大学英语四级考试

Part II Listening Comprehension

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.

News Item 1

A new way of taking tuberculosis drugs shows promise in laboratory tests.

Instead of taking a pill or getting a shot, patients would inhale their medicine to 

get the drug deep into the lungs.

Tuberculosis is one of the world's most serious health challenges.

The World Health Organization says onethird of the world's population is infected—that's

two billion people.The vast majority of them never get sick, 

but last year alone more than nine million did, and an estimated 1.7 million died from TB.

Treating tuberculosis has never been easy.Drugs must be taken for months, 

and too often patients stop taking the pills, which opens the way for resistant forms of the disease

to develop.So the search is on for better ways to treat TB.

A PhD student at the University of Colorado has been exploring using existing drugs 

in a new form—a very fine powder that is inhaled, 

instead of a pill.Jaime Manion says most tuberculosis bacteria cluster in the lungs, 

so delivering drugs directly to the lungs can be more effective, faster, and require lower doses.

News Item 2

NATO authorities say a suspected bomb intercepted in an Airport of Namibia before 

it was loaded onto a plane for Germany was only a dummy, used to test security checks.

The German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said, experts were examining the parcel and found

it was in a test suitcase.From Berlin, here is Steve Evens:

Germany and much of the rest of the western world went on a high alert 

when the package was discovered.Apparently about it being loaded onto an Air Berlin flight to Bayern München,

the Xray scan showed it ticking in a clock.In Namibia the flight was delayed for six hours

where all passengers had to account for their luggage.

Twenty four hours later the minister says it was a test of security.He did not specify whether 

it was done by local officials or whether it was some other security agency in which 

case why didn't somebody just pick up the phone.

News Item 3

The world has almost seven billion people.At least two billion are expected to be on the Internet 

by January.New growth is mostly from developing countries.

Yet only twentyone percent of their population is online.

A group called the World Wide Web Foundation is working to make the Web more usable to more of the world.

Tim BernersLee is the British computer scientist who invented 

the World Wide Web.He announced the launch of the Web Foundation last November.

The group says many people can access the Web but are unable to use it.

The biggest reason is illiteracy.

The latest United Nations report says almost eight hundred million adults are unable to read 

or write.Even for those who can read, much of the information that is available on the Web is not 

in a language they can understand.

Steve Bratt is chief executive of the Web Foundation.

STEVE BRATT: “If you're a poor shopkeeper living in a very impoverished part of Botswana 

and you're trying to feed your family, trying to buy and sell goods, 

trying to get medical services for your kids or your employees, 

and you speak a local language, there's nothing on today's Web that's going to help you, right?

“So even if they had connectivity and they had a mobile phone, 

or something they could get to the Web, what would they look for? 

What would they be able to understand?”

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'll hear the two long conversations.

Conversation One 

M: We have three kinds of tours of London. They are a half day, a full day and a day and evening tour. 

Which one will you choose?

W: Well, as we're only here for a few days, I think we can take the day and evening tour.

Give my two children the opportunity to see everything.

M: Won't that be a bit tiring for them?

W: Yes, you're right. It's probably better if we don't include them on the evening part of the program.

M: Not the theatre and the dinner entertainment?

 W:Yes, that is what I mean. Can hotel take care of them?

M: Yes, I am sure that can be arranged.

W: Thanks, now could you tell me what the cost will be for the tour we choose?

M: Seventy pounds per head.

W: So that would be 140 pounds for me and my husband. What about the children, 

is there any reduction for them?

M: Certainly, we have half pri ce for children. 

Because your children are not going to the theatre or the dinner, I think thirty pounds each. 

W: Ok, I see, so I should pay 60 pounds for my two children. 

Another question, will we have a guide during the tour?

M: Of course. There's an official guide who will explain the sights and give a short account 

of their historic associations in three languages: English, 

 German and French. If you have any further questions he'll be pleased to answer them.

W：Oh, I see.

Questions8.

Which tour does the woman choose?

Questions9.

Who will take care of children if they are not included on the evening part of the tour?

Questions10.

What is the family's total cost of the tour?

Questions11.

Q:What the language will the guide use during the tour?

Conversation Two

M: Hello, this is Robert Gordon. Is that the Royal Hotel? 

W: Yes, it is. Can I help you?

M: Have you got a double room for the night of 23rd July?

W: One moment please. I'll just have a look. 

Yes, we have got a double room on that date.

M: Has it got a double bed or two singles?

W: Two singles.

M: And is that with a bath?

W: It's a room with shower and toilet.

M: That sounds fine. Is there a TV?

W:Yes, of course. And a video, if you choose.

M: How much will it be for one night?

W:150 pounds. It includes morning newspaper, the continental breakfast and service such as laundry， 

ironing and cleaning.

