2017年12月英语六级第2套听力原文及题目

2017年12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: You’re going to give a short speech of thanks for the speaker this evening, aren’t you, Bill?
M: Yes.
W: You don’t sound very enthusiastic. It’s not that bad, is it?
M: No, I don’t mind really. But I can never forget the first speech of thanks I did.
W: Why? What happened?
M: Well, I was in my early twenties. I joined the local history society.
W: Yes.
M: Anyway, I went along to a lecture by a Miss Bligh.
W: Oh. Do go on.
M: She was going to talk with slides about our town amid eighteenth century. She’d just published a book on the subject, which was reckoned to be quite good. So I went along. When I arrived, the secretary asked me if I could give the speech of thanks. Rather stupidly, I said yes.
W: We’ve all done it.
M: Anyway, from that point on, I was scared. What should I say? I decided to make notes during the lecture and refer to interesting parts and thank her on behalf of the society. In fact, by the time Miss Bligh stood up to talk, I was feeling much better. But she was so nervous that she kept forgetting what to say, and she spoke almost in a whisper. People at the back kept calling out “we can’t hear.” It was embarrassing.
W: I can imagine it.
M: At least the slides were good, that is, until the bulb in the projector blew. And she had to finish the talk with no illustrations.
W: So what did you say in your speech of thanks?
M: What can you say? You have to be polite. I mentioned the interesting facts, referred to the excellent slides, and then finished up by saying “we’d all like to thank Miss Bligh for blowing out her slides.”
W: Oh, no.
M: I felt terrible. I tried to apologize, not very successfully.
W: And the speech of thanks this evening?
M: I’ll write down exactly what I’m going to say and read it carefully.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 1: What is the man asked to do this evening?
Question 2: What do we learn about the man?
Question 3: What does the man say about Miss Bligh?
Question 4: What does the man say about the first time he gave a speech of thanks?

1.
A) Say a few words to thank the speaker.
B) Introduce the speaker to the audience.
C) Give a lecture on the history of the town.
D) Host a talk on how to give a good speech.

2.
A) He was the founder of the local history society.
B) He has worked with Miss Bligh for 20 years.
C) He has published a book on public speaking.
D) He joined the local history society when young.

3.
A) She was obviously better at talking than writing.
B) She had a good knowledge of the town’s history.
C) Her speech was so funny as to amuse the audience.
D) Her ancestors came to the town in the 18th century.

4.
A) He read exactly what was written in his notes.
B) He kept forgetting what he was going to say.
C) He made an embarrassing remark.
D) He was too nervous to speak up.

Conversation 2
W: Another cup of tea, Paul?
M: No, thanks. Well, what’s new, Lorry?
W: Nothing dramatic. But there’s something you should know about.
M: What’s that?
W: Well, our rivals are offering extended credit terms to some of the retailers in the area.
M: Oh? Which rival is this? We only have two.
W: Barratt’s Company.
M: Oh, them. Well, they’re hardly a threat.
W: I know they’re smaller than us, but we can’t afford to ignore them.
M: Yes, you’re right, Lorry. But I don’t like extended credit. It ties up cash we could put to better use elsewhere. But, I’ll look into it on Monday.
W: Yes. And there’s something else.
M: Don’t tell me! The letter from the tax revenue office?
W: Right. How did you know?
M: Terra told me. What’s the problem?
W: Well, Tom got this letter late yesterday and then went frantic trying to find copies of last year’s accounts.
M: Did he find them?
W: No. And he was away before I could get hold of the letter.
M: How about a drive down to the office now? And we’ll see if everything’s all right. There’s another reason why I wanted a chat with you before Monday.
W: I thought as much. Well, go on, surprise me.
M: How about selling that new motorcycle of yours in Indonesia?
W: What? You mean export? Paul, I think you’ve been away too long. This is Jayal Motors. We’ve never sold a bike abroad.
M: Don’t worry, Lorry. I’m not crazy. I’ve been studying the possibility and I think we should give it a go.
W: It’s not as easy as that though, is it? We’d have to reorganize the whole company.
M: Don’t be silly. I don’t intend starting next week. We’ll have to plan it properly and of course, there’ll be a few problems.
W: A few problems? I can see hundreds! For one thing, transport. I have enough trouble delivering bikes to shops only 40 miles away—never mind 5,000 miles! ?
M: That’s what forwarding agents are for.
Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 5: What does the woman think the man should know?
Question 6: What does the woman think of Barratt’s company?
Question 7: What did the woman say about the letter from the tax revenue office?
Question 8: What is the man thinking of doing?

