5. What can we infer from this conversation?
III. Understanding Passages
Directions: In this section you'll hear 2 passages. Listen carefully and choose the best answer to the questions you hear.
Recording 1 1.
A. Discovering bad habits. B. People not being alone. C. Couples parting. D. Finding Mr. Right. Correct answer: C 2.
A. Exactly 38 percent of people. B. Exactly 35 percent of people. C. Exactly 29 percent of people. D. Exactly 28 percent of people. Correct answer: B 3.
A. People under 35 years old. B. People between 35 and 54. C. People over 55 years old. D. Women of all ages. Correct answer: C 4.
A. They found their Mr. Right. B. They suffered a broken heart. C. They left their partner.
D. They agreed upon the breakup. 5.
A. They decided on the breakup. B. They had a broken heart. C. They were left by a partner.
D. They agreed upon a mutual breakup. Correct answer: D
Transcript:
So you finally found Mr. Right. At least you thought you had, until his bad habits and difficult family convinced you otherwise. Don't worry; you're not alone. In an age when half of all marriages end in divorce, breakups are a simple fact of life.
More than one-third (35 percent) of people today say they have been through a breakup at least once in the past 10 years, according to one survey. Some of the other results of the survey are quite predictable. People under the age of 35 are twice as likely as those between 35 and 54, and nearly five times as likely as those 55 and over, to separate from their partners in the past decade.
So who's breaking all the hearts? Although half of women say they were the ones who decided to end their most recent relationships, interestingly, only 32 percent of men say their partner left them. According to the survey, 29 percent of men say that they were the ones who ended their relationship; an additional 38 percent say their most recent breakup was \Only 28 percent of women report that their most recent break was mutual.
Questions 1 to 5 are based on the passage you have just heard. 1. What is a \
2. How many people have been through a breakup during the last decade? 3. What group is least likely to have gone through a breakup recently?
4. According to half of all women, what happened to their latest relationship? 5. According to 38% of men, what happened to their latest relationship?
Recording 2 1.
A. Few children believed their parents were loving enough. B. Few parents supported their children in entering Harvard. C. Children who felt unloved weren't as healthy later in life. D. Parents aren't warm enough for children to be healthy. Correct answer: C 2.
A. He hardly ever lived past his 50th birthday.
B. He became sick almost all of the time during mid-life.
C. He developed heart, blood, or drinking problems in mid-life. D. He found relationships that he couldn't enjoy. Correct answer: C 3.
A. Researchers believe it is meaningful.
B. It involves biological, psychological, and social factors. C. This report claimed that this was the case.
D. Healthy people aren't diagnosed with many health problems. Correct answer: B 4.
A. Parents. B. Mothers. C. Society. D. Psychology.
Correct answer: A 5.
A. Acting warmly toward children will make them healthier. B. Getting sick is common for people as they enter mid-life. C. Participating in surveys is helpful for understanding health. D. Being loving can help us lead happier lives. Correct answer: A
Transcript:
A new research report shows that the lack of parental warmth and closeness earlier in life can negatively affect a person's health status in mid-life, 35 years later.
A new study of participants in a Harvard study begun more than 40 years ago shows that college men who said that they had not enjoyed a close relationship with their mothers had a greater risk of developing certain illnesses by the time they reached mid-life. In fact, 91% of these men had heart disease, high blood pressure, or alcoholism.
In comparison, only 45% of the participants who received their mother's warmth and closeness had been diagnosed with these diseases by the time they reached their 50s.
The researchers note that parental caring may be a powerful predictor of future health because it \—biological, psychological, and social. \parental love and caring may have important effects on biological and psychological health and illness throughout life,\
Questions 1 to 5 are based on the passage you have just heard. 1. What is shown in a recent report?
2. What usually happened to a child who didn't feel loved by his mother? 3. Why is \
4. What is the most important source of social support in early life? 5. What can we infer from this passage?
IV. Skimming and Scanning (Multiple Choice + Blank Filling)
Directions: Read the following passage and then answer the questions. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D. For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.
Passage 1
Boys with Eating Disorders (紊乱，失调)
Why isn't Tony Eating?
