[00:00.34]Part Ⅱ Listening Comprehension
[00:04.65]In Sections A, B and C you will hear everything ONCE ONLY.
[00:12.50]Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow.
[00:17.69]Mark the correct answer to each question on Answer Sheet Two.
[00:24.14]SECTION A CONVERSATIONS
[00:28.40]In this section you will hear several conversations.
[00:33.04]Listen to the conversations carefully
[00:36.40]and then answer the questions that follow.
[00:39.56]Questions 1 to 4 are based on the following conversation.
[00:46.21]At the end of the conversation, you will be given 20 seconds
[00:50.99]to answer the questions.
[00:53.49]Now, listen to the conversation.
[00:58.12]M: Hi, Mary, got time for a coffee?
[01:02.74]W: Of course. Oh, Jack, you look upset. Any problems?
[01:08.33]M: Yes. The problem is I don't know what courses I should take.
[01:13.30]W: So am I. But we can work something out together.
[01:17.89]We should really talk about this with our academic supervisor,
[01:22.23]but she's away until Thursday,
[01:25.04]which might be a bit late to register for some of the more popular courses.
[01:31.02]M: That's my worry.
[01:32.81]It's lucky we're doing the same major,
[01:34.98]so some of our courses will be the same.
[01:37.67]What did your parents say
[01:39.24]when you told them you would be an English major?
[01:42.47]W: Well, dad thinks I'm crazy.
[01:45.43]"You'll never find a decent job when you graduate.
[01:50.07]A teacher or a secretary, that's about all you'll be good for!"
[01:54.72]M: What about your mum?
[01:56.98]W: Oh, she loves reading
[01:59.02]and has dreams of me becoming a great writer or something.
[02:03.20]What about your parents?
[02:05.42]M: Actually, they agree.
[02:07.48]They're both teachers, and are always moaning about
[02:10.66]the terrible English of most of their students.
[02:14.13]W: Anyway, let's have a look at some of these courses.
[02:18.70]I thought of taking Latin.
[02:21.32]People say it'll train my brain
[02:23.91]and help with French and Spanish, as well as English.
[02:27.81]M: I think that's nonsense.
[02:29.66]It's a dead language.
[02:31.27]If you want to learn Spanish, Italian or something,
[02:34.20]then learn it directly.
[02:36.25]W: You're right.
[02:37.66]Actually, I'm playing with the idea of doing journalism later.
[02:42.89]Foreign languages are always useful for a journalist.
[02:46.67]Maybe I'll take oral French.
[03:09.18]Questions 5 to 7 are based on the following conversation.
[03:14.28]At the end of the conversation, you will be given 15 seconds
[03:19.16]to answer the questions.
[03:21.16]Now, listen to the conversation.
[03:24.96]M: Good morning.
[03:26.86]W: Good morning, can I help you?
[03:28.85]M: Yes, I'd like to know something about
[03:31.78]the weather in this city in autumn.
[03:34.37]W: Well, in September and October
[03:37.59]you can expect sunny days and not so much rain,
[03:41.13]but the evenings tend to be cool.
[03:43.86]M: I see.
[03:45.15]I wonder if you could tell me something about the evening entertainment.
[03:49.47]W: Yes, there are several cinemas, stage shows in the summer,
[03:54.53]night clubs and discos,
[03:56.53]and of course plenty of pubs and restaurants.
[04:00.33]M: Thank you.
[04:01.73]Could you tell me a bit more about the stage shows?
[04:05.18]W: Well, they're mostly variety shows for British summer visitors
[04:10.37]—I don't think they're really very suitable for foreign visitors.
[04:14.84]M: OK. How about the restaurants?
[04:17.90]W: There are Italian, Indian, Chinese,
[04:21.77]Middle Eastern, Greek restaurants
[04:24.12]—there's even a Swiss restaurant, believe it or not!
[04:27.50]M: Are there any typical English restaurants?
[04:31.40]W: That's a bit more difficult.
[04:33.55]To get a good English meal, you need to eat in one of the hotels
[04:38.45]or with an English family.
