英语周报四级听力模拟试题(七)

　　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: How about going to dinner and a movie with me tonight, Susan?

　　W: Id love to, but I havent packed yet and my flight leaves at 5 a.m.

　　Q: Why didnt Susan accept the invitation?

　　12.W: Were you able to understand that French novel without any help from the teacher?

　　M: I did pretty well, but I had to fall back on my dictionary occasionally.

　　Q: What does the man mean?

　　13.M: In Japan I often saw signs that read DPE.

　　W: I think it means Developing, Printing and Enlarging.

　　Q: According to the woman, in front of what kind of place would you see a DPE sign? 14.W: The piano sounds terrible.

　　M: I wish I could ask for my money back. This performance is really a bad one.

　　Q: Where are the speakers?

　　15.M: Excuse me. Is Dr. Porters office in this building?

　　W: Right over there, sir, across the hall, about three doors down from here -- just before you get to the elevator.

　　Q: What will the man have to do in order to reach Dr. Porter?

　　16.M: Will Eric be here at 11:00?

　　W: No, hell be here twenty-five minutes later.

　　Q: When will Eric arrive?

　　17.M: How much money was stolen?

　　W: Henry said that there were four hundred dollars in his wallet. But I dont believe him. He is making a false claim so as to get more money from the insurance company.

　　Q: How much of Henrys money did the woman believe was stolen?

　　18.W: John would be much wiser to stay here for another year to finish his Masters degree than to go home and go into business now.

　　M: Yes, I couldnt agree with you more.

　　Q: What does the man mean?

　　Now youll hear two long conversations.

　　Conversation One

　　W: Good evening, Minister. Thank you very much for joining us.

　　M: And good evening to you.

　　W: Now, Minister. Can you tell us about the current situation in Strakkan at the moment?

　　M: Well, its quite simple, really. The President has suspended parliament and called for national elections in two months time.

　　W: Yes. Well, I think we are already informed of those facts. But why exactly has he done this?

　　M: Well, he wouldnt have taken these measures if he hadnt thought they were necessary. The President has been trying to speed up reform for the last two years and has been held up at every stage by certain groups in parliament.

　　W: But if he hadnt closed parliament down, wouldnt he have succeeded anyway? After all, there seems to be strong support for him in the country as a whole.

　　M: Maybe. But I think hes just had enough. He couldnt go on governing in this way.

　　W: But if he had held on for a little longer, surely he would have won in the end. Now he has to wait for two months, hope to be successful in the election, and then start off his reform program all over again.

　　M: Of course, but he feels this is his only proper course of action.

　　W: Im afraid weve run out of time, Minister. Thank you again for joining us

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

　　19. What are the speakers talking about?

　　20. What has the President done?

　　21. Why has the President taken that course of action?

　　22. According to the passage, what is the Ministers attitude toward the presidents action?

　　Conversation Two

　　W: Well really, John! I dont know whats come over her recently. She never used to be as rude as this.

　　M: Oh, its just her age.

　　W: And thats the reason why I wont put up with her bad manners. After all, shes not a little girl any more.

　　M: Well, lets call her down from her room. Chris! Chris!Will you come down? We want to have a word with you. Right, young lady. I want an explanation for why you have refused to eat that nice fresh cod.

　　D: If you really want to know, its because Ive been put off both fish and meat by the school canteen. The food there is absolutely awful.

　　M: Oh, young people always say that about school dinners. Im sure they are full of good things, nevertheless.

　　D: The fish and meat never taste fresh and they always cook the vegetables for too long.

　　M: Well, I expect some people in the world would really appreciate your school dinners. Have you thought of that?

　　W: Yes, lots of people in Africa and India dont have a square meal from one week to another. They exist on a few bits of bread or some old potatoes if they are lucky.

　　D: Oh, dont lecture me, please! Ive heard all these hard luck stories before, you know.

　　M: Thats the reason why theres no supper for you tonight. It might do you good to know a bit about hunger, my girl.

　　D: Thats okay. I bought some crisps on the way home

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

　　23. Why cant the mother put up with her daughter?

　　24. What happened to the girl?

　　25. What does the woman say about the people in Africa and India?

　　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

　　The private automobile has long played an important role in the United States. In fact, it has become an integral part of the American way of life. In 1971 eighty-three percent of American families owned at least one car, and twenty-eight percent had more than one. By giving workers fast, convenient transportation, the automobile has freed them from having to live near their place of work. This has fostered the growth of the suburbs, but it has also led to traffic problems in the city. In addition, the automobile has contributed to the weakening of neighborhood ties by making it easy to keep up friendships at a distance and to enjoy leisure activities far from home.

　　For farm families the automobile is a great help. It has relieved their isolation, making it possible for them to travel to town frequently for business and for pleasure, and also to transport their children to distant schools.

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

　　26. What is the passage about?

　　27. What is the percentage of American families that owned more than one car in 1971?

　　28. Why is the automobile a great help to farmers?

　　Passage Two

　　How men first learnt to invent words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a mystery. All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be combined to represent those sounds, and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken, or written in letters, we call words.

　　The power of words, then, lies in their associations, that is, the things they bring up to our minds. Words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more we are reminded of the happy and sad events of our past by certain words; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases.

　　Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and emotions. This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary style. Above all, a real poet is a master of words. He can convey his meaning in words which sing like music, and which by their position and association can move men to tears. We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they will make our speech silly and vulgar.

　　Questions 29 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　29. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

　　30. Which of the following is not the reason why men invented certain sounds to express thoughts and actions?

　　31. What is true about words?

　　32. According to the passage, which of the following is not true?

　　Passage Three

　　My father woke me up early one morning when I was fourteen and announced: Get up! Youre going with me to cut grass. I felt proud and excited because my father thought I was responsible enough to help him in his business. Still, that first day was really hard. From sunrise to sunset, my father, my younger brother and I cut and trimmed in very large yards in a well-to-do part of the city. By the end of the day I was exhausted, but I felt good. I had put in a hard days labor and had earned six dollars. One day my father spotted some weeds I had missed cutting, and pulled me aside. Cut that section again, he said firmly, and dont let me have to tell you to do it again. The message was clear. Today I stress the importance of doing a job right the first time. In every job I have held, from cutting lawns to washing dishes to working a machine on a construction site, I have learnt something that helps me in my next job. If you work hard enough, you can learn from any job you do.

　　Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　33. How did the speaker feel when his father asked him to help cut grass?

　　34. What did his father do when the speaker missed cutting some weeds?

　　35. What did the speaker want to tell us in this passage?

　　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.

　　In New York City, some bike riders have formed a group called Bike for a Better City. They claim that if more people rode bicycles to work there would be fewer automobiles in the downtown section of the city and therefore less dirty air from car engines.

　　For several years this group has been trying to get the city government to help bicycle riders. For example, they want the city to paint special lanes for bicycles only on some of the main streets, because when bicycle riders must use the same lanes as cars, there may be accidents. Bike for a Better City feels that if there were special lanes, more people would use bikes.

　　But no bicycle lanes have been painted yet. Not everyone thinks it is a good idea. Taxi drivers fear that it will slow traffic. Some shop owners say if there is less traffic, theyll have less business. And most people live too far from downtown to travel by bike.

　　The city government has not yet decided what to do. It wants to keep everyone happy. On weekends, the roads in Central Park may be used by bicycles only. Bike for a Better City keeps fighting to get bicycle lanes downtown. Until that happens, the safest place to bicycle may be in the park.