College English Exercises (Band I)
Part I. Skimming and Scanning (10 points)
Directions: In this part, you have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and make the choice to the questions after reading the passage, then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line though the centre.
For questions 1-7, mark
Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N (for NO) if statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
For question 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage
Dealing with Fear
Most people love to talk, but even the most talkative person can become a bundle of nerves at the thought of having to give a speech. This fear of speaking in public seems to be universal. In one study, people were asked what they fear most. Only 32 percent reported a fear of heights. Only 22 percent reported a fear of financial problems. Only 18 percent reported a fear of either sickness or death. But a whopping 40.6 percent reported a fear of speaking in public. This percentage was higher than that for any other item tested!
Not only is fear of speaking common, it is a very normal reaction. People naturally become nervous under pressure. First, of course, standing in front of a group whose eyes are all focused on us makes us self-conscious. The knowledge that what we say will be analyzed and evaluated makes us even more anxious. Even professional speakers are more nervous when they can see people taking notes and getting ready to evaluate.
Nearly all of us experience the same effects when we are nervous. Before the speech we can't eat or sleep. At the time of the speech, we experience trembling perspiring, shortness of breath, and increased heartbeat. If we let ourselves think about our nervousness during the speech, we may feel self-doubt, loss of contact with the audience, a jumping back and forth from point to point, and occasional lapses of memory.
Nervousness need not result in speech problems. In fact, most people can and do control their fears. It is important to note that our goal is \that can work in your favor. You Are in Good Company
Not only does forty percent of the population regard public speaking as the thing they fear most, but also many experienced speakers confess to nervousness when they speak. I can hear you now: “Don’t give me that line --- you can’t tell that you fill in the blank with some person you know is nervous when he or she speaks in public!\ou doubt me? Ask the person. He or she will tell you. Even famous speakers like Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt were nervous before speaking. The difference in nervousness among people is a matter of degree --- good speakers learn to channel their nervousness. The following statement may surprise you: I would be disappointed if you were not nervous. Why? Because you must be a little nervous to do your best. Of course I do no, mean that you should be blind with fear But a bit of nervousness gets the adrenalin (肾上腺) flowing--- and mat get you ready to speak.
Despite Nervousness, You Can Make It Through a Speech
Very few persons are so bothered that they can't function. You may not enjoy the speech-but you can do it. Your Listeners Aren't Nearly as Likely to Notice Your Fear as You Thin
Inexperienced speakers find their fear increases because they think their audiences know how nervous they are. This makes the speaker more self-conscious. The fact is that people, even speech instructors, greatly underrate
2011-2012-1学期
《大学英语一级练习题》 第 1 页 共 9 页
the amount of nervousness they believe a person has. Once you realize that your audience doesn't really notice the fear that you feel, you'll no longer experience so much nervousness.
The More Experience You Get in Speaking, the More Able You Become to Cope with Nervousness
As you gain experience, you learn to think about the audience and the message and not about yourself. You also come to realize that audiences are usually very supportive. You will find that having a group of people listening to you alone is very satisfying.
Some Behaviors to Put into Operation Before and During the Speech
We have looked at four factors that operate, almost without your knowledge, to help you cope with fear. Now let's consider some of the behaviors that you can put into operation before and during the speech itself.
The very best behavior for controlling nervousness is to pick a topic you know something about and that you are interested in. Public speakers cannot allow themselves to be content with a topic they don't care about An unsatisfactory topic almost guarantees nervousness at the time of the speech. By the same token, having a topic that you know about and are truly interested lays the groundwork for a good speech.
Then, give yourself enough time to prepare fully. Don't back yourself into a corner where you must find material, organize it, write an outline, and practice the speech all before an hour or two. This will almost guarantee failure and destroy your confidence. On the other hand, if you will do a little work a week before the assignment, you will feel less pressure and an increase of confidence.
Giving yourself enough time to prepare fully includes enough time for practice. If our national love affair with big-time athletics has taught us anything, it is that careful preparation that allows an athlete or a speaker to succeed. Among more or less equal opponents, the team that wins is the team that is mentally and physically prepared. When an athlete says, \more likely to do well. In this regard, speech making is not different from athletics. If you have carefully prepared and practiced your speech, you will do the kind of job that will make you proud.
