作者：5xue

2019年12月英语四级第2套听力原文及题目

Section A
Direction: In this section, you will hear three news reports. At the end of each news report, you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report 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.

News Report 1
The British government has called for more men to consider a career in nursing. Figures show the number of male nurses has fallen in the last three years. Now, the number of men working in the nursing sector has reached a seven-year low. Numbers of male nurses increased between 2011 and 2014 and reached a peak of 7168. This figure has dropped to only 6924 in 2017. The UK Health Secretary said this is clearly a cultural problem, and probably one that exists in many parts of the world. But we can make efforts to change that now. We want to persuade males to think about career options of going into nursing. There is absolutely no reason why men can’t go into this profession. The health secretary said that the government already has plans to attract a more varied workforce into nursing. She stated, we are leading the way on workforce planning. We will become the first nation in Europe to publish a national health and care workforce plan.
Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.
Question 1: What problem is Britain facing?
Question 2: What is the cause of the problem according to the UK Health Secretary?

1.
A) The number of male nurses has gone down.
B) There is discrimination against male nurses.
C) There is a growing shortage of medical personnel.
D) The number of nurses has dropped to a record low.

2.
A) Working conditions.
B) Educational system.
C) Inadequate pay.
D) Cultural bias.

News Report 2
A man from Libya was enjoying a walk along the sands at Southport beach. When he was about half a mile out from the dock, he felt a bit tired. So he lay down and fell asleep, but the tide swept in quickly at the beach. And the man was shocked to wake up and find the tide had come in and completely surrounded him, cutting him off from the shore. Fortunately for him, the beach lifeguards were quickly on the scene to stop him from drowning. They act professionally to ensure the man was comfortable until an ambulance arrived. He was then taken to hospital. He is now in a stable condition. When interviewed, Keith porter of the Southport beach said, our beach is so flat that it’s very common for the tide come around the back of people and cut them off from the beach. Thankfully the emergency services have again worked well together to ensure a positive outcome. And we wish the gentleman a speedy recovery.
Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.
Question 3: What does the news report say about the Libyan man?
Question 4: What did Keith Porter say at an interview?

3.
A) He fell out of a lifeboat.
B) He was almost drowned.
C) He lost his way on a beach.
D) He enjoyed swimming in the sea.

4.
A) The lifeboats patrol the area round the clock.
B) The beach is a good place to watch the tide.
C) The emergency services are efficient.
D) The beach is a popular tourist resort.

News Report 3
A raccoon, a small cat-like animal climbed to the top of a 25-story skyscraper early on Wednesday. It was captured after becoming an online star across the world. At a little before three a. m., the animal made it to the roof of the building, after it took a long break on a 17th-floor window edge. At the top of the building, animal control officers put cat food in traps and captured the raccoon. A private wildlife management company will release the animal into the wild. The raccoons’ upward journey began on Monday. The brown animal was spotted stuck on a narrow window edge of the office tower. On Tuesday, the raccoon slowly climbed the building. It reached the 23rd floor, and its legend continued to grow on social media with every floor it climbed. As it went up, people gathered on the sidewalk below to take photos and cheer for its safety. Online office workers posted photos and videos of the raccoon, resting on window edges and climbing up the building’s concrete exterior. One online post said that the raccoon has succeeded in uniting the country the way no politician could.
Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard:
Question 5: What does the news report say about the raccoon, a small cat-like animal?
Question 6: What will the wildlife management company do with the captured raccoon?
Question 7: What did one online post say?

5.
A) It climbed 25 storeys at one go.
B) It broke into an office room.
C) It escaped from a local zoo.
D) It became an online star.

6.
A) Release it into the wild.
B) Return it to its owner.
C) Send it back to the zoo.
D) Give it a physical checkup.

7.
A) A racoon can perform acts no human can.
B) A racoon can climb much higher than a cat.
C) The raccoon did something no politician could.
D) The raccoon became as famous as some politicians.

Section B
Direction: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four 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 1 with a single line through the centre.

Conversation 1
W: I have really amazing news. I just got a text message from my bank, saying my salary has been deposited in my account.
M: Getting paid is good. But I don’t understand why you’re so excited. It happens every month.
W: Well, I’ve been working for a few years. In fact, I worked all through university, but I only had part-time jobs then. So this is the first time I’ve ever been paid for a month of full-time work.
M: Well, then you must feel great. I mean, it’s been two decades, but I can still remember when I got my first real salary. I was happy for days. And I felt like it was a small fortune, even though it wasn’t.
W: Yeah, I’ve never earned so much money before. And there are so many things I’d like to do with it. What did you do with your first pay?
M: I bought a new suit for work and took my parents to a nice restaurant to celebrate. Maybe you could do the same.
W: I have enough professional clothes. And my parents are across the country. So seeing them is impossible. But some people from the office are members of a gym I want to join. And my university classmates are arranging a trip to visit our old campus, and I’d love to go with them, but I can’t afford both.
M: If I were you. I join the gym because it’s a good way to stay healthy, and it might help you build a stronger relationship with your colleagues. And good relationships are key to a successful career.
W: Hm. You’re right. Thanks for the advice. I’m taking it.
Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 8: Why did the woman feel excited?
Question 9: When did the man get his first full-time job?
Question 10: What did the man do when he got his first pay?
Question 11: What does the woman say she is going to?

8.
A) She received a bonus unexpectedly.
B) She got a well-paying job in a bank.
C She received her first monthly salary.
D) She got a pay raise for her performance.

9.
A) Two decades ago.
B) Several years ago.
C) Just last month.
D) Right after graduation.

10.
A) He sent a small check to his parents.
B) He treated his parents to a nice meal.
C) He took a few of his friends to a gym.
D) He immediately deposited it in a bank.

11.
A) Join her colleagues for gym exercise.
B) Visit her former university campus.
C) Buy some professional clothes.
D) Budget her salary carefully.

Conversation 2
W: What’s going on with you lately? You seem so distracted. Like you aren’t really listening to anything I say.
M: I know. I’m sorry. I can’t seem to focus on anything, because I still haven’t decided if I should accept the offer for that Ph. D. program in London, or if I should take the job offer in New York.
W: Look, it’s a tough decision, but you’re running out of time, aren’t you? I thought you said the company expected an answer by the end of the month.
M: Actually, it’s the beginning of next month for the job, but the university needs a decision by the end of the week. So I have to act quickly.
W: You definitely need advice for the important decision like this. So who have you talked to about it? What does your family think? Any adviser for your Master’s program?
M: I’ve asked their advice and that’s part of the problem. My parents want me to get a degree, but my advisor thinks it’s time for me to get more work experience.
W: What do you mean by part of the problem? Oh, wait, it’s your girlfriend, isn’t it? You’ve been dating since your first year of university, so that six years now. She must have an opinion about all this. I mean isn’t it time for you to think about getting married?
M: Well, I do want to get married, but she thinks we need to wait until we’ve launched our careers. Plus, she’s not sure what she’ll be doing next year. She’s considering a job in England and one in Australia. And her parents are pushing for the latter.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 12: Why does the man seem to be distracted?
Question 13: What does the woman say the man should do?
Question 14: What does the man say is part of his problem?
Question 15: Why doesn’t the man’s girlfriend agree to get married right now?

12.
A) He has just too many things to attend to.
B) He has been overworked recently.
C) He has a difficult decision to make.
D) He has just quarreled with his girlfriend.

13.
A) Turn to his girlfriend for assistance.
B) Give priority to things more urgent.
C) Think twice before making the decision.
D) Seek advice from his family and advisor.

14.
A) His girlfriend does not support his decision.
B) He is not particularly keen on the job offered.
C) He lacks the money for his doctoral program.
D) His parents and advisor have different opinions.

