[02:32.07]College English Test Band Four
[02:36.12]Part Three Listening Comprehension
[02:40.06]Section A
[02:41.81]Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations.
[02:50.77]At the end of each conversation,
[02:53.62]one or more questions will be asked about what was said.
[02:57.67]Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once.
[03:03.13]After each question there will be a pause.
[03:07.40]During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A), B), C) and D),
[03:15.17]and decide which is the best answer.
[03:18.12]Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2
[03:23.36]with a single line through the centre.
[03:26.40]Now let's begin with the eight short conversations.
[03:32.20]11. M: Today's a bad day for me.
[03:38.65]I fell off a step and twisted my ankle.
[03:41.93]W: Don't worry. Usually ankle injuries heal quickly
[03:46.64]if you stop regular activities for a while.
[03:50.14]Q: What does the woman suggest the man do?
[04:09.79]12. W: May I see your ticket, please?
[04:14.71]I think you are sitting in my seat.
[04:17.34]M: Oh, you're right. My seat is in the balcony.
[04:21.38]I'm terribly sorry.
[04:23.68]Q: Where does the conversation most probably take place?
[04:44.75]13. W: Did you hear Jay Smith died in his sleep last night?
[04:51.64]M: Yes, it's very sad.
[04:53.83]Please let everybody know that whoever wants to may attend the funeral.
[04:59.19]Q: What are the speakers talking about?
[05:18.76]14. M: Have you taken Professor Young's exam before?
[05:25.11]I'm kind of nervous.
[05:27.07]W: Yes. Just concentrate on the important ideas
[05:31.23]she's talked about in the class, and ignore the details.
[05:35.50]Q: How does the woman suggest the man prepare for Professor Young's exam?
[05:56.77]15. W: I'm so sorry, sir.
[06:02.45]And you'll let me pay to have your jacket cleaned, won't you?
[06:06.06]M: That's all right. It could happen to anyone.
[06:09.24]And I'm sure that coffee doesn't leave lasting marks on clothing.
[06:14.16]Q: What can we infer from the conversation?
[06:34.10]16. W: Have you seen the movie The Departed?
[06:39.57]The plot is so complicated that I really got lost.
[06:43.51]M: Yeah. I felt the same. But after I saw it a second time,
[06:48.21]I could put all the pieces together.
[06:50.73]Q: How did the two speakers find the movie?
[07:09.99]17. M: I'm really surprised you got an A on the test.
[07:16.88]You didn't seem to have done a lot of reading.
[07:19.50]W: Now you know why I never missed a lecture.
[07:23.44]Q: What contributes to the woman's high score?
[07:42.67]18. W: Have you heard about the new digital television system?
[07:49.57]It lets people get about 500 channels.
[07:53.40]M: Yeah, but I doubt that will have anything different from what we watch now.
[07:57.99]Q: What does the man mean?
[08:15.96]Now you'll hear the two long conversations.
[08:20.44]Conversation One
[08:22.63]W: Gosh, have you seen this, Richard?
[08:26.68]M: See what?
[08:27.88]W: In the paper, it says there's a man going round
[08:32.03]pretending he is from the electricity board.
[08:35.09]He's been calling at people's homes,
[08:38.38]saying he's come to check that all their appliances are safe.
[08:43.19]Then he gets around them to make him a cup of tea,
[08:46.91]and while they are out of the room,
[08:48.99]he steals their money, handbag, whatever, and makes off with it.
[08:54.24]M: But you know Jean, it's partly their own fault.
[08:57.30]You should never let anyone like that in unless you are expecting them.
[09:01.68]W: It's all very well to say that,
[09:04.08]but someone comes to the door and says electricity or gas
[09:08.46]and you automatically think they are OK
[09:11.52]especially if they flash a card to you.
[09:14.25]M: Does this man have an ID then?
[09:16.65]W: Yes, that's just it.
[09:18.62]It seems he used to work for the electricity board at one time.
[09:22.67]According to the paper, the police are warning people, especially pensioners,
[09:29.02]not to admit anyone unless they have an appointment.
[09:32.95]It's a bit sad. One old lady told them,
[09:36.56]she'd just been to the post office to draw her pension,
[09:40.28]when he called, she said he must follow her home.
[09:43.89]He stole the whole lot.
[09:45.97]M: But, what does he look like? Surely they must have a description.
[09:50.21]W: Oh, yes. They have. Let's see, in his 30s, tall, bushy dark hair,
[09:57.65]slight northern accent. Sounds a bit like you actually.
