2009年6月恒星新东方版英语四级考试听力原文

Passage
Passage 1
Attracting and feeding wild birds are entertaining activities that have long been enjoyed by people all over the world. Feeding birds has become so popular that prepared feed mixtures are readily available. We feed birds for many reasons. Many pleasant hours can come from watching birds. A hobby often develops into a serious study of their habits. Accurate identification of birds is usually the first goal. But observations that an amateur bird-watcher can make are really limitless. There is, however, responsibility associated with bird feeding, including a disease hazard. Attracting numbers of birds continually to the same spot can be harmful to them, particularly species that pick food from the ground contaminated by the droppings of other birds. In winter feeding efforts are most satisfying to people and are of greatest benefit to birds. During this time when fewer natural foods are available and air temperatures are lower, extra feeding can keep a bird warm and well. Once begun, feeding should never stop during these lean months. If you start a local increase of birds, be prepared to do what may be required to eliminate hazards to those you want to befriend. A constant supply of food should be given until the cold is over and spring has come. If feeding is stopped during severe weather, birds used to relying upon the feeders must starve.

Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you've just heard.
Q26 What does the speaker say about bird watching?
Q27 What does the speaker say about birds fed continually on the same spot?
Q28 What does the speaker suggest we do in feeding birds in winter?

Passage 2
My friend Leo makes up weak and poor excuses whenever there is something he doesn't want to do. Just two weeks ago, he was at my house when he decided he didn't want to go into work. He called his boss and said he had to get a new set of tires put on his truck. Then he sat down and watched TV with me. Not only had he lied but his excuse wasn't a very convincing one. Another time, he cancelled a date with his girlfriend at the last minute telling her he had to get a new battery for his truck. She was angry and refused to go out with him again until he apologized. Last weekend, Leo offered the poorest excuse yet. He'd promised he'd help me move some furniture, from my parents' house to my new apartment. He was supposed to bring his truck over about 8 o'clock Saturday morning. I waited,  and then called and left a message on his machine. About 11:30, he called and said he was sorry but he'd been getting a new set of tires put on his truck. I guess he'd forgotten he used the same excuse when he called his boss from my house. I think I need a new set of friends. I'm beginning to get tired of Leo's excuses.

Questions 29 to 31 are based on the passage you've just heard.
Q29 What does the speaker tell us about her friend Leo?
Q30 What did his girlfriend do when Leo canceled a date with her at the last minute?
Q31 What favor did the speaker ask Leo to do last weekend?

Passage 3
In Hollywood, everybody wants to be rich, famous and beautiful. Nobody wants to be old, unknown and poor. For Hollywood kids, life can be difficult because they grow up such an unreal atmosphere. Their parents are ambitious and the children are part of the parents' ambitions. Parents pay for wasteful grand parties, expensive cars and designer clothes. When every dream can come true, kids don't learn the value of anything because they have everything. A thirteen-year-old boy, Trent Maguire, has a driver, credit cards and unlimited cash to do what he wants when he wants to. "One day, I'll earn more than my dad!" he boasts. Parents buy care and attention for their children because they have no time to give it themselves. Amender's mother employs a personal trainer, a bodyguard, a singing coach and a councilor to look after all her fifteen-year-old daughter's needs. Often, there is no parent at home most days, so children decide whether to make their own meals or go out to restaurants, when to watch television or do homework. They organize their social life. They play no childhood games. They become adults before they're ready. Hollywood has always been the city of dreams. The kids there live unreal lives where money, beauty and pleasure are the only gods. Will children around the world soon start to think the same? Or do they already?

Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you've just heard.
Q32 Why is life said to be difficult for Hollywood kids?
Q33 What does the speaker say about Trent Maguire, a thirteen-year-old boy?
Q34 Why does Amender's mother employ other people to look after her needs?
Q35 What will probably have negative effects on the lives of Hollywood kids?

Compound Dictation
Around 120 years ago, Ebbinghaus began his study of memory. He concentrated on studying how quickly the human mind can remember information. One result of his research is known as the total time hypothesis, which simply mean the amount you learn depends on the time you spend trying to learn it. This can be taken as our first rule of learning. Although it is usually true that studying for 4 hours is better than studying for 1, there is still the question of how to use the 4 hours. For example, is it better to study for 4 hours straight or to study for 1 hour a day for 4 days in a row? The answer, as you may have suspected, is that it is better to spread out the study times. This phenomenon through which we can learn more efficiently by dividing our practice time is known as the distribution of practice effect. Thus, our second rule of learning is this. It's better to study fairly briefly but often. But we are not finished yet. We haven't considered how we should study over very short periods of time. Let's say you are trying to learn some new and rather difficult English vocabulary using a stack of cards. Should you look at the same word in rapid succession or look at the word and then have some delay before you look at it again? The answer is it is better to space up the presentations of the word you are to learn.