15.
A)They need time to make preparations.
B) They haven’t started their careers yet.
C) They need to save enough money for it.
D) They haven’t won their parents’ approval.

Section C
Direction: In this section, you will hear three passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four 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 1
Analytical skills are our ability to understand and solve problems using information we have available. These skills are extremely important for our professional, social, and intellectual lives. What are the best ways to improve them? One way is to expand your world view. Unfortunately, this takes time. Ultimately, it will help you better evaluate information and analyze different ideas and outcomes. Traveling is a great way to expand your world view, although it can be expensive. An entertaining way of enhancing your analytical skills is to engage them by playing brain games. These are games that challenge you to think deeply and to develop your analytical skills. These games will get you used to thinking in a certain way. As a result, they will help improve your ability to think. However, opinions vary on whether video games are effective. The general consensus is that the best ones avoid mindless violence, and instead focus on strategy and challenge us to solve problems and achieve broad goals. Joining a debate or reading club or group is also a good idea. This provides people with the opportunity to come together and discuss ideas, literature and problems. Groups like these will help you refine your analytical skills and enable you to express yourself better. Any social group that encourages free exchange of ideas and pursuit of knowledge is beneficial. It helps you to actively develop your analytical skills.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 16: What kind of ability do analytical skills refer to in the passage?
Question 17: What does the passage say is an entertaining way of enhancing one’s analytical skills?
Question 18: What else does the speaker advise people to do to improve their analytical skills?

16.
A) Expressing ideas and opinions freely.
B) Enriching social and intellectual lives.
C) Acquiring information and professional knowledge.
D) Using information to understand and solve problems.

17.
A) Traveling to different places in the world.
B) Playing games that challenge one’s mind.
C) Improving mind-reading strategies.
D) Reading classic scientific literature.

18.
A) Participate in debates or discussions.
B) Expose themselves to different cultures.
C) Discard personal biases and prejudices.
D) Give others freedom to express themselves.

Passage 2
There’s an endless amount of scientific data proving that dogs can develop strong bonds with their owners. People aren’t kidding when they say they love their dog or their dog loves them, but were rather ignorant about the nature of the relationships that form between dogs. In an effort to understand the matter further, I spoke with doctors Mark Beckhoff, a researcher and former professor of animal behavior. The doctors’response to the question of whether or not dogs can fall in love like humans do was a straight “Of course!” He went on to say that if love is defined as a long-term commitment, meaning dogs seek one another out when they’re apart, they’re happy when they’re reunited, they protect one another, they feed one another, they raise their children together. Then, of course, dogs love each other. Now our furry friends don’t really experience romantic love, like in the movies, but they can form deep and lasting bonds with their fellow dogs as well as humans. In fact, evidence shows almost dogs stay with one partner their whole lives. In actuality, love between dogs can be even more intimate than human relationships. When they interact, they aren’t afraid to smell each other and will express themselves clearly and honestly. Once again, it seems we have a lot to learn from dogs.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 19: What does the passage say we don’t know much about?
Question 20: What does Dr. Mark Beckhoff say about dogs?
Question 21: What does the speaker say about most dogs?

19.
A) Why dogs can be faithful friends of humans.
B) The nature of relationships between dogs.
C) The reason a great many people love dogs.
D) How dogs feel about their bonds with humans.

20.
A) They behave like other animals in many ways.
B) They have an unusual sense of responsibility.
C) They can respond to humans’ questions.
D) They can fall in love just like humans.

21.
A) They stay with one partner for life.
B) They have their own joys and sorrows.
C) They experience true romantic love.
D) They help humans in various ways.

Passage 3
A piece of history has been found thanks to a boy tripping on a rare, 1.2-million-year-old animal fossil. In November 2016, Jude Sparks, now 10, was on an outing with his family near their New Mexico home, when he tripped over what he thought was a cow bone. Now, researchers at New Mexico State University preserving this discovery, which was identified as an ancient elephant-like animal. Kyle Sparks, father of Jude, said he let his son decide what to do with the fossil. So Jude reached out to Peter Houde, a professor at New Mexico State University who had experience with the same type of fossil in the past. The next day, Houde came out to see the fossil for himself. Houde told ABC News that he was quite excited about the find. It was fortunate that the family didn’t try to dig up the fossil because that could destroy the specimen; they did the right thing by calling someone who would know what to do. “It’s great for the community because now everybody can appreciate it,” he added. Houde and his fellow faculty members dug up the fossil in late May. They hope to return to the site with geologists for an additional search as there could be more fossils near the site. Jude and his family had been invited by the researchers to see the fossil being preserved at the university.
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 22: What did the boy Jude Sparks think he had discovered?
Question 23: What are the researchers at New Mexico State University doing with the boy’s discovery?
Question 24: What did professor Peter Houde say when interviewed by ABC News?
Question 25: What do the researchers plan to do?

22.
A) A rare animal.
B) A historical site.
C) A cow bone.
D) A precious stone.

23.
A) Dating it.
B) Preserving it.
C) Measuring it.
D) Identifying it.

24.
A) The channel needs to interview the boy.
B) The boy should have called an expert.
C) The boy’s family had acted correctly.
D) The site should have been protected.

25.
A) Conduct a more detailed search.
B) Ask the university to reward Jude.
C) Search for similar fossils elsewhere.
D) Seek additional funds for the search.

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2018年06月英语六级第1套听力原文及题目

Section A
Direction: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four 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 I with a single line through the centre.

Conversation 1
M: What’s all that? Are you going to make a salad?
W: No, I’m going to make a gazpacho.
M: What’s that?
W: Gazpacho is a cold soup from Spain. It’s mostly vegetables. I guess you could call it a liquid salad.
M: Cold soup? Sounds weird.
W: It’s delicious. Trust me. I tried it for the first time during my summer vacation in Spain. You see, in the south of Spain, it gets very hot in the summer, up to 40℃. So a cold gazpacho is very refreshing. The main ingredients are tomato, cucumber, bell peppers, olive oil and stale bread.
M: Stale bread? Surely you mean bread for dipping into the soup?
W: No. Bread is crushed and blended in like everything else. It adds texture and thickness to the soup.
M: Mm. And is it healthy?
W: Sure. As I said earlier, it’s mostly vegetables. You can also add different things if you like, such as hard-boiled egg or cured ham.
M: Cured ham? What’s that?
W: That’s another Spanish delicacy. Have you never heard of it? It is quite famous.
M: No. Is it good too?
W: Oh, yeah, definitely. It’s amazing. It’s a little dry and salty, and it’s very expensive because it comes from a special type of pig that only eats a special type of food. The ham is covered in salt to dry and preserve it, and left to hang for up to two years. It has a very distinct flavor.
M: Mm. Sounds interesting. Where can I find some?
W: It used to be difficult to get Spanish produce here. But it’s now a lot more common. Most large supermarket chains have cured ham in little packets, but in Spain you can buy a whole leg.
M: A whole pig leg? Why would anybody want so much ham?
W: In Spain, many people buy a whole leg for special group events, such as Christmas. They cut it themselves into very thin slices with a long flat knife.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 1: What do we learn about gazpacho?
Question 2: For what purpose is stale bread mixed into gazpacho?
Question 3: Why does the woman think gazpacho is healthy?
Question 4: What does the woman say about cured ham?

1.
A) It is a typical salad.
B) It is a Spanish soup.
C) It is a weird vegetable.
D) It is a kind of spicy food.

2.
A) To make it thicker.
B) To make it more nutritious.
C) To add to its appeal.
D) To replace an ingredient.

3.
A) It contains very little fat.
B) It uses olive oil in cooking.
C) It uses no artificial additives.
D) It is mainly made of vegetables.

4.
A) It does not go stale for two years.
B) It takes no special skill to prepare.
C) It comes from a special kind of pig.
D) It is a delicacy blended with bread.

