Part III Listening Comprehension

Section A

11.

M: I’d like to go camping with you this weekend, but I don’t have a sleeping bag。

W: No problem. You can count on me to get one for you. My family has tons of camping gear。

Q: What does the woman mean?

12.

M: I know I promise to drive you to the airport next Thursday, but I’m afraid something has come up. They’ve called a special meeting at work。

W: No big deal. Karen said she was available as a back-up。

Q: What does the woman mean?

13.

W: Have you saved enough money for a trip to Hawaii?

M: Not even close. My uncle must put the brakes on my travelling plans。

Q: What does the man mean?

14.

M: I’m starving. Do we still have any pie left from the dinner yesterday?

W: Oh, Julia invited her friends over in the afternoon and they ate it all。

Q: What do we learn from the conversation?

15.

W: Three letters of recommendation are required to apply to graduate schools. I was wondering if the one professor Smith wrote for me last year could still be used。

M: It’s a bit dated. You’d better submit a recent one。

Q: What does the man suggest the woman do?16.

W: I’ve noticed that you spend a lot of time tending your garden. Would you like to join our gardening club? We meet every other Wednesday。

M: Oh, thanks for the invitation, but this is how I relax. I’d rather not make it something formal and structured。

Q: What can we infer about the man?

17.

M: I heard the recent sculpture exhibit was kind of disappointing。

W: That’s right. I guess a lot of other people feel the way I do about modern art。

Q: What does the woman mean?

18.

M: Bob is running for chairman of the student union. Would you vote for him?

W: Oh, I can’t decide right now because I have to find out more about the other candidates。

Q: What does the woman mean?

Conversation One

W: I don’t know what to do. I can’t seem to get anyone in the hospital to listen to my complaints and this outdated equipment is dangerous. Just look at it。

M: Hmm, uh, are you trying to say that it presents a health hazard?

W: Yes, I am. The head technician in the lab tried to persuade the hospital administration to replace it, but they are trying to cut costs。

M: You are pregnant, aren’t you?

W: Yes, I am. I made an effort to get my supervisor to transfer me to another department, but he urged me not to complain too loudly. Because the administration is more likely to replace me than an X-ray equipment, I’m afraid to refuse to work. But I’m more afraid to expose my unborn child to the radiation。

M: I see what you mean. Well, as your union representative, I have to warn you that it would take quite a while to force management to replace the old machines and attempt to get you transferred may or may not be successful。

W: Oh, what am I supposed to do then?

M: Workers have the legal right to refuse certain unsafe work assignments under two federal laws, the Occupation or Safety and Health Act and the National Labor Relations Act. But the requirements of either of the Acts may be difficult to meet。

W: Do you think I have a good case?

M: If you do lose your job, the union will fight to get it back for you along with back pay, your lost income. But you have to be prepared for a long wait, maybe after two years。

Q19. What does the woman complain about?

Q20. What has the woman asked her supervisor to do?

Q21. What does the man say about the two federal laws?

Q22. What will the union do if the woman loses her job?

Conversation Two

W: Mr. Green, is it fair to say that negotiation is an art?

M: Well, I think it’s both an art and science. You can prepare for a negotiation quite scientifically, but the execution of the negotiation has quite a lot to do with one’s artistic quality. The scientific part of a negotiation is in determining your strategy. What do you want out of it? What can you give? Then of course there are tactics. How do you go about it? Do you take an opening position in a negotiation which differs from the eventual goal you are heading for? And then of course there are the behavioral aspects。

W: What do you mean by the behavioral aspects?

M: Well, that’s I think where the art comes in. In your behavior, you can either be an actor. You can pretend that you don’t like things which you are actually quite pleased about. Or you can pretend to like things which you are quite happy to do without. Or you can be the honest type negotiator who’s known to his partners in negotiation and always plays everything straight. But the artistic part of negotiation I think has to do with responding immediately to cues one gets in the process of negotiation. These can be verbal cues or even body language. This is where the artistic quality comes in。

W: So really, you see two types of negotiator then, the actor or the honest one。

M: That’ right. And both can work. I would say the honest negotiator can be quite effective in some circumstances. In other circumstances you need an actor。

Q23. When is a scientific approach best embodied in a negotiation according to the man?

Q24. In what way is a negotiator like an actor according to the man?

Q25. What does the man say about the two types of negotiator?

