[00:12.46]MODEL TEST 2

[00:14.96]Section A

[00:18.63]In this section,

[00:18.95]Directions:

[00:21.96]you will hear 8 short conversations

[00:23.14]and 2 long conversations.

[00:26.20]At the end of each conversation,

[00:28.36]one or more questions will be asked about what was said.

[00:33.12]Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once.

[00:38.53]After each question there will be a pause.

[00:42.46]During the pause,

[00:44.78]you must read the four choices

[00:45.99]marked A), B), C), and D),

[00:50.16]and decide which is the best answer.

[00:52.89]Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer sheet 2

[00:58.14]with a single line through the centre.

[01:01.68]now let's begin with the eight short conversation

[01:06.67]11. W: You look so distressed.

[01:10.77]Is there anything I can do to help you?

[01:13.79]M: Well, thank you,

[01:15.47]but I guess no one can help me but myself.

[01:19.84]Q: What does the man imply?

[01:37.99]12. M: You are in great shape now,

[01:41.92]and you must have lost some weight.

[01:44.42]W: Yeah, as a matter of fact,

[01:46.49]I've been going to a yoga club for half a year now.

[01:51.09]Q: What can we learn from the conversation?

[02:09.64]13. W: You look so pale and tired, Brian.

[02:15.02]M: Yeah. I've been feeling under the weather recently.

[02:18.37]I caught a bad flu last week,

[02:20.63]and I haven't gotten over it.

[02:23.16]Q: What does the man imply?

[02:41.06]14. W: I hear you are troubled by

[02:44.26]the noise of construction outside of your apartment.

[02:47.87]Have you considered buying some earplugs?

[02:50.80]M: You bet! I have got great trouble in sleeping.

[02:56.00]Q: What can we learn from the conversation?

[03:14.25]15. W: So, what's wrong with the drain?

[03:19.14]The water won't go down.

[03:21.05]M: Let me have a look.

[03:22.93]Well, the drain is blocked by some leftovers.

[03:27.53]Q: Where does the conversation most probably take place?

[03:47.32]16. W: Why are you so strongly opposed

[03:50.91]to your son skipping a grade at school?

[03:54.01]M:It will put himself under a lot of pressure

[03:56.24]if he skips a grade.

[03:58.24]Although I want him to be successful,

[04:00.80]I want him to be happy.

[04:03.29]Q: Why does the man oppose to his son skipping a grade?

[04:22.76]17. W: Honey, I’d like to have a talk about

[04:26.89]the coming wedding ceremony sometime today?

[04:30.12]M: I'd love to, but I've got a pretty tight schedule today.

[04:34.24]Q: What is the relationship between the two speakers?

[04:54.46]18. M: You must have seen the movie.

[04:57.20]Was it as good as you expected?

[04:59.42]W: To tell the truth, the plot is so boring that I fell asleep.

[05:04.28]Q: What does the woman think about the movie.

[05:22.78]Now you will hear the two long conversations

[05:28.35]Conversation One

[05:33.04]M: We seem to be having this conversation over and over again.

[05:36.87]W: You’re definitely right.

[05:38.97]M: Look, I know how you feel about my smoking.

[05:41.51]You don’t have to tell me every day.

[05:43.58]W: I’m sorry. I worry about you.

[05:46.56]You know, smoking does harm to our heart,

[05:50.00]our muscles and even our mental health.

[05:53.23]M: I know. But work and school have me stressed out.

[05:58.72]W: Let's be honest.

[06:00.13]There’s always going to be a reason.

[06:02.69]After you graduate, it's going to be hard to find a job,

[06:06.56]then there will be the stress from just starting a job, then ...

[06:10.92]M: Okay, I get your point.

[06:13.42]It’s just so hard. You don't really understand

[06:16.79]because you never smoke.

[06:19.09]W: You need some help.

[06:21.15]Why don’t you go to a doctor?

[06:23.60]M: You mean a psychiatrist?

[06:26.17]W: No, I mean a general practitioner.

[06:28.85]M: Really, I believe I can’t quit on my own.

[06:32.99]But I’ll think about it. I will.

[06:35.92]W: All right. I won’t mention it for a week.

[06:38.90]Then I want to know your decision

[06:40.75]because I need to rethink our plans

[06:42.97]if you don’t get some help.

[06:44.83]M: You mean you’d break our engagement over this?

[06:47.79]I can’t believe it!

[06:49.50]W: I don’t know. I really treasure this relationship.

[06:52.82]But I’m not sure I could accept everything

[06:55.45]that goes along with the smoking.

[06:59.85]Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation

[07:03.85]you have just heard.

[07:06.59]19. Why does the woman oppose smoking?

[07:26.72]20. Why does the man want to smoke?

[07:47.11]21. What does the woman suggest the man

[07:50.49]do to giving up smoking?