Conversation 2
M: Hello, I wish to buy a bottle of wine.
W: Hi, yes. What kind of wine would you like?
M: I don’t know. Sorry, I don’t know much about wine.
W: That’s no problem at all. What’s the occasion and how much would you like to spend?
M: It’s for my boss. It’s his birthday. I know he likes wine, but I don’t know what type. I also do not want anything too expensive, maybe mid-range. How much would you say is a mid-range bottle of wine approximately?
W: Well, it varies greatly. Our lowest prices are around $6 a bottle, but those are table wines. They are not very special. And I would not suggest them as a gift. On the other end, our most expensive bottles are over $150. If you are looking for something priced in the middle, I would say anything between $30 and $60 would make a decent gift. How does that sound?
M: Mm, yeah. I guess something in the vicinity of 30 or 40 would be good. Which type would you recommend?
W: I would say the safest option is always a red wine. They are generally more popular than whites, and can usually be paired with food more easily. Our specialty here are Italian wines, and these tend to be fruity with medium acidity. This one here is a Chianti, which is perhaps Italy’s most famous type of red wine. Alternatively, you may wish to try and surprise your boss with something less common, such as this Zinfandel. The grapes are originally native to Croatia but this winery is in eastern Italy and it has a more spicy and peppery flavor. So to summarize, the Chianti is more classical and the Zinfandel more exciting. Both are similarly priced at just under $40.
M: I will go with Chianti then. Thanks.
Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 5: What does the woman think of table wines?
Question 6: What is the price range of wine the man will consider?
Question 7: Why does the woman recommend red wines?
Question 8: What do we learn about the wine the man finally bought?

5.
A) They come in a great variety.
B) They do not make decent gifts.
C) They do not vary much in price.
D) They go well with Italian food.

6.
A) $30 – $40.
B) $40 – $50.
C) $50 – $60.
D) Around $150.

7.
A) They are a healthy choice for elderly people.
B) They are especially popular among Italians.
C) They symbolize good health and longevity.
D) They go well with different kinds of food.

8.
A) It is a wine imported from California.
B) It is less spicy than all other red wines.
C) It is far more expensive than he expected.
D) It is Italy’s most famous type of red wine.

Section B
Direction: In this section, you will hear two passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four 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 1
Many people enjoy secret codes. The harder the code, the more some people will try to figure it out. In wartime, codes are especially important. They help army send news about battles and the size of enemy forces. Neither side wants its code broken by the other. One very important code was never broken. It was used during World War II by the Americans. It was a spoken code, never written down, and it was developed and used by Navajo Indians. They were called the Navajo code talkers. The Navajos created the code in their own language. Navajo is hard to learn and only a few people know it. So it was pretty certain that the enemy would not be able to understand the code talkers. In addition, the talkers used code words. They called a submarine an iron fish and a small bomb thrown by hand a potato. If they wanted to spell something, they used code words for letters of the Alphabet. For instance, the letter A was ant or apple or ax. The code talkers worked mostly in the islands in the Pacific. One or two would be assigned to a group of soldiers. They would send messages by field telephone to the code talker in the next group. And he would relay the information to his commander. The code talkers played an important part in several battles. They helped troops coordinate their movements and attacks. After the war, the U.S. government honored them for what they had accomplished. Theirs was the most successful wartime code ever used.
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 9: What does the speaker say many people enjoy doing?
Question 10: What do we learn about the Navajo code talkers?
Question 11: What is the speaker mainly talking about?

9.
A) Learning others’ secrets.
B) Searching for information.
C) Decoding secret messages.
D) Spreading sensational news.

10.
A) They helped the U.S. army in World War Ⅱ.
B) They could write down spoken codes promptly.
C) They were assigned to decode enemy messages.
D) They were good at breaking enemy secret codes.

11.
A) Important battles fought in the Pacific War.
B) Decoding of secret messages in war times.
C) A military code that was never broken.
D) Navajo Indians’ contribution to code breaking.

Passage 2
If you are young and thinking about your career, you’ll want to know where you can make a living. Well, there’s going to be a technological replacement of a lot of knowledge-intensive jobs in the next twenty years, particularly in the two largest sectors of the labor force with professional skills. One is teaching, and the other, healthcare. You have so many applications and software and platforms that are going to come in and provide information and service in these two fields, which means a lot of healthcare and education sectors will be radically changed and a lot of jobs will be lost. Now, where will the new jobs be found? Well, the one sector of the economy that can’t be easily duplicated by even smart technologies is the caring sector, the personal care sector. That is, you can’t really get a robot to do a great massage or physical therapy, or you can’t get the kind of personal attention you need with regard to therapy or any other personal service. There could be very high-end personal services. Therapists do charge a lot of money. I think there’s no limit to the amount of personal attention and personal care people would like if they could afford it. But the real question in the future is how come people afford these things if they don’t have money, because they can’t get a job that pays enough. That’s why I wrote this book, which is about how to reorganize the economy for the future when technology brings about destructive changes to what we used to consider high-income work.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 12: What does the speaker say will happen in the next twenty years?
Question 13: Where will young people have more chances to find jobs?
Question 14: What does the speaker say about therapists?
Question 15: What is the speaker’s book about?

12.
A) All services will be personalized.
B) A lot of knowledge-intensive jobs will be replaced.
C) Technology will revolutionize all sectors of industry.
D) More information will be available.

13.
A) In the robotics industry.
B) In the information service.
C) In the personal care sector.
D) In high-end manufacturing.

14.
A) They charge high prices.
B) They need lots of training.
C) They cater to the needs of young people.
D) They focus on customers’ specific needs.

15.
A) The rising demand in education and healthcare in the next 20 years.
B) The disruption caused by technology in traditionally well-paid jobs.
C) The tremendous changes new technology will bring to people’s lives.
D) The amazing amount of personal attention people would like to have.

Section C
Direction: In this section, you will hear three recordings of lectures or talks followed by three or four 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.

Recording 1
American researchers have discovered the world’s oldest paved road, a 4,600-year-old highway. It linked a stone pit in the Egyptian desert to waterways that carried blocks to monument sites along the Nile. The eight-mile road is at least 500 years older than any previously discovered road. It is the only paved road discovered in ancient Egypt, said geologist Thomas Bown of the United States Geological Survey. He reported the discovery on Friday. “The road probably doesn’t rank with the pyramids as a construction feat, but it is a major engineering achievement,” said his colleague, geologist James Harrell of the University of Toledo. “Not only is the road earlier than we thought possible, we didn’t even think they built roads.” The researchers also made a discovery in the stone pit at the northern end of the road: the first evidence that the Egyptians used rock saws. “This is the oldest example of saws being used for cutting stone”, said Bown’s colleague James Hoffmeier of Wheaton College in Illinois. “That’s two technologies we didn’t know they had”, Harrell said. “And we don’t know why they were both abandoned.” The road was discovered in the Faiyum Depression, about 45 miles southwest of Cairo. Short segments of the road had been observed by earlier explorers, Bown said, but they failed to realize its significance or follow up on their observations. Bown and his colleagues stumbled across it while they were doing geological mapping in the region. The road was clearly built to provide services for the newly discovered stone pit. Bown and Harrell have found the camp that housed workers at the stone pit. The road appears today to go nowhere, ending in the middle of the desert. When it was built, its terminal was a dock on the shore of Lake Moeris, which had an elevation of about 66 feet above sea level, the same as the dock. Lake Moeris received its water from the annual floods of the Nile. At the time of the floods, the river and lake were at the same level and connected through a gap in the hills near the modern villages of el-Lahun and Hawara. Harrell and Bown believe that blocks were loaded onto barges during the dry season, then floated over to the Nile during the floods to be shipped off to the monument sites at Giza and Saqqara.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 16: What do we learn from the lecture about the world’s oldest paved road in Egypt?
Question 17: What did the researchers discover in the stone pit?
Question 18: For what purpose was the paved road built?

