作者：5xue

2017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
A New Jersey black bear that walks upright on its two back legs and has become a social media darling has reemerged and has been captured on video month after its last sighting. The bear named Pedals was spotted in a town of Oakrage, in a video posted to Facebook featuring the bear it appear to be in relatively good health and was moving quickly. “Pedals apparently hasn’t injured leg or pool that doesn’t allow it to walk comfortably on all fulls”, according to experts. Laurence Hajna spokesman of the state for the state department environmental protection said, “Officials expect the bear to make it through next winter.” The bear first gained fame after was sported the wondering around neighborhoods and was caught on videos that were posted on social media and showed on national television. Last year, supporters pushed for Pedals to be moved to a shelter. But New Jersey officials have said they won’t allow the bear to be captured and transferred to the facility. “The bear would do better in its natural habitat and the agency would step in if its condition deteriorated,” they said.
Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.
Question 1: What’s the probable reason the bear walks upright on its back legs?
Question 2: How is the bear first known for the public?

1.
A) It tries entertain its audience.
B) It tries to look into the distance.
C) It wants to catch people’s attention.
D) It has got one of its limbs injured.

2.
A) It was spotted by animal protection officials.
B) It was filmed by a local television reporter.
C) Its videos were posted on social media.
D) Its picture won a photography prize.

News Report 2
It is not your imagination. Traffic in the U.S. is actually getting worse. Americans drove more miles last year than any other year on record. The U.S. Department of Transportation says Americans drove nearly 3,150 billion miles last year. That’s about the same distance as 337 round trips from Earth to Pluto. The previous record was 3,003 billion miles in 2007 before the economic recession in high gas prices. The traffic increase comes at the same time as gas crisis drop significantly, the current average gas price in U.S. is 1.77$ per gallon. A year ago, it was 2.31$ per gallon, it was often much higher in recent years. A transportation expert told the report the job growth likely plays a part as well, along with some people driving longer distances to and from work. And so all this means more traffic jams on the road. The taxes A&M travel institute found rush-hour travellers spent extra 42 hours on the road lasts year because of travel delays. Now that is depressing.
Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.
Question 3: What new record did the American driver set last year?
Question 4: What is depressing according to the speaker?

3.
A) The distance travelled.
B) The incidence of road accidents.
C) The spending on gas.
D) The number of people travelling.

4.
A) Fewer people are commuting.
B) Gas consumption is soaring.
C) Job growth is slowing down.
D) Rush-hour traffic is worsening.

News Report 3
A 16-year-old asked a stranger at a grocery store to buy him and his mother some food in exchange for carrying the man’s groceries to his car. What happened next will pull at your heartstrings. A wonderful bond formed between the two, and within a couple of weeks, the stranger named White helped raise $190,000 on the website to support the Memphis teenager and his disabled mother. “When Chauncy approached me, it just pulled at my heart,” White said, “Here comes Chauncy, just trying to get food for him and his mom of the grace of other people”. “When I looked at him and saw what he was doing and what he was asking for, I said he was my hero”. “Chauncy is a top student who is doing his best to make it in a world with no money and very few resources,” White explained on the crowdfunding site. “He wants to work and help his mother financially”. “It’s so rare that we get an opportunity to affect so much change on one life,” White wrote. “I cannot thank you enough for caring about Chauncy. This is his big chance, and you’re making it possible”.
Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.
Question 5: What did the teenager Chauncy do at the grocery story to get some food?
Question 6: What did the stranger do for Chauncy?
Question 7: What do we learn about Chauncy?

5.
A) He told a stranger the sad story about himself.
B) He helped a stranger to carry groceries to his car.
C) He went up to a stranger and pulled at his sleeves.
D) He washed a stranger’s car in return for some food.

6.
A) He ordered a lot of food for his family.
B) He gave him a job at his own company.
C) He raised a large sum of money for him.
D) He offered him a scholarship for college.

7.
A) He works hard to support his family.
B) He is an excellent student at school.
C) He is very good at making up stories.
D) He has been disabled since boyhood.

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
M: That was my last week economic lecture of the week, and here is the weekend again.
W: What are you up to tonight? I was just wondering if we could try out the new restaurant on Charles Street, then go on to Queen Victoria for a drink.
M: Sorry, I’m heading home this weekend for my brother’s 18th birthday.
W: Oh, that’s great.
M: All of my relatives will be there, as well as my brother’s horrible friends, of course. Listen, why won’t you come along? Mom would be absolutely delightedly to see you again. She’s always asking after you.
W: Yes, I’d love to see her too.
M: So, please, do come. It would be great. And besides, with Jonathan’s wild game to contend with, I’d really welcome an ally.
W: That sounds tempting, but I won’t be ready till 5, as I’ve got my statistic seminar now. What time are you heading off?
M: Well, I’m going to leave right away. However, I can hang around for you if you like. It just means that I’ll need to change my ticket.
W: But wouldn’t that be too much trouble for you?
M: No, not at all. I’ll go to the station first, and see if I can get tickets for us on the 6:30 train. Then, you can join me there. I’ll text you when it’s done.
W: Brilliant. Are you absolutely positive if it’s Ok? I wouldn’t want to impose.
M: Don’t worry, you are most welcome to join our party, and as I always say “the more, the merrier”.
W: Look, I’d better go or I’ll be late. So, I’ll meet you down at the station around 6.
M: Fine, see you later.
Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 8: What has the man just done?
Question 9: What is the man going to do this weekend?
Question 10: What does the man ask the woman to do?
Question 11: How will they go to the man’s home?

8.
A) Attended an economics lecture.
B) Taken a walk on Charles Street.
C) Had a drink at Queen Victoria.
D) Had dinner at a new restaurant.

9.
A) Treat a college friend to dinner.
B) Make preparations for a seminar.
C) Attend his brothers birthday party.
D) Visit some of his high school friends.

10.
A) Gather statistics for his lecture.
B) Throw a surprise birthday party.
C) Meet with Jonathan’s friends on the weekend.
D) Join him in his brother’s birthday celebration.

11.
A) By car.
B) By train.
C) By taxi.
D) By bus.

Conversation 2
M: Hi, Jane. How’s everything going?
W: So far so good. I’ve just finished my last exam.
M: Good. The term is coming to an end. Do you think we should take a holiday overseas to relax and have fun? I’ve saved my tips from my waiter job these past few months, and I should have enough by July.
W: Yes, that’s a wonderful idea. I’ve got a little put aside for a rainy day, but I might need to earn a little more before we go. By the way, what is it like working in the restaurant?
M: Well, it’s really tough, as working a 10-hour shift is like hell. I’m not sure if it’ll suit you. But it’s pretty cool if your boss is all right. Do you think we should invite some others to come along?
W: Yes, we could ask Tom and Tracy if they are interested. I haven’t been abroad for a long while. And it would be great to go somewhere by the sea. I can’t wait, and if Tom goes, we could go sailing. He has a lot experience with boats, and it’ll work out a lot cheaper to hire one if there’s more of us to share the cost.
M: So, that’s the plan. We’ll save as much as we can, and go sailing next July. Let’s say, Spain, or anywhere cheap would be fine.
W: Ok. But first we’d better contact Tom and Tracy, and see if they are up for it. If not, it’ll be back to the drawing board.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 12: What does the man think of doing?
Question 13: What has the man been doing for the past few months?
Question 14: What does the woman say she needs to do before departure?
Question 15: Why does the woman want to invite Tom?

12.
A) Taking a vacation abroad.
B) Reviewing for his last exam.
C) Saving enough money for a rainy day.
D) Finding a better way to earn money.

