英语周报四级听力模拟试题(六)

　　Part III Listening Comprehension 　　Section A 　　Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A), B), C) and D), and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. 　　11. M: It is such a nice day. Why dont we have lunch outside? 　　W: Ok, good idea. Lets find someplace thats not too noisy. 　　Q: What does the woman mean? 　　12. M. When I left the office, were there any messages for me? 　　W: Someone did call, but he spoke so quietly that I couldnt make out what he was saying. 　　Q: What does the woman imply? 　　13. M: Its very kind of you to give me your ticket for the concert. 　　W: Oh, please, dont mention it. I am on a business trip this Friday anyway. 　　Q: What can be inferred about the woman? 　　14. M: I think Id better find another person to be my English partner. I dont think Im improving. 　　W: Ha, its still too early to give up. Just keep practicing and youll get the hang of it. 　　Q: What does the woman suggest? 　　15: M: Excuse me, why cant we spend more time with the issue? 　　W: The issue will be postponed until next weeks meeting. We can deal with it then. 　　Q: What can be inferred from the speakers? 　　16: M: Have you found out which group youll work with this semester? 　　W: Im in Group Two and I can see already that trouble is on its way! 　　Q: What can be inferred about the woman? 　　17: M: You went to the flea market to buy old stamps yesterday, didnt you? Was there much of a selection to get excited over? 　　W: Was there ever? I wish Id brought a bit more cash! 　　Q: What does the woman imply? 　　18. M: The tuna tastes terrible. If I could only get it fresh instead of canned. 　　W: I know. But that would be a rare treat for a supermarket to offer. 　　Q: What does the woman mean? 　　Now youll hear two long conversations. 　　Conversation One 　　M: Background music is supposed to influence your attitudes and put you in the right mood. Youre not supposed to notice it, but its just there, in the background. 　　W: Im not sure I like that idea. 　　M: Well, it seems to work. Companies pay millions of dollars every year for background music. Its supposed to give you a better feeling about yourself and the people around you. Factories use it a lot. It makes the workers happy, and they work better that way. In one factory, music increased production by 4.5 percent. 　　W: I should think theyd get tired of hearing music all day. 　　M: They dont though. One fellow in San Francisco told me, If the music stops, somebody always runs to the telephone to complain. 　　W: Now that I think about it, I cant remember when there wasnt background music in restaurants and stores. 　　M: Actually, background music started during World War II when some factories had their own orchestras to keep workers happy and calm. Now, of course, the music is piped in by a machine, and different kinds of music are played at different times during the day. They play faster music at ten in the morning than at eight, for instance, because workers tend to be slower then. 　　W: What about restaurants? Do they play the same music for dinner and lunch? 　　M: I dont know about that, but I do know that hamburger places play fast music. When they started playing faster music, they found that a customer spent only seventeen minutes eating. The time was twenty-two minutes before that. 　　W: So they have more people coming in and out to buy hamburgers. 　　M: Exactly. And thats good for business. You can see why music has become so popular. In Los Angeles, for instance, thirty different companies are selling background music services. 　　W: I still think theres something about it that I dont quite like. 　　M: I know what you mean, but lots of people wouldnt agree with you. The Xerox Corporation in Rochester, N.Y. spends more than $80,000 a year for background music. Prisons use it, and farmers use it to keep their cattle calm. Its even supposed to have an effect on plants. 　　W: Well, it may calm cattle, but its not making me forget Im hungry. Lets try to get that waitress to bring us a menu. 　　Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 　　19. Where does this conversation take place? 　　20. What is the purpose of playing background music in a factory? 　　21. How much did the Xerox Corporation spend every year for background music? 　　22. Which of the following is true about background music according to this conversation? 　　Conversation Two 　　W: Good morning. This is Jenny speaking. What can I do for you? 　　M: Hi, I am calling to complain about the mobile phone I bought from you. I cannot send any short messages to my friends. Sometimes I cannot even receive incoming calls and it always gives others a busy signal. Do you know what the problem could be? 　　W: Could you please tell me how long this has been happening? 　　M: How long? Is that the point? 　　W: Sir, I ask that because it will likely tell me whether the problem is with your equipment or reception. 　　M: Ok, I get it. Just three days ago. Initially I thought it could be the mobiles problem but then I realized it was probably caused by the signal. 　　W: Could you please give the serial number of your mobile phone, so I can check whether there is any problem with the mobile phone itself? 　　M: Sorry, where is it? 　　W: The number is on the warranty card and 08381 begins the sequence. 　　M: Just a minute. Let me see . Aha, it is 08381823923. 　　W: Thank you. Please hold and I will get back to you in a minute. 　　W: Sorry to keep you waiting Sir. I have checked your mobiles status and everything is fine. It is said by our engineer that it could be due to our network upgrading and your number could be affected. Our apologies for any inconvenience brought to you. 　　An actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of the audience that might be friendly or perhaps unfriendly, especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out. So, to face the music came to mean having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you had no choice. The other explanation comes from the army. Men had to face inspection by their leader. The soldiers worried about how well they looked. Was their equipment clean and shiny enough to pass inspection? Still, the men had to go out, and face the music of the band, as well as the inspection. What else could they do? 　　Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard. 　　32: According to the passage, what does the word music probably refer to? 　　33: Who first used the phrase to face the music? 　　34: Why might an actor feel frightened or nervous when going on stage? 　　35: When is to face the music used to describe soldiers? 　　Section C 　　Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written. 　　The first English dictionary, called an Alphabetical Table of Hard Words, was published in 1604. The dictionary was actually nothing more than a list of about 3000 difficult words, each followed by a one-word definition. The author, Robert Cawdrey, made no attempt to include everyday words in his dictionary. No one, he reasoned, would ever have to look up a word in a dictionary if he already knew the meaning of the word. During the 1600s more dictionaries were published. Each followed Cawdreys lead and presented a few thousand hard words. Around 1700 one dictionary maker, John Kersey, did define easy words as well as hard ones. But until the 1750s all dictionaries were rather crude and not very valuable. 　　A man named Dr. Samuel Johnson changed all this. In 1755 Dr. Johnson produced the first modern dictionary. He included in his dictionary all important words, both easy and hard, and he gave good meanings. He also gave good sentences to show how each word was actually used in speech and in writing. By the end of the 1700s most dictionary makers had followed Johnsons lead. Dictionaries were getting better and better. 　　The 1800s saw the greatest improvement in the quality of dictionaries. In England scholars planned and prepared the Oxford English Dictionary, a twenty-volume work. One of the most interesting features of the Oxford Dictionary is its word histories. It keeps track of the history of each word from its earliest recorded use up to the time of the printing of the dictionary.