During this preparation period you can also be \yourself up\ for the speech. If you have a good topic and if you are well prepared, your audience is going to profit from listening to you. That’s right—even though this is only a class and not a professional speaking experience. The audience is going to be glad they have heard you. Now before you say \someone had really good ideas, weren't you impressed? Of course you were. The fact is that some of the speeches you hear in class are going to be some of the best and most valuable speeches you are ever going to hear. Students learn to put time and effort into their speeches and many of them turn out to be quite good. If you work at it, your class is going to look forward to listening to you.
In addition to what you can do before the speech, there are also some things that you can do at the time of the speech to reduce fear. Research indicates that it is during the period right before you walk up to give your speech and the time when you have your first contact with the audience that your fear is at its greatest.
To make the most of these research findings, you must know yourself. Are you better off \it over with\of when you speak, there is at least one additional thing yet, which can do to help yourself: Don't spend your time thinking about yourself or your speech. At the moment the class begins, you have done all you can to be prepared. This is the time to get your mind on something else. Try to listen to each of the speeches that come before you. Get involved with what each speaker is saying. Then when your turn comes, you will not be overly \
As you walk to the speaker's stand, remind yourself that you have good ideas. You are well prepared. Your audience is going to want to hear what you have to say. So, even if you make mistakes, the audience will profit from your speech.
When you reach the stand, pause a few seconds before you start. Take a deep breath. This may help get your breathing in order. Try to get movement into your speech during the first few sentences. Sometimes a few gestures or a step one way or another is enough to help break some of the tension.
2011-2012-1学期
《大学英语一级练习题》
第 2 页 共 9 页
Remember that the college classroom may be the best place for developing confidence as a speaker. 1. The passage tells you how to overcome stage fright.
2. Even professional speakers are more nervous when they can see people taking notes and getting ready to evaluate.
3. All of us have the same behaviors when we are nervous.
4. If you have a good appearance, you are often confident in the public speech.
5. If you realize that your audience doesn't really notice the fear that you feel, you'll experience much more nervousness.
6. One way to control stage fright is to say something you are familiar with. 7. The author of the article is definitely not nervous when he speaks.
8. If you prepare the speech for a week before the assignment, you will feel less pressure and ______.
9. You would have the greatest fear at the time before you walk up to give your speech and when you have ______.
10. If you want to develop confidence in making speech, the best place you can choose is______.
Part II. Listening Comprehension (30 points)
Section A. Conversations (20 points)
Directions: In this part, you will hear 20 short conversations. At the end of each conversation, a question will be asked about what was said. The conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question, there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A, B, C and D, and decide which is the best answer, then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line though the centre. 11. A) Go out to work. B) Listen carefully to John. C) Be calm and patient. D) Do the easiest thing. 12. A) He doesn’t like to talk. B) He is a very kind man.
C) He is friendly. D) He is not a pleasant person. 13. A) The doctor won’t see her tomorrow. B) The doctor is busy tomorrow. C) The doctor is busy all day today. D) The doctor will see her today. 14. A) Young people are too quick in making decisions. B) Young people seldom stay long on the same job. C) Young people lose their jobs easily. D) Young people are too eager to succeed.
15. A) She felt it was tiring. B) She felt it was very nice.
C) She thought it took less time. D) She thought it was expensive. 16. A) They are having breakfast. B) They are eating some fruit. C) They are preparing a hot soup. D) They are drinking cold milk. 17. A) The woman doesn’t want to spend Christmas with the man. B) The woman is going home for Christmas.
C) The woman has not been invited to the Christmas party. D) The woman is going to spend Christmas abroad. 18. A) By car. B) By bus. C) By plane. D) By train. 19. A) It closes at four on weekdays. B) He doesn’t know its business hours.
2011-2012-1学期
《大学英语一级练习题》 第 3 页 共 9 页
C) It isn’t open on Sundays. 20. A) Tennis shoes. B) Some clothes. 21. A) Librarian and student. C) Boss and secretary. 22. A) Look for the key. C) Fix a shelf. 23. A) To make the woman angry. C) David is the man’s good friend. 24. A) He must meet his teacher. C) He must go out with his girlfriend. 25. A) He wants to pay. C) He wants to eat somewhere else. 26. A) He didn’t work as hard as he was supposed to. B) He didn’t pass the physics exam. C) He did better in an earlier exam.