13.
A) Preparing for his final exams.
B) Negotiating with his boss for a raise.
C) Working part time as a waiter.
D) Helping the woman with her courses.

14.
A) Finish her term paper.
B) Save enough money.
C) Learn a little bit of Spanish.
D) Ask her parent’s permission.

15.
A) He has rich sailing experience.
B) He speaks Spanish fluently.
C) He is also eager to go to Spain.
D) He is easy to get along with.

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
Most people know Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize and the first person to win it twice. However, few people know that she was also the mother of a Nobel Prize winner. Irene Currie was born on September 12th, 1897. At the age of ten, Irene’s talents and interests in mathematics were apparent. Irene entered Sorbonne University in October 1914 to prepare for a degree in mathematics and physics. When World War I began, she left Sorbonne University to help her mother who was using x-ray facilities to help save the lives of wounded soldiers. Irene continued this work by developing x-ray facilities for military hospitals in France and Belgium. After the war, she received a military medal for her work. In 1918, Irene became her mother’s assistant at the Curie Institute. In December 1924, Frederic Joliot visited the institute and met Marie Curie. Frederic became one of her assistants, and Irene taught him the techniques required to work with radioactivity. Irene and Frederic soon fell in love and got married on October 29th, 1926. Their daughter was born in 1927 and their son in 1932. Like her mother, Irene combined family with career. Like her mother, Irene was awarded a Nobel Prize, along with her husband Frederic in 1935, for producing new radioactive elements. Unfortunately, also like her mother, she developed blood cancer because of her exposure to radiation. Irene Joliot Curie died on March 17th, 1956.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 16: What does the speaker say about Marie Curie’s daughter?
Question 17: For what was Irene Curie awarded a military medal?
Question 18: In what way were Marie and Irene similar?

16.
A) She went to the same university as her mother.
B) She worked as a nurse in the First World War.
C) She won the Nobel Prize two times.
D) She was also a Nobel Prize winner.

17.
A) She fought bravely in a series of military operations.
B) She developed X-ray facilities for military hospitals.
C) She helped to set up several military hospitals.
D) She made donations to save wounded soldiers.

18.
A) Both died of blood cancer.
B) Both fought in World War I.
C) Both won military medals.
D) Both married their assistants.

Passage 2
Have you ever heard of the Vikings? They were sea travelers from Norway. More than 1,000 years ago, they made three important geographical discoveries. The Vikings’ first major discovery occurred in the 9th century. A man called Naddodd was on his way from Norway to the Faroe Islands, north of England, when his ship was caught in a storm. The storm blew the ship west for several days. When the weather cleared, Naddodd found himself on the coast of a new land. Later, Viking travelers named it Iceland. In 982, a Viking called Eric the Red, sailed west in search of new land. 500 miles west of Iceland, he and his men reached an icy rocky massive land. They sailed around it until they reached the western side. Here, they found some green areas, so they named the island Greenland. Then, in 1001, the Vikings made their most important discovery. The son of Eric the Red named Leif Erikson had heard the rumors about the land west of Greenland. He sailed west and soon found it. He and his men landed in three places. They called the first one Helluland, which means land of flat stone. The Vikings then sailed south and made their second landing. They named this place Markland. Their third landing was at a place they called Vinland. Leif Erikson and his men were the first Europeans to walk on the shores of North America, almost five hundred years earlier than Columbus.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 19: What do we learn about the Vikings?
Question 20: What does the passage say about the Greenland?
Question 21: What does the speaker mainly talk about?

19.
A) They were the first settlers in Europe.
B) They were the conquerors of Norway.
C) They discovered Iceland in the ninth century.
D) They settled on a small island north of England.

20.
A) It was some five hundred miles west of Norway.
B) It was covered with green most time of the year.
C) It was the Vikings’ most important discovery.
D) It was a rocky mass of land covered with ice.

21.
A) The Vikings’ ocean explorations.
B) The making of European nations.
C) The Vikings’ everyday life.
D) The Europeans’ Arctic discoveries.

Passage 3
Where do you think you will be in ten years? It is difficult to know exactly where you will be and where you will be doing. But everyone dreamed about the future. You might imagine the job you will get, when you finish school. You may daydream about meeting your life partner or living in a big house by the sea. In my dreams, I would have twins, a boy and a girl. We would live in a large two-story house with floors and staircases made of wood. Now at the age of 46, I look back on those dreams and smile. Things haven’t turned out exactly as I imagined, but I would not change what I have now for that imaginary world. In college, I studied international business and planned to enter a law school. In my third year of university, I realized that I didn’t want to become a lawyer. Instead, I chose to become language teacher. I did get married, but had more than two children. We have five. Do I live in the dream house with wood floors? No, I don’t, but I love my home and I wouldn’t want to live in any other place. I believe it, as a young person, it’s important to dream and make plans. However, it’s also important to realize that not all of your plans turned out exactly as you wish. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in life is this: “Be happy with what you have.”
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 22: What does the speaker think everyone tends to do?
Question 23: What does the speaker say he would refuse to do?
Question 24: What does the speaker major in during the first two years of college?
Question 25: What is one of the biggest lessons the speaker has learned in life?

22.
A) Work hard for a better life.
B) Make mistakes now and then.
C) Dream about the future.
D) Save against a rainy day.

23.
A) Teach foreign languages for the rest of his life.
B) Change what he has for his past imaginary world.
C) Exchange his two-story house for a beach cottage.
D) Dwell on the dreams he had dreamed when young.

24.
A) Criminal law.
B) City planning.
C) Oriental architecture.
D) International business.

25.
A) Dream and make plans.
B) Take things easy in life.
C) Be content with what you have.
D) Enjoy whatever you are doing.

关注微信公众号”立金云英语听力”，助您提高英语听力水平

2016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: So how long have you been a Market Research Consultant?
W: Well, I started straight after finishing university.
M: Did you study market research?
W: Yeah, and it really helped me to get into the industry, but I have to say that it’s more important to get experience in different types of market research to find out exactly what you’re interested in.
M: So what are you interested in?
W: Well, at the moment, I specialize in quantitative advertising research, which means that I do two types of projects. Trackers, which are ongoing projects that look at trends or customer satisfaction over a long period of time. The only problem with trackers is that it takes up a lot of your time. But you do build up a good relationship with the client. I also do a couple of ad-hoc jobs which are much shorter projects.
M: What exactly do you mean by ad-hoc jobs?
W: It’s basically when companies need quick answers to their questions about their consumers’ habits. They just ask for one questionnaire to be sent out for example, so the time you spend on an ad-hoc project tends to be fairly short.
M: Which do you prefer, trackers or ad-hoc?
W: I like doing both and in fact I need to do both at the same time to keep me from going crazy. I need the variety.
M: Can you just explain what process you go through with a new client?
W: Well, together we decide on the methodology and the objectives of the research. I then design a questionnaire. Once the interviewers have been briefed, I send the client a schedule and then they get back to me with deadlines. Once the final charts and tables are ready, I have to check them and organize a presentation.
M: Hmm, one last question, what do you like and dislike about your job?
W: As I said, variety is important and as for what I don’t like, it has to be the checking of charts and tables.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 1: What position does the woman hold in the company?
Question 2: What does the woman specialize in at the moment?
Question 3: What does the woman say about trackers?
Question 4: What does the woman dislike about her job?

1.
A) Project organizer.
B) Public relations officer.
C) Marketing manager.
D) Market research consultant.

2.
A) Quantitative advertising research.
B) Questionnaire design.
C) Research methodology.
D) Interviewer training.

3.
A) They are intensive studies of people’s spending habits.
B) They examine relations between producers and customers.
C) They look for new and effective ways to promote products.
D) They study trends or customer satisfaction over a long period.

