PART II

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.

News Report  1

More Americans expect to work past their 65th birthdays and never retire,

 says a recent study. The Associated Press with the NORC Center

 for Public Affairs Research polled 1,075 people, 

age 50 and older. One-fourth of them said they never plan to retire. 

Among low-income earners in that age group that is even more true than for high earners.

In America, the age of 65 is the traditional age to retire. 

Sixty percent of people aged 50 to 64 said they expect to work past their 65th birthday. 

More than half of those who are already older than 65 said they plan to keep working, too.

 They say they are working an average of 31 hours per week. 

Those 50 years of age or older said finances are the most important factor 

in the decision to when to retire.

A majority of older workers — especially those who are 65 

and older — plan to switch employers, or move into an entirely new profession, 

as they head into the Later years. 

One-third of people earning less than $50,000 a year said they will keep working.

 About 20 percent of those who earn more than $100,000 said they will never retire.

As baby boomers — people born between 1946 and 1964 —reach age 65, 

the United States' general population will have more older people than ever before.

 The number of Americans 65 and older jumped 21 percent

 —or to 35.5 million— between 2002 and 2012.

 That number is expected to reach 92 million by 2060.

Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.

1.Which is the key factor as Americans decide when to retire?

2.Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

News Report  2

A second powerful earthquake struck southern Japan early Saturday.

 The quake caused the Japan Meteorological Agency to give and then cancel 

a tsunami warning for the area. The magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck near 

the city of Kumamoto on the island of Kyushu. Magnitude is a measure of the 

energy released during an earthquake.

Rescue workers have been searching wreckage from an earlier 6.5 magnitude

 earthquake that hit the same area Thursday. 

More than 100 aftershocks have been felt since then. 

An eight-month-old baby girl was trapped in a house damaged by the earlier quake. 

Nearly 50 rescuers were involved in the effort to pull the child from

 the rubble early Friday. About 1,600 soldiers have joined nearly 2,000 police 

officers and 1,300 firefighters in the recovery effort. 

Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Friday that the quake killed 

at least nine people and injured more than 800 others.

 The quakes have destroyed houses and damaged roads.

 Damage was severe in the town of Mashiki. Eight of the dead lived in the town,

 which is about 1,300 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. 

Japanese officials said no damage was reported at nearby nuclear power centers.

Television reports of the first earthquake 

showed fires and interviews with Mashiki residents.

"The whole house shook violently sideways," Takahiko Morita,

 a Mashiki resident, said to one broadcaster. 

"Furniture and bookshelves fell down. Books were all over the floor."

Aftershocks have slowed the recovery efforts.

 Water service was stopped in some areas, 

forcing some people to bring water from offices to their homes.

Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.

3. When and Where did the second powerful earthquake happen in Japan?

4. How many rescuers got involved in the recovery effort?

5.The following were the damages of the earthquakes except .

News Report  3

There is good news for people who think they do not have time to exercise.

A group of researchers from a university in Canada recently published a study 

that says short bursts of high-intensity exercise are good for you. 

In fact, this kind of exercise is just as good as spending up to an hour riding 

a bike or running steadily. 

The research team followed 27 men who were not very active for 12 weeks.

They divided the men into three groups.

One group did short, intense workouts on a bicycle three times a week. 

Another group rode a bicycle for about 50 minutes, three times a week.

 A third group did nothing.

The researchers found something they did not expect.

 The group that exercised for only 10 minutes each session 

was just as healthy after 12 weeks as the group that

 exercised for 50 minutes each session.

That is because of the way the researchers organized the workouts.

 Each group started with a two-minute warm-up and 

finished with a three-minute cool-down. 

But in-between, the high-intensity group sprinted for 20 seconds, 

followed by a two-minute recovery period.

They did three sprints for a total of 10 minutes of exercise. 

This kind of exercise is known as interval training. 

The lead author of the study says interval training is 

both time efficient and effective.

Questions 6 and 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.

6. What kind of people are most likely to benefit from

 the so-called interval exercise?

7. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

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.

Conversation One

M:Excuse me, I need some information about some of the towns near here.

W:What would you like to know?

M:Well, first, I'd like directions to go to Norwalk.

I believe there is an interesting museum there. It isn't far, is it?

W:No, not at all. Norwalk is about eighteen miles east of here on Route 7.

 And you're right. It's a wonderful little museum.

M:Oh good. Now what about Amitsville? I have some friends. 

I'd like to visit there and I also want to get to Newton. 

They are near each other, aren't they?

W:Hmm... well, they are actually in opposite directions. Amitsville is northeast. 

It's about thirty five miles northeast of here.

M:Huhuh, thirty five miles northeast. And how about Newton?

W:Well, Newton is in the other direction.

 It's southwest, so it isn't really very close to Amitsville at all and it's a long drive.

 It's about fifty five miles southwest from here and the road is not at all straight.

M:Fifty five miles southwest! Well, maybe I won't go there this time.

W:I'd recommend visiting Westfield or Great Town. They are both very close.

 Westfield is just seven miles west of here and Great Town is about five miles south.

They are really pretty little towns with lots of old houses and beautiful treelined streets.

M:I see. Seven miles west to Westfield and five miles south to Great Town.

 Good. Well, I think that's all the information I need for a while.

 Thank you. You've been very helpful.

W:You're welcome, sir. I hope you enjoy your stay.

Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

8.How many towns are mentioned in the conversation?

9.What does the man know about Norwalk?

10.What does the woman say about Amitsville and Newton?

11.What do we learn about Westfield and Great Town?

Conversation Two

M:Err... Sandra, I've finished with Mr. Gartner now. 

