Part 2 Listening Comprehension(25 minutes)

Section A Directions:

In this section, you will hear three news reports. 

At the end of each news report, you will hear two or three questions. 

Both the news report 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.

Questions 1 and 2 will be based on the following news item.

News Item 1

On Fridays many Kabulis pack into their cars and leave the traffic jammed capital behind.

They get on the Kabul Mazar highway and head out about 20 kilometers to the Shomali Plain.

Here they relax in vineyards, eat grapes, dried fruit and walnuts, and drink tea.

The stretch of land from Kabul to Shomali is some of the most fertile in Afghanistan.

But the plains saw heavy fighting over the past 30 years, 

serving as a frontline first after the Soviet invasion and then under the Taliban years.

Homes and farms were destroyed, large areas were littered with mines.

But things are changing for Shomali.

The onelane highway is now two.

Farmers have come back and replanted their vines.Residents say in the past 

few years they have again been able to rely on their land for food.

Ghyas, who works in Kabul, makes the commute from Shomali

 to the capital several times a week.

His family has lived in the district of Gul Dara for generations.

Gul Dara means “valley of flowers” 

in Dari.Ghyas remembers what the plain was like before the Taliban.

He says before it had everything: it had pears, apples, grapes; 

it had raisins, figs, apricots, peaches and it had cherries.

1.People go to the Shomali Plain to relax in, eat grapes, 

dried fruit and walnuts, and drink tea.

2.Homes and farms were destroyed, large areas were  with mines.

Questions 3 and 4 will be based on the following news item.

News Item 2

Last month Abdumalik Bobaev was found guilty on three charges—slander, 

insult and publishing information harmful to the public peace

 in a court in Uzbekistan`s capital, 

Tashkent.The verdict was a relief for the journalist

 who feared he was facing eight years in prison.Instead he got off with a fine.

　On Friday Bobaev, who reports on Uzbekistan 

for the Voice of America for the past five years, 

will appeal the verdict.He says he has done nothing wrong.

　“I absolutely don`t agree with the accusations,” 

he says.“I protest my innocence.I have to use the chance that I have.”

　The journalist hopes to resume work after the appeal.

But he sees the case as a warning to be more careful in the future.

　Uzbekistan ranks as the twelfth most restrictive country in the world

 for press freedom according to research by a U.K based magazine The Economist in 2008.

Eight reporters have been imprisoned in the country in the last two years.

3.The journalist feared he was facing  years in prison.

4.Uzbekistan ranks as the  country in the world for press freedom 

according to research by the U.K based magazine The Economist in 2008.

Questions 5 and 7 will be based on the following news item.

News Item 3

Some analysts have suggested Burma`s military rulers freed 

the opposition leader for public relations purposes, 

to lend credibility to recent elections and a new civilian led parliament.

But in an interview with the associated Pressedor`s Day, 

Aung San Suu Kyi declined to speculate why the military government permitted her release.

“I don`t think there was any other reason for releasing me rather than one the legal 

term of detention had come to an end, and there were no immediate means of extending it,”

 she said.Since leaving her confidential compound for the first time in seven years last Saturday, 

Aung San Suu Kyi has called for reconciliation talks with military leader General Than Shwe.

But she said in the interview that the government has not contacted her.

Aung San Suu Kyi called her house arrest illegal.Still, 

the 65 year old said she does not regret staying in Burma, 

rather than avoiding detention by going to England to be with her family.

“I made a choice, and when I made the choice, 

I knew that there would be problems,”

 she said.“If you make a choice, then you have to be prepared to accept the consequences.

I think I believe a lot in accountability and a sense of responsibility.” 

Aung San Suu Kyi chose to take up the democracy struggle in 1988, 

when mass demonstrations broke out against nearly three decades of military rule.

As the daughter of Burma`s independence leader from Britain, 

Aung San Suu Kyi was quickly seen as being one with the people, 

and democracy activists adopted her as their leader.

A year later, the military detained her, 

and kept her under house arrest until 1995.

She chose to stay in Burma for fear she would not be let back again.

She was detained again in 2003.

5.Some analysts think that Burma`s rulers freed the opposition leader .

6.Aung San Suu Kyi thought she was released because .

7.Aung San Suu Kyi`s family is in .

Section B

Directions: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 1 with a single line through the centre.

Now you will haer the two long conversations

Conversation One

W：Good evening, and welcome to this week`s business world, 

the program for and about business people. Tonight we have Mr. 

Steven Kayne, who has just taken over and established bicycle shop. Tell us, 

Mr. Kayne, what made you want to run your own store?

M: Well, I always loved racing bikes and fixing them. 

When I was working fulltime as a salesman for a big company, 

I seldom had time to enjoy my hobby. I knew then that as soon as

 I had enough money to get my own business going,

 I`ll do it. I had my heart set on it and I didn`t let anything stand in my way.

 When I went down to the bank and got a business loan, 

I knew I`d love being my own boss. Now my time is my own.

 I open the store when I want and leave when I want.

W: You mean you don`t keep regular hours?

M: Well, the sign on my store says the hours are ten to six, 

but if business is slower than usual, 

I can just lock up and take off early.

W: Have you hired any employees to work with you yet?

M: Yeah, a couple of friends of mine who love biking as much as I do. 

They help me out a few days a week. 

It`s great because we play cards or just sit

 around and talk when there are no customers. 

