2014 National English Competition for College Students
(Level B - Preliminary)
听力原文

Part I: Listening Comprehension（30 marks）
Section A（5 marks）
In this section, you will hear five short conversations. Each conversation will be read only once. A t the end of each conversation, there will be a fifteen - second pause. During the pause, read the question and the four choices marked A, B, C and D, and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on the answer sheet with a single line through the centre.
1.M: Sarah, I ‘m a bit broke at the moment, so I don’t want to spend too much today, but  I’d  like to shop around for a pair of shoes that don’t cost an arm and a leg.
W:  Yeah, some shoes are over - priced, aren ‘t they? We could check out the new shoe store next to the delicatessen.
2. M: Is there anything that you are interested in about the famous female writer—Jan who was born in the late 19th century?
W: Yeah, I have just read the foreword of her autobiography. She was born in 1882. And can you believe that she never received formal schooling but knew genres? After she finished her first book in 1906, she started travelling all around the world.
3. M: So, let’s do something on Friday then. I’ve got the paper in front of me so let me see what’s on. Mm…there’s the Kirov Ballet at the Playhouse.
W: I like ballet. That would be nice. What time does it start?
M: Well, it’s on at 2:10, 5:10 and 8:10.
W:  Let’s go to the 5:10 and then have something to eat afterwards.
4. W: What’s the best way to deal with jet lag? It’s my bedtime now, English time, but it’s only 6 p.m. here in New  York.
M:  I think you should try and forget that it’s your normal bedtime.
W: But I feel awful.
M: The best thing to do is try and fit into the time of the place where you are, as soon as possible.
5. M: So, what’s the most unusual restaurant you’ve ever been to?
W: Oh, a really extraordinary place called Jurassic Nosh. My first impression of the place was a bit of off- putting. It looked like the last place on earth where you were likely to get a good meal.
M: Well, it certainly sounds unusual!

Section B（10 marks）
In this section, you will hear two long conversations. Each conversation will be read only once. A t the end of each conversation, there will be a one - minute pause. During the pause, read the  questions  and  the  four choices marked A, B, C and D, and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on the answer sheet with a single line through the centre.
Conversation  I
M: Today we welcome Alvaro Solomou, one of the 1,200 relief workers with the ICRC, who is going to talk about the ICRC’s approach to giving assistance. Welcome to the programme, Alvaro.
W: Hello, thank you for inviting me.
M: Alvaro, can you tell us about how the ICRC assists victims of famine and drought, and other natural disasters?
W: Well, we should remember that all too often natural disasters happen in areas where there’s already some other sort of problems, such as economic crisis, or a period of political instability. We’re the only agency to get through the front lines and deliver aid to where it’s most needed. We usually offer tents, water, and sanitation kits to the refugees. Where necessary, we charter helicopter to get supplies to villages in remote areas. Winter survival packs contain the best combination of food, blankets and plastic sheeting needed to get a refugee family through the winter.
M: I imagine that different contexts also create extra problems, how’s that done?
W: We use what’s called the ‘Assistance  Pyramid’. This establishes that preference must be  given in any relief situation to the foundations of the pyramid, in other words, to food, water, and essential goods, before anything else is done.
M: What about health care? Isn’t that a priority?
W: Hygiene and medical care take second and third places in the pyramid.
M: Does the ICRC only assist when there’s a crisis?
W: No, not at all. In fact, in recent years it has been the policy to provide help in developing countries once a crisis has passed, or even before one has occurred.
M: How’s that actually done?
W: Well, for example, the ICRC identifies priorities in a region in order to provide the best  possible assistance.
M: Isn’t it true that millions of people across the world have difficulties gaining access to water?
W: Oh yes, that’s absolutely true, and of course in many places the water that’s available is actually extremely unhealthy, and may carry waterborne disease. The ICRC has a programme of assistance which includes construction, engineering and providing access to water, along with  hygiene and environmental protection, thus ensuring that water is clean and safe to use.
M: Is it dangerous working for the ICRC?
W:  Well, in any crisis situation there’re dangers, but all of us are strongly motivated by humanitarian work, hopefully we can all cope with stress and the pressures which are bound to exist.
M: Alvaro, thank you for giving us such an interesting insight into the work of the ICRC.

