07年12月22日六级听力原文

Section A Conversations

Short Conversations

11. M: The biological project is now in trouble. You know, my colleague and I have completely different ideas about how to proceed.
W: Why don’t you compromise? Try to make it a win-win situation for you both.
Q: What does the woman suggest the man do?

12. M: How does Nancy like the new dress she bought in Rome?
W: She said she would never have bought an Italian style dress if she had known Mary had already got such a dress.
Q: What do we learn from the conversation?

13. M: You are not going to do all those dishes before we leave, are you? If we don’t pick up George and Martha in 25 minutes, we’ll never get to the theater on time.
W: Oh, didn’t I tell you? Martha called to say her daughter was ill and they could not go tonight.
Q: What is the woman probably going to do first?

14. M: You’ve been hanging onto the phone for quite a while. Who were you talking with?
W: Oh, it was Sally. You know she always has the latest news in town and can’t wait to talk it over with me.
Q: What do we know about Sally from the conversation?

15: W: It’s always been hard to get this car into first gear and now the clutch seems to be sleeping.
M: If you leave the car with me, I’ll fix it for you this afternoon.
Q: Who is the woman probably speaking to?

16. M: Kate, why does the downtown area look deserted now?
W: Well, there used to be some really good stores, but lots of them moved out to the mall.
Q: What do we learn from the conversation?

17. W: I find the lounge such a cozy place to study in. I really like the feeling when sitting on the sofa and doing the reading.
M: Well for me the hardest part about studying here is staying awake.
Q: What does the man mean?

18: W: These mosquito bites are killing me. I can’t help scratching.
M: Next time you go camping, take some precaution, say, wearing long sleeves.
Q: Why does the man suggest the woman wear long sleeves?

Long Conversations
Conversation 1
M: Hello and welcome to our program “Working Abroad”. Our guest this evening is a Londoner who lives and works in Italy. Her name is Susan Hill. Susan, welcome to the program. You live in Florence. How long have you been living there?
W: Since 1982, but when I went there in 1982, I planned to stay for only 6 months.
M: Why did you change your mind?
W: Well, I’m a designer. I design leather goods, mainly shoes and handbags. Soon after I arrived in Florence, I got a job with one of Italy’s top fashion houses, Ferragamo. So I decided to stay.
M: How lucky! Do you still work for Ferragamo?
W: No, I’ve been a freelance designer for quite a long time now. Since 1988, in fact.
M: So, does that mean you design for several different companies now?
W: Yes, that’s right. I’ve designed many fashion items for a number of Italian companies. And in the last 4 years, I’ve also been designing for the British company, Burberrys.
M: What have you been designing for them?
W: Mostly handbags and small leather goods.
M: How has fashion industry in Italy changed since 1982?
W: Oh, yes, it has become a lot more competitive, because the quality of products from other countries has improved a lot, but Italian quality and design is still world famous.
M: And do you ever think of returning to live in England?
W: No, not really. Working in Italy is more interesting, I also love the Mediterranean sun and the Italian life style.
M: Well, thank you for talking to us, Susan.
W: It was a pleasure.
19. Where does this talk most probably take place?
20. What was the woman’s original plan when she went to Florence?
21. What has the woman been doing for a living since 1988?
22. What do we learn about the change in Italy’s fashion industry?

Conversation 2
M: So, Claire, you are into drama.
W: Yes, I’ve a master’s degree in Drama and Theater. At the moment I am hoping to get onto a PHD program.
M: What excites you about drama?
W: I find it’s a communicative way to study people and you learn how to read people in drama. So usually I can understand what people are saying, even though they might be lying.
M: That would be useful.
W: Yeah, it’s very useful for me as well. I am an English lecturer, so I use a lot of drama in my classes, such as role-plays. And I ask my students to create mini-dramas. They really respond well. At the moment I am hoping to get onto a PHD course. I would like to concentrate on Asian drama and try to bring Asian theater to the world attention. I don’t know how successful I will be, but here is hoping.
M: Oh, I’m sure you will be successful. Now, Claire, what do you do for stage fright?
W: Ah, stage fright. Well, many actors have that problem. I get stage fright every time I am going to teach a new class. The night before, I usually can’t sleep.
M: What? For teaching?
W: Yes! I get really bad stage fright, but the minute I step into the classroom or get onto the stage, it just all falls into place. Then I just feel like “Yeah, this is what I mean to do.” and I am fine.
M: Well, that’ cool.
23. Why does woman find studying drama and theatre useful?
24. How did the woman student respond to her way of teaching English?
25. What does the woman say about her stage fright?

Section B Short Passages

Passage One

In January 1989, the Community of European Railways presented their proposal for a high speed pan-European train network, extending from Sweden to Sicily and from Portugal to Poland by the year 2020. If their proposal becomes a reality, it will revolutionize train travel in Europe. Journeys between major cities will take half the time they take today. Brussels will be only one and half hours from Paris. The quickest way to get from Paris to Frankfurt, from Barcelona to Madrid will be by train, not plane.

