[02:23.80]College English test Band 4
[02:26.32]Part Ⅲ Listening Comprehension
[02:29.60]Section A
[02:32.01]Directions: In this section,
[02:35.40]you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations.
[02:41.31]At the end of each conversation,
[02:44.37]one or more questions will be asked about what was said.
[02:48.75]Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once.
[02:54.00]After each question there will be a pause.
[02:58.37]During the pause, you must read the four choices
[03:03.07]marked A), B), C) and D), and decide which is the best answer.
[03:09.42]Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2
[03:15.44]with a single line through the centre.Now,
[03:19.93]let’s begin with the eight short conversations.
[03:24.30]11. W: Did you watch the 7 o’clock program
[03:29.99]on channel 2 yesterday evening? I was about to watch it
[03:34.15]when someone came to see me.
[03:36.01]M: Yeah! It reported some major breakthrough in cancer research.
[03:40.38]People over 40 would find a program worth watching.
[03:43.78]Q: What do we learn from the conversation about the TV program?
[04:05.36]12. W: I won a first prize in the National Writing Contest
[04:10.49]and I got this camera as an award.
[04:13.78]M: It’s a good camera! You can take it when you travel.
[04:16.84]I had no idea you were a marvelous writer.
[04:20.67]Q: What do we learn from the conversation?
[04:40.46]13. M: I wish I hadn’t thrown away that reading list!
[04:46.58]W: I thought you might regret it.
[04:49.10]That’s why I picked it up from the waste paper basket
[04:52.49]and left it on the desk.
[04:54.35]Q: What do we learn from the conversation?
[05:13.07]14. W: Are you still teaching at the junior high school?
[05:17.88]M: Not since June. My brother and I opened a restaurant
[05:21.39]as soon as he got out of the army.
[05:24.01]Q: What do we learn about the man from the conversation?
[05:42.88]15. M: Hi, Susan! Have you finished reading the book
[05:48.90]Professor Johnson recommended?
[05:51.20]W: Oh, I haven’t read it through the way I read a novel.
[05:54.70]I just read a few chapters which interested me.
[05:58.41]Q: What does the woman mean?
[06:16.52]16. M: Jane missed class again, didn’t she?
[06:21.55]I wonder why?
[06:23.52]W: Well, I knew she had been absent all week.
[06:27.24]So I called her this morning to see if she was sick.
[06:30.52]It turned out that her husband was badly injured in a car accident.
[06:35.12]Q: What does the woman say about Jane?
[06:54.84]17. W: I’m sure the Smiths’ new house is somewhere on this street,
[07:00.63]but I don’t know exactly where it is.
[07:03.37]M: But I’m told it’s two blocks from their old home.
[07:07.20]Q: What do we learn from the conversation?
[07:26.61]18. W: I’ve been waiting here almost half an hour!
[07:31.76]How come it took you so long?
[07:35.04]M: Sorry, honey! I had to drive two blocks
[07:37.23]before I spotted a place to park the car.
[07:39.96]Q: What do we learn from the conversation?
[08:00.11]Now you’ll hear the two long conversations.
[08:03.72]Conversation One
[08:07.01]M: Hello, I have a reservation for tonight.
[08:09.41]W: Your name, please.
[08:10.83]M: Nelson, Charles Nelson.
[08:12.47]W: Ok, Mr. Nelson. That’s a room for five...
[08:16.30]M: And excuse me, you mean a room for five pounds?
[08:20.57]I didn’t know the special was so good.
[08:23.08]W: No, no, no... according to our records,
[08:25.93]a room for 5 guests was booked under your name.
[08:29.32]M: No, no... hold on. You must have two guests under the name.
[08:33.59]W: Ok, let me check this again. Oh, here we are.
[08:38.29]M: Yeah?
[08:39.12]W: Charles Nelson, a room for one for the 19...
[08:43.16]M: Wait, wait. It’s for tonight, not tomorrow night.
[08:47.75]W: Em... Em... I don’t think we have any rooms for tonight.
[08:53.23]There’s a conference going on in town and...er,
[08:57.71]let’s see... yeah, no rooms.
[09:01.32]M: Oh, come on! You must have something, anything!
[09:05.26]W: Well, let... let me check my computer here... Ah!
[09:10.84]M: What?
[09:12.70]W: There has been a cancellation for this evening.
[09:15.22]A honeymoon suite is now available.
[09:17.74]M: Great, I’ll take it.
[09:19.70]W: But, I’ll have to charge you 150 pounds for the night.
[09:24.08]M: What? I should get a discount for the inconvenience!
[09:28.13]W: Well, the best I can give you is a 10% discount plus a ticket
[09:34.48]for a free continent breakfast.
[09:36.88]M: Hey, isn’t the breakfast free anyway?

[09:39.72]W: Well, only on weekends.
[09:41.80]M: I want to talk to the manager.
