英语高级口译资格证书第一阶段考试
section 1: listening test (30 minutes)
part a: spot dictation
directions: in this part of the test, you will hear a passage and read the same passage with blanks in it. fill in each of the blanks with the words you have heard on the tape. write your answer in the corresponding space in your answer booklet. remember you will hear. the passage only once.
building team spirit is always the focal point of what i have been trying to do as a manager. when i first went to crystal palace, football players would ____________(1) and then go straight home. there was ______________(2). so we brought in a pool table and fruit machines. when _______________(3) choose to spend time together, it generates a better atmosphere.____________(4) is very important, but i don't believe in trying to _____________(5) as a team. i try to motivate them ___________(6). so i don't give team talks. i speak to the players individually. and i try not to ___________(7). i believe that football players perform best when they are relaxed. if they're ______________(8), i can guarantee they won't play well in a game.
i also believe in _______________(9). i like all the people who work for me to be autonomous; therefore, i_____________(10). i feel people should be judged _______________(11). if they prove incompetent, then i'm incompetent if i ____________(12). it's like that with the team. i get criticized for not interfering during a game and _________(13). but i feel if i've chosen those eleven players to get a result, then i should___________(14) to get on with it.
if i'm dropping a player from the team, i ________________(15) i have to explain it to them. if they _______________(16), i'll say come back and talk about it. ” _______________(17) but i don't try to re-motivate them. it's up to them to have the character to ________(18). i'm a great believer that almost everything you achieve in life is (19). if i have a football player who is magnificently gifted but has a stinking attitude, i won't __________________(20).
part b: listening comprehension
directions: in this part of the test there will be some short talks and conversations. after each one, you will be asked some questions. the talks, conversations and questions will be spoken only once. now listen carefully and choose the right answer to each question you have heard and write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your answer booklet.
questions 1 to 5 are based on the following radio programme.
1. a. arts. b. maths.
c. science and technology. d. social sciences.
2. a. three hours. b. 10 hours.
c. 15 hours. d. 16 hours.
3. a. he found it quite easy. b. he failed the exam.
c. he passed it only marginally. d. he was praised by the dean.
4. a. because he thinks that the fee would be too expensive.
b. because he would have to economise.
c. because it might be too demanding.
d. because it is designed for younger people only.
5. a. it offers advice on how to go about choosing a career.
b. it criticises the educational system in britain.
c. it evaluates degree courses at british universities.
d. it discusses educational opportunities for adults.
questions 6 to 10 are based on the following news.
6. a. 95. b. 195.
c. 226. d. 251.
7. a. the military rule in the country.
b. the government's decision to privatize the banking sector.
c. the shortage of food at the detention centre.
d. the detention without trial.
8. a. when the plane was trying to take off.
b. when the plane was landing.
c. when the plane was flying across the cuban-ecuadorean border.
d. when the plane was caught in a storm.
9. a. electronic commerce will replace traditional ways of doing business in 20 years' time.
b. electronic commerce would only supplement traditional ways of doing businesses.
c. electronic commerce is not suitable for their businesses.
d. electronic commerce has to be improved to handle day-to-day transactions.
10.a. violence is becoming worse over the past week.
b. police used rubber bullets against against the looters.
c. looting of ethnic chinese houses is continuing.
d. troops shot and killed hundreds of rioters.
questions 11 to 15 are based on the following interview.
11.a. nine years ago. b. eight year ago.
c. in 1981. d. in 1991.
12.a. networking. b. business applications.
c. games software. d. electronic toys.
13.a. four. b. eight. c. twelve. d. fourteen.
14.a. six months ago.
b. last month.
c. immediately after the founding of the company.
d. after setting up the distribution business.
15.a. because they believed that it would succeed soon.
b. because they didn't want people to think they were in trouble.
c. because this division helped promote the sales of other products.
d. because this division created useful connections in the business.
questions 16 to 20 are based on the following talk.
16.a. both parents working with two or three children.
b. a working father, a housewife mother and a couple of children.
c. married couples who decide not to have any children.
d. adult children living with their parents.
17.a. high divorce rate.
b. rapid economic growth.
c. unemployment.
d. more women working outside she home.
18.a. 44.5%. b. 45.5%.
c. 54.5% d. 55.5%.
19.a. by allowing the employee to work on flextime.
b. by providing extra benefits for the employee's family.
c. by helping the employee's spouse to find a new job.
d. by setting up day-care centres.
20. a. only some large companies have the mew policies listed in the talk.
b. the situation of modern working parents has been greatly improved by adopting these policies.
c. these policies are very, very expensive to implement.
d. some of these policies go against labour laws in the usa and japan.
sectlon 2: readlng test (30 minutes)
directions: in this section you will read several passages. each one is followed by several questions about it. you are to choose one best answer, (a), (b), (c) or (d), to each question. answer all the questions following each passage on the basis of what is stated of implied in that passage and write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your answer booklet.
questions 1～5
the government claimed yesterday to have imposed a virtual moratorium on the commercial growing of controversial genetically modified crops, but was rebuked by environment and consumer groups who said it was allowing their go-ahead under cover of more experiments. in a package of measures aimed to leave the door open to the powerful biotechnology industry but also to reassure anxious consumers, environment minister michael meacher said no commercial growing of the controversial crops would now be allowed before autumn 1999.
but the government will allow six farms to grow gm crops on a commercial basis under strict ecological monitoring to establish the effects of widescale planting. the first crops are expected to be oilseed rape, to be planted in august 1999 and harvested in july 2000. until now they have only been small-scale trials, without ecological monitoring. mr. meacher said further commercial plantings will depend on the results of the monitoring. the government will also ban commercial growing of insect-resistant crops for three years.
“we are effectively declaring a moratorium, ”said mr. meacher. “we must take the precautionary approach. we may decide that we need extra time before we give any go-ahead for widescale commercial planting. ”
giving evidence to the lords select committee on the european community, mr. meacher and food safety minister jeff rooker, announced that the government would also tighten up the industry's self-regulatory system, bring in new advisers, lobby europe for legal reform, and set up a cabinet sub committee drawing on ministers from four departments. mr. rooker said it may also set up with supermarkets a surveillance system to monitor any unexpected health effects of the crops, and convene a new ethics committee.
the measures were broadly welcomed by english nature, the government's wildlife advisers, and the rspb, both of whom had earlier called for a three-year moratorium. “it will take three years of farm trials before we begin to understand the impact of these crops on wildlife,”said jonathan curtoys of the rspb. but environment, health and consumer watchdog groups said the proposals were full of loopholes. it is effectively an expansion of the industry. the government is relying on industry to monitor itself which always fails,”said charles secrett, director of friends of the earth.
patrick holden of the soil association, which represents organic farmers who fear that gm crops will genetically pollute their produce, said the government had caved into industry. “they are saying that you cannot stop the arrival of these crops. it's terrible.”
others welcomed the move to expand the remit of the scientific body that considers applications from industry to release the crops. a virtually new panel will be asked to look at the indirect and cumulative effects of the crops, and ecologists and wildlife scientists will be drafted in.
a mew committee made up of farmers, industry and pressure groups will also be set up. the promised food standards agency is expected to take overall control of the crops' future development, said mr. rooker.
