大学英语四级考试听力预测试题(17)

　　11.W: Whats wrong with your phone, John?I tried to call you all night last night.

　　M: Im sorry.No one was able to get through yesterday.My telephone was disconnected by the phone company.

　　W: What happened to Johns telephone?

　　12. W: Jack, can you do the dishes tonight?Im very tired.

　　M: Cant we just put them in the dish-washer?Ive had a very bad day, too!I just want to kick back and relax.

　　Q: What does the man suggest the woman do?

　　13. M: My boss is unreasonable.

　　He just yelled at me just because I made a few more copies.

　　W: Well, maybe you should think in his position.

　　The company is losing money, and he is under great pressure.

　　Q: What does the woman suggest the man do?

　　14. W: Hey, you look concerned.Whats on your mind?

　　M: The final exam.Im not fully prepared yet.Even if there are three days to go,I still dont think theres enough time left.

　　Q: What was the man concerned about?

　　15. M: I think Jane looks so good with that blue dress.

　　Dont you think so?

　　W: Are you kidding?Shes behind the times.That style went out last year.

　　Q: What is the womans opinion about Janes dress?

　　16. M: I am moving to New York.Ive got an offer as district manager there.

　　W: Oh, thats great!But Im going to miss you.Dont forget to drop me a line when you settle down.

　　Q: What does the woman ask the man to do?

　　17.M: I just received a letter from one of my old high school classmates.

　　It surprised me.I havent heard from him in ages.

　　W: To be frank with you,I havent heard from him in ages.Its really hard to maintain contact when people move around so much.Ive been out of touch with most of my old friends, too.

　　Q: What are the two speakers talking about?

　　18.W: Id like you to come with me to the opening of the photography exhibit.

　　M: Im exhausted.Youll have to manage without me tonight.

　　Q: What will the woman probably do?

　　Now youll hear two long conversations.

　　Conversation One

　　W: Hi, Kevin.Your roommate told me that I could find you in the TV room.What are you doing here?Well, it looks like you are watching television.

　　M: What does it look like I am doing?

　　W: Well, it looks like you are watching television.But we have an advanced Mathematics mid-term tomorrow,so I thought youd be studying for it and maybe I can study with you.

　　M: Oh, well, I was just taking a break.This advanced Mathematics stuff gives me a headache if I work on it too long.

　　W: I know what you mean.Ive been working on it for three hours through it already.Im beginning to go across.Id been theorizing at the sample problems.I just dont get some of them.

　　M: But I cant believe you are coming to me.I mean you do know what I got on the last test, dont you?

　　W: Yeah, I know.You told me.I just thought two heads might be better than one.

　　M: Yeah, thats nice idea.But...you know,I wish I knew that person in our class who got a hundred on the last test.She didnt miss a question. Umm...was it Elizabeth?

　　W: Oh yeah, Elizabeth!She is a friend of mine.Shed be a big help right now.Why dont I give her a call?

　　M: What! At this hour?Its already ten thirty.I dont want to impose on her.

　　W: Yeah, I guess you are right.But you know what, she owes me a big favor.Lets at least give her a call and see what she says.Maybe going over some of the problems with us would help her review the material.

　　M: Well, its worth a try.

　　Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

　　19. Why is the man watching television?

　　20. What is the womans purpose to find the man?

　　21. Why does the woman want to call Elizabeth?

　　22. What are the two speakers mainly talking about?

　　Conversation Two

　　W: Hi, John.

　　M: Oh, hi, Laura. What are you doing here?

　　W: Uh, Im usually here on weekends.Its my dads shop.So, you are looking for a bike?

　　M: Yeah. Now the weather is warming up.I thought Id get some exercise instead of taking the bus all the time.

　　W: Well, you came to the right place.Do you know what youd like?

　　M: Well, I dont want a racer or a touring bike or anything.Mostly Ill just be using it to get me back and forth from work.

　　W: How far is that?

　　M: About four miles.

　　W: Are there a lot of hills on the way?

　　M: Some I guess.But, um, maybe I should just tell you in frontthat Ive only got a hundred and fifty dollars.Can I get anything decent for that?

　　W: Well, youre not going to get anything top of the line.

　　But we do have a few trade-ins in the back that are in good condition.

　　M: That sounds good.

　　W: And youre right.

　　For the kind of riding youre going to be doing,

　　the most important thing is comfort.

　　You want to make sure its the right height for you.

　　Follow me and Ill show you what weve got.

　　I think I have come to the right place.

　　M: OK, thats great.

　　W: Yeah, hope you will like one of them.

　　Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

　　Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

　　23. Why is Laura at the bicycle shop?

　　24. What kind of bicycle does John want to buy?

　　25. What does Laura say is most important about the bike?

　　Section B

　　Directions:

　　In this section, you will hear 3 short passages.

　　At the end of each passage, you will hear some 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 2

　　with a single line through the centre.

　　Passage One

　　There seems never to have been a civilization without toys,

　　but when and how they developed is unknown.

　　They probably came about just to give children something to do.

　　In the ancient world, as in todays world,

　　most boys played with some form of toy and most girls with another.

　　In societies where social roles are rigidly determined,

　　boys imitate their play after the activities of their fathers

　　Boys and girls are being prepared, even in play,

　　and girls after the tasks of their mothers.

　　to step into the roles and responsibilities of the adult world.

