Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

The private automobile has long played an important role in the United States. In fact, it has become an integral part of the American way of life. In 1971 eighty-three percent of American families owned at least one car, and twenty-eight percent had more than one. By giving workers fast, convenient transportation, the automobile has freed them from having to live near their place of work. This has fostered the growth of the suburbs, but it has also led to traffic problems in the city. In addition, the automobile has contributed to the weakening of neighborhood ties by making it easy to keep up friendships at a distance and to enjoy leisure activities far from home.

For farm families the automobile is a great help. It has relieved their isolation, making it possible for them to travel to town frequently for business and for pleasure, and also to transport their children to distant schools.

Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.

26. What is the passage about?

27. What is the percentage of American families that owned more than one car in 1971?

28. Why is the automobile a great help to farmers?

Passage Two

How men first learnt to invent words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a mystery. All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be combined to represent those sounds, and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken, or written in letters, we call words.

The power of words, then, lies in their associations, that is, the things they bring up to our minds. Words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more we are reminded of the happy and sad events of our past by certain words; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases.

Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and emotions. This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary style. Above all, a real poet is a master of words. He can convey his meaning in words which sing like music, and which by their position and association can move men to tears. We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they will make our speech silly and vulgar.

Questions 29 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.

29. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

30. Which of the following is not the reason why men invented certain sounds to express thoughts and actions?

31. What is true about words?

32. According to the passage, which of the following is not true?

Passage Three

My father woke me up early one morning when I was fourteen and announced: "Get up! You're going with me to cut grass." I felt proud and excited because my father thought I was responsible enough to help him in his business. Still, that first day was really hard. From sunrise to sunset, my father, my younger brother and I cut and trimmed in very large yards in a well-to-do part of the city. By the end of the day I was exhausted, but I felt good. I had put in a hard day's labor and had earned six dollars. One day my father spotted some weeds I had missed cutting, and pulled me aside. "Cut that section again," he said firmly, "and don't let me have to tell you to do it again." The message was clear. Today I stress the importance of doing a job right the first time. In every job I have held, from cutting lawns to washing dishes to working a machine on a construction site, I have learnt something that helps me in my next job. If you work hard enough, you can learn from any job you do.

Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.

33. How did the speaker feel when his father asked him to help cut grass?

34. What did his father do when the speaker missed cutting some weeds?

35. What did the speaker want to tell us in this passage?

Section C

Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.

In New York City, some bike (36) riders have formed a group called Bike for a Better City. They (37) claim that if more people rode bicycles to work there would be fewer automobiles in the downtown (38) section of the city and therefore less dirty air from car (39) engines.

For several years this group has been trying to get the city (40) government to help bicycle riders. For example, they want the city to paint (41) special lanes for bicycles only on some of the (42) main streets, because when bicycle riders must use the same lanes as cars, there may be (43) accidents. Bike for a Better City feels that if there were special lanes, more people would use bikes.

But no bicycle lanes have been painted yet. Not everyone thinks it is a good idea. (44) Taxi drivers fear that it will slow traffic. Some shop owners say if there is less traffic, (45) they'll have less business. And most people live too far from downtown to travel by bike.

The city government has not yet decided what to do. It wants to keep everyone happy. On weekends, the roads in Central Park may be used by bicycles only. Bike for a Better City (46) keeps fighting to get bicycle lanes downtown. Until that happens, the safest place to bicycle may be in the park.

英語周報07年12月四級考試聽力模擬(四)

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