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.

Questions 1 and 2 will be based on the following news item.

News Item 1

The advent of smart phones,

social media and other technologies has altered

the way people interact with each other.

Technology may also change the way we

relate to animals by removing the living,

breathing ones from our homes.

The main threat to pets is not social media,

but rather robots and virtual Farm Ville like animals.

These inanimate objects of our affection are certainly

easier to care for than are the real ones.

And they still might someday meet their owners`

needs for companionship, love,

obedience and dependence.

That`s according to University of Melbourne animal

behavior researcher Jean Loup Rault,

writing in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

Our concept of a pet gets shaped at an early age.

Previous generations born and bred with

cats and dogs might dismiss robot pets as mere toys.

But children of the digital age,

raised on touch screens and online games,

might see things differently.

One can imagine a future fake dog owner

breathlessly asking his vet technician:

is Fido dead, or is it just his battery?

Questions 3 and 4 will be based on the following news item.

News Item 2

The ways teachers view their students can influence

how teachers teach, which affects how and what students learn.

Now a study finds that a teacher`s racial biases come into play

in different ways for high achieving kids versus low performing ones.

Sociologist Yasmiyn Irizarry of the University of Texas at Austin,

She published her findings in the journal Social Science Research.

Irizarry used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study collected

by the National Center for Education Statistics.

She compared the test scores of more than 10,000 first graders

to how teachers ranked their students in comparison to all other first graders.

Teachers made accurate ratings of average students, regardless of race.

But when considering students of color,

teachers rated low performing Black,

Asian and Latino students more positively

than they did their low performing white students.

And teachers ranked high performing minority

students lower than white students at the same level.

Questions 5 to 7 will be based on the following news item.

News Item 3

October 16th is World Food Day, a day of action against hunger.

On this day, people around the world come together

to declare their commitment to eradicate hunger in our lifetime.

Over the past decade or so, we have seen a great reduction

of people living with hunger on an early daily basis. Back then,

about one in six people went to bed hungry most nights.

Now it`s about one in every nine.

Nonetheless, that still leaves some 795,000

thousand chronically hungry people around the world.

Of these, 60 percent are women. And when women go hungry, so,

all too often, do children.

About 161 million kids under the age of five are malnourished.

This means that their brains won`t develop normally,

they may have difficulties learning, and their physical

and cognitive growth is stunted.

Lack of nutrition compromises not only their own success in the future,

but also the development of the communities,

economies and countries in which they live.

In addition to those children who are chronically undernourished,

almost 5 million children under the age of 5 die

of malnutrition related causes every year.

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 will hear two long conversation.

Conversation One

W:Sir, you`ve been using the online catalogue for quite a while.

Is there anything I can do to help you?

M:Well, I`ve got to write a paper about Hollywood in the 30s and 40s,

and I`m really struggling.There are hundreds of books,

and I just don`t know where to begin.

W:Your topic sounds pretty big.

Why don`t you narrow it down to something

like…uh…the history of the studios during that time?

M:You know, I was thinking about doing that,

but more than 30 books came up when I typed in “movie studios”.

W:You could cut that down even further by listing the specific

years you want.Try adding “1930s” or “1940s” or maybe “Golden Age”.

M:“Golden Age” is a good idea.Let me type that in.

Hey, look, just 6 books this time.That`s a lot better.

W:Oh…another thing you might consider have you tried

looking for any magazine or newspaper articles?

M:No, I`ve only been searching for books.

W:Well,you can look up magazine articles

in the Reader`s Guide to Periodical Literature.

And we do have the Los Angeles Times available over there.

You might go through their indexes to see if there`s anything you want.

M:Okay.I think I`ll get started with these books

and then I`ll go over the magazines.

W:If you need any help,

I`ll be over at the Reference Desk.

M:Great, thanks a lot.

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

8.Where does the conversation morst probably take place?

9.What is the man doing?

10.What does the librarian think of the topic the man is working on?

11.Where can the man find the relevant magazine articles?

Conversation Two

W:Hello, Gary.How`re you?

M:Fine! And yourself?

W:Can`t complain.Did you have time to look at my proposal?

M:No, not really.Can we go over it now?

W:Sure.I`ve been trying to come up with some new production

and advertising strategies.

First of all, if we want to stay competitive,

we need to modernize our factory.

New equipment should`ve been installed long ago.

M:How much will that cost?

W:We have several options ranging from one hundred

thousand dollars all the way up to half a million.

M:OK.We`ll have to discuss these costs with finance.

