Part II                    Listening Comprehension                          (30 minutes)

 

Section A

Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause.

During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A), B), C) and D), and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.

 

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡 1 上作答。

 

1.    A) The man happened to see Anna fall on her back.

B) The serious accident may leave Anna paralyzed.

C) The doctor’s therapy has been very successful.

D) The injury will confine Anna to bed for quite a while.

 

2.    A) Give his contribution some time later.

B) Borrow some money from the woman.

C) Buy an expensive gift for Gemma.

D) Take up a collection next week.

 

3.    A) Add more fruits and vegetables to her diet.

B) Ask Tony to convey thanks to his mother.

C) Tell Tony’s mother that she eats no meat.

D) Decline the invitation as early as possible.

 

4.    A) She phoned Fred about the book.

B) She was late for the appointment.

C) She ran into Fred on her way here.

D) She often keeps other people waiting.

 

5.    A) Simply raise the issue in their presentation.

B) Find more relevant information for their work.

C) Put more effort into preparing for the presentation.

D) Just make use of whatever information is available.

 

6.    A) He needs a vehicle to be used in harsh weather.

B) He has a fairly large collection of quality trucks.

C) He has had his truck adapted for cold temperatures.

D) He does routine truck maintenance for the woman.

 

7.    A) Visit a different store for a silk or cotton shirt.

B) Get a discount on the shirt she is going to buy.

C) Look for a shirt of a more suitable color and size.

D) Replace the shirt with one of some other material.

 

8.    A) Not many people have read his article.

B) He regrets having published the article.

C) Most readers do not share his viewpoints.

D) The woman is only trying to console him.

 

Questions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

 

9.    A) To test how responsive dolphins are to various signals.

B) To examine how long it takes dolphins to acquire a skill.

C) To see if dolphins can learn to communicate with each other.

D) To find out if the female dolphin is cleverer than the male one.

 

10. A) Press the right-hand lever first.                    C) Raise their heads above the water.

B) Produce the appropriate sound.                  D) Swim straight into the same tank.

 

11. A) Both dolphins were put in the same tank.

B) The male dolphin received more rewards.

C) The lever was beyond the dolphins’ reach.

D) Only one dolphin was able to see the light.

 

Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

 

12. A) Good or bad, they are there to stay.

B) Believe it or not, they have survived.

C) Like it or not, you have to use them.

D) Gain or lose, they should be modernised.

 

13. A) The frequent train delays.                            C) The food sold on the trains.

B) The monopoly of British Railways.              D) The high train ticket fares.

 

14. A) Competition from other modes of transport.

B) The low efficiency of their operation.

C) Constant complaints from passengers.

D) The passing of the new transport act.

 

15. A) They will be de-nationalised.                       C) They are fast disappearing.

B) They lose a lot of money.                            D) They provide worse service.

 

Section B

Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short 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 1 with a single line through the centre.

 

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡 1 上作答。

 

Passage One

Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.

 

16. A) Iced coffees sold by some popular chains are contaminated.

B) Some iced coffees have as many calories as a hot dinner.

C) Some brand-name coffees contain harmful substances.

D) Drinking coffee after a meal is more likely to cause obesity.

 

17. A) Have some fresh fruit.                                 C) Exercise at the gym.

B) Take a hot shower.                                     D) Eat a hot dinner.

 

18. A) They could enjoy a happier family life.

B) They could greatly improve their work efficiency.

C) Many embarrassing situations could be avoided.

D) Many cancer cases could be prevented.

 

Passage Two

Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.

 

19. A) It has attracted worldwide attention.

B) It will change the concept of food.

C) It can help solve global food crises.

D) It will become popular gradually.

 

20. A) It comes regularly from its donors.

B) It has been drastically cut by NASA.

C) It has been increased over the years.

D) It is still far from being sufficient.

 

21. A) They are less healthy than we expected.

B) They are not as natural as we believed.

C) They are not as expensive as before.

D) They are more nutritious and delicious.

 

Passage Three

Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.

 

22. A) Writing articles on family violence.

B) Hunting news for the daily headlines.

C) Reporting criminal offenses in Greenville.

D) Covering major events of the day in the city.

