2007年12月四级听力原文

2007年12月四级听力原文

SectionAConversations

ShortConversations

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.Nowthathisteacherisgivinghimextrahelpandhe"sworkinghardhimself,he’ssuretodowellinthenextexam.

Q:What’stheman’ssuggestiontothewoman?

14.M:You’vehadyourhandsfullandhavebeenoverworkedduringthelasttwoweeks.Ithinkyoureallyneedtogooutandgetsomefreshairandsunshine.

W:Youareright.That’sjustwhatI’mthinkingabout.

Q:Whatis

thewomanmostprobablygoingtodo?

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

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

Q:Whatdowelearnabouttheman?

16.M:Didyoureallygiveawayallyourfurniturewhenyoumovedintothenewhouselastmonth?

W:Justtheuselesspieces,asI’mplanningtopurchaseanewsetfromItalyforthesittingroomonly.

Q:Whatdoesthewomanmean?

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

W:Iwaswonderingwherethatbookwas.

Q:Whatcanweinferfromtheconversation?

18.W:Totellthetruth,Tony,itneveroccurstomethatyouareanathlete.

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

Q:Whatdowelearnfromtheconversation?

LongConversations

Conversation1

M:Mary,Ihopeyou"repackedandreadytoleave.

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

M:Yourpassport?That’stheonethingyoumustn’tleavebehind.

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

M:Well,youhavetofinditattheairport.Comeon,thetaxiiswaiting.

W:Didyousaytaxi?Ithoughtweweregoinginyourcar.

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

W:Oh,whatisit?Whatdotheywant?

M:Waitaminute.Uh,hereitis.TheEuropeanSpaceAgencyisrecruitingtranslators.

W:TheEuropeanSpaceAgency?

M:Well,that’swhatitsays.TheyneedanEnglishtranslatortoworkfromFrenchorGerman.

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

M:Justthat.Auniversitydegreeandthreeorfouryearsofexperienceasatranslatorinaprofessionalenvironment.Theyalsosaythepersonshouldhavealivelyandinquiringmind,effectivecommunicationskillsandtheabilitytoworkindividuallyorasapartoftheteam.

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

M:It’ssaidtobenegotiable.Itdependsontheapplicant’seducationandexperience.Inadditiontobasicsalary,there"salistofextrabenefits.Havealookyourself.

W:Hm,travelandsocialsecurityplusrelocationexpensesarepaid.Hey,thisisn’tbad.Ireallywantthejob.

Questions23-25arebasedontheconversatoinyouhavejustheard.

Q23:Whyisthewomantryingtofindanewjob?

Q24:Whatpositionisbeingadvertisedinthepaper?

Q25:Whatarethekeyfactorsthatdeterminethesalaryofthenewposition?

SectionBShortPassages

Passage1

Whencouplesgetmarried,theyusuallyplantohavechildren.Sometimes,however,acouplecannothaveachildoftheirown.Inthiscase,theymaydecidetoadoptachild.Infact,adoptionisverycommontoday.Thereareabout60thousandadoptionseachyearintheUnitedStates

alone.Somepeopleprefertoadoptinfants,othersadoptolderchildren,somecouplesadoptchildrenfromtheirowncountries,othersadoptchildrenfromforeigncountries.Inanycase,theyalladoptchildrenforthesamereason----theycareaboutchildrenandwanttogivetheiradoptedchildahappylife.

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

Questions26-29arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

26.Accordingtothespeaker,whydosomecouplesadoptchildren?

27.Whyisitdifficultforadopteestofindoutabouttheirbirthparents?

28.Whydomanyadopteesfindithardtomakethedecisiontosearchfortheirbirthparents?

29.Whatcanweinferfromthepassage?

Passage2

KatherineGramgraduatedfromUniversityofChicagoin1938andgotajobasanewsreporterinSanFrancisco.Katherine’sfatherusedtobeasuccessfulinvestmentbanker.In1933,heboughtafailingnewspaper,theWashingtonPost.

ThenKatherinereturnedtoWashingtonandgotajob,editinglettersinherfather’snewspaper.ShemarriedPhilipGram,whotookoverhisfather-in-law’spositionshortlyafterandbecamepublisheroftheWashingtonPost.Butformanyyears,herhusbandsufferedfrommentalillnessandhekilledhimselfin1963.Afterherhusband’sdeath,Katherineoperatedthenewspaper.Inthe1970s,thenewspaperbecamefamousaroundtheworldandKatherinewasalsorecognizedasanimportantleaderinnewspaperpublishing.ShewasthefirstwomantoheadamajorAmericanpublishingcompany,theWashingtonPostcompany.Inafewyears,shesuccessfullyexpandedthecompanytoincludenewspaper,magazine,broadcastandcablecompanies.

Shediedofheadinjuriesafterafallwhenshewas84.Morethan3thousandpeopleattendedherfuneralincludingmanygovernmentandbusinessleaders.HerfriendssaidshewouldberememberedasawomanwhohadanimportantinfluenceoneventsintheUnitedStatesandtheworld.Katherineoncewrote,“Theworldwithoutnewspaperswouldnotbethesamekindofworld”.Afterherdeath,theemployeesoftheWashingtonPostwrote,“TheworldwithoutKatherinewouldnotbethesameatall.”

Questions30-32arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

30.WhatdowelearnfromthepassageaboutKatherine’sfather?

31.WhatdoesthespeakertellusaboutKatherineGram?

32.WhatdoesthecommentbyemployeesoftheWashingtonPostsuggest?

Passage3

Obtaininggoodhealthinsuranceisarealnecessitywhileyouarestudyingoverseas.Itprotectsyoufromminorandmajormedicalexpensesthatcanwipeoutnotonlyyoursavingsbutyourdreamsofaneducationabroad.Thereareoftentwodifferenttypesofhealthinsuranceyoucanconsiderbuying,internationaltravelinsuranceandstudentinsuranceinthecountrywhereyouwillbegoing.

Aninternationaltravelinsurancepolicyisusuallypurchasedinyourhomecountrybeforeyougoabroad.Itgenerallycoversawidevarietyofmedicalservicesandyouareoftengivenalistofdoctorsintheareawhereyouwilltravelwhomayevenspeakyournativelanguage.Thedrawbackmightbethatyoumaynotgetyourmoneybackimmediately,inotherwords,youmayhavetopayallyoumedicalexpensesandthenlatersubmityourreceiptstotheinsurancecompany.

Ontheotherhand,gettingstudentheathinsuranceinthecountrywhereyouwillstudymightallowyoutoonlypayacertainpercentageofthemedicalcostatthetimeofserviceandthusyoudon’thavetohavesufficientcashtopaytheentirebillatonce.Whateveryoudecide,obtainingsomeformofhealthinsuranceissomethingyoushouldconsiderbeforeyougooverseas.Youshouldn’twaituntilyouaresickwithmajormedicalbillstopayoff.

Questions33-35arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

33.Whydoesthespeakeradviceoverseasstudentstobuyhealthinsurance?

34.Whatisthedrawbackofstudentsbuyinginternationaltravelinsurance?

35.Whatdoesthespeakersayaboutstudentsgettinghealthinsuranceinthecountrywheretheywillstudy?

SectionCCompoundDictation

Moreandmoreoftheworld’spopulationarelivingintownsorcities.Thespeedatwhichcitiesaregrowinginthelessdevelopedcountriesisalarming.Between1920and1960,bigcitiesindevelopedcountriesincreasedtwoandahalftimesinsize,butinotherpartsoftheworldthegrowthwaseighttimesthei