[00:00.33]Part Ⅱ Listening Comprehension
[00:04.34]In Sections A, B and C you will hear everything ONCE ONLY.
[00:12.43]Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow.
[00:17.41]Mark the correct answer to each question on Answer Sheet Two.
[00:23.75]SECTION A CONVERSATIONS
[00:28.40]In this section you will hear several conversations.
[00:33.59]Listen to the conversations carefully
[00:36.70]and then answer the questions that follow.
[00:40.21]Questions 1 to 3 are based on the following conversation.
[00:46.00]At the end of the conversation, you will be given 15 seconds
[00:50.95]to answer the questions.
[00:53.45]Now, listen to the conversation.
[00:57.11]M: Today, as our guest on Student Radio Westmark
[01:01.31]is student organizer and well-known Biology major and activist,
[01:05.71]Marcy Reynolds. Marcy, welcome to the show.
[01:09.37]First, can you give us some ideas about your work?
[01:13.14]W: Well, we've been trying to pressure the local government
[01:16.73]to resume funding of its recycling centre.
[01:19.95]As you may know, they cut off funding to the main plant.
[01:24.56]Our group, Restoring Recycling Radars (or RRR),
[01:30.57]called for funding.
[01:32.73]We hope to succeed in not only getting the funding restored,
[01:36.48]but also increased.
[01:38.43]M: Since you have repeatedly said in the previous interview
[01:42.05]in the newspaper that the city government doesn't care about this.
[01:46.25]So my question is why would they listen to your group?
[01:50.06]W: Well, we've been advocating these issues for a long time
[01:55.05]and now the council is pretty split on this issue.
[01:58.95]So a push in the right direction couldn't hurt.
[02:02.61]M: Any light, so far, at the end of the tunnel?
[02:06.24]W: Plenty. The council wasn't happy about the garbage
[02:10.68]we dumped on the City Hall lawn, but they got the message.
[02:14.79]Now, they're reviewing their actions and voting tomorrow
[02:18.98]in a special council meeting.
[02:21.63]M: Well, thanks for that briefing and it was a pleasure
[02:24.42]once again to talk with you.
[02:26.52]Stay tuned now for some fine tunes from our DJ,
[02:29.97]so don't touch that dial！
[02:47.02]Questions 4 to 7 are based on the following conversation.
[02:52.20]At the end of the conversation, you will be given 20 seconds
[02:56.68]to answer the questions.
[02:59.04]Now, listen to the conversation.
[03:03.01]W: Are you going to find a job again this summer?
[03:05.47]M: Yes, of course.
[03:07.84]Otherwise, how am I going to pay for the tuition fees in the fall?
[03:11.20]W: I am thinking of working too
[03:14.43]but my folks insist I have to spend sometime
[03:17.73]with them during the summer.
[03:19.68]You know, I haven't seen them for two years.
[03:22.73]M: That's considering you are only an 8-hour drive away from your hometown.
[03:27.34]Why haven't you been home for so long?
[03:30.05]W: It's not that I didn't want to go home
[03:32.41]but because my parents were volunteering
[03:34.81]in the charitable organization
[03:37.15]in Central America for the last couple of years.
[03:40.34]M: In that case, the more you should visit them in the summer.
[03:43.56]W: That's true, but I didn't want to spend
[03:46.77]the whole summer staying at home.
[03:48.93]I want to make some money and pay off my tuition fees too.
[03:52.79]M: Well, you can always get a loan.
[03:55.41]W: Loan? I hate the idea of borrowing.
[03:59.25]I would rather make my own money and pay it off.
[04:02.30]M: That's true. It's not uncommon for people
[04:05.30]to have whopping bills to pay once they've graduated.
[04:08.56]W: Yes, That's exactly what I didn't want to get myself into.
[04:13.01]What do I do about money?
[04:15.61]M: Well, you can work part-time when you are at home.
[04:19.30]There's no need to think of this as a dichotomy.
[04:22.22]Why not do both?
[04:23.96]W: I was thinking about that but my parents think
[04:27.48]I should be at home with them full-time.
[04:30.29]M: Well, I think you do have to make a decision then.
[04:53.86]Questions 8 to 10 are based on the following conversation.
[04:59.06]At the end of the conversation, you will be given 15 seconds
[05:03.61]to answer the questions.
[05:05.56]Now, listen to the conversation.
[05:09.04]M: My brother Mike is just on a course
[05:11.74]at the Green-park camping school.
