英语四级模拟听力原文6

Section A

Directions In this section,

you will hear short conversations and long conversations

At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said

Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once

After each question there will be a pause During the pause,

you must read the four choices marked A), B), C) and D),

and decide which is the best answer

Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre

Now let’s begin with the eight short conversations M Would you like to

go out for dinner with me?

W Oh, I’d like to, but I’m busy preparing for my graduation paper Q What can we learn about the woman? W Did you attend

the new English teacher’s oral class?

M How she could make her students so active is really impressive

Q What does the man imply

about the new English teacher’s class? W Frankly speaking, it never strikes me that you are years old

M Oh, really? A lot of people who meet me, including some friends of mine, think I’m just in my s

Q What can we learn about the man? M Oh, gosh I was caught

cheating in the math examination yesterday W I’m sorry to hear that But since it happened, you have to face the music Q What does the woman mean?

W Can you spare me some time this week? I missed part of your lecture on

Thomas Hardy who is my favorite writer

M OK, we can discuss it Friday afternoon

Q What is the relationship between the two speakers? M One ten-cent pencil

and two ten-cent erasers, please W OK That will be cents,

and we’ll give you a % discount Q How much money will the man pay? W How about John?

Does he recover from the car accident? M It’s hard to say

Physically speaking, he’s fine Q What can we learn about John?

M Where were you on Thanksgiving Day, Susan? I dropped by and there was nobody in W My whole family went to Chicago to visit my Grandpa It’s our tradition to

spend Thanksgiving Day in this way Q What can we learn about the woman?

Now you’ll hear the two long conversations Conversation One

M Hi, Helen! Nice to see you again W Yes, it’s been a while Hey, you’ve gotten bigger since the last time I saw you

M Yeah, ever since I got married, I’ve been putting on weight My wife’s a good cook

W You need to start exercising again Have you thought about joining a health club?

M I have But they are expensive And I don’t have the time

W I’m a member at Spa Fitness and you’d be surprised at

how inexpensive a year membership is Most of the members are ordinary people who work out for about an hour just three times a week M Sounds reasonable

I mean, you look skinny enough W Well, to tell the truth,

I haven’t always been this lean After I turned ,

I started putting on the pounds

I couldn’t fit into my favorite skirts anymore and I didn’t have any energy So I decided to do exercise

Once you start a regular exercise program, you start feeling better immediately M Is that right?

I read that Americans are getting fatter In fact, the average American teen is to pounds heavier today than in the s I’m amazed at

how many fat teenage girls I see

W That’s because of lifestyle changes

Health clubs aren’t just for beautiful people Actually, the majority of the members are trying to lose weight like us So will you join me for a workout?

I can get you in free of charge tonight with a guest pass

M Why not? I’ve got nothing to lose W Nothing but a few pounds

Questions to are based on the conversation you have just heard

Why does the man put on weight? What can we infer about the woman?

How can the man get into the health club tonight? Conversation Two M I need a haircut

But you look pretty busy today Do you have an opening for me? W Yes, we do

I can cut your hair right now if you like

Do you need a shampoo too? Or just a haircut? M Just a haircut

I washed my hair this morning

W Alright I will have an assistant wet your hair Then I can start

Please step over there How would you like to have your hair cut today?

M Well, I had a haircut eight weeks ago

So my hair is pretty long

However, I want the same style as the last time W I recommend you

leave it a little long on top But we should take in

the back and sides a bit more That’s more fashionable now M Alright You are the expert

I’m happy to have your recommendation

W And do you usually part your hair along here? M Yes

W Alright, I know just what to do Your hair seems quite dry, you know And I see some split ends

M Yes, I know my hair is quite thin It runs in my family

Everybody has very thin hair W The problem is the split ends They make your hair look frizzy M I don’t know what to do with it

W Well, it’s easy Don’t blow-dry your hair for so long after you shower Let it dry naturally,

then you won’t get split ends M Oh really? I will try Thanks

Questions to are based on the conversation you have just heard

What will the woman do

before cutting the man’s hair?

What’s the problem of the man’s hair? What causes this hair problem?

What does the woman suggest the man do to deal with his hair problem? Section B

Directions In this section, you will hear short passages At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions

Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once After you hear a question,

you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D)

Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet

with a single line through the centre Passage One

How did the first sliced bread and other famous foods get their names?