16.
A) It was the longest road in ancient Egypt.
B) It was constructed some 500 years ago.
C) It lay 8 miles from the monument sites.
D) It linked a stone pit to some waterways.

17.
A) Saws used for cutting stone.
B) Traces left by early explorers.
C) An ancient geographical map.
D) Some stone tool segments.

18.
A) To transport stones to block floods.
B) To provide services for the stone pit.
C) To link the various monument sites.
D) To connect the villages along the Nile.

Recording 2
The thin, extremely sharp needles didn’t hurt at all going in. Dr. Gong pierced them into my left arm, around the elbow that had been bothering me. Other needles were slipped into my left wrist and, strangely, into my right arm, and then into both my closed eyelids. There wasn’t, any discomfort, just a mild warming sensation. However, I did begin to wonder what had driven me here, to the office of Dr. James Gong in New York’s Chinatown. Then I remembered—the torturing pain in that left elbow. Several trips to a hospital and two expensive, uncomfortable medical tests had failed to produce even a diagnosis. “Maybe you lean on your left arm too much”, the doctor concluded, suggesting I see a bone doctor. During the hours spent waiting in vain to see a bone doctor, I decided to take another track and try acupuncture. A Chinese-American friend recommended Dr. Gong. I took the subway to Gong’s second-floor office marked with a hand-painted sign. Dr. Gong speaks English, but not often. Most of my questions to him were greeted with a friendly laugh, but I managed to let him know where my arm hurt. He asked me to go into a room, had me lie down on a bed, and went to work. In the next room, I learned a woman dancer was also getting a treatment. As I lay there a while, I drifted into a dream-like state and fantasized about what she looked like. Acupuncturists today are as likely to be found on Park Avenue as on Mott Street. In all, there are an estimated 10,000 acupuncturists in the country. Nowadays, a lot of medical doctors have learned acupuncture techniques. So have a number of dentists. Reason? Patient demand. Few, though, can adequately explain how acupuncture works. Acupuncturists may say that the body has more than 800 acupuncture points. A life force called qi circulates through the body. Points on the skin are energetically connected to specific organs, body structures and systems. Acupuncture points are stimulated to balance the circulation of qi. “The truth is, though acupuncture is at least 2,200 years old, nobody really knows what’s happening,” says Paul Zmiewski, a Ph.D. in Chinese studies who practices acupuncture in Philadelphia. After five treatments, there has been dramatic improvement in my arm, and the pain is a fraction of what it was. The mainly silent Dr. Gong finally even offered a diagnosis for what troubled me. “Pinched nerve,” he said.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 19: What does the speaker find especially strange?
Question 20: Why did the speaker go see Dr. Gong?
Question 21: What accounts for the growing popularity of acupuncture in the United States according to the speaker?

19.
A) Dr. Gong didn’t give him any conventional tests.
B) Dr. Gong marked his office with a hand-painted sign.
C) Dr. Gong didn’t ask him any questions about his pain.
D) Dr. Gong slipped in needles where he felt no pain.

20.
A) He had heard of the wonders acupuncture could work.
B) Dr. Gong was very famous in New York’s Chinatown.
C) Previous medical treatments failed to relieve his pain.
D) He found the expensive medical tests unaffordable.

21.
A) More and more patients ask for the treatment.
B) Acupuncture techniques have been perfected.
C) It doesn’t need the conventional medical tests.
D) It does not have any negative side effects.

Recording 3
Ronald and Lois married for two decades consider themselves a happy couple. But in the early years of their marriage, both were distilled by persistent arguments that seem to fade away without ever being truly resolved. They uncovered clues to what was going wrong by researching a fascinating subject: How birth order affects not only your personality, but also how compatible you are with your mate. Ronald and Lois are only children, and “onlies” grow up accustomed to being the apple of their parents’ eyes. Match two “onlies” and you have partners who subconsciously expect each other to continue fulfilling this expectation, while neither has much experience in the “giving” end. Here’s a list of common birth-order characteristics—and some thoughts on the best and worst marital matches for each. The oldest tends to be self-assured, responsible, a high achiever, and relatively serious and reserved. He may be slow to make friends, perhaps content with only one companion. The best matches are with a youngest, an “only”, or a mate raised in a large family. The worst match is with another oldest, since the two will be too sovereign to share a household comfortably. The youngest child of the family thrives on attention and tends to be outgoing, adventurous, optimistic, creative and less ambitious than others in the family. He may lack self-discipline and have difficulty making decisions on his own. A youngest brother of brothers, often unpredictable and romantic, will match best with an oldest sister of brothers. The youngest sister of brothers is best matched with an oldest brother of sisters, who will happily indulge these traits. The middle child is influenced by many variables, however, middles are less likely to take initiative and more anxious and self-critical than others. Middles often successfully marry other middles, since both are strong on tact, not so strong on the aggressiveness and tend to crave affection. The only child is often most comfortable when alone. But since an “only” tends to be a well-adjusted individual, she’ll eventually learn to relate to any chosen spouse. The male only child expects his wife to make life easier without getting much in return. He is sometimes best matched with a younger sister of brothers. The female only child, who tends to be slightly more flexible, is well matched with an older man, who will indulge her tendency to test his love. Her worst match? Another “only”, of course.
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 22: What does the speaker say about Ronald and Lois’s early years of married life?
Question 23: What do we learn about Ronald and Lois?
Question 24: What does the speaker say about the oldest child in a family?
Question 25: What does the speaker say about the only children?

22.
A) They were on the verge of breaking up.
B) They were compatible despite differences.
C) They quarreled a lot and never resolved their arguments.
D) They argued persistently about whether to have children.

23.
A) Neither of them has any brothers or sisters.
B) Neither of them won their parents’ favor.
C) They weren’t spoiled in their childhood.
D) They didn’t like to be the apple of their parents’ eyes.

24.
A) They are usually good at making friends.
B) They tend to be adventurous and creative.
C) They are often content with what they have.
D) They tend to be self-assured and responsible.

25.
A) They enjoy making friends.
B) They tend to be well adjusted.
C) They are least likely to take initiative.
D) They usually have successful marriages.

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2018年06月英语六级第2套听力原文及题目

Section A
Direction: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four 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 I with a single line through the centre.

Conversation 1
M: Tonight we have a special guest from a local establishment, the Parisian Café Welcome!
W: Hi, thanks for having me on your show.
M: Thank you for joining us. So please tell us, why did you decide to open a café?
W: Well, we saw the opportunity to offer something a little special and different from other establishments. Cafés certainly are a very competitive market sector. There are more than plenty in our city, and we felt they are all rather similar to each other. Wouldn’t you agree?
M: Certainly yes. So how is your establishment any different?
W: Well, simply put, we have rabbits wandering freely around the place. Our customers come in and enjoy their food and drinks while little rabbits play about and brush against their legs. There is no other place like it.
M: That’s amazing! How did you come up with the idea?
W: We saw other cafés with cats in them. So we thought, why not rabbits? People love rabbits. They are very cute animals.
M: But is it safe? Do the rabbits ever bite people? Or do any customers ever hurt the rabbits?
W: It’s perfectly safe for both rabbits and our customers. Rabbits are very peaceful and certainly do not bite. Furthermore, our rabbits are regularly cleaned and have all received the required shots. So there is no health risk whatsoever. As for our customers, they are all animal lovers, so they would never try to hurt the rabbits. Sometimes a young child may get over-excited, and they are a little too rough, but it’s never a serious matter. On the contrary, the Parisian Café, offers a great experience for children, a chance for them to learn about rabbits and how to take care of them.
M: Well, it’s certainly the first time I’ve heard of a café like that.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 1: What do we learn about the woman?
Question 2: What does the woman say about Cafés in her city?
Question 3: How does the Parisian Café guarantee that its rabbits pose no health threat?
Question 4: What does the woman say about their customers?