[05:14.39]W: Really? What made him decide to do that?
[05:17.80]M: Well, for one thing,
[05:20.06]some boys in his class decided to do it
[05:23.07]and they dared him to go listen.
[05:25.28]W: You mean he really didn't want to go?
[05:28.27]M: I think he wanted to go,
[05:30.94]but I think he was also a little frightened.
[05:33.99]Of course, now that he has done it,
[05:36.49]he is very pleased with himself.
[05:38.79]He's always talking about it.
[05:41.39]W: So he enjoyed it, didn't he?
[05:43.89]M: Not exactly. I think he's enjoying
[05:47.05]the feeling of having done it more than he actually enjoyed doing it.
[05:51.90]W: What sorts of things did he do?
[05:54.94]M: Em, all sorts of opening-air activities:
[05:58.84]hiking, camping, and canoeing.
[06:01.46]One thing he had to do was to capsize a canoe
[06:05.42]and then ride it again without getting out.
[06:08.68]He said the water was very cold,
[06:11.41]but he hardly noticed it at the time.
[06:14.23]W: Why not?
[06:15.81]M: He was busy riding the canoe.
[06:18.22]W: That doesn't sound very comfortable at this time of the year.
[06:21.77]M: That's what I said when he told me.
[06:24.53]On another occasion,
[06:26.19]he had to spend the day and night by himself in the open country.
[06:30.33]W: Was he frightened?
[06:32.30]M: He was at first, apparently.
[06:34.70]But then he got used to it.
[06:36.52]W: It seems to me that the course did him a lot of good.
[06:40.34]I expect it made him more self-reliant.
[06:43.45]M: That's what he says.
[06:45.27]And now, he wants me to go.
[07:02.21]SECTION B PASSAGES
[07:05.59]In this section, you will hear several passages.
[07:09.97]Listen to the passages carefully
[07:12.77]and then answer the questions that follow.
[07:15.57]Questions 11 to 13 are based on the following passage.
[07:21.68]At the end of the passage,
[07:23.92]you will be given 15 seconds to answer the questions.
[07:28.24]Now, listen to the passage.
[07:31.90]Although it is impossible to eliminate all risks
[07:36.36]from such a complex and experimental project,
[07:39.37]as the American space program,
[07:41.47]every precaution is taken to reduce the possibility of injury.
[07:46.53]Nevertheless, accidents do happen.
[07:50.23]The first major casualties occurred when,
[07:54.12]despite every precaution,
[07:56.28]fire broke out on the Apollo V capsule on January 27th, 1967.
[08:03.14]In spite of every effort to save them,
[08:06.67]three men died in this terrible accident.
[08:09.49]The program continued without pause, however,
[08:13.53]and there were no more serious injuries until 1981.
[08:18.44]Then having successfully tested the engines,
[08:21.95]on an earlier occasion,
[08:23.72]a rehearsal for the actual launching was held.
[08:27.11]Not knowing that an engine chamber
[08:30.24]was full of Nitrogen gas used to clean the motor,
[08:33.68]6 technicians entered for routine work
[08:36.99]after the final rehearsal had been declared successful.
[08:41.15]They collapsed as soon as the gas entered their lungs.
[08:44.48]One man died, and the others were very ill.
[08:48.37]Although everyone involved was shocked and grieved
[08:51.83]by this apparently unnecessary accident,
[08:54.59]preparations continued for the actual launching later that year.
[08:59.34]However hard we try, accidents are bound to happen.
[09:04.24]Whenever a new and challenging project is undertaken,
[09:08.59]it seems to be the price of progress.
[09:26.88]Questions 14 to 17 are based on the following passage.
[09:32.44]At the end of the passage,
[09:34.77]you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.
[09:38.94]Now, listen to the passage.
[09:42.99]In Britain, just as the largest audience is watching
[09:46.94]the main television news programs,
[09:49.61]it's weather forecast time.
[09:51.65]The BBC broadcast 44 live forecasts a day,
[09:56.39]433 hours of weather a year,
[10:00.11]using forecasters from the Meteorological Office.
[10:03.70]The Met Office makes predictions
[10:06.31]about the weather 7 days in advance.
[10:09.17]These are based on observations from the ground,
[10:12.62]from satellites and from radar.
[10:15.06]The observations are stored in computers that can do
[10:19.02]up to 4 billion calculations per second.
[10:22.35]In Britain, the weather is news.