　　What is remarkable about the history of toys,

　　but how they remained the same.

　　is not how they changed over the centuries,

　　Changes have come mostly in terms of craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology.

　　Generally the same kinds of toys appeared around the world.

　　Variations depended on local customs and ways of life

　　because toys imitate their surroundings.

　　Nearly every civilization had dolls, little weapons, toy soldiers, tiny animals and vehicles.

　　Toys can be regarded as an art form,

　　as they have not been subjected to technological leaps

　　that characterize inventions for adult use.

　　The progress from the wheel to the oxcart to the automobile is a direct line of way up.

　　The progress from a doll used by a baby in 3000 BC to one used by an infant today,

　　however, is not characterized by invention.

　　Each doll is the product of the artistic tastes of the times

　　and subject to the limitations of available materials.

　　Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　26. Why are the toys most boys play with different from those that girls play with?

　　27. What is remarkable about the history of toys?

　　28. Why can toys be regarded as an art form?

　　Passage Two

　　No one knows exactly how many disabled people there are in the world,

　　but estimates suggest that the figure is over 450 million.

　　The number of disabled people in India alone

　　is probably more than double the total population of Canada.

　　In the United Kingdom, about one in ten people have some disability.

　　Disability is not just something that happened to other people.

　　As we get older, many of us will become less mobile,

　　hard of hearing or have failing eyesight.

　　Disablement can take many forms and occur at any time of life.

　　Some people are born with disabilities.

　　Disablement can take many forms and occur at any time of life.

　　Some people are disabled in accidents.

　　Most people become disabled as they get older.

　　Many others may have a period of disability in the form of a mental illness.

　　All are affected by peoples attitude towards them.

　　Disabled people face many physical barriers.

　　Next time you go shopping or to work or visit friends,

　　imagine how you would manage if you could not get up steps, or on to buses and trains.

　　How would you cope if you could not see where you were going

　　or could not hear the traffic?

　　But there are other barriers:

　　prejudice can be even by far the greatest barrier of all.

　　It is almost impossible for the able-bodied to fully appreciated

　　what the severely disabled go through,

　　so it is important to draw attention to these barriers

　　and show that it is the individual person and their ability,

　　not their disability, which counts.

　　Questions 29 to 31 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　29. Why is disability not something that happened only to other people?

　　30. What is the greatest barrier for disabled people by far?

　　31. What can be concluded from the passage?

　　Passage Three

　　One of the qualities that most people admire in others is

　　the willingness to admit ones mistakes.

　　It is extremely hard sometimes to say a simple thing like

　　I was wrong about that.

　　I had an experience recently with someone admitting to me

　　that he had made a mistake fifteen years ago.

　　He told me he had been the manager of a certain grocery store

　　in the neighborhood where I grew up,

　　and he asked me if I remembered the egg boxes.

　　Then he related an incident and I began to remember vaguely what happened.

　　I was about eight years old then,

　　and I had gone into the store with mother to do the weekly grocery shopping.

　　There must have been a special sale on eggs that day

　　because there was an impressive display of eggs in dozen and half dozen boxes.

　　I must have stopped in front of a display to admire the eggs.

　　Just then a woman came by pushing her grocery cart and knocked off some of the boxes.

　　For some reason, I decided it was up to me to put the display back together,

　　so I went to work. The manager came rushing over to see what had happened.

　　When he appeared,

　　I was on my knees inspecting some of the boxes to see if any of the eggs were broken.

　　But to him it looked as though I was the wrong-doer.

　　He yelled at me and wanted me to pay for any broken eggs.

　　I protested my innocence and tried to explain, but it did no good.

　　Even though I quickly forgot all about the incident, apparently the manager did not.

　　Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　32. What was the speaker doing in the store 15 years ago?

　　33. What happened after the egg boxes were knocked off?

　　34. What is the result of the incident?

　　35. What can be inferred from the speakers attitude toward the manager?

　　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.

　　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.

　　Now listen to the passage.

　　If you listen to American music,

　　watch American television or magazines,

　　you will probably agree

　　that the most popular subject of these forms of entertainment is love.

　　Romantic love always finds an audience in the country.

　　Falling in love, solving the problems of love, and achieving the happy ending

　　―the big wedding are subjects of interest to both the adult and the teenage public.

　　Millions of Americans celebrate Valentines Day

　　with special cards and gifts that announce their love to their mates,

　　their friends, and their families.

　　A popular saying is Love conquers all.

　　Numerous columns in magazines and newspapers offer advice to those with difficulties of heart.

　　To most Americans, romantic love is central to a happy life.

　　Not only do Americans believe in romantic love

　　but they also believe that it is the best basis for making a happy marriage.

　　Despite the high divorce rate in the United States,

　　young men and women continue to marry on the basis of romantic love.

　　Young Americans feel free to choose their own marriage partners

　　from any social, economic, or religious background.

　　The man or woman may have strong ties with parents, brothers, or sisters,

　　but when he or she falls in love,

　　the strongest feelings are supposed to be for the loved one.

　　When an American couple marries,

　　they generally plan to live apart from both sets of parents

　　and build their own independent family structure.

　　Now the passage will be read again.