1.
A) She advocates animal protection.
B) She sells a special kind of coffee.
C) She is going to start a café chain.
D) She is the owner of a special café.

2.
A) They bear a lot of similarities.
B) They are a profitable business sector.
C) They cater to different customers.
D) They help take care of customers’ pets.

3.
A) By giving them regular cleaning and injections.
B) By selecting breeds that are tame and peaceful.
C) By placing them at a safe distance from customers.
D) By briefing customers on how to get along with them.

4.
A) They want to learn about rabbits.
B) They like to bring in their children.
C) They love the animals in her café.
D) They give her café favorite reviews.

Conversation 2
M: Hey, there. How are you?
W: Oh, hi. I’m great! Thanks. And you look great, too.
M: Thank you. It’s good to see you shopping at the organic section. I see you’ve got lots of healthy stuff. I wish I could buy more organic produce from here, but I find the kids don’t like it. I don’t know about yours, but mine are all about junk food.
W: Oh, trust me! I know exactly how you feel. My children are the same. What is it with kids these days and all that junk food they eat? I think it’s all that advertising on TV. That’s where they get it.
M: Yes, it must be. My children see something on TV and they immediately want it. It’s like they don’t realize it’s just an advertisement.
W: Right. And practically everything that’s advertised for children is unhealthy processed foods. No surprise then it becomes a battle for us parents to feed our children ordinary fruit and vegetables.
M: That’s just the thing. One never sees ordinary ingredients being advertised on TV. It’s never a carrot or a peach. It’s always some garbage, like chocolate-covered sweets. So unhealthy.
W: Exactly. And these big food corporations have so much money to spend on clever tactics designed to make young children want to buy their products. Children never stand a chance. It’s really not fair.
M: You are so right. When we were children, we barely had any junk food available, and we turned out just fine.
W: Yes, My parents don’t understand any of it. Both the TV commercials and the supermarkets are alien to them. Their world was so different back when they were young.
M: I don’t know what will happen to the next generation.
W: The world is going crazy.
M: You bet.
Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 5: What do the speakers say about the food their children like?
Question 6: According to the speakers, what affects children’s choice of food most?
Question 7: What do the speakers believe big food corporations are doing?
Question 8: What do we know about the speakers when they were children?

5.
A) It contains too many additives.
B) It lacks the essential vitamins.
C) It can cause obesity.
D) It is mostly garbage.

6.
A) Its fancy design.
B) TV commercials.
C) Its taste and texture.
D) Peer influence.

7.
A) Investing heavily in the production of sweet foods.
B) Marketing their products with ordinary ingredients.
C) Trying to trick children into buying their products.
D) Offering children more varieties to choose from.

8.
A) They hardly ate vegetables.
B) They seldom had junk food.
C) They favored chocolate-coated sweets.
D) They liked the food advertised on TV.

Section B
Direction: In this section, you will hear two passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four 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 1
At some 2,300 miles in length, the Mississippi is the longest river in the United States. At some 1,000 miles, the Mackenzie is the longest river in Canada. But these waterways seem minute in comparison to the world’s two lengthiest rivers-the Nile and the Amazon. The Nile, which begins in central Africa and flows over 4,100 miles north into the Mediterranean, hosted one of the world’s great ancient civilizations along its shores. Calm and peaceful for most of the year, the Nile used to flood annually, thereby creating, irrigating and carrying new topsoil to the nearby farmland on which ancient Egypt depended for livelihood. As a means of transportation, the river carried various vessels up and down its length. A journey through the unobstructed part of this waterway today would pass by the splendid Valley of the Kings, where the tombs of many of these ancient monarchs have stood for over 3,000 years. Great civilizations and intensive settlement are hardly associated with the Amazon, yet this 4,000-mile-long South American river carries about 20 percent of the world’s fresh water more than the Mississippi, Nile, and Yangtze combined. Other statistics are equally astonishing. The Amazon is so wide at some points that from its center neither shore can be seen. Each second, the Amazon pours some 55 million gallons of water into the Atlantic; there, at its mouth, stands one island larger than Switzerland. Most important of all, the Amazon irrigates the largest tropical rain forest on Earth.
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 9: What can be found in the Valley of the Kings?
Question 10: In what way is the Amazon different from other big rivers?
Question 11: What does the speaker say about the Amazon?

9.
A) Stretches of farmland.
B) Typical Egyptian animal farms.
C) Tombs of ancient rulers.
D) Ruins left by devastating floods.

10.
A) It provides habitats for more primitive tribes.
B) It is hardly associated with great civilizations.
C) It has not yet been fully explored and exploited.
D) It gathers water from many tropical rain forests.

11.
A) It carries about one fifth of the world’s fresh water.
B) It has numerous human settlements along its banks.
C) It is second only to the Mississippi River in width.
D) It is as long as the Nile and the Yangtze combined.

Passage 2
How often do you say to people “I’m busy” or “I haven’t got time for that,” It’s an inevitable truth that all of us live a life in the fast lane, even though we know that being busy is not always particularly healthy. Growing up in New Zealand, everything was always calm and slow. People enjoyed the tranquility of a slower pace of life. After I moved to Tokyo and lived there for a number of years, I got used to having a pile of to-do lists, and my calendar always looked like a mess, with loads of things to do written across it. I found myself filling my time up with endless work meetings and social events, rushing along as busy as a bee. Then, one day, I came across a book called In Praise of Slowness and realized that being busy is not only detrimental, but also has the danger of turning life into an endless race. So I started practicing the various practical steps mentioned by the author in the book, and began to revolt against the very idea of being too busy. It doesn’t mean that my to-do lists no longer exist, but I’ve become more aware of the importance of slowing down and making sure that I enjoy the daily activities as I carry them out. From now on, when someone asks you how your life is, try responding with words like “exciting and fun” instead of the cultural norm that says “busy.” See if you experience the tranquility that follows.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 12: What does the speaker think is an inevitable truth?
Question 13: What does the speaker say about her life in Tokyo?
Question 14: What made the speaker change her lifestyle?
Question 15: What happened after the speaker changed her lifestyle?

12.
A) Living a life in the fast lane leads to success.
B) We are always in a rush to do various things.
C) The search for tranquility has become a trend.
D) All of us actually yearn for a slow and calm life.

13.
A) She had trouble balancing family and work.
B) She enjoyed the various social events.
C) She was accustomed to tight schedules.
D) She spent all her leisure time writing books.

14.
A) The possibility of ruining her family.
B) Becoming aware of her declining health.
C) The fatigue from living a fast-paced life.
D) Reading a book about slowing down.

15.
A) She started to follow the cultural norms.
B) She came to enjoy doing everyday tasks.
C) She learned to use more polite expressions.
D) She stopped using to-do lists and calendars.

Section C
Direction: In this section, you will hear three recordings of lectures or talks followed by three or four 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.