[10:25.38]A television weather forecast often begins with an interesting fact:
[10:30.43]The town with the top temperature of the day
[10:32.93]or the place with the most rain.
[10:35.27]"The public like that kind of information,"
[10:38.25]says senior forecaster Bill Jails,
[10:41.21] "The BBC forecasters are professional meteorologists,
[10:45.46]but they don't have an easy job."
[10:47.81]They are the only presenters on television who do not use a script
[10:52.23]and they cannot see the map that they are describing.
[10:55.75]Viewers are often critical,
[10:57.90]especially of female presenters.
[11:00.36]One woman left the job after rude letters
[11:03.51]and press reports about her clothes.
[11:06.05]The British talk about the weather more than any other subject,
[11:09.86]so it is surprising to discover 70% of television viewers
[11:14.56]cannot remember what they saw on the weather forecast.
[11:18.33]"What happens", says one forecaster,
[11:21.47]"is that people like watching and hearing the forecasters,
[11:24.98]but they probably only take real notice when they need to,
[11:28.79]or of course, when we make mistakes."
[11:51.48]Questions 18 to 20 are based on the following passage.
[11:56.68]At the end of the passage,
[11:58.94]you will be given 15 seconds to answer the questions.
[12:04.13]Now, listen to the passage.
[12:07.92]A record number of tourists visited the city this year,
[12:12.26]and tourists' spending appears to have increased.
[12:15.35]Hotel occupancy rates are likely to exceed the world average.
[12:19.74]The latest issue of the tourist associations Travel Bulletin
[12:25.50]says that last year's record figure of 2.5 million visitors
[12:30.32]was passed last month.
[12:32.67]During the month,
[12:34.07]traditionally the picturesque period of the year,
[12:36.70]hotels were reporting at 87% plus occupancy rate.
[12:42.54]The Bulletin notes an increased tendency this year
[12:46.25]for people to visit the city on holiday.
[12:49.06]Last year, 65% of the visitors came for holidays,
[12:53.71]while 21% were on business.
[12:56.89]This year's figures so far are showing
[12:59.67]a swing in favor of more vacation travelers
[13:02.94]plus an increase in rivals for meetings and conferences,
[13:07.13]the Bulletin reports.
[13:08.92]This year's total tourist expenditures
[13:12.29]are running about 10% higher than last year's.
[13:16.10]Visitors spent 11 million yuan last year,
[13:19.99]a substantial increase over the previous year.
[13:23.04]Money spent on shopping, however,
[13:25.60]the largest single visitor expenditure,
[13:28.45]dropped slightly in the first half of the year,
[13:31.65]but spending on items such as tours,
[13:34.63]dining and entertainment increased.
[13:37.58]Nevertheless, money spent by tourists in shops
[13:41.35]still accounted for 60% of total tourist expenditures.
[13:46.43]The rest was spent mainly on hotel accommodation and meals.
[14:06.79]SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
[14:10.88]In this section, you will hear several news items.
[14:15.54]Listen to them carefully and then answer the questions that follow.
[14:20.92]Questions 21 and 22 are based on the following news.
[14:27.42]At the end of the news item,
[14:30.38]you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions.
[14:34.37]Now, listen to the news.
[14:38.41]More than 2,000 Japanese cars worth over 4bn Kenyan shillings
[14:45.68]have been seized at the port in Mombasa because they were
[14:49.23]more than eight years old when they arrived in the country.
[14:53.33]Destroying the vehicles will "send a strong message
[14:57.18]to those flouting regulations",
[14:59.53]says Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Mumo Matemu.
[15:05.46]Kenya is a big market for second-hand Japanese cars,
[15:09.90]because both countries drive on the left.
[15:12.95]In 2013, nearly 52,000 vehicles were exported to Kenya,
[15:19.09]Japanese customs figures show.
[15:21.54]Kenya retains the services of an independent Japanese company
[15:26.78]to inspect all used vehicles heading to its ports.
[15:31.36]But the government says it is unclear how the 2,000 seized cars
[15:36.29]were cleared by the Kenya Revenue Authority, the country's tax agency.
[15:51.44]Questions 23 and 24 are based on the following news.
[15:57.26]At the end of the news item,
[15:59.90]you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions.
[16:03.96]Now, listen to the news.
[16:07.30]Activists say legal loopholes and disputed sovereignty
[16:11.74]in an area between Chile and Argentina
[16:15.14]allowed them to create Republica Glaciar, according to The Santiago Times.
