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:Hello, Professor Smith. My name is Jane Brown.

I read in the university newspaper that you are

looking for a student to work as a language laboratory assistant.

M:Yes, we are. Are you interested in the job?

W:I think so. But before I apply I`d like you to tell me more about the work.

M:Have you worked with tape recorders before?

W:I used cassette recorders a lot when I studied French in high school.

M:Good. There are many different kinds of language labs. Ours is a small one.

And it is fairly easy to operate. This is the main control panel.

You can set the controls to allow students to listen to the lessons they want to hear.

If you decide to take the job, I`ll explain how the system operates.

Most of the lessons are on cassette tapes.

But some of them are also on records.

The cassettes are kept in order on these shelves.

And they are clearly marked with the language and the lesson number.

For example, the cassettes in the green boxes are French lessons. Records are over there.

W:How many hours would I work?

M:We need someone 10 hours a week,

Monday through Friday, from 4 to 6 p.m.

That`s one of the busiest times for this laboratory.

W:I`ll fill out an application for the job right away.

It would fit into my class schedule nicely.

M:Fine. I`ll get back to you a week or so after we review the applications.

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

1.Where did the woman find out news about the job?

2. Why does the woman want to see Professor Smith?

3.What is the man`s opinion of the language laboratory?

4.How many hours does the woman have to work?

Conversation Two

W:Good morning. How can I help you?

M:Good morning. Someone told me that you organize trips to different places

for international students. What sort of places do you go?

W:Well, it varies obviously, but always places of historical interest

or great natural beauty. Also we usually go for ones where we know

there are guided tours because this will enable our international

students to get the most out of these trips.

M:Do you travel far?

W:I should say no because all the excursions

are less than three hours` drive each way.

If you want to go to a far place,

I`m afraid you have to plan your own trip.

M:I see. Are they all by coach?

W:Normally they are. But occasionally we may not have many people and in that case,

we`ll go by mini bus. What I can assure you is that most of

the time spots are snatched up quickly.

We keep the limit to 48 people each time as that`s the maximum coachload.

M:How much do you usually charge?

W:Again it varies  between ten and thirty pounds a head usually,

depending on distance.

M:That does not include admission tickets, I suppose?

W:No, it doesn`t. There`s a great range of admission prices for different places;

besides not everyone will visit all the charged attractions.

M:And how do we reserve a place?

W:You can drop by and sign up with me in person or you can go to our website.

And we do ask that you sign up seven days in advance

so we know we`ve got enough people interested

and we can cancel if necessary, with full refund of course.

M:What if I cancel the booked trip?

W:We`ll give you a full refund provided you inform us also three days in advance.

If you cancel the trip 48 hours before the departure,

we`ll give you a 40% refund.

But I`m afraid we cannot give you any refund if you do that within 48 hours.

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

5.Which of the following places may not be the destination of an organized trip?

6.What will be the means of transportation if not many people have signed up for the trip?

7. Which of the following statement is NOT true?

8.What percentage of money can you get back if you

cancel the trip one and a half days before the departure?

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

Now, teams of scientists around the world are still trying to

figure out whether the mosquito borne Zika virus is indeed behind

the birth of hundreds of babies with unusually small heads in Brazil,

a country struggling to cope with the increasing cases of microcephaly.

80% of the cases concentrated in northeastern Brazil,

one of the poorest parts of the country. Julia Carneiro reports from there.

Little Sophia has her body balanced on an exercise ball and physiotherapist

Jamy Liao is moving her back and forth. She is performing exercises to help

stimulate her development. She is just a month old and meanwhile

her mother is watching on.

Yanka is the youngest mother here. She is eighteen years old

and Sophia is her second child. She was sevenmonth pregnant

when she found out her baby had microcephaly.

That`s when her father left me. As soon as we found out,

he told me I disgusted him that he despised me. Then he left me.

Yanka looks a teenager. She still is. And Sophia is wrapped

in a blanket with the word “princess”.

The baby`s head is smaller than normal and has wavy folds of skin.

The doctors tell me it`s because her brain didn`t grow enough.

So her scalp is a bit loose.

I wasn`t shocked when I heard she had microcephaly. But when she was born,

I didn`t see any problems in her head.

I didn`t see her malformation. I saw her and I fell in love with her.

Six mothers are seated in the waiting area.

