2007年12月大学英语四级听力真题-英语听力

[00:00.00]试音 [03:38.03]11. [03:41.60]W: I ran into Sally the other day. [03:45.29]I could hardly recognize her. [03:48.26]Do you remember her from high school? [03:51.89]M: Yeah, she was a little out of shape back then. [03:55.98]Well, has she lost a lot of weight? [03:59.54]Q: What does the man remember of Sally? [04:19.20]12. [04:21.96]W: We don't seem to have a reservation for you, sir. I'm sorry. [04:28.46]M: But my secretary said that she had reserved a room for me here. [04:33.25]I phoned her from the airport this morning just before I got on board the plane. [04:39.03]Q: Where does the conversation most probably take place? [04:59.76]13. [05:02.85]W: What would you do if you were in my place? [05:07.89]M: If Paul were my son, I'd just not worry. [05:12.41]Now that his teacher is giving him extra help and he's working hard himself, [05:17.76]he's sure to do well in the next exam. [05:20.81]Q: What's the man s suggestion to the woman? [05:41.56]14. [05:43.43]M: You've had your hands full and have been overworked during the last two weeks. [05:50.06]I think you really need to go out and get some fresh air and sunshine. [05:55.41]W: You are right. That's just what I' m thinking about. [05:59.89]Q: What is the woman most probably going to do? [06:19.89]15. [06:22.25]W: Hello, John. How are you feeling now? I hear you've been ill. [06:29.29]M: They must have confused me with my twin brother Rods. [06:33.80]He's beensick all week, but I've never felt better in my life. [06:39.03]Q: What do we learn about the man? [06:41.88]16. [07:01.32]M: Did you really give away al1 your furniture when you moved into the new house last month? [07:08.32]W: Just the useless pieces,as I'm planning to purchase a new set from Italy for the sitting room only. [07:17.26]Q: What does the woman mean? [07:37.46]17. [07:38.69]M: I've brought back your 0xford Companion to English Literature. [07:44.14]I thought you might use it for your paper. Sorry not to have returned it earlier. [07:49.94]W: I was wondering where that book was. [07:53.16]Q: What can we infer from the conversation? [08:13.20]18. [08:15.49]W: To tell the truth, Tony, it never occurs to me that you are an athlete. [08:21.79]M: Oh, really? Most people who meet me, including some friends of mine,don't think so either. [08:28.86]Q: What do we learn from the conversation? [08:32.51]Two Long Conversations [08:51.83]Conversation 1 [08:54.87]M: Mary, I hope you're packed and ready to leave. [08:58.57]W: Yes, I'm packed, but not quite ready. I can't find my passport. [09:05.89]M: Your passport? That's the one thing you mustn't leave behind. [09:10.43]W: I know. I haven't lost it. I've packed it, but I can't remember which bag it's in [09:18.45]M: Well, you have to find it at the airport. Come on, the taxi is waiting. [09:24.40]W: Did you say taxi? I thought we were going in your car. [09:29.15]M: Yes, well, I have planned to, but I'll explain later. You've got to be there in an hour. [09:36.52]W: The plane doesn't leave for two hours. Anyway, I'm ready to go now. [09:42.17]M: Now, you're taking just one case, is that right? [09:46.82]W: No, there is one in the hall as well. [09:50.33]M: Gosh, what a lot of stuff! You' re taking enough for a month instead of a week. [09:57.35]W: Well, you can't depend on the weather. It might be cold. [10:01.99]M: It's never cold in Rome. Certainly not in May. Come on, we really must go. [10:09.53]W: Right, we're ready. We've got the bags, I'm sure there's no need to rush. [10:15.25]M: There is. I asked the taxi driver to wait two minutes, not twenty. [10:21.04]W: Look, I'm supposed to be going away to relax. You're making me nervous. [10:27.41]M: Well, I want you to relax on holiday, but you can t relax yet. [10:32.64]W: 0K, I promise not to relax, at least not until we get to the airport and I find my passport. [10:41.39]Questions 19-22 are based on the conversatoin you have just heard. [10:49.08]Q19: What does the woman say about her passport? [11:10.73]Q20: What do we know about the woman's trip? [11:33.36]Q21: Why does the man urge the woman to hurry? [11:54.42]Q22: Where does the conversation most probably take place? [12:19.08]Conversation 2 [12:21.40]W: 0h,I'm fed up with my job. [12:25.30]M: Hey, there's a perfect job for you in the paper today. You might be interested. [12:31.44]W: 0h, what is it? What do they want? [12:35.09]M: Wait a minute. Uh, here it is. The European Space Agency is recruiting translators. [12:44.65]W: The European Space Agency? [12:47.09]M: Well, that's what it says. They need an English translator to work from French or German. [12:54.82]W: So they need a degree in French or German, I suppose. Well, I've got that. [13:01.70]What's more, I have plenty of experience. What else are they asking for? [13:07.70]M: Just that. A university degree and three or four years of experienceas a translator in a professional environment. [13:17.23]They also say the person should have a lively and inquiring mind, effective communication skills, [13:25.44]and the ability to work individually or as a part of the team. [13:30.87]W: Well, if I stay at my present job much longer, I won't have any mind or skills left. [13:37.85]By the way, what about salary? I just hope it isn't lower than what I get now. [13:44.41]M: It's said to be negotiable. It depends on the applicant's education and experience. [13:51.01]In addition to basic salary, there's a list of extra benefits. Have a look yourself. [13:58.18]W: Hm, travel and