英语四六级考试听力调整，据说难度将加大（2）
Part II Listening Comprehension (30 minutes)
Section A
Directions: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear some questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1with a single line through the centre.
Conversation One
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
1. A) He invented the refrigerator. C) He was admitted to a university.
B) He patented his first invention. D) He got a degree in Mathematics.
2. A) He started to work on refrigeration.
B) He became a professor of Mathematics.
C) He fell in love with Natasha Willoughby.
D) He distinguished himself in low temperature physics.
3. A) Discovering the true nature of subatomic particles.
B) Their explanation of the laws of cause and effect.
C) Their work on very high frequency radio waves.
D) Laying the foundations of modern mathematics.
4. A) To have a three-week holiday. C) To patent his inventions.
B) To spend his remaining years. D) To teach at a university.
Conversation Two
Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
5. A) The injury of some students.
B) A school bus crash on the way.
C) The collapse of a school building.
D) A fire that broke out on a school campus.
6. A) Teaching. C) Having lunch.
B) On vacation. D) Holding a meeting.
7. A) A malfunctioning stove. C) Violation of traffic rules.
B) Cigarettes butts left by workers. D) Negligence in school maintenance.
8. A) Sent a story to the local newspaper.
B) Threw a small Thanksgiving party.
C) Baked some cookies as a present.
D) Wrote a personal letter of thanks.
Section B
Directions: In this section, you will hear two 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 choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
9. A) It is a trait of a generous character. C) It is an indicator of high intelligence.
B) It is a reflection of self-esteem. D) It is a sign of happiness and confidence.
10. A) It was self-defeating. C) It was the essence of comedy.
B) It was aggressive. D) It was something admirable.
11. A) It is a double-edged sword. C) It is a unique gift of human beings.
B) It is a feature of a given culture. D) It is a result of both nature and nurture.
Passage Two
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
12. A) She is a tourist guide. C) She is a domestic servant.
B) She is an interpreter. D) She is from the royal family.
13. A) It is situated at the foot of a beautiful mountain.
B) It was used by the family to hold dinner parties.
C) It was frequently visited by heads of state.
D) It is furnished like one in a royal palace.
14. A) It is elaborately decorated. C) It is very big, with only six slim legs.
B) It has survived some 2,000 years. D) It is shaped like an ancient Spanish boat.
15. A) They are interesting to look at.
B) They have lost some of their legs.
C) They do not match the oval table at all.
D) They are uncomfortable to sit in for long.
Section C
Directions: In this section, you will hear recordings of lectures or talks followed by some questions. The recordings will be played only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.
Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 16 to 19.
16. A) They investigate the retirement homes in America.
B) They are on issues facing senior citizens in America.
C) They describe the great pleasures of the golden years.
D) They are filled with fond memories of his grandparents.
17. A) The loss of the ability to take care of himself.
B) The feeling of not being important any more.
C) Being unable to find a good retirement home.
D) Leaving the home he had lived in for 60 years.
18. A) The loss of identity and self-worth.
B) Fear of being replaced or discarded.
C) Freedom from pressure and worldly cares.
D) The possession of wealth and high respect.
19. A) The urgency of pension reform.
B) Medical care for senior citizens.
C) Finding meaningful roles for the elderly in society.
D) The development of public facilities for senior citizens.
Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 20 to 22.
20. A) It seriously impacts their physical and mental development.
B) It has become a problem affecting global economic growth.
C) It is a common problem found in underdeveloped countries.
D) It is an issue often overlooked by parents in many countries.
21. A) They will live longer. C) They get along well with people.
B) They get better pay. D) They develop much higher IQs.
22. A) Appropriated funds to promote research of nutrient-rich foods.
B) Encouraged breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life.
C) Recruited volunteers to teach rural people about health and nutrition.
D) Targeted hunger-relief programs at pregnant women and young children.
Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 23 to 25.
23. A) The guaranteed quality of its goods.
B) The huge volume of its annual sales.
C) The service it provides to its customers.
D) The high value-to-weight ratio of its goods.
24. A) Those having a taste or smell component.
B) Products potentially embarrassing to buy.
C) Those that require very careful handling.
D) Services involving a personal element.