[10:02.13]Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
[10:10.55]19. What does the woman want the man to read in the newspaper?
[10:33.56]20. How did the man mentioned in the newspaper
[10:39.81]try to win further trust from the victims?
[10:57.81]21. What is the warning from the police?
[11:19.18]22. What does the woman speaker tell us about the old lady?
[11:41.61]Conversation Two
[11:44.23]M: Miss Jones, could you tell me more about your first job
[11:49.93]with hotel marketing concepts.
[11:52.55]W: Yes, certainly. I was a marketing consultant
[11:56.96]responsible for marketing 10 UK hotels.
[12:01.00]They were all luxury hotels in the leisure sector,
[12:05.15]all of very high standard.
[12:08.22]M: Which markets were you responsible for?
[12:11.06]W: For Europe and Japan.
[12:12.81]M: I see from your resume that you speak Japanese.
[12:17.18]Have you ever been to Japan?
[12:19.37]W: Yes, I have. I spent a month in Japan in 2006.
[12:24.29]I met all the key people in the tourist industry,
[12:27.46]the big tour operators,
[12:29.22]and the tourist organizations.
[12:31.11]As I speak Japanese, I had a very big advantage.
[12:35.16]M: Yes, of course. Have you had any contact with Japan,
[12:39.54]in your present job?
[12:41.28]W: Yes, I've had a lot.
[12:43.04]Cruises have become very popular with the Japanese
[12:47.19]both for holidays and for business conferences.
[12:50.91]In fact, the market for all types of luxury holidays
[12:54.85]for the Japanese has increased a lot recently.
[12:58.02]M: Really? I'm interested to hear more about that.
[13:01.41]But first tell me, have you ever traveled on a luxury train,
[13:05.35]the Orient Express for example?
[13:08.30]W: No, I haven't. But I've traveled on the Glacier Express through Switzerland,
[13:13.76]and I traveled across China by train about 8 years ago.
[13:18.47]I love train travel. That's why I am very interested in this job.
[13:23.94]Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
[13:31.81]23. What did the woman do in her first job?
[13:53.69]24. What gave the woman an advantage during her business trip in Japan?
[14:17.16]25. Why is the woman applying for the new job?
[14:37.84]Section B
[14:39.69]Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages.
[14:46.92]At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions.
[14:50.96]Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once.
[14:56.65]After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer
[15:01.13]from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D).
[15:06.38]Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2
[15:11.63]with a single line through the centre.
[15:14.58]Passage One
[15:17.86]Time
[15:20.38]I think a lot about time
[15:22.68]and not just because it's the name of the news organization I work for.
[15:27.71]Like most working people,
[15:30.66]I find time or the lack of it a never ending frustration and an unwinable battle.
[15:37.99]My every day is a race against the clock that I never ever seem to win.
[15:44.34]This is hardly a lonesome complaint.
[15:48.38]According to the Families and Work Institute's national study of the changing workforce,
[15:54.61]55% of the employees say they don't have enough time for themselves,
[16:01.18]63% don't have enough time for their spouses or partners,
[16:06.86]and 67% don't have enough time for their children.
[16:12.01]It's also not a new complaint.
[16:15.17]I bet our ancestors returned home from hunting wild animals and gathering nuts,
[16:21.74]and complained about how little time they had to paint battle scenes on their cave walls.
[16:27.65]The difference is that the boss of animal hunting and the head of nut gathering
[16:34.20]probably told them to “Shut up!” or “No survival for you!”
[16:38.25]Today's workers are still demanding control over their time,
[16:43.72]the difference is: today's bosses are listening.
[16:48.32]I've been reading a report issued today called When Work Works,
[16:54.76]produced jointly by three organizations.
[16:58.26]They set out to find and award the employers
[17:02.75]who employ the most creative and most effective ways
[17:06.47]to give their workers flexibility.
[17:09.42]I found this report worth reading and suggest every boss should read it for ideas.
[17:16.97]Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.
[17:24.73]26. What is the speaker complaining about?
[17:46.22]27. What does the speaker say about our ancestors?
[18:08.02]28. Why does the speaker suggest all bosses read the report by the three organizations?
[18:33.46]Passage Two
[18:35.00]“Loving a child is a circular business.
[18:39.26]The more you give, the more you get, the more you want to give.”
[18:44.08]Penalapy Leach once said.
[18:46.15]What she said proves to be true of my blended family.