1. it can be concluded from the passage that environment and consumer groups_________.
a. are in full support of the government's decision on genetic crops
b. suggest that the measures put forward by the government should be revised
c. hold that biotechnology industry will inevitably bring disaster to humanity
d. are very much concerned about the government's new measures
2. the word “moratorium”used in the passage is closest in meaning to__________.
a. temporary delay. b. complete stoppage.
c. immediate action. d. strict prohibition.
3. the expression “loopholes”in the sentence “but environment, health and consumer watchdog groups said the proposals were full of loopholes.”(para. 7) can be paraphrased as which of the following?
a. great negative effects. b. grammatical errors.
c. vague and inexact expressions. d. unnecessary repetitions.
4. which of the following is not included in the measures suggested by the government?
a. to strengthen the control of the industry's self-regulatory system.
b. to integrate friends of the earth and the soil association into one of the committees.
c. to establish a surveillance system with supermarkets to watch and check any harmful effects of gm crops.
d. to set up a number of committees to study and take control of the future developments of gm crops.
5. which of the following is mainly discussed in the passage?
a. the development of biotechnology industry.
b. the protest of friends of the earth and the soil association.
c. the pollution of natural agricultural products.
d. the policy on the commercial planting of gm products.
questions 6～10
up to nine serving and retired police officers are acting as “supergrasses”to inform on corrupt colleagues at scotland yard, it was revealed yesterday.
the huge scale of the corruption uncovered within the metropolitan police has resulted in up to 300 convictions being re examined to discover whether innocent people have been jailed.
forty police officers have so far been suspended—including detectives from a witness protection unit—and nine serving and former officers have been charged in connection with drugs and money allegations.
in the largest anti-corruption drive for decades, about nine serving or retired officers have become informants.
the bulk of the officers have com from the former south east regional crime squad (sercs),which investigated major criminals, and the flying squad, the unit that targets armed robbers.
most of the so-called “supergrasses”have offered to inform on their colleagues in the hope of receiving more lenient sentences for their own wrong-doings.
among the informants are two former flying squad officers, and one detective constable who was attached to the former sercs, and was arrested in connection with illegal drug activities.
as more officers are prepared to turn “informer”—in one case a detective is understood to have named up to 30 fellow officers—the number of allegations of police corruption is expected to rise sharply during the next few months.
as the inquiry by the specialist anti-corruption units cib2 and cib3 widens, a growing number of officers are being suspended and charged in connection with offenses—including drug dealing, taking bribes, robbery, tampering with evidence, and even helping out with contract killings. corrupt officers have made hundreds of thousands of pounds from their illegal activities. six officers from the special witness protection unit have been suspended following allegations of “financial irregularities”, along with 17 from the flying squad unit based at rigg approach in walthamstow, east london, and four from the former south east regional crime squad.
the most senior officer so far to be suspended is a detective chief inspector. a woman official of the crown prosecution service has also been arrested by the yard's anti-corruption team over allegations involving the supplying of confidential information and sabotaging cases.
one consequence of the inquiries is the large number of previous cases that involved suspected “bent”officers that could be over-turned on appeal.
a special miscarriages of justice unit at scotland yard is examining about 300 cases stretching back two decades. there are believed to be up to 10 men serving long jail sentences because crooked detectives planted evidence against them. once officers start being convicted, dozens of convicted criminals are expected to appeal against their sentences.
the latest development in the anit-corruption investigations, revealed by senior police sources, follows a pledge by sir paul condon, the commissioner of the metropolitan police, to stamp out wrong doing by his officers.
sir paul has estimated that up to 250 of his 27,000 strong force are corrupt.
a police source said that corruption was a “way of life” for the core of the suspected officers—who are believed to total about 40.
6. the word “supergrasses”can be replaced by___________.
a. serving and retired police officers
b. corrupt officers from scotland yard
c. informants who are the victims of injustice
d. informants who themselves have committed wrong-doings
7. the expression “a way of life”(last paragraph) probably means_________.
a. a kind of ideal life b. a goal in one's life
c. an essential part of one's life d. a means to one's end
8. which of the following is implied, but not directly stated, in the passage?
a. without those police “informers”, many of the corruption cases may not be uncovered.
b. a number of people have been wrongly sentenced and jailed.
c. the current anti corruption drive is the biggest over the past decades.
d. the corruption cases vary and some corrupt officers have made a fortune.
9. it can be concluded that police corruption discussed in the passage mainly takes place in_______.
a. scotland b. london
c. the army d. the prison
10.which of the following can be the best title for this passage?
a. the impact of anti-corruption investigations
b. police “informers” aiding corruption inquiry
c. the growing of “supergrasses” at police force
d. corruption spreading in metropolitan police
questions 11～15
anonymity has its virtues. think of the friend who performs a thoughtful deed in secret, or the benefactor who insists that his name not appear on the building he funded.
but anonymity also comes with a darker side. just ask the children who can't identify one parent, either because their biological father was a nameless donor at a sperm bank or because their genetic mother donated an egg to a surrogate-parenting program. for these offspring the haunting question, “who is my parent?”produces another anguished query: “who am i?”
“reproductive foundlings”is the phrase one british woman uses for those like herself whose donor fathers remain unknown.
so serious is the issue that three weeks from today, on nov.18, a children's charity in britain, barnardo's, will hold a seminar in london to discuss the implications of donor-assisted pregnancies. its title: “are we just creating children for parents? are we ignoring the child's identity and genetic needs?” tessa jowell, the british health minister, wants a position paper by christmas, outlining the pros and cons of ending donors' rights to anonymity.
the debate is long overdue. in britain, about 2,000 births result from donor-assisted pregnancies each year. in the united states, estimates put the figure above 30,000, but in an unregulated industry, no one knows for sure.
donor identity also ranks as a fledgling issue in the us. one sperm bank in california, founded in 1983, is looking ahead to 2001, when the first babies born from its services will come of age and perhaps begin seeking information about their fathers. the facility has formed an “identity release task force” to create guidelines so the experience will “be respectful for all involved.” it claims it is the first sperm bank in the world to the doing this.
selecting a potential father can be alarmingly simple—as easy as logging onto the internet and scrolling through listings of sperm donors. one sample description: “caucasian / irish, german, slavic, fair skin, blond wavy hair, blue eyes, 5-ft. 11 in., 168 pounds, o positive blood type.”yet only 21 of the 44 donors listed on this web page are willing to have their identity released.
another web site offers similar information on potential mothers. it reads: “we are proud to announce the arrival of our new egg donor database on the internet! our database has color photos and profiles of over 300 available egg donors.”it adds that “you can select specific criteria such as eye color, educational background, and ethnic origin. ”what could be simpler?
no one can minimize or trivialize the deep yearning for a child and the desire to create a family by any means necessary. yet reproductive technology represents a slippery slope. caught up in the “miracle”of being able to produce babies who otherwise would not have been born, well meaning fertility specialists sometimes appear to forget that what is medically possible may not always be ethically wise.
the genie is out of the bottle. for better of worse, surrogate parenting is here to stay. the only prudent solution lies in carefully regulating every phase.
in the same way that adoption, once shrouded in secrecy, is becoming an open subject, surrogate arrangements must become more honest. individuals are entitled to know their true background knowledge that, when lovingly conveyed, need not diminish their relationship with the parents who raise them.
11. the tone of the phrase of the phrase “reproductive foundlings”(parg.3) is one of________.
a. humour b. affirmation
c. indifference d. reproach
12. the sentence “the debate is long overdue.”(para.5) can be paraphrased as which of the following?
a. the debate comes at the right time.
b. the debate should have started much earlier.
c. the debate should not be overlooked.
d. the debate is to continue for a long time.
