractical idea. It makes sense. There is so much space underground: It can accommodate a lot of traffic, storage, and people. With the new technology we have, we'd be crazy not to consider the idea — it's the wave of the future!Track 4-1-OL-8C. Listen again. Check the statements you think Erika would agree.Unit 2Track 4-2-OL-1Pam: Well, Lynn, I must be going. It was great to see you –Lynn: By, Pam.Pam: What’s that?Lynn: Oh … that’s Ollie.Pam: Ollie: I didn’t know you had a dog!Lynn: Well, we don’t … really.Pam: What do you mean?Lynn: Come here.Pam: Oh my goodness. It’s a robot!Lynn: That’s right. It’s a dog robot. They call it a “dogbot.”Pam: How interesting! … But it’s a little strange, don’t you think?Lynn: Well, I wanted to get an interactive toy for the kids. They love it. So I’m happy. Pam: How much did it cost?Lynn: Don’t ask. It wasn’t very affordable. It’s cheaper than having a real dog, though.We don’t ever have to buy dog food! And the batteries are rechargeable.Juliana: Hey, Henrik. Look.Henrik: What is it, Juliana?Juliana: What’s that guy doing over there?Henrik: Which guy?Juliana: The one over there. Wearing a suit. H’s punching so many buttons on his cell phone. Henrik: Oh, him. He’s probably playing a game.Juliana: Really?Henrik: A lot of people have games on their cell phones. It’s really popu lar here in Finland.They play them everywhere.Juliana: Do you play them, too?Henrik: Yes, I do.Juliana: I only use my phone to make telephone calls. I guess I’m old-fashioned.Henrik: I heard that some people play games even at work. They can play quietly during business meetings. No one knows about it.Juliana: I’d like to try it.Henrik: Here, use mine!Track 4-2-OL-3Penny: Hello. Your Computer World sales department.Ted: Hi, Penny. It’s Ted.Penny: Oh, hi, Ted. What’s up?Ted: well, my computer has crashed again.Penny: Oh no!Ted: Oh, yes. That’s why I’m calling. You know, it’s five years old. And I need to speak to Scott about getting a new one.Penny: well, you’ve called at a good time. We have some attractive new models.Ted: Great! I’m looking for something affordable. And I want to get something portable this time.Penny: I’m sure Scott can help you with that… Let’s see, he is in a meeting until 3:30. I’ll ask him to call you.Ted: No, that’s OK. I’ll call him after 3:30. Please give him the message.E-mail is my favourite way to communicate. I think it is as fast as a fax machine, and it is as easy as a cell phone. Of course, e-mail has some problems, too. It isn’t as affordable as ordinary mail, because you need a computer an d Internet service. And I don’t think it is as reliable as a fax machine. Sometimes e-mail messages get lost. But in my opinion, e-mail is as convenient as a cell phone. I can send a message from my home or office, and my friends can read it when they have time.Track 4-2-OL-5In today’s report, we look at a new technology called pervasive computing.Pervasive computing means putting tiny computers into everyday electronic appliances, such as toasters and microwaves. With pervasive computing, appliances can communicate with their users – and with other appliances!Some companies now sell pervasive computing products like a “smart” toaster. It remembers your favourite kind of toast: light or dark. Companies are designing a “smart” coffee maker and a “smart” clock. The coffee maker can measure the water and coffee. It can even put milk in your breakfast coffee and make black coffee in the afternoon. The clock will check the time on other clocks in your house, and give information about other appliances. For example, it can tell you, “Your coffee maker needs more water.”And that’s only the beginning. One company is now advertising “Save time –phone your washing machine!” engineers are making a “smart” house. In this house, the lights, heater, and air conditioner change automatically when family members come home. This makes the home comfortable, and it saves a lot of energy. Pervasive computing could change many parts of our daily lives. But do people really want pervasive computing? Do they really need technology everywhere? One company asked people about their opinions on “smart” appliances. There were surprises. A “smart” refrigerator can buy more food on the internet, but people didn’t want it, because it might make mistakes.“Pervasive computing is as important as a telephone,” says Rebecca Blair, president of InnoTech Corporation. But some of these products are not useful, or even practical. Companies should learn more about the technology that people really want.Track 4-2-OL-7Local girl rescuedShe may have a broken leg, but she can’t be happier. Morgan Bailey, 11, is happy to be alive. Tuesday was like any other day for Morgan. She was at school. It was fourth period, and she was the first student to arrive in the gymnasium for her physical education class.Suddenly there was a loud noise.“There was a sharp cracking noise and then a loud boom. After that, I don’t remember anything,” said Morgan.The roof of the gymnasium had collapsed under the heavy snow. Morgan was trapped underneath. She couldn’t escape.“I woke up and there was a big piece of wood on my leg. I couldn’t move it. I was starting to get cold.”Fortunately, help was nearby. A new program using “rescue robots” was tried for the first time.“We were nervous about using the robot,” said Derrick Sneed, the man in charge of the program. “But in the end, the robot gave us reliable information. It went extremely well.”The rescue robot was able to go into the gym and locate Morgan’s exact position.“We send in robots first because it may not be safe for humans,” said Mr. Sneed. “Human beings are not as useful as robots in some situations. A gas leak, for example, could kill you or me but wouldn’t hurt a robot.”Although it didn’t happen in Morgan’s case, some resc ue robots can bring fresh air or water to people who are trapped.Rescue robots go into rough, dangerous places. They work in life or death situations. They have to be durable.Doctors say that Morgan is doing well. She should be going home in two or three days. What is the first thing she wants to do after she gets out of the hospital?“I want to meet my hero,” laughs Morgan. “That little robot that saved my life!”Track 4-2-OL-9The first word processorMrs. Morgan: Good. So change the first part and make those corrections and your paper will be great.Tara: OK. Thanks for all your help, Professor Morgan. I’ll e-mail my paper to you later today.Mrs. Morgan: You know, technology is amazing. In high school I used to write my term papers ona typewriter.Tara: It must have taken a long time to write a paper on a typewriter.Mrs. Morgan: Well, I was pretty fast, but I made some mistakes. Actually, the typewriters weren’t that bad. Now, as for the first computers … oh my gosh!Tara: What do you mean?Mrs. Morgan: The first computers were so unreliable. They used to crash all the time. And they were not as affordable or as fast as they are now.Tara: Mine’s pretty fast, but not as fast as some of the newer, more expensive ones. Mrs. Morgan: I know! And nowadays, almost everyone has a computer. In those days, nobody had their own computer. We used to use the ones at the university.Tara: In the computer lab?Mrs. Morgan: Yeah, that’s all we had. I’ll never forget, one spring, during final exams.Everybody was working on their term papers, and the electricity went out! Tara: So? No big deal … laptops have batteries …Mrs. Morgan: Yes, but remember, in those days we didn’t have laptops. If your computer crashed, you lost everything.Tara: Everything?Mrs. Morgan: Everything. We used to lose information all the time, but that time it was terrible.Everybody lost their papers that afternoon … including me.Tara: What did you do?Mrs. Morgan: I went back to the good, old-fashioned way.Tara: You mean typewriters?Mrs. Morgan: Nope. I used something more affordable, portable, reliable, disposable, something that always worked.Tara: What was that?Mrs. Morgan: (holds up pencil and paper) The first word processor.Unit 3Track4-3-OL-1/Track4-3-OL-2Joe: What are you reading, Maria?Maria: The Daily News.Joe: The News? Ugh! That’s a terrible paper.Maria: Oh, Joe, it’s not so bad.Joe: Not so bad? Look at that headline on the front page! It’s so sensational.Maria: Well, they’ve got great comics. I can’t live without my comics.Joe: I know. But the news coverage is so poor, ... especially the international news. It’s a joke, really.Maria: I’m not so interested in the international news. Besides, they have so many other good features.Joe: Like what?Maria: Like… the daily horoscope, for example. I love it.Joe: That’s not a good reason to buy a newspaper … for the horoscope!Maria: Look, the newspaper only costs 50 cents. What so you expect?Joe: Good point.Maria: Besides the horoscope, I also like the entertainment news. I like to read about the stars and their love affairs.Joe: Well, you can keep The Daily News. I’m going to stick with The Times.Track 4-3-OL-3Amy: John, I’ve never notice this old photo of your family before.John: My mother just found it in the attic. She decided to hang it up.Amy: It’s a nice picture of your family.John：I think it’s embarrassing. And I look stupid.Amy: Well, you could‘ve combed your hair … it’s a nice shot, though. Look at how young you are! How old were you in the photo?John: Eight … no wait, I’d just turned nine.Amy: I guess these two people are your parents.John: Yep. They were married when that picture was taken. Now they’re divorced.Amy: Oh. What do they do?John: My father’s retired. Mom works in a hospital.Amy: What are their names?John：Well, my father’s name is Joseph. My mother is Olivia---she was named after a popular actress.Amy: How great! I have an aunt with the same name. I love the name Olivia … Who’s that guy? John: Which one?Amy: The guy standing behind you. Is that your brother, Tom?John: No, that's my Uncle Randy. He’s only two years older than my brother.Amy: He’s cute. I love a guy with a moustache.John: Um, sorry, but he’s married now. His wife just had a baby.Amy: I was just making a comment … So the other young guy must be your brother.John: Yes. That’s Tom.Amy: How old is he in the picture?John: Let’s see … he’s nine years older than me … so he would‘ve been 18 then.Amy: And there’s your little sister, Tina. She’s so cute!John: Yeah. She’s two years younger than me. It’s hard to believe she’s in high school now! Track 4-3-OL -51. A bank robbery in Virginia, USA, was stopped when the robber and the bank teller couldn’treach an agreement. The robber pushed a holdup note under the window, but the teller looked at it, said,” I can’t read this,” and gave it back. The robber pushed the note througha second time. The teller crumpled the note up and threw it at the robber. He picked itup and walked out of the bank.2. A professional ice hockey player will miss the rest of this season’s games because heinjured himself. National Hockey League goalie Jean-Louis Blanchard went on the injured list after he fell and seriously hurt his back. He was walking out of a restaurant in Ottawa, Canada, when he slipped on some ice.3.The first international camel beauty contest was held last week in Alxa, in western China.More than 100 dressed-up camels entered the contest. The judges examined them for shiny hair, tall humps, and beautiful costumes. Unlike human beauty contests, though, there were no interviews with the contestants.4.Police in Sheffield, England, arrested a 41-year-old man for stealing five cars. GrahamOwens went to car dealers and said he wanted to buy a car, and borrowed a car to test-drive.Each time, he drove the car around, then cleaned it inside and washed it outside---before leaving it at the side of the road, and walking home.Track 4-3-OL-71.Nutty newsLulu is a kangaroo. For 10 years she has lived with the Richards family. Lulu was adopted by the family after they found her next to her dead mother.Mr. Ken Richards is a farmer. He was working on his farm when a heavy tree branch suddenly fell on top of him.Lulu stood next to Mr. Richards’ body. She started barking and didn’t leave Mr.Richards’ side.I’ve never heard Lulu bark like that---she sounded like a dog. She barked and barked and she didn’t stop, “said Celeste, Mr. Richards’ daughter.After 15 minutes, the Richards family went to investigate. They found Ken on the ground and he was unconscious.