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.

Now you will haer the two long conversations

Conversation 1

W: Mr. white, what changes have you seen in the champagne market in the last ten to fifteen years?

M: Well, the biggest change has been the decrease in sales since the great boom years

in the 1980s when champagne production and sales reached record levels.

W: Which was the best year?

M: Well, the record was in 1989 when 249 million bottles of champagne was sold.

 The highest production level was reached in 1990 with a total of 293 million bottles.

 Of course since those boom years, sales have fallen.

W: Has the marker been badly hit by the recession?

M: Oh, certainly. The economic problems in champagne`s export markets` that`s Europe,

 the United States, Japan, and of course, the domestic market in France.

 The economic problems have certainly been one reason for the decrease in champagne sales.

W: And the other reasons?

M: Another important factor has been price. In the early 90s,

champagne was very overpriced; so many people stopped buying it.

Instead, they bought sparkling wines from other countries, in particular,

from Australia and Spain. And then, there was another problem for champagne in the early 90s.

W: What was that?

M: There was a lot of rather bad champagne on the market.

This meant the popularity of good sparkling wines increased even more.

People were surprised by their quality, and of course,

they were a lot cheaper than champagne.

W: Do you think the champagne market will recover in the future?

M: Oh, I am sure it will. When the economic situation improves,

I believe the market will recover.

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

1:What does the man say about champagne in the 1980s?

2:Why did sparkling wines become more popular than champagne in the early 1990s?

3:What dose the man think of the champagne market in the future?

4:When was the highest champagne production level reached?

Conversation 2

W:Right, well, in the studio this morning, for our interview spot is Peter Wilson.

Peter works for Green Peace. So, Peter, welcome.

M: Thanks a lot. It`s good to be here.

W: Great! Now, Peter, perhaps you can tell us

something about Green Peace and your job there.

M: Sure. Well, I`ll start by telling you roughly what Green Peace is all about.

I actually work in London for the Green Peace Organization.

 We`ve been going for a few decades and we`re a non violent,

non political organization. We`re involved in antinuclear activity,

 conservation and protection of animals and protection and support of our eco`system.

I`m the action organizer and arrange any protests.

W: Right! A pretty important role. Peter,

what sort of protest would you organize?

M: Well, recently we`ve been involved in anti nuclear campaigns.

 I personally arranged for the demonstration against

radio active waste dumping in the Atlantic Ocean.

We`ve got a few small Green Peace boats that we harass the dumping ship with.

W: Say? Hold on, Peter.

I thought you said your organization was non violent.

 What do you mean by “harass”?

M: Well, we circle round and round the ships and get in the

way when they try to dump the drums of nuclear waste in the sea.

We talk to the men and try to change, you know,

yell at them to stop. We generally make ourselves as much of a nuisance as possible.

M: Well, people may think differently of your methods,

but there`s no doubt you`re doing a great job.

 Keep it up and good luck. And thanks for talking with us.

W: Thanks for having me.

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

5:What is the man`s chief responsibility in the Green Peace Organization?

6:What has Green Peace been involved in recently?

7:How does Green Peace try to stop people from dumping nuclear waste?

8:What is the woman`s attitude towards the Green Peace`s campaigns?

Section B. Directions:

In this section, you will hear two 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 1

To find out what the weather is going to be, most people go straight to the radio,

television, or newspaper to get an expert weather forecast.

But if you know what to look for, you can use your own senses to make weather predictions.

There`re many signs that can help you. For example, in fair weather,

the air pressure is generally high, the air is still, and often full of dust.

And far away objects may look vague.

But when a storm is blowing, the pressure drops,

and you are often able to see things more clearly.

Sailors took note of this long ago, and came up with a saying:

“ The farther the sight, the nearer the rain.”

Your sense of smell can also help you detect the weather changes.

Just before it rains, odors become stronger.

This is because odors are repressed in a fair high pressure center.

When a bad weather low moves in, air pressure lessens, and odors are released.

You can also hear an approaching storm.

Sounds bounce off heavy storm clouds and return to earth with increased force.

An old saying describes to this way:

“ Sound traveling far and wide, a stormy day will be tied.”

And don`t laugh at your grandmother if she says she can feel a storm coming.

It is commonly known that many people feel pains in their bones or joints when humidity rises.

 The pressure drops, and bad weather is on the way.

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

9:Why does the speaker say we can see far away objects more clearly as a storm is approaching?

10:What does the speaker want to show by quoting a couple of old sayings?

11:What does the passage mainly talk about?

Passage 2

In many stressful situations, the body`s responses can improve our performance.

 We become more energetic, more alert, better able to take effective action.

But when stress is encountered continually,

the body`s reactions are more likely to be harmful than helpful to us.

The continual speeding up of bodily reactions and production

of stress related hormones seem to make people more susceptible to heart disease.

And stress reactions can reduce the disease fighting effectiveness of the body`s immune system,

thereby increasing susceptibility to illnesses ranging from colds to cancer.

Stress may also contribute to disease in less direct ways by influencing moods and behavior.

 People under stress may become anxious or depressed,

and as a result may eat too much or too little, have sleep difficulties or fail to exercise.

 These behavioral changes may in turn be harmful to the health.

In addition, people are more likely to pay attention to certain bodily

 sensations such as aches and pains when they are under stress and to think that they`re sick.

If the person were not under stress, the same bodily sensations

might not be perceived as symptoms and the person might continue to feel well.