5.
A) What their retailers demand.
B) What their rivals are doing.
C) How they are going to beat their rivals.
D) How dramatically the market is changing.

6.
A) They should be taken seriously.
B) They are rapidly catching up.
C) Their business strategy is quite effective.
D) Their potential has been underestimated.

7.
A) She had given it to Tom.
B) It simply made her go frantic.
C) She had not seen it yet.
D) It was not much of a big concern.

8.
A) Restructuring the whole company.
B) Employing more forwarding agents.
C) Promoting cooperation with Jayal Motors.
D) Exporting their motorbikes to Indonesia.

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
A report on sleep and nutrition released this month found that people who consistently went to bed earlier than 11 p.m. took in fewer calories and ate more healthy food. In contrast, “night owls” who go to bed between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. tend to consume more coffee, alcohol, refined sugars, and processed meats than early risers. This report corresponds with the existing scientific literature on bedtime and wellness. The relationship between getting more sleep and making better food choices is well-documented. A study published last year in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who sleep more tend to eat less unhealthy food than their peers who don’t get as much rest. And a 2015 study from the University of California, Berkeley, found that teens who go to bed late are more likely to gain weight over a five-year period. As a group, “night owl” types tend to eat less healthy food and take in more calories overall than early risers. The later one goes to bed, the more calories one records the next day. It’s as yet a challenge to explain the cause-and-effect relationship between sleep and nutrition. There may be a third factor that impacts both of them, or the relationship could be reversed, that is, people who eat less fall asleep earlier. Still, if late sleepers want to lose a few pounds, they can go to bed earlier than they usually do, thereby reducing their chances of taking snacks before bedtime.
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 9: What do we learn about the report released this month?
Question 10: What does the study from the University of California, Berkeley, find about teens who go to bed late?
Question 11: What should “night owls” do to reduce their consumption of unhealthy food?

9.
A) It makes claims in conflict with the existing research.
B) It focuses on the link between bedtime and nutrition.
C) It cautions against the overuse of coffee and alcohol.
D) It shows that “night owls” work much less efficiently.

10.
A) They pay greater attention to food choice.
B) They tend to achieve less than their peers.
C) They run a higher risk of gaining weight.
D) They stand a greater chance to fall sick.

11.
A) Get up late.
B) Sleep 8 hours a day.
C) Exercise more.
D) Go to bed earlier.

Passage 2
Researchers have found not just a diversity problem in Hollywood, but actually an inclusion crisis. With less than a week before an Oscars ceremony that has already been criticized for an all-white list of acting nominees, a study shows the film industry does worse than television. Just 3.4 percent of film directors were female, and only 7 percent of films had a cast whose balance of race and ethnicity reflected the country’s diversity. When researchers looked at all TV shows, they also found that women of color over 40 were regarded as “largely invisible” and just 22 percent of TV series creators were female. Overall, the study found half the films and TV shows had no Asian speaking characters and more than one-fifth of them had no black characters with dialogue. The film industry still functions as a straight, white, boy’s club. When looking at how women are depicted, the study found female characters were four times more likely to be shown in sexy clothing, and nearly four times as likely to be referred to as physically attractive. But their results also indicated films and TV shows with women or people of color in the important jobs behind the scenes—director, producer or writer—tended to have better diversity numbers. Across TV and film, the underrepresentation of non-white characters falls mostly on Hispanics. Among more than 10,000 characters, proportions of white, black and Asian characters came close to U.S. population figures. But Hispanics were just 5.8 percent of characters, despite being about 17 percent of the U.S. population.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 12: Why has the Oscars ceremony been criticized?
Question 13: What do we learn from the research?
Question 14: Who are regarded as “largely invisible” on TV shows?
Question 15: What does the speaker say about Hispanics?