“Lulu is a hero, “said Celeste. “She saved my father.”Mr. Middleton, an expert veterinarian, said that Lulu’s story is rare. “I have never seen a kangaroo act like that. Maybe lulu helped Ken Richards because the Richards family is the only family she has ever known.”Lulu has always followed Ken around the farm. She’s a loyal, friendly, and veryintelligent kangaroo. After Ken leaves the hospital, he is planning to go everywhere with Lulu.2.Nutty newsApproximately 175,000 people live in the Republic of Vanuatu, an island chain east of Australia. It is a popular tourist destination because there’s a lot to do there: you can visit waterfalls, go horseback riding, take an aerial tour, or visit a traditional Ni-Vanuatu village. Vanuatu is most famous for its scuba diving and snorkeling.In an effort to draw attention to these popular water sports, Vanuatu has created a world’s “first”: the government has opened an underwater post office. You have to bea certified scuba driver to work there. The office is three meters below the surface inan area on the outskirts of Port Vila, the capital city. So far, the post office has hired four workers. They will work in a room surrounded by the beauty of Vanuatu’s underwater world. Customers will buy waterproof postcards on land and then drive down to the post office to receive a special waterproof stamp.3-OL-51. cool2. sold out3. realizes4. music reviewer5. apartment building6. get them concert tickets7. goes over8. invites him to go with her9. a date with 10. mind Takeshi going without himUnit 4Track4-4-OL-1A. Listen to Camille’s job interview. Then circle the answer to the question.Man: So, I see here that you went to college.Camille: Yes, sir. For two years. I didn’t graduate.Man: Do you speak any languages besides English?Camille: Yes, I speak conversational French.Man: Any other languages?Camille: No, that’s it.Man: Well, that’s great. As you know, we fly to Paris twice a wee k. We always need people who can speak French.Man: Let’s see… have you worked for an airline before?Camille: No. I have no job experience.Man: So, this would be your first job.Camille: Yes.Man; Well, I only have two more questions. Are you healthy and physically fit? Can you lift heavy objects?Camille: Yes, I think so.Man: Well, the emergency window exit on the plane weighs about 50 pounds. And the meal cart is very heavy, too. You need to move those objects sometimes.Camille: I think I can do that.Man: Wonderful. Let me tell you about the next step. We have a six-week training program that takes place in the summer. You have to…Track 4-4-OL-2B. Listen again. Check Yes or No for each statement about Camille.Track 4-4-OL-3A.Listen to Olivia talking about her future plan and fill in the blanks with information fromthe talk.I plan to become a teacher after I finish my studies. I decided to study at this universitybecause the teaching program is very good. We have a lot of practice working with children.I love to work with young kids. I expect to graduate from the university next June, and Ihope to find a job in a kindergarten. I’ll try to start working in September.Track 4-4-OL-4B.Listen to the job interview. Check the right item in the table based on the information fromthe interview.Mr. Grant: Hello, Ms. Hale. I’m Mr. Grant, the advertising manager for the company. Do you have a resume or curriculum vitae to give to me?Ms. Hale: Yes, Mr. Grant. Here it is.Mr. Grant: Thank you. Now, let me tell you a little bit about the job. We need someone to design brochures on the computer. Do you have up-to-date computer skills?Ms. Hale: Yes, I do. In my present position I use computer graphics all the time. I have experience with animation as well.Mr. Grant: Oh, that’s very good. We hope to launch a new group of animated ads next spring. Can you work with others in a pleasant manner, Ms. Hale?Ms. Hale: My co-workers seem to think so. I can also work independently by myself.Mr. Grant: That’s necessary, too. What about flexibility in working long hours on a project? Ms. Hale: I have a lot of energy and I’m willing to get the job done. The work I did last year won two awards at a national conference.Mr. Grant: Excellent. That’s very impressive. By the way, did I mention that we need someone to start next week?Ms. Hale: No, you didn’t, but it might be possible.Mr. Grant: Good. Thank you for coming today. We’ll be in touch soon.Track4-4-OL-5A.Listen to the passage about an unusual job. Fill in the blank with information from the passage.You’ve never met Melissa Hayes, and you don’t know her name, but you know her voice.Mellissa record information messages for the telephone company. When you hear the number you called has been changed…--tha t’s Mellissa!“Yes, it’s true,” she say. “I’m the voice talent for Nation Telephone.” At least 50000 people hear her voice every day. “I try to sound warm and friendly, even when I’m saying, I’m sorry, that number is incorrect. Please try again.”Mel issa works only three days a week, but she has to practice a lot. “My voice has to sound the same at the end of eight hours.” She’s very careful about her voice. “I don’t drink lots of water with honey. I can’t g to horror movies because I always scream, a nd I might hurt my voice!”How did she get her job? “A friend told me about it. I listened to all the telephone company messages on my phone, and then I recorded a cassette of those messages. After I sent it to the company, I called them every day for a month!”She’s done this work for three years now, and she loves it. “It’s fun! And I’m helping people by using my voice.” Plus, people are always surprised when they hear about Melissa’s job. They say, “You’re a real person? I thought it was a computer!”Track 4-4-OL-6B.Listen again. Check your answers.Track 4-4-OL-7A.Listen to the interviews about Ken’s and Steven’s jobs. Then check Ken or Steven foreach item in the box below. Interview 1Interviewer: What is your job, Ken?Ken：I’m a . or “video jockey.”Interviewer: How would you describe your job?Ken: I’m on TV. I introduce music videos and talk about them. I also interview singers who appear in videos.Interviewer: What is the best part of your job?Ken: I get to meet a lot of famous people. That’s very exciting. Also, I love music, so it’s a lot of fun.Interviewer: What is the worst part of your job?Ken: I get to meet a lot of famous people. Some of them are not very nice. They think they are better than me. They can be very demanding.Interviewer: What was your most memorable moment?Ken: Last year, I presented an award on TV at a video music award show. I couldn’t believe it. They flew me out to Los Angeles and I stayed in Beverly Hill. I was on the TV show for a whole 45 seconds! I got to meet a lot of stars.Interviewer: I want to be a . How I get the job?Ken: Well, first you have to make a videotape about yourself. You need to talk about certain things on the video. In my case, there was a list of question, like “What did you do last weekend?” and “What’s in your CD player right now?” After you talk about yourself, you send the videotape in to the TV station. They call you if they like the tape.Interview 2Interviewer: What is your job, Steven?Steven: I’m a car courier.Interviewer: How would you describe your job?Steven: Sometimes a person or a company needs a car moved from one place to another. They may not have time to do it themselves. They hire me to drive the car.Interviewer: What is the best part of your job?Steven: I like to drive, so it’s fun for me. Last summer, I drove all the way from New York to California. The weather was great. I had the radio on and enjoyed my trip very much. Interviewer: What is the worst part of your job?Steven: I have to be very punctual. If I say I’ll arrive on Monday at 6:00, I have to be there by Monday at 6:00. I have to be dependable. It’s stressful at times.Interviewer: What was your most memorable moment?Steven: I drove across the desert as the sun was setting. It was incredible! Interviewer: I want to be a car courier. How do I get the job?Steven: That’s a good question. My mother started this business, so she hired me. You’d have to call my mother to find out!Track 4-4-OL-8B.Listen again and the com plete the summaries of Ken’s and Steven’s job below. Use thewords in the box.Unit 5Track 4-5-OL-1B. Now listen to a quiz show and check your answers in A.Host:Welcome back to “You Snooze, You Lose!” the best game show on television! This is our final round. Let me remind you of the rules. We will show an object for a coupleof seconds. It’s your job to guess what it is. Michael? Linda? Are you ready toplay?M & L:Yes!Host:Ok, then, let’s play “You Snooze, You Lose!” Show us item number one.Host:Yes, Michael?Michael:I know what they are. They’re called “cams” and they’re used in mountain climbing. Host:That’s right for one point! They’re used to hold climbing ropes. All right then, here’s our second object. Yes, Linda?Linda:Is it some kind of tool?Host:Can you be more specific?Linda:I don’t know… a tool used to fix some kind of machine?Host:No, I’m sorry. It’s a nose and ear hair trimmer. Next … item number three. Do you have any idea? Time is up. Since no one guessed, I’ll te ll you the answer. Thoseare called Hopi ear candles.Linda:You stick them in your ears?Host:That’s right. They are used to clean out your ears. They also help to relax you.Let’s move on to item number four. Here it is.Michael:That’s obvious. It’s a corkscrew. You use it to open bottles.Host:Yes, that’s correct! It’s a mini-travel corkscrew. You can pack it in your suitcase.Oh, no! You know what that means! You’re out of time. Michael, with two correctanswers, you are today’s winner! Congratul ations! And before we leave, let me show。
2012年6月16日大学英语四级考试听力原文(附MP3音频)
2012年6月16日大学英语四级考试听力原文(附MP3音频)11:M: As you can see from the drawings, the kitchen has one door into the dining room, another into the family room and a third to the outside.W: The door into the family room isn't big enough. Could it be made wider?Q: What are the speakers doing?12.M: I'm thinking about where to go for a bite tonight. Any suggestions, Barbara?W: Well, how about the French restaurant near the KFC? Frankly, I've had enough of our canteen food.Q: What do we learn about the woman?13.W: Hey, if you can't enjoy the music at a sensible volume, why not use earphones? I'm preparing for the speech contest.M: Oh, sorry. I didn't realize I've being bothering you all this time.Q: What is the man probably doing?14.M: Finally, I've got the chance to put on my new suit tonight. I hope to make a good impression on your family.W: Come on! It's only a family reunion. So jeans and T-shirts are just fine.Q: What does the woman mean?15.M: Would you like to see those pants in brown and navy blue? These two colors are coming in this season.W: Oh, actually grey is my favorite color, but I prefer something made from cotton, 100% cotton I mean.Q: What is the woman looking for?16.W: From here, the mountains look as if you could just reach out and touch them.M: That's why I chose this lodge. It has one of the best views in Switzerland.Q: What is the man's chief consideration in choosing the lodge?17.M: What do I have to do to apply for a passport?W: You need proof of citizenship, either an old passport or a birth certificate and three photographs. Then you must complete this form and pay a fee.Q: What is the man most probably going to do?18.M: Miss, can I interest you in a pork special with serving tonight? It's only 799, half the usual price and it's very tasty.W: Oh really? I will try it.Q: What does the man say about the dish?Conversation 1W：Good evening, and welcome to this week's Business World, the program for and about business people. Tonight, we have Mr. Steven Kayne, who has just taken over and established bicycle shop. Tell us, Mr. Kayne, what made you want to run your own store?M: Well, I always loved racing bikes and fixing them. When I was working full-time as a salesman for a big company, I seldom had time to enjoy my hobby. I knew then that as soon as I had enough money to get my own business going, I'll do it. I had my heart set on it and I didn't let anything stand in my way. When I went down to the bank and got aM: Sorry, Victoria. What do you mean by geographical problems?W: Well, what I mean is the area is very hilly, mountainous in parts. So there used to be transport problems, now though there are new train links and better roads, but it may be that some smaller towns inland remain not very well connected, is that OK? Does that make sense? When we talk about specific location suggestions for the factory, we'll see this in more detail, so we'll come back to this question, OK?M: OK, right.W: So I was about to say something about the work force in the region and the level of training and education. In general, it's very good and improving.Question 23-25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.23. What does the woman say about the steel-related manufacturing in the region?24. What problem hinders the region's development?25. What will the speakers discuss later?