2008年12月英语六级真题听力原文：

Section A:

11.

M: I’m asked to pick up the guest speaker Bob Russel at the airport this afternoon, do you know what he looks like?
W: Well, he’s in his sixties, he stands out, he’s bald, tall and thin and has a beard.
Q: What do we conclude from the woman’s remarks about Bob Russel?

12.

W: I’m considering dropping my dancing class. I’m not making any progress
M: If I were you, I’d stick with it. It's definitely worth time and effort.
Q: What does the man suggest the woman do?

13.

W: You see I still have this pain in my back, this medicine the doctor gave me was supposed to make me feel better by now.
M: Maybe you should’ve taken it three times a day as you were told.
Q: What do we learn from the conversation?

14.

M: Frankly, when I sat at the back of the classroom, I can’t see the words on the board clearly.
W: Well, you’ve been wearing those same glasses as long as I’ve known you. Why not get a new pair, it won’t cost you too much.
Q: What does the woman imply about the man’s glasses?

15.

W: How come the floor is so wet? I almost slipped, what happened?
M: Oh, sorry! The phone rang the moment I got into the shower, anyway, I’ll wipe it up right now.
Q: Why was the floor wet according to the man?

16.

M: The instructions on the package say that you need to some assembly yourself. I’ve spent all afternoon trying in vain to put this bookcase together,
W: I know what you mean, last time I tried to assemble a toy train for my son and I almost gave up.
Q: What does the man find difficult?

17.

M: I’m getting worried about Jenny’s school work. All she talks about these days is volleyball games and all she does is practice, training and things like that.
W: Her grades on the coming exams will fall for sure. It’s high time we talk(ed) some sense to her.
Q: What are the speakers probably going to do?

18.

W: Do you understand why the local people are opposed to the new dam up the river?
M: They are worried about the potential danger if the dam should break. The river is very wide above the proposed site.
Q: What do we learn from the conversation?

Conversation One

W: Mr. White, what changes have you seen in the champagne market in the last ten to fifteen years?
M: Well the biggest change has been the decrease in sales since the great boom years of the 1980s when champagne production and sales reached record levels.

W: Which was the best year?
M: Well the record was in 1989 when 249 million bottles of champagne was sold. The highest production level was reached in 1990 with a total of 293 million

bottles. Of course since those boom years sales have fallen.

W: Has the market been badly hit by the recession?
M: Oh certainly, the economic problems in champagnes’ export markets that’s Europe, the United States, Japan, and of course the domestic market in France,

the economic problems have certainly been one reason for the decrease in champagne sales.

W: And the other reasons?
M: Another important factor has been price. In the early 90s, champagne was very overpriced, so many people stop buying it. Instead they bought sparkling wines

from other countries, in particular from Australia and Spain. And then there was another problem for champagne in the early 90s.

W: What was that?
M: There was a lot of rather bad champagne on the market. This meant the popularity of good sparkling wines increased even more. People was surprised by their

quality and of course they were a lot cheaper than champagne.

W: Do you think the champagne market will recover in the future?
M: Oh, I’m sure it will. When the economic situation improves, I believe the market will recover.

Questions 19-21 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

Question 19: What does the man say about champagne in 1980s?
Question 20: Why did sparkling wines become more popular than champagne in the early 90s?
Question 21: What does the man think of the champagne market in the future?

Conversation Two

W: Right, well, in the studio this morning, for our interview spot is Peter Wilson. Peter works for Green Peace. So, Peter, welcome.
M: Thanks a lot. It’s good to be here.
W: Great! Now, Peter, perhaps you can tell us something about Green Peace and your job there.
M: Sure. Well, I’ll start by telling you roughly what Green Peace is all about. I actually work in London for the Green Peace organization. We’ve been going for a

few decades and we’re a non-violent, non-political organization. We’re involved in anti-nuclear activity, conservation and protection of animals and protection

and support of our eco-system. I’m the action organizer and arrange any protests.
W: Great! A pretty important role, Peter. What sort of protest would you organize?

M: Well, recently we’ve been involved in anti-nuclear campaigns. I, personally arranged for the demonstration against radioactive waste dumping in the Atlantic

Ocean. We’ve got a few small Green Peace boats that we harass the dumping ship with.

W: Hey? Hold on, Peter. I thought you said your organization was non-violent. What do you mean by “harass”?

M: Well, we circle round and round the ships and get in the way when they try to dump the drums of nuclear waste in the sea. We talk to the men and try to

change, you know, yell at them to stop. We generally make ourselves as much of a nuisance possible.

M: Well, people may think differently of your methods but there’s no doubt you’re doing a great job. Keep it up and good luck. And thanks for talking with us.

W: Thanks for having me.

Questions 22 to 25 are based on the conversations you have just heard.

22. What is the man’s chief responsibility in the Green Peace organization?
23. What has Green Peace been involved in recently?
24. How does Green Peace try to stop people from dumping nuclear waste?
25. What is the woman’s attitude towards the Green Peace’s campaigns?