13. which of the following is not true according to the passage?
a. not all the donor parents are prepared to release their identity.
b. reproductive technology is against moral ethics and should be stopped.
c. people have the right to create a family by different means.
d. adopted children and test tube children are facing the similar issue of anonymous parents.
14. the metaphor “the genie is out of the bottle.”(para.10) is used to imply_________.
a. the benefits for test tube babies brought up on the bottle
b. the value of the contribution of sperm of egg donors
c. the necessity for regulating surrogate arrangements
d. both the positive and negative consequences of reproduction technology
15. which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
a. the great significance of being anonymous as a donor parent.
b. the direct relationship between anonymity and virtues.
c. the possible implications of donors' anonymous identity.
d. the positive arguments on donors' rights to anonymity.
questions 16～20
it will boldly sail where no ship has sailed before. the american space agency nase is drawing up plans to make the first trip to another star on the space age equivalent of the tea clipper.
scientists from the jet propulsion laboratory (jpl) in america believe aluminum sails may be the only way to span the vast expanses of space that separate the stars. rockets, the say, would be too slow and unable to carry the enormous amounts of fuel needed .
instead, the unmanned ship s energy would come from a sun powered laser, focused on the sail through an orbiting 60-ile diameter lens, to accelerate the ship to a tenth of the speed of light—18,600 miles per second.
the fuelless craft's sails would harness the pressure exerted by light on whatever it hits. although it would be only a small force, the absence of friction in space would cause the ship's velocity to increase steadily.
despite its eventual speed, interstellar distances are so great that it would still take the craft 40 years to reach the sun's nearest neighbour, alpha centauri, 26 trillion miles away.
“if the human race wants to go to the stars, there is just one technique that uses known physics, and this is it,”said dr. robert forward, a solar sail pioneer and space flight consultant who advised the jpl team.
reaching alpha centauri would be every bit as significant as putting a man on the moon. a wealth of information would be revealed to help scientists tackle many of the puzzles of the universe.
very high speeds, far in excess of anything mankind has achieved so far, would be vital if thejourney is to be made within a human lifetime.
the idea was first proposed by russian scientists in the 1920s and has been explored several times since the start of the start of the space race. however, only now with nanotechnology that has enabled the weight of the sail to be reduced can scientists consider it seriously for interstellar travel.
to make a beam that could cross the distance to the destination star, sunlight would have to be converted into powerful laser light and focused using a giant, orbiting lens 60 miles in diameter.
for a few years at the start and finish of the mission, this light would be aimed at the half mile wide sail which would carry a minimal payload of micro-electronic detectors, transmitters, computers and self-repair systems embedded in its centre.
the proposal was welcomed by dr. richard taylor, who as a member of a team of experts from the british interplanetary society made a feasibility study of a solar sail to propel an interstellar spacecraft no bigger than a beer can—dubbed “project heineken” as it was intended to reach the parts of the parts of the galaxy that other spacecraft could not reach..
taylor said his group concluded five years ago that the idea was a non-runner: “we could demonstrate that it was technically possible, but the cost would be immense.”
jpl is also evaluating a proposal to use solar sails of just on metre in diameter, put forward by a british scientist, dr. colin jack.
“there's no doubt solar sailing is a feasible technology and harnessing light pressure is a perfectly valid method of space craft propulsion.”said jack..
another british scientist, dr. steve temple of cambridge, who helped develop a more modest vessel to take part in a race to mars in 1992,believes technical problems would make the concept useless for reaching another star. “a solar sail is an exciting and realistic way of getting around the solar system, but the idea of using it to send a piece of tin foil off to the next star leaves me rather cold.”he said.
16.according to the passage, alpha centauri is__________.
a. a star within the solar system
b. the smallest star in the galaxy
c. the only star we can reach
d. the star closest to the solar system
17. which of the following best expresses the meaning of the clause “the idea was a non-runner”(para.13)?
a. solar-sailing technology was essential to space travel.
b. interstellar travel by solar sailing was unrealistic.
c. solar-sailing was a pioneering adventure in space exploration.
d. flying to other stars was considered a beautiful dream.
18. it is implied, but not directly stated in the passage that to reach other stars, an interstellar spacecraft.
a. must travel at a high speed
b. must be made of light material
c. cannot simply travel on the fuel as a rocket does
d. may not travel without the use of solar energy
19. which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?
a. british scientists have different views towards solar sailing.
b. laser technology is essential to interstellar travelling.
c. the function of solar sail is to collect sunlight and convert it into laser light to prople a spacecraft.
d. the design of an interstellar spacecraft has been completed and it will be launched soon.
20. what do we know about dr. steve temple's view on space travel from the passage?
a. technical issues have been already settled for interstellar travel.
b. it is almost impossible to travel to other stars through solar sails.
c. technical problems for interstellar travels will never be solved.
d. travelling around the solar system is comparatively easy and simple.
英语高级口译资格证书第一阶段考试
section 1: listening test (30 minutes)
part a: spot dictation
directions: in this part of the test, you will hear a passage and read the same passage with blanks in it. fill in each of the blanks with the words you have heard on the tape. write your answer in the corresponding space in your answer booklet. remember you will hear. the passage only once.
building team spirit is always the focal point of what i have been trying to do as a manager. when i first went to crystal palace, football players would ____________(1) and then go straight home. there was ______________(2). so we brought in a pool table and fruit machines. when _______________(3) choose to spend time together, it generates a better atmosphere.____________(4) is very important, but i don't believe in trying to _____________(5) as a team. i try to motivate them ___________(6). so i don't give team talks. i speak to the players individually. and i try not to ___________(7). i believe that football players perform best when they are relaxed. if they're ______________(8), i can guarantee they won't play well in a game.
i also believe in _______________(9). i like all the people who work for me to be autonomous; therefore, i_____________(10). i feel people should be judged _______________(11). if they prove incompetent, then i'm incompetent if i ____________(12). it's like that with the team. i get criticized for not interfering during a game and _________(13). but i feel if i've chosen those eleven players to get a result, then i should___________(14) to get on with it.
if i'm dropping a player from the team, i ________________(15) i have to explain it to them. if they _______________(16), i'll say come back and talk about it. ” _______________(17) but i don't try to re-motivate them. it's up to them to have the character to ________(18). i'm a great believer that almost everything you achieve in life is (19). if i have a football player who is magnificently gifted but has a stinking attitude, i won't __________________(20).
part b: listening comprehension
directions: in this part of the test there will be some short talks and conversations. after each one, you will be asked some questions. the talks, conversations and questions will be spoken only once. now listen carefully and choose the right answer to each question you have heard and write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your answer booklet.
questions 1 to 5 are based on the following radio programme.
1. a. arts. b. maths.
c. science and technology. d. social sciences.
2. a. three hours. b. 10 hours.
c. 15 hours. d. 16 hours.
3. a. he found it quite easy. b. he failed the exam.
c. he passed it only marginally. d. he was praised by the dean.
4. a. because he thinks that the fee would be too expensive.
b. because he would have to economise.
c. because it might be too demanding.
d. because it is designed for younger people only.
5. a. it offers advice on how to go about choosing a career.
b. it criticises the educational system in britain.
c. it evaluates degree courses at british universities.
d. it discusses educational opportunities for adults.
questions 6 to 10 are based on the following news.