4.
A) The lack of promotion opportunity.
B) Checking charts and tables.
C) Designing questionnaires.
D) The persistent intensity.

Conversation 2
W: Hello, I’m here with Frederick. Now Fred, you went to university in Canada?
M: Yeah, that’s right.
W: OK, and you have very strong views about universities in Canada. Could you please explain?
M: Well, we don’t have private universities in Canada They’re all public. All the universities are owned by the government, so there is the Ministry of Education in charge of creating the curriculum for the universities and so there is not much room for flexibility. Since it’s a government-operated institution, things don’t move very fast. If you want something to be done, then their staff do not have so much incentive to help you because he’s a worker for the government. So I don’t think it’s very efficient. However, there are certain advantages of public universities, such as the fees being free. You don’t have to pay for your education. But the system isn’t efficient, and it does not work that well.
W: Yeah, I can see your point, but in the United States we have many private universities, and I think they are large bureaucracies also. Maybe people don’t act that much differently, because it’s the same thing working for a private university. They get paid for their job. I don’t know if they’re that much more motivated to help people. Also, we have a problem in the United States that usually only wealthy kids go to the best schools and ifs kind of a problem actually.
M: I agree with you. I think ifs a problem because you’re not giving equal access to education to everybody. It’s not easy, but having only public universities also might not be the best solution. Perhaps we can learn from Japan where they have a system of private and public universities. Now, in Japan, public universities are considered to be the best.
W: Right. It’s the exact opposite in the United States.
M: So, as you see, it’s very hard to say which one is better.
W: Right, a good point.
Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 5: What does the woman want Frederick to talk about?
Question 6: What does the man say about the curriculum in Canadian universities?
Question 7: On what point do the speakers agree?
Question 8: What point does the man make at the end of the conversation?

5.
A) His view on Canadian universities.
B) His understanding of higher education.
C) His suggestions for improvements in higher education.
D) His complaint about bureaucracy in American universities.

6.
A) It is well designed.
B) It is rather inflexible.
C) It varies among universities.
D) It has undergone great changes.

7.
A) The United States and Canada can learn from each other.
B) Public universities are often superior to private universities.
C) Everyone should be given equal access to higher education.
D) Private schools work more efficiently than public institutions.

8.
A) University systems vary from country to country.
B) Efficiency is essential to university management.
C) It is hard to say which is better, a public university or a private one.
D) Many private university in the U.S. are actually large bureaucracies.

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
W: A recent International Labor Organization report says the deterioration of real wages around the world calls into question the true extent of an economic recovery, especially if government rescue packages are phased out too early. The report warns the picture on wages is likely to get worse this year despite indications of an economic rebound. Patrick Belser, an international labor organization specialist, says declining wage rates are linked to the levels of unemployment.
M: The quite dramatic unemployment features, which we now see in some of the countries, strongly suggest that there will be a great pressure on wages in the future as more people will be unemployed, more people will be looking for jobs and the pressure on employers to raise wages to attract workers will decline. So we expect that the second part of the year would not be very good in terms of wage growth.
W: The report finds more than a quarter of the countries experienced flat or falling monthly wages in real terms. They include the United States, Austria, Costa Rica, South Africa and Germany. International Labor Organization economists say some nations have come up with policies to lessen the impact of lower wages during the economic crisis. An example of these is work sharing with government subsidies. Under this scheme, the number of individual working hours is reduced in an effort to avoid layoffs. For this scheme to work, the government must provide wage subsidies to compensate for lost pay due to the shorter hours.
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 9: What is the International Labor Organization’s report mainly about?
Question 10: According to an International Labor Organization’s specialist, how will employers feel if there are more people looking for jobs?
Question 11: What does the speaker mean by the work sharing scheme?

9.
A) Government’s role in resolving an economic crisis.
B) The worsening real wage situation around the world.
C) Indications of economic recovery in the United States.
D) The impact of the current economic crisis on peopled life.

10.
A) They will feel less pressure to raise employees’ wages.
B) They will feel free to choose the most suitable employees.
C) They will feel inclined to expand their business operations.
D) They will feel more confident in competing with their rivals.

11.
A) Employees and companies cooperate to pull through the economic crisis.
B) Government and companies join hands to create jobs for the unemployed.
C) Employees work shorter hours to avoid layoffs.
D) Team work will be encouraged in companies.

Passage 2
Is there really a magic memory pill or a herbal recall remedy? I have been frequently asked if these memory supplements work. You know, one of the first things I like to tell people when they ask me about the supplements, is that a lot of them are promoted as a cure for your memory. But your memory doesn’t need a cure. What your memory needs is a good workout. So really those supplements aren’t going to give you that perfect memory in the way that they promise. The other thing is that a lot of these supplements aren’t necessarily what they claim to be, and you really have to be wary when you take any of them. The science isn’t there behind most of them. They’re not really well-regulated unless they adhere to some industry standard. You don’t really know that what they say is in there, isn’t there. What you must understand is that those supplements, especially in some eastern cultures, are part of a medical practice tradition. People don’t just go in a local grocery store and buy these supplements. In fact, they are prescribed and they’re given at a certain level, a dosage that is understood by a practitioner who’s been trained. And that’s not really the way they’re used in this country. The other tiling people do forget is that these are medicines, so they do have an impact. A lot of times people are not really aware of the impact they have, or the fact that taking them in combination with other medications might put you at increased risk for something that you wouldn’t otherwise being countering or be at risk for.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 12: What question is frequently put to the speaker?
Question 13: What does the speaker say about most memory supplements?
Question 14: What do we learn about memory supplements in eastern cultures?
Question 15: What does the speaker say about memory supplements at the end?

12.
A) Whether memory supplements work.
B) Whether herbal medicine works wonders.
C) Whether exercise enhances one’s memory.
D) Whether a magic memory promises success.

13.
A) They help the elderly more than the young.
B) They are beneficial in one way or another.
C) They generally do not have side effects.
D) They are not based on real science.

14.
A) They are available at most country fairs.
B) They are taken in relatively high dosage.
C) They are collected or grown by farmers.
D) They are prescribed by trained practitioners.

15.
A) They have often proved to be as helpful as doing mental exercise.
B) Taking them with other medications might entail unnecessary risks.
C) Their effect lasts only a short time.
D) Many have benefited from them.

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
The negative impacts of natural disasters can be seen everywhere. In just the past few weeks, the world has witnessed the destructive powers of earthquakes in Indonesia, typhoons in the Philippines, and the destructive sea waves that struck Samoa and neighboring islands. A study by the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters finds that, between 1980 and 2007, nearly 8,400 natural disasters killed more than two million people. These catastrophic events caused more than $1.5 trillion in economic losses. U.N. weather expert Geoffrey Love says that is the bad news. “Over the last 50 years, economic losses have increased by a factor of 50. That sounds pretty terrible, but the loss of life has decreased by a factor of 10 simply because we are getting better at warning people. We are making a difference. Extreme events, however, will continue to occur. But the message is that they need not be disasters.” Love, who is director of Weather and Disaster Risk Reduction at the World Meteorological Organization, says most of the deaths and economic losses were caused by weather, climate, or water-related extremes. These include droughts, floods, windstorms, strong tropical winds and wildfires. He says extreme events will continue. But, he says extreme events become disasters only when people fail to prepare for them. “Many of the remedies are well-known. From a planning perspective, it is pretty simple. Build better buildings. Don’t build where the hazards will destroy them. From an early-warning perspective, make sure the warnings go right down to the community level. Build community action plans.” The World Meteorological Organization points to Cuba and Bangladesh as examples of countries that have successfully reduced the loss of life caused by natural disasters by taking preventive action. It says tropical storms formerly claimed dozens, if not hundreds of lives, each year, in Cuba. But the development of an early-warning system has reversed that trend. In 2008, Cuba was hit by five successive hurricanes, but only seven people were killed. Bangladesh also has achieved substantial results. Major storm surges in 1970 and 1991 caused the deaths of about 440,000 people. Through careful preparation, the death toll from a super tropical storm in November 2007 was less than 3,500.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 16: What is the talk mainly about?
Question 17: How can we stop extreme events from turning into disasters?
Question 18: What does the example of Cuba serve to show?