[08:08.32]22. What is the relationship between the two speakers?

[08:30.26]Conversation Two

[08:31.42]W: I have heard that it’s going to be really cold this winter.

[08:35.36]M: Well, you didn’t expect it to be warm, did you?

[08:38.06]W: Of course not, but I just heard the National Weather Services

[08:41.67]prediction for the next 90 days.

[08:44.71]They said it’s supposed to be much colder weather than usual.

[08:48.38]M: Yeah, maybe. Personally,

[08:50.62]I think those long-range forecasts are useless.

[08:54.33]W: I am afraid that I can not agree with you.

[08:57.33]M: Oh, come on,

[08:58.57]it looks like you are talking about

[08:59.55]what’s going to happen three months from now.

[09:02.41]W: Well, you are half way right.

[09:04.95]They aren’t very good for rainfall.

[09:06.98]But they are a lot better for temperatures

[09:09.90]especially for this time of the year.

[09:12.31]M: Really, so I should take them seriously about the cold

[09:16.06]but not count too much on a lot of extra snow?

[09:18.82]W: Ah-ha.

[09:20.55]M: But what did you say about this time of the year?

[09:23.21]Do some seasons really give them more problems

[09:25.48]in making a forecast?

[09:27.18]W: Autumn is the worst;

[09:28.61]apparently weather patterns change so much then.

[09:32.48]Just think how variable our weather

[09:34.44]has been the last three months.

[09:37.16]M: That’s true.

[09:38.54]It probably would have been hard to predict

[09:41.29]all those changes back in the summer.

[09:42.80]You are beginning to convince me of

[09:44.21]the value of weather forecasting.

[09:46.61]How come you know so much about it?

[09:49.11]W: I get my information

[09:50.53]from an expert at the Weather Bureau.

[09:55.55]Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation

[09:59.40]you have just heard.

[10:02.11]23. How does the woman know the weather in this winter?

[10:23.49]24. What is the man’s attitude towards weather forecast?

[10:45.25]25. Which season is it now?

[11:08.35]Section B

[11:08.93]Directions:

[11:10.96]In this section,

[11:12.27]you will hear 3 short passages.

[11:15.55]At the end of each passage,

[11:17.55]you will hear some questions.

[11:20.04]Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once.

[11:25.56]After you hear a question,

[11:27.53]you must choose the best answer from the four choices

[11:35.48]marked A), B), C) and D).

[11:36.16]Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2

[11:40.47]with a single line through the centre.

[11:44.17]Passage One

[11:45.65]When Thomas Edison was born in the small town

[11:48.96]of Milan, Ohio, in 1847,

[11:52.62]America was just beginning its great industrial development.

[11:57.16]In his lifetime of eighty-four years,

[12:00.05]Edison shared the excitement

[12:01.90]of America’s growth into a modern nation.

[12:04.94]The time in which he lived was an age of invention,

[12:08.23]filled with human and scientific adventures,

[12:11.58]and Edison became the hero of that age.

[12:15.08]As a boy, Edison was not a good student.

[12:18.66]His parents took him out of school

[12:21.15]and his mother taught him at home,

[12:23.59]where his great curiosity and desire to experiment

[12:27.34]often got him into trouble.

[12:29.16]When he was six,

[12:30.57]he set fire to his father’s barn “to see what would happen.”

[12:34.94]When he was ten,

[12:36.31]Edison built his own chemistry laboratory.

[12:39.14]He sold sandwiches and newspapers on the trains

[12:42.60]in order to earn money to buy supplies for his laboratory.

[12:46.27]His parents became accustomed,

[12:48.16]more or less,

[12:49.25]to his experiments and the explosions

[12:52.22]which sometimes shook the house.

[12:54.62]Edison’s work as a sales boy

[12:56.52]with the railroad introduced him

[12:58.66]to the telegraph and he built his own telegraph set.

[13:02.49]Six years later, in 1869,

[13:05.83]Edison arrived in New York City,

[13:08.35]poor and in debt.

[13:10.52]He went to work with a telegraph company.

[13:13.31]It was there that he became interested in

[13:15.48]the uses of electricity.

[13:17.64]From then on,

[13:18.80]he started his amazing life

[13:21.06]as the greatest inventor ever.

[13:25.29]Questions 26 to 29 are based on the passage

[13:29.11]you have just heard.

[13:31.59]26. What happened to American during the middle 19th century?

[13:53.50]27. Which statement on Edison’s childhood is true

[13:58.64]according to the passage?

[14:16.18]28. For what purpose did he sell sandwiches

[14:20.61]and newspapers on the trains?

[14:39.14]29. When did he start his amazing life

[14:43.07]as the greatest inventor?

[15:00.64]Passage Two

[15:01.93]Stockholm is, without doubt,

[15:04.16]one of the most beautiful national capitals in the world.

