历年英语四级听力原文：2008年12月

　　Short Conversations

　　11.M: I just received an Email from one of my former classmates. I was surprised, I hadn’t heard from him for ages.

　　W: Well, I’ve been out of touch with most of my old friends, only one or two still drop me a line occasionally,

　　Q: What does the woman mean?

　　12. M: If you can make up your mind about the color, I can start on the outside of your house early next week.

　　W: Well, right now I think I want white for the window frames and yellow for the walls, but I’ll let you know tomorrow.

　　Q: Who is the woman talking to?

　　13. W: Excuse me, do you have any apartments available for under 500 dollars a month? I need to move in next week when my new job starts.

　　M: The only vacant one I have is 600 dollars, have you inquired at the apartment complex down the street?

　　Q: What does the man suggest the woman do?

　　14. W: You bought a pair of jeans yesterday, didn’t you? What are they like?

　　M: Oh, they are pretty much like my other ones, except with a larger waist. I guess I haven’t spent much time exercising lately.

　　Q: What can we infer from the conversation about the man?

　　15. W: I really like those abstract paintings we saw yesterday. What do you think?

　　M: I guess it’s something I haven’t acquired a taste for yet.

　　Q: What does the man imply?

　　16. W: You haven’t seen a blue notebook, have you? I hope I didn’t leave it in the reading room.

　　M: Did you check that pile of journals you’ve borrowed from the library the other day?

　　Q: What is the man trying to say to the woman?

　　17. M: How about joining me for a cup of coffee?

　　W: I’d love to, but I’m exhausted. I was up till 3 this morning, writing a paper for my literature class.

　　Q: Why does the woman decline the man’s invitation?

　　18. W: You had a job interview yesterday, didn’t you? How did it go?

　　M: Not too bad, I guess. There were about 20 candidates competing for the sales manager’s job. And finally it was down to three of us, but the other two seemed better qualified.

　　Q: What does the man imply?

　　长对话I

　　F: Simon, how does it feel to be retired?

　　M: Well, not so bad.

　　F: How have you been spending your time?

　　M: I have been spending more time with my family. I’ve also travelled a bit, you know, off season when everywhere is less crowded and hotels cost less.

　　F: Great.

　　M: You know I haven’t stopped work completely.

　　F: Yes, could you tell us more about this?

　　M: I’m on a scheme that’s called phased retirement; I had a six-month break from work, after that I could apply for project work with the company I used to work for.

　　F: How does the scheme work?

　　M: Well, it’s a trial at the moment. Instead of hiring temporary stuff, the company advertises posts on its website that retired employees like myself can access.

　　F: What sort of works advertised?

　　M: Well, all sorts of things, really. Administrative work and more specialized work, the sort of thing I can do. Some of the projects can last five or six months, and others can just be a couple of days. I can decide more or less when to work. So I can manage my own time.

　　F: I can see it’s good for you. What is your company get out of this?

　　M: Well, I still have all my old contacts at work, so I know who to contact to get something done. The company gets flexibility, too. Once the job’s over, that’s it. I’m not on their books any more.

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

　　19. Why does Simon find his retired life enjoyable?

　　20. How does Simon get to know about the company’s available posts?

　　21. Why does the company adopt the phased retirement scheme?

　　长对话II

　　W: Oh, where are we going?

　　M: I want to show you something.

　　W: I know, but what is it?

　　M: A farm. It’s just down this road. It’s a small place, but at least it would be our own.

　　W: A farm? How can we afford to buy a farm?

　　M: It isn’t very large, only 40 acres. We wouldn’t have to pay very much right now.

　　W: Is there a house on the place?

　　M: A small one, two bedrooms, but it needs to be fixed up a little. I can do the job myself.

　　W: OK. Is there enough space for a kitchen garden?

　　M: There is about half an acre around the house. That’s plenty of space.

　　W: Then we can grow our own fresh vegetables. And maybe keep a few chickens, couldn’t we?

　　M: Yes, and we can probably grow a lot of our own food.

　　W: What are you thinking about growing, if we do take this place?

　　M: Well, it really isn’t big enough for corn. I thought we might try to raise a crop of potatoes.

　　W: Potatoes? There are a lot of work.

　　M: We are used to hard work, aren’t we?

　　W: Yes, we are, but the money. Do we have enough to get started? It seems like a dream.

　　M: I think we’ve saved enough. We can pay a little on the farm and maybe put a few dollars down on the tractor, too.

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

　　Q 22: What are the speakers going to do at the time of the conversation?

　　Q 23: What does the man say about the farm?

　　Q 24: Why does the man intend to grow potatoes rather than corn on the farm?

　　Q 25: What is the woman’s greatest concern about the man’s plan?