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发表于 2016-7-11 20:09:34
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Section A
Directions: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the
end of each conversation, you will hear some questions. Both the conversation
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 1with a single line through the
centre.
Conversation One
W: Hello.
M: Hello, is that the reference library?
W: Yes. Can I help you?
M: I hope so. I rang earlier and asked for some information about Denys
Hawtin, the scientist. You asked me to ring back.
W: Oh, yes. I have found something.
M: Good. I’ve got a pencil and paper. Perhaps you could read out what it
says.
W: Certainly. Hawtin, Denys. Born: Darlington 1836; died New York 1920.
M: Yes. Got that.
W: Inventor and physicist. The son of a farm worker, he was admitted to the
University of London at the age of fifteen.
M: Yes.
W: He graduated at seventeen with a first class degree in Physics and
Mathematics. All right?
M: Yes, all right.
W: He made his first notable achievement at the age of eighteen. It was a
method of refrigeration which arose from his work in low temperature physics. He
became professor of Mathematics at the University of Manchester at twenty-four,
where he remained for twelve years. During that time he married one of his
students, Natasha Willoughby.
M: Yes. Go on.
W: Later, working together in London, they laid the foundation of modern
Physics by showing that normal laws of cause and effect do not apply at the
level of subatomic particles. For this he and his wife received the Nobel Prize
for Physics in 1910, and did so again in 1912 for their work on very high
frequency radio waves. In his lifetime Hawtin patented 244 inventions. Do you
want any more?
M: Yes. When did he go to America?
W: Let me see. In 1920 he went to teach in New York, and died there
suddenly after only three weeks. Still, he was a good age.
M: Yes. I suppose so. Well, thanks.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
1. What do we learn about Denys Hawtin when he was 15?
2. What did Denys Hawtin do at the age of 24?
3. For what were Denys Hawtin and his wife awarded the Nobel Prize a second
time?
4. Why did Denys Hawtin go to New York?
Conversation Two
W: This is Lisa Meyer in the WBZ newsroom, talking with Mike Bassichis, who
is the director of the Gifford School, about the cleanup from last week’s fire
and what the possible cause of that blaze may have been.
M: We’re getting ready for our entire staff to return early from vacation
tomorrow whereupon we are going to move into temporary classrooms. And the other
buildings that did not burn are being de-smoked. As to the cause of the fire,
all we know is that we were having trouble with the pilot lights since we bought
the stove in July and it had been serviced three times. Well, as a matter of
fact, we think it was a malfunctioning stove that may have caused the fire.
Nothing definite yet has been determined.
W: Have you heard from other schools or other institutional users of this
stove that have had the same problem?
M: No. I wouldn’t know anything more about the stove itself. All I know is
that this fire went up so quickly that there’s been a suspicion about why it
went up so quickly. And it may be that there was a gas blast. But, again, this
has not been determined officially by anybody.
W: I got you. When do kids come back to school?
M: Next Monday, and we will be ready for them. Monday January 4. We’re just
extremely thrilled that no one was hurt and that’s because of the fire fighters
that were here, nine of them. They’re wonderful.
W: And I’m sure you send your thanks out to them, uh?
M: Well, we’re sending out thanks to them in a letter or in any other way
we can. I heard a story today where one of our kids actually baked some cookies
and is taking it to the fire department, to give it to them.
Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
5. What were the speakers talking about?
6. What were the school staff doing at the time of the accident?
7. What was supposed to be the cause of the accident?
8. What did one of the kids do to show gratitude?
Section B
Directions: In this section, you will hear two 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 1with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
In today’s personality stakes, nothing is more highly valued than a sense
of humor. We seek it out in others and are proud to claim it in ourselves,
perhaps even more than good looks or intelligence. If someone has a great sense
of humor, we reason, it means that they are happy, socially confident and have a
healthy perspective on life.
This attitude would have surprised the ancient Greeks, who believed humor
to be essentially aggressive. And in fact, our admiration for the comically
gifted is relatively new, and not very well-founded, says Rod Martin, a
psychologist at the University of Western Ontario. Being funny isn’t necessarily
an indicator of good social skills and well-being, his research has shown. It
may just as likely be a sign of personality flaws.
He has found that humor is a double-edged sword. It can forge better
relationships and help you cope with life, or it can be corrosive, eating away
at self-esteem and irritating others. “It’s a form of communication, like
speech, and we all use it differently,” says Martin. We use bonding humor to
enhance our social connections, but we also may employ it as a way of excluding
or rejecting an outsider.
Though humor is essentially social, how you use it says a lot about your
sense of self. Those who use self-defeating humor, making fun of themselves for
the enjoyment of others, tend to maintain that hostility toward themselves even
when alone. Similarly, those who are able to view the world with amused
tolerance are often equally forgiving of their own shortcomings.
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
9. How do people today view humor according to the speaker?
10. What did the ancient Greeks think of humor?
11. What has psychologist Rod Martin found about humor?
Passage Two (female voice)
And now, if you’ll walk this way, ladies and gentlemen, the next room we’re
going to see is the room in which the family used to hold their formal dinner
parties and even occasionally entertain heads of state and royalty. However,
they managed to keep this room friendly and intimate and I think you’ll agree it
has a very informal atmosphere, quite unlike some grand houses you visit. The
curtains were never drawn, even at night, so guests got a view of the lake and
fountains outside, which were lit up at night. A very attractive sight.
As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, the guests were seated very
informally around this oval table, which would add to the relaxed atmosphere.
The table dates from the eighteenth century and is made of Spanish oak. It’s
rather remarkable for the fact that although it is extremely big, it’s supported
by just six rather slim legs. However, it seems to have survived like that for
two hundred years, so it’s probably going to last a bit longer. The chairs which
go with the table are not a complete set—there were originally six of them. They
are interesting for the fact that they are very plain and undecorated for the
time, with only one plain central panel at the back and no arm-rests. I myself
find them rather uncomfortable to sit in for very long, but people were used to
more discomfort in the past.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, if you’d like to follow me into the Great
Hall …
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
12. What do we learn about the speaker?
13. What does the speaker say about the room they are visiting?
14. What is said about the oval table in the room?
15. What does the speaker say about the chairs?
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