大学英语六级考试巅峰训练一本通 Test8

[00:00.61]Test 8
[00:02.05]Test8
[00:03.61]Section A
[00:05.51]Directions:
[00:07.18]In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations
[00:10.71]and 2 long conversations.
[00:12.67]At the end of each conversation, one or more questions
[00:15.40]will be asked about what was said.
[00:17.51]Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once.
[00:21.47]After each question there will be a pause.
[00:24.20]During the pause, you must read the four choices marked
[00:26.85]A), B), C) and D), and decide which is the best answer.
[00:32.49]Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2
[00:35.24]with a single line through the centre.
[00:38.11]1. W: Guess what!
[00:40.15]I saw the rock singer in a downtown shopping center today.
[00:43.22]M: You thought it was him but he is supposed to be
[00:45.26]in Washington for his concert tour.
[00:47.95]Q: What does the man imply?
[01:05.64]2. M: Miss, can you give me change for a dollar?
[01:09.24]W: I’m sorry, sir. I’m not allowed to give change without a purchase.
[01:12.55]If you go across the hall,
[01:13.65]you’ll find a change machine in front of the jewelry store.
[01:16.88]Q: Where does the woman suggest that the man get change?
[01:35.62]3. M: Have you ever worked with paints?
[01:38.57]W: I’ve done very little painting at all.
[01:40.42]I’m a chemistry major, but I enjoy drawing and
[01:43.31]the course description says that any student can sign up.
[01:46.51]I assume that means experience in painting isn’t necessary.
[01:50.40]Q: What does the girl student major in?
[02:08.83]4. W: Mr. Johnson, have you heard the morning news report?
[02:13.34]Mill has resigned his post as Prime Minister.
[02:15.71]M: I didn’t turn on the radio this morning, but I did see the headlines.
[02:18.68]If you remember, he threatened to leave the office
[02:20.80]at the last cabinet meeting.
[02:23.08]Q: How did Mr. Johnson learn that the Prime Minister had resigned?
[02:42.64]5. M: I have had a leaky tap for a week, and I just can’t fix it.
[02:47.73]Do you happen to know a good plumber?
[02:49.79]W: Why don’t I take a look at it?
[02:51.28]I’m an old hand at plumbing.
[02:53.32]Q: What conclusion can be drawn from the woman’s statement?
[03:11.94]6. W:I’m very impressed by all the work
[03:15.03]you’ve done on your house,Mr.Miller.
[03:16.67]How long have you been working on it?
[03:18.12]M:I first became interested in doing things myself
[03:20.42]several years ago.
[03:21.91]I have been doing something on it every now and then
[03:25.07]for almost a year now.
[03:27.00]You know I couldn’t afford to pay workmen to do it.
[03:30.42]Q:What do you learn about Mr.Miller?
[03:48.65]7. W:I just made a jar of jam this morning and
[03:51.99]now I can’t find it anywhere.
[03:53.70]Do you know what happened to it?
[03:55.21]M:Do you hear a crash? That was it.
[03:57.25]I am just as clumsy as ever.
[03:59.94]Q:What is the problem?
[04:17.30]8. M:I read in a newspaper that the novel you’re reading is excellent.
[04:22.60]W:I’ve also read some negative reviews.
[04:25.55]Q:What can we learn from the conversation?
[04:43.94]Conversation One
[04:45.90]W: He could probably teach,Mr Harris.
[04:48.27]M: He wouldn’t like that.
[04:49.52]He says he wouldn’t be a teacher if it were the last job on earth.
[04:52.58]Oh,ha,beg your pardon.
[04:54.72]Headmistress, I didn’t mean…
[04:56.29]W: Not at all,Mr Harris.
[04:58.03]I wouldn’t have been a teacher myself if I’d had my way.
[05:01.20]I’d have been an actor if my parents had let me.
[05:03.81]So I have some sym pathy with William’s problems.
[05:06.54]Now,let’s see,if he wants to be an artist,
[05:09.09]he’ll have to decide what sort of artist he wants to be.
[05:11.76]M: I don’t quite follow you,Headmistress.
[05:14.13]W: Well,what I mean is if he wanted to be a commercial
[05:16.93]artist -graphics,cartoons,that sort of thing he might do
[05:20.06]very well if he took an art course at a technical college.
