02年1月

听力原文

Section A
1.M: Jessica, could you this emails to all the club members?
W: Sorry, the computer broke down this morning. I will for you as soon as I have fixed.
Q: What does the woman imply?

2.W: Did you find the book for your reading assignment in the library?
M: It closed before I got there. I had no idea that it closes so early on weekends.
Q: What does the man mean?

3.M: Did you check the power plug and press the play button?
W: Yes, the power indicator was on, and it was running, but somehow the sound didn't come through.
Q: What was the woman probably trying to do?

4.M: Juana, I am awfully sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. Shall we have a beer and forget the whole thing?
W: OK, we can drop it this time. But don't do it again.
Q: What do we learn from the conversation?

5.W: Airports are sad places.
M: Sometimes, I guess. But we'll keep in touch. And I will fly over to see you with Christmas.
Q: What are the speakers doing?

6.M: Are you going to return to your present job after the vacation?
W: No, I plan to graduate next semester. That means I'll have to be a full-time student.
Q: What will the woman do?

7.W: John, are you doing research for Professor Williams this semester?
M: Actually, I am working as his teaching assistant.
Q: What does the man mean?

8.M: I heard there are a few seats left for the show tonight.
W: Really? I was under the impression that the tickets were sold out a long time ago.
Q: What do we know from the woman's reply?

9.W: Mrs. Long's briefing seems to go on forever. I was barely able to stay awake.
M: How could you sleep through that? It was very important for the mission we were going to carry out.
Q: What does the man imply?

10.W: You seem very confident about the job interview, don't you?
M: Yes, I feel ready for it. I bought a good suit and clothing store and I had my hair cut. I had studied almost everything about finance and economics.
Q: Where is the man probably going to work?

Passage 1
　　There was once a man in South America who had a parrot, a pet bird that could imitate human speech. The parrot was unique. There was no bird like him in the whole world. He could learn to say any word except one. He could not say the name of his native town, Ketunnel. The man did everything he could to teach the parrot to say Ketunnel, but he never succeeded. At first he was very gentle with the bird. But gradually, he lost his temper. "You stupid bird. Why can't you learn to say that one word? Say Ketunnel or I will kill you." But the parrot would not say it. Many times the man screamed, "Say Ketunel, or I'll kill you." But the bird would never repeat the name. Finally, the man gave up. He picked up the parrot and threw him into the chicken house. "You are even more stupid than the chickens." In the chicken house, there were four old chickens, waiting to be killed for Sunday's dinner. The next morning, when he went out of the chicken house, the man opened the door. He was shocked by what he saw. He could not believe his eyes and ears. On the floor lay three dead chickens. The parrot was screaming at the fourth, "Say Ketunel, or I'll kill you."

11.Why did the man lose his temper?
12.Who killed the three chickens?
13.Why was the shocked at the scene the next morning?

Passage 2
　　In Britain, if you are found guilty of a crime, you can be sent to prison or be fined or be ordered to do community work such as tidying public places and helping the old. You may also be sent to special centers when you learn special skills like cooking, writing and car maintenance. About 5 percent of the present population are women. Many prisons were built over one hundred years ago. But the government will have built 11 new prisons by next year. There are two sorts of prisons. The open sort and the closed sort. In the closed sort, prisoners are given very little freedom. They spend three to ten hours outside their cells when they exercise, eat, study, learn skills, watch TV and talk to other prisoners. All prisoners are expected to work. Most of them are paid for what they do, whether it is doing maintenance or cooking and cleaning. Prisoners in open prisons are locked up at night, but for the rest of the time, they are free within the prison grounds. They can exercise, have visitors, or study. And some are allowed out of the ground to study or to do community work.

14.What do we know about women prisoners in Britain?
15.In what way are open prisons different from closed prisons?
16.What do we learn about prisoners in Britain?

Passage 3
　　London taxi drivers know the capital like the back of their hands. No matter how small or indistinct the street is, the driver will be able to get you there without any trouble. The reason London taxi drivers are so efficient is that they all have gone through a very tough training period to get special taxi driving license. During this period, which can take two to four years, the would-be taxi driver has to learn the most direct route to every single road and to every important building in London. To achieve this, most learners go around the city on small motorbikes practicing how to move to and from different points of the city. Learner taxi drivers are tested several times during the training period by government officers. The exams are terrible experience. The officers ask you "How do you get from Birmingham palace to the Tower of London?" and you have to take them there in the direct line. When you get to the tower, they won't say "well done". They will quickly move on to the next question. After five or six questions, they will just say "See you in two months' time." and then you know the exam is over. Learner drivers are not allowed to work and earn money as drivers. Therefore, many of them keep their previous jobs until they have obtained the license. The training can cost quite a lot, because learners have to pay for their own expenses on the tests and the medical exam.

17.Why are London taxi drivers very efficient?
18.How long does the training period last?
19.Why does the speaker think the driving test is a terrible experience?
20.Why do learner drivers have to keep their present jobs?

