最后冲刺:2011.12英语六级密押卷－听力文本

Part III Listening Comprehension
Section A

11. M: You call Henry a dreamer, but I think he’s got a lot of good ideas.
W: Well, good ideas are only useful if you make something out of them. I don’t think a day-dreamer can be a good entrepreneur.
Q: What does the woman think of Henry?

12. W: I have been looking through your application. You seem to have many of the qualifications needed for this position. Do you have any work experience?
M: Actually, I am scheduled to finish school in June. To be honest, this is the first job I am looking for.
Q: What do we learn about the man?

13. W: Right, so you do not really want to do the full-time course, then?
M: You know, I got a financial problem. My company just agreed to pay the tuition fee. So I have to ask for no-pay leave, if I choose the full-time course.
Q: Why doesn’t the man choose full-time course?

14. M: I’ve been referred to you because I’d like to get to know a bit more about them.
W: OK. We run quite a few different short courses for students who are either retiring to study or studying part-time. Let me show you our refresher courses arrangement.
Q: What can you learn about the man from the conversation?

15. W: Excuse me, Dr. Johnson. I’m having a bit of trouble with the second assignment, and it is due in 12 days. I spent all the time on another big assignment so...
M: Extensions are normally given only for medical or compassionate reasons.
Q: What does the man imply?

16. W: Congratulations! You’re to be appointed as Sales Manager!
M: Incredible. It’s too good to be true. You must be kidding. I’ve only been working for two months in this department, and this is totally a huge surprise!
Q: How does the man react to the news?

17. W: There are about twenty reading materials in the list, and I am not sure which one would be the most useful or important.
M: They are all useful, but I don’t expect anyone to read them all, because a number of them deal with the same issues.
Q: Why does the woman visit the man?

18. W: I would not bother with the complicated problem at this stage, if I were you.
M: OK, I won’t bother with this one. Then what kind of problems should I focus on now?
Q: What does the woman suggest the man do?
Now you will hear the two long conversations.

Conversation One
W: What a day! I’m exhausted.
M: Well it’s not over yet.
W: Yeah, but it’s over for me. I have to go back home and be there when the kids get home.
M: Oh, that’s right. I have to go back to the office. My lawyer is waiting there to talk about a contract dispute we have with one of our clients. How long does it usually take you to get home from here?
W: It depends on traffic. Sometimes I can get home within half an hour. I should be home today around 5 p.m.
M: It’s so convenient that your office is close to the fourth ring road. I sometimes have to fight traffic for an hour just to get to the third ring.
W: I know. Hey, will you get home tonight in time to watch “That’s Incredible!”?
M: I hope so. That’s my favorite program. I love all those weird things people do.
W: I’ll be watching it too. Well, if your meeting goes too late, give me a call and I’ll record it.
M: Thanks. I may do that. I might have to miss it tonight if my boss decides on our business trip to Shanghai tomorrow. Then I’ll have to stay later to get ready.
W: Oh, I hate going to Shanghai.
M: It’s not that bad. I would like to know earlier, however.

Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
19. Why was the woman anxious to go back home?
20. What did the man think of the woman’s trip between office and home?
21. What do you know about the program “That’s Incredible!”?
22. Why might the man miss the program?

Conversation Two

M: Hello!
W: Hello. This is Lily Wilson. May I speak to Ted Robinson, please?
M: Hi, Lily! It’s Ted, What can I do for you?
W: Well, I’m calling about the theatre group I belong to, the Princeton Players. We’re looking for more people to join, especially men. And I thought you would be interested.
M: Oh! You know how much I love acting, but I’m taking some very hard courses. I might be able to learn my part, but I would hardly have time to come to the rehearsal.
W: Well, actually we practice only one night a week, Thursdays, from seven to ten. So we wouldn’t have to put in extra time before a performance.
M: Only once a week, you say? Well, could you give me time to think it over?
W: Sure, but look, why don’t you come and watch our practice next Thursday? I think you’ll like the way we work. When you see how much fun it is, you’ll want to join right away.
M: OK. I’ll come to a rehearsal, but I can’t promise more than that.
W: Great! I’ll give you a call on Wednesday to remind you. Talk to you then. Bye now!
M: Bye, Lily!

Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
23. Why does Lily think Ted might be interested in the theatre group?
24. Why does Ted ask for time to think about whether he will join the group?
25. What does Lily expect Ted to do?

Section B
Passage One

Humans are social animals, and most of us treasure our relationships with family and friends. An emerging line of research suggests that relationships can keep us healthier. And a new study finds those social connections may also help us live longer. This new study combined a large number of previous studies and concluded that a lack of social interactions ranks right up with smoking, obesity, and alcoholism as a risk factor for death. Researchers from Brigham Young University analyzed 148 studies with a total of some 300,000 participants, tracking their social relationships and whether they survived to the end of their particular study, which averaged about seven years. “Those who scored higher on those measures of social relationships were 50 percent more likely to be alive at that follow-up than people who scored low on those measures,” said Professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad, one of the authors of the study. She pointed out several ways relationships can affect our health. They can help us cope with stress. They can help us maintain healthy habits like eating well, exercising or seeing a doctor. And there’s increasing research that shows a direct but poorly-understood link between relationships and physiological processes in the body. “So for instance, our relationships have been linked to lower blood pressure, better immune functioning, and even inflammatory processes that are implicated in a number of diseases,” said Holt-Lunstad. “And so our relationships can influence our health in a variety of ways that are all very important.” Julianne Holt-Lunstad said her research suggests that policy makers need to consider relationships as a health issue.

Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.
26. What is the passage mainly about?
27. How many participants were involved in the study?
28. What does Julianne Holt-Lunstad’s research suggest?

Passage Two

Time and time again, one may be warned, “Your name will be mud”. Many have used the expression in the mistaken belief that it has something to do with the kind of dirt found in the streets or on unclean river bottoms. But the expression comes from the name of Doctor Samuel Alexander Mudd, a physician who fixed the broken leg of John Wilkes Booth, the man who killed President Abraham Lincoln. Doctor Mudd treated Booth’s injured leg without knowing who he was. A small group helped Booth to plan Lincoln’s murder. They were all caught and sentenced to death or prison terms. Doctor Mudd had nothing to do with Lincoln’s murder or with any of the men who had planned it. All seemed to show that he was an innocent man. But he had given some kind of help only to leave Booth to escape. This in itself was a crime then. And so, Doctor Mudd was sentenced to prison for life. In prison, Doctor Mudd saved many prisoners and guards in a yellow fever outbreak. President Andrew Johnson pardoned him in 1869, after the doctor had spent almost four years in prison. The American people considered the murder of Lincoln a heavy blow to them. It filled them with bitterness that lasted many years. They hated Booth very much and they also hated anybody who had helped the murderer in any way. Doctor Mudd was freed, but people never forgave him and his name passed into American folk speech as something bad, hateful. The Mudd family had also suffered a lot because of the name until not long ago.

Questions 29 to 31 are based on the passage you have just heard.
29. What does the expression “Your name will be mud” mean, according to the passage?
30. Why was Mudd sentenced to life imprisonment?
31. What would have happened to Mudd but for President Andrew Johnson’s pardon?

Passage Three

In spite of some signs that the recession in Japan could be easing, the important export market is down nearly 46 percent, compared to a year ago. At the center of the downturn, are Japan’s car manufacturers — heavily dependent on foreign markets. It is not only a lack of demand from abroad that has hurt these companies, but growing disinterest in car ownership at home, too. The Japan Automotive Manufacturers Association forecasts that, for the first time in almost three decades, less than five million automobiles will be sold domestically this year. This is not only because of the recession, but a change in the way Japanese consumers regard owning a vehicle. A generation ago, car ownership in Japan was seen as a sign of wealth and affluence. But Martin Schultz, senior economist at the Fujitzu Research Institute in Tokyo, says that mindset is a thing of the past. “For younger people in Japan, the car is simply not a status symbol anymore. It is a tool,” Schultz said. “Japan has wonderful infrastructure beyond roads. For younger people, having a car is basically a costly and cumbersome affair. ”Surging gas prices and parking lot fees that put drivers back hundreds of dollars a month are just some of the reasons why young Japanese would rather spend their money elsewhere. Japanese automakers have seen this trend coming for a while. And, in part, that is why they focus so much attention on foreign markets. To offset the slump in sales, manufacturers have laid off hundreds of thousands of short-term contract workers. There is concern here that, if the production does not pick back up soon, companies may have to resort to letting go of full-time salaried employees.

Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
32. What is the passage mainly about?
33. What do Japanese younger people regard car ownership as, according to Schultz?
34. What might be the reason that young Japanese don’t want to buy cars?
35. What have Japanese automakers done to offset the slump in sales?

Section C
Although they may not die from lack of love, adults also need a great amount of affection and (36) companionship. In the past, many people spent their (37) entire lives in the communities in which they were born and (38) raised. Many more people continued to live with their parents, brothers and sisters after they were married and had children of their own. By remaining in (39) familiar communities with relatives nearby, families had enough (40) opportunities for friendly contact and support in time of trouble.
Recent studies (41) suggest that family arrangements in Western societies have not changed as much in the last few centuries as is (42) generally believed. Yet most sociologists agree that in modern societies, there are fewer opportunities for friendship and support from relatives outside the (43) immediate family. Parents and children often live apart from other relatives, and seldom visit them. Also, (44) the family moves when a parent accepts a job in another place or when it decides to live in a better neighborhood. Together, loneliness and mobility force immediate family members to depend heavily on one another for affection and companionship.
(45) Because the family is one of the few ongoing sources of affection and companionship in modern societies, a high percentage of people continue to marry, even though it is possible for a single man and woman to live together without marrying. On the other hand, because affection and companionship have become so important, (46) families are more likely to break up if the husband’s or wife’s emotional needs are not met within the family circle — even if all other family functions are being satisfactorily performed, and in this sense, affection and companionship have become the touchstone of the modern family.