6. a. 95. b. 195.
c. 226. d. 251.
7. a. the military rule in the country.
b. the government's decision to privatize the banking sector.
c. the shortage of food at the detention centre.
d. the detention without trial.
8. a. when the plane was trying to take off.
b. when the plane was landing.
c. when the plane was flying across the cuban-ecuadorean border.
d. when the plane was caught in a storm.
9. a. electronic commerce will replace traditional ways of doing business in 20 years' time.
b. electronic commerce would only supplement traditional ways of doing businesses.
c. electronic commerce is not suitable for their businesses.
d. electronic commerce has to be improved to handle day-to-day transactions.
10.a. violence is becoming worse over the past week.
b. police used rubber bullets against against the looters.
c. looting of ethnic chinese houses is continuing.
d. troops shot and killed hundreds of rioters.
questions 11 to 15 are based on the following interview.
11.a. nine years ago. b. eight year ago.
c. in 1981. d. in 1991.
12.a. networking. b. business applications.
c. games software. d. electronic toys.
13.a. four. b. eight. c. twelve. d. fourteen.
14.a. six months ago.
b. last month.
c. immediately after the founding of the company.
d. after setting up the distribution business.
15.a. because they believed that it would succeed soon.
b. because they didn't want people to think they were in trouble.
c. because this division helped promote the sales of other products.
d. because this division created useful connections in the business.
questions 16 to 20 are based on the following talk.
16.a. both parents working with two or three children.
b. a working father, a housewife mother and a couple of children.
c. married couples who decide not to have any children.
d. adult children living with their parents.
17.a. high divorce rate.
b. rapid economic growth.
c. unemployment.
d. more women working outside she home.
18.a. 44.5%. b. 45.5%.
c. 54.5% d. 55.5%.
19.a. by allowing the employee to work on flextime.
b. by providing extra benefits for the employee's family.
c. by helping the employee's spouse to find a new job.
d. by setting up day-care centres.
20. a. only some large companies have the mew policies listed in the talk.
b. the situation of modern working parents has been greatly improved by adopting these policies.
c. these policies are very, very expensive to implement.
d. some of these policies go against labour laws in the usa and japan.
sectlon 3: readlng test (30 minutes)
directions: translate the following passage into chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your answer booklet.
a major source of anxiety about the future of the family is rooted not so much in reality as in the tension between the idealized expectation in the culture and the reality itself. nostalgia for a lost family tradition, which, in fact, never existed, has prejudiced our understanding of the conditions of families in contemporary society. thus, the current anxiety over the fate of the family reflects not only problems in the family but also a variety of fears about other social problems that are eventually projected onto the family.
the real problem facing american families today are not symptoms of breakdown as is often suggested; rather, they reflect the difficulties of adaptation to recent social changes, particularly to the loss of diversity in household membership, to the reduction of the variety of family functions and, to some extent, to the weakening of the family adaptability. the idealization of the family as a refuge from the world and the myth that the work of mothers is harmful has added considerable strain. the continuous emphasis on the family as a universal private retreat and as an continuous haven is misguided in light of historical experience.
sectlon 4: readlng test (30 minutes)
part a: note-taking and gap-filling
directions: in this part of the test you will hear a short talk. you will hear the talk only once. while listening to the talk, you may take notes no the important points so that you can have enough information to complete a gap filling task on a separate answer booklet. you are required to write one word or figure only in each lank. you will not get your answer booklet until after you have listened to the talk.
advertising is important to companies because no company can make a ________(1) on any product unless it advertises it first in the ____________(2). there are three categories of media: print, broadcast and __________(3). the print media consist of newspapers and ________(4). newspaper ads can reach large numbers of people, but they are not very ___________(5) or glamorous. magazine advertisement allows a business to direct its ads to the people who are most ___________(6) in the product, but it can be very expensive. the broadcast media include __________(7) and television. of all the media, television is the most dramatic. so television ads are easy to __________(8).
what's more, almost everybody watches tv, and most tv programmes are broadcast _______(9). tv ads are viewed by millions of people all over the country. tv advertisement is enormously ___________(10).
the most common direct medium is the __________(11). the advantage is that the ad goes directly in the ___________(12) customer's hands. but these ads are often called “________(13) mail”, and are thrown away without being ___________(14).
another direct medium is _____________(15), those huge signs on the street. the message on billboards is ____________(16), but it has to be very _________(17). the third type of direct medium is signs and ____________(18), which are usually used in point of purchase advertising and can be found in ______________(19) and shop windows. the advantage is that they are ______________(20).
part b: listening and translation
Ⅰsentence translation
directions: in this part of the test, you will hear 5 english sentences. you will hear the sentences only once. after you have heard each sentence, translate it into chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your answer booklet.
(1)___________________________________________________________________________
(2)___________________________________________________________________________
(3)___________________________________________________________________________
(4)___________________________________________________________________________
(5)___________________________________________________________________________
Ⅱ. passage translation
directions: in this part of the test, you will hear 2 english passages. you will hear the passages only once. after you have heard each passage, translate it into chinese and write you version in the corresponding space in your answer booklet. you may take notes while you are listening.
(1)___________________________________________________________________________
(2)___________________________________________________________________________
sectlon 5: readlng test (30 minutes)
directions: read the following passages and then answer incomplete sentences the questions which follow each passage. use only information from the passage you have just read and write your answer in the corresponding space in your answer booklet.
questions 1～3
a “campaign for real braille”has been set up after plans to introduce capital letters into the braille alphabet have split the blind community.
the braille authority of the united kingdom (bauk) has announced that by 2000it is introducing capital letters into a code which has previously only used lower-case characters.
supporters say that it is necessary because of the increasing use of capitals as abbreviations, as well as their use in e-mail addresses. it will also bring the uk in line with other english-speaking countries.
but opponents, such as sara morgan, the 25-year-old founder of the campaign, argue it will push up costs and make books more cumbersome. “there aren't many industries where they actively make costs go up, ”she said. “what i think in particularly ironic, though, is the fact this is going to come in at the same time as the disability discrimination act. so, just as we're asking restaurants to provide braille menus we're making it more expensive to do so.”
braille, devised by louis braille in the 19th century is based upon a system of six raised dots arranged to represent each character in the alphabet and several short-form words. around 12,000 people use braille in this country.
bauk said that it took the decision to go-ahead with plans to introduce capitals after a questionnaire completed by 1,200 braille readers showed that a majority was in favour of change.
the secretary of bauk, stephen phippen, said: “the reason the decision was made was on the basis of the questionnaire, answered by individual members, not on what bauk thought.”
overall 46 per cent of people were in favour of introducing a capital letter sign wherever a capital letter appears in print and just under 30 per cent were against. among the respondents classing themselves as visually impaired (those who have some ability to read by sight) it was more popular compared to those who can read braille only by touch.
ms morgan said the figures showed “there wasn't even a majority”. but mr. phippen said: “those in favour were more or less 50 per cent. those against were roughly half that. so twice as many people are in favour as against.”
a spokesman for the national library for the blind said a survey done by it in 1994/5 found readers were not in favour. the results of the bauk survey however convinced them, and a spokesman said they would implement the change. “we recognise there are advantages and disadvantages and we shall be working with our readers to help them understand how this symbol will operate,”he said.
the introduction of capital letters is projected to take place by the end of 1999.
