2014 National English C ompetition for C ollege Students
(L evel C - 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 twenty - 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.W: Hello Carl. So ... I hear you can help me nail this upcoming interview.
M: Our company specializes in media matters. We can help you learn how to put your best foot forward, what pitfalls to avoid and how to sound friendly without sounding insincere.
W: Those would be good points...okay, let’s hear what you got.
2.W: You should go clothes shopping with me. I know exactly what you need to improve your style.
M: I know where you’re going with this. You want me to get some really expensive designer clothes. I doubt I have enough room in my credit card for one Armani shirt.
W: It’s not that bad. Believe me, just one or two pieces could totally change your look.
3.W: Sam, sometimes we’ve got to accept that we just can’t cut the mustard.
M: What! ? Can’t cut the mustard?! I know how to do it. You must use a knife ...
W: Calm down, this has nothing to do with your cooking skills. In English, when you say someone or something‘can’t cut the mustard’, you mean that it is not good enough.
4.M: I’m meeting up our New York office’s senior management team. We’ll be playing a few rounds and going over the project plans.
W: Really? So when did you take up the sport?
M: Around two years ago I began to realise that if I could get on the golf course with other senior executives, it could open a lot of doors for me. At first I didn’t really enjoy it, but now I’m almost a golf fanatic.
5.M: I’ve been trying to quit cigarettes for years! And today I’m almost 2 weeks into my programme!
W: Wow, congratulations! I quit 10 years ago, but then again, I was never really a serious smoker.
M: Well, I’ve only been smoke- free for 11 days, so I can’t pat myself on the back too much. But yes, it has been really tough...probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.
 
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 One
M: Hello. Matt Thomas speaking.
W: Hello Matt, it’s Jane Brown here.
M: Hi, there, Jane. How’re you doing?
W: Not bad, thanks. Look, I hear you have an investment project that’s being planned.
M: That’s right, yes. You’re quick to act on an opportunity. We’ve only just re- advertised it.
W: Well, we’re always on the lookout for good investments and your proposal looks promising on paper. We haven’t gone over the fine print yet, though. But I have a few questions if you don’t mind.
M: Sure. Go ahead.
W: I heard there was a company interested in the investment but then the deal fell through before it was completed.
M: That’s right. The company was keen to get in on the act but there was a question mark over their finances.
W: I see.
M: They seemed genuine at first but then we realised that they were playing for time and so we stopped the deal.
W: I see. So now you have to start again?
M: Unfortunately yes. And we’ve wasted a bit of time already, so we are keen to get moving on this.
W: Well, as I said, we’re interested in buying a good investment ... so ...
M: Well, you’ve come to the right place then.
W: OK. I’ll talk to my partners and get back to you if we want to go any further. Thanks for your time, Matt.
M: No problem, Jane. Give my regards to Emma.
W: Will do. Bye, Matt.

Conversation Two
M: I have with me Hilary Kingsley, a TV columnist and the author of “Soap Box—The Paperback Guide to Soap Opera”and we’re going to discuss that phenomenon of television. Hilary, how would you define a soap?
W: I think it’s a continuing story about a group of characters, either a related family or a group of people who work together, and it’s a story that you know is not going to end, it’s as if those characters are sort of living on some special fictional island somewhere so that even when you don’t listen to them or watch them or when the soap has ended, you know that life there is going on somehow. So it’s a sort of never-ending middle, you know, no beginning and no end.
M: How do you think the soap genre has developed since the early days?
W: Well, I don’t think it has changed very much, I mean I don’t think it’s changed since the 30s and 40s when it started on, er American radio—I mean, I think everyone knows now it came  into being when radio went national in the US and they needed some running stories to attract housewives, keep them glued to their radios and sell products to them, and the products they were selling first of all were soap powders. They were always stories about families, about relationships, about the thing that the bigger dramas were not about—and still are really, about men escaping from difficult situations, whereas soap operas are basically about women coping with everyday situations—women and men, of course. But one reason I think why I’ve always liked soap operas is that the women are the most important characters, and they’re the moral centre of any story.

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 twenty- 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.Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have reached a symbolic high. For the first time in human history, daily measures of CO2, which is an important factor in global warming, have topped 400 parts per million. Roger Harrabin reports.
17.A woman is recovering in hospital after being rescued from the rubble of the garment factory that collapsed 17 days ago in Bangladesh. She’s said to have survived by drinking from a water pipe and scavenging for food in the lunch boxes of dead colleagues. Andrew North reports from Dhaka.
18.The United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay has expressed concern over a build - up of Syrian government troops around the rebel- held western town of Qusair. She said she feared the troop build- up was in preparation for a major attack on Qusair. The government is reported to have dropped leaflets over the town, warning the population to leave.
19.Morocco has officially started to work on the first phase of a massive solar energy complex on the edge of the Sahara Desert. It’s hoped the plant’s capacity will reach 500 megawatts by 2020. Together with four other plants gifted to be built at different sites, the combined solar capacity in Morocco should reach 2,000 megawatts by that time.
20.Student loan debt is soaring. The American Institute of CPAs recently took a survey of student loan borrowers, and found the money they owe has made some of them postpone buying cars or houses, in some cases even delay getting married. What’s more, 60 percent of them said they have some regret about taking out student loans. So, what’s a student who’s planning on college to do?

Section D (10 marks)
In this section, you will hear a short passage. There are 10 missing words or phrases. Fill in the blanks with the exact words or phrases you hear. The passage will be read twice. Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet.

Doctors often tell patients to take a certain kind of medicine in order to get over an illness. For example, a patient may need medicine because his or her shoulder hurts. The doctor may tell the patient that there is a brand name medicine which will help him or her. This brand name medicine is made by a famous company.
 
However, there may also be a generic type of the same medicine.
Generic medicines are preferred by some people because they are usually less expensive, yet they have the same ingredients as brand name medicines. If the generic medicine has the same ingredients, this means that the medicine should have the same effect on the person as the brand name medicine. If the ingredients in the generic and the brand name medicines are a little different, then the generic type cannot claim to be the same as the brand name medicine.
Generic medicines are almost always cheaper than brand name medicines. Why is this? Making any kind of medicine takes a lot of money and a lot of time. This is because a company has to pay doctors and scientists to study an illness and to find some kind of medicine to fight this illness. Then, it takes more money and more time for the company to test the medicine to make sure it is safe and that it works. Once a company is ready to sell its product to people, the company usually sets the price of the medicine very high. The company charges a lot of money in order to get back all of the money that it spent making the medicine. Generic medicine makers, on the other hand, copy some kind of medicine that has already been developed and tested. For this reason, they do not have to spend as much money to develop the medicine.
Generic medicines are usually not sold right away. Companies that make generic medicines must wait a certain amount of time before they can make the same medicine. But once the generic medicine is on the market, doctors are usually quick to offer it to their patients. This is because the price of medicine is very expensive. Taking a generic medicine can save a patient, or his or her insurance company, a lot of money. Generic medicines are just as good as brand name medicines. Therefore, doctors feel safe in having their patients take these medicines.

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 CACBA 
Section B (10 marks) 
6—10 CABDA 11—15 BABCA
Section C (5 marks) 
16—20 CBCBD 
Section D (10 marks)  
21. get over 
22. preferred 
23. the same effect 
24. claim to be 
25. make sure
26. charges 
27. right away 
28. amount of time 
29. insurance company 
30. feel safe in