Part II 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 1

with a single line through the centre.

Now let's begin with the eight short Conversations.

1. W: I forgot to tell you that Fred called last night

to borrow your sleeping bag.

M: Oh, I saw him at the gym this morning,

but he didn't say anything.

So he must have asked somebody else.

Q: What does the man imply?

2. W: These summer days are getting to be more than I can take.

It was even too hot to go to the pool yesterday.

M: Hang in there. According to the weather report

we should have some relief by the end of the week.

Q: What does the man mean?

3. W: Well, tonight we have Professor Brown in our studio

to talk about the famous oil painting of Queen Victoria.

Good evening, professor.

M: Good evening, madam, my pleasure to be here tonight.

Q: What is the woman doing?

4. M: The plants next to the window always look brown.

You wouldn't know by looking at them

that I water them every week.

W: Maybe they don't like direct sunlight.

I had the same problem with some of my plants.

And a little shade helps them immensely.

Q: What does the woman imply?

5. M: I'm really exhausted, Mary.

But I don't want to miss the Hollywood movie that comes on at 11.

W: If I were you, I'd skip it.

We both have to get up early tomorrow.

And anyway I've heard it's not as exciting as advertised.

Q: What does the woman suggest the man do?

6. M: Those modern sculptures over there are really weird.

Don't you think so?

W：Well, I couldn't stand them either at first.

But now I've come to like modern art,

particularly those sculptures carved by Italian artists.

Q: What does the woman mean?

7. M: I'm really glad our club

decided to raise money for the children's hospital.

And most of the people we phoned seemed happy to contribute.

W: Yeah! I agree.

Now that we've gone through all the numbers on our list,

I guess we can call it a day.

Q: What do we learn about the speakers?

8. M: Have you heard of Professor Smith?

I'm thinking of taking an advanced engineering course with him.

What do you think?

W: Yeah! You really should.

He's published dozens of books so far,

once been recommended as a textbook for postgraduates.

Q: What does the woman imply?

Now you will hear two long conversations.

Conversation One

W: You're the editor of Public Eye.

What kind of topics does your program cover?

M: Well, there are essentially domestic stories.

We don't cover international stories.

We don't cover party politics or economics.

We do issues of general social concern to our British audience.

They can be anything from the future of the health service

to the way the environment is going downhill.

W: How do you choose the topic?

Do you choose one

because it's what the public wants to know about

or because it's what you feel the public ought to know about?

M: I think it's a mixture of both.

Sometimes you have a strong feeling that something is important

and you want to see it examined

and you want to contribute to a public debate.

Sometimes people come to you with things

they are worried about

and they can be quite small things.

They can be a story about corruption in local government,

something they cannot quite understand,

why it doesn't seem to be working out properly,

like they are not having their litter collected properly

or the dustbins emptied.

W: How do you know that you've got a really successful program?

One that is just right for the time?

M: I think you get a sense about it

after working in it in a number of years.

You know which stories are going to get the attention.

They are going to be published just the point

when the public are concerned about that.

Questions 9-11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

9. What kind of topics does Public Eye cover?

10. How does Public Eye choose its topics?

11. What factor plays an important role

in running a successful program?

Conversation Two

W: Hi, Professor Smith. I hear you've written a book titled Visions.

M: Yes. It explains how science will revolutionize the 21st century.

W: Could I ask you some questions concerning the book?

M: Sure.

W: Are you optimistic about the future?

M: Generally, yeah. If we go back to the year of 1900,

most Americans didn't live beyond the age of 50.

Since then, we've had improvements in health care and technology.

There is no reason why these won't continue far into the 21st century.

W: Are we ready for the changes that will come?

M: Changes are already happening.

The future is here now.

We have DNA, microchips, the internet.

Some people's reaction is to say,

we are too old; we don't understand new technology.

My reaction is to say,

we must educate people to use new technology now.

W: Is world population going to be a big problem?

M: Yes, and no. I think that world population

will stop increasing as we all get richer.

If you are a part of the middle class,

you don't want or need 12 children.

W: Will there be a world government?

M: Very probably.

We will have to manage the world

and its resources on a global level

because countries alone are too small.

W: Will we have control of everything?

M: I think we'll learn to control the weather,

volcanoes and earthquakes.

