上海新东方：2011年12月英语四级听力原文短文部分

　　2011年12月17日四级考试听力原文
　　短文题
　　Passage 1
　　While Gale Obcamp, an American artist, was giving a speech on the art of Japanese brush painting to an audience that included visitors from Japan, she was confused to see that many of her Japanese listeners had their eyes closed. Were they turned off because an American had the nerve to instruct Japanese in their own art form or they deliberately trying to signal their rejection of her? Obcamp later found out that her listeners were not being disrespectful. Japanese listeners sometimes close their eyes to enhance concentration. Her listeners were showing their respect for her by chewing on her words. Someday, you may be either a speaker or a listener in a situation involving people from other countries or members of a minority group in North America. Learning how different cultures signal respect can help you avoid misunderstandings. Here are some examples. In the Deaf Culture of North American, many listeners show applause not by clapping their hands but by waving them in the air. In some cultures, both overseas and in some minority groups in North America, listeners are considered disrespectful if they look directly at the speaker. Respect is shown by looking in the general direction but avoiding direct eye contact. In some countries, whistling by listeners is a sign of approval while in other countries it is a form of insult.
　　26. What did Obcamp's speech focus on?
　　27. Why do Japanese listeners sometimes close their eyes while listening to a speech?
　　28. What does the speaker try to explain?
　　Passage2
　　Chris is in charge of purchasing and maintaining equipment in his division at Taxlong company. He's soon going to have an evaluation interview with his supervisor and personnel director to discuss the work he has done in the past year. Salary, promotion and plans for the coming year will also be discussed at the meeting.
　　Chris has made several changes for his division in his past year. Firstly, he bought new equipment for one of the departments. He's been particularly happy about new equipment because many of the employees have told him how much it has helped them. Along with improving the equipment, Chris began a program to train employees to use equipment better and to do simple maintenance themselves. The training saved time for the employees and money for the Company.
　　Unfortunately, one serious problem developed during the year. Two employees that Chris hired were stealing, and he had to fire them. Chris knows that a new job for a purchasing and maintenance manager for the whole company will be open in a few months and he would like to be promoted to the job. Chris knows, however, that someone else wants the new job, too. Kim is in charge of purchasing and maintenance in another division of the company. She has also made several changes over the year. Chris knows that his boss likes Kim's work, and expects that his work will be compared with hers.
　　29. What is Chris' main responsibility at Taxlong company?
　　30. What problem did Chris encounter in his division?
　　31. What does Chris hope for in the near future?
　　32. What do we learn about Kim from the passage?
　　Passage 3
　　Proverbs, sometimes called sayings, are examples of folk wisdom. They are little lessons which older people of the culture pass down to the younger people to teach them about life. Many proverbs remind the people of values that are important in the culture. Values teach people how to act, what is right and what is wrong, because the values of each culture are different. Understanding the values of another culture, helps to explain how people think and act. Understanding your own culture values is important, too. If you can accept that people from other cultures act according to their values not yours, getting along with them will be much easier. Many proverbs are very old. So some of the values they teach may not be as important in the culture as they once were. For example, Americans today do not pay much attention to the proverbs "haste makes waste", because patience is not important to them. But if you know about past values, it helps you to understand the present. And many of the old values are still strong today. Benjamin Franklin, a famous American diplomat, writer, and scientist died in 1790. But his proverb "Time is money" is taken more seriously by Americans of today than ever before. A study of proverbs from around the world shows that some values are shared by many cultures. In many cases though, the same idea is expressed differently.
　　33. Why are proverbs so important?
　　34. According to the speakers, what happens to some proverbs with the passage of time?
　　35. What do we learn from the study of proverbs from around the world?
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大学英语四、六级考试 --- 四级真题