[09:43.77]W: Wait, wait, wait... Mr. Nelson,
[09:46.39]I think I can give you an additional 15% discount...
[09:50.23]Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation
[09:56.46]you have just heard.
[09:58.43]19. What’s the man’s problem?
[10:18.47]20. Why did the hotel clerk say they didn’t
[10:24.15]have any rooms for that night?
[10:41.38]21. What did the clerk say about the breakfast in the hotel?
[11:02.87]22. What did the man imply he would do
[11:09.10]at the end of the conversation?
[11:27.85]Conversation Two
[11:30.15]M: Sarah, you work in the Admissions Office, don’t you?
[11:34.64]W: Yes, I am... I’ve been here ten years as an Assistant Director.
[11:41.75]M: Really? What does that involve?
[11:44.70]W: Well, I’m in charge of all the admissions of
[11:47.66]postgraduate students in the university.
[11:50.72]M: Only postgraduates?
[11:52.47]W: Yes, postgraduates only. I have nothing at all
[11:55.64]to do with undergraduates.
[11:57.61]M: Do you find that you get particular... sort of...
[12:01.99]different national groups? I mean,
[12:05.16]do you get large numbers from Latin America or...
[12:08.23]W: Yes. Well, of all the students enrolled last year,
[12:12.49]nearly half were from overseas.
[12:15.12]They were from African countries, the Far East,
[12:18.40]the Middle East, and Latin America.
[12:20.81]M: Em. But have you been doing just that for the last 10 years,
[12:25.62]or, have you done other things?
[12:27.48]W: Well, I’ve been doing the same job. Er, before that,
[12:33.17]I was secretary of the medical school at Birmingham,
[12:36.45]and further back, I worked in the local government.
[12:39.74]M: Oh, I see.
[12:41.38]W: So I’ve done different types of things.
[12:43.67]M: Yes, indeed. How do you imagine your job
[12:47.39]might develop in the future? Can you imagine shifting into
[12:51.22]a different kind of responsibility or doing something...
[12:54.83]W: Oh, yeah, from October 1,
[12:57.89]I’ll be doing an entirely different job.
[12:59.87]There’s going to be more committee work.
[13:02.27]I mean, more policy work, and less dealing with students,
[13:06.43]unfortunately... I’ll miss my contact with students.
[13:10.37]Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
[13:18.90]23. What is the woman’s present position?
[13:37.09]24. What do we learn about the postgraduates enrolled
[13:45.08]last year in the woman’s university?
[14:03.06]25. What will the woman’s new job be like?
[14:22.70]Section B
[14:25.65]Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages.
[14:31.56]At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions.
[14:36.15]Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once.
[14:40.74]After you hear a question,
[14:43.74]you must choose the best answer from the four choices
[14:46.34]marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter
[14:53.67]on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
[14:58.92]Passage One
[15:01.55]My mother was born in a small town in northern Italy.
[15:05.92]She was three when her parents immigrated to America in 1926.
[15:09.65]They lived in Chicago when my grandfather
[15:15.01]worked making ice cream. Mama thrived in the urban environment.
[15:20.15]At 16, she graduated first in her high school class,
[15:24.74]went onto secretarial school, and finally worked
[15:28.79]as an executive secretary for a railroad company.
[15:32.18]She was beautiful too. When a local photographer
[15:36.45]used her pictures in his monthly window display,
[15:39.51]she felt pleased. Her favorite portrait showed her sitting
[15:43.78]by Lake Michigan, her hair went blown,
[15:46.51]her gaze reaching toward the horizon.
[15:49.47]My parents were married in 1944.
[15:53.41]Dad was a quiet and intelligent man.
[15:57.02]He was 17 when he left Italy. Soon after,
[16:01.72]a hit-and-run accident left him with a permanent limp.
[16:05.11]Dad worked hard selling candy to Chicago office workers
[16:09.71]on their break. He had little formal schooling.
[16:13.50]His English was self-taught. Yet he eventually built
[16:17.76]a small successful wholesale candy business.
[16:20.50]Dad was generous and handsome. Mama was devoted to him.
[16:25.75]After she married, my mother quit her job
[16:30.45]and gave herself to her family. In 1950,
[16:34.18]with three small children, dad moved the family to a farm
[16:38.55]40 miles from Chicago. He worked land and commuted to
[16:42.82]the city to run his business. Mama said goodbye to
[16:47.09]her parents and friends, and traded her busy city neighborhood
[16:51.46]for a more isolated life. But she never complained.
[16:55.40]Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.
[17:02.73]26. What does the speaker tell us
[17:07.65]about his mother’s early childhood?
[17:26.41]27. What do we learn about the speaker’s father?
[17:46.89]28. What does the speaker say about his mother?

[18:10.02]Passage Two
[18:12.32]During a 1995 roof collapse,
[18:15.70]a firefighter named Donald Herbert was left brain damaged.