[18:50.69]I was born in 1931. As the youngest of six children,
[18:56.70]I learn to share my parents' love.
[18:59.44]Raising six children during the difficult times of the Great Depression
[19:04.47]took its toll on my parents' relationship
[19:07.64]and resulted in their divorce when I was 18 years old.
[19:11.47]Daddy never had very close relationships with his children
[19:15.96]and drifted even farther away from us after the divorce.
[19:20.11]Several years later, a wonderful woman came into his life,
[19:25.58]and they were married. She had two sons.
[19:28.86]One of them is still at home.
[19:31.15]Under her influence we became a blended family
[19:35.64]and a good relationship developed between the two families.
[19:39.91]She always treated us as if we were her own children.
[19:43.84]It was because of our other mother, daddy's second wife,
[19:48.54]that he became closer to his own children.
[19:52.04]They shared over 25 years together before our father passed away.
[19:57.73]At the time of his death, the question came up of my mother,
[20:02.44]daddy's first wife, attending his funeral.
[20:05.60]I will never forget the unconditional love shown by my stepmother,
[20:10.53]when I asked her if she would object to mother attending daddy's funeral.
[20:15.34]Without giving it a second thought, she immediately replied,
[20:19.72]“Of course not, honey, she is the mother of my children.”
[20:24.20]Questions 29 to 31 are based on the passage you have just heard.
[20:31.96]29. According to the speaker, what contributed to her parents' divorce?
[20:56.40]30. What brought the father closer to his own children?
[21:18.61]31. What message does the speaker want to convey in this talk?
[21:41.63]Passage Three
[21:43.60]In February last year, my wife lost her job.
[21:49.29]Just as suddenly, the owner of the greenhouse where I worked as manager
[21:55.20]died of a heart attack.
[21:57.05]His family announced that they were going to close the business
[22:01.21]because no one in the family wanted to run it.
[22:04.16]Things looked pretty gloomy. My wife and I read the want-ads each day.
[22:11.27]Then one morning, as I was hanging out “Going Out of Business” sign at the greenhouse,
[22:17.61]the door opened and in walked a customer.
[22:21.66]She was an office manager
[22:24.40]whose company has just moved into the new office park on the edge of town.
[22:29.10]She was looking for potted plants to place in the reception areas and offices.
[22:35.01]“I don't know anything about plants,” she said.
[22:39.16]“I'm sure in a few weeks they'll all be dead.”
[22:42.55]While I was helping her select her purchases, my mind was racing.
[22:48.89]Perhaps as many as a dozen firms had recently opened offices in the new office park,
[22:55.79]and there were several hundred more acres with construction under way.
[23:01.25]That afternoon, I drove out to the office park.
[23:06.40]By six o'clock that evening I had signed contracts with seven companies
[23:12.73]to rent plants from me and pay me a fee to maintain them.
[23:17.54]Within a week, I had worked out an agreement
[23:21.96]to lease the greenhouse from the owner's family.
[23:25.68]Business is now increasing rapidly.
[23:28.63]And one day, we hope to be the proud owners of the greenhouse.
[23:34.54]Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
[23:41.43]32. What do we learn about the greenhouse?
[24:01.78]33. What was the speaker doing when the customer walked in one morning?
[24:23.62]34. What did the speaker think of when serving the office manager?
[24:46.07]35. What was the speaker's hope for the future?
[25:07.66]Section C
[25:09.74]Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times.
[25:16.63]When the passage is read for the first time,
[25:19.37]you should listen carefully for its general idea.
[25:22.87]When the passage is read for the second time,
[25:25.93]you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43
[25:32.49]with the exact words you have just heard.
[25:35.78]For blanks numbered from 44 to 46
[25:39.82]you are required to fill in the missing information.
[25:43.10]For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard
[25:48.68]or write down the main points in your own words.
[25:52.72]Finally, when the passage is read for the third time,
[25:56.55]you should check what you have written.
[25:59.42]Now listen to the passage.
[26:02.70]We're now witnessing the emergence of an advanced economy
[26:08.37]based on information and knowledge.
[26:10.77]Physical labor, raw materials, and capital
[26:15.58]are no longer the key ingredients in the creation of wealth.
[26:19.85]Now the vital raw material in our economy is knowledge.
[26:25.65]Tomorrow's wealth depends on the development and exchange of knowledge.
[26:31.33]And individuals entering the work force offer their knowledge not their muscles.