短文：Passage 1I first met Joe Ganz when we were both nine years old, which is probably the only reason he's one of my best friends. If I had first met Joe as a freshman in high school we wouldn't even have had the chance to get to know each other. Joe is a day student, but I am a boarding student. We haven't been in same classes, sports or extra-curricular activities. Nonetheless, I spend nearly every weekend at his house and we talk on the phone every night. This is not to say that we would not have been compatible if we had first met in our freshman year. Rather, we would not have been likely to spend enough time getting to know each other due to the lack of immediately visible mutual interests. In fact, to be honest, I struggle even now to think of things we have in common. But maybe that's what makes us enjoy each other's company so much. When I look at my friendship with Joe, I wonder how many people I've known whom I never disliked, but simply didn't take the time to get to know. Thanks to Joe, I have realized how little basis there is for the social divisions thatexist in every community. Since this realization, I have begun to make an even more determined effort to find friends in unexpected people and places.Q:26: Why does the speaker say Joe Ganz became one of his best friends?27: Where does the speaker spend most of his weekends?28: What has the speaker learned from his friendship with Joe?Passage 2It was a bad night for Lewis. His research in the neighboring town has taken longer than he expected. It was late and he was very tired when he drove home. He turned into his building's parking lot, but all the spaces were full. He drove back out onto the street, looking for a parking space. The first block was full. The next block was almost empty. Lewis didn't see a “no parking” sign, but he has expected that his parking were allowed there. Most the spaces would be filled. Then he saw a small parking lot with two free spaces. He was so glad to see them that he didn't even think to read the sign by the entrance. He drove in, parked and hurried home to go to bed. The next morning he went back to the lot to get his car. It was gone. He ran home and telephoned the city police to say that his car had been stolen. It took the police only a minute to tell him what had happened: his car had been on a private lot. It had been taken away by the police. Lewis had to take a taxi to visit the city garage far from the city center. He had to pay a fee of 40 dollars to get his car back. In addition, he got a parking ticket, his first one ever in Greenville.Q:29: Where did Lewis intend to park his car when he came back from work one night?30: What did Lewis think had happened to his car the next morning?31: Where did Lewis finally get his car back?Passage 3Well, to pick up where we left off last time, I believe we agreed that creativity is a mysterious idea. It was those things we all recognizewhen we see it, but we don't really understand what it is. We seem tofeel that some people are naturally creative, but we don't know how theygot that way. Is creativity a natural gift like good looks, or is it something that can be acquired like knowledge? Perhaps if we analyze thecreative process carefully, we might get some insight into what it isand how it might work in our lives. The creative process has always been accepted as the source of all important work in the arts, but we shouldnot think the creativity plays a role only in the arts. Every majorscientific discovery began with someone imagining the world to lookdifferently from the way others saw it. And this is what creativity isall about -- imagining the world in a new way. And despite what you maybelieve about the limits of your own creative imaginations, we all havethe potential to imagine the world in an absolutely new way. In fact,you are born with it. It is your birth right as a human being. And what'smore, you use it every day, almost every moment of your life. Your creative imagination is what you use to make sense of your experiences. It's yourcreative mind that gets meaning from chaos of experiences and brings orderto your world.32. What did the speaker most probably discuss last time?33. What is the widely accepted idea about the creative process?34. What leads to major scientific discoveries according to thespeaker?35. What does the speaker imply about the creative process?复合式听写：Students have been complaining more and more about stolen property. Radios, cell phones, bicycles, pocket 36calculators and books have allbeen reported stolen. Are there enough campus police to do the job? Thereare twenty officers in the campus security division. Their job is to37 handle crime, accidents, lost-and-found 38items and traffic problemson campus. More than half of their time is spent directing traffic andwriting parking tickets. 39Responding promptly to accidents and other 40 emergencies is important, but it is their smallest job. Dealing withcrime takes up the rest of their time. Very 41rarely do any violent crimesactually occur. In the last five years. There have been no42 murders,seven robberies and about 60 other violent attacks, most of theseinvolving fights at parties. On the other hand, 43there have been hundredsof thefts and cases of deliberate damaging of public property, whichusually involves breaking windows or lights or writing on walls. Thethefts are not the carefully planned burglaries that you see in movies.44Things get stolen when it's easy to steal them, because they are left lying around unwatched.Do we really need more police? Hiring more campus police will cost money, possibly making our tuition go up again.45 A better way to solve this problem might be for all of us to be more careful with our things.。
英语四级-听力集训10套题听力原文
BG! 8-/3:/*9 .)&%)$:(*)#$ '-.$-' /*B,!+71$2%$)&%5 (61)&)$ I(#*J$%%5 &3(*9 ?/)#6/;$ 6(%'$%1$2%$)&%/$.(61)&)$ ?&.=%$.$*)6(%)#$ 2$%$'(*57BGB K*2$ &33)#$ 6-*:/*9 &*::$./9*=3&*.&%$ 2('=3$)$: )#$ '-.$-' /.=%(F$2)$:)((=$*/* B,!L .&/:& .=(M$.'&*6(%)#$ =%(F$2)7
新东方四级听力特训20套题第十六套
Unit 16Section A1 A Go to dinner with the man B Meet Professor SmithimmediatelyC Work on her reportD Go to the laboratory2 A Use the woman's phone. B Pay the phone billC Look for a phone nearby.D Write on the desk3A Change his mind B Study until midnightC Go to bed earlyD Sleep late in the morning4 A In a clothing store B At a cleaner'sC In a garden.D In a printing shop5 A He didn't get the book he needed B He thinks the library is close byC The library doesn't open on weekendsD The book is not available in thelibrary6 A He loves that park so much. B He is too tired to go out.C He is fond of playing tennis.D He'd prefer not to move out.7 A The way to rent a room. B Banking hoursC A hotel regulation.D The price of an apartment8A She is worrying about her homeworkB She will go out for a walk with the man.C She handed in her essay this afternoon.D She will start to write the essay tomorrow.Questions 9 to 12 are based on the conversation you have just heard.9 A Giving a lecture. B Discussing political science.D Reading C Working on a science problem. twentieth-centuryliterature B They make no impact on him10 A They make him feel goodD They make him angry C They bore himB Immediately after lunch A In the late morning 11D After the evening meal C In the mid-afternoonB Impersonal 12 A ControversialD Cooperative C PatronizingQuestions 13 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.13 A The difficulty of raising animals on farms in colonial AmericaB Traffic problems in colonial American cities.C Population growth in colonial American citiesD Economic conditions in colonial America14A Because carts scared the pigs awayB Because carts injured a large number of peopleC Because carts often moved too slowlyD Because carts broke down too easily15A They used cart for collecting garbage B They used pigs to get rid ofgarbageC They burnt the garbageD They set up trash cansSection BPassage OneQuestions 16 to 18 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 16A When they were six years oldB The time when they have to do soC After they've got a clear picture of a particular jobD When they've gained information about their choices17A The fee needed to take special courses B Working hoursC The intensity of the jobD One's qualification18 A Self-evaluation B The consultation from the teacherC The advice from family membersD A lucky chance.Passage TwoQuestions 19 to 21 are based on the conversation you have just heard.19 A She wrote repeatedly to medical schoolsB She asked for help from a famous doctor.C She tried to get the support from the student bodyD She talked to the dean of the college again and again.20 A He was happy to have Elizabeth studying in this college.B He was supported by a famous doctorC He turned down Elizabeth's applicationD He expected the student body to refuse Elizabeth's application.21 A Her application was quickly accepted by a medical collegeB She was the world's first female student of a medical collegeC She was disappointed with the students' decision.ignored by the student body. D Her application was Passage ThreeQuestions 22 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 22A Hot during the day and cold at nightB Cold during the day and hot at nightC Hot day and nightD Cold day and night23 A There are neither rivers nor streams B There is no grass all the yearroundC It is mainly bare rock with little grass.D There are a few streams andrivers24 A With the help of his friendsB By following the tracks of animalsC By using a compass.D With the help of the guide.25A 19 years oldB 16ears oldD 25 years old C 35 years oldSection CMany people who are rich are well known. Ted Sweeney was an 26____________ tothis rule. His family moved to San Francisco from Los Angeles when he was one month old. That ‘s where he grew up. At the age of seventeen he was hit by a train. Although he was not 27___________ hurt, the railroad paid him$ 25,000. Instead of going to college, he bought a small store. Six months later, the government bought his land to build a new 28_________ He sold it for $ 95,000.With this money he moved to Detroit. He started a small company that made partsfor the car 29 __________. It was very successful and by the time he was 23 he was a 30 _________. When he was 24 he got married. He and his wife had three daughters in the next five years. By the time he was 30 he had over ten million dollars.Then 31 _______ struck. He was 32 __________ in a traffic accident. He did notdie but his wife and daughters did. Six months later he sold everything he owned and put his money in stocks. Ted then moved to New York. He lived for the next forty years in a one-room apartment. He spent most of his days 33 __________ though the city looking in garbage cans for food. He never cooked. He rarely talked to anyone except himself. Most people were afraid of him. His clothes were always old and dirty! Shortly before he died, he moved back to Los Angeles. 34_________________________________________. City workers tried to help him. They offered him work but he would not work. Towards the he would not talk to anyone at all. 35 _______________________________________. It was learned that he had put his stocks in a box at a Detroit bank. 36 ______________________________________.。
全新版大学英语听说教程 4 听力原文