Illness won't exist.

We'll grow new livers, kidneys, hearts,

and lungs like spare parts for a car.

People will live to about 130 or 150.

For 2000 years,

we have tried to understand our environment.

Now we'll begin to control it.

Questions 12-15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

12. What does Professor Smith say about

most Americans around the year of 1900?

13. What does Professor Smith advice we do?

14. When will the world population

stop growing according to Professor Smith?

15. What does Professor Smith

think human beings will be able to do?

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 1

with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Getting behind the wheel of a car

can be an exciting new step in a teen's life.

But along with that excitement comes a new responsibility

understanding the need for common sense

and maturity to avoid accidents.

In an effort to spread awareness to teens across the nation,

the Allstate Foundation sponsored

a Keep-The-Drive Summit at Sunset Station on January 23rd.

Students from Kennedy and Alamo Heights High schools

participated in the summit

which was held here for the first time.

The goal of the year-long effort is to educate teens

on the rules of safe driving

and the severe consequences

that can result if those rules are not followed,

and then have them communicate that information to their peers.

The students watched videos that told them

about the numbers of teenage driving injuries and deaths.

They listen to the videos as students

from other cities share their stories

of how their reckless driving affected not only their lives

but also those of their passengers.

"We are trying to create awareness

in high schools across the countries," said Westerman,

an Allstate representative,

"we focus on changing how teens think behind the wheel."

According to the presentation,

more teens die in automobile crashes in the United States each year

than from drugs, violence, smoking and suicide.

An average of 16 teens die every day in motor vehicle crashes

and nearly forty percent of those are caused by speeding.

Texas is the state with the most teen

driving deaths according to the presentation.

Students agreed that the statistics were amazing

and made them think twice about how they drive.

Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.

16. For what purpose did the Allstate Foundation

sponsor the Keep-The-Drive Summit?

17. What causes the greatest number of deaths

among American teens according to the presentation?

18. What can we conclude about the Keep-The-Drive Summit?

Passage Two

Dr. Allen Hersh designs smells for businesses.

He says that it doesn't take a whole lot of smell to affect you.

Store owners can lure you to the candy aisle,

even if you don't realize your are smelling candy.

This idea scares a lot of people.

Groups that protect the rights of shoppers are upset.

They say the stores are using a kind of brainwashing

which they call "smell-washing".

"It's pretty dishonest," says Mark Silbergeld.

He runs an organization that checks out products for consumers.

The scientists hired to design the scents disagree.

"There's soft background music.

There's special lighting.

There're all sorts of bells being used," says Dr. Hersh,

"why not smells?"

"One reason why not," says Silbergeld,

"is that some people are allergic

to certain scents pumped into products or stores."

But there is a whole other side to this debate,

"do the smells really work?"

So far, there is little proof one way or the other.

But Dr. Hersh has run some interesting experiments.

In one of Hersh's experiments,

31 volunteers were led into a shoe store

that smells slightly like flowers.

Later, another group shopped in the same store,

but with no flower odor.

Dr. Hersh found that 84% of the shoppers

were more likely to buy the shoes in the flower-scented room,

but Hersh found out something even stranger.

"Whether the volunteers like the flower scent or not didn't matter,"

Hersh says, "Some reported that they hated the smell,

but they still were more likely

to buy the shoes in the scented room."

Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.

19. Why are some people

against the use of smells to attract customers?

20. What is Dr. Hersh's attitude to the use of smells for business?

21. What did Hersh's experiment show?

Passage Three

This is Ray McCarthy with the news.

Reports are coming in of a major train crash in Japan.

A passenger train carrying hundreds of workers home

from the center of Tokyo is reported

to have hit an oncoming goods train.

Both were traveling at high speed.

Figures are not yet available

but it is believed that the death toll could be as high as 300,

with hundreds more injured.

Emergency and rescue services rushed to the scene.

But our reporter says it will take days to clear the track

and to establish the numbers of the dead and injured.

There was a similar accident

on the same stretch of track four years ago.

There was another bomb scare in a large London store last night

during late night shopping.

Following a telephone call to the police from an anonymous caller,

hundreds of shoppers were shepherded out of the store

while roads in the area were sealed off.