[15:08.58]The Old Town in summer is particularly spectacular

[15:12.81]and walking around the city's waterways

[15:15.64]and parks is a glorious way

[15:18.55]to spend a week-long stretch of European summer.

[15:22.51]Almost two million people live in greater Stockholm,

[15:25.95]and over 15% of them are immigrants.

[15:29.98]Just stroll through the streets

[15:32.10]and you'll hear everything from Polish to Japanese.

[15:35.98]The city's royal residences

[15:37.58]include the largest palace in the world still in use.

[15:42.85]This city, with its maritime bent

[15:45.10]and international flavor, is a magnet for tourists.

[15:49.42]It is ideally situated for trade connections,

[15:52.86]with the 24 000 islands protecting the urban islands

[15:57.70]from the open seas.

[15:59.74]In fact, the city is best seen from the water.

[16:03.99]Most of Sweden has a cool temperate climate

[16:07.14]but the southern quarter of the country

[16:09.59]has a warm temperate climate.

[16:12.37]Sweden is shielded from rainy Atlantic weather systems

[16:16.12]and can be influenced by high pressure over Russia,

[16:19.76]giving fine weather instead.

[16:22.00]Stockholm has an average of about nine hours

[16:25.13]of sunshine daily from May to July.

[16:30.49]Questions 30 to 32 are based on the passage

[16:33.93]you have just heard.

[16:36.77]30. According to the passage,

[16:39.21]where is particularly spectacular in summer?

[16:58.15]31. How many people live in Stockholm?

[17:18.03]32. Which statement is true according to the passage?

[17:38.70]Passage Three

[17:40.07]It has been shown that

[17:41.60]children who smoke have certain characteristics.

[17:44.94]Compared with non-smokers

[17:46.85]they are more rebellious,

[17:48.80]their work becomes worse as they move up in school,

[17:52.28]they are more likely to leave school early

[17:54.93]and commit crimes,

[17:56.90]and are more often sexually mature.

[18:00.13]Many of these features can be summarized

[18:02.38]as anticipation of adulthood.

[18:05.80]There are a number of factors,

[18:07.48]which determine the start of smoking,

[18:10.05]and these are largely psychological and social.

[18:13.93]They include availability of cigarettes,

[18:16.60]curiosity, rebelliousness, appearing tough,

[18:21.07]anticipation of adulthood, social confidence,

[18:25.16]the example of parents and teachers,

[18:28.05]and smoking by friends and older brothers and sisters.

[18:32.60]It should be much easier to prevent children

[18:34.87]from starting to smoke than

[18:37.02]to persuade adults to give up the habit once established,

[18:40.75]but in fact this has proved very difficult.

[18:44.39]The example set by people in authority,

[18:47.31]especially parents, health care workers,

[18:50.21]and teachers, is of prime importance.

[18:53.68]School rules should forbid smoking by children at school.

[18:58.27]There is, however,

[18:59.18]a risk of children smoking just to rebel against the rules.

[19:03.35]And even in those schools

[19:04.94]which have tried to enforce no smoking

[19:06.96]by physical punishment,

[19:08.75]there is as much smoking as in other schools.

[19:11.84]Nevertheless, banning smoking is probably

[19:15.12]on balance beneficial.

[19:17.22]Teachers too should not smoke at school,

[19:20.12]at least not in front of children.

[19:23.63]Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage

[19:27.04]you have just heard.

[19:29.47]33. Which is not a certain characteristic

[19:33.61]of children who smoke?

[19:50.91]34. Which is not an element determining the start of smoking?

[20:12.75]35. Why is there a risk in banning smoking in schools?

[20:33.69]Section C

[20:35.30]Directions:

[20:36.90]In this section,

[20:38.48]you will hear a passage three times.

[20:41.76]When the passage is read for the first time,

[20:44.55]you should listen carefully for its general idea.

[20:48.48]When the passage is read for the second time,

[20:51.27]you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43

[20:57.83]with the exact words you have just heard.

[21:01.33]For blanks numbered from 44 to 46

[21:05.24]you are required to fill in the missing information.

[21:08.92]For these blanks,

[21:10.37]you can either use the exact words you have just heard

[21:13.77]or write down the main points in your own words.

[21:18.31]Finally, when the passage is read for the third time,

[21:21.91]you should check what you have written.

[21:24.77]now listen to the passage

[21:28.97]Some people say that

[21:30.18]if you want to go into the recording business,

[21:33.03]“It’s not what you know,

[21:35.10]but who you know, that matters.

[21:37.53]” My first reaction to that is to disagree,

[21:40.74]but on second thought I must admit

[21:43.43]that there is some truth in it.

[21:45.79]When you go for an interview for a job in a studio,

[21:49.11]they will be interested in the qualification you have on paper

[21:53.18]but the really important thing will be that

[21:55.60]you can show you have had some useful experience.

