Part Ⅱ Listening Comprehension

Section A

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.

Conversation One

W: This is unbelievable.

Unlike any video game I’ve ever played before,

it’s so boring, yet so relaxing at the same time.

How did you hear about this driving simulator?

M: My brother introduced it to me last year.

I was surprised to find how educational and realistic it was.

It’s called Euro Truck Simulator,

but they have other versions as well for America and so on.

I was really drawn to the scenery.

The routes go through parts of the country

you don’t normally see as a tourist.

W: Yeah, I can see that.It seems so simple,

just transporting cargo from point A to point B,

driving from one city to another.

But I really appreciate all the details that go into the game.

It’s even given me a new appreciation

for the logistics industry and traffic on the road.

M: I completely agree.

My brother also introduced me to some videos

of someone that streams the game online.

It was fascinating to watch, really.

This guy drove very carefully,

obeyed all the road signs and traffic rules-

such a contrast to most violent games.

W: Honestly, playing has inspired me to look into the industry more.

I’ve read articles about how self-driving trucks

may soon be available and could greatly impact cargo logistics.

Considering all that goes into driving  these larger vehicles,

it’s amazing that we could soon have that kind of technology.

M: Ah. I’ve gone one step further.

I registered to take a safe driving course

to improve my real-life driving skills.

In a way, I feel like I have a head start

compared to other students in the class.

Playing this video game

has given me some maneuvering practice already.

W: I’m not sure how accurate the video game is

compared to real-life situations.

But if it results in more drivers looking both ways

before entering an intersection,

I’d say that’s a positive outcome.

Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

1. What are the speakers mainly talking about?

2. What does the man say about the driving simulator?

3. What does the woman say she really appreciates?

4. What outcome does the woman expect from the driving simulator?

Conversation Two

W: How do you like being self-employed?

M: There are obvious benefits,  though I don’t seem to

have the freedom I anticipated

as I just don’t seem able to decline work offers.

And working alone, there have been times

when I’ve found that money alone provides insufficient motivation.

Have you experienced the same

since you began working for yourself?

W: Sometimes, yes.  Unlike the rest of the workforce

who have managers to prompt motivation

whenever they’re feeling lazy or bored,

we self-employed workers perform our jobs

without a manager to lift our spirits.

There’s no one around to offer praise  or initiate collaboration,

no one to make greater use of our interests and talents.

M: That’s a fact.

Not every manager behaves  with such awareness and care, of course.

And certainly not all managers have a clue how to motivate people.

Still, having a manager nearby at least indicates

there’s an opportunity they’ll be decent enough

to look out for you when your energy and focus begin to deplete.

W: The motivator I value most is autonomy.

I’ve learned not to sacrifice my prized autonomy by working all hours

of the day

and by saying yes to every client request.

M: Yes. I need to remind myself that I selected this lifestyle for the independence.

I don’t miss aspects of permanent full-time employment I disliked,

such as the office politics,

job insecurity, inflexible hours and so on.

I wouldn’t mind a bit more  in the form of praise though,

praise which is on the record.

W: That’ll come with time.

Relatedness is inevitably cultivated via human interaction.

Engaging with clients, getting written testimony and recommendations,

staying in contact with clients afterwards,

these are things you’ll find will come

in due course and provide you with motivation.

M: You’re right.

That’s an area I do need to put some more effort into-

building closer relationships

with those who engage my services and skills.

Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

5. What does the man say about his life of being self-employed?

6. What does the man say about managers?

7. What do both speakers value most about self-employment?

8. On what point does the man agree with the woman?

Section B

Directions: In this section, you will hear two passages.

At the end of each passage,

you will hear three or four 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

Weather is a constant force in our lives,

but there is little marketing research on how it affects businesses.

Now, a new study reveals  how sunny and snowy conditions

influence consumer behavior.

Those weather conditions trigger consumers to mentally visualize

using products associated with the respective weather.

This leads to consumers placing a higher value on those products.

That is, they’re willing to pay more money for them.

But the correlation is only found

with products related to being outside.

How does this work? Researchers give the example of a beach towel.

On a sunny day, consumers who see that product

are not just looking at the towel itself,

they are likely imagining themselves

lying on the towel in the sun.

This mental picture of using the towel

increases the value of the product in the consumers’ mind.

Researchers put forward the following hypothesis to explain their findings.

They think the mental picture works in sunshine and snow

because these weather conditions

have a positive association with outside activities.

