Part II Listening Comprehension

Section A

Directions:

In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations

and 2 long conversations.

At the end of each conversation, one or more questions

will be asked about what was said.

Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once.

After each question there will be a pause.

During the pause, you must read the four choices marked

A), B), C) and D), and decide which is the best answer.

Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1

with a single line through the centre.

1.M: I left 20 pages here to copy. Here is the receipt.

W: I'm sorry, sir. But we're a little behind.

Could you come back in a few minutes?

Q: What does the woman mean?

2.W: I hope you're not too put out with me for the delay.

I have to stop by friends' home to pick up a book on my way here.

M: Well, that's not a big deal.

But you might at least phone

if you know you're going to keep someone waiting.

Q: What do we learn about the woman from the conversation?

3.W: Mark is the best candidate

for chairman of the student union, isn't he?

M: Well, that guy won't be able to win the election

unless he gets some majority vote from women students.

And I'm not sure about that.

Q: What does the man mean?

4.M: Sorry to have kept you waiting, Madam.

I've located your luggage.

It was left behind in Paris and won't arrive until later this evening.

W: Oh, I can't believe this.

Have it delivered to my hotel then , I guess.

Q: What happened to the woman's luggage?

5.W: I don't think we have enough information for our presentation,

but we have to give it tomorrow.

There doesn't seem to be much we can do about it.

M: Yeah, at this point we'll have to make do with what we've got.

Q: What does the man suggest they do?

6.M: I am taking this great course-Psychology of Language,

it's really interesting.

Since you are a psychology major,

you should sign up for it.

W: Actually I tried to do that,

but they told me I have to take language studies first.

Q: What do we learn from the conversation?

7.W: Can you believe the way Larry was talking to his roommate?

No wonder they don't get along.

M: Well, maybe Larry was just reacting to something his roommate said.

There are two sides to every story you know.

Q: What does the man imply about Larry and his roommate?

8.M: We don't have the resources to stop those people

from buying us out unless a miracle happens.

This may be the end of us.

W: I still have hope we can get help from the bank.

After all we don't need that much money.

Q: What do we learn about the speakers from the conversation?

Now you'll hear the two long conversations.

Conversation One

W: You know I've often wondered

why people laugh at the picture of a big belly businessman slipping

on a banana skin and falling on his bottom.

We are to feel sorry for them.

M: Actually, Laura,

I think we laugh because we are glad it didn't happen to us.

But of course there is also a kind of humorous satisfaction

in seeing somebody self-important making a fool of themselves.

W: Yes, and there are a lot of jokes about people

who are too fat or physically handicapped,

you know, deaf, or short-sighted things like that.

After all, it's not really funny to be like that.

M: Oh, I think that's because we're embarrassed.

We don't know how to cope with the situation.

Perhaps we are even a bit frightened we may get like that,

so we laugh.

M: What about the custard pie routine?

W: What do you mean 'custard pie routine'?

M: You know, all those old films

where someone gets so outraged with his boss,

He picks up a custard pie

and plasters it all over the other person's face.

W: That never makes me laugh much,

because you can guess what's going to happen.

But a lot of people still find it laughable.

It must because of the sort of the thing

we'd all love to do once in a while

and never quiet have the courage to.

M: I had an old aunt who used to throw cups of tea at people

when she was particularly irritated.

She said it relieved her feelings.

W: It must have come a bit expensive.

M: Not really. She took care never to throw her best china.

Questions 9 to 12 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

9. Why does the man say we laughed

when we see some self-important people making fool of themselves?

10. Why do some people joke about those

who are fat or handicapped according to the man?

11. Why do many people find it funny

to see someone throwing a custard pie on their boss's face?

12. Why does the man say

she would drop cups of tea at people occasionally?

Conversation Two

W：Your name is Sanjay Kumar, is that correct?

M：Yes, madam.

W：You claim you are traveling on a scholarship from Delhi University.

M：That's right.

W：Now it seems that a hand gun was found in your luggage.

Do you admit that?

M：Yes, but…

W：According to the statement you made,

you had never seen the hand gun before it was found in your bag.

Do you still maintain that?

M：But it's true. I swear it.

W：Mmm, you do realize Mr. Kumar

that to bring a hand gun into Hong Kong

without proper authorization is a serious offense.

M：But I didn't bring it.

I … I mean I didn't know anything about it.

It wasn't there when I left Delhi.

My bags were searched.

It was part of the airport security check.

W：Maybe so, but someone managed to get

that hand gun onto the aircraft or it couldn't have been there.

M：Someone but not me.

W：Tell me , where was your personal bag during the flight?

M：I had it down by my feet

between me and the man in the next seat.