[18:20.19]For ten years, he was unable to speak.
[18:23.80]Then, one Saturday morning, he did something
[18:27.63]that shocked his family and doctors. He started speaking.
[18:32.12]“I want to talk to my wife.”
[18:35.51]Donald Herbert said out of the blue.
[18:38.03]Staff members of the nursing home
[18:41.53]where he has lived for more than seven years,
[18:44.04]raced to get Linda Herbert on the telephone.
[18:46.78]“It was the first of many conversations
[18:50.72]the 44-year-old patient had with his family
[18:54.00]and friends during the 14-hour stretch” Herbert’s uncle,
[18:57.61]Simon Menka, said. “How long have I been away?”
[19:01.55]Herbert asked. “We told him almost ten years,”
[19:06.14]the uncle said, “he thought it was only three months.”
[19:09.86]Herbert was fighting a house fire December 29,
[19:14.02]1995 when the roof collapsed, burying him underneath.
[19:19.60]After going without air for several minutes,
[19:23.32]Herbert was unconscious for two and a half months
[19:26.71]and has undergone therapy ever since.
[19:29.89]News accounts in the days and years after his injury,
[19:34.59]described Herbert as blind and with little if any memory.
[19:39.95]A video shows him receiving physical therapy
[19:44.10]but apparently unable to communicate and with
[19:47.50]little awareness of his surroundings.
[19:50.12]Menka declined to discuss his nephew’s current condition
[19:53.73]or whether the apparent progress was continuing.
[19:56.69]“The family was seeking privacy while doctors evaluated Herbert”,
[20:02.38]he said. As word of Herbert’s progress spread,
[20:06.75]visitors streamed into the nursing home.
[20:09.49]“He’s resting comfortably,” the uncle told them.
[20:12.88]Questions 29 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.
[20:19.77]29. What happened to Herbert ten years ago?
[20:42.69]30. What surprised Donald Herbert’s family and doctors one Saturday?
[21:05.46]31. How long did Herbert remain unconscious?
[21:26.79]32. How did Herbert’s family react to the public attention?
[21:49.77]Passage Three
[21:51.41]Almost all states in America have a state fair.
[21:56.66]They last for one, two or three weeks.
[22:01.37]The Indiana state fair is one of the largest
[22:05.63]and oldest state fairs in the United States.
[22:08.91]It is held every summer. It started in 1852.
[22:14.60]Its goals were to educate, share ideas,
[22:19.63]and present Indiana’s best products.
[22:23.02]The cost of a single ticket to enter the fair was 20 cents.
[22:28.05]During the early 1930s, officials of the fair ruled that
[22:34.06]the people could attend by paying with something
[22:37.01]other than money. For example,
[22:39.97]farmers brought a bag of grain in exchange for a ticket.
[22:44.56]With the passage of time,
[22:47.08]the fair has grown and changed a lot,
[22:50.25]but it’s still one of Indiana’s most celebrated events.
[22:54.41]People from all over Indiana and from many other states
[22:59.22]attend the fair. They can do many things at the fair.
[23:03.48]They can watch the judging of the price cows, pigs,
[23:08.07]and other animals; they can see sheep getting their wool cut,
[23:13.43]and they can learn how that wool is made into clothing;
[23:17.37]they can watch cows giving birth. In fact,
[23:21.53]people can learn about the animals
[23:23.82]they would never see except at the fair.
[23:26.12]The fair provides a chance for the farming community to show
[23:30.71]its skills and farm products. For example,
[23:34.86]visitors might see the world’s largest apple,
[23:38.59]or the tallest sunflower plant. Today,
[23:43.50]children and adults at the fair
[23:46.02]can play new computer games,
[23:48.10]or attend more traditional games of skill.
[23:51.05]They can watch performances put on by famous entertainers.
[23:55.64]Experts say such fairs are important,
[24:00.13]because people need to remember that
[24:02.65]they’re connected to the earth and its products,
[24:06.14]and they depend on animals for many things.
[24:10.41]Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
[24:16.21]33. What were the main goals of
[24:22.00]the Indiana’s state fair when it started?
[24:40.61]34. How did some farmers gain entrance to
[24:45.31]the fair in the early 1930s?
[25:02.60]35. Why are state fairs important events in America?
[25:25.70]Section C
[25:28.98]Directions: In this section,
[25:33.13]you will hear a passage three times.
[25:36.52]When the passage is read for the first time,
[25:39.59]you should listen carefully for its general idea.
[25:43.09]When the passage is read for the second time,
[25:47.02]you are required to fill in the blanks
[25:49.65]numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words
[25:55.45]you have just heard. For blanks numbered
[25:58.29]from 44 to 46 you are required to
[26:02.55]fill in the missing information. For these blanks,
[26:07.26]you can either use the exact words you have just heard
[26:10.97]or write down the main points in your own words.