16.
A) How catastrophic natural disasters turn out to be to developing nations.
B) How the World Meteorological Organization studies natural disasters.
C) How powerless humans appear to be in face of natural disasters.
D) How the negative impacts of natural disasters can be reduced.

17.
A) By training rescue teams for emergencies.
B) By taking steps to prepare people for them.
C) By changing people’s views of nature.
D) By relocating people to safer places.

18.
A) How preventive action can reduce the loss of life.
B) How courageous Cubans are in face of disasters.
C) How Cubans suffer from tropical storms.
D) How destructive tropical storms can be.

Recording 2
As U.S. banks recovered with the help of the American government and the American taxpayer, President Obama held meetings with top bank executives, telling them it’s time to return the favor. “The way I see it are banks now having a greater obligation to the goal of a wider recovery,” he said. But the president may be giving the financial sector too much credit. “It was in a free fall, and it was a very scary period.” Economist Martin Neil Baily said. After the failure of Lehman Brothers, many of the world’s largest banks feared the worst as the collapse of the housing bubble exposed in investments in risky loans. Although he says the worst is just over, Baily says the banking crisis is not. More than 130 US banks failed in 2009. He predicts high failure rates for smaller, regional banks in 2010 as commercial real estate loans come due. “So there may actually be a worsening of credit availability to small and medium sized businesses in the next year or so.” Analysts say the biggest problem is high unemployment, which weakens demand and makes banks reluctant to lend. But US Bankcorp chief Richard Davis sees the situation differently. “We’re probably more optimistic than the experts might be. With that in mind, we’re putting in everything we can, lending is the coal to our engine, so we want to make more loans. We have to find a way to qualify more people and not put ourselves at risk.” While some economists predict continued recovery in the future, Baily says the only certainty is that banks are unlikely to make the same mistakes twice. “You know, forecasting’s become a very hazardous business so I don’t want to commit myself too much. I don’t think we know exactly what’s going to happen but ifs certainly possible that we could get very slow growth over the next year or two.” If the economy starts to shrink again, Baily says it would make a strong case for a second stimulus—something the Obama administration hopes will not be necessary.
Questions 19 to 22 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 19: What does President Obama hope the banks will do?
Question 20: What is Martin Neil Baily’s prediction about the financial situation in the future?
Question 21: What does U.S. Bankcorp chief Richard Davis say about its future operation?
Question 22: What does Martin Neil Baily think of a second stimulus to the economy?

19.
A) Pay back their loans to the American government.
B) Provide loans to those in severe financial difficulty.
C) Contribute more to the goal of a wider recovery.
D) Speed up their recovery from the housing bubble.

20.
A) Some banks may have to merge with others.
B) Many smaller regional banks are going to fail.
C) It will be hard for banks to provide more loans.
D) Many banks will have to lay off some employees.

21.
A) It will work closely with the government.
B) It will endeavor to write off bad loans.
C) It will try to lower the interest rate.
D) It will try to provide more loans.

22.
A) It won’t help the American economy to turn around.
B) It won’t do any good to the major commercial banks.
C) It will win the approval of the Obama administration.
D) It will be necessary if the economy starts to shrink again.

Recording 3
A new study has failed to find any conclusive evidence that lifestyle changes can prevent cognitive decline in older adults. Still there are good reasons to make positive changes in how we live and what we eat as we age. Cognitive decline is the loss of ability to learn new skills, or recall words, names, and faces that is most common as we age. To reduce or avoid it, researchers have examined the effect of smoking, diet, brain-challenging games, exercise and other strategies. Researchers at Duke University scrutinized more than 160 published studies and found an absence of strong evidence that any of these approaches can make a big difference. Co-author James Burke helped design the study. “In the observational studies we found that some of the B vitamins were beneficial. Exercise, diet, cognitive stimulation showed some positive effects, although the evidence was not so strong that we could actually consider these firmly established.” Some previous studies have suggested that challenging your brain with mentally stimulating activities might help. And Burke says that actually does seem to help, based on randomized studies—the researcher’s gold standard. “Cognitive stimulation is one of the areas where we did find some benefit. The exact type of stimulation that an individual uses is not as important as being intellectually engaged.” The expert review also found insufficient evidence to recommend any drugs or dietary supplements that could prevent or slow cognitive decline. However, given that there is at least some evidence for positive effects from some of these lifestyle changes, plus other benefits apparently unrelated to cognitive decline, Burke was willing to offer some recommendations. “I think that by having people adopt a healthy lifestyle, both from a medical standpoint as well as nutritional and cognitive stimulation standpoint, we can reduce the incidence of cognitive decline, which will be proof that these factors are, in fact, important.” James Burke of Duke University is one of the authors of a study reviewing previous research on cognitive decline. The paper is published online by the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Questions 23 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 23: According to the speaker, what might be a symptom of cognitive decline in older adults?
Question 24: According to James Burke, what does seem to help reduce cognitive decline?
Question 25: What did James Burke recommend to reduce the incidence of cognitive decline?

23.
A) Being unable to learn new things.
B) Being rather slow to make changes.
C) Losing temper more and more often.
D) Losing the ability to get on with others.

24.
A) Cognitive stimulation.
B) Community activity.
C) Balanced diet.
D) Fresh air.

25.
A) Ignoring the signs and symptoms of aging.
B) Adopting an optimistic attitude towards life.
C) Endeavoring to give up unhealthy lifestyles.
D) Seeking advice from doctors from time to time.

关注微信公众号”立金云英语听力”，助您提高英语听力水平

2016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
W: So Mike, you managed the innovation project at CucinTech.
M: I did indeed.
W: Well then, first, congratulations! It seems to have been very successful.
M: Thanks, yes. I really helped things turn around at CucinTech.
W: Was the revival in their fortunes entirely due to strategic innovation?
M: Yes, yes I think it was. CucinTech was a company who were very much following the pack, doing what everyone else was doing, and getting rapidly left behind. I could see there was a lot of talent there, and some great potential—particularly in their product development. I just have to harness that somehow.
W: Was innovation at the core of the project?
M: Absolutely. If it doesn’t sound like too much of a cliché, our world is constantly changing, and it’s changing quickly. We need to be innovating constantly to keep up with this. Stand still, and you’re lost.
W: No stopping to sniff the roses?
M: Well, I’ll do that in my personal life, sure. But as a business strategy, I’m afraid there’s no stopping.
W: What exactly is strategic innovation then?
M: Strategic innovation is the process of managing innovation, of making sure it takes place at all levels of the company, and that it’s related to the company’s overall strategy.
W: I see.
M: So, instead of innovation for innovation’s sake and new products being created simply because the technology is there, the company culture must switch from these point-in-time innovations to a continuous pipeline of innovations from everywhere and everyone.
W: How did you align strategies throughout the company?
M: I soon became aware that campaigning is useless. People take no notice. Simply it came about through good practice trickling down. This built consent—people could see it was the best way to work.
W: Does innovation on this scale really give a competitive advantage?
M: I am certain of it. Absolutely. Especially if it’s difficult for a competitor to copy. The risk is, of course, that innovation may frequently lead to imitation.
W: But not if ifs strategic?
M: Precisely!
W: Thanks for talking to us.
M: Sure.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 1: What seems to have been very successful according to the woman speaker?
Question 2: What did the company lack before the man’s scheme was implemented?
Question 3: What does the man say he should do in his business?
Question 4: What does the man say is the risk of innovation?