The effect is not seen with rainy weather.

Researchers assert this is because there aren’t many activities

that are enabled by rain.

Most products associated with rain, like umbrellas,

are only used for protection from the weather,

and not for any activities. Researchers believe that companies

that sell a wide array of products online

can benefit most from the insights this study provides.

Online sellers often use complex mathematical formulas

to determine what products to feature

and how to price these products.

Incorporating more data about weather

would allow them to make better decisions.

This could bolster sales.

Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.

9. What do we learn about the findings of the new study?

10. What does the passage say may increase the value of products for consumers?

11. How can the findings of the new study

benefit online sellers according to the researchers?

Passage Two

Setting the office air-conditioning at about 22℃

has become standard practice across the world.

Numerous guidebooks across the world on heating,

ventilation and air-conditioning

claim office performance peaks at 22 degrees.

Many people indeed find relief from soaring summer temperatures

in air-conditioned offices.But recent studies have challenged

the accepted wisdom that a cool office is more productive.

The reality is more complex.

Researchers conducted a review of all studies relating to

air-conditioning and productivity.

They found that 22 degrees  was probably a little chilly,

even at the height of summer.

For a person dressed in typical summer clothing,

an optimal range would be between 23 and 26 degrees.

And people can even tolerate temperatures beyond this comfort zone

as long as they can adjust their clothing and expectations.

In fact, even on very hot days,

it makes sense to turn the air-conditioning up.

People often chase just one optimum temperature,

and this is understandable when people feel hot.

But there is a range of at least three to four degrees

which does not have any adverse impact.

Another issue related to this is that people can become

psychologically dependent on air-conditioning.

If they’re used to the environment  which is air-conditioned,

they tend to prefer lower temperatures.

But the studies found that almost all humans

became accustomed to the new temperature.

It was only at the extreme ends of the temperature range

where people’s productivity suffered.

This range was above 26 degrees and below 19 degrees.

Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.

12. What is the accepted wisdom concerning the office environment?

13. What did researchers find from their review of all studies

relating to air-conditioning and productivity?

14. What do we learn about using a little less air-conditioning

during hot weather?

15. What happens when people are used to an air-conditioned environment?

Section C

Directions: In this section,

you will hear three recordings of lectures or talks

followed by three or four questions.

The recordings will be played 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.

Recording One

Psychology research has tended to portray solitude

as a negative experience.

Studies conducted in the 1970s and 1990s

suggested that people felt less happy when alone

as compared to being with others.

However, a new paper shows an alternative view

of solitude, one in which solitude can be positive.

Let’s start by looking at the earlier research.

It had a couple of shortcomings.

First, it measured emotion

on a scale from positive to negative,

overlooking the possibility

that our positive and negative emotions

can fluctuate independently.

Also, it categorized emotions  as simply positive or negative.

It didn’t consider that emotions

arouse us to different degrees,

and that both positive and negative emotions

can arouse us a lot or a little.

That is, whether positive or negative,

emotions can be either high-arousal or low-arousal.

High-arousal emotions include excitement

on the positive side or anger on the negative side,

while low-arousal ones include feeling calm

on the positive side or lonely on the negative.

This new research attempted to overcome these shortcomings.

Researchers began with a simple study.

They asked participants to spend 15 minutes sitting alone

without engaging in any activity,  and measured how this solitude

influences their emotional state.

This experiment specifically aimed to determine

the effect of solitude on high-arousal emotions.

It looked at positive emotions

such as being excited or interested,  and negative emotions

including being scared or distressed. The results were clear.

After 15 minutes of solitude,  the participants showed reductions

in both types of emotion.

A second study measured the effects of solitude on low-arousal emotions.

These included both positive  and negative emotions,

such as feeling calm, relaxed, sad or lonely.

That experiment found that all of these emotions were increased by time alone.

Thus it seems past depictions of solitude were wrong.

It doesn’t have a simple emotional effect

that can be characterized as good or bad.

Rather, it changes the intensity  of our inner experience.

It amplifies quieter emotions,

but it diminishes the intensity of stronger feelings.

It’s worth clarifying that these findings relate to

relatively brief periods of solitude.

This is distinct from prolonged loneliness.

Research has demonstrated that the latter is correlated

with an assortment of negative physical and psychological effects.

How can people benefit from being alone?

The findings here suggest that people can use solitude

to regulate their emotions.