25. A) Those who live in the virtual world.
B) Those who have to work long hours.
C) Those who are used to online transactions.
D) Those who don’t mind paying a little more.
Tape Script of Listening Comprehension
Section A
Directions: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear some questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1with a single line through the centre.
Conversation One
W: Hello.
M: Hello, is that the reference library?
W: Yes. Can I help you?
M: I hope so. I rang earlier and asked for some information about Denys Hawtin, the scientist. You asked me to ring back.
W: Oh, yes. I have found something.
M: Good. I’ve got a pencil and paper. Perhaps you could read out what it says.
W: Certainly. Hawtin, Denys. Born: Darlington 1836; died New York 1920.
M: Yes. Got that.
W: Inventor and physicist. The son of a farm worker, he was admitted to the University of London at the age of fifteen.
M: Yes.
W: He graduated at seventeen with a first class degree in Physics and Mathematics. All right?
M: Yes, all right.
W: He made his first notable achievement at the age of eighteen. It was a method of refrigeration which arose from his work in low temperature physics. He became professor of Mathematics at the University of Manchester at twenty-four, where he remained for twelve years. During that time he married one of his students, Natasha Willoughby.
M: Yes. Go on.
W: Later, working together in London, they laid the foundation of modern Physics by showing that normal laws of cause and effect do not apply at the level of subatomic particles. For this he and his wife received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1910, and did so again in 1912 for their work on very high frequency radio waves. In his lifetime Hawtin patented 244 inventions. Do you want any more?
M: Yes. When did he go to America?
W: Let me see. In 1920 he went to teach in New York, and died there suddenly after only three weeks. Still, he was a good age.
M: Yes. I suppose so. Well, thanks.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
1. What do we learn about Denys Hawtin when he was 15?
2. What did Denys Hawtin do at the age of 24?
3. For what were Denys Hawtin and his wife awarded the Nobel Prize a second time?
4. Why did Denys Hawtin go to New York?
Conversation Two
W: This is Lisa Meyer in the WBZ newsroom, talking with Mike Bassichis, who is the director of the Gifford School, about the cleanup from last week’s fire and what the possible cause of that blaze may have been.
M: We’re getting ready for our entire staff to return early from vacation tomorrow whereupon we are going to move into temporary classrooms. And the other buildings that did not burn are being de-smoked. As to the cause of the fire, all we know is that we were having trouble with the pilot lights since we bought the stove in July and it had been serviced three times. Well, as a matter of fact, we think it was a malfunctioning stove that may have caused the fire. Nothing definite yet has been determined.
W: Have you heard from other schools or other institutional users of this stove that have had the same problem?
M: No. I wouldn’t know anything more about the stove itself. All I know is that this fire went up so quickly that there’s been a suspicion about why it went up so quickly. And it may be that there was a gas blast. But, again, this has not been determined officially by anybody.
W: I got you. When do kids come back to school?
M: Next Monday, and we will be ready for them. Monday January 4. We’re just extremely thrilled that no one was hurt and that’s because of the fire fighters that were here, nine of them. They’re wonderful.
W: And I’m sure you send your thanks out to them, uh?
M: Well, we’re sending out thanks to them in a letter or in any other way we can. I heard a story today where one of our kids actually baked some cookies and is taking it to the fire department, to give it to them.
Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
5. What were the speakers talking about?
6. What were the school staff doing at the time of the accident?
7. What was supposed to be the cause of the accident?
8. What did one of the kids do to show gratitude?
Section B
Directions: In this section, you will hear two 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 choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
In today’s personality stakes, nothing is more highly valued than a sense of humor. We seek it out in others and are proud to claim it in ourselves, perhaps even more than good looks or intelligence. If someone has a great sense of humor, we reason, it means that they are happy, socially confident and have a healthy perspective on life.
This attitude would have surprised the ancient Greeks, who believed humor to be essentially aggressive. And in fact, our admiration for the comically gifted is relatively new, and not very well-founded, says Rod Martin, a psychologist at the University of Western Ontario. Being funny isn’t necessarily an indicator of good social skills and well-being, his research has shown. It may just as likely be a sign of personality flaws.