social security plus relocation expenses are paid.Hey, this isn't bad. [14:08.04]I really want the job. [14:10.98]Questions 23-25 are based on the conversatoin you have just heard. [14:19.10]Q23: Why is the woman trying to find a new job? [14:41.75]Q24: What position is being advertised in the paper? [15:04.87]Q25: What are the key factors that determine the salary of the new position? [15:29.55]Section B [16:05.65]Passage 1 [16:08.97]When couples get married, they usually plan to have children. [16:13.39]Sometimes, however, a couple can not have a child of their own. [16:18.04]In this case, they may decide to adopt a child. [16:22.25]In fact, adoption is very common today. [16:26.43]There are about 60 thousand adopt ions each year in the United States alone. [16:32.31]Some people prefer to adopt infants, [16:36.30]others adopt older children,some couples adopt children from their own countries, [16:43.00]others adopt children from foreign countries. [16:46.71]In any case, they all adopt children for the same reason---- [16:52.10]they care about children and want to give their adopted child a happy life. [16:58.03]Most adopted children know that they are adopted. [17:03.64]Psychologists and child-care experts generally think this is a good idea. [17:10.20]However, many adopted children or adoptees have very little information about their biological parents. [17:19.60]As a matter of fact, it is often very difficult for adoptees to find out about their birth parents [17:27.54]because the birth records of most adoptees are usually sealed. [17:33.28]The information is secret so no one can see it. [17:37.81]Naturally, adopted children have different feelings about their birth parents. [17:44.72]Many adoptees want to search for them, but others do not. [17:49.98]The decision to search for birth parents is a difficult one to make. [17:55.46]Most adoptees have mixed feelings about finding their biological parents. [18:01.37]Even though adoptees do not know about their natural parents, [18:06.61]they do know that their adopted parents want them, love them and will care for them. [18:14.66]Questions 26-29 are based on the passage you have just heard. [18:20.80]26. According to the speaker, why do some couples adopt children? [18:45.66]27. Why is it difficult for adoptees to find out about their birth parents? [19:10.65]28. Why do many adoptees find it hard to make the decision to search for their birth parents? [19:36.52]29. What can we infer from the passage? [19:58.65]Passage 2 [20:00.43]Katherine Gram graduated from University of Chicago in 1938 and gota job as a news reporter in San Francisco. [20:12.76]Katherine's father used to be a successful investment banker. [20:17.95]In 1933, he bought a failing newspaper ,the Washington Post. [20:24.08]Then Katherine returned to Washington and got a job, editing lettersin her father's newspaper. [20:32.12]She married Philip Gram,who took over his father-in-law's position shortly after [20:39.28]and became publisher of the Washington Post. [20:43.04]But for many years, her husband suffered from mental illness and he killed himself in 1963. [20:51.17]After her husband's death,Katherine operated the newspaper. [20:56.66]In the 1970s, the newspaper became famous around the world [21:02.29]and Katherine was also recognized as an important leader in newspaper publishing. [21:09.46]She was the first woman to head a major American publishing company, the Washington Post company. [21:17.78]In a few years,she successfully expanded the company to include newspaper,magazine,broadcast and cable companies. [21:29.65]She died of head injuries after a fall when she was 84. [21:35.40]More than 3 thousand people attended her funeral including many government and business leaders. [21:43.73]Her friends said she would be remembered as a woman [21:46.78]who had an important influence on events in the United States and the world. [21:53.30]Katherine once wrote, [21:55.84]"The world without newspapers would not be the same kind of world." [22:00.87]After her death, the employees of the Washington Post wrote, [22:06.42]"The world without Katherine would not be the same at all. " [22:10.98]Questions 30-32 are based on the passage you have just heard. [22:17.95]30. What do we learn from the passage about Katherine's father? [22:40.11]31. What does the speaker tell us about Katherine Gram? [23:02.74]32. What does the comnent by employees of the Washington Post suggest? [23:27.36]Passage 3 [23:29.30]Obtaining good health insurance is a real necessity while you are studying overseas. [23:37.07]It protects you from minor and major medical expensesthat can wipe out [23:43.56]not only your savings but your dreams of an education abroad. [23:48.57]There are often two different types of health insurance you canconsider buying, [23:55.05]international travel insurance and student insurance in the country where you will be going. [24:02.18]An internat ional travel insurance policy is usually purchased in your home country before you go abroad. [24:11.24]It generally covers a wide variety of medical services [24:16.28]and you are often given a list of doctors in the area [24:20.26]where you will travel who may even speak your native language. [24:24.91]The drawback might be that you may not get your money back immediately, [24:30.00]in other words,you may have to pay all you medical expenses [24:34.88]and then later submit your receipts to the insurance company. [24:39.40]0n the other hand, getting student heath insurance in