12.
A) All of the acting nominees are white.
B) It has got too much publicity on TV.
C) It is prejudiced against foreign films.
D) Only 7% of the nominees are female.

13.
A) 22 percent of movie directors were people of color.
B) Half of the TV programs were ethnically balanced.
C) Only one-fifth of TV shows had black characters.
D) Only 3.4 percent of film directors were women.

14.
A) Non-white males.
B) Program creators.
C) Females of color over 40.
D) Asian speaking characters.

15.
A) They constitute 17% of Hollywood movie characters.
B) They are most underrepresented across TV and film.
C) They contribute little to the U.S. film industry.
D) They account for 8.5% of the U.S. population.

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
When purchasing life insurance, there are many important factors to consider: one should buy the policies that give the most protection at the least cost, insure the right family members, and consider the family’s financial needs. It’s important to buy the insurance from companies that are financially sound and that are represented by honest, well-trained agents. At various stages in a person’s life, different kinds of life insurance are needed for particular situations. Jerry is single and has no dependents, probably the only life insurance he needs is enough to cover his debts and burial expenses. Insurance can be purchased at a lower rate during the young years, but by buying while young, the premiums are paid in for a longer period of time. In the end, the amount paid for premiums is about the same. A person shouldn’t buy insurance protection that really isn’t necessary. Suppose that Jerry marries Jeannette who is a college graduate and is working. Perhaps enough insurance would be needed to cover their debts and burial expenses. Now, Jeannette has quit work and their first child is on the way. They have purchased a home with a small down payment and a 30-year mortgage. The situation regarding life insurance takes on a different look. There are dependents who need financial protection. How much insurance is needed? As the family increases in size, it is essential to add more insurance on the breadwinner to protect the dependents. When the children are young and depend upon the family for financial needs, families with modest incomes have difficulty providing enough life insurance to protect the mother and the children. Families with modest incomes should insure the breadwinner or breadwinners first. When considering the amount of insurance for the mother with dependent children, substitute child care is a need that should be planned for until the children can care for themselves. The death of a small child would have no effect upon the income of the family. Perhaps a policy to meet funeral expenses would be sufficient for the young child. Although most people do not take out insurance on their young children. As the children become financially independent of the family, the emphasis on family financial security would shift from protection to saving for the retirement years. Every family situation is different, but it is important that each family give adequate thought to planning its financial future.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 16: What life insurance should a single person buy according to the speaker?
Question 17: What should people do as their family increases in size?
Question 18: When should one change their life insurance?

16.
A) One that can provide for emergency needs.
B) One that can pay for their medical expenses.
C) One that covers their debts and burial expenses.
D) One that ensures a healthy life for their later years.

17.
A) Purchase insurance for their children.
B) Save sufficient money for a rainy day.
C) Buy a home with a small down payment.
D) Add more insurance on the breadwinner.

18.
A) When their children grow up and leave home.
B) When they have saved enough for retirement.
C) When their family move to a different place.
D) When they have found better-paying jobs.

Recording 2
“Stereotype” may sound like a bad word, but there’s nothing bad about it. For one thing, stereotypes are often accurate. When you ask people about their concept of stereotypes, they get it pretty much right. Also, stereotypes are often positive, particularly of groups that we ourselves belong to. Some of the statistical generalizations may be positive as some groups have reputations for being smart, for being loyal, for being brave, for all sorts of things that are not at all negative. And so there’s nothing inherently wrong about stereotypes. But there are problems with stereotypes. For one thing, they’re reliable insofar as they’re based on unbiased samples. But a lot of the information we get about human groups is through biased sources like how they’re represented in the media. And if these sources don’t give you an accurate depiction, your stereotype won’t be accurate. For example, many Jews have been troubled by Shakespeare’s depiction of Shylock. If the only Jew you know is Shakespeare’s Shylock, it’s going to be a very bad impression. So one problem with stereotypes is while we are good at drawing conclusions from them, often our information isn’t reliable. A second problem is that stereotypes, regardless of whether or not they’re accurate, can have a negative effect on the people that they apply to. And this is what psychologist, Claude Steele, described as stereotype threat. He has a vivid example of this. Here’s how to make African-Americans do worse on a math test. You have the test and you put on the test that they have to identify their race. The very act of acknowledging that they are African-American when given a test ignites in them thoughts of their own stereotype, which is negative regarding academics and that makes them do worse. Want to know how to make a woman do worse on a math test? Same thing, get her to write down her sex. One recent study found a sort of clever twist on this. When Asian-American women are given a test and they’re asked to mark down their race, they do better than they would otherwise do. They’re reminded of a positive stereotype that boosts their morale. You ask them, on the other hand, to mark down their sex, they do worse because they are reminded of a negative stereotype. That’s an example of how stereotypes have a potentially damaging effect on people.
Questions 19 to 22 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 19: What does the speaker say about stereotypes?
Question 20: What leads to the bias of stereotypes?
Question 21: What does the speaker say is a problem with stereotypes?
Question 22: What did one recent study find about stereotypes?