 

23. A) It has fewer violent crimes than big cities.

B) It is a much safer place than it used to be.

C) Assaults often happen on school campuses.

D) Rapes rarely occur in the downtown areas.

 

24. A) They are very destructive.

B) There are a wide range of cases.

C) There has been a rise in such crimes.

D) They have aroused fear among the residents.

 

25. A) Offer help to crime victims.

B) Work as a newspaper editor.

C) Write about something pleasant.

D) Do some research on local politics.

 

Section C

Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage isread 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 with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡 1 上作答。

George Herbert Mead said that humans are talked into humanity. He meant that we gain personal identity as we communicate with others. In the earliest years of our lives, our parents tell us who we are. “You’re       26   .” “You’re so strong.” We first see ourselves through the eyes of others, so their messages form important   27   of our self-concepts. Later we interact with teachers, friends,      28   partners, and co-workers who communicate their views of us. Thus, how we see ourselves reflects the views of us that others communicate.

The 29   connection between identity and communication is dramatically evident in children who    30   human contact. Case studies of children who were isolated from others reveal that they lack a firm self-concept, and their mental and psychological development is severely hindered by lack of language.

Communication with others not only affects our sense of identity but also directly influences our physical and emotional     31       . Consistently, research shows that communicating with others promotes health, whereas social isolation      32   stress, disease, and early death. People who lack close friends have greater levels of anxiety and depression than people who are close to others. A group of researchers reviewed 33      studies that traced the relationship between health and interaction with others.

The conclusion was that social isolation is 34   as dangerous as high blood pressure, smoking and obesity. Many doctors and researchers believe that loneliness harms the immune system, making us more    35   to a range of minor and major illnesses.

Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)

Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to
select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank
following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making
your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please
mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with
a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the
bank more than once.

Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.

To understand why we should be concerned about how young people read, it
helps to know something about the way the ability to read evolved. Unlike the ability
to understand and produce spoken language, the ability to read must be painstakingly
36 by each individual. The “reading circuits” we construct in the brain can be
37 or they can be robust, depending on how often and how  38  we use them.
The deep reader enters a state of hypnotic trance (心醉神迷的状态). When
readers are enjoying the experience the most, the pace of their reading  39  slows.
The combination of fast, fluent decoding of words and slow, unhurried progress on
the page gives deep readers time to enrich their reading with reflection and analysis. It
gives them time to establish an 40 relationship with the author, the two of them
41 in a long and warm conversation like people falling in love.
This is not reading as many young people know it. Their reading is instrumental:
the difference between what literary critic Frank Kermode calls “carnal (肉体的)
reading” and “spiritual reading.” If we allow our offspring to believe carnal reading is
all there is — if we don’t open the door to spiritual reading, through an early 42
on discipline and practice — we will have 43 them of an enjoyable experience
they would not otherwise encounter. Observing young people’s 44 to digital

 
devices, some progressive educators talk about “meeting kids where they are,”
molding instruction around their onscreen habits. This is mistaken. We need,
45 , to show them someplace they’ve never been, a place only deep reading can
take them.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡 2 上作答。
 

 
A) acquired  I) intimate
B) actually J) notwithstanding
C) attachment K) petition
D) cheated L) rather
E) engaged M) scarcely
F) feeble N) swayed
G) illicit O) vigorously
H) insistence

Section B
Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements
attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the
paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is
derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph
is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the
corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.

Into the Unknown

The world has never seen population ageing before. Can it cope?

[A] Until the early 1990s nobody much thought about whole populations getting older.
The UN had the foresight to convene a “world assembly on ageing” back in 1982,
but that came and went. By 1994 the World Bank had noticed that something big
was happening. In a report entitled “Averting the Old Age Crisis”, it argued that
pension arrangements in most countries were unsustainable.

[B] For the next ten years a succession of books, mainly by Americans, sounded the
alarm. They had titles like Young vs Old, Gray Dawn and The Coming
Generational Storm, and their message was blunt: health-care systems were
heading for the rocks, pensioners were taking young people to the cleaners, and
soon there would be intergenerational warfare.