They all brought their babies for physiotherapy sessions

and they`ve been coming here twice a week so by now they are

like old friends and are laughing and socializing.

This is the special unit set up to treat microcephaly cases.

It`s a women only environment here until the fathers hardly ever bring the babies.

Like Yanka, others were left by their partners after having children with microcephaly.

A psychologist tells me, most of the mothers don`t get

any financial or emotional support from their partners.

Often they aren`t officially abandoned. But in fact they are left alone.

I would say only ten percent of the women we see here get the support they need from their husbands.

That`s been very striking.

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

9.What is the percentage of microcephaly centralized in northeastern Brazil?

10.When did Yanka find out her baby have microcephaly?

11.Why is Sophia`s head smaller than normal and has wavy folds of skin

Passage Two

The British actor Alan Rickman has died of cancer at the age of 69.

In movies, he won fame for his role as Severus Snape in the

Harry Potter series and before that in films such as Truly Madly Deeply,

Love Actually, Die Hard, Sense and Sensibility and Robin Hood:

Prince of Thieves. Rickman also won praise for his work on stage,

in productions such as Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Private Lives and Cleopatra.

There is something to remind us of his inimitable voice and comic timing.

Taste of some of Alan Rickman`s work. Well, the American comedian,

actor and writer Ruby Wax knew and worked with Alan Rickman for decades.

Many many years ago, maybe 30, I saw him

in Edinburgh and I`d never seen anything like that.

And so I was determined. I spent the rest of my life wooing him so he would be my closest friend.

And then we lived together. He wasn`t my boyfriend.

And no one ever had charisma like Alan.

So I knew ultimately he had to be famous because there`s been anything like it.

And then he was a great comedian. I don`t know if people knew

but I would sometimes give him lines and he could deliver far greater

than any comedian I`d ever seen. But great actors really can do comedy,

but I have never met anybody that could do it like him.

Ruby Wax on Alan Rickman who`s died at the age of 69.

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

12.At what age has Alan Rickman died?

13.Which role made Alan Rickman worldwide famous and win him fame?

14.Which one of the work on stage is NOT acted by Alan Rickman?

15.How does Ruby Wax make comment on Alan Rickman?

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

More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer`s.

It`s a disease that`s associated with memory loss and decrease brain function.

In a new survey by the Alzheimer`s Association,

look into the disease`s effects on people who care for Alzheimer`s patients,

their families, their loved ones. It found they feel a significant financial impact,

an average of more than $5,000 per year that caregiver spend of their own money.

It also found that some of them are more likely to go hungry or cut back

on their own medical treatment to make ends meet

and affording care for the Alzheimer`s patients.

So, what could be done about this? The association suggests

the national effort to help families better understand the expenses they could face,

plan for the future and know what services are available

in their communities to help with Alzheimer`s care.

It only weighs three pounds, has a texture like firmed jelly and tons of wrinkles.

Yet that pintsized prune of a brain is the most amazing powerful organ

in your entire body when it`s working right.

But when it`s not, as in Alzheimer`s disease,

the results can be devastating.

Take a look here. The brain on left, that`s normal.

The one on the right has advanced Alzheimer`s.

Here`s another view. See how the brain shrinks and fluid filled spaces expand.

That`s Alzheimer`s crippling the ability to think and to plan.

And also look here at the hippocampus. It shrivels.

The small sea horse structure allows us to form

new memories but it`s also the first to disintegrate.

So, how does this all happen? It starts inside the wrinkled part

of the brain here called the cortex, where billions of brain cells

interconnecting trillions of ways to create these neuron forests,

tiny electric charges move signals like a baby`s cry to each neuron,

to a junction called the synapse, where chemicals

called neurotransmitters leap across the gap,

carrying the cry to more and more neurons and the memory is born.

But in Alzheimer`s, protein pieces called beta amyloid begin to clump together,

while another protein called Tau starts to fall apart, creating plaques and tangles,

that blocks signals and nutrients from getting through.

Cells begin to die. New memories cannot take hold.

The ability to think and plan deteriorates.

Personality and behavior is affected. And ultimately,

the once mighty brain is no more.

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

16.What are the symptoms of Alzheimer?

17. How much does it cost to take care of the Alzheimer`s patients per year?

18.What can the nation do to help those families with Alzheimer`s?

