Tapescript of Test 1
Part A
Directions: You’re going to hear eight short conversations between two speakers. At the end of each conversation a question will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the question will be read only once. Listen carefully and choose the right answer to each question you hear. (8 points) Conversation 1:
M: Your son Peter certainly shows a lot of enthusiasm for action movies.I wonder how he can afford the time. W: Me too. I only wish he’d show as much in his studies. Q: What can we learn from the conversation? Conversation 2
M: You've spent too much time doing coursework, Sally. Don't you think you should go out and get some fresh air? W: Thanks for the advice. But this is how I relieve my stress. I'd rather not get too far behind. Q: What can you infer from the woman's response? Conversation 3:
M: I'm having trouble making ends meet. It looks like I have to make another phone call to my parents. W: I don't think it would be a problem if you cut down on the discs you buy. Q: What does the woman mean? Conversation 4:
W: I hope you enjoyed the movie last night. I wasn't sure I would. M: I wasn't either, but once it started, I simply got glued to the screen. Q: What can you learn from the conversation? Conversation 5:
M: Congratulations! I heard your debating team has reached the final.
W: Yes, we're all excited about it. Now we're working hard to get well-prepared. Q: What will the woman's team probably do? Conversation 6:
W: Bill is a great guy. He nearly got killed when he tried to rescue an old lady from a fire yesterday. M: Well, I’m not surprised. I know that’s not the first dangerous situation he’s been in. Q: Which of the following adjectives best describes Bill? Conversation 7:
M: What kind of father am I? My daughter is sick. She has had a fever for a couple of days. But I didn't even know about it.
W: Don't blame yourself too much. You've been too much involved in the company's work to notice it, I guess. You really should take some time off.
Q: What do you know about the man from the conversation? Conversation 8:
M: Is Mary still in a critical condition?
W: I'm afraid so, but we've kept the news from her mother. Q: What do we know about Mary's mother?
Part D
Directions: You’ll hear two conversations. Each will be read once. Listen carefully and choose the right answers to the questions you hear. (7 points)
Conversation 1:
W: What are you giving Julie for Valentine’s Day?
M: Oh, is it that time of the year already? I’d completely forgotten about it.
W: If you want to keep your wife happy, you should never forget important days like her birthday, your wedding anniversary, or Valentine’s day.
M: It’s so hard for me. Julie has never let me forget that I missed our anniversary last month. W: Little things like that mean a lot to women. M: Well, do you have any good ideas for a gift? W: I always like a box of chocolates.
M: Julie likes chocolates of course, but she is trying to lose some weight. I probably shouldn’t do anything to make it hard for her.
W: How about flowers? That’s something everyone likes.
M: Yes, flowers are nice. I am wondering if it should be something a little more special to make up for my blunder last month.
W: Jewelry is always good.
M: I think you’ve got it. I believe Julie has been hinting that she’d like a string of pearls. Every time we go shopping she stops at the jewelry counter to look at pearls. I think it would make her happy just to see that I have been little observant.
W: Well, there’s that problem solved. Try not to wait until the last minute. It’s easier to shop when you don’t feel pressured.
M: Good advice. It’s a really lucky thing to have a friend like you.
Questions 9 to 12 are based on the conversation you’ve just heard.
9. Who is Julie?
10. Which of the following is true of the man?
11. What will the man’s wife receive for this year’s Valentine’s Day? 12. What can you learn from the conversation?
Conversation 1:
M: Mary, what’s your opinion about opening our own business after transferring from the army? I don’t want to wait for the government to assign me a job.
W: What did you say? Are you out of your mind?
M: I’m serious. You see, the government is calling on us to create opportunities for ourselves. Besides, I’ve gained much knowledge and experience being in the army. I’m sure I can run my own business successfully.
W: That’s not the way I see it. Opening a business mean that you would no longer have fixed salary. What shall we live on?