He has found that humor is a double-edged sword. It can forge better relationships and help you cope with life, or it can be corrosive, eating away at self-esteem and irritating others. “It’s a form of communication, like speech, and we all use it differently,” says Martin. We use bonding humor to enhance our social connections, but we also may employ it as a way of excluding or rejecting an outsider.
Though humor is essentially social, how you use it says a lot about your sense of self. Those who use self-defeating humor, making fun of themselves for the enjoyment of others, tend to maintain that hostility toward themselves even when alone. Similarly, those who are able to view the world with amused tolerance are often equally forgiving of their own shortcomings.
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
9. How do people today view humor according to the speaker?
10. What did the ancient Greeks think of humor?
11. What has psychologist Rod Martin found about humor?
Passage Two (female voice)
And now, if you’ll walk this way, ladies and gentlemen, the next room we’re going to see is the room in which the family used to hold their formal dinner parties and even occasionally entertain heads of state and royalty. However, they managed to keep this room friendly and intimate and I think you’ll agree it has a very informal atmosphere, quite unlike some grand houses you visit. The curtains were never drawn, even at night, so guests got a view of the lake and fountains outside, which were lit up at night. A very attractive sight.
As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, the guests were seated very informally around this oval table, which would add to the relaxed atmosphere. The table dates from the eighteenth century and is made of Spanish oak. It’s rather remarkable for the fact that although it is extremely big, it’s supported by just six rather slim legs. However, it seems to have survived like that for two hundred years, so it’s probably going to last a bit longer. The chairs which go with the table are not a complete set—there were originally six of them. They are interesting for the fact that they are very plain and undecorated for the time, with only one plain central panel at the back and no arm-rests. I myself find them rather uncomfortable to sit in for very long, but people were used to more discomfort in the past.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, if you’d like to follow me into the Great Hall …
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
12. What do we learn about the speaker?
13. What does the speaker say about the room they are visiting?
14. What is said about the oval table in the room?
15. What does the speaker say about the chairs?
Section C
Directions: In this section, you will hear recordings of lectures or talks followed by some questions. The recordings will be played only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.
Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 16 to 19.
Moderator:
Hello Ladies and Gentleman, it gives me great pleasure to introduce our keynote speaker for today’s session, Dr. Howard Miller. Dr. Miller, Professor of Sociology at Washington University, has written numerous articles and books on the issues facing older Americans in our graying society for the past 15 years. Dr. Miller:
Dr. Miller:
Thank you for that introduction. Today, I’d like to preface my remarks with a story from my own life which I feel highlights the common concerns that bring us here together. Several years ago when my grandparents were well into their eighties, they were faced with the reality of no longer being able to adequately care for themselves. My grandfather spoke of his greatest fear, that of leaving the only home they had known for the past 60 years. Fighting back the tears, he spoke proudly of the fact that he had built their home from the ground up, and that he had pounded every nail and laid every brick in the process. The prospect of having to sell their home and give up their independence, and move into a retirement home was an extremely painful experience for them. It was, in my grandfather’s own words, like having a limb cut off. He exclaimed in a forceful manner that he felt he wasn’t important anymore.
For them and some older Americans, their so-called “golden years” are at times not so pleasant, for this period can mean the decline of not only one’s health but the loss of identity and self-worth. In many societies, this self-identity is closely related with our social status, occupation, material possessions, or independence. Furthermore, we often live in societies that value what is “new” or in fashion, and our own usage of words in the English language is often a sign of bad news for older Americans. I mean how would your family react if you came home tonight exclaiming, “Hey, come to the living room and see the OLD black and white TV I brought!” Unfortunately, the word “old” calls to mind images of the need to replace or discard.
Now, many of the lectures given at this conference have focused on the issues of pension reform, medical care, and the development of public facilities for senior citizens. And while these are vital issues that must be addressed, I’d like to focus my comments on an important issue that will affect the overall success of the other programs mentioned. This has to do with changing our perspectives on what it means to be a part of this group, and finding meaningful roles the elderly can play and should play in our societies.
First of all, I’d like to talk about . . .
16. What does the introduction say about Dr. Howard Miller’s articles and books?
17. What is the greatest fear of Dr. Miller’s grandfather?
18. What does Dr. Miller say the “golden years” can often mean?
19. What is the focus of Dr. Miller’s speech?
Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 20 to 22.