[05:23.40]And besides,the entry qualifications wouldn’t be so stiff.
[05:26.86]On the other hand,if he wants to go to one of the major
[05:29.44]art schools,you’d better not raise his hopes too high.
[05:32.86]There’s a good deal of competition to get accepted.
[05:35.55]And he’d have to have at least three O levels and
[05:37.53]two A’s at good grades before he’d even be considered.
[05:40.99]Oh,and there is another thing,he’d have to do
[05:43.21]a year’s foundation course first,probably at another college.
[05:46.95]He’d get a grant of course,
[05:48.14]provided he’d got the right O’s and A’s.
[05:50.47]M: But art,Headmistress,it’s so chancy,
[05:53.49]though he went to set on it.
[05:55.67]W: I don’t think you should stand in his way.Mr Harris.
[05:58.36]If I were you, I’d let him decide for himself.
[06:01.16]You’d better accept the fact that nowadays young people
[06:03.47]don’t worry about security the way we did
[06:05.69]when we were young.
[06:06.97]M: Well, I must admit my wife and I would have felt
[06:09.33]much happier if he’d chosen to do something else.
[06:12.17]Perhaps it’s still not too late for him to change his mind.
[06:15.10]You know,I could get him a good job with my own firm
[06:17.89]if he had a science degree.
[06:19.38]W: From what I know of him.
[06:20.46]Mr Harris,I don’t think he’s the sort of boy to
[06:22.85]change his mind,not in a hurry,at any rate.
[06:25.90]In any case,I think you ought to let him decide.
[06:29.14]Questions 9 to 12 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
[06:33.10]9.What has William Harris decided to become?
[06:52.23]10.Why didn’t the headmistress become an actress?
[07:10.90]11.According to the Headmistress,
[07:13.63]what happens if one wants to enter a technical college?
[07:32.07]12.Which of the following statements is true about William Harris?
[07:51.40]Conversation Two
[07:53.29]W: What is there about this English language of ours that
[07:55.61]makes it possible for the two of us —having grown up,
[07:58.59]perhaps,4,000 miles apart—to be able to communicate so easily?
[08:02.41]M: Well,we might begin by recognizing that
[08:04.16]a language consists of sounds,words,inflections,
[08:07.31]and the arrangement of words into phrases and sentences.
[08:10.51]W: For example,the past of the verb “eat.”
[08:13.20]The past tense is spelled in both forms of English “a—t—e”.
[08:16.95]But I pronounce this as 〔εt〕to rhyme with“get”as do most
[08:20.29]of us in Britain,and I think that we would tend to regard the
[08:23.38]American pronunciation as a relatively uneducated one.
[08:26.58]M:Actually to us,〔εt〕seems countrified,even uneducated.
[08:30.00]We could supply other examples here,but I think we should
[08:33.13]go on to the order of words in phrases and sentences.
[08:36.91]After all,it is through word order,
[08:38.84]rather than inflectional forms,
[08:40.98]that so much of our grammatical meaning is conveyed.
[08:43.64]W: Yes,and I suppose this is one of the reasons
[08:45.73]why we have so little difficulty in understanding each other.
[08:49.50]It’s hard to think of any place that you and
[08:51.17]I would have arranged the principal sentence elements
[08:53.44]in a different way.
[08:54.61]M:You are right,of course.
[08:55.55]For example,the entire English-speaking world
[08:57.91]puts the subject before the verb and the object
[09:00.84]after it in making a sentence.
[09:02.94]W: None of these grammatical differences add up
[09:04.87]to very much,do they?
[09:06.59]Let’s talk briefly now about pronunciation.
[09:09.14]Take the difference that is probably best known:
[09:11.81]the sounding or not sounding of 〔ｒ〕
[09:13.95]after vowels in words like “bird” and “hurt”.
[09:17.12]It’s not just a matter of saying that Americans sound
[09:19.52]the 〔ｒ〕s and the Britishers don’t.
[09:22.17]After all,as you know,in Scotland,Lancashire,Ireland,
[09:25.23]and the whole of the western counties of England really,
[09:28.03]the 〔ｒ〕s are pronounced more or less as they are with you.