[C] Since then the debate has become less emotional, not least because a lot more is
known about the subject. Books, conferences and research papers have multiplied.
International organisations such as the OECD and the EU issue regular reports.
Population ageing is on every agenda, from G8 economic conferences to NATO
summits. The World Economic Forum plans to consider the future of pensions
and health care at its prestigious Davos conference early next year. The media,
including this newspaper, are giving the subject extensive coverage.
 
[D] Whether all that attention has translated into sufficient action is another question.
Governments in rich countries now accept that their pension and health-care
promises will soon become unaffordable, and many of them have embarked on
reforms, but so far only timidly. That is not surprising: politicians with an eye on
the next election will hardly rush to introduce unpopular measures that may not
bear fruit for years, perhaps decades.
[E] The outline of the changes needed is clear. To avoid fiscal (财政的) meltdown,
public pensions and health-care provision will have to be reined back severely and
taxes may have to go up. By far the most effective method to restrain pension
spending is to give people the opportunity to work longer, because it increases tax
revenues and reduces spending on pensions at the same time. It may even keep
them alive longer. John Rother, the AARP’s head of policy and strategy, points to
studies showing that other things being equal, people who remain at work have
lower death rates than their retired peers.

[F] Younger people today mostly accept that they will have to work for longer and
that their pensions will be less generous. Employers still need to be persuaded that
older workers are worth holding on to. That may be because they have had plenty
of younger ones to choose from, partly thanks to the post-war baby-boom and
partly because over the past few decades many more women have entered the
labour force, increasing employers’ choice. But the reservoir of women able and
willing to take up paid work is running low, and the baby-boomers are going grey.

[G] In many countries immigrants have been filling such gaps in the labour force as
have already emerged (and remember that the real shortage is still around ten
years off). Immigration in the developed world is the highest it has ever been, and
it is making a useful difference. In still-fertile America it currently accounts for
about 40% of total population growth, and in fast-ageing western Europe for
about 90%.
[H] On the face of it, it seems the perfect solution. Many developing countries have
lots of young people in need of jobs; many rich countries need helping hands that
will boost tax revenues and keep up economic growth. But over the next few
decades labour forces in rich countries are set to shrink so much that inflows of
immigrants would have to increase enormously to compensate: to at least twice
their current size in western Europe’s most youthful countries, and three times in
the older ones. Japan would need a large multiple of the few immigrants it has at
present. Public opinion polls show that people in most rich countries already think
that immigration is too high. Further big increases would be politically unfeasible.

[I] To tackle the problem of ageing populations at its root, “old” countries would
have to rejuvenate (使年轻) themselves by having more of their own children. A
number of them have tried, some more successfully than others. But it is not a
simple matter of offering financial incentives or providing more child care.
Modern urban life in rich countries is not well adapted to large families. Women
find it hard to combine family and career. They often compromise by having just
one child.
[J] And if fertility in ageing countries does not pick up? It will not be the end of the
world, at least not for quite a while yet, but the world will slowly become a
different place. Older societies may be less innovative and more strongly
disinclined to take risks than younger ones. By 2025 at the latest, about half the
voters in America and most of those in western European countries will be over
50—and older people turn out to vote in much greater numbers than younger ones.
Academic studies have found no evidence so far that older voters have used their
power at the ballot box to push for policies that specifically benefit them, though
if in future there are many more of them they might start doing so.

[K] Nor is there any sign of the intergenerational warfare predicted in the 1990s. After
all, older people themselves mostly have families. In a recent study of parents and
grown-up children in 11 European countries, Karsten Hank of Mannheim
University found that 85% of them lived within 25km of each other and the
majority of them were in touch at least once a week.

[L] Even so, the shift in the centre of gravity to older age groups is bound to have a
profound effect on societies, not just economically and politically but in all sorts
of other ways too. Richard Jackson and Neil Howe of America’s CSIS, in a
thoughtful book called The Graying of the Great Powers, argue that, among other
things, the ageing of the developed countries will have a number of serious
security implications.

[M] For example, the shortage of young adults is likely to make countries more
reluctant to commit the few they have to military service. In the decades to 2050,
America will find itself playing an ever-increasing role in the developed world’s
defence effort. Because America’s population will still be growing when that of
most other developed countries is shrinking, America will be the only developed
country that still matters geopolitically (地缘政治上).