M: He was the only person

who could have opened my bag while I was asleep.

It must have been him.

W: I see. Have you any idea who this man was?

M: He told me his name, Alfred Foster.

He was very friendly,

after I woke up that is.

He hadn't spoken before.

W: Alfred Foster, we can check that on the passenger list.

He offered me a lift.

W: Oh, Why should he do that?

M: So he can get his handgun back, that's why.

Please find him, Madam.

Questions 13-15 are based on the conversation you have just heard

M: He said he had a car coming to meet him.

13. What is Sanjay Kumar suspected of?

14. What do we know about Alfred Foster ?

15. What does Sanjay Kumar ask the woman to do finally?

Section B

Directions:

In this section, you will hear 3 short 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

Everyone is looking for a good investment these days.

And with stocks, currencies and companies all crashing,

some are finding that taking the trip of a lifetime

is actually a smart move right now.

Prices are good, crowds are fewer

and the dividends like expanded worldview, lifelong memories,

the satisfaction of boosting the global economy

—can't be easily snatched away.

Sylvia and Paul Custerson,

a retired couple from Cambridge, England,

recently took a 16-day vacation to Namibia,

where they went on bird-watching excursions.

Later this year, they are planning a trip to Patagonia.

"We're using our capital now," says Sylvia,

"And why not? We're not getting any interest in the bank.

If it's a place we really want to go, then we will go.

We may as well travel while we're fit and healthy. "

Some travel agents are thriving in spite of the economy.

"We've had more people booking

in the first quarter of this year than last,"

says Hubert Moineau,

founder of Tselana Travel,

which is planning to introduce

a new program of longer adventure trips,

including polar expeditions and cruises in the Galápagos.

"We're hearing things like,

'We don't know what the situation

will be in six months so let's travel now' ",

Ashley Toft, managing director of the U. K.

tour operator Explore has been surprised to see an increase

in last-minute bookings of high-priced trips to such places as India,

Bhutan and Nepal.

"It seems people would rather

give up something else than the big trip," he says.

Travel has become a necessity.

It's just how we travel that is changing.

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

16. According to the speaker,

why are some people willing to spend their money on travel these days?

17. What is Tselana Travel planning to do, according to its founder?

18. According to Ashley Toft,

managing director of Explore,

what is changing now with regard to travel?

Passage Two

Somehow the old male and female stereotypes no longer fit.

Men and women in this country haven't been

fulfilling their traditional roles for some time now.

And there seem to be fewer and fewer differences between the sexes.

For instance, even though more women than men

are still homemakers without paying jobs,

women have been taking over more responsibility in the business world,

earning higher salaries than ever before

and entering fields of work that used to be exclusively male areas.

At office meetings and in group discussions,

they might speak up more often,

express strong opinions and come up with more creative

and practical ideas than their male colleagues.

Several days ago, my 23-year-old daughter

came to me with some important news.

Not only had she found the highest paying job of her career,

but she'd also accepted a date

with the most charming men she'd ever met.

“Really?”, I responded,” tell me about them.”

“Receptionist in an attorney's office

and a welder at a construction site.”

She answered in a matter-of-fact way.

The interesting thing is my daughter's date

is the receptionist and my daughter is the welder.

The old stereotypes of men's and women's work

have been changing more quickly than ever before,

except perhaps in my own marriage.

“Who's going to mow the lawn? ”

I asked my husband this morning.

“Oh, I will,” he answered politely. "That's men's work. "

“What?” Irritated, I raised my voice.

“That's a ridiculous stereotype.

I'll show you who can do the best job on the lawn.”

The work took 3 hours and I did it all myself.

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

19. What is the speaker mainly talking about?

20. What might women do at office meetings nowadays

according to the speaker?

21. Why did the speaker mow the lawn herself that morning?

Passage Three

Florence Hayes is a journalist for the Green Ville Journal,

the daily newspaper in town.

Specifically she covers crime in the Green Ville area.

This responsibility takes her to many different places every week

——the police station, the court and the hospital.

Most of the crimes that she writes about fall into two groups:

violent crimes and crimes against property.

There isn't much violent crime in a small town like Green Ville,

or at least not as much as in the large urban areas.

But assaults often occur on Friday and Saturday nights,

near the bars downtown.

There're also one or two rapes on campus every semester.

Florence is very interested in this type of crime

and tries to write a long article about each one.

She expects that this will make women more careful

when they walk around Green Ville alone at night

Fortunately, there were usually no murders in Green Ville.

Crimes against property make up most of Miss Heyes' reporting.

