Part III 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 2 with a single line through
the center.
11. W: Can you tell me if you did well in the interview?
M: It’s difficult. You know it’s always the same, after an interview you think of all the things you forgot to say.
Q: What conclusion can be drawn from the man’s statement?
12. M: Why did you ask Charles Bond to stay here for such a long time?
W: Because he will get to know Paris and be in a better position to make a choice between the two houses.
Q: What does the woman mean?
13. W: It’s ten o’clock. Is that too late for us to call Professor Brown about the student council meeting?
M: Let’s hold off till tomorrow.
Q: What does the man mean?
14. W: Charlie, we’ve had these chairs since we got married. They are very comfortable.
M: That doesn’t mean we’ve got to have them the rest of our lives. Anyway they’re falling apart.
Q: What conclusion does the man want us to make from his statement?
15. M: There’s a story in the paper that a man didn’t get a job because of his Australian accent.
W: Well, I suppose it could be a disadvantage. It depends on the job he was applying for.
Q: According to the conversation, which of the following statements is not true?
16. M: I’m really sorry I didn’t make it to your dinner party last night, Julie.
W: It’s all very well to say that now; we wasted half the evening waiting for you to turn up.
Q: How did the woman respond?
17. M: Well, I must be going. I said I’d meet the children down at the beach.
W: And I’ve got to do some shopping. We’ll expect a call from you then? Or leave a message at the Reception desk.
Q: What have you learned from the conversation?
18. W: Our directors are beginning to realize that our overseas people ought to be able to speak some foreign languages.
M: Perhaps I could be of some use as an interpreter. I did my degree in modern English.
Q: According to the conversation, which of the following statements is not true?
Now you’ll hear two long conversations.
Conversation One
M: Hi. I have a reservation for tonight.
W: Your name please?
M: It's Nelson. Charles Nelson.
W: Charles Nelson. A room for one for the 19th . . .
M: Wait, wait! It was for tonight. Not tomorrow night.
W: Hmm, hmm. I don't think we have any rooms for tonight. There's a convention going
on in town, and uh, let's see. Yeah, no rooms.
M: Ah come on! You must have something. Anything.
W: Well. We do have some rooms under renovation with just a roll-a-way bed. Er…
None of the normal amenities like a TV or working shower or toilet.
M: Ah, come on, there must be something else.
W: Well. Let me check my computer here. Ah!
M: What?
W: There has been a cancellation for this evening. A honeymoon suite is now available.
M: Great. I'll take it.
W: But I'll have to charge you two hundred fifty dollars for the night.
M: Ah, but could I get a discount for the inconvenience?
W: Well. The best I can give you is a ten percent discount plus a ticket for a free continental
breakfast.
M: Hey. Isn't the breakfast free anyway?
W: Well, only on weekends.
M: I want to talk to the manager.
W: Wait, wait, wait Mr. Nelson. I can give you an additional 15% discount
and I'll throw in a free room for the next time you visit us.
M: That’ll be a long time.
Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
19. For what day did Mr. Nelson make a hotel reservation?
20. What made it so difficult for Mr. Nelson to get a room in a hotel?
21. How much discount can Mr. Nelson get?
22. What can be inferred from this conversation?
Conversation Two
M: Hello! You seem worried. Can I help you?
W: Oh, I feel so strange with my feet in the skis.
M: So you don’t know how to ski. Is it your first time coming here to ski?
W: It’s my first time seeing real white snow.
M: No kidding! Where are you from, young lady?
W: My family and I live in Singapore. We do not have snow in winter. It’s always sunny.
M: No wonder. I guess you must be a good swimmer, then.
W: You are right. Swimming is my favorite hobby. But I simply don’t know what to do with these skis.
M: Don’t worry. I’m sure you will learn very quickly. Now walk like me, all right? Good! Let’s go up the hill and try once, shall we? When you want to go up the slope, you should stand sideways and go up step by step, just like a crab.
W: Oh, that’s really funny. I’ve never walked this way, but it’s interesting.
M: Let’s move to the gentle slope, shall we? It will make things easier.
W: I guess I’m a little nervous.
M: Take it easy. Trust yourself. Now, keep leaning forward while going down. Remember, the tips mustn’t cross or you’ll fall down. If you want to stop, you should point the tips together, got it?
W: I see.
M: Now, let’s try. Okay. Go! … How do you feel? Still afraid?
W: No, not at all. As a matter of fact, I feel quite pleased and proud of myself, thank you. You are so very kind.
Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
23. What was the woman worried about?
24. What is the woman’s favorite hobby?
25. Where did the man lead the woman to first in order to make things easier?
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) andD).
Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center.