[04:40.64]M: I see.
[04:42.18]Something else I'd like to know is this: are there any sports facilities?
[04:46.78]W: Oh, plenty.
[04:48.20]You can play tennis, go sailing, play golf and even learn to windsurf.
[04:54.19]M: That's interesting.
[05:11.48]Questions 8 to 10 are based on the following conversation.
[05:16.53]At the end of the conversation, you will be given 15 seconds
[05:21.14]to answer the questions.
[05:23.69]Now, listen to the conversation.
[05:27.35]M: Hi, Janet, where were you at lunch time?
[05:31.14]I was saving a seat for you in the cafeteria.
[05:33.71]W: Oh, sorry to miss you.
[05:36.31]But my thirst for knowledge
[05:38.41]was greater than my pains of hunger.
[05:41.08]M: I never had that problem. So where were you?
[05:45.46]W: My political science class ran overtime.
[05:48.88]M: That's been happening quite a bit lately, hasn't it?
[05:53.08]W: I guess so.
[05:54.70]Actually, what happens is that a lot of us hang around
[05:59.21]for a while after class
[06:00.97]to talk with our professor and ask him questions.
[06:04.45]M: Who is this twentieth century Socrates?
[06:07.49]W: Professor Howl.
[06:09.27]M: No wonder.
[06:10.81]W: Have you ever heard of him?
[06:12.47]M: Mm, he does have a good reputation
[06:15.30]in the political science department
[06:17.22]and I heard many people speak highly of him.
[06:20.52]W: And a well deserved one.
[06:22.83]The same students who fall asleep in discussion groups and seminars
[06:27.56]fight for front-row seats in his lectures.
[06:30.66]M: Oh, no. I hope this isn't catching.
[06:33.82]W: You can joke.
[06:35.28]But it's great to have a professor who's not only interesting
[06:39.46]but prepared to give up time for students.
[06:43.21]M: I know. They are a rare breed.
[06:46.46]Maybe I should sit in on his class some time.
[06:49.57]Do you think he'd care?
[06:51.41]W: Not at all.
[06:52.97]Lots of students bring their friends, and he says he feels flattered.
[07:12.18]SECTION B PASSAGES
[07:15.79]In this section, you will hear several passages.
[07:20.32]Listen to the passages carefully
[07:23.09]and then answer the questions that follow.
[07:26.58]Questions 11 to 13 are based on the following passage.
[07:32.53]At the end of the passage,
[07:34.87]you will be given 15 seconds to answer the questions.
[07:39.56]Now, listen to the passage.
[07:43.37]Telephone books in the United States
[07:46.57]have white, blue and yellow pages.
[07:50.22]The white pages list people with phones by last name.
[07:55.33]The blue pages contain numbers of city services,
[07:59.51]government agencies, and public schools.
[08:03.06]Businesses and professional services
[08:06.29]are listed in a special classified directory
[08:09.18]—the Yellow Pages.
[08:11.52]To make a long distance call, you need an area code.
[08:16.07]Each area in the U.S.
[08:18.43]has an area code.
[08:20.73]The area covered by one code may be small or large.
[08:25.48]For example, New York City has one area code,
[08:30.33]but so does the whole state of Oregon.
[08:33.43]If you want to know the area code of a place,
[08:37.34]you can look it up in the area code map
[08:40.24]which is printed in the front of the white pages.
[08:43.95]There are a lot of public telephones in the U.S.
[08:47.84]They have their own numbers.
[08:50.25]If you are making a long distance call
[08:52.91]on a public telephone and run out of money,
[08:56.35]give the number on your phone to the person you're talking to.
[09:00.54]Then hang up the receiver and he can call you back.
[09:05.08]If you make a long distance call and get a wrong number,
[09:09.78]call the operator and explain what happened.
[09:13.58]This means that you can make the call again
[09:16.92]to the right number without having to pay more money.
[09:36.13]Questions 14 to 17 are based on the following passage.
[09:41.93]At the end of the passage,
[09:44.13]you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.