W:We should also consider human resources.

I`ve been talking to personnel as well as our staff at the factory.

M:And what`s the picture?

W:We`ll probably have to hire a couple of engineers

to help us modernize the factory.

M:What about advertising?

W:Marketing has some interesting ideas for television commercials.

M:TV? Isn`t that a bit too expensive for us?

What`s wrong with advertising in the papers, as usual?

W:Quite frankly, it`s just not enough anymore.

We need to be more aggressive in order to keep ahead of our competitors.

M:Will we be able to afford all this?

W:I`ll look into it, but I think higher costs will be justified.

These investments will result in higher profits for our company.

M:We`ll have to look at the figures more closely.

Have finance draw up a budget for these investments.

W:All right.I`ll see to it.

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

12.What are the two speakers talking about?

13.What does the woman say about the equipment of their factory?

14.What does the woman suggest about human resources?

15.Why does the woman suggest advertising on TV?

Section C

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

Scientists are trying to design some small cars

that may some day take the place of today`s big automobiles.

If everyone drives such cars in the future,

there will be less pollution in the air.

There will also be more space for parking cars in cities,

and the streets will be less crowded.Three such cars can fit in the space

that is now needed for one car of the usual size.

The little cars will cost much less to own and to drive.

Driving will be safer,too,as these little cars

can go only 65 kilometers per hour.

The little cars of the future will be fine for getting around the city,

but they will not be useful for long trips.

Little cars which are powered by gasoline will go 450 kilometers

before needing to stop for more gasoline.

If big cars are still used along with the small ones,

two sets of roads will be needed in the future.

Some roads will be used for the big,fast cars

and other roads will be needed for the slower,small ones.

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

16.What are some scientists doing now?

17.What are the advantages of such little cars?

18.What can be inferred from the passage?

Passage Two

Last year my friends and I went climbing in the Himalayas.

We followed an unhurried routine.

Every day we would get up at 5∶30 a.m.,

have a cup of tea,and be on the move after 6.

Our kitchen staff would go ahead to select a suitable place for breakfast.

Arriving at some pleasant stream after two or three hours,

we would make a long stop;and while the cook was

making the fire and preparing our breakfast ,

some of us would swim and rest,some would read and write,

others would watch birds or catch butterflies and insects.

We would reach camp in the early afternoon,

so that we would have plenty of time to settle in,

write diaries and reports for newspapers,and discuss future plans.

Our climbs,as well as the leisure hours in camp,

helped to form firm friendship.Through comparing our very

different backgrounds and interests,

and through discussing our experiences

we soon came to appreciate one another.

At the same time,we also made friends with our native guides.

An arrangement which seemed to give mutual pleasure

in our Himalayan travel was that each man was cared for by a faithful follower.

This person would bring him his tea in the morning,

lay out his sleeping bag at night,

help to carry his personal belongings

and encourage him all the way whenever we faced difficulties and danger.

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

19.What would the mountaineers do soon after they got up?

20.Which of the following was NOT mentioned as one

of the things they did during the long stop in the morning?

21.What did the native guides do to help

the members of the team during the trip?

Passage Three

Mr Wilmot was born in a little village near the coast

and had gone to school in the nearest seaside town,

but he was not a lover of the sea.Even when walking along the sands,

he was afraid of being cut off by the tide.

Mr Wilmot was not a very good swimmer,

so perhaps this was why he disliked the sea.

After working for some years in London,

Mr Wilmot was transferred to a town near the coast and,

of course,the family often made trips to the beach.

One day his children asked him to take them out into the bay in a boat.

The sun shone brightly.

There was little wind and the water was calm.

So Mr Wilmot hired a boat and with his two children rowed out into the bay.

They went farther than they had intended, past the cliff and out to the open sea.

At first all went well,but when they decided to turn back they

found themselves faced with difficulties.

A strong wind had sprung up and the currents were rather dangerous.

Mr Wilmot rowed hard,but it seemed they were making little progress.

The children were waving to attract the attention of the people on the beach.

Just then a motor boat appeared from the direction of the bay.

Their trouble had been noticed and the motor boat had come to their rescue.

A rope was soon attached and their boat was pulled back round the cliff to the shore.

Mr Wilmot`s dislike of the sea became even stronger after this experience.

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

22.Why was Mr Wilmot nervous about walking along the sand?

23.What seemed to be the reason for Mr Wilmot`s dislike of the sea?

24.Why did Mr Wilmot agree to take his children out into the bay?

25.What CAN`T you infer from the story?