[09:30.76]M: Yes,and in the States,on the other hand,you will find
[09:33.01]a rather large area in New England,almost all of the area
[09:36.72]around New York City,and various parts of the coastal
[09:39.10]south,where the Americans don’t sound the 〔ｒ〕s.
[09:42.03]And it’s equally difficult to generalize about the differences
[09:44.63]in pronunciation of words like “dance”,
[09:47.18]which I pronounce with the vowel in cap〔〕 and
[09:50.58]you pronounce with the vowel in “father”〔ａ：〕.
[09:53.67]In the United States we vary a good deal;for example,
[09:57.67]eastern New England has the 〔ａ〕type of pronunciation.
[10:01.60]W: As you know,we don’t have 〔ａ：〕 at all widely either.
[10:04.64]It occurs among educated speakers and in the South and
[10:07.47]in London,but in the northern counties of England people
[10:10.56]have a pronunciation similar to yours.
[10:13.22]So I think we should insist on people not exaggerating
[10:15.80]the differences between British and American English.
[10:18.82]Questions 13 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
[10:23.44]13.According to the speakers, what have diverged
[10:27.83]very much in British and American English?
[10:45.33]14.What can we learn about the past tense of the verb “eat”?
[11:04.51]15.In which place do we usually don’t hear the sounding
[11:08.21]or 〔ｒ〕 after vowels like “bird”?
[11:25.54]Section B
[11:27.16]Directions:
[11:28.80]In this section, you will hear 3 short passages.
[11:31.74]At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions.
[11:35.31]Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once.
[11:38.76]After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer
[11:41.85]from the four choices marked A) , B) , C) , and D) .
[11:45.74]Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2
[11:48.51]with a single line through the centre.
[11:50.93]Passage One
[11:52.60]Stress is a very normal part of life.
[11:55.00]Most people feel stress at some time in their lives.
[11:57.80]It doesn’t come from an event itself, that is,
[12:01.05]from the things that are happening in our lives.
[12:03.41]It comes from the meaning we give to what has happened.
[12:06.50]We can experience stress any time we feel we don’t have control.
[12:10.50]It can come from a feeling that we can’t do anything about a situation.
[12:14.76]Basically, it is the body’s way of showing anxiety or worry.
[12:18.54]Stress is not just caused by our mental or emotional
[12:21.04]condition, it is also influenced by how tired we are, whether
[12:25.10]we have a balanced diet with enough vitamins andminerals,
[12:28.77]whether we get enough physical exercises,
[12:31.03]and whether we can relax.
[12:32.98]If we feel stressed, there are several things that we can do.
[12:37.08]First, we need to learn how to relax and breathe slowly and smoothly.
[12:41.59]We can also take some time out of our busy schedule
[12:44.43]to notice the small things in life.
[12:46.54]Smell the air, look at the flowers and notice the beautiful
[12:49.48]designs in the leaves on a tree-these activities can do much
[12:53.30]to quiet us and to give ourselves a small break.
[12:56.87]We need to take care of our bodies.
[12:59.01]Being tired makes it easier for us to get sick and to
[13:01.81]develop physical problems related to stress.
[13:04.98]We need to get enough rest, eat well,
[13:07.12]and do some regular exercise.
[13:09.12]Finally, we need to find what is causing the stress in our lives.
[13:12.82]Once we have found it,
[13:14.13]we need to begin to change that part of our lives.
[13:17.47]If we believe that we can control stress,
[13:19.91]we can begin to control our lives.
[13:22.69]Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.
[13:26.87]16.Which of the following causes stress according the speaker?
[13:46.17]17.When can we experience stress?
[14:04.49]18.What can help us get rid of stress?
[14:23.02]Passage Two
[14:24.84]Every day at least 10,000 persons in the world die of
[14:27.71]starvation, according to the World Health Organization.
[14:31.74]One third to one half of the earth’s population is under
[14:34.76]nourished even though more than the necessary food
[14:37.71]for everyone on earth is available.
[14:40.51]Many nutrition experts say that one of the reasons
[14:42.80]people starve is that they are willing to eat only
[14:45.24]the kind of foods they are used to.
[14:47.16]For example, enough rice to feed 1,000 Chinese would
[14:50.28]be left to spoil among Eskimos, who don’t eat rice.