Section B

Passage 1

A scientific team is studying the thinking ability of eleven and half month old children. The test is a simple one. The baby watches a sort of show on a small stage. In Act One of the show, a yellow cube is lifted from a blue box, and moved across the stage. Then it is returned to the box. This is repeated 6 times. Act Two is similar except that the yellow cube is smaller. Baby boys do not react at all to the difference and the size of the cube. But girls immediately become excited. The scientists interpret the girls’ excitement as meaning they are trying to understand what they have just seen. They are wondering why Act Two is odd and how it differs from Act One. In other words, the little girls are reasoning. This experiment certainly does not definitely prove that girls start to reason before boys, but it provides a clue that scientists would like to study more carefully. Already it is known that bones, muscles and nerves develop faster in baby girls. Perhaps it is early nerve development that makes some infant girls show more intelligence than infant boys. Scientists have also found that nature seems to give another boost to girls. Baby girls usually talk at an earlier age than boys do. Scientists think that there is a physical reason for this. They believe that the nerve endings in the left side of the brain develop faster in girls than in boys, and it is this side of the brain that strongly influences an individual’s ability to use language and remember things。

Q26. What is the difference between Act One and Act Two in the test?

Q27. How do the scientists interpret their observation from the experiment?

Q28. What does the speaker say about the experiment?

Q29. According to scientists, what is another advantage given to girls by nature?

Passage 2

A super attendant of the city municipal building, Dillia Adorno, was responsible for presenting its new security plan to the public. City employees, citizens and reporters gathered in the hall to hear her describe the plan. After outlining the main points she would cover, she assured the audience that she would be happy to answer questions at the end of her presentation. Dillia realized the plan was expensive and potentially controversial. So she was not surprised to see a number of hands go up as soon as she finished speaking. An employ asked, “Would the new system create long lines to get into the building like the line in the airport security checks?” Dillia had anticipated this question and had an answer ready. After repeating the question, she explained that the sufficient number of security guards would be working at peak hours to speed things along. The next question was more confrontational。”Where was the money come from to pay for all of this?”The journalists who ask the question seem hostile. But Dillia was careful not to adopt the defensive tone. She stated that the money would come from the city’s general budget. “I know these are tide times”， she added, “But everyone agrees on the importance of safe guarding our employees and members of the public who come into the building。” Near the end of the 25 minutes she has said, Dillia said she would take two more questions. When those were finished, she concluded the session with a brief restatement of how the new system will improve security and peace of mind in the municipal building。

Question 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard。

30. What is the focus of Dillia Adorno’s presentation?

31. What question had Dillia Adorno anticipated?

32. What did the speakers think of the question from the journalist?

Passage 3

Despite unemployment and the lost of her home, Andrea Clark considers herself a blessed and happy woman. Why the cheerful attitude? Her troubles have brought her closer to her family. Last year, Andrea’s husband, Rick, a miner in Nevada was laid off. Though Andrea kept her job as a school bus driver, she knew that they couldn’t pay their bill and support their youngest of five children, Zack, age nine, on one income. “At first their church helped out, but you can’t keep that up forever”， Andrea says. Then Michal, their eldest of her four adult children suggested they move in with his family. For almost three months, seven Clarks lived under one roof. Andrea, Rick and Zack stayed in the basement department, sharing laundry and single bathroom with Michal, his wife and their two children。

The change cut their expenditures in half, but the new living arrangement proved too challenging. When Andrea found a job with a school district closer to her mother’s home in west Jorden, Utah, the family decided to move on. Packing up again with no picnic, Zack had to switch schools for the second time and space is even tighter. Andrea says that the moves themselves are exhausting and Rick is still looking for a job。

The recession has certainly come with more problems than Andrea anticipated, but she remains unfailingly optimistic. She is excited to spend more time with her mother. Another plus, rents are lower in Utah than in Nevada. So Andrea thinks they’ll be able to save up and move out in less than 6 months。

Questions 33-35 are based on the passage you have just heard。

Q33 What do we learn about Andrea’s husband?

Q34 Why did Andrea move to live in her eldest son’s home?

Q35 What is Andrea’s attitude toward the hardships brought by the economic recession?

Section C

Mountain climbing is becoming a popular sport, but it is also a potentially dangerous one. People can fall. They may also become ill. One of the most common dangers to climbers is altitude sickness, which can affect even very experienced climbers. Altitude sickness usually begins when a climber goes above 8,000 to 9,000 feet. The higher one climbs, the less oxygen there is in the air. When people don’t get enough oxygen, they often begin to gasp for air. They may also feel dizzy and light-headed. Besides these symptoms of altitude sickness, others such as headache and fatigue may also occur. At heights of over 18,000 feet, people may be climbing in a constant daze. Their state of mind can have adverse affect on their judgment. A few precautions can help most climbers avoid altitude sickness. The first is not to go too high, too fast. If you climb to 10,000 feet, stay at that height for a day or two. Your body needs to get used to a high altitude before you climb to a even higher one. Or if you do climb higher sooner, come back down to a lower height when you sleep. Also, drink plenty of liquids and avoid tobacco and alcohol. When you reach your top height, do like activities rather than sleep too much. You breathe less when you sleep, so you get less oxygen. The most important warning is this: if you have severe symptoms, then don’t go away, go down. Don’t risk injury or death because of over-confidence or lack of knowledge。