[09:48.44]Now, listen to the passage.
[09:52.78]Trains appeared in as early as the 16th century,
[09:57.83]when miners carried coal out of underground tunnels
[10:01.72]by putting wagons with wheels on rails.
[10:05.03]In the early 19th century the first steam train
[10:09.43]was invented and soon became the most important means
[10:13.12]of transport in the 19th century.
[10:16.36]Electric train was introduced towards the end of the 19th century.
[10:21.31]It soon replaced even the largest steam trains
[10:25.21]in Europe and America.
[10:27.82]The electric train has many advantages over steam power.
[10:32.91]In addition to its speed in running and ease in maintaining,
[10:37.86]it is quieter, cleaner,
[10:40.42]and does not produce pollution as a steam train does.
[10:44.53]It's commonly chosen to run on subways.
[10:47.97]However, electric railroads with their rapid transit systems
[10:52.82]and commuter services can be expensive.
[10:56.47]Most developing countries cannot afford
[11:00.97]to replace all their steam trains with electric trains.
[11:05.52]Today, trains are still an efficient
[11:08.85]means of transport throughout the world.
[11:12.21]For those who are not in a hurry, traveling by train is safer,
[11:16.80]and more economical than air transport.
[11:20.39]With more train lines added, and more carriages heated in winter
[11:25.39]and air-conditioned in summer, passenger trains
[11:28.90]are more comfortable than airplanes.
[11:31.69]More importantly, trains can help ease city traffic congestion and pollution.
[11:38.08]With the development of modern technology,
[11:41.35]there will be more demand for high-speed electric trains
[11:45.45]in most parts of the world.
[12:07.44]Questions 18 to 20 are based on the following passage.
[12:12.81]At the end of the passage,
[12:14.75]you will be given 15 seconds to answer the questions.
[12:19.50]Now, listen to the passage.
[12:23.43]Each year car theft costs us about $300 million,
[12:31.02]and burglary sets us back by another $150 million.
[12:36.78]Yet the police reckon that one car in five is left unlocked,
[12:42.32]or with windows open, or with expensive goods on display.
[12:47.92]It is estimated that over 60% of homes still
[12:52.61]do not have any window locks, although that's better
[12:56.39]than a few years ago when it was near 90%.
[13:01.18]These facts illustrate a basic truth.
[13:04.34]The truth is that most criminals
[13:07.25]are on the lookout for a soft touch.
[13:10.38]They are not experienced "professionals"
[13:13.21]who set out with particular targets in mind,
[13:16.71]but young, inexperienced or unsophisticated.
[13:20.89]What they're looking for is a house or car
[13:24.16]that will let them get in,
[13:26.11]get what they want and get away quickly.
[13:29.80]Many of these opportunities can just as easily be removed,
[13:35.05]by fitting and using locks,
[13:37.64]or by taking other very simple precautions.
[13:41.53]And if we can prevent inexperienced criminals
[13:45.96]with proper individual effort and cost,
[13:49.16]how much more could be achieved
[13:51.30]by working together in Neighborhood Watches?
[13:54.83]Or in other local activities involving police, councils,
[14:00.28]businesses, voluntary groups and schools?
[14:04.52]More radically still, what might we see
[14:08.36]if more systematic effort was made
[14:11.05]to design anti-crime features into cars, houses and estates?
[14:17.23]This is not a pipe dream; it's already happening.
[14:36.91]SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
[14:41.19]In this section, you will hear several news items.
[14:45.67]Listen to them carefully and then answer the questions that follow.
[14:51.21]Questions 21 and 22 are based on the following news.
[14:57.87]At the end of the news item,
[15:00.37]you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions.
[15:04.36]Now, listen to the news.
[15:08.15]The United Nations says its investigation into U.S.
[15:13.13]air strikes on Friday in western Afghanistan
[15:16.63]found "convincing evidence" that the operation
[15:20.11]killed 90 civilians—60 of whom were children.
[15:24.98]U.S. officials say the strikes killed 25 militants and 5 civilians,
[15:31.11]but they are continuing an investigation into the incident.