D) He found something wrong with the exam. 27. A) He is attending his sick mother at home. C) He is at home on sick leave. 28. A) They don’t know how to get to Mike’s home. B) They are discussing when to meet again. C) They went to the same party some time ago. D) They will go to Mike’s birthday party. 29. A) Five lessons B) Three lessons. 30. A) Find a larger room. C) Buy two bookshelves.
D) It is open till four on Sundays.
C) Nothing yet. D) Music records. B) Operator and caller.
D) Customer and repairman. B) Repair the car. D) Paint a shelf.
B) To please the man’s mother.
D) David is good at carrying on conversations. B) He must attend a class.
D) He must stay at school to finish his homework. B) He doesn’t want to eat out. D) He doesn’t like Japanese food.
B) He is on a European tour with his mother. D) He is in Europe to see his mother.
C) Twelve lessons D) Fifteen lessons B) Sell the old table.
D) Rearrange some furniture.
Section B. Passages (10 points)
Directions: In this part, you will hear 2 short passages. At the end of the passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must read the four choices marked A, B, C and D, and decide which is the best answer, then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line though the centre.
Passage One
Questions 31 to 34 are based on the passage you have just heard. 31. A) It had many problems. B) It was the most democratic country in the world. C) It was fair to women. D) It had some minor problems to solve. 32. A) The women of some states.
B) The women in the state of Wyoming only.
C) The members of the National Women’s Association. D) The women in the state of Massachusetts only. 33. A) At the very beginning of the 20th century. B) At the end of the 19th century. C) After Susan Anthony’s death.
D) Just before Susan Anthony’s death.
34. A) she worked on the draft of the American Constitution.
B) She was the chairman of the National Women’s Association. C) She was born in New York and died in Massachusetts.
D) She was an activist in the women’s movement for equal rights.
2011-2012-1学期
《大学英语一级练习题》
第 4 页 共 9 页
Passage Two
Questions 35 to 57are based on the passage you have just heard. 35. A) People with problems. B) Travels around the world. C) Beautiful America. D) People in great cities. 57. A) He spent three months writing “Travels with Charley”. B) He enjoyed his travels around the United States. C) He was fond of writing about his travels. D) He didn’t enjoy the trip as much as Charley. Passage Three
Questions 58 to 61are based on the passage you have just heard. 58. A) The long distance between his home town and New York. B) His unpopular character.
C) The high unemployment rate in New York. D) His criminal record.
59. A) He wanted to be put in prison again. B) He needed the money to support his family. C) He hated the barber there, D) He wanted to make himself well known. 60. A) He went directly to the police station. B) He drove out of the town and tried to escape. C) He waited for the police to arrest him. D) He argued with the police angrily. 61. A) Mr. Spears enjoyed living in prison.
B) Mr. Spears was known as a greedy man in his community, C) The police in New York were not very efficient.
D) The only way for Mr. Spears to support his family was by going to prison again.
Part III. Reading Comprehension (30 points)
Section A: Reading in Depth (10 points)
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.
Last summer, Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole announced a new seatbelt-use rule: all the drivers and front passengers will be fined if they don’t wear seat belts after April 1989.
The 47 wouldn’t have been necessary but for one simple fact. Even though seat belts could 48 nearly half of the deaths in fatal car accidents, 85 percent of the population simply won’t wear them.
More than 30,000 drivers and front seat passengers are killed or 49 injured each year. A 50 of only 30 miles per hour is the same as falling from a third-floor window. Wearing a seat belt saves lives; it 51 your chance of death or serious injury by more than half.
52 , drivers or front seat passengers over 14 in most vehicles must wear a seat belt. If you do not, you could be fined up to $50. It will not be up to the drivers to make sure you wear your belt. But it will be the driver’s responsibility to make sure that children under 14 do not 53 in the front unless they are wearing a seat belt of some kind.
54 , you do not have to wear a seat belt if you are reversing your vehicle; or you are making a local delivery or collection using a special vehicle; or if you have a valid medical certificate which excuses you from wearing it. Make 55 these circumstances apply to you before you decide not to wear your seat belt.
Remember you may be taken to 56 for not doing so, and you may be fined if you cannot prove to the court that you have been excused from wearing it.
2011-2012-1学期
《大学英语一级练习题》
第 5 页 共 9 页