“there are pros and cons,”admits mr. phippen. “but it should be noted that we are the only english speaking country which has not yet introduced capital letters and of all the other countries which have not one has regretted it and tried to move back. ”
however ms morgan added: “we are determined to fight it all the way. they have got to stop trampling over people's rights.”
1. give a brief introduction of braille system.
2. what is the major issue discussed in the passage?
3. what can be learned from mr. phippen's talk?
questions 4～6
modern woman may be better educated, have a better job and earn more money than her grandmother ever dream of, but in one way he life remains the same—eight out of ten women still do the household chores.
only 1 per cent of men say they do the washing and ironing or decide what to have for dinner. the only area where average man is more likely to help out is with small repairs around the house.
the report social focus on women and men, by the office for national statistics, found that attitudes to women working have changed drastically over the past decade. whereas in 1987 more than half of men and 40 per cent of women agreed with the statement, “a husband'sjob is to earn the money, a wife's job is to look after the home and family”, that view had halved among both sexes by 1994.
the numbers agreeing strongly with the statement, “a job is all right but what most women really want is a home and children”, had also halved from 15 pre cent to 7 per cent of men feeling that way and 12 per cent to5 per cent of women.
women's increased participation in the world of work has been one of the most striking features of recent decades. nearly half of all women aged 55 to 59 have no qualifications. but their granddaughters are outperforming their male peers across the board, and from 1989overtook boys at a-levels.
gender stereotypes persist at this level of education, however, with more than three-fifths of english entrants being female, wile a similar proportion of maths entrants are male. a greater number of boys take physics and chemistry whereas girls predominate in social sciences and history.
the explosion in higher education means there was a 66 per cent increase in number of female undergraduates and a 50 per cent increase in the number of male undergraduates between 1990-91 and 1995-96.
women are also making breakthroughs in specific are4as of employment. women now form a slight majority among new solicitors although they make up only one-third of all solicitors. since 1984 the number of women in work has risen by 20 per cent to 10.5 million.
but when it comes to pay, they still lag behind their male peers. women earn on average 80 per of what men do per hour. they are also far more likely to work part-time or with temporary contracts.
part of the reason for this is because women still take the main role in childcare, although they are more likely to work than in the past. the number of mothers with children under five doubled between 1973 and 1996. and the number of women who return to work within nine to eleven months of the birth increased dramatically. in 1974, only 24 per cent of women returned in this period compared with 67 per cent in 1996.
the relationship between the sexes has also seen changes. seven in ten first marriages are now preceded by cohabitation compared with only one in twenty first marriages in the mid-1960s. since 1992 women in their early thirties have been more likely to give birth than those in their early twenties, although the fertility rate is still highest among those aged 25 to 29.
4. what is the theme of the passage?
5. what are gender stereotypes? list the gender stereotypes at the level of higher education discussed in the passage.
6. what are the major changes concerning the status of women in britain?
questions 7～10
a new form of cloning to provide every baby with an embryonic “twin”, from which spare body parts could be grown and life threatening diseases treated is expected to be approved within weeks by senior government advisers on medical ethics.
if their report is accepted by ministers, it would mean that britain—which 20 years ago pioneered the test tube baby and last year produced dolly, the world's first cloned mammal— could be the first to clone a human embryo.
a working party from the human fertilisation and embryology authority (hfea) and the human genetics advisory commission is expected to come down firmly against reproductive cloning, the process of replicating a living human being. it is expected to recommend government support of so called stem cells, stem cells, are extracted and used to grow spare parts, treat diseases such as alzheimer's and parkinson's or address the debilitating effects of cancer, strokes and heart attacks.
dr. austin smith, the scientist likely to be granted the first licence for the work, said that within the next 12 years it would be routine for every baby to have an embryonic clone.
“all it takes now is financial investment,”said smith, director of edinburgh university's centre for genome research. the crucial discovery of embryonic stem cells, from which skin, bone. muscles, nerves and vital organs grow, was made earlier this month by scientists in america.
in a submission to the hfea, smith said that in order to isolate these cells it is only necessary for the embryo to develop in the laboratory for six days, well within the 14-day limit of current regulation.
the cells would then be grown and manipulated to make anything from blood or brain cells to tissue for repairing damaged organs and, ultimately, parts that could be transplanted without fear of the host body rejecting them.
the development is likely to meet strong opposition from the church. dr. donald bruce, creating an embryo in the knowledge that it would then be destroyed was “very disturbing”to most people.
father paul murray, secretary to the catholic bishops joint bio-ethics committee, said that whatever the potential benefits, it should be regarded as “intrinsically evil” because the research depended on the use of foetal material.
however, professor christine gosden, professor of genetic medicine at liverpool university, one of the four senior government advisers on the cloning sub-committee, said there would be no opportunity for abuse.
for many years, patients with parkinson's disease who did not respond to drugs have been treated with brain cells extracted from aborted foetuses, a practice approved by a committee led by the rev dr. john polkinghorne, the prominent ethicist.
gosden said the arguments for the use of aborted foetal cells and therapeutic cloning were similar: “before you have a disease, it is easy to say, ‘i would not use cells derived from a foetus ’, but if you suffer from that disease, and that is your only hope, your approach can be quite different.”
7. what is the new form of cloning discussed in the passage? what is the purpose of such cloning?
8. summarise the different views on baby cloning discussed in the passage.
9. explain the statement “all it takes now is financial investment.”(para.6)
10.what is the significance of the discovery of embryonic stem cells?
sectlon 6: readlng test (30 minutes)
directions: translate the following passage into english and write your version in the corresponding space in your answer booklet.