[26:15.02]Finally, when the passage is read for the third time,
[26:19.39]you should check what you have written.
[26:22.57]Now listen to the passage.
[26:27.48]Students’ pressure sometimes comes from their parents.

[26:31.20]Most parents are well meaning,
[26:34.37]but some of them aren’t very helpful
[26:37.22]with the problems their sons and daughters
[26:39.52]have in adjusting to college,
[26:42.03]and a few of them seem to go out of their way to
[26:45.20]add to their children’s difficulties.
[26:47.61]For one thing, parents are often not aware of
[26:52.53]the kinds of problems their children face.
[26:55.59]They don’t realize that the competition is keener,
[26:59.53]that the required standards of work are higher,
[27:03.69]and that their children may not be prepared for the change.
[27:07.52]Accustomed to seeing A’s and B’s on high school report cards,
[27:13.86]they may be upset when their children’s
[27:16.70]first semester college grades are below that level.
[27:20.52]At their kindest, they may gently inquire
[27:25.45]why John or Mary isn’t doing better,
[27:29.05]whether he or she is trying as hard as he or she should,
[27:32.77]and so on. At their worst, they may threaten to
[27:38.02]take their children out of college, or cut off funds.
[27:41.85]Sometimes parents regard their children
[27:45.79]as extensions of themselves and think it only right
[27:50.27]and natural that they determine
[27:52.24]what their children do with their lives.
[27:54.86]In their involvement and identification with their children,
[27:59.57]they forget that everyone is different
[28:02.52]and that each person must develop in his or her own way.
[28:06.79]They forget that their children, who are now young adults,
[28:12.14]must be the ones responsible for what they do and what they are.
[28:17.39]Now the passage will be read again.
[28:25.05]Students’ pressure sometimes comes from their parents.
[28:29.10]Most parents are well meaning,
[28:33.03]but some of them aren’t very helpful with
[28:35.32]the problems their sons and daughters
[28:37.40]have in adjusting to college, and a few of them seem to
[28:41.88]go out of their way to add to their children’s difficulties.
[28:45.49]For one thing, parents are often not aware of
[28:50.19]the kinds of problems their children face.
[28:52.71]They don’t realize that the competition is keener,
[28:56.64]that the required standards of work are higher,
[29:00.25]and that their children may not be prepared for the change.
[29:04.30]Accustomed to seeing A’s and B’s on high school report cards,
[29:09.99]they may be upset when their children’s
[29:13.05]first semester college grades are below that level.
[29:16.77]At their kindest, they may gently inquire
[29:21.03]why John or Mary isn’t doing better,
[29:24.53]whether he or she is trying as hard as he or she should, and so on.
[29:29.34]At their worst, they may threaten to
[29:33.39]take their children out of college, or cut off funds.
[30:35.51]Sometimes parents regard their children as extensions
[30:39.34]of themselves and think it only right and natural that
[30:43.72]they determine what their children do with their lives.
[31:43.05]In their involvement and identification with their children,
[31:49.72]they forget that everyone is different
[31:52.46]and that each person must develop in his or her own way.
[31:56.83]They forget that their children, who are now young adults,
[32:02.29]must be the ones responsible for what they do and what they are.
[33:03.84]Now the passage will be read for the third time.
[33:10.84]Students’ pressure sometimes comes from their parents.
[33:14.67]Most parents are well meaning,
[33:17.84]but some of them aren’t very helpful with the problems
[33:21.23]their sons and daughters have in adjusting to college,
[33:24.73]and a few of them seem to go out of their way to
[33:28.45]add to their children’s difficulties.
[33:30.75]For one thing, parents are often not aware of
[33:35.78]the kinds of problems their children face.
[33:39.06]They don’t realize that the competition is keener,
[33:42.78]that the required standards of work are higher,
[33:46.93]and that their children may not be prepared for the change.
[33:50.87]Accustomed to seeing A’s and B’s on high school report cards,
[33:56.88]they may be upset when their children’s
[33:59.95]first semester college grades are below that level.
[34:03.55]At their kindest, they may gently inquire
[34:08.37]why John or Mary isn’t doing better,
[34:11.54]whether he or she is trying as hard as he or she should, and so on.
[34:16.90]At their worst, they may threaten to
[34:21.27]take their children out of college, or cut off funds.
[34:25.10]Sometimes parents regard their children as extensions
[34:30.68]of themselves and think it only right and natural that
[34:34.72]they determine what their children do with their lives.
[34:37.89]In their involvement and identification with their children,
[34:42.93]they forget that everyone is different
[34:45.55]and that each person must develop in his or her own way.
[34:50.25]They forget that their children, who are now young adults,
[34:55.50]must be the ones responsible for what they do and what they are.
[35:03.15]This is the end of listening comprehension.