四六级考试网

 

　　2007年12月英语六级真题听力原文

　　Section A

　　11. M: The biological project is now in trouble, you know, my colleague and I have completely different ideas about how to proceed.

　　W: Why don’t you compromise (让步，妥协)？Try to make it a win-win situation (双赢) for you both.

　　Q: What does the woman suggest the man do?

　　12. M: How does Nancy like the new dress she bought in Rome?

　　W: She said she would never have bought an Italian style dress if she had known Mary Had already got such a dress.

　　Q: What do we learn from the conversation?

　　13. M: You are not going to do all those dishes before we leave, are you? If we don’t pick up(开车接) George and Martha in 25 minutes, we’ll never get to the theater on time.

　　W: Oh, didn’t I tell you Martha called to say her daughter was ill and they could not got tonight?

　　Q: What is the woman probably going to do first?

　　14. M: You’ve been hanging on to the phone (打电话不挂断) for quite a while. Who were you talking with?

　　W: Oh, it was Sally. You know, she always has the latest news in town and can’t wait to talk it over with me.

　　Q: What to we learn about Sally from the conversation?

　　15. W: It’s always been hard to get this car into first gear (挂一挡)，and now the clutch seems to be slipping.

　　M: If you leave the car with me, I will fix it for you this afternoon.

　　Q: Who is the woman probably speaking to?

　　16. M: Kate, why does the downtown area look deserted now?

　　W: Well, there used to be some really good stores, but lots of them moved out to the mall.’

　　Q: What do we learn from the conversation?

　　17. W: I find the lounge such a cozy place to study in. I really like the feeling of sitting on the sofa and doing the reading.

　　M: Well, for me the hardest part about studying here is staying awake .

　　Q: What does the man mean?

　　18. W: There mosquito bites are killing me. I can’t help scratching.

　　M: Next time you go camping, take some precaution, say, wearing long sleeves .

　　Q: Why does the man suggest the woman wear long sleeves?

　　Conversation One

　　M: Hello, and welcome to our program, “Working Abroad”. Our guest this evening is a Londoner, who lives and works in Italy, Her name’s Susan Hill. Susan, welcome to the program (19). You live in Florence, how long have you been living there?

　　W: Since 1982. But when I went there in 1982, I planned to stay for only 6 months(20).

　　M: Why did you change your mind?

　　W: Well, I’m a designer, I design leather goods, mainly shoes and handbags, Soon after I arrived in Florence, I got a job with one of Italy’s top fashion houses, Ferregamo. So, I decided to stay.

　　M: How lucky! Do you still work for Ferregamo?

　　W: No, I’ve been a freelance designer for quite a long time now, since 1988, in fact. (21)

　　M: So does that mean you design for several different companies now?

　　W: Yes, that’s right. I’ve designed many fashion items for a number of Italian companies, and in the last four years, I’ve also been designing for the British company, Burberrys. (21)

　　M: What have you been designing for them?

　　W: Mostly handbags and small leather goods.

　　M: How’s the fashion industry in Italy changed since 1982?

　　W: oh, yes. It’s become a lot more competitive (22). Because the quality of products from other countries has improved a lot. But Italian quality and design is still world-famous.

　　M: And do you ever think of returning to live in England?

　　W: No, not really. Working in Italy is more interesting. I also love the Mediterranean sun and the Italian life style.

　　M: Well, thank you for talking to us, Susan.

　　W: It was a pleasure.

　　Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

　　19. Where does this talk most probably take place?

　　20. What was the woman’ s original plan when she went to Florence?

　　21. What has the woman been doing for a living since 1988?

　　22. What do we learn about the change in Italy’s fashion industry?

　　Conversation Two

　　M: So, Claire, you’re into drama?

　　W: Yes, I have a master’s degree in Drama and Theatre. At the moment, I’m hoping to get onto a Ph.D. Program.

　　M: What excites you about drama?

　　W: Well, I find it’s a communicative way to study people and you learn how to read people in drama. So usually I can understand what people are saying, even though they might be lying. (23)

　　M: That would be useful.

　　W: Yeah, it’s very useful for me as well. I’m an English lecturer, so use a lot for drama in my classes, such as role plays. And I ask my students to create mini-dramas. They really respond well. (24) At the moment, I’m hoping to get onto a Ph. D. course. I would like to concentrate on Asian drama and try to bring Asian theatre to the world’s attention. I don’t know how successful I would be, but, here’s hoping.

　　M: Oh, I’m sure you’ll be successful. Now, Claire , what do you do for stage fright?