十月的上海，阳光明媚，秋高气爽，来自35 个国家和地区的1300 余名比赛选手参加了在沪举行的本世纪最后一届世界中学生运动会。
世界各国表少年在沪逗留的时间虽然短暂，但上海的风貌和中国的传统文化仍然给他们留下了深刻的印象。无论是参观矗立于浦江之畔的东方明 电视塔，还是游览静卧一隅 的城隍庙，他们都能感受到传统与现代的美妙结合。博大精深的中国传统文化让这些外国朋友感受到的是神秘和新奇，这种认知来自短暂的接触，但从此之后，他们不会忘记：有这样一个民族，生活在世界的东方。
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sectlon1: listenlng test (30 minutes)
part a: spot dictation
1. finish training 2. no atmosphere
3. football players 4. team spirit
5. motivate the team 6. as individuals
7. put too much pressure on them 8. too tense
9. giving people autonomy 10. very rarely interfere
11. on their results 12. keep on employint them
13. making more substitutions 14. leave them alone
15. don t feel 16. want to discuss it
17. in a couple of days time 18. fight back
19. down to your attitude 20. waste my time on them
part b: listening comprehension
1-5 d b c c d 6-10 c d a b c
11-15 c a d d b 16-20 b b c c a
section 2: reading test
1-5 d a c b d 6-10 d c a b b
11-15 d b b d c 16-20 d b c d b
section 3: translation test
对家庭未来的担忧，其主要来源不是根植于现实，而是根植于文化上理想化的期望与现实本身之间的紧张关系。 一种已失落的家庭传统的怀念（实际上，这种家庭传统从未 存在过）影响了我们对现代社会家庭状况的了解。因此，时下对家庭命运的担忧，不仅反映出家庭里的问题，而且也反映了对其他社会问题各种各样的忧虑，而这些社会问题最终都投射到家庭上。
今天，美国家庭面临的真正问题不是人们常常所说的家庭崩溃的症状，而是反映出美国家庭难以适应最近的社会变化，尤其是难以适应家庭成员多样性的丧失，难以适应家庭 功能多样化的衰退，以及在某种程度上难以适应家庭性的弱化。把家庭理想化为远离世界的庇护所，以及把母亲参加工作说成是有害的神话，更平添了相当大的压力。从历史经验 来看，不断强调家庭是万能的私人庇护所和感情的避难地是一种误导。
section 4: translation test
part a: note-taking and gap-filling
1. profit 2. media
3. direct 4. magazines
5. exciting 6. interested
7. radio 8. remember
9. nationally 10. expensive
11. mail 12. potential
13. junk 14. read/opened
15. billboards 16. permanent
17. short 18. posters
19. supermarkets 20. cheap
part b: listening and translation
Ⅰ. sentence translation
1. 近年来，人们已习惯于越来越高的通涨率，虽然有时候还有些抱怨。
2. 我们正 人们的阅读习惯做全国范围的调查， 能花5 分钟回答几个问题吗？
3. 几乎半个美国地区的气温降到零度以下，已有3 人冻死，数百人寻找临时住所。
4. 这代人的趣味和爱好和他们父辈已十分不同，这个事实已从许多方 影响到我们的商业 和工业。
5. 对来伦敦旅游而又没多少钱可花的人不啻为好消息的是，许多值得一看的最好去处是完 全免费的。
Ⅱ. passage translation
1. 工资谈判进行不顺利。我们想把提薪与生产率水平挂钩，但是工会拒绝了。最后到了 他们要威胁罢工的地步。我们就把所有雇员都解聘了。我们给每个人发信说他们的受 聘期到某时终止。然后我们向他们提供新的雇佣合同，使加薪和生产率挂钩。他们一 个个都让了步，签了合同。
2. 泰晤士河是英格兰最长的河流，它塑造了该国的历史。没有它，就不会有我们今天所 了解的伦敦。泰晤士河对不同的人有不同的意义。划船者把它看作“运动之河”。每 年3 月，数千观众站在岸边观看牛津大学 剑桥大学的划船比赛。画家和作家把这条河看作灵感的源泉。 商人来说，泰晤士河是条工作之河。每星期有一千多条船停靠 伦敦的码头，使伦敦成为英格兰最大的港口，特别是在木材、纸张、酒和粮食的进口方 。
section 5: translation test
1. braille system is a language system designed for the blind people. it was devised by the french louis braille in the 19th century and it is based on a system of six raised dots/dots arranged in different forms/organizes six raised dots in different ways to represent each character in alphabet.
2. the major issue is the introduction of capital letters into the braille system used in uk. supporters and opponents have different views towards this issue/over the advantages and disadvantages of introduction of capital letters.
3. mr. phippen expresses the view of bauk and gives the explanation that bauk's decision is based on the quextionnaire, from their investigation of situations in other countries, he reasons that the introduction of capital letters is applicable and acceptable.
4. the passage reveals that the maj ority of women are still involved in housework/cores despite improvement in their education, better job opportunities and higher income.
5. gender stereotypes refers to conventional/usually over simplified conception of roles, jobs of male/female/man/woman. the typical/unvarying/fixed pattern of selecting majors shows the expression of gender stereotypes at the level of higher education, i.e., boys choose maths, physics and chemistry and girls choose english language, science and history.
6. the major changes can be found in better education, large increase of female undergraduates, better fobs, significant increase of women in work and changes/improvement in the relationship between sexes.
7. the new form of cloning refers to the cloning of human embryo, which can lead to the growth of spare body parts. the purpose of such cloning is “therapeutic”, that is, to use the technology to treat some fatal/life-threatening diseases or repair damaged/bad organs.
8. cons: the negative views consider such technology is “very disturbing” and “intrinsically evil”, they equate it with “replicating a living human being”/they hold that it is not different from cloning a human being.
pros: the positive views hold that the purpose of such cloning is to treat/cure fatal/life-threatening diseases and it is within the “current regulation” and will not be used for other purposes/wrongly.
9. the sentence means that technically the cloning of human embryo is no longer a problem and what is needed most in the development of such technology is financial funding/aid/support.
10. as human skin, bones, muscles, nerves and vital organs all grow from embryonic stem cells, the discovery of such cells will lead to the growth of spare body parts for “repairing damaged organs”. or body parts.
section 6: translation test
the autumn in shanghai is always the best time of the year in terms of weather. the last world students games of this century which was attended by more than 1 300 participants from 35 countries and regions was held in shanghai in october 1998.
the time (that) those young people from various countries of the world spent in shanghai was short, but the outlook of shanghai and traditional chinese culture have left a very deep impression on them. whether visiting the oriental pearl radio and television tower on the huangpu river or touring the city god temple in a quiet corner of the city, they invariably felt the miraculous combination of tradition and modernity. the profound traditional chinese culture struck those foreign youngsters as mysterious and novel. this cognition came from the short-time contact, but from then on they will never forget that there is such a nation living in the east of the world.
听力测试题录音文字稿:
section 1: listening test
part a: spot dictation
directions: in this part of the test, you will hear a passage and read the same passage with blanks in it, fill in each of the blanks with the words you have heard on the tape. write your answer in the corresponding space in your answer booklet. remember you will hear the passage only once. now let us begin part a with spot dictation.
building team spirit is always the focal point of what i have been trying to do as a manager. when i first went to crystal palace, football players would finish training and then go straight home. there was no atmosphere, so we brought in a pool table and fruit machines. when football players choose to spend time together, it generates a better atmosphere.
the team spirit is very important, but i don't believe in trying to motivate the team as a team. i try to motivate them as individuals. so i don't give team talks. i speak to the players individually. and i try not to put too much pressure on them. i believe that football players perform best when they are relaxed. if they re too tense, i can guarantee they won t play well in a game.
i also believe in giving people autonomy. i like all the people who work for me to be autonomous; therefore, i very rarely interfere. i feel people should be judged on their results, if they prove incompetent, then i m incompetent if i keep on employing them.
it's like that with the team. i get criticized for not interfering during a game and making more substitutions. then i m incompetent if i keep on employing them.
it's like that with the team. i get criticized for not interfering during a game and making more substitutions. but i feel if i've chosen those eleven players to get a result, then i should leave them alone to get on with it.
if i'm dropping a player from the team, i don't feel i have to explain it to them. if they want to discuss it, i'll say “come back and talk about it in a couple of days time.” but i don't try to re-motivate them. it's up to them to have the character to fight back. i'm a great believer that almost everything you achieve in life is down to your attitude. if i have a football player who is magnificently gifted but has a stinking attitude, i won't waste my time on them.
part b: listening comprehension
directions: in this part of the test there will be some short talks and conversations. after each one, you will be asked some questions. the talks, conversations and questions will be spoken only once, you will be asked some questions. the talks, conversations and questions will be spoken only once. now listen carefully and choose the right answer to each question you have heard and write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your answer booklet.
questions 1 to 5 are based on the following radio programme.
woman: today we begin a two-part look at the opportunities which are available to mature students through the open university. the open university was founded in 1969 and it offers a range of courses, varying in length and type, to adults studying in their own home and in their own time. like all universities, it awards degrees and we'll be looking at the range of degree courses in next week's programme. but today, we're going to concentrate on the pre-degree courses which the o.u. offers. and to find out what doing such a cou8rse involves, i've invited an open university student, steve marshfield, into the studio.