全新版听说教程4 听力原文Unit 1 One WorldPart BListening TasksA ConversationBirthday Celebrations Around the WorldExercise 1Listen to the conversation and write down answers to the questions you hear.Chairman: Welcome to this special birthday edition of One World.Tonight we have a special program dedicated to birthday celebrations around the world.With us in the studio we have Shaheen Hag and Pat Cane,who have a weekly column on birthdays in the Toronto Daily Star. Shaheen: Good evening.Pat: Good evening.Chairman: Shaheen, perhaps we could begin with you.How are birthdays celebrated in India? Shaheen: Well, perhaps we're all assuming that everyone in the world celebrates their birthday. This just isn't the case.Low-income families in India, for instance,simply can't afford any festivities.And most Muslims don't celebrate their birthdays.Pat: I think Shaheen has raised an interesting point here.The Christian church, too, was actively against celebrating birthdays.Shaheen: Of course some Muslims do celebrate their birthdays.In Egypt, Turkey and Indonesia, for example, the rich people invite friends and families around.But not in small villages. Chairman: Here in England your twenty-first used to be the big one.But now it seems to have moved to eighteen.Is that true?Pat: Yes, in most parts of the West eighteen is now the most important birthday.In Finland, for example, eighteen is the age when you can vote,you know, or buy wines, drive a car and so on. But in Japan I think you have to wait till you're twenty before you can smoke or drink. Shaheen: I know in Senegal, which is another Muslim country,girls get to vote at sixteen and boys at eighteen.And in Bangladesh, girls at eighteen and boys at twenty-one.Chairman: That's interesting.I mean is it typical that around the world girls are considered to be more mature than boys?Shaheen: Yes, I think so, and in Mexico and Argentina,for example, they have enormous parties for fifteen-year-old girls.Pat: You know in Norway they have a great party for anyone who's not married by the time they're thirty.It's kind of embarrassing.I mean you get pepper thrown at you.Chairman: Pepper? Why pepper?Pat: I'm not really sure.Shaheen: So does that mean that on your twenty-ninth birthday you can start thinking "God I better get married"?Pat: Well, I'm not sure how seriously they take it.Chairman: In England we have quite big parties for your fortieth, fiftieth,sixtieth and so on. Pat: Well, in Japan your eighty-eighth is considered ...Chairman: Eighty-eighth?Pat: ... to be the luckiest birthday.Eight is a very lucky number in Japan.Questions1. What is One World?2. What is the topic of the program?3. What do Shaheen Hag and Pat Cane do?4. Why don't some people in India celebrate their birthdays?5. Why is the eighteenth birthday so important in Finland?6. Why can girls in some countries get to vote at an earlier age than boys?7. Which of the countries mentioned in the conversation are Muslim countries?Exercise 2Listen to the conversation again and decide if each of the statements you hear is true (T) or false (F).Statements1. The program is broadcast in Canada every day.2. People everywhere in the world celebrate their birthdays.3. Many Muslims do not celebrate their birthdays for religious reasons.4. In England, the twenty-first birthday is very important,which is unusual in the West.5. The twenty-first birthday is very important in Japan.6. In Norway, young men and women usually get married before thirty to avoid having pepper thrown at them.7. Eighteen is a very lucky number in Japan.8. It can be concluded that our world is made more colorful by the many different ways birthdays are observed in different countries.Speaking TasksPair WorkA. Reflections on the textYou have just heard a program about birthday celebrations around the world.What do you think of the celebrations?Why is it that some people do not celebrate their birthdays?What does your birthday mean to you?Exchange views with your partner.You may mention the following points in your discussion.○ what birthdays mean to you○ how birthdays are observed around the world○ why some people don't celebrate their birthdaysB. Picture talk — Talking about wedding customsA SampleMost people in the world hold a wedding ceremony when they get married.However, like birthday celebrations,wedding celebrations are conducted in different ways,depending on where you live, which religion you believe in,and how good is your financial situation.The following are three groups of pictures showing three wedding ceremonies held in different places and at different times.Give a brief description of each picture and then make a comparison between the three weddings.Possible Description (for reference)Pictures (a) — (c) show a typical wedding ceremony held in a church in a Western country.In the first picture, the bride is seen walking down the aisle,leaning on her father's arm.She is wearing a white wedding gown and holding a bouquet of flowers in her right hand.All eyes turn to her as she slowly moves forward to take her place beside the bridegroom in front of the clergyman.In Picture (b) we can see the clergyman presiding over the wedding ceremony.He is asking the bride and the bridegroom the usual questions on such an occasion.In Picture (c) the parents of the bride and the bridegroom are giving a large party in a garden. Guests arrive in formal evening dress.There is music and dancing.Pictures (d) — (e) present a traditional Chinese wedding held at home.In Picture (d), we can see a hall thronged with people.There are red lanterns hanging on both sides of the hall.On the lanterns are written the Chinese character "double happiness".In Picture (e) we can see the bridegroom's parents seated in high-backed chairs.The bride and bridegroom are bowing to them.The bridegroom in his long gown looks very respectful.The bride is dressed in bright red but we can't see her face since it is covered with a piece of red cloth. Along the two sides of the wedding hall stand the family members,relatives and friends. Pictures (f) — (h) show a wedding banquet held in a big restaurant in China.In Picture (f), we can see the bride and the bridegroom standing at the entrance greeting the guests. The bride wears a long white dress, and the bridegroom is in a tuxedo.In Picture (g), we find ourselves in a large banquet hall,decorated with the cheerful colors of a wedding party.About a hundred guests are seated around tables that are graced with all kinds of delicious food and drinks. The host, who is the father of the bridegroom, is making a speech,expressing his thanks to the guests for coming to his son's wedding.In Picture (h) the bride has changed to a traditional Chinese red gown, or qipao,which is elegantly cut and shows her fine figure.She and the bridegroom are going round the tables,exchanging toasts and sharing a joyful moment with the guests.Comparing From the pictures, we can see that a wedding is an important event everywhere in the world.It has been so in China, for example,from the old days to the present and the same holds true in Western countries.As a rule, there is a big ceremony,attended by family members, relatives and friends,who have come to share the joy of this special occasion in the lives of two people in love.Food is plentiful and laughter fills the air.To all those present, the ceremony is both sacred and joyous.However, while sacredness and joy are the spirit of all weddings,the way people observe the occasion varies from place to place and changes over time.This is reflected in various respects.First, in Western countries,many people get married in a church while in China this is rare.Second, Western people often choose a scenic spot to hold wedding parties whereas most people in China give their wedding parties either at home or in a restaurant.Third, in Western countries, the color of the bride's dress is white,which is a symbol of purity, while in China, traditionally,the color of the bride's dress is red, which is a symbol of happiness. ***** ***** ***** *****Now use the above sample as your model and carry on similar activities with your partner according to the pictures given below.Part CTest Your ListeningListen to the passage three times and supply the missing information.First ReadingOne World One Minute is a unique film project that invites participants in every country around the globe to record simultaneously one minute of their lives,one minute of our world.Sponsors of this project have chosen 12:48 GMT,September 11th, 2002 as the one minute to record.At that moment exactly a year earlier began the terrorist attacks that led to the deaths of more than 2,000 people from over 60 countries.For many this will be a time of remembrance and reflection.And for others this will be an appropriate time for international communication,cooperation and sharing.This is the idea behind the project One World One Minute.Participants are free to choose what and how to record their One Minute.Some may want to take photographs, some paint or draw pictures,while others may want to write something and record their readings.The material can be submitted to the project organizers in Scotland via e-mail or post within 6 weeks of September 11th.All the material will then be made into a feature-length film,which will capture that One Minute of our existence.The film will explore the rich diversity that is both humanity and our world.It will allow a voice to all people regardless of nationality, religion,race, political viewpoint, gender or age.The rich diversity that is Humanity shall be there for all to see. Participants will not only be kept informed of the progress of the film and the release process but will be invited to actively participate through newsletters and discussion forums.When the film is finished, it will be shown in every country of the world,both in cinemas and on TV.Contributors will be invited to attend the first public performance of the film in their respective countries and will receive a full screen credit on the finished production.Second ReadingFinal ReadingUnit 2 Anti-smokingPart BListening TasksA PassageLast Gasp for SmokersExercise 1Listen to the passage and choose the right answers to the questions you hear.It was a normal day and in their New York office,Ken and his colleagues stopped for their coffee break.But while his colleagues were able to sit at their desks and drink their coffee,Ken had to go outside.He couldn't stay inside, because he wanted to smoke.If the smokers of the Big Apple want to enjoy a cigarette, the authorities have decided they must go out into the street or up onto the rooftops.Throughout the United States,the number of places where people are allowed to smoke has gradually dwindled.First it was banned on trains, buses, and planes,then in public places such as theaters and airports.Now you can't smoke in any workplace.Nonsmokers are definitely winning the battle."Why should we breathe their smoke?" they say.If they're lucky, smokers can still find some bars and restaurants or parks and recreation centers where they can light up a cigarette,but it may soon be banned there, too.In fact, smoking in parks and recreation centers is already bannedin California.On August 9, 2001, Los Angeles City and County officials announced the implementation of a smoke-free park policy,officially designating smoke-free zones in all 375 parks and recreation centers in the city.And since January 1, 2002all parks in California have become smoke-free to safeguard children from the harmful effects of secondhand tobacco smoke and dangerous tobacco waste.Anti-smoking groups even think that smoking ought to be banned in people's homes.Under new plans you won't be able to smoke in any house where there are more than ten visitors in a week,or where there are children.In 1996, nicotine was classed as a drug, like cannabis, cocaine or heroin.And scientists all over the world agree that exposure to secondhand smoke poses a serious health risk and there is no safe level of exposure.It is especially dangerous for children because when they are exposed to tobacco smoke,they have much higher rates of lung diseases such as bronchitis and pneumonia and are also at greater risks of developing asthma.In the country that gave tobacco to the world,smoking might one day be illegal.And then Ken will have to give up.Questions1. What is the main idea of the passage you've heard?2. What does the speaker think about banning smoking in public places?3. Where is smoking not banned according to the passage?4. Which of the following is true about nicotine?5. What can be inferred from the sentence"In the country that gave tobacco to the world,smoking might one day be illegal"?Exercise 2Listen to the passage again and complete the answers to the questions you hear.Questions1. Who has won the battle against smoking in the U.S.? How do you know?2. What did authorities in California do to restrict smoking?Speaking TasksPair WorkA. Reflections on the textYou have just heard a passage about the anti-smoking movement in the U.S.Do you agree with the policies mentioned to ban smoking in public places?What do you think about young people smoking?Why do they pick up smoking in the first place?What should we do to help them give up smoking?Exchange views with your partner.You may mention the following points in your discussion.