2010年11月27日昂立大學英語四級�？悸犃ξ谋�
Part III Listening Comprehension
Section A
Question 11.
M: Can you believe the way Larry was talking to his roommate? No wonder they don't get along.
W: Well, maybe Larry was just reacting to something his roommate said. There are two sides to every story you know.
M: What does the woman mean?
Question 12.
W: I know I promised to drive you to the airport next Tuesday. But I’m afraid that something has come up. And they've called a special meeting at work.
M: No big deal. Karen said she was available as a backup.
W: What does the man mean?
Question 13.
W: I don't think I want to live in the dormitory next year. I need more privacy.
M: I know what you mean. But check out the cost of renting an apartment first, I wouldn't be surprised if you changed your mind.
W: What does the man think the woman will do?
Question 14.
W: Umm … are you going to try some of this chocolate pudding? It’s incredible.
M: Well, to be honest with you, I’ve never been a big fan of chocolate.
W: What does the Man imply?
Question 15.
W: So how was the drama club’s new production last night? Did I miss out on anything good?
M: Hardly. I kept looking at my watch the whole time.
W: What does the man mean?
Question 16.
W: The state ballet's coming to town next weekend, and I can't find a ticket anywhere.
M: You know, my sister just happens to have one and she can't go. She's got some sort of conflict in her schedule.
W: What does the man imply the woman should do?
Question 17.
M: Just look at this apartment, Karen. What a mess! You should start this all over. How does you roommate put up with it?
W: I know. I haven't been doing my share this week. But I have three reports to do on Friday, and I haven't even started one of them.
W: What can be inferred about Karen?
Question 18.
W: Jam, I don't know if you know this. But I’m prepared to run for class president and I’m wondering if I can count on your vote?
M: Oh, maybe if you asked me sooner. But my roommate's running too and I’ve already promised him he would have my support
W: What does the man mean?
Now you’ll hear the two long conversations.
W: Conversation one
M: Hi, Sue. Where have you been?
W: Oh. Hi, Dan. I was just at the library. I have to hand in my biology paper tomorrow.
M: Tomorrow? Oh, no! I thought it wasn't due till Monday.
W: Oh. Don't worry. It is due Monday. But I'm going away for the weekend and won't be back till Monday night.
M: Oh, where are you going?
W: California. We're having a family reunion. It's my grandmother's ninetieth birthday, so all the cousins and aunts and uncles are going. She planned the whole thing herself.
M: Wow. That's great. How many people will be there?
W: Around sixty. My family is big and spreads up but we're pretty close. So have you started working on your biology paper?
M: Yeah. I'm doing it on bees and how they're able to recognize whether another bee is related to them.
W: How can they tell?
M: They use their sense of smell. The sweat bees guard their nest this way. If another bee approaches the nest, the guard determines if the new bee is familiar. If it is, it's allowed to enter.
W: Interesting. Can other insects do this? Well, the paper wasps can. Each wasp nest has a special combination of plant fibers and so the wasps that live there have a unique smell. Those two are the only kinds I've read about so far.
M: Well, you've still got time. It sounds like that the bees are picky about who comes to their family reunion.
Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question19. What is the relationship between the speakers?
Question 20. Why was the man worried at first?
Question 21. According to the man, how do some bees use their sense of smell?
Question 22. What will the man probably do over the weekend?
Conversation two
W: John, have you chosen a physical education class yet for this semester?
M: No. Why?
W: You've got to take rock-climbing. We just had the first class and it looks like it’s gonna be great.
M: You think I should take rock-climbing? You've got to be kidding. Besides, how can they teach rock-climbing when it's completely flat around here?
W: That's not important. You can't just start climbing without any training. You had to get in shape, learn how to use the ropes, the belts, the buckles, there's a lot of preparation first.
M: You don't think it's just a little bit dangerous?
W: Not if you know how to use the safety equipment, which is, by the way, pretty hi-tech. The ropes are made of elastic fabrics that stretch a little, the shoes have special plastic. You have to learn how to use all these before you do any real climbing.
M: Well, what's the appeal? We'll spend the whole semester studying something we don't actually get to do.
W: We will take a climbing trip during spring break. But that's not the point. Climbing is not the only goal. In preparing to climb you learn patience, mental discipline and you gain fantastic physical strength, especially in your hands. For the first few weeks we're going to concentrate entirely on hand and upper body exercise.
M: All that in one sport? Maybe you are right. Since it's not too late to join the class, maybe I will.
M: Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
M: Question 23. What is the woman trying to do?
M: Question 24. What does the man imply about rock-climbing at their college?
Question 25. Why is the woman interested in rock-climbing?
