PartIIIListeningComprehension

11.W:IranintoSallytheotherday.Icouldhardlyrecognizeher.Doyourememberherfromhighschool?

M:Yeah,shewasalittleoutofshapebackthen.Well,hasshelostalotofweight?

Q:WhatdoesthemanrememberofSally?

12.W:Wedon’tseemtohaveareservationforyou,sir.I’msorry.

M:Butmysecretarysaidthatshehadreservedaroomformehere.IphonedherfromtheairportthismorningjustbeforeIgotonboardtheplane.

Q:Wheredoestheconversationmostprobablytakeplace?

13.W:Whatwouldyoudoifyouwereinmyplace?

M:IfPaulweremyson,I’djustnotworry.Nowthathisteacherisgivinghimextrahelpandheisworkinghardhimself,he’ssuretodowellinthenextexam.

Q:What’stheman’ssuggestiontothewoman?

14.M:You’vehadyourhandsfullandhavebeenoverworkedduringthelasttwoweeks.Ithinkyoureallyneedtogooutandgetsomefreshairandsunshine.

W:Youareright.That’sjustwhatI’mthinkingabout.

Q:What’sthewomanmostprobablygoingtodo?

15.W:Hello,John.Howareyoufeelingnow?Ihearyou’vebeenill.

M:TheymusthaveconfusedmewithmytwinbrotherRod.He’sbeensickallweek,butI’veneverfeltbetterinmylife.

Q:Whatdowelearnabouttheman?

16.M:Didyoureallygiveawayallyourfurniturewhenyoumovedintothenewhouselastmonth?

W:Justtheuselesspieces,asI’mplanningtopurchaseanewsetfromItalyforthesittingroomonly.

Q:Whatdoesthewomanmean?

17.M:I’vebroughtbackyourOxfordCompaniontoEnglishLiterature.Ithoughtyoumightuseitforyourpaper.Sorrynottohavereturneditearlier.

W:Iwaswonderingwherethatbookwas.

Q:Whatcanweinferfromthatconversation?

18.W:Totellthetruth,Tony,itneveroccurstomethatyouareanathlete.

M:Oh,really?Mostpeoplewhomeetme,includingsomefriendsofmine,don’tthinksoeither.

Q:Whatdowelearnfromtheconversation?

ConversationOne

M:Mary,Ihopeyouarepackedandreadytoleave.

W:Yes,I’mpacked,butnotquiteready.Ican’tfindmypassport.

M:Yourpassport?That’stheonethingyoumustn’tleavebehind.

W:Iknow.Ihaven’tlostit.I’vepackedit,butIcan’trememberwhichbagit’sin.(19)

M:Well,youhavetofinditattheairport.Comeon,thetaxiiswaiting.(21)

W:Didyousaytaxi?Ithoughtweweregoinginyourcar.

M:Yes,well,Ihadplannedto,butI’llexplainlater.You’vegottobethereinanhour.

W:Theplanedoesn’tleavefortwohours.Anyway,I’mreadytogonow.

M:Nowyouaretakingjustonecase,isthatright?

M:Waitaminute.Er,hereitis.TheEuropeanSpaceAgencyisrecruitingtranslators.(24)

W:TheEuropeanSpaceAgency?

M:Well,that’swhatitsays.TheyneedanEnglishtranslatortoworkforFrenchorGerman.(24)

W:SotheyneedadegreeinFrenchorGerman,Isuppose.Well,I’vegotthat.What’smore,Ihaveplentyofexperience.Whatelsearetheyaskingfor?

M:Justthat.Auniversitydegreeandthreeorfouryearsofexperienceasatranslatorinaprofessionalenvironment,Theyalsosaythepersonshouldhavealivelyandenquiringmind,effectivecommunicationskillsandtheabilitytoworkindividuallyorasapartoftheteam.

W:Well,ifIstayatmypresentjobmuchlonger,Iwon’thaveanymindorskillsleft.Bytheway,whataboutsalary?Ijusthopeitisn’tlowerthanwhatIgetnow.

M:It’ssaidtobenegotiable.Itdependsontheapplicant’seducationandexperience.(25)Inadditiontobasicsalary,thereisalistofextrabenefits.Havealookyourself.

W:Hmm,travelandsocialsecurityplusrelocationexpensesarepaid.Heythisisn’tbad.Ireallywantthejob.

Questions23to25arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard

23.Whyisthewomantryingtofindanewjob?

24.Whatpositionisbeingadvertisedinthepaper?

25.Whatarethekeyfactorsthatdeterminethesalaryofthenewposition?

