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

The streets of Antananarivo were calm and stores and businesses opened as usual 

one day after a group of military officers announced they were suspending

the transitional government of Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina.

Rebel spokesman Colonel Charles Andrianasoavina called for all the armed forces

to support the overthrow. 

He said the military council was seizing power

because of the political situation, which has still not been

resolved after 18 months.

Prime Minister Camille Vital said loyalist officers were talking to the mutineers,

whom he said numbered no more than 20.

 But he said his government

would take a tougher stance if the talks failed.

The mutiny took place as voters decided in a referendum whether to adopt a new constitution.

 Supporters hoped the new charter would end a political

crisis provoked by a militarybacked coup last year that brought Rajoelina to power. 

Legal expert Sohandra Rebenarivo said the main purpose of the proposed charter is to 

consolidate Mr.Rajoelina's power.

News Item 2

Twenty seven mine workers are missing in New Zealand after

an underground explosion.The authorities say rescue efforts have been held up

by the concern about the build up of dangerous gases.Ambulances and helicopters

are at the scene.

From Auckland, Gret Whatt reports:

A coal mine explosion occurred in a remote path in New Zealand's South Island.

Two injured men managed to walk from the mine,

but another twentyseven remained missing.

The two survivors told the authorities the others were on the way.But they never arrived.

There has been no contact with the missing men since the accident happened.

The coal mine they were working in runs two kilometers

below a mountain.It could be several hours before air sample checks are complete

and search can begin.

News Item 3

Leaders of the world's twenty largest economies met this week in Seoul, South Korea.

They agreed to try to let market forces drive currency exchange rates.

Their declaration Friday also promised to avoid competitive devaluation of currencies.

A weaker currency lowers the price of a country's exports.

That angers other exporters with stronger currencies,

and it can lead to socalled currency wars.

Leaders from the Group of 20 urged “advanced economies” 

to guard against disorderly movements in exchange rates.At the same time,

they rejected the idea of setting target amounts for national trade balances.

The United States and South Korea supported the idea.Others, including China,

Germany and Japan, opposed it.

Instead, the leaders said they will order their

finance ministers to develop a set of “indicative guidelines” early next year.

These will measure trade and economic balances, to signal when 

deficits or surpluses are becoming too large.

President Obama noted that the G20 leaders made progress in areas

like approving reforms for the International Monetary Fund.But he himself failed in efforts

to secure a free trade agreement with South Korea.And he made little progress 

in his push to get China to let the value of its currency rise.

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 

W: Hi！Peter! What is so interesting?

M: I'm reading an article about a famous composer. I'm deeply touched by it.

W: Really? Who is the composer? 

M: You know Beethoven?

W: Yes, of course. Beethoven was one of the greatest composers of all time.

 Could you tell me something about his childhood?

M: Yes, his father was a musician for the king.

He started to give Beethoven piano lessons before he was four years old. Beethoven

continued to study, and, in 1782, he became the assistant organist for the king.

He was only 12 years old!

W: What happened, then?

M: When Beethoven was about sixteen, he went to Vienna to study. 

He played for many important people, 

including the famous composer Mozart.

When Mozart heard him, he told his friends “Keep your eyes on him. 

Someday he will give the world something to talk about.”

W: But I know that he became deaf, right?

M: Yes, when Beethoven was in his late twenties, 

a terrible thing happened to him. 

He began to lose his hearing. Eventually,

he became completely deaf. 

W: So he must be very upset by this. It was really a disaster to a composer like him!

M: But he continued to compose music, it's so incredible!

W: Yes, he would never yield to his deafness. By the way, when did he pass away?

M: Beethoven died in Vienna in 1827 when he was 57. Over 20,000 people came to his funeral. 

W: Well, people will always remember that he helped to make classical music 

popular aroundthe world. 

Questions8.

What is the man doing?

Questions9.

What do we learn about Beethoven's childhood?

Questions10.

What's the opinion of Mozart towards Beethoven?

Questions11.

What did Beethoven do after he became completely deaf?

Conversation Two

M: Do you know that Mr. Smith has just given a lecture on campus?

W: Really? It's a pity that I missed it. Come on, tell me what is the topic of his lecture.

M: It is entitled “marriage and family today”. You know, 

the idea of marriage as a way of life has changed greatly. 

W: Yes, you are quite right. It is reported that not everyone tries to get married.

Some people even decide to live alone all his life. Some people get married,

but soon they find they are not happy, so they get a divorce to end the marriage.

M: Right. Mr. Smith points out that the divorce rate has increased in recent years, 

marriage has changed in another way. Many people get married, 

but their marriage relationships are very different from the traditional ones.  