○ importance of banning smoking in public places○ increase in the number of young smokers○ measures to discourage the young from picking up smoking○ finding out and campaigning against the r eal causes of young people smokingB. Debating — Arguments for or against banning smoking in restaurantsA SampleIn our city it is quite common to see diners smoking in restaurants,even when the air-conditioner is on and all the windows are shut.Some people are strongly against it and think the governmentshould put a ban on smoking in all air-conditioned areas.Others either take it for granted or do not care.What is your attitude on this issue?Express and defend your views from the perspectives given below.Topic: Should smoking be banned in restaurants?Perspectives:1. From the perspective of a customer (positive)2. From the perspective of a restaurant manager (negative)Possible Arguments (for reference)From the perspective of a customer (positive)I'm strongly against smoking in restaurants.I hate breathing in cigarette smoke while I'm eating, especially when the air-conditioner is on and all the windows are shut.Toxic tobacco smoke lingers on in the room,gets into my eyes, my hair, and my clothes.It makes me dizzy and even causes me headaches.As the restaurant becomes dangerously polluted with concentrated tobacco smoke,nonsmokers who must share the same enclosed environment with smokers run a higher risk of contracting smoking-related illnesses.Even if people around one table are all nonsmokers, they cannot avoid inhaling smoke from other tables.Statistics show that secondhand smoke is also a cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers.And if a pregnant woman happens to be there,she might run the risk of having a deformed baby.Secondhand smoke is also extremely harmful to young children and can cause asthma and bronchitis.We nonsmokers don't want to sacrifice our health for the selfish enjoyment of smokers.The restaurant, I think, should at least have a smoke-free area.The size of the area would depend on customer demand.Let the smokers enjoy themselves in a special room.Otherwise, I think I will stop patronizing (光顾) restaurants that do not have a smoke-free area and perhaps this will force them into creating one.From the perspective of a restaurant manager (negative)I know smoking is very harmful.For us who work in air-conditioned restaurants,inhaling secondhand smoke is certainly harmful to our health.But what can I do?How can I say "no" to the smokers in my restaurant?Most likely, they would not listen to me.If I insist, they would surely get very angry at me.Some of them might quarrel or even fight with me.And those who come with them would usually support them and criticize me. They might say: "It's none of your business.There is no regulation against smoking in restaurants. Why can't we smoke?" In that case, what could I say?It's true that there are no regulations banning smoking in restaurants.And other diners,though they are aware of the danger of inhaling secondhand smoke,may be either indifferent or intimidated from speaking out.I would be quite alone,and my effort to dissuade my customers from smoking would be in vain.What is worse, I don't think those customers would come to my restaurant again.And my business would suffer.***** ***** ***** *****Now use the above sample as your model and carry on similar activities with your partner.Part CTest Your ListeningListen to the conversation and choose the right answers to the questions you hear.W: Hey, Eric, have you read that letter in the paper about smoking this morning?Don't you think the person who wrote that has gone too far?M: I don't think so, Rose.To my mind the government should do everything it can to discourage people from smoking,especially the youngsters.W: Maybe so. But it seems a law banning cigarettes would do no good.M: No. You can't suddenly make smoking illegal.But the government could prohibit smoking in public places,like cinemas and theatres.W: I quite agree that smoking should be banned in public places.I don't smoke myself and cigarette smoking bothers me.But I don't know if it will work.You know, if you ban smoking in all public places,many smokers will want to do it.People always want to do things that they are not allowed to do.M: Yes, that's true.W: But I think people should be allowed to smoke in the street.Don't you think so?M: Not at all.Frankly I think smoking should be banned altogether in public and private places.In the first place it's a dirty habit.In the second place it's dangerous to your health.Questions1. What does the letter in the paper suggest that the government do?2. What do the two speakers have in common?3. What do you know about the woman?4. Which of the following is true of the man?Unit 3 MemoryPart BListening TasksA PassageHow Our Memory WorksExercise 1Listen to the passage and choose the right answers to the questions you hear.Human beings have amazing memories.Apart from all our personal memories about our own lives,we can recall between 20,000 and 100,000 words in our own language as well as possibly thousands more in a foreign language.We have all sorts of information about different subjects such as history, science, and geography,and we have complex skills such as driving a car or playing a musical instrument.All these things and countless others depend on our memory.How well you remember things depends on many different factors.Firstly, some people naturally have better memories than others,in just the same way as some people are taller than others,or have different color eyes.Some top chess players, for example,can remember every move of every game that they have ever seen or played.Secondly,research shows that different things are stored in different parts of the brain.Ideas, words,and numbers are stored in the left-hand side,while the right-hand side remembers images, sounds, and smells.In most people one side of the brain is more developed than the other,and this may explain why some people can remember people's faces easily,but can't remember their names.Thirdly, we all remember exciting, frightening,or dramatic events more easily.This is because these experiences produce chemicals such as adrenaline,which boost your memory.Fourthly, the context in which you learn something can affect how well you remember it.Tests on divers, for example,showed that when they learnedthings underwater,they could also remember those things best when they were stly, the more often you recall a memory, the more likely you are to remember it.If you don't use it, you'll lose it.A telephone number that you dial frequently will stay in your memory easily,but you will probably have to write down one that you use only now and again.Questions1. What does the passage mainly tell us?2. What can be inferred from the passage?3. Which of the following is stated to be true?4. Why can we remember exciting, dramatic, or frightening events better?Exercise 2Listen to the passage again and fill in the following blanks with the missing information.Speaking TasksPair WorkA. Reflections on the textYou've just heard a passage about the importance of memory.Have you ever thought about how important your memory is?And have you ever complained that you have a bad memory?Exchange views with your partner.You may mention the following points in your discussion.○ the importance of memory○ factors influencing how well one's memory works○ ways to improve one's memoryB. Describing an unforgettable experienceA SampleIt is mentioned in the passage that exciting,frightening or dramatic events tend to leave a sharp impression on your memory.What is the most unforgettable experience in your life?Describe it to your partner.Possible Description (for reference)It was an extremely hot day in 1980.That night my roommate and I went to bed early.All of a sudden we felt that the whole building was shaking."It must be an earthquake," cried my roommate.Quickly she put on her dress and her shoes.On hearing what she said,I was frightened to death and my whole body froze, unable to move. Instead of putting on my clothes, I kept crying,"Please wait for me! Please don't leave me!"I was so afraid that she might ignore me and run out of the building to find a safe place for herself. Contrary to what I expected, she returned,stood by my bedside and waited for me patiently.She watched me clumsily put on my blouse and trousers and then we went downstairs together.Once we were out on the playground,my panic was gone and I was able to think.On recalling what I had required my roommate to do, I felt guilty.No one can tell what might happen next during an earthquake.By asking her to wait for me,I might have put her life in danger!She was too smart not to realize that, I think.But she waited for me anyway.How selfish I was!That earthquake and the courageous act of my roommate have always stayed in my mind,long after the event.***** ***** ***** *****Now use the above sample as your model and describe an unforgettable event to your partner.Part CTest Your ListeningListen to the passage and choose the right answers to the questions you hear.To many people advancing age means losing your hair and your memory.But is it true that the older you get, the less you remember?Actually, in healthy people,memory doesn't deteriorate as quickly as many of us think.As we age, our memory mechanism isn't broken,it's just different. The brain's processing time slows down over the years.Recent research suggests that nerve cells lose efficiency and that there's less activity in the part of the brain that decides whether to store information or not.There are steps you can take to improve your memory,though you have to work to keep your brain in shape.Some memory enhancement experts suggest we pay attention to what we want to remember.Then give some meaning to it.We remember things when we focus on them, whether we intend to or not.Basic organization helps us remember the boring stuff.For example, rather than trying to recall a random list of groceries,we can divide them into categories, such as dairy, meat, and produce.For important things like keys and money,we can set up a "forget-me-not" spot where we always keep them.We can also eat to aid our memory power. Whole grains, fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of glucose,the brain's preferred fuel.To get adequate rest is a low-tech way to improve memory.Sleep may allow our brain time to encode memories.Interest in friends, family and hobbies does wonders for our memory.A sense of passion or purpose helps us remember.Memory requires us to pay attention to our lives,allowing us to discover in them everything worth remembering.Questions1. Which of the following can we learn from the passage?2. Which of the following can help improve our memory according to the passage?3. What should we do to aid our memory power according to the passage?Unit 4 Dealing with Cultural DifferencesPart BListening TasksA ConversationEmbarrassing ExperiencesExercise 1Listen to the interview and choose the right answers to the questions you hear.Interviewer: Rob, you went to Brazil, didn't you?Rob: Yes, I did.Interviewer: So, what happened?Rob: Well, I went into this meeting and there were about, er ...seven or eight people in there and I just said "Hello" to everybody and sat down.Apparently, what I should have done is to go round the room shaking hands with everyone individually.Well, you know,it's silly of me because I found out later it upset everyone.I think they felt I was taking them for granted.Kate: Well, I know that because when I was in France the first time,I finished a meeting with "Goodbye, everyone!" to all the people in the room.Well, I later found out that the polite thing to do is shake hands with everyone in the group