Recording 1
Governments, private groups and individuals spend billions of dollars a year trying to root out non-native organisms that are considered dangerous to ecosystems, and to prevent the introduction of new intruders. But a number of scientists question the assumption that the presence of alien species can never be acceptable in a natural ecosystem. They say that portraying introduced species as inherently bad is an unscientific approach. “Distinctions between exotic and native species are artificial,” said Dr. Michael Rosenzweig, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona, “because they depend on picking a date and calling the plants and animals that show up after that date ‘exotic.'” Ecosystems free of species defined as exotic are, by default, considered the most natural. “You can’t roll back the clock and remove all exotics or fix habitats,” Dr. Rosenzweig said. “Both native and exotic species can become invasive, and so they all have to be monitored and controlled when they begin to get out of hand.” At its core, the debate is about how to manage the world’s remaining natural ecosystems and about how, and how much, to restore other habitats. Species that invade a territory can harm ecosystems, agriculture, and human health. They can threaten some native species or even destroy and replace others. Next to habitat loss, these invasive species represent the greatest threat to biodiversity worldwide, many ecologists say. Ecologists generally define an alien species as one that people, accidentally or deliberately, carried to its new location. Across the American continents, exotic species are those introduced after the first European contact. That date, rounded off to 1500 AD, represents what ecologists consider to have been a major shift in the spread of species, including crops and livestock, as they began to migrate with humans from continent to continent. “Only a small percentage of alien species cause problems in their new habitats,” said Don Smith, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Tennessee. “Of the 7,000 alien species in the United States-out of a total of 150,000 species-only about 10 percent are invasive,” he pointed out. The other 90 percent have fit into their environments and are considered naturalized. Yet appearances can deceive, ecologists caution, and many of these exotics may be considered acceptable only because no one has documented their harmful effects. What is more, non-native species can appear harmless for decades, then turn invasive.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 16: What assumption about introduced species is challenged by a number of scientists?
Question 17: What does Dr. Michael Rosenzwei think of exotic and native species?
Question 18: What does Professor Don Smith say about alien species?

16.
A) They will root out native species altogether.
B) They contribute to a region’s biodiversity.
C) They pose a threat to the local ecosystem.
D) They will crossbreed with native species.

17.
A) Their classifications are meaningful.
B) Their interactions are hard to define.
C) Their definitions are changeable.
D) Their distinctions are artificial.

18.
A) Only a few of them cause problems to native species.
B) They may turn out to benefit the local environment.
C) Few of them can survive in their new habitats.
D) Only 10 percent of them can be naturalized.

Recording 2
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! And welcome to the third in our series of business seminars in the program-Doing Business Abroad. Today we are going to look at intercultural awareness, that is, the fact that not everyone is British, not everyone speaks English, and not everyone does business in the British way. And why should they? If overseas business people are selling to us, then they will make every effort to speak English and to respect our-traditions and methods. It is only polite for us to do the same when we visit them. It is not only polite. It is essential if we want to sell British products overseas. First, a short quiz. Let’s see how interculturally aware you are.
Question 1: Where must you not drink alcohol on the first and seventh of every month?
Question 2: Where should you never admire your host’s possessions?
Question 3: How should you attract the waiter during a business lunch in Bangkok?
And Question 4: Where should you try to make all your appointments either before 2:00 or after 5:30 p.m.?
OK. Everyone had a chance to make some notes? Right. Here are the answers—although I am sure that the information could equally well apply to countries other than those I have chosen.
So No.1, you must not drink alcohol on the first and seventh of the month in India. In international hotels you may find it served, but if you are having a meal with an Indian colleague, remember to avoid asking for a beer if your arrival coincides with one of those dates.
2. In Arab countries, the politeness and generosity of the people is without parallel.
If you admire your colleague’s beautiful golden bowls, you may well find yourself being presented with them as a present. This is not a cheap way to do your shopping, however, as your host will, quite correctly, expect you to respond by presenting him with a gift of equal worth and beauty. In Thailand, clicking the fingers, clapping your hands, or just shouting “Waiter!” will embarrass your hosts, fellow diners, the waiter himself and, most of all, you! Place your palm downward and make an inconspicuous waving gesture, which will produce instant and satisfying results. And finally, in Spain, some businesses maintain the pattern of working until about 2 o’clock and then returning to the office from 5:30 to 8:00, 9:00 or 10:00 in the evening.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 19: What should you do when doing business with foreigners?
Question 20: What must you avoid doing with your Indian colleague?
Question 21: What do we learn about some Spanish business people?

19.
A) Respect their traditional culture.
B) Attend their business seminars.
C) Research their specific demands.
D) Adopt the right business strategies.

20.
A) Showing them your palm.
B) Giving them gifts of great value.
C) Drinking alcohol on certain days of a month.
D) Clicking your fingers loudly in their presence.

21.
A) They are very easy to satisfy.
B) They have a strong sense of worth.
C) They tend to be friendly and enthusiastic.
D) They have a break from 2:00 to 5:30 p.m.

Recording 3
Shortly after he took over the Reader’s Digest Association in 1984, George Grune unlocked the company’s boardroom and announced that the room was now open to the employees. It was a symbolic act, indicating that under Grune’s leadership, Reader’s Digest was going to be different. True to his word, Grune has shaken up the culture here. To get an idea of the culture we’re talking about, consider the boardroom Grune opened up. It has artworks that any museum in the world would want to collect, paintings by many world-famous artists like Monet and Picasso. Its headquarters houses some 3,000 works of art. The main building is topped with a Georgian Tower with four sculptures of the mythical winged horse, the magazine’s corporate logo. It sits on 127 acres of well-trimmed lawns. The editor’s office used to be occupied by founder Dewitt Wallace, who, along with his wife, Lila Acheson Wallace, launched Reader’s Digest in 1922 with condensed articles from other publications. It has become the world’s most widely read magazine, selling 28 million copies each month in 17 languages and 41 different editions. The Wallaces, both children of church ministers, had a clearly defined formula for their “little magazine” as Reader’s Digest was originally subtitled. Articles were to be short, readable and uplifting. Subjects were picked to inspire or entertain. The Wallaces didn’t accept advertising in the US edition until 1955 and even then they didn’t allow any ads for cigarettes, liquor or drugs. The Wallaces also had a clear sense of the kind of workplace they wanted. It started as a mom-and-pop operation, and the childless Wallaces always considered employees to be part of their family. Employees still tell stories of how the Wallaces would take care of their employees who had met with misfortunes and they showered their employees with unusual benefits, like a turkey at Thanksgiving and Fridays off in May. This cozy workplace no longer exists here. The Wallaces both died in their nineties in the early 1980s. George Grune, a former ad salesman who joined Reader’s Digest in 1960 has his eye focused on the bottom line. In a few short years, he turned the magazine on his head. He laid off several hundred workers. Especially hard hit were the blue- and pink-collar departments, such as subscription fulfillment.
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 22: What did George Grune do in 1984?
Question 23: How did the Wallaces define the formula for Reader’s Digest?
Question 24: What do we learn about the founder of Reader’s Digest Dewitt Wallace?
Question 25: What change took place in Reader’s Digest after the Wallaces’ death?

22.
A) He completely changed the company’s culture.
B) He collected paintings by world-famous artists.
C) He took over the sales department of Reader’s Digest.
D) He had the company’s boardroom extensively renovated.

23.
A) It should be sold at a reasonable price.
B) Its articles should be short and inspiring.
C) It should be published in the world’s leading languages.
D) Its articles should entertain blue- and pink-collar workers.

24.
A) He knew how to make the magazine profitable.
B) He served as a church minister for many years.
C) He suffered many setbacks and misfortunes in his life.
D) He treated the employees like members of his family.

25.
A) It carried many more advertisements.
B) George Grune joined it as an ad salesman.
C) Several hundred of its employees got fired.
D) Its subscriptions increased considerably.

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2018年12月英语六级第1套听力原文及题目

Section A
Direction: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four 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 I with a single line through the centre.