The 2010 Global Hunger Index report was released today by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). It notes that, in recent years, experts have come to the conclusion that undernourishment between conception and a child’s second birthday can have serious and long-lasting impacts.
Undernourishment during this approximately 1,000-day window can seriously check the growth and development of children and render them more likely to get sick and die than well-fed children. Preventing hunger allows children to develop both physically and mentally.
Says IFPRI’s Marie Ruel, “They will be more likely to perform well in school. They will stay in school longer. And then at adulthood, IFPRI has actually demonstrated that children who were better nourished have higher wages, by a pretty large margin, by 46 percent.”
Ruel says that means the productivity of a nation’s future generations depends in a large part on the first 1,000 days of life.
“This is why we’re all on board in focusing on those thousand days to improve nutrition. After that, the damage is done and is highly irreversible.”
The data on nutrition and childhood development has been slowly coming together for decades. But Ruel says scientific consensus alone will not solve the problem.
“It’s not enough that nutritionists know you have to intervene then, if we don’t have the politicians on board, and also the...people that implement [programs] in the field.”
Ruel says there are encouraging signs that politicians and implementers are beginning to get on board. Many major donors and the United Nations are targeting hunger-relief programs at pregnant women and young children. They focus on improving diets or providing micro-food supplements. They improve access to pre-birth care and encourage exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life.
Ruel says in the 1980s Thailand was able to reduce child undernourishment by recruiting a large number of volunteers to travel the countryside teaching about health and nutrition.
“They really did very active promotion of diversity in the diet and good eating habits. So they were providing more food to people, but also educating people on how to use them, and also educating people on how to feed their young children.”
Ruel says countries may take different approaches to reducing child undernutrition. But she says nations will not make progress fighting hunger and poverty until they begin to focus on those critical first thousand days.
20. What is the experts’ conclusion regarding children’s undernourishment in their earliest days of life?
21. What does IFPRI’s Marie Ruel say about well-fed children in their adult life?
22. What did Thailand do to reduce child undernourishment in the 1980s?
Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 23 to 25.
I’d like to look at a vital aspect of e-commerce, and that is the nature of the product or service. There are certain products and services that are very suitable for selling online, and others that simply don’t work.
Suitable products generally have a high value-to-weight ratio. Items such as CDs and DVDs are obvious examples. Books, although heavier and so more expensive to post, still have a high enough value-to-weight ratio, as the success of Amazon, which started off selling only books, shows. Laptop computers are another good product for selling online.
Digital products, such as software, films and music, can be sold in a purely virtual environment. The goods are paid for by online transactions, and then downloaded onto the buyer’s computer. There are no postage or delivery costs, so prices can be kept low.
Many successful virtual companies provide digital services, such as financial transactions, in the case of Paypal, or means of communication, as Skype does. The key to success here is providing an easy-to-use, reliable service. Do this and you can easily become the market leader, as Skype has proved.
Products which are potentially embarrassing to buy also do well in the virtual environment. Some of the most profitable e-commerce companies are those selling sex-related products or services. For a similar reason, online gambling is highly popular.
Products which are usually considered unsuitable for selling online include those that have a taste or smell component. Food, especially fresh food, falls into this category, along with perfume. Clothes and other items that need to be tried on such as diamond rings and gold necklaces are generally not suited to virtual retailing, and, of course, items with a low value-to-weight ratio.
There are exceptions, though. Online grocery shopping has really taken off, with most major supermarkets offering the service. The inconvenience of not being able to see the food you are buying is outweighed by the time saved and convenience of having the goods delivered. Typical users of online supermarkets include the elderly, people who work long hours and those without their own transport.
23 What is important to the success of an online store?
24. What products are unsuitable for selling online?
25. Who are more likely to buy groceries online?
参考答案
Part II Listening Comprehension
Section A
1. C 2. B 3. C 4. D 5. D
6. B 7. A 8. C
Section B
9. D 10. B 11. A 12. A 13. B
14. C 15. D
Section C
16. B 17. D 18. A 19. C 20. A
21. B 22. C 23. D 24. A 25. B