Solitude can help us become quiet  after excitement,

calm after an angry episode,  or simply feel at peace.

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

16. What is one of the criticisms directed at the early research on solitude?

17. What do we learn about the results of the new research?

18. What does the second experiment  in the new research find about solitude?

Recording Two

In 1984,

the World Chess Championship  was called off abruptly,

due to the withered frame of a player who was competing for the title.

He wasn’t alone in experiencing

the extreme physical effects of the game.

Elite players can reportedly burn up to an absurd  6,000 calories in one day.

Does that mean that thinking harder is a simple route to losing weight?

Well, when the body is at rest,  we know that the brain uses up

a startling 20%-25% of the body’s overall energy.

This level of utilization actually makes the brain the

most energy-expensive organ in the body,

and yet it makes up only  2% of the body’s weight, overall.

So the more we put this organ to work,

the more calories we’ll burn?

Technically, the answer is yes,

for cognitively difficult tasks.

What counts as a “difficult”mental task varies between individuals.

But generally,  it could be described as something

that the brain cannot solve easily  using previously learned routines,

or tasks that change the conditions continuously.

However, deep thinking

will not burn off the calories gained from eating a sugary snack.

Because in relation to the brain’s

huge overall energy usage,

which is devoted to a multitude of tasks,

the energy required just to think harder is actually comparatively tiny.

We are unconscious of most of what uses up the brain’s energy.

A lot of that activity is unrelated to

conscious activities like learning how to sing or play the guitar.

The brain is able to allocate blood

and thus energy to particular regions that are being active at that point.

But the overall energy availability in the brain is thought to be constant.

So, while there might be significant increases

in energy use at localized regions of the brain

when we perform difficult cognitive tasks,

when it comes to the whole brain’s  energy budget overall,

these activities don’t significantly alter it.

So why did the chess champion grow too skinny

to compete in his chess competition?

The general consensus is that it mostly comes down

to stress and reduced food consumption,  not mental exhaustion.

Keeping your body pumped up for action

for long periods of time is very energy demanding.

If you can’t eat as often or as much as you can or would normally-

then you might lose weight.

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

19. What do we learn about the brain when the body is at rest?

20. What does the speaker say about the consumption of the brain’s energy?

21. What do we learn about the overall energy availability in the brain?

Recording Three

“Tell me about yourself”  may seem like an easy job interview question,

but the open-ended nature of this question often leaves job seekers

at a loss where to start.

This common question is actually a critical test of a job candidate’s

communication skills.

So it’s important not to give an unprepared response or mess it up.

“Tell me about yourself” is often the first question

professional career coaches prepare people for

when they give interview guidance.

It’s the opportunity for the candidate

to take control of the narrative

and tell their story in a way that really matters to their audience.

It takes hard work and extensive preparation to answer this question well.

When a person goes to a job interview,

their interviewer has presumably  read their résumé,

so they don’t need to repeat the information.

But that’s what most people will do,

as it’s their instinct to recite things

that are already on their résumé.

It’s important for job seekers to do their homework on two crucial aspects.

First, they are not just telling someone  a fact about themselves.

They’re telling a story. And stories take work to create.

Coming up with a good story means getting reflective

about what made their career accomplishments-

something they’re proud of,

and what strengths those accomplishments highlight.

Candidates shouldn’t pick a broad general strength

to elaborate on, such as   “I’m smart, I work hard

and I get things done.”

To come up with multiple career accomplishments or examples

for different interview questions,

job seekers should talk with others,

especially people who know them,

partners, friends or co-workers  who will bring up different stories

than the ones they remember.

Secondly, candidates should know  what’s at stake for the company

with this job opening.

What they really are asking you is

“tell me why you are going to help me.”

If the person is a prepared candidate,

they should have already figured out those things.

They’ve read the job description

and researched the company on the Internet.

What job applicants ought to be looking for

is what the company is up to,

what they are trying to accomplish and what is preventing them

from accomplishing those things.

How long should it take to answer? Around a minute.

That’s about right for most people’s attention spans.

Under a minute could seem rushed,

while over two minutes will start to feel more like a speech.

But the length of the answer  is not an exact science,

and candidates need to keep their career story

focused and tailored to their audience.

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

22. What does the speaker say  about the job interview question

“tell me about yourself”?

23. What will most people do when they come to a job interview?

24. Why should job seekers talk with partners,

friends and co-workers?

25. What other important preparations

should job seekers make before an interview?