Ask me in 2020
[N] There is little that can be done to stop population ageing, so the world will have to
live with it. But some of the consequences can be alleviated. Many experts now
believe that given the right policies, the effects, though grave, need not be
catastrophic. Most countries have recognised the need to do something and are
beginning to act.

[O] But even then there is no guarantee that their efforts will work. What is happening
now is historically unprecedented. Ronald Lee, director of the Centre on the
Economics and Demography of Ageing at the University of California, Berkeley,
puts it briefly and clearly: “We don’t really know what population ageing will be
like, because nobody has done it yet.”

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡 2 上作答。

46. Employers should realise it is important to keep older workers in the workforce.
47. A recent study found that most old people in some European countries had
regular weekly contact with their adult children.

48. Few governments in rich countries have launched bold reforms to tackle the
problem of population ageing.

49. In a report published some 20 years ago, the sustainability of old-age pension
systems in most countries was called into doubt.

50. Countries that have a shortage of young adults will be less willing to send them to
war.

51. One-child families are more common in ageing societies due to the stress of
urban life and the difficulties of balancing family and career.

52. A series of books, mostly authored by Americans, warned of conflicts between
the older and younger generations.

53. Compared with younger ones, older societies tend to be less innovative and take
fewer risks.

54. The best solution to the pension crisis is to postpone the retirement age.

55. Immigration as a means to boost the shrinking labour force may meet with
resistance in some rich countries.

Section C
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some
questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four
choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice
and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single
line through the centre.

Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.

For most of the 20th century, Asia asked itself what it could learn from the
modern, innovating West. Now the question must be reversed: what can the West’s
overly indebted and sluggish (经济滞长的) nations learn from a flourishing Asia?
Just a few decades ago, Asia’s two giants were stagnating (停滞不前) under
faulty economic ideologies. However, once China began embracing free-market
reforms in the 1980s, followed by India in the 1990s, both countries achieved rapid
growth. Crucially, as they opened up their markets, they balanced market economy
with sensible government direction. As the Indian economist Amartya Sen has wisely
said, “The invisible hand of the market has often relied heavily on the visible hand of
government.”
Contrast this middle path with America and Europe, which have each gone
ideologically overboard in their own ways. Since the 1980s, America has been
increasingly clinging to the ideology of uncontrolled free markets and dismissing the
role of government—following Ronald Reagan’s idea that “government is not the
solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Of course, when the markets
came crashing down in 2007, it was decisive government intervention that saved the
day. Despite this fact, many Americans are still strongly opposed to “big
government.”
If Americans could only free themselves from their antigovernment doctrine,
they would begin to see that America’s problems are not insoluble. A few sensible
federal measures could put the country back on the right path. A simple consumption
tax of, say, 5% would significantly reduce the country’s huge government deficit
without damaging productivity. A small gasoline tax would help free America from
its dependence on oil imports and create incentives for green energy development. In
the same way, a significant reduction of wasteful agricultural subsidies could also
lower the deficit. But in order to take advantage of these common-sense solutions,
Americans will have to put aside their own attachment to the idea of smaller
government and less regulation. American politicians will have to develop the
courage to follow what is taught in all American public-policy schools: that there are
good taxes and bad taxes. Asian countries have embraced this wisdom, and have built
sound long-term fiscal (财政的) policies as a result.
Meanwhile, Europe has fallen prey to a different ideological trap: the belief that
European governments would always have infinite resources and could continue
borrowing as if there were no tomorrow. Unlike the Americans, who felt that the
markets knew best, the Europeans failed to anticipate how the markets would react to
their endless borrowing. Today, the European Union is creating a $580 billion fund to
ward off sovereign collapse. This will buy the EU time, but it will not solve the bloc’s
larger problem.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡 2 上作答。

56. What has contributed to the rapid economic growth in China and India?
A) Free market plus government intervention.
B) Heavy reliance on the hand of government.
C) Copying western-style economic behavior.
D) Timely reform of government at all levels.