[14:55.11]A store house full of bacon that would be food in many
[14:57.81]places around the world would mean nothing to millions of
[15:00.90]East Indians, who won’t eat pork for religious reasons.
[15:04.76]Another group of East Indians, called Hindus,
[15:07.77]won’t eat beef because their religion forbids it.
[15:10.39]Instead of being butchered, cows are allowed to roam free
[15:13.48]in the streets of Indian cities.
[15:15.35]Thousands of scientists in all parts of the world are working
[15:17.86]to change soybeans and fish meal into food that people of
[15:21.57]different nationalities will eat.
[15:23.38]Both soybeans and fish meal are high in protein and
[15:26.80]are available in large quantities.
[15:28.73]These scientists feel that human eating habits are often
[15:31.17]at the bottom of the world wide food problem.
[15:34.51]Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
[15:38.75]19.What is the main idea of this passage?
[15:56.86]20.Why won’t Eastern Indians eat beef according to the passage?
[16:16.42]21.What do these scientists feel about human eating habits?
[16:35.78]Passage Three
[16:37.63]Good morning students.
[16:38.75]I hope you have been able to visit the museum of
[16:40.71]social history to see the exhibition,
[16:43.08]presented by the Food Industry, that is currently showing.
[16:45.91]Today’s lecture deals with the history of chocolate.
[16:49.00]Our knowledge of the origin of chocolate is rather vague
[16:51.61]but we are aware that the Mayans and Aztecs of
[16:53.79]South America made a drink from the beans of
[16:56.08]the cocoa tree and called it chocolate.
[16:58.52]Then in 1528 this was taken home
[17:00.88]by the conquering Spanish who named it chocolate.
[17:03.93]This was the first experience the Europeans had of
[17:06.40]chocolate but by the late 1600’s it had spread to
[17:09.79]most countries in Europe.
[17:12.00]In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,
[17:14.44]drinking chocolate became a well established activity
[17:17.88]but it wasn’t until 1847 that Fry and
[17:20.53]Sons in England introduced “eating chocolate”.
[17:23.84]This remained much of a novelty until Daniel Peter,
[17:26.90]the famous Swiss chocolatier, was inspired to try to improve
[17:29.91]the smoothness and taste of the new confection.
[17:32.97]Peter’s idea was to combine some other ingredient
[17:35.74]with chocolate to balance its rough flavor.
[17:38.21]His early experiments with cheese were
[17:40.10]notoriously unsuccessful and a number of
[17:42.69]other ill fated mixtures followed.
[17:45.16]Finally, in 1874 Peter stumbled on the perfect answer: milk.
[17:50.29]Nowadays milk chocolate is made of at least ten percent
[17:52.98]chocolate mass (“raw” chocolate pressed from cocoa nibs)
[17:56.69]and twelve percent milk solids combined with sugar,
[17:59.67]cocoa butter (the fat from the nibs) and vanilla.
[18:02.84]It is also the type of chocolate most often chosen
[18:06.00]by children because it is less “bitter” than the dark varieties.
[18:12.07]Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
[18:16.44]22.Where does this lecture take place?
[18:34.58]23.Which part of the world did chocolate originally come from?
[18:53.70]24.When was chocolate first known throughout most of Europe? 
[19:12.60]25.What did Daniel Peter try to improve in chocolate?
[19:31.76]Section C
[19:33.72]Directions:
[19:35.29]In this section,you will hear a passage three times.
[19:38.44]When the passage is read for the first time,
[19:40.44]you should listen carefully for its general idea.
[19:43.56]When the passage is read for the second time,
[19:45.64]you are required to fill in the blanks
[19:47.53]numbered from 26 to 33 with the exact words you have just heard.
[19:52.71]For blanks numbered from 34 to 36
[19:55.69]you are required to fill in the missing information.
[19:58.64]For these blanks, you can either use the exact words
[20:01.14]you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words.
[20:05.11]Finally,when the passage is read for the third time,
[20:08.27]you should check what you have written.
[20:10.71]It had been a long night.
[20:12.19]The sun’s rays were just peeping over the horizon as Ted
[20:15.53]made his way down the stairs to the kitchen and
[20:18.04]put the coffee pot on the stove.