[15:35.89]U.N. spokesman Aleem Siddique called on the international
[15:41.17]and Afghan military forces to review the conduct of the operation
[15:46.46]to prevent a repeat of what he called a tragic incident.
[16:00.72]Question 23 is based on the following news.
[16:05.27]At the end of the news item,
[16:07.52]you will be given 5 seconds to answer the question.
[16:11.66]Now, listen to the news.
[16:15.40]The Malaysian air force says radar information suggests
[16:20.54]that a passenger airliner that went missing on Saturday
[16:24.32]changed course and headed west.
[16:27.42]The last surveillance contact
[16:31.73]put the Malaysian Airlines plane somewhere
[16:34.51]between Malaysia and Vietnam.
[16:37.16]But military sources say their radar records show
[16:41.39]that the plane started to turn around
[16:44.29]and may have flown right across the Malay Peninsula.
[16:48.62]The aircraft disappeared less than an hour into its flight to Beijing,
[16:53.76]and an international search effort has so far failed to find any wreckage.
[17:04.95]Questions 24 to 26 are based on the following news.
[17:10.54]At the end of the news item,
[17:13.28]you will be given 15 seconds to answer the questions.
[17:17.77]Now, listen to the news.
[17:21.65]The Indian Prime Minister has warned that terrorism
[17:25.84]could undermine a peace process between India and Pakistan.
[17:30.24]He also called for peace in Indian Kashmir,
[17:34.04]which has been impaired by massive anti-India protests in recent days.
[17:40.32]The remarks came during an address to the nation
[17:43.95]on the occasion of India's 61st Independence Day.
[17:48.89]India has long accused Pakistan of supporting groups
[17:53.02]that carry out terror attacks in the country
[17:56.23]and encouraging Muslim separatists in Indian Kashmir
[18:00.96]—but in the last four years a tentative peace process
[18:05.39]resulted in friendlier ties between the South Asian rivals.
[18:10.61]The prime minister also called terrorism,
[18:13.91]fundamentalism and communalism
[18:17.05]the biggest challenges to Indian unity.
[18:35.30]Questions 27 and 28 are based on the following news.
[18:41.09]At the end of the news item,
[18:43.83]you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions.
[18:48.06]Now, listen to the news.
[18:51.86]U.S. lawmakers want Iraq to use bigger oil profits
[18:58.09]to pay for more of its own reconstruction.
[19:01.23]Iraq's parliament has approved a supplementary budget
[19:05.67]that raises this year's spending to more than $70 billion.
[19:11.36]The U.S. Government Accountability Office says
[19:15.37]higher oil prices could earn Iraq up to $79 billion this year.
[19:22.10]That is twice its average annual oil revenue from 2005 to 2007.
[19:29.24]Higher oil earnings could give the government in Baghdad
[19:33.48]a budget surplus of up to $50 billion
[19:37.91]—a windfall that has been noticed by senior senators
[19:42.35]in both U.S. political parties.
[19:54.89]Questions 29 and 30 are based on the following news.
[20:00.71]At the end of the news item,
[20:02.81]you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions.
[20:07.16]Now, listen to the news.
[20:10.96]Experts say U.S. President Barack Obama has succeeded
[20:15.35]in improving at least the tone of U.S.
[20:18.50]foreign policy though tangible achievements are still to come.
[20:22.95]VOA reports on U.S. foreign policy in the first 100 days
[20:28.54]of the new administration.
[20:30.48]Barack Obama's boldest foreign policy
[20:33.83]may have come more than six weeks before his inauguration
[20:38.22]—when he chose his former Democratic Party rival Hillary Clinton
[20:43.36]as his nominee for Secretary of State, despite her campaign rhetoric.
[20:49.04]"The American people don't have to guess
[20:52.19]whether I understand the issues,
[20:54.54]or whether I would need a foreign policy instruction manual
[20:58.09]to guide me through a crisis," she said.
[21:11.10]This is the end of listening comprehension.