before leaving.Interviewer: Well, people shake hands in different ways, don't they?Rob: Oh, yes, they do.See, normally I shake hands quite gently when I meet someone.So when I went to the US for the first time,I think people there thought my weak handshake was a sign of weakness.Apparently, people there tend to shake hands quite firmly.Kate: Oh, gosh, that reminds me of my first trip to Germany many years ago.I was in troduced to the boss in the company when he passed us in the corridor.Well, I wasn't prepared, and I had my left hand in my pocket.And when we shook hands I realized my left hand was still in my pocket. Well, that was, you know, very bad manners and I was quite embarrassed.Interviewer: And how about using first names?Have you made any mistakes there?Rob: Oh, yes, I have!When I first went to Italy I thought it was OK to use everyone's first name so as to seem friendly.And I later discovered that in business you shouldn't use someone's first name unless you are invited to.Oh, and you should always use their titles as well.Kate: Hm, yeah, well, when I met people in Russia, you know,they seemed to be puzzled when I shook hands with them and said "How do you do?"Well, what they do when they greet a stranger is say their own names,so I had that all wrong!Rob: Oh, yes, I agree with that. Remembering names is very important.Interviewer: Shall we take a break?When we come back we'll move on to our next topic.Kate & Rob: OK.Questions1. What is the conversation mainly about?2. Who might be the people Rob and Kate met in various countries?3. What can we infer about Kate and Rob from the conversation?4. Which countries has Kate visited, according to the conversation?5. Which countries has Rob visited, according to the conversation?6. What is the main message that the speakers want to tell us?Exercise 2Listen to the interview again and fill in the table below.Speaking TasksPair WorkA. Reflections on the textYou've just heard Rob and Kate talking about the experiences they had in some foreign countries. They made a number of mistakes in behavior because they were unaware of cultural differences. Do you think it is important to be aware of cultural differences?Why? How can we avoid misunderstanding in international communication?Exchange views with your partner.You may mention the following points in your discussion.○ awareness of cultural differences — to avoid misunderstanding○ importance of learning about other cultures○ importance of knowing how to deal with cultural differences —key to successful international business and cultural exchange。
大学英语四级改革适用(听力)模拟试卷16(题后含答案及解析)
大学英语四级改革适用（听力）模拟试卷16(题后含答案及解析)题型有：1. Why can’t they make a playground for the pupils?12. What are the possible identities of the two speakers?9．A．They want to find a better part-time job.B．They hope to be well trained in different fields.C．They plan to do some social work for free.D．They’d like to do children a favour.正确答案：C解析：对话中女士提议Do you want to do some local voluntary work for the society this year?从而引出各种不同的voluntary work(志愿工作)，故答案为C)。
知识模块：听力10．A．She likes handicapped children very much.B．She wants to do something for children.C．She prefers children to old people.D．She thinks a cheap playground can work for pupils.正确答案：B解析：对话中女士接连提出的两个方案都和孩子有关，依据她的话I still have the idea of doing somethingfor children，haven’t you?可以确定，答案为B)。
知识模块：听力11．A．Lack of financial supporters.B．Lack of vacant space.C．Lack of official approval.D．Lack of tools and labour.正确答案：A解析：对话中女士提议给小学生建操场(We could make it into a small playground．)，但是他们负担不起这个项目(cannot afford the big project)，又很难找到人提供资助(sponsors)，故答案为A)。
大学英语新四级考试听力专题训练及答案
大学英语新四级考试听力专题训练及答案找大学一个有空的时间，专门进行四级英语听力的训练。
下面是店铺给大家整理的大学英语新四级考试听力专题训练及答案，供大家参阅!大学英语新四级考试听力专题训练及答案听力真题：13.W: Having visited so many countries, you must beable to speak several different languages!M: I wish I could. But Japanese and, of courseEnglish are the only languages I can speak.Q: What do we learn from the conversation?A) The man can speak a foreign language.B) The woman hopes to improve her English.C) The woman knows many different languages.D) The man wishes to visit many more countries.14.M: Prof. Smith asked me to go to his office after class. So it is impossible for me to make it tothe bar at 10：00.W: Then it seems we'll have to meet an hour later at the library.Q: What will the man do first after class?A) Go to the library.B) Meet the woman.C) See Professor Smith.D) Have a drink in the bar.听力原文：13.女：你去过那么多国家，一定会说好几国语言吧!男：我希望我是。
全新版大学英语4听说教程听力原文
The Hospital WindowJack and Ben, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. Jack, whose bed was next to the room's only window, was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lung s. But Ben had to spend all day and night lying flat o n his bed. To kill time the two men began to talk. They talked for hours about their wives, families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, and where they had been on vacation. As days went by, a deep friendship began to develop between them.Every afternoon when Jack could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to Ben all the things he could see outside the window. And Ben began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed t heir model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees beautified the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.As Jack described all this in great detail, Ben would close his eyes and imagine the wonderful scenes.One warm afternoon Jack described a parade passing by. Although Ben couldn't hear the band — he could see it in his mind's eye as Jack described it with colorful words.Days and weeks passed. One morning the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of Jack, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was very sad and called the hospital attendant s to take the body away.Ben was heartbroken. Life without Jack was even more unbearable. How he longed to hear Jack's voice and his fine descriptions of the outside world! As he looked at the window, an idea suddenly occurred to him. Perhaps he could see for himself what it was like outside. As soon as it seemed appropriate, Ben asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.Slowly, painfully, he propped (支撑) himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself! He strained（尽全力）to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall!"What could have compelled my roommate to describe such wonderful things outside this window?" Ben asked the nurse when she returned."Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you to live on," she said."You know, he was blind and could not even see the wall".How Our Memory WorksHuman beings have amazing memories. Apart from all our personal memories about our own lives, we can recall between 20,000 and 100,000 words in our own language as well as possibly thousands more in a foreign language. We have all sorts of information about different subjects such as history, science, and geography, and we have complex skills such as driving a car or playing a musical instrument. All these things and countless others depend on our memory.How well you remember things depends on many different factors. Firstly, some people naturally have better memories than others, in just the same way as some people are taller than others, or have different color eyes. Some top chess players, for example, can remember every move of every game that they have ever seen or played.Secondly, research shows that different things are stored in different parts of the brain. Ideas, words, and numbers are stored in the left-hand side, while the right-hand side remembers images, sounds, and smells. In most people one side of the brain is more developed than the other, and this may explain why some people can rememberpeople's faces easily, but can't remember their names.Thirdly, we all remember exciting, frightening, or dramatic events more easily. This is because these experiences produce chemicals such as adrenaline, which boost （改善）your memory.Fourthly, the context（环境）in which you learn something can affect how well you remember it. Tests on divers, for example, showed that when they learned things underwater, they could also remember those things best when they were underwater.Lastly, the more often you recall a memory the more likely you are to remember it. If you don't use it, you'll lose it. A telephone number that you dial frequently will stay in your memory easily, but you will probably have to write down one that you use only now and again.Last Gasp for SmokersIt was a normal day and in their New York office, Ken and his colleagues stopped for their coffee break. But while his colleagues were able to sit at their desks and drink their coffee, Ken had to go outside. He couldn't stay inside, because he wanted to smoke. If the smokers of the Big Apple want to enjoy a cigarette,the authorities have decided they must go out into the street or up onto the rooftops.Throughout the United States, the number of places where people are allowed to smoke has gradually dwindled（缩小，减少）. First it was banned on trains, buses, and planes, then in public places such as theaters and airports. Now you can't smoke in any workplace. Nonsmokers are definitely winning the battle. "Why should we breathe their smoke?" they say.If they're lucky, smokers can still find some bars and restaurants or parks and recreation（娱乐，消遣）centers where they can light up a cigarette, but it may soon be banned there, too. In fact, smoking in parks and recreation centers is already banned in California. On August 9, 2001, Los Angeles City and County officials announced the implementation（实施，执行）of a smoke-free park policy, officially designating （指定）smoke-free zones in all 375 parks and recreation centers in the city. And since January 1, 2002 all parks in California have become smoke-free to safeguard children from the harmful effects of secondhand tobacco smoke and dangerous tobacco waste. Anti-smoking groups even think that smoking ought to be banned in people's homes. Under new plans you won't be able to smoke in any house where there are more than ten visitors in a week, or where there are children.In 1996, nicotine was classed as a dru g, like cannabis, cocaine or heroin. And scientists all over the world agree that exposure（暴露）tosecondhand smoke poses（造成，提出问题）a s erious health risk and there is no safe level of exposure. It is especially dangerous for children because when they are exposed to tobacco smoke, they have much higher rates of lung diseases such as bronchitis and pneumonia and are also at greater risks of developing asthma.In the country that gave tobacco to the world, smoking might one day be illegal. And then Ken will have to give up.Chairman:Welcome to this special birthday edition of One World. Tonight we have a special program dedicated to birthday celebrations around the world. With us in the studio we have Shaheen Hag and Pat Cane, who have a weekly column on birthdays in the Toronto Daily Star. Shaheen: Good evening.Pat: Good evening.Chairman:Shaheen, perhaps we could begin with you. How are birthdays celebrated in India?Shaheen: Well, perhaps we're all assuming that everyone in the world celebrates their birthdays. This just isn't the case. Low-income families in India, for instance, simply can't afford any festivities. And most Muslims don't celebrate their birthdays.Pat: I think Shaheen has raised an interesting point here. The Christianchurch, too, was actively against celebrating birthdays.Shaheen: Of course some Muslims do celebrate their birthdays. In Egypt, Turkey and Indonesia, for example, the rich people invite friends and families around. But not in small villages.Chairman: Here in England your twenty-first used to be the big one. But now it seems to have moved to eighteen. Is that true?Pat: Yes, in most parts of the West eighteen is now the most important birthday. In Finland, for example, eighteen is the age when you can vote, you know, or buy wines, drive a car and so on. But in Japan I think you have to wait till you're twenty before you can smoke or drink. Shaheen: I know in Senegal, which is another Muslim country, girls get to vote at sixteen and boys at eighteen. And in Bangladesh, girls at eighteen and boys at twenty-one.Chairman: That's interesting. I mean is it typical that around the world girls are considered to be more mature than boys?Shaheen: Yes, I think so, and in Mexico and Argentina, for example, they have enormous parties for 15-year-old girls.Pat: You know in Norway they have a great party for anyone who's not married by the time they're thirty. It's kind of embarrassing. I mean you get pepper thrown at you.Chairman: Pepper? Why pepper?Pat: I'm not really sure.Shaheen: So does that mean that on your 29th birthday you can start thinking "God I better get married"?Pat: Well, I'm not sure how seriously they take it.Chairman: In England we have quite big parties for your fortieth, fiftieth, sixtieth and so on.Pat: Well, in Japan your eighty-eighth is considered ...Chairman: Eighty-eighth?Pat: to be the luckiest birthday. Eight is a very lucky number in Japan.Embarrassing ExperiencesInterviewer: Rob, you went to Brazil, didn't you?Rob: Yes, I did.Interviewer: So, what happened?Rob: Well, I went into this meeting and there were about, er ... seven or eight people in there and I just said "Hello" to everybody and sat down. Apparently, what I should have done is to go round the room shaking hands with everyone individually. Well, you know, it's silly of me because I found out later it upset everyone. I think they felt I was taking them for granted.Kate: Well, I know that because when I was in France the first time, Ifinished a meeting with "Goodbye, everyone!" to all the people in the room. Well, I later found out that the polite thing to do is shake hands with everyone in the group before leaving.Interviewer: Well, people shake hands in different ways, don't they? Rob: Oh, yes, they do. See, normally I shake hands quite gently when I meet someone. So when I went to the US for the first time, I think people there thought my weak handshake was a sign of weakness. Apparently, people there tend to shake hands quite firmly.Kate: Oh, gosh, that reminds me of my first trip to Germany many years ago, I was introduced to the boss in the company when he passed us in the corridor. Well, I wasn't prepared, and I had my left hand in my pocket. And when we shook hands I realized my left hand was still in my pocket. Well, that was, you know, very bad manners and I was quite embarrassed.Interviewer:And how about using first names? Have you made any mistakes there?Rob: Oh, yes, I have! When I first went to Italy I thought it was OK to use everyone's first name so as to seem friendly. And I later discovered that in business you shouldn't use someone's first name unless you are invited to. Oh, and you should always use thei r title as well.Kate:Hm, yeah, well, when I met people in Russia, you know, they seemed to be puzzled when I shook hands with them and said "How doyou do?" Well, what they do when they greet a stranger is to say their own names, so I had that all wrong!Rob: Oh, yes, I agree with that. Remembering names is very important. Interviewer: Shall we take a break? When we come back we'll move on to our next topic.Kate & Rob: OK.College Hunks （健美的男子）of JunkIt's the universal cry of parents, generally heard by the second day of college summer breaks: "Get a job!" Omar Soliman's mother joined the chorus. "You have to do something," she told him.Soliman's friends had obtained prestigious（享有声望的）internships（实习职位）in his hometown of Washington, D.C. But he couldn't imagine himself sitting at a desk all day. After years of delivering furniture for his mother's store, he remembered that a lot of people had stuff they wanted to get rid of. If he borrowed his mom's van （厢式货车）, he could make a little money hauling their trash （垃圾）away for them.That night, Soliman came up with a name for his new business: College Hunks Hauling Junk. He distributed flyers（小广告传单）the nextday, and within hours, his phone was ringing. He asked his friend Nick Friedman to help out. They made $220 in three hours cleaning out a woman's garage.Soliman and Nick pocketed（将放入衣袋）$10,000 that summer. But the two weren't ready to become full-time trashmen after graduation. "We were trained to finish college and get a good job," says Soliman. He graduated with a business degree from the University of Miami and first went into marketing at a research firm. Friedman, who had an economics degree from Pomona College in California, became an economic analyst for a consulting compan y. Months later, they quit their jobs and started their junk business full time.At first they had trouble finding a bank willing to lend them money as they didn't have much of a credit rating. After five turndowns, one bank decided to gamble $50,000 on their idea. They put together another $60,000 from their parents and their own savings. They bought a truck, hired a graphic artist（平面造型设计师）t o design a logo, ran newspaper and radio ads and recruited（招聘）haulers on campuses. Wearing bright orange hats and green polos and khakis these college "hunks" will haul away everything from construction materials to old couches（床）. To cut down the cost of unloading at landfills, they have learned to recycle metals and electronics and donate to charities over 60 percent of what they collect. They also give away a portion（部分）oftheir earnings from each job to local college scholarship programs.And now, just four years later, they run a nationwide company that pulled in（获得利益报酬）$3 million in 2008. They employ 130 people and have 16 franchises（加盟连锁店）in 10 states and D.C. and plan to expand to 80 franchises by 2012.The Embarrassment of RichesThe meaning of wealth today is usually defined as the amount of money and material goods that one has accumulated and the ability to purchase more goods at an ever-increasing rate. A wealthy person possesses so much money that it would be difficult for him to spend it all in his lifetime without being wasteful and extravagant.Speaking from a strictly practical point of view, the trouble with wealth is not that it arouses envy in the hearts of others but that it weighs very heavily upon the resources of its owner. Those who have never tasted luxury imagine that a new Porsche, a Picasso in the drawing room, an apartment in the Trump Tower, will bring them ease and happiness. If that were true, owners of the Porsches, Picassos, and Trumps of the world would all be happy souls. One glance at history tells you they are not.The problem is not simply that owning goods feeds upon itself, generating desires to possess more and to outdo(超过) other owners in a competitive madness. It's that goods themselves are an endless responsibility. They must be not only paid for but also stored, insured, and publicly admired. All of those cost not just money but personal freedom. As James Boswell, the famous British biographer, once wrote in his diary, "If a man with a fortune cannot make himself easier and freer than those who are not, he gains nothing. Nothing except glittering baggage that must be attended to."In some Oriental countries poverty has never been such a disgrace（耻辱）as it is in the "get-rich-quick" zone. Wise men from these lands often remark on the tyranny（暴政，专制）of goods. According to an old Persian proverb, "The larger a man's roof, the more snow it collects." And in his discussion of "Houses", a Lebanese poet and philosopher compares the lust（欲望）for comfort to a "stealthy（（偷偷摸摸的）thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host, and then a master."The same sentiment（意见，观点）is also expressed here in America by the great philosopher Ralph Emerson, who scorns（轻蔑）the acquisitiveness（对金钱的渴望和贪婪）of his day with the famous line "Things are in the saddle（马鞍）, and ride mankind."Life Goes OnThe city of Ypres in Belgium has been invaded19 times, most famously in World War I. Some time ago I went with two friends to visit the battlefields and cemeteries（墓地）there, and particularly to see the tomb of my uncle who was killed in the war at the age of 20.Michael, our silver-haired（发白如银的）guide, took us first to a British cemetery, just outside the town. There are lines of gravestones （墓碑）, neatly planted with herbs（香草）and flowers, and surrounded by low walls blooming（开花）with wisteria（紫藤）. Michael pointed out my uncle's grave （墓穴）to me.I walked hesitantly toward it, wondering what I would feel. And suddenly there it was, and there were hundreds of others. Nothing could have prepared me for the realization that in this area alone about 250,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers were killed. There are 75 British cemeteries, but we visited just a few.Next, Michael took us to a place on the other side of the city. The names of 55,000 missing soldiers are engraved（雕刻）on its walls. We stared in awe（敬畏的）. "More than half a million horses and mules（骡子）were lost, and fifteen tons of unexploded ammunition（军火）are still collected each year from the fields," Michael told us.Then we came to the largest British cemetery in the world. Someheadstones（墓碑）have words of love or gratitude: "He died that we might live," "Gone from our sight but not from our hearts.""I'd like you to visit a German cemetery before finishing," Michael said. The cemetery is in wooded（树木繁茂的）land. But there are no headstones, only slabs（平板）in the grass. There are no flowers, either. The whole place is dark and dank.（潮湿的）With some relief we returned to the car. After some time, we drew up（集合）at a gate. Here, hidden from the road, lies the Pool of Peace. "It was created by an explosion so loud it was heard in Downing Street," said Michael. We looked at the still water reflecting the trees surrounding it. There is hardly （几乎没）a sound.By the time we returned to Ypres, it was evening. The city was preparing for the annual Festival of the Cats, which dates from（追溯）medieval （中世纪的）times. Soon there would be dancing in the square.A Terrible DiseaseThe phone rang and it was my husband Jack asking me to take some lunch to his office. As I drove off, I noticed a new shopping center. Strange I hadn't noticed it before. Near his office I also saw a fire station （消防站）I didn't r ecognize."When did they build that new shopping center?" I asked Jack."And I'm glad to see that new fire station. It'll give a good landmark.""Diana, they've been there for ages," Jack scolded.Bewildered, I became angry and, starting up the engine, began to pull away（离开）. Then I braked. Where was the exit? Suddenly, nothing was familiar. I realized I had no idea how to get home. I had to stop again and again to ask for directions. Eventually, I got home. A 30-minute drive had taken me four hours.Two months later, at the office where I worked as a legal researcher, a smart young man approached me."Hi, Diana. Good to see you," he said, smiling.I hesitated, then smiled with resignation（屈从，顺从）."Please forgive me, it's one of those days. I simply can't bring your name to mind.""Diana, I'm your cousin Richard," he said very slowly.After that, I was constantly making mistakes and kept forgetting my way around the building. In the end, I made the painful decision to resign from work.Desperate to discover what was wrong with me, I made an appointment with a neurologist.After various tests he told me I had Alzheimer's disease. I felt numb. I'd hoped to find I was worrying about nothing, but now my worst fears were confirmed. And I was only 53!When I told Jack and my three grown-up children about mydisease, their reaction was quiet but supportive. "Stop worrying," Jack said. "We'll take good care of you."Now at 57, on good days I'm filled with hope and determination, but on bad days I have the worst sense of being alone. I've started a support group for other sufferers,for I know it's essential to have contact with people who are walking through the same maze（迷宫）. Jack's coping well. While he still dreams of waking up to find all this has been a horrible nightmare, he's assured me that I can depend on him. When we married he didn't know "for better or worse" included Alzheimer's. But neither did I.Home-Schooling on a World CruiseI've never believed that the only way to get an education is to sit at a desk with four walls around you. The world is our classroom and our home, a 41-foot sailing boat, takes us there. My husband and I dreamed of sailing around the world before our daughters were even born. Their arrivals only increased our desire to live the cruising lifestyle, a way of life that has given us the opportunity for lots of quality and quantity family time. Educating our two daughters while living afloat on our sailing boat has added a wonderful new dimension to our lives.We started out years ago with a kindergarten correspondence (一致)course f or our daughter Kate. As she found it very easy we devised our own curriculum for her.Choosing courses of study for Kate was great fun. We looked at where we would be sailing to during the school year, or where we would be stopping to work, and all sorts of topics of interest presented themselves. For example, while cruising（乘船巡游）down the East Coast to Florida, we chose space exploration for a unit of study. Our studies included both fictional and non-fictional reading, experiments and writing assignments. The finale（结尾）was watching a shuttle（航天飞机）launch and visiting the Kennedy Space Center museums.We do miss out on（错过好机会）a few things that most school children are able to take advantage of. Our sailing boat is small. School is held on a small dining table and it's difficult to leave artwork, science experiments or projects on the table for later use. We also have limited room for school books and so those we have must be chosen carefully. Perhaps the thing we miss the most is not always having access to a library.But the advantages of our floating school far outweigh（比。