Passage One
Besides private bills, there are also public bills that must be paid. Public bills are paid for by the government. In turn, we get these services through taxes. What would happen if everyone in the city stopped paying taxes? The water supply would stop. Water might even become unclean and impure. The streets might not be cleaned. There would be no police force to protect people and property. Schools would be closed. People would become sick and diseases might spread. We would not want to live in such a city. We all want pure water and food, clean streets and good schools. We want the police to protect us from crime. The chief duty of every government is to protect persons and property. More than three fourths of the money spent by our government is used for this purpose. The next large amount of public money goes to teach and train our citizens. Billions of dollars each year are spent on schools and libraries. Public money is used to pay the teachers and all the public officials. Also, a large amount of public funds is spent on roads.
The greatest part of the needed funds is raised by taxes. Tax is money that we all must pay to support the government. The law orders us to pay taxes. We have no choice in this matter. Almost everyone pays some tax in one form or another.
Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.
26. How does the government pay for public bills?
27. According to the speaker, what would happen if nobody in the city paid taxes?
28. Which of the following costs the largest amount of public money according to the speaker?
Passage Two
America’s national symbol, the bald eagle, almost went extinct twenty years ago, but it has made a comeback. In fact, the U.S. Fish and Wild Life Service is considering the possibility of taking it off the Endangered Species List. Once, more than fifty thousand pairs of bald eagles nested across the country, but by 1960 that number had fallen to below four hundred. The chief killer was the widely used DDT. Fish soaked up DDT, died, and were washed up on the shores, where bald eagles feasted on them. DDT prevented eagle eggshells from thickening. The shells became so thin that they shattered before the babies hatched. Fortunately, in 1972, a law was passed to ban DDT, which saved the bald eagle from total wipeout. And since then, wild-life biologists have reintroduced bald eagles from Canada to America. The result was that last year, U.S. bird watchers counted eleven thousand six hundred and ten bald eagles in the country. If it were dropped from the Endangered Species List, the bald eagle would still be a threatened species. That means the bird would continue to get the same protection. No hunting allowed, and no disturbing of nests. But bald eagles still face tough times. The destruction of their natural homes could be the next DDT causing eagle numbers to drop quickly.
Questions 29 to 31 are based on the passage you have just heard.
29. What was the main harmful effect of the pest killer DDT on bald eagles?
30. What measure did wild-life biologists take to increase the number of bald eagles?
31. According to the speaker, what is the possible danger facing bald eagles?
Passage Three
A few years ago it was fashionable to speak of a generation gap, a division between young people and their elders. Parents complained that their children did not show them proper respect and obedience, while children complained that their parents did not understand them at all.
One important cause of the generation gap is the opportunity that young people have to choose their own life-styles. In more traditional societies, when children grow up, they are expected to live in the same area as their parents, to marry people that their parents know and approve of and often to continue the family occupation. In our society, young people often travel great distances for their education, move out of the family home at an early age, and choose occupations different from those of their parents.
In our modern society, parents often expect their children to do better than they did; to find better jobs, to make more money, and to do all the things that they were unable to do. But often they discover that they have very little in common with each other.
Finally, the speed at which changes take place in our society is another cause of the gap between generations. In a traditional culture, elderly people are valued for their wisdom, but in our society the knowledge of a lifetime may become obsolete overnight.
The best way to narrow the gap is that parents and children should be mutually respected.
Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
32. What does this passage mainly tell us?
33. Which one is the most important cause of the generation gap?
34. What are children expected to do in a more traditional society?
35. How do we narrow the gap?
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 numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have
just heard. For blanks numbered form 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information.
For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main
points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check
what you have written.
Although General Motors and General Electric are large multinational (36) corporations with operations around the globe, there are numerous smaller companies that engage in international trade. Because 95 percent of the world’s population and two thirds of its (37) purchasing power are located outside the United States, it is important for American (38) firms to be present in foreign markets. However, before we explain the different methods by which a company may (39) engage in international trade, we might first consider some important (40)factors that U.S. companies often fail to study before they sell products in a foreign country. These factors (41)concern differences in languages, in values and attitudes, and in political (42) climate.
When (43) introducing Coca-Cola into the Chinese market in 1920, the company used a group of Chinese symbols that, when spoken, sounded like Coca-Cola. (44 ) When read, however, these symbols meant, “a female horse fattened with wax”. Upon reentering the Chinese market in the 1970s,Coca-Cola used a series of Chinese characters that translates into “happiness in the mouth.”(45) This critical problem of proper translation is only one of many cultural differences facing American corporations overseas.
Culture is the total pattern of human behavior that is practiced by a particular group of people. (46)Because of their cultural heritage, businesspersons in each country conduct their business activities differently.
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