steve—you ve done one course already and you're now in the middle of your second year. is that right?
man: yes, i did an arts foundation course first and now i'm doing the social sciences one.
woman: when did you leave school?
man: 16.
woman: so really this was the first time you'd ever had to get down to study. was that hard?
man: yes it was, it was hard and it's gonna be even harder…
woman: what's hard especially? is it the discipline?
man: yes it's the discipline of switching from being a manual labourer to a mental labourer. for me it's really difficult.
woman: how did you hear about the open university?
man: i used to see the programmes on the television when i got in from the night shift. they're on from twenty past seven to a quarter to eight on thursdays.
woman: is that the only time they're shown?
man: no, they're shown on sunday morning. i'd like to know more about this. but it's a repeat of thursday s. anyway, i thought i'd like to know more about this. man: well, you're supposed to do a unit a week and they say to allow 15 hours a unit. but i just haven't got that amount of time to spare—not without completely reorganising my life, anyway. i reckon you can get away with two-thirds a minimum of 10 hours. a good saturday and sunday.
woman: how did you get on with the exam at the end of the course?
man: i completely fluffed the exam. i made an absolute hash of it! i did pass the course but i realize now that it was in spite of the exam. i realize that because i had a letter from the dean of the arts faculty telling me that, very nicely, that though i'd passed, i only passed absolutely minimally!
woman: you say you fluffed the exam. can you pinpoint why?
man: well, i went in there in completely the wrong frame of mind. i was just completely apathetic. i sat there and wrote for 3 hours but it's only when you get outside you think “oh no. did i really say that?”
woman: you could probably get a grant to go to an ordinary university now. if you were offered a place, would you jump at the chance?
man: no, i wouldn't jump at it. i'd consider it. the thing is, for me, it'd be very difficu8lt to go into higher education now that i've had 10, no, 12 years of having money in my pocket.
woman: yes.
man: cos it'd be an enormous change in my lifestyle and probably one that'd be difficult to cope with.
woman: yes. and finally, steve, have you any advice you'd like to give to someone who was thinking of taking an o.u. course?
man: yes,. hold your nose and jump in!
woman: thank you very much for talking to me, steve.
question no.1. what open university course is the man taking now?
question no.2. according to the man, how much time did he spend every week on a course?
question no.3. what did the man say about the exam at the end of the course?
question no.4. why would the man hesitate about going to an ordinary university?
question no.5. which of the following best shows the main purpose of the programme?
questions 6 to 10 are based on the following news
(man): moscow —russian lawmakers voted overwhelmingly yesterday to reject the appointment of viktor chernomyrdin as prime minister despite warnings that the country was on the verge of political and economic collapse.
the duma, the lower chamber of parliament, voted after more than three hours of bitter debate not to confirm chernomyrdin. hard-line delgates called for president boris yeltsin's resignation.
chernomyrdin pleaded before the vote with lawmakers to approve the formation of a government to tackle the country's crisis that has seen the collapse of the stock market and the devaluation of the currency. the acting premier, who needed 226 votes for confirmation, watched glumly as the duma voted not to confirm him.
lagos—more than 160 bank chiefs jailed by nigeria's military regime have gone on hunger strike to protest against their ongoing detention without trial, reports here said yesterday. eighty-five jailed bank chiefs refused food. on sunday at their detention center in lagos, said the privately-owned post express and state-owned daily times newspapers.
quito—the death toll from the crash of a cuban aircraft at ecuador s quito airport rose to 80 sunday as aviation experts searched the wreckage in the hope of pinning down the cause of the accident.
the cubana de aviation plane, a russian-made tupolev, ploughed through airport fences into an earby field after it aborted it aborted a third attempt to take off on saturday, witnesses said. it caught fire and exploded.
the civil aviation department said80 people had died by sunday afternoon. the initial toll of 77 increased when one victim died in hospital of severe burns and two more bodies were found at the site.
singapore—around 47 percent of 600 firms in six asia-pacific countries are uncertain about the advantages of electronic commerce(e-commerce),according to the results of a survey by visa international released here yesterday, fifty-three per cent of merchants believe conducting transactions via the internet was suitable for their businesses. meanwhile, 73 per cent said this would only supplement, but not replace traditional ways of doing business.
jakarta—indonesian troops threatened to fire rubber bullets yesterday at hundreds of looters attacking houses owned by ethnic chinese in the central java town of cilacap.
pioting has rocked the town in recent days.
violence, not looting, has abated in the town. a military official said.
“basically, the situation is getting better. there is no violence today, but hundreds ofj obless people are still continuing to loot a number of ethnic chinese fishermen s houses,” colonel m noer muis told reporters.
“we are going to take action against the robbers, with rubber bullets if necessary.”
police detained 27 people in the town in recent days, muis said.
question no.6. how many votes are needed in the lower chamber of russian parliament to confirm the appointment of the prime minister?
question no.7. what do thejailed bank chiefs protest against in nigeria?
question no.8. when did the plane crash happen?
question no.9. what's the maj ority view concerning electronic commerce, according to a recent survey conducted by visa international?
question no.10. which of the following statements is true about the rioting in indonesia?
questions 11 to 15 are based on the following interview
m: how long has softbank been in business?
w: the company started in 1981. at that time the pc was just a toy. no one was distributing software, no one even knew what software was available.
m: the growth's been phenomenal, then.
w: that's right. sales revenues have gone up every year since we started. at one time they were doubling every month.
m: what's the main growth area now?
w: networking. that's really taking off. it includes operating systems, cables, boards, everything you need for the networked company. before that, the big growth area was business applications. things like word processing packages and spreadsheets.
m: and before that?
w: games. games software. that where it all started.
m: and what about your magazine business? is that growing？
w: yes indeed. we published 14 different computer magazines last month. but it got off to a poor start initially.
m: yeah?
w: we set up the publishing division just six months after we'd set up the distribution business, so we didn't have a lot of money to spare. we launched two magazines, printed 50,000 copies and 85% were returned.
m: really?
w: they just didn't sell and they were eating up all our profits.
m: i'm surprised you didn't close them down.
w: we didn't want people to think we were in trouble. we decided to take a gamble instead. we made them twice as thick, kept the price the same, change the layout and printed twice as many. then we spent all the money we had left on tv advertising.
m: it obviously worked.
w: yes, they sold out in three days.
question no.11. when was the company founded?
question no.12. what is the company s main growth area at present?
question no.13. according to the woman, how many computer magazines did they publish last month?
question no.14. when did they set up the publishing division?
question no.15. why didn't they close down the publishing division when it wasn't successful?
question 16 to 20 are based on the following talk
the traditional american family used to have a working father, a housewife-mother, and two or three children. but in the last twenty or twenty-five years, this picture has changed. now we have many different kinds of families and living situations besides this traditional one. for example, there are many single mothers and single fathers who are raising children by themselves. there are married couples who decide that they don't want any children. sometimes adult children who have been living alone for a long time come back and live with their parents again. you can also find groups of older people sharing a house in order to save money. and there are many other examples of new types of families in this country.
why has the traditional family changed so much? well, the reasons are both social and economic. first, as you know, the divorce rate is high in our culture; as a result, we have many single-parent families. second, there is unemployment among young adults. if they cannot find a job, many times they return home and live with their parents again. but of course the most important reason for the changes in the american family is that most american women now work outside the home. in fact, 54.5% of all american women are now working or looking for work. this means that more than half of all american homes do not have a full-time homemaker anymore.