M: Isn't the breakfast free anyway?

W: Well, only on weekends.

M: Where is the nearest tube?

W: It is in the opposite of the opera. It's only 5 minutes' walk from here.

M: And it there an extra charge for children?

W: If the child is under sixteen and we put an extra bed in your room, 

the charge is 30 pounds per day. Do you want the room?

M: Yes, for one night — 23rd July.

W: OK, our check-in time is after 13:00 pm.

M: By the way do you provide tourist handbook of this city?

W: Yes. See you then.

Questions13

What does the woman say about the room?

Questions14

Where is the nearest tube?

Questions15

What does the man imply he would do at the end of the conversation?

Section C 

Directions:In this section, you will hear three 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 

If you're concerned about gaining weight over the upcoming holiday season, 

consider eating more slowly and you might consume less, a study suggests. 

Diet experts have been touting this advice for years, and now nutrition scientists 

at the University of Rhode Island have some new data to back it up.

They had 30 normal-weight, college-age women come into a laboratory for lunch on two separate occasions.

Each time, the women were offered the same food, plus a glass of water. 

were asked to eat until the point of comfortable fullness. On one occasion, 

they were instructed to eat as quickly as they could; 

on the other occasion they ate slowly and put down their spoons between bites. 

They did not know the food and water was weighed before and after the meal to determine the amount consumed. 

Findings: When eating quickly,the women consumed 646 calories in about nine minutes. When eating more slowly, 

they had an average of 579 calories in about 29 minutes.

Upon completion of the meal and an hour afterward,

the women were less satisfied and hungrier when eating quickly compared with when they ate slowly, 

she says. They said they enjoyed the meal more when they were taking their time. 

Not surprisingly, the women drank more water when they ate more slowly. 

Questions 16 to 19 are based on the passage you have just heard. 

Questions16

According to the speaker, what will you do if you are concerned about gaining weight 

in the coming holiday season?

Questions17

How does the speaker describe the 30 women?

Questions18

How many calories the women consumed in about 9 minutes when they eat fast?

Questions19

What does the speaker say about the women when they ate fast?

Passage Two

John Milton was born about a fortnight before Christmas in 1608, Bread Street, London. 

At an early age the little poet was sent to St. Paul's School, 

one of the few large schools in London at that time. Milton worked very hard. 

He generally sat up till twelve or one o'clock reading, before he went to bed. 

His eyes were always weak, and this constant reading made them worse. 

When he was sixteen he went to Cambridge. There he wrote many poems, 

all very clever and most very beautiful. He stayed there till he was twentythree. 

He was not tall, and was very slight, his hair was long, his face thin and pale. 

In his college he was called “the lady”, for having a gentle and feminine voice.

He was grave and serious at this time.

In 1643 Milton married, but not happily. He himself had been brought up as a Puritan, 

that is, a man who was very strict about religion, dressing plainly and severely. 

His wife was very different: she was gay and frivolous, and cared little for religion. 

The first half of Milton's life had been very happy, peaceful, and calm; the last half was not smooth,

but very unhappy, and full of misery. The crushing thought of coming blindness, 

often made him very sad. Several times he and his wife had to separate. 

She died nine years after their marriage, leaving three daughters to be brought up by the poet. 

Questions 20 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard.

Questions20

Why Milton was called “the lady” in his college?

Questions21

Why was Milton very sad? 

Questions22

When did Milton's wife die?

Passage Three

If you are invited to an American friend's home for dinner, keep in mind these general rules 

for polite behavior. First of all, arrive approximately on time (but not early).

Americans expect promptness. It is OK to be 10 or 15 minutes late, but not 45 minutes late. 

Dinner might be overcooked and ruined by then. When you are invited to someone's home for a meal, 

it is polite to bring a small gift. Flowers or candy are always appropriate.

Some Americans don't know the dietary restrictions of various ethnic and religious groups. 

What do you do if you are served a food that you do not like or cannot eat? 

Don't make a fuss about it. If your host doesn't say anything about what you aren't eating, 

then you shouldn't either. Simply eat what you can and hope that no one notice what you left. 

If you are questioned, you may have to admit that you don't eat meat (or whatever), 

but you can also say that you have enjoyed the other foods and have had “more than enough” to eat. 

Don't make the cook feel obliged to prepare something else for you. 

If you invite someone to join you for dinner in a restaurant,

phone the restaurant first to make a reservation in order to avoid a long wait for a table. 

To make a reservation, just give your name, the number of people in your group, 

and the time you plan to arrive. 

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

Questions23

If you are invited to have a dinner at an American's home, what will you do?

Questions24

What will you do if you are offered a food that you don't like at an American's home?

Questions25

What will you do first if you want to invite one of your American friends to have a dinner 

in a restaurant?