57. What does Ronald Reagan mean by saying “government is the problem” (Line 5,
Para. 3)?
A) Government action is key to solving economic problems.
B) Many social problems arise from government inefficiency.
C) Many social ills are caused by wrong government policies.
D) Government regulation hinders economic development.
58. What stopped the American economy from collapsing in 2007?
A) Cooperation between the government and businesses.
B) Self-regulatory repair mechanisms of the free market.
C) Effective measures adopted by the government.
D) Abandonment of big government by the public.

59. What is the author’s suggestion to the American public in face of the government
deficit?
A) They give up the idea of smaller government and less regulation.
B) They put up with the inevitable sharp increase of different taxes.
C) They urge the government to revise its existing public policies.
D) They develop green energy to avoid dependence on oil import.

60. What is the problem with the European Union?
A) Conservative ideology. C) Lack of resources.
B) Excessive borrowing. D) Shrinking market.

Passage Two
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.

Picture a typical MBA lecture theatre twenty years ago. In it the majority of
students will have conformed to the standard model of the time: male, middle class
and Western. Walk into a class today, however, and you’ll get a completely different
impression. For a start, you will now see plenty more women—the University of
Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, for example, boasts that 40% of its new enrolment is
female. You will also see a wide range of ethnic groups and nationals of practically
every country.
It might be tempting, therefore, to think that the old barriers have been broken
down and equal opportunity achieved. But, increasingly, this apparent diversity is
becoming a mask for a new type of conformity. Behind the differences in sex, skin
tones and mother tongues, there are common attitudes, expectations and ambitions
which risk creating a set of clones among the business leaders of the future.
Diversity, it seems, has not helped to address fundamental weaknesses in
business leadership. So what can be done to create more effective managers of the
commercial world? According to Valerie Gauthier, associate dean at HEC Paris, the
key lies in the process by which MBA programmes recruit their students. At the
moment candidates are selected on a fairly narrow set of criteria such as prior
academic and career performance, and analytical and problem solving abilities. This
is then coupled to a school’s picture of what a diverse class should look like, with the
result that passport, ethnic origin and sex can all become influencing factors. But
schools rarely dig down to find out what really makes an applicant succeed, to create
a class which also contains diversity of attitude and approach—arguably the only
diversity that, in a business context, really matters.
Professor Gauthier believes schools should not just be selecting candidates from
traditional sectors such as banking, consultancy and industry. They should also be
seeking individuals who have backgrounds in areas such as political science, the
creative arts, history or philosophy, which will allow them to put business decisions
into a wider context.
Indeed, there does seem to be a demand for the more rounded leaders such
diversity might create. A study by Mannaz, a leadership development company,
suggests that, while the bully-boy chief executive of old may not have been
eradicated completely, there is a definite shift in emphasis towards less tough styles
of management—at least in America and Europe. Perhaps most significant, according
to Mannaz, is the increasing interest large companies have in more collaborative
management models, such as those prevalent in Scandinavia, which seek to integrate
the hard and soft aspects of leadership and encourage delegated responsibility and
accountability.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡 2 上作答。

61. What characterises the business school student population of today?
A) Greater diversity. C) Exceptional diligence.
B) Intellectual maturity. D) Higher ambition.

62. What is the author’s concern about current business school education?
A) It will arouse students’ unrealistic expectations.
B) It stresses competition rather than cooperation.
C) It focuses on theory rather than on practical skills.
D) It will produce business leaders of a uniform style.

63. What aspect of diversity does Valerie Gauthier think is most important?
A) Attitude and approach to business.
B) Social and professional experience.
C) Age and educational background.
D) Ethnic origin and gender.

64. What applicants does the author think MBA programmes should consider recruiting?
A) Applicants with prior experience in corporate activities.
B) Applicants with sound knowledge in math and statistics.
C) Applicants from less developed regions and areas.
D) Applicants from outside the traditional sectors.

65. What does Mannaz say about the current management style?
A) It is eradicating the tough aspects of management.
B) It is shifting towards more collaborative models.
C) It adopts the bully-boy chief executive model.
D) It encourages male and female executives to work side by side.

Part IV                                    Translation              (30 minutes)

 

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.