19.What is the function of the sea horse structure?

Recording  Two

People believed for a long time that the heart was the center of a person`s emotions.

That is why the word “heart” is used in so many expressions about emotional situations.

One such expression is to “lose your heart” to someone. When that happens,

you have fallen in love. But if the person who won your heart does not love you,

then you are sure to have a “broken heart.”

In your pain and sadness, you may decide that the person you loved is “hard hearted,”

and in fact, has a “heart of stone.”

You may decide to “pour out your heart”

to a friend. Telling someone about your personal problems can often make you feel better.

If your friend does not seem to understand how painful your broken heart is,

you may ask her to “have a heart.”

You are asking your friend to show some sympathy for your situation.

Your friend “has her heart in the right place” if she says she is sorry,

and shows great concern for how you feel.

Your friend may, however, warn you not to

“wear your heart on your sleeve.” In other words,

do not let everyone see how lovesick you are.

When your heart is on your sleeve you are showing your deepest emotions.

If your friend says “my heart bleeds for you,” she means the opposite.

She is a coldhearted person who does not really care about your situation.

In the everpopular motion picture, “The Wizard of Oz,” the Tin Man seeks a heart.

He wanted to feel the emotion of love,

and was seeking help from the powerful Wizard of Oz to find a heart.

The Cowardly Lion, in the same movie, did have a heart.

But he lacked courage and wanted to ask the Wizard of Oz to give him some.

You could say that the cowardly lion was “chicken hearted.”

That is another way of describing someone who is not very brave.

A chicken is not noted for its bravery.

Thus, someone who is chicken hearted does not have much courage.

When you are frightened or concerned, your “heart is in your mouth.”

You might say, for example, that your heart was in your mouth

when you asked a bank to lend you some money to pay for a new house.

If that bank says no to you, do not “lose heart.” Be strong hearted.

Sit down with the banker and have a “heart to heart” talk:

be open and honest about your situation.

The bank may have a “change of heart”

—it may agree to lend you the money.

Then you could stop worrying and “put your heart at rest.”

Questions 19 to 22 are based on the recording you have just heard.

20.Why are there so many expressions using the word “heart” about emotional

situations, according to the passage?

21.Which word can indicate the phrase of chicken hearted in this passage?

22.What does “put your heart to rest” mean in this passage ?

Recording Three

International Women`s Day on Tuesday is all about better education and better jobs for women.

That includes one job in particular:

Secretary General of the United Nations.

It is the UN`s top post and no woman has had that post.

The UN was founded in 1945, and has had eight male secretaries general.

A woman secretary general, says Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney of New York,

“ would serve as a powerful symbol to the approximately 3.6 billion

people in this world who are women.”

Ban Ki moon of South Korea has said he will give up the secretary general

post at the end of the year. He has been secretary general since 2007.

Among the candidates to replace Ban are three women, Irina Bokova,

now director general of the UN Organization for Education,

Science and Culture; Natalia Gherman, deputy prime minister

and minister of foreign affairs of Moldova; and Vesna Pusic,

first deputy prime minister of Croatia. Male candidates include Danilo Turk,

former prime minister of Slovenia, and Kevin Rudd,

Australia`s former prime minister.

The Financial Times recently wrote that German Chancellor Angela Merkel

might be a surprise candidate for secretary general.

Jeane Krasno is chair of the group Campaign to Elect a Woman UN Secretary General.

Krasno said she will observe International Women`s Day in New York.

An event there will recognize important work women do for the UN.

That includes providing food, housing and security

for families during famines and armed conflicts.

“The argument has been in the past that there aren`t

enough qualified women to choose from,” Krasno told VOA.

“That argument no longer holds water.”

She said her group has identified 38 women with

“incredible experience, achievement and qualifications.”

The United Nations tends to select secretaries general

on a rotating basis to make sure each world region gets a person

in the top UN job. For this election, the UN is said to be looking at

an official from Eastern Europe, according to multiple news reports.

“If that argument is valid, what about representation for women

who make up over half of the world`s population?”Krasno asked.

Krasno teaches political science and international relations

at Yale University, Columbia University

and the City University of New York.

I`m Kathleen Struck

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

23. Which of the following statements is NOT true？

24.How many candidates are mentioned in the lecture?

25.For what The United Nations tends to select secretaries general on a rotating basis?