SectionB

PassageOne

Whencouplesgetmarried,theyusuallyplantohavechildren.Sometimes,however,acouplecannothavea

childoftheirown.Inthiscase,theymaydecidetoadoptachild.Infact,adoptionisverycommontoday.Thereareabout60thousandadoptionseachyearintheUnitedStatesalone.Somepeopleprefertoadoptinfants,otherstoadoptolderchildren.Somecouplesadoptchildrenfromtheirowncountries,othersadoptchildrenfromforeigncountries.Inanycase,theyalladoptchildrenforthesamereason——theycareaboutchildrenandwanttogivetheiradoptedchildahappylife.(26)

Mostadoptedchildrenknowthattheyareadopted.Psychologistsandchild-careexpertsgenerallythinkthisisagoodidea.However,manyadoptedchildrenoradopteeshaveverylittleinformationabouttheirbiologicalparents.Asamatteroffact,itisoftenverydifficultforadopteestofindoutabouttheirbirthparentsbecausethebirthrecordsofmostadopteesareusuallysealed.(27)Theinformationissecretsonoonecanseeit.(27)Naturally,adoptedchildrenhavedifferentfeelingsabouttheirbirthparents.Manyadopteeswanttosearchforthem,butothersdonot.Thedecisiontosearchforbirthparentsisadifficultonetomake.Mostadopteeshavemixedfeelingsaboutfindingtheirbiologicalparents.(28)Eventhoughadopteesdonotknowabouttheirnaturalparents,theydoknowthattheiradoptedparentswantthem,lovethemandwillcareforthem.(29)

Questions26to29arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard

26.Accordingtothespeaker,whydosomecouplesadoptchildren?

27.Whyisitdifficultforadopteestofindoutabouttheirbirthparents?

28.Whydomanyadopteesfindithardtomakethedecisiontosearchfortheirbirthparents?

29.Whatcanweinferfromthepassage?

PassageTwo

CatherineGramgraduatedfromtheUniversityofChicagoin1938andgotajobasanewsreporterinsanFrancisco.Catherine’sfatherusedtobeasuccessfulinvestmentbanker.In1933,heboughtafailingnewspaper,TheWashingtonPost.(30)

ThenCatherinereturnedtoWashingtonandgotajob,editinglettersinherfather’snewspaper.ShemarriedPhilipGram,whotookoverhisfather-in-law’spositionshortlyafterandbecameapublisherofTheWashingtonPost.Butformanyyears,herhusbandsufferedfrommentalillnessandhekilledhimselfin1963.Afterherhusband’sdeath,Catherineoperatedthenewspaper.Inthe1970s,thenewspaperbecamefamousaroundtheworldandCatherinewasalsorecognizedasanimportantleaderinnewspaperpublishing.ShewasthefirstwomantoheadamajorAmericanpublishingcompany,theWashingtonPostcompany.(31)Inafewyears,shesuccessfullyexpandedthecompanytoincludenewspaper,magazine,broadcastandcablecompanies.

Shediedofheadinjuriesafterafallwhenshewas84.Morethan3thousandpeopleattendedherfuneral,includingmanygovernmentandbusinessleaders.HerfriendssaidshewouldberememberedasawomanwhohadanimportantinfluenceoneventsintheUnitedStatesandtheworld.Catherineoncewrote,“Theworldwithoutnewspaperswouldnotbethesamekindofworld.”Afterherdeath,theemployeesoftheWashingtonPostwrote,“TheworldwithoutCatherinewouldnotbethesameatall.”(32)

Questions30to32arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard

30.WhatdowelearnfromthepassageaboutCatherine’sfather?

31.WhatdoesthespeakertellusaboutCatherineGram?

32.WhatdoesthecommentbyemployeesofTheWashingtonPostsuggest?

PassageThree

Obtaininggoodhealthinsuranceisarealnecessitywhileyouarestudyingoverseas.Itprotectsyoufromminorandmajormedicalexpensesthatcanwipeoutnotonlyyoursavingsbutyourdreamsofaneducationabroad.(33)Thereareoftentwodifferenttypesofhealthinsuranceyoucanconsiderbuying,internationaltravelinsuranceandstudentinsuranceinthecountrywhereyouwillbegoing.

Aninternationaltravelinsurancepolicyisusuallypurchasedinyourhomecountrybeforeyougoabroad.Itgenerallycoversawidevarietyofmedicalservicesandyouareoftengivenalistofdoctorsintheareawhereyouwilltravelwhomayevenspeakyournativelanguage.Thedrawbackmightbethatyoumaynotgetyourmoneybackimmediately,(34)inotherwords,youmayhavetopayallyoumedicalexpensesandthenlatersubmityourreceiptstotheinsurancecompany.

Ontheotherhand,gettingstudentheathinsuranceinthecountrywhereyouwillstudymightallowyoutoonlypayacertainpercentageofthemedicalcostatthetimeoftheserviceandthusyoudon’thavetohavesufficientcashtopaytheentirebillatonce.(35)Whateveryoudecide,obtainingsomeformofhealthinsuranceissomethingyoushouldconsiderbeforeyougooverseas.Youshouldn’twaituntilyouaresickwithamajormedicalbillstopayoff.

Questions33to35arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard

33.Whydoesthespeakeradvisetheoverseasstudentstobuyhealthinsurance?

34.Whatisthedrawbackofthestudents,buyinginternationaltravelinsurance?

35.Whatdoesthespeakersayaboutstudents’gettinghealthinsuranceinthecountrywheretheywillstudy?

SectionCCompoundDictation

Moreandmoreoftheworld’spopulationarelivingintownsorcities.Thespeedatwhichcitiesaregrowinginthelessdevelopedcountriesisalarming(36).Between1920and1960bigcitiesindevelopedcountriesincreased(37)twoandahalftimesinsize,butinotherpartsoftheworldthegrowthwaseighttimestheirsize.

Thesheer(38)sizeofgrowth