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

The United Nations' human rights chief has urged the United States

to establish stronger gun control measures.

Zeid Ra'ad alHussein is the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. 

He says the current gun laws are too easy and, 

in his words, leave “little space between that result in death.”

His comments were made in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement came two days after the largest mass shooting in U.S. history.

 Fortynine people were killed in the attack early Sunday at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

The U.N. human rights chief knows the United States well. From 2007 to 2010, 

Zeid served as Jordan's ambassador to the U.S. and Mexico.

In the statement, Zeid was critical of what he called “irresponsible progun propaganda.

” He asked how many more shootings the U.S. must experience before Congress takes action.

“Society — in particular its most vulnerable communities and

 minorities who are already facing widespread prejudice — pay a high price

 for the failure to stand up to the lobbyists and take the necessary measures 

to protect citizens from gun violence,” Zeid said.

He added that the families of those killed in mass shootings have the right to stronger gun controls.

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

1.How many people were killed in the mass shooting in Florida mentioned in the news?

2.What did Zeid Ra'ad alHussein urge the United States to do?

News Report  2

Most movie industry experts do not expect the film version of the multiplayer video game

“World of Warcraft” to be a big hit in the United States.

 But “Warcraft” is already breaking records in China.

The movie opened there on June 8.

 It reportedly earned more than $45 million in its first day, 

the biggest opening day for the Chinese movie market this year.

By comparison, the latest “Star Wars” film, “The Force Awakens,” 

earned $33 million in China on its opening day.

Film critics have not been kind to the “Warcraft” movie. 

One critic for the New York Daily News wrote, 

“Somebody should have put this script to the sword.”

But criticism has not hurt the film's performance in China, 

the world's fastgrowing movie market.

“Warcraft” earned the secondlargest oneday profit ever in China, 

Forbes magazine reported.

One reason is the popularity of the fantasy video game in China. 

Although World of Warcraft reported its lowest number of players in 10 years in 2015, 

onethird of the game's subscribers were in China, Forbes said. 

The country even has a World of Warcraft theme park.

“Warcraft” was shown on almost 70 percent of all movie screens in the country.

 That is China's widest film release ever, according to Deadline.com.

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

3. How much did the movie “World of Warcraft” earned on its opening day?

4. Why is the movie “World of Warcraft” so popular in China?

News Report  3

Bretagne worked in rescue efforts in New York City after the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.

Bretagne died on Monday. She was 16 years old.

Bretagne was a golden retriever.

She helped to search for survivors and recover human 

remains from the wreckage of the World Trade Center. 

Over 2,500 people were killed when terrorists flew airplanes into the twin towers.

The World Trade Center was Bretagne's first deployment. 

She was only two years old at the time.

Denise Corliss was the dog's handler. She cared for Bretagne. 

They worked together in the area known as Ground Zero for 10 days.

The dog also worked at other disasters, including three major hurricanes.

Bretagne retired from active duty at age nine.

According to Texas A&M University, 

the dog continued working in Texas as an ambassador with the local fire department. 

She also visited people who were sick, and children in learn to read programs.

The university oversees a searchandrescue program.

A member of the team that worked with Bretagne says she took her job seriously, 

but was always ready to help others, get a belly rub, or have a treat.

On Monday, on her way to see a doctor,

 Bretagne walked past a group of firefighters and rescue workers who gave her one final salute.

One news report called her “a fourlegged hero.”

Questions 5 and 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.

5.What did Bretagne do after she retired?

6. What did a group of firefighters do when Bretagne went past them 

on her way to see a doctor on Monday?

7.Which of the following is right about Bretagne?

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: Hello. Matt Ellis's speaking.

W: Hello, Dr. Ellis, my name's Pan Johnson.

My roommate, Janet Holmes, wanted me to call you.

M: Janet Holmes? Oh, that's right. 

She's in my Shakespearean English class. 

Has anything happened to her?

W: Nothing, it's just that she submitted a job application yesterday 

and the company asked her in for an interview today.

She's afraid she won't be able to attend your class this afternoon though. 

I'm calling to see whether it would be OK if I gave you her essay. 

Janet said it's due today.

M: Certainly, that would be fine. Uh, you can either drop it off at my class or bring it to my office.

W: Would it be all right to come by your office around 4:00? 

I'm afraid I can't come any earlier because I have three classes this afternoon.

M: Uh, I won't be here when you come.

I'm supposed to be at a meeting from 3:00 to 6:00, 

but how about leaving it with my secretary? She usually stays until 5:00. 

W: Fine, please tell her I'll be there at 4:00. 

And Dr. Ellis, one more thing, could you tell me where your office is? 

Janet told me where your class is, but she didn't give me directions to your office.

M: Well, I'm in Room 302 of the Gregory Building. 

I'll tell my secretary to put the paper in my mail box, and I'll get it when I return.

W: I sure appreciate it. Goodbye, Dr. Ellis.

M: Goodbye, Ms. Johnson. 

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

8.When will the woman go to the man's office?

9. Why couldn't the woman's roommate attend the Shakespearean English class that afternoon?

10.What favor is the woman going to do for her roommate?

