2012年12月英语四级考试听力原文(文字版)

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　　Part III Listening Comprehension

　　Section A

　　11.

　　W: I just heard about a really beautiful park in the east end of the town. There are a lot of roses in bloom.

　　M: Why don’t we walk over there and see for ourselves?

　　Q: What will the speakers probably do?

　　12.

　　M: My presentation is scheduled for 9:30 tomorrow morning at the lecture hall. I hope to see you there.

　　W: Oh, sorry. I was about to tell you that I have an appointment with my dentist at 9:00 o’clock tomorrow.

　　Q: What do we learn about the woman?

　　13.

　　W: How long have you been running this company?

　　M: Twenty years if you can believe that. I brought it from a small operation to what it is today.

　　Q: What do we learn about the man?

　　14.

　　M: Have you read the news on the campus net? Susan has won the scholarship for next year.

　　W: I knew she would from the very beginning. Such a brilliant and diligent girl! She certainly deserves it.

　　Q: What does the woman mean?

　　15.

　　W: Taking a bus to Miami, it’s cheaper than going by train.

　　M: That’s true. But I’d rather pay a little more for the added comfort and convenience.

　　Q: What does the man mean?

　　16.

　　M: I think it’s time we got rid of all this old furniture.

　　W: You’re right. We need to promote our image besides it’s not a real antique.

　　Q: What do the speakers mean?

　　17.

　　M: That was some storm yesterday. How was I afraid I couldn’t make it home.

　　W: Yeah, most of the roads to my house were flooded. I didn’t get home from the lab until midnight.

　　Q: What do we learn from the conversation?

　　18.

　　W: My boys are always complaining that they’re bored.

　　M: Why don’t you get them into some team sports? My son and daughter play soccer every Saturday. And they both look forward to it all week.

　　Q: What does the man mean?

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

　　W: So John, I hear you and Arthur share a job, don’t you?

　　M: Yes. We’ve shared a sales job at Sonatech for about two years now.

　　W: Well, how do you divide up your schedule?

　　M: You know we are both sales representatives, and we take orders over the phone. When we started job sharing it was difficult, because we both worked all day Monday. I worked Tuesday and Thursday and Arthur worked Wednesday and Friday. The problem was that when I was in the office on Tuesday. I would talk to people, then they would call back on Wednesday with a question. But Arthur couldn’t answer the question and he couldn’t ask me about it because I wasn’t in the office. So he had to ask the people to call me back the next day, Thursday. Of course, they didn’t like to wait until the next day to have their questions answered.

　　W: Yes, that sounds like a problem.

　　M: So, finally we decided that Arthur would work in the mornings and I would work in the afternoons. Now if someone calls with the question for me in the morning, Arthur tells them to call me in the afternoon. This way, people get their questions answered the same day.

　　W: What do you do about vacations?

　　M: Well, Sonatech gives the usual two weeks of vacation to full-time employees, I take a week and Arthur takes a week.

　　W: It sounds like job sharing has worked out well for you.

　　M: Yes, it has. We are both happy with it.

　　Q19. What do John and author do at Sonatech?

　　Q20. What problem did John and Arthur have when they started job sharing?

　　Q21. What does John say about their annual vacation?

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

　　W: May I see your license, please?

　　M: But officer, did I do something wrong?

　　W: Do you mean to say you didn’t see the speed limit sign back there?

　　M: Um, no, madam, I guess I didn’t.

　　W: In other words, you drove by too fast to read it. The sign says 35m/h. A school is just nearby, you know?

　　M: Don’t get me wrong, but my speedometer didn’t read much faster than that.

　　W: Then, why is it that my radar showed you are going 45? Let me put it another way. I’m going to give you a ticket. Again, may I see your license, please?

　　M: Here it is, officer. But let me explain. I was late for an important appointment and I was worried that I wouldn’t make it on time. So...

　　W: Uha, just a minute, here. Your license is no longer valid. You should have renewed it two weeks ago. I’m going to have to write you up for that, too.

　　M: What? Really?

　　W: Your license becomes invalid on your birthday and that was two weeks ago according to the date here. You are in violation of the law—driving without a valid license.

　　M: I’m sorry, madam. I hadn’t realized that.

　　W: Here’s the ticket for not having a valid license. But I’m only going to give you a warning about exceeding the speed limit. Be careful next time.

　　M: Yes, madam, officer, I will. Thank you.

　　Q22. Where was the man stopped by the police officer?

　　Q23. What did the man claim about the speed limit sign?

　　Q24. What did the woman say about the man’s driving license?

　　Q25. What was the man’s penalty?