the country where you will study might allow you [24:47.40]to only pay a certain percentage of the medical cost at the time of service [24:52.27]and thus you don't have to have sufficient cash to pay the entire bill at once. [24:58.32]Whatever you decide,obtaining some form of health insurance [25:04.49]is something you should consider before you go overseas. [25:08.34]You shouldn't wait until you are sick with major medical bills to pay off. [25:14.71]Questions 33-35 are based on the passage you have just heard. [25:22.53]33. Why does the speaker advice overseas students to buy health insurance? [25:47.00]34. What is the drawback of students buying international travel insurance? [26:11.50]35. What does the speaker say about students getting health insurance in the country where they will study? [26:37.36]Section C [27:39.68]More and more of the world s population are living in towns or cities. [27:45.78]The speed at which cities are growing in the less developed countries is alarming. [27:50.82]Between 1920 and 1960, big cities in developed countries increased two and a half times in size, [28:00.29]but in other parts of the world the growth was eight times their size. [28:05.49]The sheer size of growth is bad enough, [28:09.64]but there are now also very disturbing signs of trouble in the comparison of percentages [28:16.10]of people living in towns and percentages of people working in industry. [28:21.43]During the 19th century, cities grew as a result of the growth of industry. [28:28.29]In Europe, the proportion of people living in cities was always smaller [28:34.41]than that of the work force working in factories. [28:37.76]Now, however, the reverse is almost always true in the newly industrialized world. [28:44.87]The percentage of people living in cities is much higher than the percentage working in industry. [28:52.31]Without a base of people working in industry, these cities cannot pay for their growth. [28:59.71]There is not enough money to build adequate houses for the people that live there,let alone the new arrivals. [29:07.42]There has been little opportunity to build water supplies or other facilities. [29:13.22]So the figures for the growth of towns and cities represent proportional growth of unemployment and under employment, [29:22.85]a growth in the number of hopeless and despairing parents and starving children. [29:30.20](read again) [29:33.69]More and more of the world s population are living in towns or cities. [29:39.12]The speed at which cities are growing in the less developed countries is alarming. [29:45.87]Between 1920 and 1960, big cities in developed countries increased two and a half times in size, [29:55.94]but in other parts of the world the growth was eight times their size. [30:01.63]The sheer size of growth is bad enough, [30:05.54]but there are now also very disturbing signs of trouble in the comparison of percentages [30:13.06]of people living in towns and percentages of people working in industry. [30:18.44]During the 19th century, cities grew as a result of the growth of industry. [30:25.70]In Europe, the proportion of people living in cities was always smaller [30:31.10]than that of the work force working in factories. [30:34.94]Now, however, the reverse is almost always true in the newly industrialized world. [30:42.44]The percentage of people living in cities is much higher than the percentage working in industry. [31:54.63]Without a base of people working in industry, these cities cannot pay for their growth. [32:02.18]There is not enough money to build adequate houses for the people that live there,let alone the new arrivals. [33:22.84]There has been little opportunity to build water supplies or other facilities. [33:28.93]So the figures for the growth of towns and cities represent proportional growth of unemployment and under employment, [34:56.55]a growth in the number of hopeless and despairing parents and starving children. [35:05.33](read third time) [35:09.60]More and more of the world s population are living in towns or cities. [35:14.85]The speed at which cities are growing in the less developed countries is alarming. [35:20.44]Between 1920 and 1960, big cities in developed countries increased two and a half times in size, [35:29.65]but in other parts of the world the growth was eight times their size. [35:34.94]The sheer size of growth is bad enough, [35:38.85]but there are now also very disturbing signs of trouble in the comparison of percentages [35:44.74]of people living in towns and percentages of people working in industry. [35:50.48]During the 19th century, cities grew as a result of the growth of industry. [35:57.02]In Europe, the proportion of people living in cities was always smaller [36:02.91]than that of the work force working in factories. [36:06.27]Now, however, the reverse is almost always true in the newly industrialized world. [36:13.72]The percentage of people living in cities is much higher than the percentage working in industry. [36:21.06]Without a base of people working in industry, these cities cannot pay for their growth. [36:28.23]There is not enough money to build adequate houses for the people that live there,let alone the new arrivals. [36:35.66]There has been little opportunity to build water supplies or other facilities. [36:41.68]So the figures for the growth of towns and cities represent proportional growth of unemployment and under employment, [36:51.49]a growth in the number of hopeless and despairing parents and starving children.