Conversation  II
M: Well, how did your trip go? Paris, was it?
W: It was an absolute disaster. In fact, it was so bad, it was really quite hilarious. I saw this ad in the colour supplement which offered “weekend breaks with a difference to the glamour spots of Europe for less than it costs to stay at home”. Well, I suppose we should have been on our guard  when we read the ad. It really was too good to be true.
M: What happened? Do tell me.
W: Well, to start with, the ad said we would travel by air direct from London to Pairs with a well - known airline and be met at the airport and then be taken by taxi to a luxury hotel with a view of Montmartre. Well, what it didn’t say was the flight was with an unknown charter company. We did leave from London, but we flew via Brussels where we hung around for two hours waiting for passengers on another obscure charter flight from Bucharest. We finally landed in Paris six hours after leaving London, only to discover that our personal taxi service had turned into a coach journey.
M: What about the hotel? Did it live up to expectations?
W: You must be joking!  The ad promised luxury double bedrooms with adjoining bath and toilet in a three- star hotel overlooking a unique historic area of Paris, within walking distance of some of the city’s best hot spots.
M: Sounds wonderful.
W: Yeah, it was. The deception, I mean. It was a real fleapit. The sort you read about but never expect to see.“Luxury double bedroom with adjoining bath and toilet”translates as a glorified cupboard at the end of a dark corridor with one toilet and bath for the entire floor. The sheets hadn’t been changed and there were cigarette ends in the ashtrays. Not to mention no soap or towels.
M: What about the view? Was it overlooking a deserted railway line or something even more awful?
W: Even that would have been more interesting than brick wall we could see from the window, if you climbed on a chair, you could just see the top of the dome of Montmartre—which I suppose justified the “view of Montmartre”. And as for the hot spots, well, I’ll leave you to imagine what the neighborhood was like!
M: What did you do? Did you complain?
W: What could we do? We had no choice. It was terribly late when we got there. No, we decided to put up with the hotel and go out to the town. So we called a taxi and went to a restaurant in the Latin Quarter. And then we went to a nightclub and stayed there until the early hours. When we got back to the hotel, we were so tired that we didn’t notice our surroundings. We checked out at ten and moved into a decent place for the following night.
M: So you did have a good time in the end. But I suppose it cost a lot more.
W: An absolute fortune. But we’ve put in a complaint and we’re trying to get our money back.