Do you think you could pop through in bringing me up to date

on their arrangements for the Italian trip?

W:Certainly, Mr. Wilkinson. I'll bring everything with me.

M:Right, take a seat. Now my first meeting is when?

W:Your first meeting is on Monday the 21st at 9a.m. with Dr. Gucci of Bancos en Piedra in Milan.

M:OK, so can I fly out early Monday morning?

W:Well, there is a flight to Lenarty Airport which leaves at six 

thirty London time and gets in at eight thirty Italian time.

M:Yeah, but that only leaves me thirty minutes to 

clear customs in getting to the city center and it means I have to check in by five thirty, 

which means leaving home at about four fifteen.

W:I'm afraid so.

M:Hmm... not so keen on that. What's the program for the rest of that day?

W:It's quite full, I'm afraid. At eleven, you're seeing Gianni Riva at Megastar and

 then you'll have a lunch engagement with Gavin from the Chamber of Commerce at one.

M:Where's that?

W:You're meeting him at his office and then he's taking you somewhere.

M:Good, that sounds fine. What about the afternoon?

W:Well, at three thirty, you're seeing our sales representative there and 

then you're free till evening.

M:I see. I seem to remember that I'm having a dinner with someone from Bergamo.

W:That's right. And Mr. Betty from SAP Industries at eight.

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

12.What would the man like the woman to do?

13.At what time is Mr. Wilkinson going to leave home for the airport?

14.Who is Mr. Wilkinson going to have a lunch with on Monday?

15.What is most probably the woman's job?

Section C

Directions: In this section, you will hear three 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 

Donna Fredrick's served with the Peace Corps for two years in Brazil.

She joined the Peace Corps after she graduated from the college 

because she wanted to do something to help other people. She had been brought up on a farm,

so the Peace Corps assigned her to an agricultural project. 

Before she went to Brazil, she studied Portuguese for three months. 

She also learnt a great deal about its history and culture.

 During her two years with the Peace Corps, Donna lived in a village in northeast Brazil. 

That part of Brazil is very dry and farming is often difficult there. 

Donna helped the people of the village to organize an irrigation project, 

and she also advised them on planting crops that didn't require much water. 

When Donna returned to the States, she couldn't settle down. She tried several jobs,

 but they seemed very boring to her. She couldn't get Brazil out of her mind. Finally,

 one day she got on a plane and went back to Brazil. She wasn't sure what she's going to do. 

She just wanted to be there. After a few weeks, Donna found a job as an English teacher, 

teaching five classes a day. Like most of the teachers, she doesn't make much money.

 She shares a small apartment with another teacher.

And she makes a little extra money by sending stories to newspapers in the States.

 Eventually she wants to quit teaching and work as a fulltime journalist. 

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

16. Why did Donna join the Peace Corps after she graduated from college?

17. What was Donna assigned to do in Brazil?

18. Why did Donna go back to Brazil once again?

19.How did Donna make extra money to support herself?

Passage Two

Results of a recent Harry's pool on free time showed that the 

average work week for many Americans is 50 hours. 

With the time spent eating, sleeping and taking care of the household duties, 

there's little time left for leisure activities for many Americans. 

However, having free time to relax and pursue hobbies is important. 

People need time away from the pressures of study or work to relax and 

enjoy time with friends and family.

 In many countries free time is spent in different ways. 

The results of a Harry's pool showed that reading was the most popular spare 

time activity in the US. 

This was followed by watching TV. In a UK survey on leisure time activities,

watching TV and videos was the most popular. Listening to the radio came second.

In a similar survey conducted in Japan, the most popular free time activity was eating out.

The second most popular activity was driving. 

There were also differences in the most popular outdoor pursuits between the three countries. 

The most popular outdoor activity for Americans was gardening.

In the UK, it was going to the pub.

In Japan, going to bars ranked eighth in popularity and gardening ranked ninth. 

Although people around the world may enjoy doing similar things in their free time, 

there's evidence to suggest that these interests are changing. In the US, for example, 

the popularity of computer activities is increasing. 

Many more people in the States are spending their free time surfing the web,

emailing friends or playing games online.

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

20.What is the recent Harry's Pole mainly about?

21.What was the most popular leisure activity in the US?

22.What was the most popular outdoor pursuit in the UK?

Passage Three

On March 13th, while on duty Charles Mclaughlin,

a very careless driver employed by the company Lummis was involved in another accident.

The accident occurred in Riverside California. 

Not paying attention to his driving, Mclaughlin turned right on main street 

and 33rd street and hit Volkswagen rabbit.

This caused minor damage to his truck and serious damage to the car.

On the basis of the police report, 

the Lummis accident committee correctly determined that Mclaughlin had been quite careless.

As a result of the committee's conclusion,

the branch manager Mr. David Rossi reported that he had talked with Mclaughlin 

about his extremely poor driving record. Further evidence 

of Mclaughlin's irresponsibility occurred on May 6th when he was returning from his shift.

That day he ran into a rollup door at the Lummis facility in Valero,

causing significant damage to the door. Damage to the truck, however, was minor. Finally,

on June 7th,Mclaughlin once again demonstrated his carelessness 

by knocking down several mail boxes near the edge of the company's parking lot. 

There was damage to the mailboxes and minor damage to the truck.

Mr. David Rossi stated that he had spoken with Mclaughlin on several occasions 

about his driving record. 

He added that he had warned Mclaughlin that three preventable accidents

in one year could lead to his discharge, as indeed it should.

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

23.What did the Lummis accident committee find out about the accident

 that occurred on March 13th?

24.What did Mclaughlin do on June 7th near the edge

 of the company's parking lot?

25.What is most probably going to happen to Mclaughlin?