[26:38.01]Knowledge workers get paid for their education and their ability to learn.
[26:44.35]Knowledge workers engage in mind work.
[26:48.29]They deal with symbols: words, figures and data.
[26:54.63]What does all this mean for you?
[26:58.34]As a future knowledge worker, you can expect to be generating, processing,
[27:05.24]as well as exchanging information.
[27:08.52]Currently, three out of four jobs involve some form of mind work,
[27:15.30]and that number will increase sharply in the future.
[27:19.34]Management and employees alike will be making decisions
[27:25.15]in such areas as product development, quality control, and customer satisfaction.
[27:31.39]In the new world of work, you can look forward to
[27:36.64]being in constant training to acquire new skills
[27:40.03]that will help you keep up with improved technologies and procedures.
[27:44.40]You can also expect to be taking greater control of your career.
[27:50.64]Gone are the nine-to-five jobs, lifetime security, predictable promotions,
[27:57.41]and even the conventional work place, as you are familiar with.
[28:02.02]Don't expect the companies will provide you with a clearly defined career path.
[28:08.68]And don't wait for someone to empower you. You have to empower yourself.
[28:16.45]Now the passage will be read again.
[28:21.04]We're now witnessing the emergence of an advanced economy
[28:26.84]based on information and knowledge.
[28:29.90]Physical labor, raw materials, and capital
[28:32.93]are no longer the key ingredients in the creation of wealth.
[28:38.18]Now the vital raw material in our economy is knowledge.
[28:43.54]Tomorrow's wealth depends on the development and exchange of knowledge.
[28:49.12]And individuals entering the work force offer their knowledge not their muscles.
[28:55.79]Knowledge workers get paid for their education and their ability to learn.
[29:01.15]Knowledge workers engage in mind work.
[29:04.97]They deal with symbols: words, figures and data.
[29:10.34]What does all this mean for you?
[29:12.74]As a future knowledge worker, you can expect to be generating, processing,
[29:18.32]as well as exchanging information.
[29:21.27]Currently, three out of four jobs involve some form of mind work,
[29:27.35]and that number will increase sharply in the future.
[29:30.75]Management and employees alike will be making decisions
[29:35.67]in such areas as product development, quality control, and customer satisfaction.
[30:52.61]In the new world of work, you can look forward to
[30:56.99]being in constant training to acquire new skills
[31:00.49]that will help you keep up with improved technologies and procedures.
[32:03.33]You can also expect to be taking greater control of your career.
[32:09.46]Gone are the nine-to-five jobs, lifetime security, predictable promotions,
[32:16.02]and even the conventional work place, as you are familiar with.
[32:21.16]Don't expect the companies will provide you with a clearly defined career path.
[33:18.91]And don't wait for someone to empower you. You have to empower yourself.
[33:25.36]Now the passage will be read for the third time.
[33:29.63]We're now witnessing the emergence of an advanced economy
[33:35.33]based on information and knowledge.
[33:37.95]Physical labor, raw materials, and capital
[33:42.33]are no longer the key ingredients in the creation of wealth.
[33:46.82]Now the vital raw material in our economy is knowledge.
[33:52.83]Tomorrow's wealth depends on the development and exchange of knowledge.
[33:58.29]And individuals entering the work force offer their knowledge not their muscles.
[34:05.07]Knowledge workers get paid for their education and their ability to learn.
[34:10.98]Knowledge workers engage in mind work.
[34:15.35]They deal with symbols: words, figures and data.
[34:21.70]What does all this mean for you?
[34:25.31]As a future knowledge worker, you can expect to be generating, processing,
[34:32.31]as well as exchanging information.
[34:35.81]Currently, three out of four jobs involve some form of mind work,
[34:42.15]and that number will increase sharply in the future.
[34:46.20]Management and employees alike will be making decisions
[34:52.22]in such areas as product development, quality control, and customer satisfaction.
[34:58.66]In the new world of work, you can look forward to
[35:03.69]being in constant training to acquire new skills
[35:07.20]that will help you keep up with improved technologies and procedures.
[35:11.68]You can also expect to be taking greater control of your career.
[35:17.69]Gone are the nine-to-five jobs, lifetime security, predictable promotions,
[35:24.59]and even the conventional work place, as you are familiar with.
[35:29.18]Don't expect the companies will provide you with a clearly defined career path.
[35:35.85]And don't wait for someone to empower you. You have to empower yourself.
[35:46.13]This is the end of the listening comprehension