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: M: As you can see from the drawings,

the kitchen has one door into the dining room,

another into the family room and a third to the outside.

W: The door into the family room isn’t big enough.

Could it be made wider?

Q: What are the speakers doing?

2. M: I’m thinking about where to go for a bite tonight.

Any suggestions, Barbara?

W: Well, how about the French restaurant near the KFC?

Frankly, I’ve had enough of our canteen food.

Q: What do we learn about the woman?

3. W: Hey, if you can’t enjoy the music at a sensible volume,

why not use earphones?

I’m preparing for the speech contest.

M: Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize

I’ve being bothering you all this time.

Q: What is the man probably doing?

4. M: Finally, I’ve got the chance to put on my new suit tonight.

I hope to make a good impression on your family.

W: Come on! It’s only a family reunion.

So jeans and T-shirts are just fine.

Q: What does the woman mean?

5. M: Would you like to see those pants in brown and navy blue?

These two colors are coming in this season.

W: Oh, actually grey is my favourite color,

but I prefer something made from cotton, 100% cotton I mean.

Q: What is the woman looking for?

6. W: From here, the mountains look

as if you could just reach out and touch them.

M: That’s why I chose this lodge.

It has one of the best views in Switzerland.

Q: What is the man’s chief consideration in choosing the lodge?

7. M: What do I have to do to apply for a passport?

W: You need proof of citizenship,

either an old passport

or a birth certificate and three photographs.

Then you must complete this form and pay a fee.

Q: What is the man most probably going to do?

8. M: Miss, can I interest you in a pork special with serving tonight?

It’s only 799, half the usual price and it’s very tasty.

W: Oh really? I will try it.

Q: What does the man say about the dish?

Now you'll hear 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.

Question 9-12 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

9.What is the woman doing?

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

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

12.What do we learn about the people working in the shop?

Conversation Two

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.

Questions 13-15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

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 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

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.

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

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 Two

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.

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

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 Three

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.

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

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?

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.

Students have been complaining more and more about stolen property.

Radios, cell phones, bicycles, pocket calculators，

and books have all been reported stolen.

Are there enough campus police to do the job?

There are 20 officers in the Campus Security Division.

Their job is to handle crime,

accidents, lost and found items,

and traffic problems on campus.

More than half of their time is spent directing traffic

and writing parking ickets.?

Responding promptly to accidents

and other emergencies is important,

but it is their smallest job.

Dealing with crime takes up the rest of their time.

Very rarely do any violent crimes actually occur.

In the last five years there have been no murders,

seven robberies and about 60 other violent attacks,

most of these involving fights at parties.

On the other hand, there have been hundreds of thefts

and cases of deliberate damaging of public property,

which usually involves breaking windows or lights or writing on walls.

The thefts are not the carefully

planned burglaries that you see in movies.

Things get stolen when it’s easy to steal them,

because they are left lying around unwatched.

Do we really need more police?

Hiring more campus police would cost money,

possibly making our tuition go up again.

A better way to solve this problem might be

for all of us to be more careful with our things.

Now the passage will be read again.

Students have been complaining more and more about stolen property.

Radios, cell phones, bicycles, pocket calculators，

and books have all been reported stolen.

Are there enough campus police to do the job?

There are 20 officers in the Campus Security Division.

Their job is to handle crime,

accidents, lost and found items,

and traffic problems on campus.

More than half of their time is spent directing traffic

and writing parking ickets.?

Responding promptly to accidents

and other emergencies is important,

but it is their smallest job.

Dealing with crime takes up the rest of their time.

Very rarely do any violent crimes actually occur.

In the last five years there have been no murders,

seven robberies and about 60 other violent attacks,

most of these involving fights at parties.

On the other hand, there have been hundreds of thefts

and cases of deliberate damaging of public property,

which usually involves breaking windows or lights or writing on walls.

The thefts are not the carefully

planned burglaries that you see in movies.

Things get stolen when it’s easy to steal them,

because they are left lying around unwatched.

Do we really need more police?

Hiring more campus police would cost money,

possibly making our tuition go up again.

A better way to solve this problem might be

for all of us to be more careful with our things.

Now the passage will be read for the third time.

Students have been complaining more and more about stolen property.

Radios, cell phones, bicycles, pocket calculators，

and books have all been reported stolen.

Are there enough campus police to do the job?

There are 20 officers in the Campus Security Division.

Their job is to handle crime,

accidents, lost and found items,

and traffic problems on campus.

More than half of their time is spent directing traffic

and writing parking ickets.?

Responding promptly to accidents

and other emergencies is important,

but it is their smallest job.

Dealing with crime takes up the rest of their time.

Very rarely do any violent crimes actually occur.

In the last five years there have been no murders,

seven robberies and about 60 other violent attacks,

most of these involving fights at parties.

On the other hand, there have been hundreds of thefts

and cases of deliberate damaging of public property,

which usually involves breaking windows or lights or writing on walls.

The thefts are not the carefully

planned burglaries that you see in movies.

Things get stolen when it’s easy to steal them,

because they are left lying around unwatched.

Do we really need more police?

Hiring more campus police would cost money,

possibly making our tuition go up again.

A better way to solve this problem might be

for all of us to be more careful with our things.

This is the end of listening comprehension.