M: Oh, come on. As the saying goes, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” I’m sure we be able to support ourselves by means of hard work.
W: I guess we just can’t see eye to eye on this. M: I guess not.
Questions 13 to 15 are based on the conversation you’ve just heard. 13. What’s the probable relationship between the two speakers? 14. What can we learn from the conversation? 15. What can we infer from the conversation?
Part C
Directions: Listen to the passage three times and fill in the blanks with the missing words. (10 points)
Did you know that one out of every ten people in the world are left-handed? And did you also know that in many countries left-handedness is still thought of as being wrong? In India, for example, you shouldn’t eat with your left hand.
Even at the beginning of the 20th century left-handedness was considered to be a sign of weakness. 16)Researchers used to try and prove that left-handed people were more likely to commit 17)murder, or have reading problems than right-handed people.
18)Fortunately, not all cultures think like this. In China both sides are needed for 19)harmony.
Left-handedness can in fact be an 20)advantage in sport. Many left-handed 21)boxers and tennis players have achieved outstanding success. This is partly because of the element of surprise the left hand can offer and partly because left-handed people’s 22)brains work quicker.
Nevertheless, this is still a right-handed people’s world. Ands this can be clearly seen when you’re buying everyday things like scissors or golf clubs. 23)Even the most ordinary household iterms such as irons or can-openers are designed for right-handed people.
But, here’s some good news for all left-handed people. There is a shop in London which sells goods especially for left-handed people. It’s called Anything Left-handed.
There 24)you can buy anything from left-handed pocket calculators to knives and coffee mugs. In fact you can even buy watches for the left hand which work anti-clockwise. 25)People who buy things from the shop say it just makes their everyday life much easier.
Part D
Directions: You’ll hear three passages. Each will be read only once. Choose the right answers to the questions you hear. (10 points)
Passage 1
Many people suffer from some form of extreme anxiety. Some experience occasional attacks of panic for almost no reason. Others go around in a state of continual uneasiness. How can anxiety be controlled? One way is for patients to take drugs which help manage their anxiety. Patients who take these drugs say that they are able to work, to sleep and to go to places they feared to visit before. But the effects of the drugs on the human body, especially on the nervous system, have not been known for a long time.
Scientists have started a series of studies to identify the effects of the drugs on the brain and have gained some insight into the costs and benefits of the anti-anxiety drugs. They are valuable because they can reduce the effects of expected failure, frustration and disappointment. But their value demands a price. Two effects of the drugs are obviously harmful. First, they weaken a person's ability to react to changes; second, they fail to help a person deal with unexpected troubles. It is fairly sure that people will meet with problems they have never expected, so these harmful effects may make the price of anti-anxiety drugs too high.
Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you’ve just heard.
26. What does the passage mainly tell us?
27. What harmful effects can anti-anxiety drugs have on a patient? 28. What is the speaker’s attitude toward anti-anxiety drugs?
Passage 2
Elizabeth Blackwell was born in 1821 in England. Her family moved to the United States when she was 11. There,
several years later, a family friend who suffered from cancer suggested to her that she study medicine. The dying friend said that perhaps her sickness would have been better under-stood if she had been treated by a woman. Elizabeth knew that no woman had ever been permitted to study in a medical college, but she began to think about the idea seriously after the friend died.
Supported by her family, she began to study medicine privately with a doctor. Later she was accepted by Geneva Medical College in New York State and graduated in 1849 with high honors. She became the first woman in the Western world to have completed medical school training.
Dr. Blackwell had many dreams. One was to start a hospital for women and children: another was to build a medical school to train woman doctors. After many years’s struggle against every kind of opposition, she finally succeeded in opening the first medical college for women in New York in 1868, and a second one later in London. In 1871 she founded the British National Health Society.