1.
A) The project the man managed at CucinTech.
B) The updating of technology at CucinTech.
C)The man’s switch to a new career.
D) The restructuring of her company.

2.
A) Talented personnel.
B) Strategic innovation.
C) Competitive products.
D) Effective promotion.

3.
A) Expand the market.
B) Recruit more talents.
C) Innovate constantly.
D) Watch out for his competitors.

4.
A) Possible bankruptcy.
B) Unforeseen difficulties.
C) Conflicts within the company.
D) Imitation by one’s competitors.

Conversation 2
M: Today my guest is Dana Ivanovich who has worked for the last twenty years as an interpreter. Dana, welcome.
W: Thank you.
M: Now I’d like to begin by saying that I have on occasions used an interpreter myself, as a foreign correspondent, so I am full of admiration for what you do. But I think your profession is sometimes underrated, and many people think anyone who speaks more than one language can do it …
W: There aren’t any interpreters I know who don’t have professional qualifications and training. You only really get proficient after many years in the job.
M: And am I right in saying you can divide what you do into two distinct methods, simultaneous and consecutive interpreting?
W: That’s right. The techniques you use are different, and a lot of interpreters will say one is easier than the other, less stressful.
M: Simultaneous interpreting, putting someone’s words into another language more or less as they speak, sounds to me like the more difficult.
W: Well, actually no, most people in the business would agree that consecutive interpreting is the more stressful. You have to wait for the speaker to deliver quite a chunk of language, before you then put it into the second language, which puts your short term memory under intense stress.
M: You make notes, I presume.
W: Absolutely, anything like numbers, names, places, have to be noted down, but the rest is never translated word for word. You have to find a way of summarising it so that the message is there. Turning every single word into the target language would put too much strain on the interpreters and slow down the whole process too much.
M: But with simultaneous interpreting, you start translating almost as soon as the other person starts speaking. You must have some preparation beforehand.
W: Well, hopefully the speakers will let you have an outline of the topic a day or two in advance. You have a little time to do research, prepare technical expressions and so on.
Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 5: What are the speakers mainly talking about?
Question 6: What does the man think of Dana’s profession?
Question 7: What does Dana say about the interpreters she knows?
Question 8: What do most interpreters think of consecutive interpreting?

5.
A) The job of an interpreter.
B) The stress felt by professionals.
C) The importance of language proficiency.
D) The best way to effective communication.

6.
A) Promising.
B) Admirable.
C) Rewarding.
D) Meaningful.

7.
A) They all have a strong interest in language.
B) They all have professional qualifications.
C) They have all passed language proficiency tests.
D) They have all studied cross-cultural differences.

8.
A) It requires a much larger vocabulary.
B) It attaches more importance to accuracy.
C) It is more stressful than simultaneous interpreting.
D) It puts one’s long-term memory under more stress.

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
Mothers have been warned for years that sleeping with their newborn infant is a bad idea because it increases the risk that the baby might die unexpectedly during the night. But now Israeli researchers are reporting that even sleeping in the same room can have negative consequences, not for the child, but for the mother. Mothers who slept in the same room as their infants, whether in the same bed or just the same room, had poorer sleep than mothers whose babies slept elsewhere in the house: They woke up more frequently, were awake approximately 20 minutes longer per night, and had shorter periods of uninterrupted sleep. These results held true even taking into account that many of the women in the study were breast-feeding their babies. Infants, on the other hand, didn’t appear to have worse sleep whether they slept in the same or different room from their mothers. The researchers acknowledge that since the families they studied were all middle-class Israelis, it’s possible the results would be different in different cultures. Lead author Liat Tikotzky wrote in an email that the research team also didn’t measure fathers’ sleep, so it’s possible that their sleep patterns could also be causing the sleep disruptions for moms. Right now, to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that mothers not sleep in the same beds as their babies, but sleep in the same room. The Israeli study suggests that doing so may be best for baby, but may take a toll on Mom.
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 9: What is the long-held view about mothers sleeping with newborn babies?
Question 10: What do Israeli researchers’ findings show?
Question 11: What does the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend mothers do?

9.
A) It might affect mothers’ health.
B) It might disturb infants’ sleep.
C) It might increase the risk of infants, death.
D) It might increase mothers’ mental distress.

10.
A) Mothers who breast-feed their babies have a harder time falling asleep.
B) Mothers who sleep with their babies need a little more sleep each night.
C) Sleeping patterns of mothers greatly affect their newborn babies’ health.
D) Sleeping with infants in the same room has a negative impact on mothers.

11.
A) Change their sleep patterns to adapt to their newborn babies’.
B) Sleep in the same room but not in the same bed as their babies.
C) Sleep in the same house but not in the same room as their babies.
D) Take precautions to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

Passage 2
The US has already lost more than a third of the native languages that existed before European colonization and the remaining 192 are classed by the UNESCO as ranging between unsafe and extinct. “We need more funding and more effort to return these languages to everyday use,” says Fred Nahwooksy of the National museum of the American Indian, “we are making progress, but money needs to be spent on revitalizing languages, not just documenting them.” Some 40 languages mainly in California and Oklahoma where thousands of Indians were forced to relocate in the 19th century have fewer than 10 native speakers. Part of the issue is that tribal groups themselves don’t always believe their languages are endangered until they are down to the last handful of speakers. “But progress is being made through immersion schools, because if you teach children when they are young, it will stay with them as adults and that’s the future.” says Mr Nahwooksy, a Comanche Indian. Such schools have become a model in Hawaii, but the islanders’ local language is still classed by the UNESCO as critically endangered because only 1,000 people speak it. The decline in the American Indian languages has historical roots: In the mid-19th century, the US government adopted a policy of Americanizing Indian children by removing them from their homes and culture. Within a few generations most had forgotten their native tongues. Another challenge to language survival is television. It has brought English into homes, and pushed out traditional storytelling and family time together, accelerating the extinction of native languages.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 12: What do we learn from the report?
Question 13: For what purpose does Fred Nahwooksy appeal for more funding?
Question 14: What is the historical cause of the decline in the American Indian Languages?
Question 15: What does the speaker say about television?

12.
A) A lot of native languages have already died out in the US.
B) The US ranks first in the number of endangered languages.
C) The efforts to preserve Indian languages have proved fruitless.
D) More money is needed to record the native languages in the US.

13.
A) To set up more language schools.
B) To document endangered languages.
C) To educate native American children.
D) To revitalise America’s native languages.

14.
A) The US govemment’s policy of Americanising Indian children.
B) The failure of American Indian languages to gain an official status.
C) The US government’s unwillingness to spend money educating Indians.
D) The long-time isolation of American Indians from the outside world.

15.
A) It is being utilised to teach native languages.
B) It tells traditional stories during family time.
C) It speeds up the extinction of native languages.
D) It is widely used in language immersion schools.