[16:21.53]The new "country" issues its own passports
[16:25.42]and encourages people to become citizens
[16:28.38]by pledging their allegiance online.
[16:30.98]Republica Glaciar's first citizen
[16:34.17]is Chilean poet and Nobel Prize nominee Nicanor Parra.
[16:38.65]Chile has 82% of South America's glaciers
[16:43.43]—a main source of fresh water.
[16:46.02]But it is one of the only countries
[16:48.71]without laws to protect them,
[16:50.62]and "has allowed mining companies
[16:53.60]to become their main threat", says Matias Asun,
[16:57.64]head of Greenpeace Chile.
[16:59.69]But others say pro-glacier legislation
[17:03.34]would close major mining projects,
[17:05.73]threaten thousands of jobs and slow down foreign investment.
[17:19.90]Questions 25 and 26 are based on the following news.
[17:25.59]At the end of the news item,
[17:28.04]you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions.
[17:32.23]Now, listen to the news.
[17:35.97]Criminals in Pakistan have been caught allegedly
[17:40.36]trying to smuggle heroin inside hollowed-out onions
[17:44.14]in an attempt to thwart sniffer dogs, it's been reported.
[17:48.22]Security forces in Karachi uncovered the plot
[17:52.17]when they raided a home in the city and seized 61.5kg
[17:57.77]of "high quality" drugs, which they valued at 250,000 pounds.
[18:04.95]Five suspects were arrested.
[18:07.81]According to the country's Anti-Narcotics Force
[18:10.64]who carried out the operation,
[18:12.73]the gang were hollowing out onions,
[18:15.59]inserting capsules of heroin,
[18:17.78]then capping the onions with glue.
[18:20.63]The smugglers confessed that the smell of the onions
[18:23.97]would hopefully prevent sniffer dogs from detecting the drugs.
[18:28.36]In the end, the gang were apprehended
[18:31.71]following a surveillance operation.
[18:44.26]Questions 27 and 28 are based on the following news.
[18:50.15]At the end of the news item,
[18:52.39]you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions.
[18:56.60]Now, listen to the news.
[19:00.73]Every year, Moscow produces about 9 million tonnes of rubbish
[19:05.93]—a fifth of all the waste produced in Russia
[19:08.52]—which goes to 38 landfill sites on the edges of the city.
[19:13.50]In Dyakovo, a town next to the Dmitrovsky dump,
[19:17.69]the soil is so contaminated that vegetables will not grow there.
[19:22.97]With 24 dumps scheduled to shut this year,
[19:26.62]the situation is so urgent that local authorities
[19:30.45]are pledging to recycle or incinerate
[19:33.49]as much as 65% of the city's waste
[19:36.65]—up from just 10% at present.
[19:39.26]By comparison, households in England recycled
[19:42.85]about 43% of their waste in 2013.
[19:47.02]In the Soviet era, citizens sorted their own rubbish,
[19:50.87]earning a small amount of money for scrap metal,
[19:53.42]paper and glass handed in at local collection points.
[19:57.26]But mountains of rubbish have piled up
[20:00.04]ever since the system collapsed.
[20:02.44]Recycling companies are starting to pop up in the region,
[20:06.23]sensing opportunity.
[20:08.02]But one firm says until local laws change,
[20:11.56]burying rubbish in a landfill is the cheapest option.
[20:25.42]Questions 29 and 30
[20:28.05]are based on the following news.
[20:30.70]At the end of the news item,
[20:33.05]you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions.
[20:37.44]Now, listen to the news.
[20:41.23]President Obama is touring drought-stricken parts
[20:44.94]of California this evening.
[20:46.88]He's also announcing a 160-million-dollar aid package for farmers.
[20:53.05]The financial assistance
[20:55.32]includes 100 million dollars in livestock disaster aid
[20:59.59]and another 60 million dollars to bolster food banks.
[21:03.43]Farmers are welcoming the aid,
[21:05.93]but say much more needs to be done to address
[21:09.02]the state's ongoing water problems.
[21:11.87]The president is also saying he'll ask Congress
[21:15.51]to fund a one-billion-dollar program
[21:18.40]aimed at addressing issues of climate change.
[21:22.03]The plan to be included in the budget he'll send to Congress next month
[21:26.36]would pay for the new technologies
[21:28.79]to help communities deal with the wider effects of the climate change.
[21:43.95]This is the end of listening comprehension.