 

中国新年是中国最重要的传统节日，在中国也被称为春节。新年的庆祝活动从除夕开始一直延续到元宵节（the Lantern Festival），即从农历（lunar calendar）

最后一个月的最后一天至新年第一个月的第十五天。各地欢度春节的习俗和传统有很大差异，但通常每个家庭都会在除夕夜团聚，一起吃年夜饭。为驱厄运、迎好运，家家户户都会进行大扫除。人们还会在门上粘贴红色的对联（couplets），对联的主题为健康、发财和好运。其他的活动还有放鞭炮、发红包和探亲访友等。

 

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡 2 上作答。

Tape Script of Listening Comprehension

Section A
Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long
conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will
be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions
will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause.
During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A), B), C) and
D), and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding
letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.

1. W: Did you hear that Anna needs to stay in bed for four weeks?
M: Yeah. She injured her spine in a fall. And the doctor told her to lie flat on her back
for a month, so it can mend.
Q: What can we learn from the conversation?

2. W: We’re taking up a collection to buy a gift for Gemma. She’ll have been with the
company 25 years next week.
M: Well, count me in, but I’m a bit short on cash now. When do you need it?
Q: What is the man going to do?

3. W: Tony’s mother has invited me to dinner. Do you think I should tell her in
advance that I’m a vegetarian?
M: Of course. I think she’d appreciate it—imagine how you’d both feel if she fixed a
turkey dinner or something.
Q: What does the man suggest the woman do?

4. W: I hope you’re not too put out with me for the delay. I had to stop by Fred’s
home to pick up a book on my way here.
M: Well, that’s not a big deal. But you might at least phone if you know you’re going
to keep someone waiting.
Q: What do we learn about the woman from the conversation?

5. W: I don’t think we have enough information for our presentation. But we have to
give it tomorrow. There doesn’t seem to be much we can do about it.
M: Yeah. At this point, we’ll have to make do with what we’ve got.
Q: What does the man suggest they do?

6. M: This truck looks like what I need, but I’m worried about maintenance. For us,
it’ll have to operate for long periods of time in very cold temperatures.
W: We have several models that are specially adapted for extreme conditions. Would
you like to see them?
Q: What do we learn about the man from the conversation?
7. W: I’d like to exchange this shirt. I’ve learned that the person I bought it for is
allergic to wool.
M: Maybe we can find something in cotton or silk. Please come this way.
Q: What does the woman want to do?

8. W: I think your article in the school newspaper is right on target. And your
viewpoints have certainly convinced me.
M: Thanks. But in view of the general responses, you and I are definitely in the
minority.
Q: What does the man mean?

Conversation One

W: One of the most interesting experiments with dolphins must be one done by Dr
Jarvis Bastian. What he tried to do was to teach a male dolphin called Buzz and a
female called Doris to communicate with each other across a solid barrier.
M: So how did he do it exactly?
W: Well, first of all he kept the two dolphins together in the same tank and taught
them to press levers whenever they saw a light. The levers were fitted to the side of
the tank next to each other. If the light flashed on and off several times, the dolphins
were supposed to press the left-hand lever followed by the right-hand one. If the light
was kept steady, the dolphins were supposed to press the levers in reverse order.
Whenever they responded correctly they were rewarded with fish.
M: Sounds terribly complicated …
W: Well, that was the first stage. In the second stage, Dr Bastian separated the
dolphins into two tanks. They could still hear one another but they couldn’t actually
see each other. The levers and the light were set up in exactly the same way, except
that this time it was only Doris who could see the light indicating which lever to press
first. But in order to get their fish both dolphins had to press the levers in the correct
order. This meant of course that Doris had to tell Buzz whether it was a flashing light
or whether it was a steady light.
M: So did it work?
W: Well – amazingly enough, the dolphins achieved a 100% success rate …

Questions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

9. What is the purpose of Dr Jarvis Bastian’s experiment?
10. What were the dolphins supposed to do when they saw the steady light?
11. How did the second stage of the experiment differ from the first stage?