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
W: Grag Rosen lost his job as a sales manager nearly three years ago, and is still unemployed.
M: It literally is like something in a dream to remember what is like to actually be able to go out and put in a day’s work and receive a day’s pay.
W: At first, Rosen bought groceries and made house payments with the help from unemployment insurance. It pays laid-off workers up to half of their previous wages while they look for work. But now that insurance has run out for him and he has to make tough choices. He’s cut back on medications and he no longer helps support his disabled mother. It is devastating experience. New research says the US recession is now over. But many people remain unemployed and unemployed workers face difficult odds. There is literally only one job opening for every five unemployed workers. So four out of five unemployed workers have actually no chance of finding a new job. Businesses have downsized or shut down across America, leaving fewer job opportunities for those in search of work. Experts who monitor unemployment statistics here in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, say about 28,000 people are unemployed, and many of them are jobless due to no fault of their own. That’s where the Bucks County CareerLink comes in. Local director Elizabeth Walsh says they provide training and guidance to help unemployed workers find local job opportunities. “So here’s the job opening, here’s the job seeker, match them together under one roof,” she said. But the lack of work opportunities in Bucks County limits how much she can help. Rosen says he hopes Congress will take action. This month he launched the 99ers Union, an umbrella organization of 18 Internet-based grassroots groups of 99ers. Their goal is to convince lawmakers to extend unemployment benefits. But Pennsylvania State Representative Scott Petri says governments simply do not have enough money to extend unemployment insurance. He thinks the best way to help the long-term unemployed is to allow private citizens to invest in local companies that can create more jobs. But the boost in investor confidence needed for the plan to work will take time. Time that Rosen says still requires him to buy food and make monthly mortgage payments. Rosen says he’ll use the last of his savings to try to hang onto the home he worked for more than 20 years to buy. But once that money is gone, he says he doesn’t know what he’ll do.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 16: How does unemployment insurance help the unemployed?
Question 17: What is local director Elizabeth Walsh of the Bucks County CareerLink doing?
Question 18: What does Pennsylvania State Representative Scott Petri say is the best way to help the long-term unemployed?

16.
A) It pays them up to half of their previous wages while they look for work.
B) It covers their mortgage payments and medical expenses for 99 weeks.
C) It pays their living expenses until they find employment again.
D) It provides them with the basic necessities of everyday life.

17.
A) Creating jobs for the huge army of unemployed workers.
B) Providing training and guidance for unemployed workers.
C) Convincing local lawmakers to extend unemployment benefits.
D) Raising funds to help those having no unemployment insurance.

18.
A) To offer them loans they need to start their own businesses.
B) To allow them to postpone their monthly mortgage payments.
C) To create more jobs by encouraging private investments in local companies.
D) To encourage big businesses to hire back workers with government subsidies.

Recording 2
W: Earlier this year, British explorer Pen Huddle and his team trekked for three months across the frozen Arctic Ocean, taking measurements and recording observations about the ice.
M: Well we’d been led to believe that we would encounter a good proportion of this older, thicker, technically multi-year ice that’s been around for a few years and just gets thicker and thicker. We actually found there wasn’t any multi-year ice at all.
W: Satellite observations and submarine surveys over the past few years had shown less ice in the polar region, but the recent measurements show the loss is more pronounced than previously thought.
M: We’re looking at roughly 80 percent loss of ice cover on the Arctic Ocean in 10 years, roughly 10 years, and 100 percent loss in nearly 20 years.
W: Cambridge scientist Peter Wadhams, who’s been measuring and monitoring the Arctic since 1971 says the decline is irreversible.
M: The more you lose, the more open water is created, the more warming goes on in that open water during the summer, the less ice forms in winter, the more melt there is the following summer. It becomes a breakdown process where everything ends up accelerating until it’s all gone.
W: Martin Sommerkorn runs the Arctic program for the environmental charity the World Wildlife Fund.
M: The Arctic sea ice holds a central position in the Earth’s climate system and it’s deteriorating faster than expected. Actually it has to translate into more urgency to deal with the climate change problem and reduce emissions.
W: Summerkorn says a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming needs to come out of the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit in December.
M: We have to basically achieve there the commitment to deal with the problem now. That’s the minimum. We have to do that equitably and we have to find a commitment that is quick.
W: Wadhams echoes the need for urgency.
M: The carbon that we’ve put into the atmosphere keeps having a warming effect for 100 years. So we have to cut back rapidly now, because it will take a long time to work its way through into a response by the atmosphere. We can’t switch off global warming just by being good in the future, we have to start being good now.
W: Wadhams says there is no easy technological fix to climate change. He and other scientists say there are basically two options to replacing fossil fuels, generating energy with renewables, or embracing nuclear power.
Questions 19 to 22 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 19: What did Pen Huddle and his team do in the Arctic Ocean?
Question 20: What does the report say about the Arctic region?
Question 21: What does Cambridge scientist Peter Wadhams say in his study?
Question 22: How does Peter Wadhams view climate change?

19.
A) They measured the depths of sea water.
B) They analyzed the water content.
C) They explored the ocean floor.
D) They investigated the ice.

20.
A) Eighty percent of the ice disappears in summer time.
B) Most of the ice was accumulated over the past centuries.
C) The ice ensures the survival of many endangered species.
D) The ice decrease is more evident than previously thought.

21.
A) Arctic ice is a major source of the world’s fresh water.
B) The melting Arctic ice has drowned many coastal cities.
C) The decline of Arctic ice is irreversible.
D) Arctic ice is essential to human survival.

22.
A) It will do a lot of harm to mankind.
B) There is no easy way to understand it.
C) It will advance nuclear technology.
D) There is no easy technological solution to it.

Recording 3
M: From a very early age, some children exhibit better self-control than others. Now, a new study that began with about 1,000 children in New Zealand has tracked how a child’s low self-control can predict poor health, money troubles and even a criminal record in their adult years. Researchers have been studying this group of children for decades now. Some of their earliest observations have to do with the level of self-control the youngsters displayed. Parents, teachers, even the kids themselves, scored the youngsters on measures like “acting before thinking” and “persistence in reaching goals. ” The children of the study are now adults in their 30s. Terrie Moffitt of Duke University and her research colleagues found that kids with self-control issues tended to grow up to become adults with a far more troubling set of issues to deal with.
W: The children who had the lowest self-control when they were aged 3 to 10, later on had the most health problems in their 30s, and they had the worst financial situation. And they were more likely to have a criminal record and to be raising a child as a single parent on a very low income.
M: Speaking from New Zealand via skype, Moffitt explained that self-control problems were widely observed, and weren’t just a feature of a small group of misbehaving kids.
W: Even the children who had above-average self-control as pre-schoolers, could have benefited from more self-control training. They could have improved their financial situation and their physical and mental health situation 30 years later.
M: So, children with minor self-control problems were likely as adults to have minor health problems, and so on. Moffitt said it’s still unclear why some children have better self-control than others, though she says other researchers have found that it’s mostly a learned behavior, with relatively little genetic influence. But good self-control can be set to run in families in that children who have good self-control are more likely to grow up to be healthy and prosperous parents.
W: Whereas some of the low-self-control study members are more likely to be single parents with a very low income and the parent is in poor health and likely to be a heavy substance abuser. So that’s not a good atmosphere for a child. So it looks as though self-control is something that in one generation can disadvantage the next generation.
M: But the good news is that Moffitt says self-control can be taught by parents and through school curricula that have proved to be effective. Terrie Moffitt’s paper on the link between childhood self-control and adult status decades later is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Questions 23 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 23: What is the new study about?
Question 24: What does the study seem to show?
Question 25: What does Moffitt say is the good news from their study?

23.
A) The reason why New Zealand children seem to have better self-control.
B) The relation between children’s self-control and their future success.
C) The health problems of children raised by a single parent.
D) The deciding factor in children’s academic performance.

24.
A) Children raised by single parents will have a hard time in their thirties.
B) Those with a criminal record mostly come from single parent families.
C) Parents must learn to exercise self-control in front of their children.
D) Lack of self-control in parents is a disadvantage for their children.