When the network is complete, it will integrate three types of railway line, totally new high-speed lines, with trains operating its speeds of 300kms per hour; upgraded lines, which allow for speeds up to 200 to 225 kms per hour and existing lines, for local connections and distribution of freight. If business people can choose between a 3-hour train journey from city center to city center and 1-hour flight, they'll choose the train, said an executive travel consultant. They won't go by plane anymore. If you calculate flight time, check in and travel to and from the airport, you’ll find almost no difference and if your plane arrives late due to bad weather or air traffic jams or strikes, then the train passengers will arrive at their destination first.

Since France introduced the first 260-km per hour high speed train service between Paris and Lyons in 1981, the trains have achieved higher and higher speeds. On many routes, airlines have lost up to 90 percent of their passengers to high speed trains. If people accept the community of European Railways’ plan, the 21st century will be the new age of the train.
Questions 26-29 are based on the passage you have just heard.
26. What is the proposal presented by the Community of the European Railways?
27. What will happen when the proposal becomes a reality?
28. Why will business people prefer a 3-hour train journey to a 1-hour flight?
29. When did France introduce the first high speed train service?

Passage Two

Western doctors are beginning to understand what traditional healers have always known that the body and the mind are inseparable. Until recently, modern urban physicians heal the body, psychiatrists the mind and priests the soul. However, the medical world is now paying more attention to holistic medicine, which is an approach based on a belief that people’s state of mind can make them sick or speed the recovery from sickness.

Several studies show that the effectiveness of a certain drug often depends on the patients expectations of it. For example, in one recent study, psychiatrists at a major hospital try to see how patients could be made calm. They divided them into two groups; one group was given a drug while the other group received a harmless substance instead of medicine without their knowledge. Surprisingly, more patients in the second group showed the desired effects than those in the first group.

In study after study, there is a positive reaction in almost one third of the patients taking harmless substances. How is this possible? How can such a substance have an effect on the body? Evidence from a 1997 study at the University of California shows that several patients who receive such substances were able to produce their own natural drug, that is, as they took the substance, their brains released natural chemicals that act like a drug. Scientists theorize that the amount of these chemicals released by a person’s brain quite possibly indicates how much faith the person has in his or her doctor.
Questions 30-32 are based on the passage you have just heard.
30. According to the speaker, what are western doctors beginning to understand?
31. What does the recent study at a major hospital seem to prove?
32. What evidence does the 1997 study of the University of California produce?

Passage Three

So we’ve already talked a bit about the growth of extreme sports like rock-climbing. As psychologists, we need to ask ourselves “Why is this person doing this?”, “Why do people take these risks and put themselves in danger when they don’t have to?” One common trait among risk-takers is that they enjoy strong feelings or sensations. We call this trait “sensation seeking”. A sensation-seeker is someone who is always looking for new sensations. What else do we know about sensation seekers? Well, as I said, sensation-seekers like strong emotions. You can see this trait in many parts of a person’s life not just in extreme sports. For example, many sensation seekers enjoy hard rock music. They like the loud sound and strong emotions of the songs. Similarly, sensation-seekers enjoy frightening horror movies. They like the feeling of being scared and horrified while watching the movie. This feeling is even stronger for extreme sports where the person faces real danger. Sensation-seekers feel that danger is really exciting. In addition, sensation-seekers like new experiences that force them to push their personal limits. For them, repeating the same things everyday is boring. Many sensation-seekers choose jobs that involve risk, such as starting a new business or being an Emergency Room doctor. These jobs are different everyday, so they never know what will happen. That’s why many sensation-seekers also like extreme sports. When you do rock-climbing, you never know what will happen. The activity is always new and different.
Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you’ve just heard.
33. According to the speaker, what is a common trait among risk-takers?
34. What do sensation-seekers find boring?
35. What is the speaker’s profession?

Section C Compound Dictation

If you are like most people, you’ve indulged in fake listening many times. You go to history class, sitting in the third row, and look squarely at the instructor as she speaks, but your mind is far away, floating in the clouds of pleasant daydreams. Occasionally, you come back to earth. The instructor writes an important term on the chalkboard and you dutifully copy it in your notebook. Every once in a while the instructor makes a witty remark causing others in the class to laugh; you smile politely, pretending that you’ve heard the remark and found it mildly humorous. You have a vague sense of guilt that you aren’t paying close attention, but you tell yourself that any material you miss can be picked up from a friend’s notes. Besides, the instructor is talking about road construction in ancient Rome and nothing could be more boring. So back you go into your private little world. Only later do you realize you’ve missed important information for a test. Fake listening may be easily exposed, since many speakers are sensitive to facial cues and can tell if you are merely pretending to listen. Your blank expression and far-away look in your eyes are the cues that betray your inattentiveness. Even if you are not exposed, there is another reason to avoid fakery. It’s easy for this behavior to become a habit. For some people, the habit is so deeply-rooted that they automatically start daydreaming when the speaker begins talking on something complex or uninteresting. As a result, they miss lots of valuable information.