Conversation 1
M: Hey, I just read a great book about physics. I think you’d like it. It’s called The Physics of the World. It’s written by a scientist named Sylvia Mendez.
W: Oh, I read that book. It was great. The writer is a warm and competent guide to the mysteries of physics. I think it promises enrichment for any reader, from those who know little about science to the career physicist.
M: And it’s refreshing to see a strong, curious, clever woman adding her voice to the scientific discourse in a field that has been traditionally dominated by men. I think she is to be commended for making an effort to include anecdotes about little-known female scientists. You know, they were often victims of “a generation firmly convinced that the woman’s place was in the home.”
W: I like how the book is clearly written with each chapter brought to life by pieces of fascinating knowledge. For example, in one chapter she exposes a myth that I’ve heard taught by university physics professors. I’ve often heard that medieval glass windows are thicker at the bottom because glass “flows” like a fluid. This, she shows, is not true. The distortion is actually thanks to a peculiarity of the glassmaker’s process.
M: Yeah. I like how she cultivates scientific engagement by providing a host of do-it-yourself experiments that bring the same foundational principles of classical physics that govern everything from the solar system to your kitchen table. From using complex laws of physics to test whether a spinning egg is cooked to measuring atmospheric pressure by lifting a piece of cardboard, her hands-on examples make her book a truly interactive read.
W: Yes. I must say this equation-free book is an ideal read for scientists of all stripes, anyone teaching science and even people who dislike physics.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 1: What does the woman say about the book the man recommended?
Question 2: What can we find in the book the man recommended?
Question 3: How does the author bring her book to life?
Question 4: How does the book cultivate readers’ interest in physics?

1.
A) It can benefit professionals and non-professionals alike.
B) It lists the various challenges physicists arc confronting.
C) It describes how some mysteries of physics were solved.
D) It is one of the most fascinating physics books ever written.

2.
A) physicists’ contribution to humanity.
B) Stories about some female physicists.
C) Historical evolution of modern physics.
D) Women’s changing attitudes to physics.

3.
A) By exposing a lot of myths in physics.
B) By describing her own life experiences.
C) By including lots of fascinating knowledge.
D) By telling anecdotes about famous professors.

4.
A) It avoids detailing abstract concepts of physics.
B) It contains a lot of thought-provoking questions.
C) It demonstrates how they can become physicists.
D) It provides experiments they can do themselves.

Conversation 2
M: Hi, professor. I was hoping I could have a moment of your time if you’re not too busy. I’m having some problems getting started on my dissertation, and I was hoping you could give me some advice on how to begin.
W: Sure. I have quite a few students, though. So can you remind me what your topic is?
M: The general topic I chose is aesthetics, but that’s as far as I’ve got. I don’t really know where to go from there.
W: Yeah. That’s much too large a topic. You really need to narrow it down in order to make it more accessible. Otherwise, you’ll be writing a book.
M: Exactly. That’s what I wanted to ask you about. I was hoping it would be possible for me to change topics. I’m really more interested in nature than beauty.
W: I’m afraid you have to adhere to the assigned topic. Still, if you’re interested in nature, then that certainly can be worked into your dissertation. We’ve talked about Hume before in class, right?
M: Oh, yeah. He’s the philosopher who wrote about where our ideas of beauty come from.
W: Exactly. I suggest you go to the library and get a copy of his biography. Start from there, but remember to stick to the parameters of the assignment. This paper is a large part of your cumulative grade, so make sure to follow the instructions. If you take a look at his biography, you can get a good idea of how his life experiences manifest themselves in his theories of beauty, specifically the way he looked towards nature as the origin of what we find beautiful.
M: Great. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, professor. I’ll let you get back to class now.
W: If there’s anything else you need, please come see me in my office anytime.
Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 5: What is the man’s problem?
Question 6: What does the professor think of the man’s topic?
Question 7: What is the man really more interested in?
Question 8: What does the professor say the man has to do?

5.
A) He is too busy to finish his assignment in time.
B) He does not know what kind of topic to write on.
C) He does not understand the professor’s instructions.
D) He has no idea how to proceed with his dissertation.

6.
A) It is too broad.
B) It is a bit outdated.
C) It is challenging.
D) It is interesting.

7.
A) Biography.
B) Nature.
C) Philosophy.
D) Beauty.

8.
A) Improve his cumulative grade.
B) Develop his reading ability.
C) Stick to the topic assigned.
D) List the parameters first.

Section B
Direction: In this section, you will hear two passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four 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 1
During the Arctic winter from October to March, the average temperature in the frozen north typically hovers around minus 20 degrees Celsius. But this year, the Arctic is experiencing much higher temperatures. On February 20, the temperature in Greenland climbed above freezing or zero degrees Celsius and it stayed there for over 24 hours. Then on February 24, the temperature on Greenland’s northern tip reached six degrees Celsius. Climate scientists described the phenomenon as “stunning.” Weather conditions that drive this bizarre temperature surge have visited the Arctic before. They typically appear about once in a decade. However, the last such increase in temperature took place two years ago. This is troubling as climbing Arctic temperatures combined with rapid sea-ice loss are creating a new type of climate feedback loop which could accelerate Arctic warming. Indeed, sea-ice cover in the Arctic is melting faster than expected. Without those masses of cooling sea ice, warm air brought to the Arctic can penetrate further inland than it ever did before. The air can stay warmer longer, too. This drives additional melting. Overall, Earth is warming at a rapid pace—2014 through 2017 rank as the hottest years on record—and the Arctic is warming twice as fast as anyplace else on Earth. This raises unique challenges for Arctic wildlife and indigenous people who depend on Arctic ecosystems to survive. Previously, climate forecasts predicted that Arctic summer ice would disappear entirely by around 2060. But based on what scientists are seeing now, the Arctic may be facing summers without ice within 20 years.
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 9: What did climate scientists describe as “stunning”?
Question 10: What does the passage say about the temperature surge in the Arctic?
Question 11: What may occur in 20 years according to scientists’ recent observations?

9.
A) The unprecedented high temperature in Greenland.
B) The collapse of ice on the northern tip of Greenland.
C) The unusual cold spell in the Arctic area in October.
D) The rapid change of Arctic temperature within a day.

10.
A) It has created a totally new climate pattern.
B) It will pose a serious threat to many species.
C) It typically appears about once every ten years.
D) It has puzzled the climate scientists for decades.

11.
A) Extinction of Arctic wildlife.
B) Iceless summers in the Arctic.
C) Emigration of indigenous people.
D) Better understanding of ecosystems.

Passage 2
A good dose of willpower is often necessary to see any task through, whether it’s sticking to a spending plan or finishing a great novel. And if you want to increase that willpower, a new study suggests you just simply have to believe you have it. According to the study, what matters most is what we think about our willpower. If we believe it’s a finite resource, we act that way. We feel exhausted and need-breaks between demanding mental tasks. However, people who view their willpower as a limitless resource get energized instead. The researchers used a psychological assessment tool to test the validity of the study. They asked 1,100 Americans and 1,600 Europeans to grade different statements such as “After a challenging mental activity, my energy is depleted, and I must rest to get it refueled again.” or “I can focus on a mental task for long periods without feeling tired.” Although there was little difference between men and women overall, Americans were more likely to admit to needing breaks after completing mentally challenging tasks. European participants, on the other hand, claimed they were able to keep going. Based on the findings, the researchers suggest that the key to boosting your willpower is to believe that you have an abundant supply of it. “Your feelings about your willpower affect the way you behave. But these feelings are changeable,” they said. “Changing your beliefs about the nature of your self-control can have positive effects on character development. This leads to healthier behaviors and perceptions of other people.”
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 12: What is often necessary for carrying through a task?
Question 13: What is the finding of the new study?
Question 14: What do we learn about European participants as compared with their American counterparts?
Question 15: What do the researchers say concerning people’s feelings about willpower?

12.
A) A good start.
B) A detailed plan.
C) A strong determination.
D) A scientific approach.

13.
A) Most people get energized after a sufficient rest.
B) Most people tend to have a finite source of energy.
C) It is vital to take breaks between demanding mental tasks.
D) It is most important to have confidence in one’s willpower.

14.
A) They could keep on working longer.
B) They could do more challenging tasks.
C) They found it easier to focus on work at hand.
D) They held more positive attitudes toward life.