Conversation Two

W: There’s an element there about competition, though, isn’t there? Because British
Railways are a nationalised industry, there’s only one railway system in the country. If
you don’t like a particular can of baked beans, you can go and buy another, but if you
don’t like a particular railway, you can’t go and use another.
M: Some people who write to me say this. They say that if you didn’t have a
monopoly, you wouldn’t be able to do the things you do. Well, I don’t think we do
anything deliberately to upset our customers. We have particular problems. Since
1946 when the Transport Act came in, we were nationalised.
W: Do you think that’s a good thing? Has it been a good thing for the railways, do
you think, to be nationalised?
M: Oh, I think so, yes. Because in general, modes of transport are all around, let’s
face the fact. The car arrived, the car is here to stay. There’s no question about that.
W: So what you’re saying then is that if the railways hadn’t been nationalised, they
would simply have disappeared.
M: Oh, I think they would have. They’re disappearing fast in America. Er, the French
railways lose ￡1 billion a year, the German railways ￡2 billion a year. But you see,
those governments are prepared to pour money into the transport system to keep it
going.
W: So in a sense you’re caught between two extremes, on the one hand you’re trying
not to lose too much money, and on the other hand you’ve got to provide the best
service.
M: Yes, you’re right.

Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

12. What does the woman say about British Railways?
13. What do some people who write to the man complain about?
14. What does the man say threatens the existence of railways?
15. What does the man say about railways in other countries?

Section B
Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short 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 1 with a single line through
the centre.

Passage One

Enjoying an iced coffee? Better skip dinner or hit the gym afterwards, with a
cancer charity warning that some iced coffees contain as many calories as a hot
dinner.
The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) conducted a survey of iced coffees
sold by some popular chains in Britain including Starbucks, Caffe Nero and Costa
Coffee to gauge the calories as studies increasingly link obesity with cancer.
The worst offender — a coffee from Starbucks — had 561 calories. Other iced
coffees contained more than 450 calories and the majority had in excess of 200.
Health experts advise that the average woman should consume about 2,000
calories a day and a man about 2,500 calories to maintain a healthy weight. Dieters
aim for 1,000 to 1,500 calories a day.
“The fact that there is an iced coffee on the market with over a quarter of a
woman’s daily calories allowance is alarming,” Dr. Rachel Thompson, science
program manager at London-based WCRF, said in a widely-reported statement.
“This is the amount of calories you might expect to have in an evening meal, not
in a drink.”
The WCRF has estimated that 19,000 cancers a year in Britain could be
prevented if people lost their excess weight, with growing evidence that excess body
fat increases the risk of various cancers.
“If you are having these types of coffee regularly, then they will increase the
chances of you becoming overweight, which in turn increases your risk of developing
cancer, as well as other diseases such as heart disease,” she added.

Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.

16. What warning did some health experts give?
17. What does the speaker suggest people do after they have an iced coffee?
18. What could British people expect if they maintained a normal body weight
according to the WCRF?

Passage Two

In a small laboratory at the Medical University of South Carolina, Dr. Vladimir
Mironov has been working for a decade to grow meat.
A developmental biologist and tissue engineer, Dr. Mironov is one of only a few
scientists worldwide involved in bioengineering “cultured” meat.
It’s a product he believes could help solve future global food crises resulting
from shrinking amounts of land available for growing meat the old-fashioned way.
Growth of cultured meat is also under way in the Netherlands, Mironov told
Reuters in an interview, but in the United States, it is science in search of funding and
demand.
The new National Institute of Food and Agriculture won’t fund it, the National
Institutes of Health won’t fund it, and NASA funded it only briefly, Mironov said.
“It’s classic disruptive technology,” Mironov said. “Bringing any new
technology on the market, on average, costs $1 billion. We don’t even have $1
million.”
Director of the Advanced Tissue Biofabrication Center in the Department of
Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology at the medical university, Mironov now
primarily conducts research on tissue engineering, or growing, of human organs.
“There’s an unpleasant factor when people find out meat is grown in a lab. They
don’t like to associate technology with food,” said Nicholas Genovese, a visiting
scholar in cancer cell biology.
“But there’re a lot of products that we eat today that are considered natural that
are produced in a similar manner,” Genovese said.

Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.

19. What does Dr. Mironov think of bioengineering cultured meat?
20. What does Dr. Mironov say about the funding for their research?
21. What does Nicholas Genovese say about a lot of products we eat today?

