(Man) Whom do you blame?
(Woman) The government, for not providing enough money, and the district councils for not spending properly what there is.
(Man) What about the local housing committees? Many of them have been doing wonderful work during the past decade.
(Woman) I agree, but that doesn't excuse the local councils that are inefficient and don't take enough interest. Don't you think it is shocking that in our modern civilization there are still families who have nowhere to live? Do you think it's right that whole families should have to sleep in the ruins of empty buildings or under bridges or in railway station waiting- rooms? (Man) But Surely there are excellent hostels where they can go. (Woman) In some cities and towns,perhaps,but things are very different in many of our midland and northern industrial cities,and in parts of the Metropolis. Even where there are;oases, some of the state- run homes for the homeless are less comfortable than prisons. In any case, my point is that we shouldn't need so many hostels for homeless families because there shouldn't be any homeless families!
(Man) Mrs. Brown, I think many people would say that you are exaggerating and drawing attention to the worst housing conditions instead of looking at the situation as a whole. Would you agree that you belong to a “pressure group” which is trying to bring pressure on the government to do something about the housing problem? http://tr.hjenglish.com/
(Woman) If that s what belonging to a pressure group means, the answer is “yes”! But I'm not exaggerating. Housing is the most serious problem of our welfare state. If it weren't, would we hear so much about that excellent charity organization, Shelter, which does such wonderful work in finding homes for the homeless?
Question No.27. According to the government figures, how many people are homeless?
Question No.28. Whom does the woman blame for the “shocking” housing situation?
Question No.29. According to the woman, why are there so many homeless families?
Question No.30. What is “Shelter”, as is mentioned at the end of the conversation?
Part C: Listening and Translation http://tr.hjenglish.com/ 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 Part C with Sentence Translation.
Sentence No.1. Nowadays,instead of reading or talking,family members often spend their evenings, weekends or other leisure times watching programmes on television.
Sentence No.2. Young people today have few guidelines on which to base their choice of career. This is because they have no previous practical experience of employment.
Sentence No.3. We have seen Asia offer an enormous potential for growth in our bilateral trade and investment relations. I want this growth to continue and accelerate.
Sentence
No.4. The emergence of e- commerce and the fast- growing Internet economy are providing new growth opportunities in China s foreign and domestic trade.
Sentence No.5. In our country, people's living conditions are improving. More than 3 million children have health insurance now,and more than two and a half million families have been lifted out of poverty.
II. Passage Translation http://tr.hjenglish.com/
Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear 2 passages. You will hear the passages ONLY ONCE. After you have heard each passage, translate it into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. You may take notes while you are listening. Now, let s begin Passage Translation with the first passage.
Passage 1
(Woman) I am a computer programmer. My problem is with my mother. She is now well over 70 and she really needs help,as my father died of a car accident more than ten years ago. But where she lives,in the countryside, there's no work available for me, no job with a decent pay. If I work there as something else, perhaps as a secretary or a post- office clerk, it means we have to take a drastic drop in salary. So I don't really know what to do.
Passage 2 http://tr.hjenglish.com/
(Man) In Britain today, almost half of the houses are owned by the people who live in them. About one third are owned by the local authorities, and the rest are rented from private owners. A typical rent for a two- bed roomed house is about 300a month. If people want to buy their own house, they can borrow from the banks up to 90 per cent of the cost of that house. But large mortgages may take 20 to 30 years to pay off.