No one knows what Tony does at lunchtime. His friends all gather at the dining hall where they share stories and eat. They talk about their lives and the things they have seen in movies or read in books. But Tony doesn't care about these things, and he doesn't join them. In fact, there is only one thing on Tony's mind-building the perfect body. And while his friends are chatting away, Tony is in the gym by himself, lifting weights. Now, he is able to lift more than ever. He has also measured his arms and legs and weighed himself. He knows he is in the best shape of his life. But it's not enough. Introduction-a real problem
People say that women and girls are the ones who have body size issues, the ones who develop eating disorders, and the ones affected most by the media pressure. It is true that women and girls are affected more, but the same issues also affect men and boys. Experts believe the number of boys affected is increasing and that many cases may not be reported, since males are reluctant to acknowledge any illness mostly associated with females.
Where it comes from
There is more and more media pressure for men and boys to take on the look of the well-muscled athletes and actors. Males are becoming uncomfortable about their physical appearance and
self-image. Sports, health, and fitness magazines focus on the importance of having muscles and the methods to obtain those perfect sports bodies. Boys tend to do a great deal of weight training and, if they do not see immediate results, they often turn to using steroids (类固醇) and vitamins that advertise unbelievable muscle gain.
The average boy cannot come near meeting the impossible \perfection. They are not going to be Arnold Schwarzenegger or some other action star, or have the well-muscled body of athletes. The most popular magazines carry images of women and men on the covers that represent about 3 percent of the population. Obviously, that leaves 97 percent who cannot measure up to that level of a desired body image.
Magazines, especially those aimed at men and boys, spread the \Advertisements promote weight lifting, body building or muscle toning. The V-shaped body with great muscles is emphasized as the ideal.
The need to make weight for a sport like boxing can cause eating disorders. The demand for pills (药片) that give energy and decrease a person's desire to eat is high among those needing to make weight. Weight training, sports, and conversation with friends can lead boys to abnormal eating habits, which can lead to eating disorders.
Even the toys they play with create pressure. The toy action figures have more muscles today than they did in the past. Their bodies are setting unrealistic ideals for boys in much the same way dolls have been blamed for giving an unrealistic body ideal for girls.
One of the side effects of this body consciousness for both boys and girls is the tendency to turn to smoking to keep their weight down. Overweight boys in the age range of 9 to 14 were 65% more likely to think about or try smoking than their peers. The same study found that boys who worked out every day in order to lose weight were twice as likely to experiment with tobacco. Males with poor body image are also more likely to take drugs and get angry easily. The effects of a poor body image
It's not uncommon for people who think poorly of their bodies to have problems in other areas of their lives, including careers and relationships. One's feelings of self-worth, behavior, and social confidence can all be related to either a good or a bad body image. How you see yourself affects every part of your life.
More and more health-care professionals are starting to realize the degree that boys can be
influenced by body image. One recent study showed that of boys between the ages of 7 and 9, fifty percent wanted to reshape their body. This percentage (百分比) increases as they reach their teens and want to take part in sports and impress girls. It is something that can follow you throughout life if you do not learn to understand that there is more to you than your muscles and body shape.
Advice for people with a poor body image
If you are a boy or a young man who is worried too much about how your body looks, you should remember that your body is just one part of who you are. And it is not even a very important part. You are not just what your body means. Your worth as a person, or your identity as a man, is not determined by your weight or body shape. Develop your potential. Think about your unique gifts. Meaningful relationships, well-established goals, and kindheartedness to others lead to a balanced life and better feelings of one's self. An over-muscled body just doesn't do these.
And if you are still having trouble with doubts or concerns about your body, rather than work out more or eat less, see a doctor about your problems. By talking to a psychologist, you may reduce your anxieties, and finally make them a thing of the past so that you can turn to much more
important things in life. Psychologists have had a great deal of success stories in treating young men with the same problem, and, most likely, they will be able to help you as well.
1. Tony is most concerned with ________________. A. having an eating disorder B. eating his lunch
C. building a perfect body D. gaining weight Correct answer: C
2. ________________ are more affected by the body size issues. A. Women and girls B. Men and boys C. Women and boys D. Men and girls Correct answer: A
3. Some sports magazines teach the young men ________________. A. to become a real athlete B. to become a healthy actor
C. to use vitamins to keep healthy D. to obtain perfect sports bodies Correct answer: D
4. The ideal body shown in magazines ________________. A. cannot be good for sports B. demands pills C. cannot measure up D. is shaped like a V Correct answer: D
5. Boys and girls would possibly turn to ________________ for help to keep their weight down. A. playing B. smoking C. taking pills D. weight training Correct answer: B
6. ________________ can be related to self-worth, behavior, and social confidence. A. A good or bad body