They range from minor cases of deliberate

damaging of things to much more serious offenses,

such as car accidents involving drunk drivers or bank robberies

but Florence has to report all of these violations

from the thief who took typewriters

from every unlocked room in the dormitory

to the thief who stole one million dollars worth of art work

from the university museum.

Miss Hayes enjoys working for a newspaper

but she sometimes gets unhappy

about all the crime she has to report.

She would prefer to start writing about something more interesting

and less unpleasant such as local news or politics,

maybe next year

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

22 What is Florence Hayes' main responsibility as a journalist?

23 What does the speaker say about security in Green Ville?

24 What do we learn about

crimes against property in the Green Ville area?

25 What would Florence Hayes prefer to do?

Section C

Directions:

In this section,you will hear a passage three times.

When the passage is read for the first time,

you should listen carefully for its general idea.

When the passage is read for the second time,

you are required to fill in the blanks

with the exact words you have just heard.

Finally,when the passage is read for the third time,

you should check what you have written.

In America,

people are faced with more and more decisions every day,

whether it's picking one of thirty-one ice cream flavors,

or deciding whether and when to get married.

That sounds like a great thing,

but as a recent study has shown,

too many choices can make us confused, unhappy,

even paralyzed with indecision.

'That's particularly true when it comes to the work place',

says Barry Schwartz,

an author of six books about human behavior.

Students are graduating with a variety of skills and interests,

but often find themselves overwhelmed

when it comes to choosing an ultimate career goal.

In a study, Schwartz observed decision-making

among college students during their senior year.

Based on answers to questions regarding their job

hunting strategies and career decisions,

he divided the students into two groups：maximizers,

who consider every possible option, and satisficers,

who look until they find an option that is good enough.

You might expect that the student

who had undertaken the most exhausted search

would be the most satisfied with their final decision,

but it turns out that's not true.

Schwartz found that while maximizers ended up

with better-paying jobs than satisficers on average,

they weren't as happy with their decision.

The reason why these people feel less satisfied

is that a world of possibilities

may also be a world of missed opportunities.

When you look at every possible option,

you tend to focus more on

what was given up than what was gained.

After surveying every option,

a person is more acutely aware of the opportunities

they had to turn down to pursue just one career.

Now the passage will be read again.

In America,

people are faced with more and more decisions every day,

whether it's picking one of thirty-one ice cream flavors,

or deciding whether and when to get married.

That sounds like a great thing,

but as a recent study has shown,

too many choices can make us confused, unhappy,

even paralyzed with indecision.

'That's particularly true when it comes to the work place',

says Barry Schwartz,

an author of six books about human behavior.

Students are graduating with a variety of skills and interests,

but often find themselves overwhelmed

when it comes to choosing an ultimate career goal.

In a study, Schwartz observed decision-making

among college students during their senior year.

Based on answers to questions regarding their job

hunting strategies and career decisions,

he divided the students into two groups：maximizers,

who consider every possible option, and satisficers,

who look until they find an option that is good enough.

You might expect that the student

who had undertaken the most exhausted search

would be the most satisfied with their final decision,

but it turns out that's not true.

Schwartz found that while maximizers ended up

with better-paying jobs than satisficers on average,

they weren't as happy with their decision.

The reason why these people feel less satisfied

is that a world of possibilities

may also be a world of missed opportunities.

When you look at every possible option,

you tend to focus more on

what was given up than what was gained.

After surveying every option,

a person is more acutely aware of the opportunities

they had to turn down to pursue just one career.

Now the passage will be read for the third time.

In America,

people are faced with more and more decisions every day,

whether it's picking one of thirty-one ice cream flavors,

or deciding whether and when to get married.

That sounds like a great thing,

but as a recent study has shown,

too many choices can make us confused, unhappy,

even paralyzed with indecision.

'That's particularly true when it comes to the work place',

says Barry Schwartz,

an author of six books about human behavior.

Students are graduating with a variety of skills and interests,

but often find themselves overwhelmed

when it comes to choosing an ultimate career goal.

In a study, Schwartz observed decision-making

among college students during their senior year.

Based on answers to questions regarding their job

hunting strategies and career decisions,

he divided the students into two groups：maximizers,

who consider every possible option, and satisficers,

who look until they find an option that is good enough.

You might expect that the student

who had undertaken the most exhausted search

would be the most satisfied with their final decision,

but it turns out that's not true.

Schwartz found that while maximizers ended up

with better-paying jobs than satisficers on average,

they weren't as happy with their decision.

The reason why these people feel less satisfied

is that a world of possibilities

may also be a world of missed opportunities.

When you look at every possible option,

you tend to focus more on

what was given up than what was gained.

After surveying every option,

a person is more acutely aware of the opportunities

they had to turn down to pursue just one career.

This is the end of listening comprehension.