W: Thank you, Mr. Kayne. We wish you success in your new business.

8. What is the woman doing?

9. What did Mr. Kayne do before he took over the bicycle shop?

10.Why did the man take over a bicycle shop?

11: What do we learn about the people working in the shop?

Conversation 2

W: Well, the main activities in the region were historically steel

 and paper processing, I think.

M: Yes, but I`m not quite sure about the status of those industries now.

 Could you tell us something about that? 

W: Yes, of course. In fact, they are less significant, 

but steel related manufacturing still accounts for 44% of industrial activity. 

So it`s still very important. In fact, 80% of Spain`s machine tools are from the Basque Country. 

As for paper processing, there`s still a little. 

But it`s no longer what it once was in the region. So, is that clear?

M: Yes, thanks.

W: Now, to get back to what I was saying, 

there`s a lot of unemployment as well as geographical problems in the region.

M: Sorry, Victoria. What do you mean by geographical problems?

W: Well, what I mean is the area is very hilly, mountainous in parts.

 So there used to be transport problems, 

now though there are new train links and better roads, 

but it may be that some smaller towns inland remain not very well connected,

 is that OK? Does that make sense? 

When we talk about specific location suggestions for the factory, 

we`ll see this in more detail,

 so we`ll come back to this question, OK?

M: OK, right.

W: So I was about to say something about the work force in the region 

and the level of training and education. 

In general, it`s very good and improving.

12.What percentage of Spain`s machine tools are from the Basque country?

13.What does the woman say about the steel related manufacturing in the region?

14:What problems hinder the region`s development?

15:What will the speakers discuss later?

Section C. Directions:

In this section, you will hear three 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 

I first met Joe Gumps when we were both 9 years old, 

which is probably the only reason he is one of my best friends. 

If I had first met Joe as a freshman in high school, 

we wouldn`t even have had the chance to get to know each other. 

Joe is a day student, but I am a boarding student.

 We haven`t been in the same classes, sports or extra curriculum activities. 

Nonetheless, I spend nearly every weekend at his house,

 and we talk on the phone every night. 

This is not to say that we would not have been 

compatible if we had first met in our freshman year. 

Rather, we would not have been likely to spend enough time getting to know each other,

 due to the lack of immediately visible mutual interests.

In fact, to be honest, I struggle even now to think of things we have in common, 

but maybe that`s what makes us enjoy each other`s company so much. 

When I look at my friendship with Joe,

 I wonder how many people I`ve known whom I never disliked but 

simply didn`t take the time to get to know. 

Thanks to Joe, I have realized how little basis there is, 

for the social divisions that exist in every community.

 Since this realization, I have begun to make an even more 

determined effort to find friends in unexpected people and places.

16.Why does the speaker say Joe Gumps become one of his best friends?

17.Where does the speaker spend most of his weekends?

18.What has the speaker learned from his friendship with Joe?

Passage 2

It was a bad night for Louis. His research in the neighboring 

town had taken longer than he expected.

 It was late and he was very tired when he drove home. 

He turned into his building`s parking lot, but all the spaces were full.

 He drove back out onto the street looking for a parking space.

 The first block was full. 

The next block was almost empty. Louis didn`t see a no parking sign,

 but he suspected that if parking were allowed there, 

most of the spaces would be filled. 

Then he saw a small parking lot with two free spaces.

 He was so glad to see them that he didn`t even think to read the sign by the entrance. 

He drove in, parked, and hurried home to go to bed.

 The next morning he went back to the lot to get his car. 

It was gone. He ran home and telephoned the city police to say that his car had been stolen. 

It took the police only a minute to tell him what had happened. His car had been on a private lot. 

It had been taken away by the police. 

Louis had to take a taxi to the city garage far from the center of town. 

He had to pay a fee of ＄40 to get his car back. 

In addition, he got a parking ticket—his first one ever in Greenville.

19:Where did Louis intend to park his car when he came back from work one night? 

20:What did Louis think had happened to his car the next morning?

21:Where did Louis finally get his car back?

Passage 3

Well, to pick up where we left off last time, 

I believe we agreed the creativity is a mysterious idea. 

It`s one of those things we all recognized when we see it.

 But we don`t really understand what it is. 

We seem to feel that some people are naturally creative,

 but we don`t know how they got that way. 

Is creativity a natural gift like good looks? 

Or is it something that can be acquired like knowledge? 

Perhaps if we analyze the creative process carefully, 

we might get some insight into what it is and how it might work in our lives. 

The creative process has always been accepted as a source of all important work in the arts.

 But we should not think the creativity play the role only in the arts. 

Every major scientific discovery began with someone imagining 

the world to look differently from the way others saw it. 

And this is what the creativity is all about. Imagining the world in a new way, 

and despite what you may believe about the limits of your own creative imaginations, 

we all have the potential to imagine the world in an absolutely new way. 

In fact, you were born with it. It is your birth right as a human being. 

And what`s more, you use it every day almost every moment of your life.

 Your creative imagination is what you use to make sense of your experiences. 

It`s your creative mind to get the meaning from the chaos

 of your experiences and brings order to your world.

22:What did the speaker most probably discuss last time?

23:What is a widely accepted idea about the creative process?

24:What leads to major scientific discoveries according to the speaker?

25: What does the speaker imply about the creative process?