some people might say that these are “women's problems,” so women should be the ones to solve them. but more people understand that everybody in our society is responsible for trying to find answers to these problems. in fact, many companies are trying to help modern working parents, both the mother and the father, by creating flexible new policies. here are a few examples.
one example is that many companies now allow a woman to leave her job temporarily in order to have a baby. this is called maternity leave.
second, you know that big companies like ibm or mitsubishi often transfer their employees to other cities…right? if a company transfers the husband, for example, this might create a problem for the wife because now she has to find a new job, too. well, now there are some companies that will help the husband or wife of a transferred worker to find a new job.
another new policy is that many companies now have something called “flextime.” flextime means that instead of working from 8 ∶00 a.m. to 5 ∶00 p.m.. as most people do in this country, a worker can work from, say, 6 ∶00 a.m. to 3 ∶00 p.m.. or from 10 ∶00 a.m. to 7 ∶00 p.m.. etc. as you can imagine, flextime is very useful for people with children.
fourth, some companies allow their employees to work at home instead of coming in to the office every day. working at home is easy for people in professions like computer programming and telephone sales.
fifth, a few large companies now have day-care centers for the children of their employees.
i've given you five examples of new company policies that are supposed to make life a little easier for working mothers and fathers. let me repeat them for you briefly: maternity leave, helping the wife or husband of a transferred worker to find a new job in another city, flextime, allowing employees to work at home, and day-care centers. however, it's important for you to understand that there are only a few large companies that can afford to help their employees with these kinds of programs, for most people trying to work and take care of a family is still very, very difficult.
question no.16. what is typical of the traditional american family?
question no.17. which of the following is not cited in the talk as a reason for the change of the american family pattern?
question no.18. what is the percentage of all american women who are working or looking for work?
question no.19. according to the talk, how do some companies help a transferred employee?
question no.20. which of the following statements is true, according to the speaker?
section 4: listening test
part a: note-taking and gap-filling
directions: in this part of the test you will hear a short talk. you will hear the talk only once. while listening to the talk, you may take notes on the important points so that you can have enough information to complete a gap-filling task on a separate answer booklet. you are required to write one word or figure only in each blank. you will not get your answer booklet until after you have listened to the talk. now listen to the talk carefully.
in a modern society, no company can hope to make a profit on any product unless it advertises it first.
the most important decision that a company has to make regarding advertising is where to advertise. on tv? in magazines? on the radio? in newspapers? we refer to these means of communication as “the media.” there are three categories of media: print, broadcast, and direct. today, we are going to describe each of these categories and discuss their importance and usefulness in advertising.
the first category, the print media, consists of printed information sources; in other words, newspapers and magazines. for the advertisers, each of these has certain advantages and disadvantages. let's talk first about newspapers, which receive more money from advertisements each year than any other medium. this is because newspaper advertising has several outstanding advantages. first of all, nearly everybody reads newspapers. therefore, newspaper ads reach huge numbers of people. moreover. newspapers are generally local. this allows small, local businesses to advertise directly to their potential customers. third, newspaper advertising is relatively cheap; so the ad can be as long as the advertiser wants, and it can also be repeated. on the other hand, newspaper ads have no color, and they are not very exciting or glamorous. instead, you find these ads in the second type of print medium, magazines.
for the advertiser, the greatest advantage of magazines is that they have specialized groups of readers. in other words, the people who read car and driver are probably not the same people who read glamour, which is a women's magazine, or the new republic, a political magazine. therefore, advertising in a magazine allows a business to direct its ads to the people who are most interested in the product. the big disadvantage of magazine advertisement is that it can be very expensive, especially in magazines like playboy or national geographic.
let's move along now and talk about the broadcast media, by which we mean radio and television. these also have both advantages and disadvantages. first, radio. radio has two of the same advantages as newspapers: almost everybody listens to it, and it's usually local. the disadvantages of radio ads are that they must be short and that they are not permanent in the way printed ads are.
millions of dollars are spent each year on radio ads, but millions more are spent on television advertising. you can easily understand why. of all the media, t.v., with sound, movement, and color, is the most dramatic, so the ads are easy to remember. how many of you, for example, can sing the slogan for coca-cola, “it's the real thing?” television ads are viewed by millions of people all over the country because, first of all, almost everybody watches t.v., and second, because most t.v. programs are broadcast nationally. these are the great advantages of t.v. advertising. on the other hand, ads on t.v. are enormously expensive. for example, a thirty-second commercial during the evening can cost $ 150,000. obviously, only large companies can afford to advertise on television.
there is one more category of media that is used extensively in advertising. these are the direct medial. the most common direct media is the mail, and direct mail advertising is a very big business. even if you have only lived in this country for a short time, you have probably already received advertisements in the mail. the advantage of advertising by mail is that the ad goes directly to the potential customer's hands. however, many people don't bother to read these ads; in fact, we call them “junk mail” and often throw them away without even opening the envelope.
another direct medium is billboards; these are the huge signs that you see whenever you drive down the street. billboards are useful because they are colorful and easy to see. and the message is permanent. however, the message must be short enough for drivers to read as they are passing by.
the third type of direct medium is signs and posters. they are usually used in what is called “point of purchase ” advertising —that is, ads that appear in the same place where the product is being sold. you can see point of purchase advertising every time you go to the supermarket. there are always signs in the window telling you what is on sale that day. this is also a kind of advertising. its great advantage is that it is cheap.
part b: listening and translation
Ⅰ. sentence translation
directions: in this part of the test, you will hear 5 english sentences. you will hear the sentences only once. after you have heard each sentence, translate it into chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your answer booklet. now, let s begin sentence translation with the first sentence.
sentence no.1. people have grown accustomed in recent years to higher and higher rates of inflation, though sometimes they still make complaints.
sentence no.2. we are conducting a nationwide survey of people's reading habits. would you have five minutes to answer a few questions?
sentence no.3. three people froze to death and hundreds sought temporary shelter as temperatures dropped below zero in nearly half of the united states.
sentence no.4. the tastes and preferences of this generation are very different from those of their parents, and this fact has influenced our business and industry in many different ways.
sentence no.5. the good news for visitors to london without a great deal of money to spend is that many of the best things to see are absolutely free.
Ⅱ. passage translation
directions: in this part of the test, you will hear 2 english passages. you will hear the passages only once. after you have heard each passages, translate it into chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your answer booklet. now, let's begin sentence translation with the first sentence.
passage 1:
the pay negotiations were going on badly. we wanted to link the pay increase to a productivity level, but the unions refused. we finally reached a pint where they were threatening to go on strike. we sacked all the employees. we sent out letters to everyone saying that their employment would cease on a certain date. then we offered them new employment contracts which linked a pay-rise with productivity. one by one they all gave in and signed the contracts.
passages 2:
the thames is the longest river in england. it has shaped the history of the country. without it. there would have been no london as we know it today. the thames means different things to different people. boat-rowers consider it a “sporting river”. in march of every year, thousands of spectators stand on its banks to watch oxford-cambridge boat race. painters and writers regard the river as a source of inspiration. for men of commerce, the thames is a working river. more than a thousand ships a week put in at london's dockland, making london the biggest port of england. especially for timber, paper, wine and grain imports.
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