W: Then what is the cause of the difference? What does Mr. Smith say? 

M: It's just because of the different roles played by husband and wife. Nowadays,

many men stay at home to take care of the children and the house. 

The man doesn't earn all of the money in the family.  

W: That's perfectly true. The man has to share many important decisions with his wife,

even sometimes with his children. What about the roles played by women? 

M: With the development of society, more and more women have been working.

Some of them have decided not to have children at all! 

W: So both of men and women's roles have really changed greatly. 

Oh, it's 2 o'clock! I have to meet Mr. White to discuss something about my term paper,

so tell me more about the lecture next time!

M: It's out of question! Bye! 

Questions13

Which of the following is mentioned in the conversation?

Questions14

Which is not the role played by men or women nowadays?

Questions15

What's the attitude of the speakers towards the changes of the roles of men and women?

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 

The battle against mosquitoes is often fought with chemicals. 

It is the most popular choice, because it is highly effective, but it can be poisonous, 

smelly and irritating. For those who prefer a chemicalfree method, 

a plain and simple house fan just might do the trick.

Studies have found that wind is an effective method against mosquitoes and other pests. 

The reason seems obvious: it prevents them from circling and landing on you, 

like a windstorm keeping a plane from its descent. But that is not entirely the case. 

A fan disperses the carbon dioxide you give off. 

Carbon dioxide is one of the major chemicals that attract mosquitoes.

The wind from a fan also cools you off. Sweat,

lactic acid and body heat attract mosquitoes—factors that a fan can help minimize.

In one study in 2003, scientists at Michigan State University used traps set up in a wetland 

to attract mosquitoes. Releasing carbon dioxide attracted more pests to the trap,

and the more carbon dioxide, the more mosquitoes.

Using fangenerated wind of various speeds helped keep them away.

But there was no link between wind “velocity” and “mosquito mass.”

“We recommend that fangenerated wind should be pursued as a practical means of protecting 

humans or pets from mosquitoes in the backyard setting,”

they wrote. For an indoor setting, a fan on medium or high speed should do the job. 

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

Questions16

What are the disadvantages of the traditional ways of fighting against mosquitoes?

Questions17

What's the use of a fan according to the passage?

Questions18

What can be inferred from the study conducted by scientists at Michigan State University?

Passage Two

There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine's Day. 

Some experts state that it originated from St. Valentine, 

a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. 

He died on February 14, 269 AD, the same day that had been devoted to love lotteries.

Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter,

who had become his friend, and signed it “From Your Valentine”.

Other aspects of the story say that Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the

reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying him. In 496 AD，

 Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honour St. Valentine. 

Gradually, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St.

Valentine became the patron saint of lovers.

The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers. 

There was often a social gathering or a ball.

In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is regarded as the person

who sends the first valentine cards.

Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800's and now the date is very commercialised. 

The town of Loveland, Colorado, does a large post office business around February 14.

The spirit of good continues as valentines are sent out with sentimental verses and 

children exchange valentine cards at school.

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

Questions19

Which opinion about St. Valentine isn't mentioned in the passage?

Questions20

Which of the following doesn't belong to the activities on February 14 ?

Questions21

Which is true about Miss Esther Howland?

Passage Three

Passive smoking is breathing in other people's smoke. Over the past 30 years,

a growing body of scientific evidence has concluded that passive smoking increases

the risk of heart disease in nonsmokers.

Nonsmokers with long term exposure to tobacco smoke in their home have an

estimated 20% to 30% increased risk of heart disease compared to nonexposed nonsmokers.

Even though a nonsmoker would inhale less smoke than an active smoker,

the effect of passive smoking on their heart disease risk is as high as one

third the effect of active smoking. 

Passive smoking causes both short and long term harm to the hearts of nonsmokers. 

In as little as 30 minutes,chemicals in tobacco smoke change the actions of blood vessels 

in nonsmokers, to a similar extent found in smokers.

This effect and other changes to the blood chemistry help to build up fatty deposits

in blood vessels, narrow the blood vessels, cause blood clots and inflammation, 

which may eventually lead to heart attack.

Passive smoking reduces the amount of oxygen carried in the bloodstream,

replacing it with carbon monoxide. As a result，this increases the demand on the heart.

The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council

has estimated that 77 coronary deaths occur each year in never

smokers in Australia that could be due to smoking by their spouses at home.

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

Questions22

What's the effect of passive smoking concluded by scientific evidence?

Questions23

How does smoking cause heart attack to the nonsmokers?

Questions24

Which statement about passive smoking is true?

Questions25

What could be the cause of the coronary deaths in neversmokers in Australia?