19.
A) They do more harm than good.
B) They have often been ignored.
C) They do not help build friendship.
D) They may not always be negative.

20.
A) Biased sources of information.
B) Ignorance of cultural differences.
C) Misinterpretation of Shakespeare.
D) Tendency to jump to conclusions.

21.
A) They are hard to dismiss once attached to a certain group.
B) They may have a negative impact on people they apply to.
C) They persist even when circumstances have changed.
D) They are often applied to minorities and ethnic people.

22.
A) They impact people more or less in the same way.
B) Some people are more sensitive to them than others.
C) A positive stereotype may help one achieve better results.
D) A negative stereotype sticks while a positive one does not.

Recording 3
Sometimes when you take a common drug, you may have a side effect. That is, the drug may cause some effect other than its intended one. When these side effects occur, they are called “adverse reactions”. Whenever you have an adverse reaction, you should stop taking the drug right away. Ask your pharmacist whether he can suggest a drug that will relieve the symptoms but that will not cause the adverse reaction. If an adverse reaction to a drug is serious, consult your doctor for advice at once. Drugs that are safe in the dosage stated on the label may be very dangerous in large doses. For example, aspirin is seldom thought of as dangerous, but there are many reports of accidental poisoning of young children who take too many aspirin pills, as well as the possible development of Reye’s syndrome in children with the flu. In adults, excessive use of some painkilling drugs may cause severe kidney damage. Some drugs for relief of stomach upsets, when taken in excess, can perhaps cause serious digestive problems. You should never use any over-the-counter drug on a regular, continued basis, or in large quantities, except on your doctor’s advice. You could be suffering from a serious illness that needs a doctor’s care. Each drug you take not only acts on the body but may also alter the effect of any other drug you are taking. Sometimes this can cause dangerous or even fatal reactions. For example, aspirin increases the blood-thinning effects of drugs given to patients with heart disease. Therefore, a patient who has been taking such a drug may risk bleeding if he or she uses aspirin for a headache. Before using several drugs together you should ask your doctor and follow his advice. Your pharmacist can tell you whether certain drugs can safely be taken together. Alcohol may increase the effect of a drug—sleeping pills combine with alcohol to produce a sleepy feeling. When taking any drug, you should ask your doctor whether drinking alcohol could be dangerous in combination with the medicine. Experts believe there is a relationship between adult abuse of legitimate medicines and the drug culture that has swept our country. You can do your share to reduce the chances that your children will become part of the drug culture by treating all medicines with respect. Always let your children know that medicines and drugs should not be used carelessly.
Questions 23 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 23: What does the speaker say you should do when you have an adverse reaction?
Question 24: What does the speaker say about alcohol drinking?
Question 25: What does the speaker call on parents to do at the end of the talk?

23.
A) Use some over-the-counter medicine instead.
B) Quit taking the medicine immediately.
C) Take some drug to relieve the side effect.
D) Ask your pharmacist to explain why it occurs.

24.
A) It may help patients fall asleep.
B) It may lead to mental problems.
C) It may cause serious harm to one’s liver.
D) It may increase the effect of certain drugs.

25.
A) Tell their children to treat medicines with respect.
B) Keep medicines out of the reach of their children.
C) Make sure their children use quality medicines.
D) Ask their children to use legitimate medicines.

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