[20:20.30]He had spent all night studying in preparation
[20:22.44]for the all important final examination.
[20:25.35]His eyes were tired; his head ached slightly,
[20:28.04]and his body needed sleep!
[20:29.79]But he knew that he had to keep going until the exam was over.
[20:33.68]Then, he could relax.
[20:35.37]He was looking forward to a few days of rest and relaxation
[20:38.50]with friends at the beach.
[20:41.34]His final exam was going to lead the way to a new job.
[20:44.79]At least that’s what he had been promised and what he hoped.
[20:48.35]It would mean a definite step upward in
[20:50.57]his professional career and a bigger salary.
[20:53.52]His hopes were pinned on his ability to remember much of
[20:56.90]what he had been learning for the past twelve weeks
[20:59.37]in the special course given by the company.
[21:01.70]He felt confident although weary.
[21:03.63]The coffee pot began to perk and the aroma of
[21:06.14]brewed coffee filled the air.
[21:08.07]His nostrils appreciated the smell.
[21:10.50]He took a cup and saucer out of the cupboard and
[21:13.01]waited for the coffee to finish perking.
[21:15.92]He suddenly looked bright and promising.
[21:18.39]He began to hum a happy tune under his breath
[21:21.27]as he poured coffee into the cup.

[21:25.96]It had been a long night.
[21:27.16]The sun’s rays were just peeping over the horizon as Ted
[21:30.51]made his way down the stairs to the kitchen and
[21:34.61]put the coffee pot on the stove.
[21:37.34]He had spent all night studying in preparation
[21:39.31]for the all important final examination.
[21:42.73]His eyes were tired; his head ached slightly,
[21:46.36]and his body needed sleep!
[21:48.14]But he knew that he had to keep going until the exam was over.
[21:52.00]Then, he could relax.
[21:53.67]He was looking forward to a few days of rest and relaxation
[21:56.76]with friends at the beach.
[21:59.64]His final exam was going to lead the way to a new job.
[22:03.04]At least that’s what he had been promised and what he hoped.
[22:06.79]It would mean a definite step upward in
[22:08.71]his professional career and a bigger salary.
[22:12.79]His hopes were pinned on his ability to remember much of
[22:16.13]what he had been learning for the past twelve weeks
[22:18.53]in the special course given by the company.
[23:10.45]He felt confident although weary.
[23:12.34]The coffee pot began to perk and the aroma of
[23:14.76]brewed coffee filled the air.
[23:16.80]His nostrils appreciated the smell.
[24:08.82]He took a cup and saucer out of the cupboard and
[24:11.35]waited for the coffee to finish perking.
[24:14.34]He suddenly looked bright and promising.
[24:16.70]He began to hum a happy tune under his breath
[24:19.58]as he poured coffee into the cup.

[25:15.68]It had been a long night.
[25:16.87]The sun’s rays were just peeping over the horizon as Ted
[25:20.07]made his way down the stairs to the kitchen and
[25:22.73]put the coffee pot on the stove.
[25:25.06]He had spent all night studying in preparation
[25:27.06]for the all important final examination.
[25:30.04]His eyes were tired; his head ached slightly,
[25:32.69]and his body needed sleep!
[25:34.47]But he knew that he had to keep going until the exam was over.
[25:38.35]Then, he could relax.
[25:40.02]He was looking forward to a few days of rest and relaxation
[25:43.10]with friends at the beach.
[25:46.01]His final exam was going to lead the way to a new job.
[25:49.49]At least that’s what he had been promised and what he hoped.
[25:53.16]It would mean a definite step upward in
[25:55.20]his professional career and a bigger salary.
[25:58.14]His hopes were pinned on his ability to remember much of
[26:01.59]what he had been learning for the past twelve weeks
[26:04.04]in the special course given by the company.
[26:06.44]He felt confident although weary.
[26:08.29]The coffee pot began to perk and the aroma of
[26:10.91]brewed coffee filled the air.
[26:12.76]His nostrils appreciated the smell.
[26:15.19]He took a cup and saucer out of the cupboard and
[26:17.70]waited for the coffee to finish perking.
[26:20.61]He suddenly looked bright and promising.
[26:23.11]He began to hum a happy tune under his breath
[26:25.95]as he poured coffee into the cup.