　　Section B

　　Passage 1

　　Since I started working part-time at a grocery store, I have learned that a customer is more than someone who buy something. To me, a customer is a person whose memory fails entirely once he or she starts to push a shopping card. One of the first things customers forget is how to count. There is no other way to explain how so many people get in their express line, which is clearly marked 15 items or less, with 20, 25 or even a cart load of items. Customers also forget why they came to the store in the first place. Just as I finish ringing up an order, a customer will say, “Oops, I forgot to pick up a fresh loaf of bread. I hope you don’t mind waiting while I go get it.” Five minutes later, he’s back with the bread, a bottle of milk, and three rolls of paper towels. Strange is that seems customers also seem to forget that they have to pay for their groceries. Instead of writing a check or looking for a credit card while I am ringing up the groceries, my customers will wait until I announce the total. Then, in surprise, she says, “Oh no, what did I do with my check book?” After 5 minutes of digging through her purse, she borrows my pen because she’s forgotten hers. But I have to be tolerant of customers because they pay my salary, and that’s something I can’t afford to forget.

　　Q26. What does the speaker say about customers’ entering the grocery store?

　　Q27. Which customers are supposed to be in the express line?

　　Q28. What does the speaker say some customers do when they arrive at the check-out counter?

　　Q29. What does the speaker say about his job at the end of the talk?

　　Passage 2

　　The speech delivery style of Europeans and Asians tends to be very formal. Speakers of these cultures often read oral presentations from carefully retain manual scripts. On the other hand, American speakers are generally more informal relative to speakers and other cultures. American audiences prefer natural, spontaneous delivery that conveys a lively sense of communication. They don’t relay well to speakers who read from a manual script. If you use an outline of your ideas instead of a prepare text, your speech will not only sound more natural, but you will also be able to establish better relationship with your listeners and keep their attention. The language and style you use when making an oral presentation should not be the same as the language in style you use when writing. Well retain information, that is meant to be read, does not work as well when it is heard. It is, therefore, important for you to adapt retain texts or outlines for presentations. Good speakers are much more informal when speaking than when writing. They also use their own words and develop their own speaking styles. Whenever possible, they use short words. Listeners are appreciated when speakers use simple, everyday words in a presentation. One advantage is that it is much easier for speakers to pronounce short words correctly. Another is that long and sophisticated vocabulary choices make listening more difficult.

　　Question 30 to 32

　　30. What does the speaker say American audiences prefer?

　　31. What should one pay attention to when making an oral presentation?

　　32. What does the speaker focus on in the talk?

　　Passage 3

　　Let children learn to judge their own work

　　A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time. If corrected too much, he will stop talking. He compares a thousand times a day the difference between language as he uses it and language as those around him use it. Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s. In the same way, kids learning to do all the other things they learn without adult teachers, to walk, run, climb, ride a bike, play games, compare their own performance with what more skilled people do, and slowly make the needed changes. But in school we never give a child a chance to detect his mistakes. We do it all for him. We act as if we thought he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him. Soon he becomes dependent on the expert. We should let him do it himself. Let him figure out, with the help of other children if he wants it, what this word says, what is the answer to that problem, whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or that.

　　If right answers need to be given, as in mathematics or science, give him the answer book. Let him correct his own papers. Why should we teachers waste time on such tedious work? Our job should be to help the children when they tell us that they can’t find the way to get the right answer.

　　Question 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　Q33 How does a child learn to do something according to the speaker?

　　Q34 What belief do teachers commonly hold according to the speaker?

　　Q35 What does the speaker imply about the current way of teaching?

　　Section C

　　Time is, for the average American, of utmost importance. To the foreign visitor, Americans seem to be more concerned with getting things accomplished on time (according to a predetermined schedule) than they are with developing deep interpersonal relations. Schedules, for the American, are meant to be planned and then followed in the smallest detail.

　　It may seem to you that most Americans are completely controlled by the little machines they wear on their wrists, cutting their discussions off abruptly to make it to their next appointment on time.

　　Americans’ language is filled with references to time, giving a clear indication of how much it is valued. Time is something to be “on,” to be “kept,” “filled,” “saved,” “wasted,” “gained,” “planned,” “given,” “made the most of,” even “killed.”

　　The international visitor soon learns that it is considered very rude to be late -- even by 10 minutes -- for an appointment in America.

　　Time is so valued in America, because by considering time to be important one can clearly achieve more than if one “wastes” time and doesn’t keep busy. This philosophy has proven its worth. It has enabled Americans to be extremely productive, and productivity itself is highly valued in America. Many American proverbs stress the value of guarding time, using it wisely, and setting and working toward specific goals. Americans believe in spending their time and energy today so that the fruits of their labor may be enjoyed at a later time.

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