- 1、下载文档前请自行甄别文档内容的完整性，平台不提供额外的编辑、内容补充、找答案等附加服务。
- 2、"仅部分预览"的文档,不可在线预览部分如存在完整性等问题,可反馈申请退款(可完整预览的文档不适用该条件!)。
- 3、如文档侵犯您的权益，请联系客服反馈,我们会尽快为您处理(人工客服工作时间：9:00-18:30)。
TEST 15Section ADirections:In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said.Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each questionthere will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A), B),C), and D), and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letteron Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center.1. W: I thought you were going to pick up some strawberries to have after dinner.M: I went by Bailey’s Market to get some, but they were fresh out.Q: What does the man mean?2. M: I hate missing breakfast!W: Me too, but if we’d stopped for breakfast, we would have missed the appointment.Q: What did the speakers do this morning?3. M: Is this Dr. Goldsmith’s office?W: No. This is room 301. Dr. Goldsmith’s office is right downstairs from here.Q: Where is Dr. Goldsmith’s office?4. W: What did you think of Brenda’s story?M: To tell you the truth, I found it hard to keep a straight face while she was telling it.Q: How did the man feel about the story?5. W: Excuse me, sir. You are not supposed to be here. This area is for airport staff only.M: I’m sorry. I didn’t notice the sign.Q: What do we learn from the conversation?6. M: I would like to move to the suburbs, but I don’t have enough money to pay the hightaxes.W: I wish you could. It’s nice to live there.Q: Why isn’t the man moving to the suburbs?7. M: Good morning. This is John Parker speaking. I’m just ringing to confirm myappointment with Mr. Smith for this afternoon.W: Yes. Mr. Smith’s expecting you at three o’clock.Q: Why is the man making the phone call?8. M: I bought a few books at the new bookstore. Would you like to have a look at them?W: A few? It looks like you bought out the bookstore!Q: What does the woman mean?Now you will hear two long conversations.Conversation OneM: And now here’s our guest, Jane Thomas, to tell us about Montreal’s famous yearly island Bicycle Tour, which is coming up in June. Good morning, Jane. What’s the bike tour all about? W: Well, Peter, it’s an event that’s open to anybody who’d like to ride a bicycle through the streets of Montreal. The tour covers a standard distance of 65 kilometers, but the route’s quite different every year, so even people who have already done it might enjoy doing it again.M: How long does it take to go the whole distance?W: It varies … Cyclists are free to go as fast or as slow and do as much or as little of the course as they like.M: Well, what’s the typical pace for a participant?W: Between 12 and 30 kilometers per hour. Some cyclists stop along the way and don’t cross the finish line until early evening. But the whole point is that there’s no rush—it’s not a race.M: I understand last year’s tour had 45,000 cyclists and was the large st mass cycling event in the world. How many do you expect this year?W: The same as last year. And since we regularly have so many participants, can I take this opportunity to remind our listeners to sign up early? We filled up quickly last year, and we had to refuse lots of applications.M: Before we close, any other tips for prospective cyclists?W: Yes. Take water with you. It is available at the relay stations, but it helps to have an additional supply. And pack a good lunch with plenty of fruit for en ergy. Candy and chocolate don’t do the trick.Questions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.9. What is the main subject of the conversation?10. According to the woman, what is different every year?11. What is provided at the relay stations?Conversation TwoM: Mummy, I’ve been thinking I might go to London at the end of the week.W: Oh yes?M: Yes, a friend of mine wants someone to share a flat and I thought it would be a good opportunity for me.W: Well, that sounds good. Where exactly is this flat?M: Well, we haven’t exactly got one, but I thought I might go and look.W: But I hear it’s very difficult to find flats in London these days.M: Not at all, people get themselves fixed up in no time.W: Oh well, I suppose you kn ow better than me. What will you live on while you’re there?M: I’ll get a job. I’ll write to the Appointments Board.W: Just any sort of job?M: Whatever there is.W: I’m not sure I like the idea of your going off all the way to London without a proper job and with nowhere to live... That’s what I say. No one can accuse me of trying to keep you at home.Who is this friend of yours?M: A boy called Ted Slater. He was at Oxford... and he is a sort of research student.W: Well, it sounds like a very nice ide a. After all, you won’t want to stay here all your life with your poor old mother, will you? It seems you’re very eager to be off.M: Well, it’s just that I can’t stay here all my life, can I?W: O f course you can’t. Have I ever tried to keep you at home? It was always me who said you must go. And your father wasn’t any too keen, believe me.M: Well, you had to cope with both of us.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. What is the conversation mainly about?13. What is the greatest problem Tom might meet in London?14. What is the attitude of Tom’s mother toward his plan to live in London?15. What is the attitude of his father toward his eagerness to leave home?Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once.After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choicesmarked A), B), C), and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2with a single line through the center.Passage OneA couple of months ago, I went to a department store to buy a few things for the house. I needed a set of curtains for the living room, two table lamps, a rug and several cushions. I asked them to deliver the things as soon as possible, but they said that they were unable to send them out until 20 days later. After about 3 weeks, I received only the curtains and table lamps. I was a little disappointed whe n I didn’t receive all the items I had bought. But nevertheless, I was ea ger to see what the curtains and lamps looked like. I first opened the package with the curtains. I had bought a lovely light blue, and instead they had sent me a horrible dark purple. Well, you can just imagine how angry I was. Then I opened the boxes with the lamps. They were exactly what I’d ordered. But one of the lamp shades was damaged. The next thing I did was to telephone them to complain. They promised to come and pick them up immediately and also to replace them with the correct order. It has been two weeks since my complaint. They have neither picked up the wrong items nor sent me the rest of my order.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16. When did the woman want the store to deliver the items?17. Was the woman pleased when she saw the items they had delivered?18. What happened in the end?Passage TwoIn the West, land was always cheap. Every man was his own master. Yet, he was faced with the problem that he would have to learn to do everything by himself. He had to be his own doctor, mechanic, priest, soldier, and governor. His wife had to make the family’s clothes, teach her children, and help her husband in the fields. She kept a rifle behind the door to protect her children from wild animals. And she knew how to use it. Such was life in the Old West.Those early Americans were not afraid to work. Men who didn’t work didn’t eat. Work was necessary and honorable. With so much to do, Americans kept trying to find quicker and better ways of doing things. They brought eastern ways and experiments with new ways of farming, new religions, new machines, and new types of government. They made many mistakes, but they kept on learning.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. What was always cheap in the West?20. What was the early Americans’ attitude towards work?21. What was their life like in the West?Passage ThreeLast summer I visited Mexico City to see the ancient art in museums there. I was surprised at how well I managed to get around even though I don’t speak a word of Spanish. You just have to be able to make the right decision in a tough situation. The manager of my hotel gave me a map of the ci ty and told me that the best way to get to the museum was by subway. I didn’t know where the nearest subway was. But I was sure I would find it if I walked a little. After an hour I was still walking. I was completely lost. Just then a policeman came over and showed me the nearest station. I looked at the subway map and wall and didn’t know which line to take. In fact I wasn’t shown which station I was in. Most people would give up in that situation but not me. After I thought it over, I knew exactly what to do. I went upstairs and took a taxi.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22. Why did the speaker go to the Mexico City?23. What was the best way to the museum according to the hotel manager?24. Why did the speaker take a taxi?25. How did the speaker feel about his trip to the museum?Section CDirections:In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time you should listen for its general idea. Then listen to the passage again.When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanksnumbered from 26 to 33 with the exact words you have just heard. For the blanksnumbered from 34 to 36 you are required to fill in the missing information. For theseblanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the mainpoints in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, youshould check what you have written.Two more people have died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in China, making the death toll five out of eight human cases (26) reported so far in the country. The Ministry of Health has announced Wednesday the two (27) victims, first reported last month, were a 10-year-old girl in the southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and a 35-year-old man in eastern Jiangxi Province. They had died on December 16th and 30th (28) respectively after all medical treatment measures failed. A (29) spokesman for the Ministry says the current bird flu situation is “not optimistic”, and is calling on people to remain (30) vigilant.“Although there hasn’t been any human-to-human case of bird flu reported so far, as the danger of bird flu not only exists in China but also threatens other countries, (31) measures to prevent and control the epidemic must be (32) strengthened.” Among the eight human cases of bird flu in China, the (33) latest victim is a six-year-old boy from Central China’s Hunan Province, who is now in the hospital. The boy is in critical condition. The Ministry warns (34) human cases of bird flu may continue to increase in China if there are more bird flu outbreaks.The United Nations agriculture agency warns the bird flu virus (35) could become widespread among animals in Turkey and pose a serious risk to neighboring countries. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says there have been more outbreaks than expected in Turkey. (36) The FAO also calls on Turkey’s neighbors to put surveillance and control measures in place and make sure the public is fully informed about bird flu risks.。