SectionB:

Passage One

To find out what the weather is going to be, most people go straight to the radio, television, or newspaper to get an expert weather forecast. But if you know what to look for, you can use your own senses to make weather predictions. There are many signs that can help you. For example, in fair weather the air pressure is generally high, the air is still and often full of dust, and far away objects may look vague. But when the storm is brewing, the pressure drops, and you are often able to see things more clearly. Sailors took note of this long ago, and came up with the saying, “The farther the sight, the nearer the rain.” Your sense of smell can also help you detect the weather changes. Just before it rains, odors become stronger, this is because odors are repressed in a fair high pressure center. When a bad weather low moves in, air pressure lessens and odors are released. You can also hear an approaching storm. Sounds bounce off heavy storm clouds and return to earth with increased force. An old saying describes it this way, “Sounds traveling far and wide a stormy day will be tied”. And don’t laugh at your grandmother if she says she can feel a storm coming. It is commonly known that many people feel pains in their bones or joints while the humidity rises, the pressure drops, and bad weather is on the way.

Questions 26 to 28are based on the passage you’ve heard.
26: Why does the speaker say we can see far away objects more clearly as a storm is approaching?
27: What does the speaker want to show by quoting a couple of old sayings?
28:What does the passage mainly talk about?

Passage Two

Many days seem to bring numerous tasks and responsibilities, all of which apparently must be tackled right away. You spend a day putting out fires, but by the end of the day, you haven’t accomplished any of the really important things you set out to do. In desperation, you draft a “to-do” list. But most days, you can make little progress with it. When you look at the list each morning, a big fat cloud of doom is right at the top—those difficult, complex, important tasks that are so crucial to get done and so easy to avoid. Plenty of us create a “to-do” list to address feelings of being overwhelmed, but we rarely use these tools to their best effect. They wind up being guilt-provoking reminders of the fact that we are over-committed, and losing control of our priorities. According to Timothy Pikle, professor of a psychology at Carlton University in Ottawa. People often draw up a “to-do” list and then that’s it. The list itself becomes the day’s achievement, allowing us to feel we’ve done something useful without taking on any real work. In fact, drawing up the list becomes a way of avoiding the work itself. “Too often, the list is seen as the accomplishment for the day, reducing the immediate guilt of not working on the tasks at hand by investing energy in the list,” says Pikle, “when a list is used like this, it’s simply another way in which we lie to our selves.”

Questions 29 to 31 are based on the passage you’ve heard.

29. What is the problem that troubles many people nowadays according to the speaker?
30. According to the speaker, what do many people do to cope with their daily tasks?
31. According to psychologist Timothy Pikle what do people find by the end of the day?

Passage Three

In many stressful situations the body’s responses can improve our performance. We become more energetic, more alert, better able to take effective action. But when stress is encountered continually, the body’s reactions are more likely to be harmful than helpful to us. The continual speeding up of bodily reactions and the production of stress-related hormones seem to make people more susceptible to heart disease. And stress reactions can reduce the disease-fighting effectiveness of body’s immune system, thereby increasing susceptibility to illnesses, ranging from colds to cancer. Stress may also contribute to disease in less direct ways by influencing moods and behavior. People, under stress, may become anxious or depressed and as a result may eat too much or too little, have sleep difficulties, or fail to exercise. These behavioral changes may in turn be harmful to their health. In addition, people are more likely to pay attention to certain bodily sensations such as aches and pains when they are under stress and to think they are sick. If the person were not under stress, the same bodily sensations might not be perceived as symptoms and the person might continue to feel well. Some researchers have suggested that assuming the role of a sick person is one way in which certain people try to cope with stress. Instead of dealing with the stressful situation directly, these people fall sick. After all, it is often more acceptable in our society to be sick and to seek medical help than it is to admit that one can not cope with the stresses of life.

Questions 32 to 35 are based on the conversations you have just heard.

Question 32:What does the speaker say about people who encounter stress once in a while?
Question 33:What does speaker say frequent stress reactions may lead to?
Question 34:What are people more likely to do when they are under stress?
Question 35:What does the passage mainly talk about?

SectionC:

One of the most common images of advanced Western-style culture is that of a busy traffic-filled city. Since their first (36)appearance on American roadways, automobiles have become a (37)symbol of progress, a source of thousands of jobs and almost an inalienable right for citizens’ personal freedom of movement. In recent (38)decades, our love affair with the car is being (39)exported directly to the developing world and it is increasingly (40)apparent that this transfer is leading to disaster.

America’s almost complete dependence on automobiles has been a terrible mistake. As late as the 1950s, a large (41)percentage of the American public used mass transit. A large (42)combination of public policy decisions and corporate scheming saw to it that countless (43)convenient and efficient urban streetcar and intra-city rail systems were dismantled(拆除). (44)Our air quality now suffers from the effects of the pollutants emitted directly from our cars. Our lives have been planned along a road grid--homes far from work, shopping far from everything, with ugly stretches of concrete and blacktop in between.

Developing countries are copying Western-style transportation systems down to the last detail. (45)The problems caused by motorized vehicles in the West are often magnified in developing nations. Pollution-control measures are either not strict or nonexistent, leading to choking clouds of smog. Gasoline still contains lead, which is extremely poisonous to humans. (46)Movement in some cities comes to a virtual standstill, as motorized traffic competes with bicycles and pedestrians.

In addition to pollution and traffic jams, auto safety is a critical issue in developing countries.