11.What does the woman want to know at the end of the conversation? 

Conversation Two

W: How are things going, Roald?

M: Not bad, Jane.I'm involved in several projects and it's a long working day.

 But I'm used to that so it doesn't bother me too much.

W: I heard you have moved to a new house in the suburb. 

How do you like commuting to London every day? Don't you find it a string?

M: It was terrible at first, especially getting up before dawn to catch that 6:30 train. 

But it's bearable now that I' m used to it.

W: Don't you think it's an awful waste of time?

 I couldn't bear to spend three hours sitting in a train every day.

M: I used to feel the same as you. But now I quite enjoy it.

W: How do you pass the time? Do you bring some work with you to do on the train?

M: Ah, that's a good question. 

In the morning, I just sit in comfort and read the papers to catch up with the news. 

On the way home at night, 

I relax with a good book or chat with friends or even have a game of bridge.

W: I suppose you know lots of people on the train now.

M: Yes, I bumped into someone I know on the platform every day.

Last week I came across a couple of old school 

friends and we spend the entire journey in the bar.

W: It sounds like a good club. You never know. I may join it too.

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

12.What does the man say about his job?

13.Which train does the man take to work every day?

14.How does the man feel about commuting to work every day now?

15.How does the man spend his time on the morning train?

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 

Most American college students need to be efficient readers. 

This is necessary because fulltime students probably have to read 

several hundred pages every week.

They don't have time to read a chapter three or four times.

 They need to extract as much information as possible from the first or second reading.

An extraordinarily important study skill is knowing how to mark a book.

 Students mark the main ideas and important details with a pen or pencil,

 yellow or blue or orange. Some students mark new vocabulary in a different color.

 Most students write questions or short notes in the margins. 

Marking a book is a useful skill, but it's important to do it right.

 First, read a chapter with one pen in your hand and others next to you on the desk. Second,

 read a whole paragraph before you mark anything. 

Don't mark too much. Usually you will mark about 10% of a passage.

Third, decide on your own system for marking. 

For example, maybe you will mark main ideas in yellow, 

important details in blue and new words in orange. 

Maybe you will put question marks in the margin when you don't understand something

 When your chapter is a rainbow of markings, 

you don't have to read all of it again before an exam. 

 Instead, you just need to review your marks and you can save a lot of time.

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

16. What should American college students do to cope with their heavy reading assignments?

17. What suggestion does the speaker give about marking a textbook?

18. How should students prepare for an exam according to the speaker?

Passage Two

The thought of having no sleep for 24 hours or more isn't a pleasant one for most people.

 The amount of sleep that each person needs varies.

 In general, each of us needs about 8 hours of sleep each day to keep us healthy and happy.

 Some people, however, can get by with just a few hours of sleep at night.

It doesn't matter when or how much a person sleeps. 

But everyone needs some rest to stay alive.

Few doctors would have thought that there might be an exception to this. 

Sleep is, after all, a very basic need. 

But a man named Al Herpin turned out to be a real exception, for supposedly, he never slept!

Al Herpin was 90 years old when doctors came to his home in New Jersy.

They hoped to challenge the claim that he never slept.

But they were surprised. Though they watched him every hour of the day,

they never saw Herpin sleeping. He did not even own a bed. He never needed one.

The closest that Herpin came to resting was to sit in a rocking chair

and read a half dozen newspapers. 

His doctors were puzzled by the strange case of permanent sleeplessness.

Herpin offered the only clue to his condition. 

He remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he had been born. 

Herpin died at the age of 94, never, it seems, having slept at all.

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

19.What is taken for granted by most people?

20.What do doctors think of Al Herpin's case?

21.What could have accounted for Al Herpin's sleeplessness? 

Passage Three

Hetty Green was a very spoiled, only child. 

She was born in Massachusetts USA in 1835.

Her father was a millionaire businessman. Her mother was often ill, 

and so from the age of two her father took her with him 

to work and taught her about stocks and shares. 

At the age of six she started reading the daily financial newspapers

 and opened her own bank account.

Her father died when she was 21 and she inherited 7.5 million dollars.

She went to New York and invested on Wall Street. Hetty saved every penny, 

eating in the cheapest restaurants for 15 cents.

 She became one of the richest and most hated women in the world. At 33 she married Edward Green,

a multimillionaire, and had two children, Ned and Sylvia.

Hetty's meanness was wellknown. She always argued about prices in shops. 

She walked to the local grocery store to buy broken biscuits which were much cheaper,

and to get a free bone for her much loved dog. Once she lost 

a two cent stamp and spent the night looking for it.

She never bought clothes and always wore the same long, ragged black skirt.

 Worst of all, when her son, Ned, fell and injured his knee, 

she refused to pay for a doctor and spent hours looking for free medical help.

 In the end Ned lost his leg.

When she died in 1916 she left her children 100 million dollars. 

Her daughter built a hospital with her money.

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

22.What do we learn about Hetty Green as a child?

23.How did Hetty Green become rich overnight?

24.Why was Hetty Green much hated?

25.What do we learn about Hetty's daughter?