It has been a mystery for a long time

Some researchers have decided to compile the answers

and finally there is a surprising story behind the brand name

Consumers had long been slicing bread themselves and any store-bought bread

before the late s was unsliced,

and people could just bite on the loaf Even Wonder Bread wasn’t sliced at first

Created in by the Taggart Baking Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, the new bread was almost ready for market when the question of a name arose

Making a striking name for its new bread was really a tough question

Vice president Elmer Cline happened to attend a balloon race one day The sight of dozens of

brightly-colored hot-air balloons in the sky filled him with, as he later said, “wonder” And afterwards, Wonder Bread was born Cline, in fact, was so impressed with the sight of those balloons

that he covered his new product’s wrapper with red, yellow and blue balloons,

which is still Wonder’s package design today You might think that

a product combining balloons, bread and a sense of wonder wouldn’t get any better

But in , Wonder introduced the very first pre-sliced loaf of bread to American consumers,

the popularity of which is reflected in that phrase— “the best thing since sliced bread” Questions to are based on the passage you have just heard

What can we learn about the bread before the late s?

Where did Wonder Bread get its name? What does the package design of Wonder Bread today look like? Passage Two

In , American Vogue magazine published an article called “Can Great Skin Be Created?” written by Beauty editor Carol Phillips with Dr Norman Orentreich,

discussing the significance of a skin care routine Evelyn Lauder, daughter in-law of Estée Lauder,

read the article and brought it to Estée’s attention Both Carol Phillips and Dr Orentreich were recruited to help create the brand, and in August, ,

Clinique emerged as the world’s first

hypo-allergenic, skin care line at Saks Fifth Avenue Clinique tests its product for allergic reactions by applying it to people times, with a standard of zero reactions There are three formulas available in North America and Europe— extra-mild, mild, and oily

Clinique also has a facial care line called CX which contains products

targeted on specialized needs,

such as stretch marks associated with pregnancy Clinique also carries a skin care line targeted on men

Although mostly known as a skin care line,

% of revenue for Clinique is derived from their makeup, % from foundation alone

Clinique also carries a line of makeup brushes coated with an antibacterial solution

Happy, Clinique’s best-selling women’s fragrance, was introduced in

It features mixture of ruby red grapefruit, bergamot, Hawaiian wedding flower, and spring mimosa

Recently, Clinique announced a partnership with Allergan,

the maker of Botox and former partner of Elizabeth Arden, with the result being a new line called Clinique Medical

The line is only available in physician’s offices The five-product set is designed for pre- and post-operation skin care, and targets on complications

such as redness, tightness, burning, irritation and discoloration Questions to are based on the passage you have just heard What is Clinique?

What do we know about the revenue for Clinique? What can we learn about Clinique Medical line? Passage Three

As we all know, there are many differences lying between high school and college For some students,

one of the biggest differences is the amount and depth of research that is required for research papers College professors expect students to be quite adept at researching, and for some students,

this is a big change from high school This is not to say that

high school teachers don’t do a great job

to prepare their students for college level research— quite the contrary! Teachers in high school

play a tough and essential role

in teaching students how to research and write, and college professors simply require students to take that skill to a new level

For example, you may soon discover that

many college professors won’t accept encyclopedia articles as research sources

Encyclopedias are great for finding

a compact, informative accumulation of research on a specific topic

They are a great resource for finding the basic facts, but they are limited

when it comes to offering interpretations of the facts Professors require students to dig a little deeper than that,

accumulate their own evidence from broader sources, and form opinions about their sources as well as the specific topics For this reason,

college-bound students should become familiar with the library and all its terms, rules and methods They should also have the confidence to

venture outside the comfort of the local public library and explore more diverse resources

Questions to are based on the passage you have just heard

What is the big change from high school to college for some students?

What do high school teachers usually do according to the passage?

Why shouldn’t encyclopedias be used as research sources?

What do professors ask students to do when doing research? Section C

Directions In this section,

you will hear a passage three times

When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks with the exact words you have just heard Finally, when the passage is read for the third time,

you should check what you have written Now listen to the passage

Elinor Ostrom is an American political scientist She was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences,

which she shared with Oliver E Williamson, for “her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons” She is the first woman to

win the prize in this category

Ostrom lives in Bloomington, Indiana, and is on the faculty of

both Indiana University and Arizona State University

In , she co-founded the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at Indiana University with her husband, Vincent Ostrom

Examining the use of collective action, trust and cooperation in the management of common pool resources, her institutional approach to public policy,

known as the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework, has been considered sufficiently distinct to

be thought of as a separate school of Public Choice Theory She has authored many books in the fields of

organizational theory, political science, and public administration Ostrom is considered one of the leading scholars in the study of common pool resources In particular, Ostrom’s work emphasizes how humans interact with ecosystems

to maintain long-term sustainable resource yields Common pool resources include

many forests, fisheries, oil fields, grazing lands and irrigation systems

Her work has considered how societies have developed different institutional arrangements

for managing natural resources in many cases Under the situation that

the global warming becomes the most pressing issue facing the human race, it was not by chance

that Elinor Ostrom won the Nobel Prize in Economics Now the passage will be read again

Now the passage will be read for the third time This is the end of listening comprehension