Section C（5 marks）
In this section, you will hear five short news items. A fter each item, which will be read only once, there will be a fifteen- second pause. During the pause, read the question and the four choices marked A, B, C and D, and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on the answer sheet with a single line through the centre.
16. President Obama has hailed Nelson Mandela as one of the giants of history in an address at the former South African president’s memorial service, comparing Mandela to Mohandas Gandhi,  Abraham  Lincoln and Martin Luther King. Mr. Obama called him the last great liberator of the 20th century. He urged the crowd of world leaders, celebrities, and tens of thousands of South Africans to embrace his message of peace. But Mr. Obama had a tough message too, questioning  whether today’s leaders were living up to Nelson Mandela’s integrity and commitment to justice and peace.
17. A study in India suggests that speaking more than one language may delay different kinds  of dementia,that is, the loss of mental ability. These include Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal  dementia, vascular dementia, Lewy bodies dementia and mixed dementias. Researchers studied  nearly 650 people whose average age was 66.240 of those studied suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of mental decline. 391 of the subjects spoke two or more languages. Investigators found the dementias began about four and a half years later in those  who were bilingual compared to those who spoke only one language. The level of education had no effect on the age at the first sign of dementia.
18. Experts investigating the Spanish train crash which killed 79 people last week have told a court that data recorders fitted to the high - speed train show that it was traveling at 153 km/h, almost twice the speed limit for that section of track when the train derailed. But the court also says the driver Francisco Jose Garzon was talking on the phone to an official of the state railway company Renfe when his train jumped the rails and he  was apparently consulting a piece  of paper at the time. The court inquiry is still in its early stages but these suggestions will add to a sense of outrage which is mingled with grief across Spain.
19. The authorities in the Australian state of New South Wales have urged people living  in  the Blue Mountains to leave their homes as strengthening winds and high temperatures  threatened to spread a major bush fire. Forecasters warned that Wednesday could be the worst day since the crisis began more than a week ago. Exhausted firefighters have been preparing for their most challenging day yet. They have been carrying out controlled burning of key areas. The idea was to deprive fires of fuel and prevent them travelling. On Monday, they joined up  two large fires to make one that is  easier to manage. Around 60 fires are burning in New South Wales, and there are 17 of them, still uncontrolled.
20. On today’s program ...something serious, and then something fun. First we travel to South Africa, Oceania, and South America to examine the fight against HIV and AIDS in young people. The latest research shows that some developments are good, while others are not so good. We will hear from several experts who will give us their opinions on what needs to be done. There is good news to report from recent research on efforts to reduce new HIV infections among South African teens: The efforts are working. But there is also some bad news from the research as well: girls between the ages of 15 to 24 are three times more likely than boys to get HIV.

Section D（10 marks）
In this section, you will hear a short passage. For questions 21 - 30, complete the notes using three words or fewer for each blank. The passage will be read twice. Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet.

There are only two types of dinner party: successes and failures. If you get it right, you  will  have  the satisfaction of being considered a social success by all your acquaintances; if you get  it wrong, you will encourage the sort of silences that will explore the full meaning of the word“awkward”.
The most sensible course of action is never to be a host. But you’re a show-off and you want  the attention, so here goes.
Although it may seem as if it’s a contradiction in terms, wherever possible, avoid having dinner parties in your own home. An alternative location that has a number of distinct advantages is a restaurant. Firstly, it enables you to conceal your domestic lifestyle. Secondly, you don’t have to worry about your cooking. Thirdly, and most satisfyingly, you split the cost of the evening with your guests.
If, however, like most people you don’t have the gall to invite your friends to a dinner party  in a restaurant, you should ensure there’s an interesting line-up of guests. Therefore your party should comprise three or four couples and a single person.
It is this unfortunate person’s role to be patronized and pitied by the couples present. Naturally,  you should not be this person. Do not entertain if you’re partnerless. Instead, with your arm reassuringly entwined in your partner’s, introduce your single friend with a witty line.
Because you’re at home, there’s no getting round it, you’ll have to cook at least some of the food. However, you can tell your guests it’s an old Tibetan custom to bring a course, and simply everyone is doing it nowadays.
Talking of talk, there’re certain conversational conventions which must be obeyed. Appropriate  subject matters are: money, jobs, the relationships of those not present. It is rude to talk politics, philosophy unless you’re French or in any informed way about anything.
Still, if after all your efforts, and your conscientious abstention from your ninth glass of wine, it’s still a disaster, you can quietly leave the table and go to bed. And, your guests will let themselves out. Anyway, you won’t be inviting them again.

This is the end of the listening part. P lease transfer your answers to the answer sheet.

Part I.  Listening Comprehension（30 marks）
Section A (5 marks)
1—5  BBABD
Section B (10 marks)
6—10 CABBD 
11—15 ACBCD
Section C (5 marks) 
16—20 DBCBA
Section D (10 marks) 
21. acquaintances 
22. awkward 
23. show- off 
24. alternative 
25. domestic lifestyle 
26. split the cost 
27. line- up 
28. partnerless 
29. politics and philosophy 
30. a disaster