02年6月

听力原文

Section A 　　
1.W:I suppose you’ve bought some gifts for your family. 　　
　 M:Well, I’ve bought a shirt for my father and two books for my sister. But I haven’t decided what to buy for my mother, probably some jewels. 　　
　 Q:Who did the man buy the books for﹖　　
2.W:Look, it says they want a junior sales manager, and it seems like it’s a big company. That’ll be good for you might have to travel a lot.
　 M:Do they say anything about the experience﹖　　
　 Q:What are they talking about﹖　　
3.W:I think we’ve covered everything. What about a cup of coffee before we move onto the next item﹖　　
　 M:Good idea. I really can’t wait another minute.
　 Q:What does the woman suggest doing﹖　　
4.W:But what happens if it rains. What are we going to do then﹖　　
　 M:We’ll have to count on good weather. But if it does rain, the whole thing will have to be canceled.
　 Q:What do we learn from the conversation﹖　　
5.W:You took an optional course this semester, didn’t you﹖ How is it going﹖　　
　 M:Terrible! It seems like the more the professor talks, the less I understand.
　 Q:How does the man feel about the course﹖　　
6.W:Mark is playing computer games. 　　
　 M:Should he do that when the final exam is drawing near﹖　　
　 Q:What does the man think Mark should do﹖　　
7. M:Jack seems to think this year’s basketball season will be disappointing. 　　
　W:That’s his opinion. Most others think differently. 　　
　 Q:What does the woman mean﹖　　
8. M:Is this the check-in counter for Flight 914 to Los Angeles﹖　　
　 M:Yes, but I’m sorry the flight is delayed because of a minor mechanical problem. Please wait for further notice. 　　
　 Q:What do we learn from this conversation﹖　　
9. M:Excuse me, I’d like to place an advertisement for a used car in this Sunday edition of your paper. 　　
　W:Ok, but you have to run your advertisement all week. We can’t quote rates for just Sunday. 　　
　 Q:Where is the conversation most probably taking place﹖　　
10. M:I spend so much time polishing my letter application. 　　
　W:It’s worthwhile to make the effort .You know just how important it is to give impression . 　　
　 Q:What do we know about the man ﹖　　

Section B 　　
Passage One 　　
Not everybody reads the daily newspaper .People who don’t read newspaper are sometimes referred to as non-readers . Early research has shown that the non-readers are generally low in education, low in income,either very young or very old .In addition,non-readers are more likely to live in rural areas and have less contact with neighbours and friends .Other studies show that non-readers tend to isolate themselves from the community and less likely to own a home and seldom belong to local voluntary organizations
　　Why don’t these people read daily paper﹖ They say they don’t have the time they prefer radio or TV, they have no interest in reading a tale and besides they think newspapers are too expensive. Recent surveys, however, have indicated the portrait of the non-reader is more complicated than first thought .There appears to be a group of non-readers that do not fit the type mentioned above .They are high in income and fall into the age group of 26 to 65 .They are far move likely to report that they don’t have the time to read the papers and they have no interest in the content .Editors and publishers are attempting to win them back. First, they are also adding news briefs and comprehensive indexes. This will help overcome the time problem. And they are also giving variety to newspaper content to help build the reader’s interest. 　　

11. What is typical of non-readers according to early research﹖　　
12. What are the finds of recent surveys﹖　　
13. What are editors and publishers doing to attract the non-readers﹖　　

Passage Two 　　
Did you know that there’s a kind of bird that can sew﹖ This called the tailor bird uses its mouth as a needle. It sews leaves together in the shape of a cup, then it adds a layer of straw to the inside of the cup and lays its eggs there. Each bird species builds its own special kind of nest. The most common materials used for nests are grasses, branches and feathers. A bird must weave these materials into a nest. Just imagine building a house without cement or nails to hold together.
Another bird is called the weaver bird. The weaver bird builds a nest that looks like a basket, the nest shaped like a pear with a hole in the middle. The hole is the door of the nest. A third bird is called the oven bird. The oven bird makes a nest that is very solid. The nest is made of mud. The oven bird forms the mud into the shape of an oven and then let it dry in the sun. The sun bakes the mud making it very hard. Not all birds make their homes in branches. Some birds build their nests on the ground, while others bury their eggs under the ground. And some birds do not build nests at all. So when you look for nests and eggs in branches of the trees and bushes, remember that some nests may be right your feet. 　　

14. What does the nest built by tailor bird look like ﹖　　
15. Why is there a hole in the weaver bird’s nest ﹖　　
16. What is the oven bird’s nest made of ﹖　　
17. What might surprise us about birds’ nests according to the speaker ﹖　　

Passage Three 　　
　　You can tell the age of a tree by counting its rings, but these records of trees’ life really say a lot more. Scientists are using tree rings to learn what’s being happening on the sun’s surface for the last ten thousand years. Each ring represents a year of growth. As the tree grows, it adds a layer to its trunk taking up chemical elements from the air. By looking up the elements in the rings for a given year, scientists can tell what elements were in the air that year. Doctors Stevenson is analysing one element——carbon-14 in ring from both living and dead trees. Some of the rings go back almost ten thousand years to the end of the Ice Age. When Stevenson followed the carbon-14 trail back in time, he found carbon-4 levels change with the intensity of solar burning. You see the sun has cycles. Sometimes it burns fiercely and other times it’s relatively calm. During the sun’s violent periods, it throws off charged particles in fast moving strings called solar winds. The particles interfere with the formation of carbon-14 on earth. When there’s more solar wind activity, less carbon-14 is produced. Ten thousand years of tree rings show that the carbon-14 level rises and falls about every 420 years. The scientists concluded that the solar wind activity must follow the same cycle. 　　

18. What is the purpose of the scientists in studying tree rings ﹖　　
19. What affects the amount of carbon-14 on earth ﹖　　
20. What do we learn from the passage about the solar wind activity ﹖