Some researchers have suggested that assuming the role of a sick

 person is one way in which certain people try to cope with stress.

Instead of dealing with the stressful situation directly,

 these people fall sick. After all,

it is often more acceptably in our society to be sick and to seek

 medical help than it is to admit that one can not cope with the stresses of life.

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

12:What does the speaker say about people who encounter stress once in a while?

13: What does the speaker say frequent stress reactions may lead to?

14:What are people more likely to do when they are under stress?

15: What does the passage mainly talk about?

Section C

Directions:

In this section,

 you will hear recordings of lectures or talks followed by some 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.

Passage 1

My name`s Seth Priebatsch. I`m the chief ninja of SCVNGR.

 I am a proud Princeton dropout. Also proud to have relocated here to Boston,

 where I actually grew up.

Yeah, Boston. Easy wins. I should just go and name the counties that we`ve got around here.

 So, I`m also fairly determined to try and build a game layer on top of the world.

 And this is sort of a new concept,

and it`s really important. Because while the last decade was

the decade of social and the decade of where the framework in which we connect

 with other people was built, this next decade will be the

 decade where the game framework is built,

 where the motivations that we use to actually influence behavior,

 and the framework in which that is constructed, is decided upon,

and that`s really important.

And so I say that I want to build a game layer on top of the world,

but that`s not quite true because it`s already under construction;

 it`s already happening. And it looks like this right now.

It looks like the Web did back in 1997, right?

It`s not very good. It`s cluttered. It`s filled with lots of different things that,

 in short, aren`t that fun. There are credit card schemes and airline

mile programs and coupon cards and all these loyalty schemes that

actually do use game dynamics and actually are building the game layer:

 they just suck. They`re not very well designed, right?

So, that`s unfortunate. But luckily, as my favorite action hero, Bob the Builder,

 says, “We can do better. We can build this better.”

 And the tools, the resources that we use to build a

game layer are game dynamics themselves.

And so, sort of, the crux of this presentation is going

to go through four really important game dynamics,

really interesting things, that, if you use consciously,

 you can use to influence behavior, both for good, for bad,

 for in between. Hopefully for good.

16.Which statement about the speaker is wrong?

17.Which statement about the speaker is right?

18.How many motivations are there for playing games?

19.About game motivations, which of the following statement is wrong?

Passage 2

Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 20 to 22.

Now I have two points to make. First,

this man who had lost nine of his ten children

 led me through that camp with a smile on his face,

and never talked about anything but what those

other people needed and what he wanted me to do for them.

He honored his children by pouring himself into meeting

the needs of the people left on earth, so we did the tour.

Second point, they ended it at the health clinic cause they

knew I`ve done a lot of work in this area.

And they were talking and all of a sudden,

 the man`s wife shows up again, this time holding a three day old baby.

 She said this is our youngest resident,

 and we want you to name this child.

 And she was carrying the baby, not the mother.

I hate to have to tell you all this, but in their culture,

 when a mother gives birth to a new baby,

 she gets to go to bed for forty days and be waited on.

 You should, here is Congressman Cummings,

ask him to introduce that next week see how far that gets in this Congress.

 But anyway, so this woman, who had lost nine of her ten children,

with a smile on her face is holding this baby.

 And I said, do you really want me to name the child? It was a boy. She said yes.

I said, through my interpreter,

what`s the word in your...

do you have a word in your language that could be a name that means new beginning?

And this woman got a big smile on her face,

and she said to me through the interpreter,

she said yes, lucky for you. In our language,

the word dawn DAWN is a boy`s name, not a girl`s name.

 We will name this boy Dawn. And he will be the symbol of our new beginning.

I am telling you this because no matter what happens to you,

it is highly unlikely that you will ever face anything as awful

as what happened to that mother and father.

They somehow found the strength to treasure the one who remained,

 and to serve others. That is the heritage you take with you from Howard.

That is what your people are doing in Rwanda half a world away.

 If you do what makes you happy, and you don`t give up, and you keep serving,

I think you will live the most interesting,

prosperous and  peaceful time in human history.

Good luck and God bless you all.

20.How many children did the man lost?

21.How old is the baby?

22.Why did the speaker name the baby “Dawn”?

Passage 3

Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 23 to 25.

Thank you. President Tilghman. Trustees and Friends,

Parents of the Class of 2012 wherever they put you,

Members of the Class of 2012.

 Why don`t you give yourself a round of applause?

 So the next time you look around a church and see everyone dressed

in black it`ll be awkward to do that. But enjoy the moment.

Thirty years ago I sat where you sat.

I must have listened to some older person share his life experiences.

I don`t remember a word of it. I couldn`t even tell you who spoke.

 And you won`t be able to either. What I do remember, vividly, is graduation.

 I`m told you`re meant to be excited, maybe even relieved let you...

 getting out of you, and maybe all of you are.

I was not. I was totally outraged. Here I`d gone and given

them four of the best years of my life and this is how they rewarded me,

by throwing me out. At that moment I was sure of only one thing.

I was of no possible economic value to the outside world.

 I`d majored in art history, for a start.

Even then this was regarded as an act of insanity.

I was almost certainly less prepared than you are for the marketplace.

 Yet somehow I have wound up somehow rich and famous.

23.How many years did the speaker graduate from this university?

24.On the day the speaker graduate, how did feel?

25.What was the speaker`s major when was in college?