Police dogs spent hours searching the store

for a bag which the caller claimed contained 50 pounds of explosives.

Nothing was found and the store was given the all-clear

by opening time this morning.

A police spokesman said that

this was the third bomb scare within a week

and that we should all be on our guard.

And finally, the motoring organizations

have issued a warning to drivers following

the recent falls of snow in many parts of the country.

Although the falls may be slight, they say extra care is needed.

Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.

22. What accident happened recently in Japan?

23. What do the reports say about the recent accident in Japan?

24. Why did people have to leave the London store last night?

25. What did motoring organizations advise drivers to do?

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 with the exact words you have just heard.

Finally, when the passage is read for the third time,

you should check what you have written.

Now listen to the passage.

English is the leading international language.

In different countries around the globe

English is acquired as the mother tongue;

in others it is used as a second language.

Some nations use English as their official language,

performing the function of administration;

in others it is used as an international language for business,

commerce and industry.

What factors and forces have led to the spread of English?

Why is English now considered

to be so prestigious that across the globe,

individuals and societies feel disadvantaged

if they do not have competence in this language?

How has English changed through 1,500 years?

These are some of the questions that you investigate

when you study English.

You also examine the immense variability of English

and come to understand how it is used

as a symbol of both individual identity and social connection.

You develop in-depth knowledge

of the intricate structure of the language.

Why do some non-native speakers of English claim

that it is a difficult language to learn,

while infants born into English-speaking communities

acquire their language before they learn to use forks and knives?

At the university of Sussex,

you are introduced to the nature

and grammar of English in all its aspects.

This involves the study of sound structures,

the formation of words,

the sequencing of words and the construction of meaning,

as well as examination of the theories

explaining these aspects of English usage.

You are encouraged to develop your own individual

responses to various practical and theoretical issues,

which are raised by studying how speakers

and writers employ English for a wide variety of purposes.

Now the passage will be read again.

English is the leading international language.

In different countries around the globe

English is acquired as the mother tongue;

in others it is used as a second language.

Some nations use English as their official language,

performing the function of administration;

in others it is used as an international language for business,

commerce and industry.

What factors and forces have led to the spread of English?

Why is English now considered

to be so prestigious that across the globe,

individuals and societies feel disadvantaged

if they do not have competence in this language?

How has English changed through 1,500 years?

These are some of the questions that you investigate

when you study English.

You also examine the immense variability of English

and come to understand how it is used

as a symbol of both individual identity and social connection.

You develop in-depth knowledge

of the intricate structure of the language.

Why do some non-native speakers of English claim

that it is a difficult language to learn,

while infants born into English-speaking communities

acquire their language before they learn to use forks and knives?

At the university of Sussex,

you are introduced to the nature

and grammar of English in all its aspects.

This involves the study of sound structures,

the formation of words,

the sequencing of words and the construction of meaning,

as well as examination of the theories

explaining these aspects of English usage.

You are encouraged to develop your own individual

responses to various practical and theoretical issues,

which are raised by studying how speakers

and writers employ English for a wide variety of purposes.

Now the passage will be read for the third time.

English is the leading international language.

In different countries around the globe

English is acquired as the mother tongue;

in others it is used as a second language.

Some nations use English as their official language,

performing the function of administration;

in others it is used as an international language for business,

commerce and industry.

What factors and forces have led to the spread of English?

Why is English now considered

to be so prestigious that across the globe,

individuals and societies feel disadvantaged

if they do not have competence in this language?

How has English changed through 1,500 years?

These are some of the questions that you investigate

when you study English.

You also examine the immense variability of English

and come to understand how it is used

as a symbol of both individual identity and social connection.

You develop in-depth knowledge

of the intricate structure of the language.

Why do some non-native speakers of English claim

that it is a difficult language to learn,

while infants born into English-speaking communities

acquire their language before they learn to use forks and knives?

At the university of Sussex,

you are introduced to the nature

and grammar of English in all its aspects.

This involves the study of sound structures,

the formation of words,

the sequencing of words and the construction of meaning,

as well as examination of the theories

explaining these aspects of English usage.

You are encouraged to develop your own individual

responses to various practical and theoretical issues,

which are raised by studying how speakers

and writers employ English for a wide variety of purposes.

This is the end of listening comprehension.