15.
A) They are part of their nature.
B) They are subject to change.
C) They are related to culture.
D) They are beyond control.

Section C
Direction: In this section, you will hear three recordings of lectures or talks followed by three or four 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.

Recording 1
Here is my baby niece Sarah. Her mom is a doctor and her dad is a lawyer. By the time Sarah goes to college, the jobs her parents do are going to look dramatically different. In 2013, researchers at Oxford University did a study on the future of work. They concluded that almost one in every two jobs has a high risk of being automated by machines. Machine learning is the technology that’s responsible for most of this disruption. It’s the most powerful branch of artificial intelligence. It allows machines to learn from data and copy some of the things that humans can do. My company, Kaggle, operates on the cutting edge of machine learning. We bring together hundreds of thousands of experts to solve important problems for industry and academia. This gives us a unique perspective on what machines can do, what they can’t do and what jobs they might automate or threaten. Machine learning started making its way into industry in the early’90s. It started with relatively simple tasks. It started with things like assessing credit risk from loan applications, sorting the mail by reading handwritten zip codes. Over the past few years, we have made dramatic breakthroughs. Machine learning is now capable of far, far more complex tasks. In 2012, Kaggle challenged its community to build a program that could grade high-school essays. The winning programs were able to match the grades given by human teachers. Now, given the right data, machines are going to outperform humans at tasks like this. A teacher might read 10,000 essays over a 40-year career. A machine can read millions of essays within minutes. We have no chance of competing against machines on frequent, high-volume tasks. But there are things we can do that machines cannot. Where machines have made very little progress is in tackling novel situations. Machines can’t handle things they haven’t seen many times before. The fundamental limitation of machine learning is that it needs to learn from large volumes of past data. But humans don’t. We have the ability to connect seemingly different threads to solve problems we’ve never seen before.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 16: What do the researchers at Oxford University conclude?
Question 17: What do we learn about Kaggle company’s winning programs?
Question 18: What is the fundamental limitation of machine learning?

16.
A) About half of current jobs might be automated.
B) The jobs of doctors and lawyers would be threatened.
C) The job market is becoming somewhat unpredictable.
D) Machine learning would prove disruptive by 2013.

17.
A) They are widely applicable for massive open online courses.
B) They are now being used by numerous high school teachers.
C) They could read as many as 10,000 essays in a single minute.
D) They could grade high-school essays just like human teachers.

18.
A) It needs instructions throughout the process.
B) It does poorly on frequent, high-volume tasks.
C) It has to rely on huge amounts of previous data.
D) It is slow when it comes to tracking novel things.

Recording 2
We’ve talked recently about the importance of sustainable energy. We’ve also talked about the different theories on how that can be done. So far, our discussions have all been theoretical. Now I have a practical question for you all. Can you run a 140,000 kilogram train on just the steam generated by solar power? Well, one engineer, Tim Castleman, believes it’s possible. And his home city of Sacramento, California should see the technology’s first test. As part of the upgrading of its rail yard, Castleman, who is an inventor and self-proclaimed steam visionary, is campaigning for a new steam train that runs without any fire and could run on an existing ten-kilometre line, drawing tourists and perhaps offering city commuters a green alternative to their cars. Castleman wants to build an array of solar magnifying mirrors at one end of the line to collect and focus heat onto water-filled tubes. This would generate steam that could be used to fill tanks on a small steam train without the use of fire. “Supplying power to trains in this way would offer the shortest distance from well to wheels,” he says, “with the least amount of energy lost.” According to Harry Valentine, a Canadian engineer who is researching modern steam technology, a special tank measuring 2 by 10 metres could store over 750 kilowatt hours of energy as high-pressure steam, enough to pull a 2-car train for an hour or so. Energy to drive a steam locomotive can be stored in other materials besides water. For example, a team at Tohoko University in Japan has studied materials that can store large amounts of heat. When heated, these materials turned from a solid into a liquid absorbing energy as they change phase. The liquid is maintained above its melting point until steam is required, at which point the liquid is allowed to turn back into a solid, releasing its stored energy. Another team at Nagoya University in Japan has tested calcium compound as an energy storage material. Heating this chemical compound drives off carbon dioxide gas, leaving calcium oxide. The gas can be stored under pressure in a tank. To recover the energy, the gas is fed back over the calcium oxide. “In theory,” says Valentine, “this can create a high enough temperature to generate superheated steam.”
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 19: What has the speaker previously talked about?
Question 20: What is Tim Castleman trying to do in Sacramento?
Question 21: What has a Japanese research team tried to do?

19.
A) The engineering problems with solar power.
B) The generation of steam with the latest technology.
C) The importance of exploring new energy sources.
D) The theoretical aspects of sustainable energy.

20.
A) Drive trains with solar energy.
B) Upgrade the city’s train facilities.
C) Build a new ten-kilometre railway line.
D) Cut down the city’s energy consumption.

21.
A) Build a tank for keeping calcium oxide.
B) Find a new material for storing energy.
C) Recover super-heated steam.
D) Collect carbon dioxide gas.

Recording 3
Today’s crisis in care for older people in England has two main causes. First, people are living longer with a lot more complex needs. Second, they rely on a system that has long been marked by a poor relation between national health and social care services. Current services originate in two key measures. They are the National Health Service and the 1948 National Assistance Act. This required local governments to provide residential accommodation for older people and supervise care homes run by independent organizations. They also provided home and community services, including meals, day centres and home helpers and other subsidized services. The National Health Service was free and wholly publicly provided. It delivered the best health care for all. No such vision guided residential and community care though. The care was substantially provided by voluntary services which worked together with local authorities as they long had, with eligibility based on income. Today, life expectancy has risen from 66 for a male at best in 1948 to around 80 now. In addition, there is better overall health and improved medical knowledge in care. This means an unprecedented number of people are surviving longer in conditions requiring experts’ support. Families provide at least as much care as they ever did. Even so, they can rarely, without subsidized support, address serious personal needs. Care for older people faced persistent criticism as these trends became apparent. From the early 1960s, local authorities were required to plan health and welfare services. The aim was to enable older people to remain in their own homes for as long as possible. But this increased concern about the lack of coordination between free health and paid-for social care. Through the 1970s, a number of measures sought to improve matters. However, at a time of financial crisis, funding diminished and little changed. In the 1980s, the government cut spending. Meanwhile, preference for private over public services made management even more difficult. Simultaneously, the number of sick older people grew. Governments emphasized the need to improve services. They did so, though, while doing little to stop the erosion of available aid. Services were irregular across authorities. Unless you were prepared to pay, they were increasingly difficult to obtain for any but the most severely disabled. Why has 60 years of criticism produced so little change? Discrimination against older people has a long history. Additionally, those affected by inadequate health and social care are too vulnerable to launch the protests that have addressed other forms of discrimination.
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 22: What is one cause of the current crisis in care for the elderly in England?
Question 23: What does the speaker say about residential and community care?
Question 24: What made management of care for the elderly more difficult in the 1980s?
Question 25: What does the speaker say about older people in England?

22.
A) The lack of supervision by both the national and local governments.
B) The impact of the current economic crisis at home and abroad.
C) The poor management of day centres and home help services.
D) The poor relation between national health and social care services.

23.
A) It was mainly provided by voluntary services.
B) It mainly caters to the needs of the privileged.
C) It called for a sufficient number of volunteers.
D) It has deteriorated over the past sixty years.

24.
A) Their longer lifespans.
B) Fewer home helpers available.
C) Their preference for private services.
D) More of them suffering serious illnesses.

25.
A) They are unable to pay for health services.
B) They have long been discriminated against.
C) They are vulnerable to illnesses and diseases.
D) They have contributed a great deal to society.

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