Passage Three

Florence Hayes is a journalist for the Greenville Journal, the daily newspaper in
town. Specifically, she covers crime in the Greenville area. This responsibility takes
her to many different places every week—the police station, the court and the hospital.
Most of the crimes that she writes about fall into two groups: violent crimes and
crimes against property.
There isn’t much violent crime in a small town like Greenville, or at least not as
much as in large urban areas. But assaults often occur on Friday and Saturday nights
near the bars downtown. There’re also one or two rapes on campus every semester.
Florence is very interested in this type of crime and tries to write a long article about
each one. She expects that this will make women more careful when they walk
around Greenville alone at night. Fortunately, there’re usually no murders in
Greenville.
Crimes against property make up most of Ms. Hayes’ reporting. They range from
minor cases of deliberate damaging of things to much more serious offenses, such as
car accidents involving drunk drivers, or bank robberies. But Florence has to report
all of these violations, from the thief who took typewriters from every unlocked room
in a dormitory to the thief who stole $1 million worth of artwork from the university
museum.
Ms. Hayes enjoys working for a newspaper, but she sometimes gets unhappy
about all the crimes she has to report. She would prefer to start writing about
something more interesting and less unpleasant, such as local news or politics. Maybe
next year!

Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.

22. What is Florence Hayes’ main responsibility as a journalist?
23. What does the speaker say about security in Greenville?
24. What do we learn about crimes against property in the Greenville area?
25. What would Florence Hayes prefer to do?

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 with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the
passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have
written.
George Herbert Mead said that humans are talked into humanity. He meant that
we gain personal identity as we communicate with others. In the earliest years of our
lives, our parents tell us who we are. “You’re (26) intelligent.” “You’re so strong.”
We first see ourselves through the eyes of others, so their messages form important
(27) foundations of our self-concepts. Later we interact with teachers, friends,
(28) romantic partners, and co-workers who communicate their views of us. Thus,
how we see ourselves reflects the views of us that others communicate.
The (29) profound connection between identity and communication is
dramatically evident in children who (30) are deprived of human contact. Case
studies of children who were isolated from others reveal that they lack a firm
self-concept, and their mental and psychological development is severely hindered by
lack of language.
Communication with others not only affects our sense of identity but also directly
influences our physical and emotional (31) well-being. Consistently, research shows
that communicating with others promotes health, whereas social isolation (32) is linked
to stress, disease, and early death. People who lack close friends have greater levels
of anxiety and depression than people who are close to others. A group of researchers
reviewed (33) scores of studies that traced the relationship between health and
interaction with others. The conclusion was that social isolation is (34) statistically as
dangerous as high blood pressure, smoking and obesity. Many doctors and
researchers believe that loneliness harms the immune system, making us more
(35) vulnerable to a range of minor and major illnesses.

Part II Listening Comprehension
Section A
1. D 2. A 3. C 4. B 5. D
6. A 7. D 8. C 9. C 10. A
11. D 12. C 13. B 14. A 15. B

Section B
16. B 17. C 18. D 19. C 20. D
21. B 22. C 23. A 24. B 25. C

Section C
26. intelligent 27. foundations
28. romantic 29. profound
30. are deprived of 31. well-being
32. is linked to 33. scores of
34. statistically 35. vulnerable

Part III Reading Comprehension
Section A
36. A 37. F 38. O 39. B 40. I
41. E 42. H 43. D 44. C 45. L

Section B
46. F 47. K 48. D 49. A 50. M
51. I 52. B 53. J 54. E 55. H

Section C
56. A 57. D 58. C 59. A 60. B
61. A 62. D 63. A 64. D 65. B

Part IV Translation

Chinese New Year is the most important traditional Chinese holiday. In China, it
is also known as the Spring Festival. New Year celebrations run from Chinese New
Year’s Eve, the last day of the last month of the lunar calendar, to the Lantern Festival
on the 15th day of the first month. Customs and traditions concerning the celebration
of the Chinese New Year vary widely from place to place. However, New Year’s Eve
is usually an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. It
is also traditional for every family to thoroughly clean the house in order to sweep
away ill fortune and to bring in good luck. And doors will be decorated with red
couplets with themes of health, wealth and good luck. Other activities include lighting
firecrackers, giving money in red envelopes, and visiting relatives and friends.