Section B
Passage one
W: Elizabeth Blackwell was the First Western Woman in Modern Times to become a doctor. She was born in Bristol, England in eighteen twenty-one. Elizabeth had three brothers and four sisters. All followed the same plan of education. When she was eleven years old, Elizabeth’s parents decided to move the family to the United States. One day, Elizabeth visited a family friend who was suffering from cancer. The dying friend suggested that Elizabeth study medicine. Elizabeth knew that no woman had ever been permitted to study in a medical school. But she began to think about the idea seriously after the woman who had suggested it died. Elizabeth took a teaching job in the southern state of North Carolina to earn money for medical school. But no medical school would accept her. College officials told her she must pretend to be a man if she wanted to become a doctor. Elizabeth refused. She wrote to other medical colleges. All rejected her, except Geneva Medical College in the state of New York where she finished her studies. She had two dreams. One was to start a hospital for women and children. Another was to build a medical school to train women doctors. In eighteen sixty-eight, she opened her medical college for women. It was the first time the idea of preventing disease was taught in a medical school. Elizabeth Blackwell died in England in nineteen ten. She was eighty-nine years old.
Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you’ve just heard.
Question 26. How many brothers and sisters did Elizabeth Blackwell have?
Question 27. Which medical college enrolled Elizabeth Blackwell?
Question 28. What was the significance of Elizabeth’s medical college opened for women in 1868?
Passage Two
M: A recent report has shown that here in the United States, we've experienced an evolution concerning our attitudes towards the workweek and the weekends. Although some calendars still mark the beginning of a week as Sunday, more and more of us are coming to regard Monday as the first day of the week with Saturday and Sunday comprising the two-day period thought as the weekend. In fact the word "weekend" didn't even exist in English until about the middle of last century. In England at that time, Saturday afternoons had just been added to Sundays and holidays as a time for workers to have off from their jobs. This innovation became common in the United States in the 1920s, but as the workweek was shortened during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the weekend expanded to two full days - Saturday and Sunday. Some people thought that this trend would continue due to increasing automation and the workweek might decrease to four days or even fewer. But so far this hasn't happened. The workweek seems to have stabilized as forty hours made up of five eight-hour days. After this commercial I'll be back to talk about the idea of adding Monday to the weekend.
W: Questions 29 to 31 are based on the passage you have just heard.
W: Question 29.When did word "weekend" come into existence?
W: Question30. What did Saturday afternoon mean to the workers in England at that time?
W: Question31. What will the speaker most probably talk about after the advertisement?
W: Passage 3
W: Over the centuries, people's eating habits change from generation to generation. Before scientists learned about vitamins and other constituents of food, such as proteins and carbohydrates, people believed in eating large quantities of food and were not concerned so much about a balanced diet. For example, in the eighteenth century a hearty meal could consist of as many as twenty courses and would probably knock out the most starving and insatiable appetites.
Today, people believe in a more balanced diet. In many countries where food shortage is no longer a problem for immediate attention, people start to eat less. More attentions are paid to the nutrition and wholesomeness of the food. Vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, and even calories became labels on almost every kind of food we eat.
In the 21st century people's eating habits may be just as surprising but in a very different sort of way. With a worldwide growth in population, food production will become exclusively mechanical and scientific. There may well be an end to food as we know it today. Meals, as we know them, may become a thing of the past. Food constituents and vitamins may be taken in the form of capsules, tablets or pills. The thought of these highly artificial food constituents taking the place of present day foods may not be very attractive, but they may be the answer to food shortage and severe starvation in some parts of the of world.
M: Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
M: Question32. According to the talk, which of the following is NOT a constituent of food we eat today?
M: Question 33. How many courses of food could be offered in a hearty eighteenth century meal?
M: Question 34. What does a worldwide growth in population contribute to the food production?
M: Question 35. According to the speaker, which of the following will be an answer to the food shortage and severe starvation in the world today?
M: Section C
M: Now listen to the passage
W: Life-style is the way a person lives work, leisure time, hobbies, other interests, and personal philosophy. One’s personal life-style may be dominated work, including few social activities. Another’s may involve hobbies, recreational activities, or personal philosophy.
There is little doubt that life-styles are changing and that these changes will have an influence on the way business operates in the years ahead. Several factors are causing life-style changes in U.S. society.
First, there is more leisure time than ever before. The workweek is now less than forty hours, as compared to seventy hours a century ago. Some experts believe it will be twenty-five hours or less before the year 2000. Several firms have adopted four-day workweeks with more hours per day. Others have cut the number of hours worked each week. Reduced work schedules mean increased leisure time.
Second, families have fewer children than before and young couples are postponing childbirth instead of having their children early in the marriage. This trend has forced many businessmen to modify their competitive strategies. Gerber Products Company used to advertise "babies are our business—and our only business." Now Gerber products include infant clothing, stuffed animals, and accessories such as bottles, baby’s carriage, and baby powder.
Third, people are better educated and more prosperous now than they were earlier.
These advantages bring with them the freedom to question current life-styles and examine new ones. Inquiries of this nature have sometimes led to personal life-style changes.
M: This is the end of listening comprehension.
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