25.
A) Self-control can be improved through education.
B) Self-control can improve one’s financial situation.
C) Self-control problems may be detected early in children.
D) Self-control problems will diminish as one grows up.

关注微信公众号”立金云英语听力”，助您提高英语听力水平

2016年06月英语六级第3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: So, what’s the next thing on the agenda, Mary?
W: Well, it’s the South Theater Company. They want to know if we’d be interested in sponsoring a tour they want to make to East Asia.
M: East Asia? Uh… and how much are they hoping to get from us?
W: Well, the letter mentions 20,000 pounds, but I don’t know if they might settle for less.
M: Do they say what they would cover? Have they anything specific in mind?
W: No, I think they are just asking all the firms in town for as much money as they think they’ll give.
M: And we are worth 20,000 pounds, right?
W: It seems so.
M: Very flattering. But I am not awfully happy with the idea. What do we get out of it?
W: Oh, good publicity I suppose. So what I suggest is not that we just give them a sum of money, but that we offer to pay for something specific like travel or something, and that in return, we ask for our name to be printed prominently in the program, and that they give us free advertising space in it.
M: But the travel bill would be enormous, and we could never manage that.
W: I know. But why don’t we offer to pay for the printing of the programs ourselves on condition that on the front cover there’s something like “This program is presented with the compliments of Norland Electronics”, and free advertising of course.
M: Good idea. Well, let’s get back to them and ask what the program they want will cost. Then we can see if we are interested or not.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 1: What do we learn about the South Theater Company?
Question 2: How much does the South Theater Company ask for in the letter?
Question 3: What benefit does the woman say their firm can get by sponsoring the South Theater Company?
Question 4: What does the woman suggest they do instead of paying the South Theater Company’s travel expenses?

1.
A) It is advertising electronic products.
B) It is planning to tour East Asia.
C) It is sponsoring a TV programme.
D) It is giving performances in town.

2.
A) 20,000 pounds.
B) 12,000 pounds.
C) Less than 20,000 pounds.
D) Less than 12,000 pounds.

3.
A) A lot of good publicity.
B) Talented artists to work for it.
C) Long-term investments.
D) A decrease in production costs.

4.
A) Promise long-term cooperation with the Company.
B) Explain frankly their own current financial situation.
C) Pay for the printing of the performance programme.
D) Bear the cost of publicising the Company’s performance.

Conversation 2
W: Rock stars now face a new hazard—voice abuse. After last week’s announcement that Phil Collins might give up touring because live concerts are ruining his voice, doctors are counseling stars about the dos and don5ts of voice care. Here in the studio today, we have Mr. Paul Philips, an expert from the Highfield Hospital. Paul, what advice would you give to singers facing voice problems?
M: If pop singers have got voice problems, they really need to be more selective about where they work. They shouldn’t work in smoky atmospheres. They also need to think about resting their voices after a show. Something else they need to be careful about is medicines, aspirin, for example. Singers should avoid aspirin. It thins the blood. And if a singer coughs, this can result in the bruising of the vocal chords.
W: And is it true that some singers use drugs before concerts to boost their voices when they have voice problems?
M: Yes, this does happen on occasion. They are easily-available on the Continent and they are useful if a singer has problems with his vocal chords and has to sing that night. But if they are taken regularly, they cause a thinning of the voice muscle. Most pop singers suffer from three things: lack of training, overuse and abuse of the voice, especially when they are young. They have difficult lives. When they go on tour, they do a vast number of concerts, sing in smoky places.
W: So, what would you advise these singers to do?
M: Warm you voice up before a show and warm it down after.
Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 5: What does last week’s announcement say about rock star, Phil Collins?
Question 6: What does Paul Philips say about aspirin?
Question 7: What does Paul Philips say about young pop singers?
Question 8: What are the speakers mainly talking about?

5.
A) He has been seeing doctors and counsellors.
B) He has found a new way to train his voice.
C) He was caught abusing drugs.
D) He might give up concert tours.

6.
A) Singers may become addicted to it.
B) It helps singers warm themselves up.
C) Singers use it to stay away from colds.
D) It can do harm to singers’ vocal chords.

7.
A) They are eager to become famous.
B) Many lack professional training.
C) Few will become successful.
D) They live a glamorous life.

8.
A) Harm to singers done by smoky atmospheres.
B) Side effects of some common drugs.
C) Voice problems among pop singers.
D) Hardships experienced by many young singers.

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
Would you trust a robot to park your car? The question will confront New Yorkers in February as the city’s first robotic parking opens in Chinatown. The technology has been successfully applied overseas, but the only other public robotic garage in the United States has been troublesome, dropping vehicles and trapping cars because of technical problems. Nonetheless, the developers of the Chinatown garage are confident with the technology and are counting on it to squeeze 67 cars in an apartment-building basement that would otherwise fit only 24, accomplished by removing a maneuver space normally required. A human-shaped robot won’t be stepping into your car to drive it. Rather, the garage itself does the parking. The driver stops the car on a flat platform and gets out. The platform is lowered into the garage, and it is then transported to a vacant parking space by a computer-controlled device similar to an elevator that also runs sideways. There is no human supervision, but an attendant will be on hand to accept cash and explain the system to new users. Parking rates will be attracted about $400 monthly or $25 per day, according to Ari Milstein, the director of planning for Automation Parking Systems, which is the U.S. subsidiary of a German company. This company has built automated garages in several countries overseas and in the United States for residents of a Washington, D.C. apartment building.
Questions 9 to 12 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 9: What do we learn about robotic parking in the U.S. so far?
Question 10: What advantage does robotic parking have according to its developers?
Question 11: What does the attendant do in the automated garage?
Question 12: What does the company say about the parking rates?

9.
A) It has not been very successful.
B) It has long become a new trend.
C) It has met with strong resistance.
D) It has attracted a lot of users.

10.
A) It saves time.
B) It increases parking capacity.
C) It ensures drivers’ safety.
D) It reduces car damage.

11.
A) Collect money and help new users.
B) Maintain the automated system.
C) Stay alert to any emergency.
D) Walk around and guard against car theft.

12.
A) They will vary with the size of vehicles.
B) They will be discountable to regular customers.
C) They will be lower than conventional parking.
D) They will be reduced if paid in cash.

Passage 2
Alcoholism is a serious disease. Nearly nine million Americans alone suffer from the illness. Many scientists disagree about what the differences are between an alcohol addict and a social drinker. The difference occurs when someone needs to drink. And this need gets in the way of his health or behavior. Alcohol causes a loss of judgment and alertness. After a long period, alcoholism can deteriorate the liver, the brain and other parts of the body. The illness is dangerous, because it is involved in half of all automobile accidents. Another problem is that the victim often denies being an alcohol addict and won’t get help. Solutions do exist. Many hospitals and centers help patients cope. Without assistance, the victim can destroy his life. He would detach himself from the routines of life. He may lose his employment, home or loved ones. All the causes of the sickness are not discovered yet. There is no standard for a person with alcoholism. Victims range in age, race, sex and background Some groups of people are more vulnerable to the illness. People from broken homes and North American Indians are two examples. People from broken homes often lack stable lives. Indians likewise had their traditional life taken from them by white settlers who often encourage them to consume alcohol to prevent them from fighting back. The problem has now been passed on. Alcoholism is clearly present in society today. People have started to get help and information. With proper assistance, victims can put their lives together one day.
Questions 13 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 13: What is the problem of the victims about alcoholism according to the speaker?
Question 14: Why did white settlers introduce alcohol to Indians?
Question 15: What does the speaker seem to believe about those affected by alcoholism?