[21:59.64]If you don’t know anyone significant,

[22:02.24]look in the yellow pages for the list of local studios.

[22:06.36]Go round to the ones that seem to be professional.

[22:09.67]And ask them if they need extra help.

[22:12.54]They will not want to employ you

[22:14.62]unless you have some previous experience,

[22:17.54]so tell them that you will work there for nothing,

[22:20.48]that you are just interested in recording,

[22:23.28]and that you are on the lookout for

[22:24.93]any job that comes up.

[22:27.10]You should display your personality

[22:29.18]as good as you can.

[22:30.99]If they accept you,

[22:32.78]at first you have to make the tea or sweep the floor.

[22:37.09]When they get to know you and see

[22:39.02]that you like studio work,

[22:41.08]they may give you more interesting jobs

[22:43.77]and think of employing you.

[22:46.02]You will have to spend a year or so working there

[22:49.87]before they offer you a job.

[22:52.19]If the studio is an active one doing music and speech work,

[22:56.26]you will be able to learn a lot about recording in a year.

[23:00.45]Of course,

[23:01.48]if you realize that the studio is not a prosperous one,

[23:06.00]leave it instantly and look for another one.

[23:15.06]now the passage will be read again

[23:20.75]Some people say that

[23:22.62]if you want to go into the recording business,

[23:24.65]“It’s not what you know,

[23:26.78]but who you know, that matters.

[23:29.23]” My first reaction to that is to disagree,

[23:32.41]but on second thought I must admit

[23:35.11]that there is some truth in it.

[23:37.47]When you go for an interview for a job in a studio,

[23:40.71]they will be interested in the qualification you have on paper

[23:44.63]but the really important thing will be that

[23:47.67]you can show you have had some useful experience.

[23:51.34]If you don’t know anyone significant,

[23:53.92]look in the yellow pages for the list of local studios.

[23:58.06]Go round to the ones that seem to be professional.

[24:01.35]And ask them if they need extra help.

[24:04.11]They will not want to employ you

[24:06.34]unless you have some previous experience,

[24:09.27]so tell them that you will work there for nothing,

[24:12.17]that you are just interested in recording,

[24:14.98]and that you are on the lookout for

[24:17.09]any job that comes up.

[24:18.77]You should display your personality

[24:20.90]as good as you can.

[24:22.72]If they accept you,

[24:24.43]at first you have to make the tea or sweep the floor.

[24:28.27]

[25:29.31]When they get to know you and see

[25:30.47]that you like studio work,

[25:32.50]they may give you more interesting jobs

[25:35.13]and think of employing you.

[25:37.37]You will have to spend a year or so working there

[25:40.12]before they offer you a job.

[25:45.64]

[26:43.37]If the studio is an active one doing music and speech work,

[26:47.62]you will be able to learn a lot about recording in a year.

[26:51.59]Of course,

[26:52.84]if you realize that the studio is not a prosperous one,

[26:57.12]leave it instantly and look for another one.

[27:00.75]

[28:02.47]Now the passage will be read for the third time

[28:06.89]Some people say that

[28:08.35]if you want to go into the recording business,

[28:10.81]“It’s not what you know,

[28:12.98]but who you know, that matters.

[28:15.40]” My first reaction to that is to disagree,

[28:18.63]but on second thought I must admit

[28:21.35]that there is some truth in it.

[28:23.69]When you go for an interview for a job in a studio,

[28:26.86]they will be interested in the qualification you have on paper

[28:31.03]but the really important thing will be that

[28:33.85]you can show you have had some useful experience.

[28:37.58]If you don’t know anyone significant,

[28:40.13]look in the yellow pages for the list of local studios.

[28:44.26]Go round to the ones that seem to be professional.

[28:47.56]And ask them if they need extra help.

[28:50.50]They will not want to employ you

[28:52.58]unless you have some previous experience,

[28:55.48]so tell them that you will work there for nothing,

[28:58.40]that you are just interested in recording,

[29:01.37]and that you are on the lookout for

[29:03.23]any job that comes up.

[29:05.00]You should display your personality

[29:07.17]as good as you can.

[29:08.95]If they accept you,

[29:10.65]at first you have to make the tea or sweep the floor.

[29:15.10]When they get to know you and see

[29:17.27]that you like studio work,

[29:19.12]they may give you more interesting jobs

[29:21.61]and think of employing you.

[29:23.96]You will have to spend a year or so working there

[29:27.54]before they offer you a job.

[29:30.13]If the studio is an active one doing music and speech work,

[29:34.30]you will be able to learn a lot about recording in a year.

[29:38.46]Of course,

[29:39.42]if you realize that the studio is not a prosperous one,

[29:43.80]leave it instantly and look for another one.

[29:50.82]This is the end of listening comprehension