Elizabeth Blackwell believed that the true reponsibility of doctors was to prevent disease. She stated p program in which doctors visited patients in their homes and taught them basic hygiene about house cleaning and food preparation so that sickness could be prevented. And she started the program of disease prevention in her schools. It was the first time the idea of preventing disease was taught at a medical college.
Dr. Blackwell died in 1910, at the age of 89. She is remembered for her contribution to the cause of medicine and for showing the way for women to move on.
Questions 29 to 32 are based on the passage you’ve just heard.
29. Why did Elizabeth Blackwell want to become a doctor?
30. As the first woman doctor, where did she open the first medical college for woman? 31. What did Elizabeth Blackwell think was the true responsibility of doctors? 32. Which of the following best describes Elizabeth Blackwell?
Passage 3:
When parents and teachers of youn children talk about the need for good self-esteem, they usually mean that children have “good feelings” about themselves. With young children, self-esteem refers to the extent to which they expect to be accepted and valued by the adults and peers who are important to them.
Children with a healthy sense of self-esteem feel that the important adults in their lives accept them, care about them, and would go out of their way to ensure that they are safe and well. They feel that those adults would be upset if anything happened to them and would miss them if they are separated. Children with low self-esteem, on the other hand, feel that important adults and peers in their lives do not accept them, do not care about them very much, and would not go out of their way to ensure their safety and well-being.
During their early years, youn children’s self-esteem is based largely on their perceptions of how the important adults in their lives judge themn. The extent to which children believe they have the characteristics valued by the important adults and peers in their lives figures greatly in the development of self-esteem. For example, in families and communities that value athletic ability highly, children who excel in athletics are likely to have a high level of self-esteem, whereas children who are less athletic or who are criticized as being physically clumsy are likely to suffer from low self-esteem.
Families, communities and ethnic and cultural groups vary in the criteria on which self-esteem is based. For example, some groups may emphasize physical appearance, and some may evaluate boys and girls differently. Prejudice and discrimination are also factors that may contribute to low self-esteem among children.
Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you’ve just heard.
33. Who play a major role in helping children develop a healthy sense of self-esteem?
34. What is youn children’s self-esteem mainly based on according to the passage? 35. Which of the following is not discussed?
Tapescript of Test 2
Part A
Directions: You’re going to hear eight short conversations between two speakers. At the end of each conversation a question will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the question will be read only once. Listen carefully and choose the right answer to each question you hear. (8 points)
Conversation 1.
W: Mr. Brown, I tried to memorize the script but I keep forgetting the lines. M: Look, Jane, you'll be fine if you stop putting so much pressure on yourself. Q: What does the man mean? Conversation 2.
W: Excuse me, but could you tell me where I can change U.S. dollars into Euros?
M: There’s a bank round the corner. But now it’s already past its closing time. You can’t try the one near the hospital.
Q: What does the man mean? Conversation 3.
W: I can't stand the air pollution in the city any more. It’s getting worse.
M: I couldn’t agree more. You see, we’ve never had so many factories before. Q: What does the man mean? Conversation 4.
M: I’d like to sign up for some voluntary work. It’s a good way to connect with the community. W: It sure is. But you have to put in a lot of hours. How can you schedule your time? Q: What does the woman mean? Conversation 5.
W: Did you see last night’s film on Channel 9?
M: Well, I meant to see it, but a friend of mine came to see me. We had a long talk about our business. Q: What did the man do last hight? Conversation 6
W: Paul, have you heard that we won’t be laid off after all? M: I know, but I’m fed up with my job here anyway. Q: What’s the man’s reaction to the woman’s news? Conversation 7
M: Hey, Lisa, look over there. Is it a man or a woman? I can’t see clearly.
W: It’s hard to say, Paul. Nowadays lots of boys and girls wear the same clothes and have long hair. Q: What does the woman mean? Conversation 8
W: Mike gets angry easily and seems to find fault with everyone.
M: I know what you mean. That’s why Rosa decided to break up their engagement. Q: What can we learn from the conversation?
Part B