13.
A) They do not know any solution.
B) They do not give up drunk driving.
C) They do not behave in public places.
D) They do not admit being alcohol addicts.

14.
A) To stop them from fighting back.
B) To thank them for their hospitality.
C) To teach them the European lifestyle.
D) To relieve their pains and sufferings.

15.
A) Without intervention they will be a headache to the nation.
B) With support they can be brought back to a normal life.
C) They readily respond to medical treatment.
D) They pose a serious threat to social stability.

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
Hi, everybody. On Tuesday, America went to the polls. And the message you sent was clear: you voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. That’s why I’ve invited leaders of both parties to the White House next week, so we can start to build consensus around challenges we can only solve together. I also intend to bring in business, labor and civic leaders from around the country from outside Washington to get their ideas and input as well. At a time when our economy is still recovering from the Great Recession, our top priority has to be jobs and growth. That’s the focus of the plan I talked about throughout the campaign. It’s a plan to reward businesses that create jobs here in America, and give people access to the education and training that those businesses are looking for. It’s a plan to rebuild our infrastructure and keep us on the cutting edge of innovation and clean energy. And it’s a plan to reduce our deficit in a balanced and responsible way. This is even more important because at the end of this year, we face a series of deadlines that require us to make major decisions about how to pay down our deficit—decisions that will have a huge impact on the economy and the middle class, not only now but in the future. Last year, I worked with Democrats and Republicans to cut a trillion dollars, worth of spending, and I intend to work with both parties to do more. But as I said over and over again on the campaign trail, we can’t just cut our way to prosperity. If we’re serious about reducing the deficit, we have to combine spending cuts with revenue—and that means asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more in taxes. That’s how we did it when Bill Clinton was President. And that’s the only way we can afford to invest in education and job training and manufacturing—all the ingredients of a strong middle class and a strong economy. Already, I’ve put forward a detailed plan that allows us to make these investments while reducing our deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade.
Questions 16 to 19 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 16: Why are leaders of both parties invited to the White House next week?
Question 17: What is the focus of the mentioned plan?
Question 18: What are the major decisions about?
Question 19: What does combining spending cuts with revenue mean?

16.
A) To award them for their hard work.
B) To build common views.
C) To bring in business projects.
D) To vote for action.

17.
A) Recovering from the Great Recession.
B) Creating jobs and boosting the economy.
C) Rewarding innovative businesses.
D) Launching economic campaigns.

18.
A) Talking over paying off deficit.
B) Increasing the number of middle class.
C) Controlling the impact on education.
D) Planning to reduce energy consumption.

19.
A) Shorten America’s way to prosperity.
B) Be cautious about reducing the deficit.
C) Increase deficit to cover the revenue.
D) Require the richest to pay more taxes.

Recording 2
Most people agree that eating healthy food is important. But sometimes making good food choices can be tough. Now, there are apps that can help people learn about the food they eat to improve their diets and their dining out experience.
OpenTable
OpenTable helps people choose restaurants when they want to go out to eat. OpenTable is a free service that shows users restaurant availability based on where and when they want to dine. OpenTable users can also make restaurant reservations directly through the app or website. OpenTable gives users points when they make reservations. The points can add up to discounts on restaurant visits. When users make reservations through OpenTable they get an email confirmation. They can also add the reservation directly to their electronic calendar.
Max McCalman’s Cheese and Wine
But which wines go best with which cheeses? Max McCalman’s Cheese and Wine App can help. It provides information about hundreds of different cheeses and suggests wines to pair with each. More than 3,000 possible combinations can be found based on 600 different cheeses. The app includes a “Cheese 101” section that teaches the basics about choosing a cheese. Max McCalman’s Cheese & Wine Pairing App is free for iPhone and iPad.
Epicurious
Epicurious is a free app and website to help users find recipes and become better cooks. The app has more than 30,000 recipes and can create a shopping list based on the ingredients in a recipe. Users can search by ingredients or buy vegetables that are in season where they live. The app also rates recipes for popularity and other qualities. Users also provide advice about making the recipes. Each recipe has a list of ingredients, preparation time, instructions as well as a photo of the finished meal.
Calorific
What does 200 calories look like? It can be hard to picture. For example, 200 calories of broccoli and 200 calories of cake look very different! The app Calorific shows just that. Calorific provides images of 200 calories worth of food. The pictures can help people on diets and those who just want to eat healthier. The app also provides the weights of each food pictured. The app is free for iPad and iPhone. There is also a version that provides more information for a price.
Harvest
An app called Harvest informs users about seasonal fruits and vegetables in different areas. This can be helpful in planning meals. Harvest also tells about pesticide use and organic food. Users can learn the best ways to safely store food and keep it fresh longer.
Questions 20 to 22 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 20: What are the points OpenTable offers users for?
Question 21: What do we learn about Epicurious?
Question 22: How does Calorific help people get healthier?

20.
A) They can be redeemed for cash.
B) They can be used to reduce meal costs.
C) They can be used as membership certificate.
D) They can be used to make reservations.

21.
A) It is free for us to download the app.
B) It helps you to be a professional cook.
C) It provides advice about making recipes.
D) It only rates recipes by popularity.

22.
A) By showing the weight of 200 kinds of food.
B) By providing the price of 200 calories of food.
C) By picturing the food of 200 calories with weights.
D) By telling people 200 kinds of healthy food.

Recording 3
We’ve had fifty years of progress since that landmark Surgeon General’s report back in 1964. Over these years incredible things have taken place. Our society has changed—changed in terms of tobacco use, in terms of its acceptance of smoking in public establishments, in restaurants, in bars. So things have really changed for the better. In addition, smoking rates have come down in the United States. We went from 43 percent of adult smokers in the United States to 18 percent currently. So that’s really made incredible headway, yet I have to emphasize the battle isn’t over, the war isn’t over. Eighteen percent of American adults who are still smoking, basically 40 million people in our population. That being said we have to realize also that of that whole group, we’re going to have roughly a half million people every year dying from smoking related diseases. So although we’ve made progress in a half century the reality is we still have a lot of work to do. So, you know, we increasingly see tough advertisements on the air against smoking. These ads are working. In particular, the CDC—the Center for Disease Control and Prevention came up with a series of advertisements from former smokers called TIPS. And that really was quite effective in terms of reducing the number of smokers. In addition, there’s various policies that need to be implemented and further implemented in order to make us a tobacco-free society. So we really have to work at the idea of using media, using those advertisements. We have to look at really concentrating on the youth of America to make it more difficult to actually get cigarettes. And in addition we have to look at the idea of pricing cigarettes appropriately so that ultimately it becomes a hardship to use those products. So, let’s talk a little bit about packaging those products. Other countries have much more graphic detail of the potential dangers of smoking. We’re currently working closely; the office of the Surgeon General is working closely with the Food and Drug Administration, specifically the Center for Tobacco Products and are reanalyzing the whole row of the idea of the warning labels and the idea of how graphic they should be, and so there will probably be more information coming out on this in the near future.
Questions 23 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 23: What is the number of smokers in America?
Question 24: What measures can be taken to make it harder to get cigarettes?
Question 25: What institution does the speaker most likely come from?

23.
A) About 43 percent of American adults.
B) About 18 percent of the whole population.
C) About 40 million American adults.
D) About a half million people in America.

24.
A) To set a series of bans on public smoking.
B) To set the price of cigarettes properly.
C) To package the cigarettes with tips of warning.
D) To reduce the production and supply of cigarettes.

25.
A) The office of the Surgeon General.
B) The Food and Drug Administration.
C) The Center for Tobacco Products.
D) The Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

关注微信公众号”立金云英语听力”，助您提高英语听力水平