2008年12月英语四级听力模拟试题(九)

　　Passage Three
　　There are many reasons why family life in Britain has changed so much in the last fifty years. The liberation of women in the early part of the twentieth century and the social and economic effects of World War II had a great impact on traditional family life. Women became essential to industry and the professions. During the war they had worked in factories and proved their worth; now, with the loss of millions of men, their services were indispensable to the nation.
　　More recently, great advances in scientific knowledge, and particularly in medicine, have had enormous social consequences. Children are better cared for and are far healthier. The infant death rate is low. Above all, parents can now plan the size of their family if they wish through more effective means of birth control.
　　Different attitudes to religion, authority and tradition generally have also greatly contributed to changes in family life. But these developments have affected all aspects of society. It is particularly interesting to note the concept of "the family" as a social unit has survived all these challenges.
　　Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
　　32. What is this passage mainly about?
　　33. Why did British women become indispensable to industry after World War II?
　　34. What remained unchanged in spite of all the challenges to family life?
　　35. What are the reasons listed for the change of family life in Britain?
　　Section C
　　Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.
　　Buying a house is always a problem, as I've found out (36) several times. There was the one which looked all right, but they were going to build a motorway (37) through the back garden. Another one I went to look at was cheap, but it was on the (38) verge of falling down. "Needing some (39) restoration," said the estate agent. An incurably (40) optimistic breed, estate agents.
　　Then, when you are (41) inspecting one of the possibilities on your rapidly shortening list, you have to keep a polite expression on your face as the (42) proud owner tells you how many hundreds of pounds he has spent on the hideous decorations, which you'd tear down at the first (43) opportunity. What about the neighbors? (44) They're always perfect, the most marvelous people you could imagine. But wait till you move in — that's when you find out about the all-night parties twice a week, to which they never invite you, (45)or the not-very-well house trained Alsatian which they let out in the garden every evening to howl at the moon.
　　(46) Even if you can find a place you want to buy, you still have to raise the money for it. Unless you've won the football pools, you can forget about paying cash; it's a mortgage for you, ￡4,000 down and ￡75 a month for the rest of your life, if you can find a building society which will trust you enough to lend you the money. Of course, the house isn't yours; if you can't keep up the repayments, the building society can take it away from you.