　　W: Ah, stage fright! Well, many actors have that problem. Get stage fright every time I’m going to teach a new class. The night before, I usually can’t sleep.

　　M: What? For teaching?

　　W: Yes. I get really bad stage fright. But the minute I step into the classroom or get onto the stage, it just all falls into place. Then I just feel like: Yeah, this is what I mean to do. And I’m fine (25).

　　M: Wow, that’s cool!

　　Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

　　23. Why does the woman find study in drama and theatre useful?

　　24. How did the woman’s students respond to her way of teaching Englsih?

　　25. What does the woman say about her stage fright?

　　Section B

　　Passage One

　　In January 1989, the Community of European Railways presented their proposal for a high speed pan-European train network, extending from Sweden to Sicily, and from Portugal to Poland by the year 2020. (26) If their proposal becomes a reality, it will revolutionize train travel in Europe. Journeys between major cities will take half the time they take today. (27) Brussels will be only one and a half hours from Paris. The quickest way to get from Paris to Frankfurt, from Barcelona to Madrid will be by train, not plane. When the network is compete, it will integrate three types of railway line: totally new high-speed lines with trains operating at speeds of 300 kilometers per hour, upgraded lines which allow for speeds up to 200 to 225 kilometers per hour, and existing lines for local connections and distribution of freight. If business people can choose between a 3-hour train journey from city-center to city-center and 1-hour flight, they’ll choose the train (28), says an executive travel consultant. They won’t go by plane any more. If you calculate flight time, check-in and travel to-and-from the airport, you’ll find almost no difference. And if your plane arrives late due to bad weather or air traffic jams or strikes, then the train passengers will arrive at their destination first. (28) Since France introduced the first 260-kilometer per hour high speed train service between Paris and Lyon in 1981 (29), the trains have achieved higher and higher speeds. On many routes, airlines have lost up to 90% of their passengers to high speed trains. If people accept the Community of European Railways’ Railways’ Plan, the 21st century will be new age of the trains.

　　Question 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　26. What is the proposal presented by the Community of European Railways?

　　27. What will happen when the proposal becomes a reality?

　　28. Why will business people prefer a 3-hour train journey to a 1-hour flight?

　　29. When did France introduce the first high speed train service?

　　Passage Two

　　Western doctors are beginning to understand what traditional healers have always known that the body and the mind are inseparable. (30) Until recently, modern urban physicians heal the body, psychiatrist the mind, and priests the soul. However, the medical world is now paying more attention to holistic medicine, which is an approach based on the belief that people’s state of mind can make them sick or speed their recovery from sickness. Several studies show that the effectiveness of a certain drug often depends on the patients’ expectations of it. For example, in one recent study, psychiatrists at a major hospital tried to see how patients could be made calm. (31) They divided them into two groups. One group was given a drug while the other group received a harmless substance instead of medicine without their knowledge. Surprisingly, more patients in the second group showed the desired effect than those in the first group. In study after study, there’s a positive reaction in almost one-third of the patients taking harmless substances. How was this possible? How can such a substance have an effect on the body? Evidence from a 1997 study at the University of California shows that several patients who received such substances were able to produce their own natural drug, that is, as they took the substance their brains released natural chemicals that act like a drug. (32) Scientists theorized that the amount of these chemicals released by a person’s brain quite possibly indicates how much faith the person has in his or her doctor.

　　Question 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　30. According to the speaker, what are western doctors beginning to understand?

　　31. What does the recent study at a major hospital seem to prove?

　　32. What evidence does the 1997 study at the University of California produce?

　　Passage Three

　　So we’ve already talked a bit about the growth of extreme sports like rock-climbing. As psychologists, we need to ask ourselves (35): Why is this person doing this? Why do people take these risks and put themselves in danger when they don’t have to? One common trait among risk-takers is that they enjoy strong feelings or sensations. (33) We call this trait sensation-seeking. A sensation-seeker is someone who’s always looking for new sensations. What else do we know about sensation-seekers? Well, as I said, sensation-seekers like strong emotions. You can see this trait in many parts of a person’s life, not just in extreme sports. For example, many sensation-seekers enjoy hard rock music. They like the loud sound and strong emotion of the songs. Similarly, sensation-seekers enjoy frightening horror movies. They like the feeling of being scared and horrified while watching the movie. This feeling is even stronger for extreme sports where the person faces real danger. Sensation-seekers feel the danger is very exciting. In addition, sensation-seekers like new experiences that force them to push their personal limits. For them, repeating the same things everyday is boring.(34) Many sensation-seekers choose jobs that involve risk, such as starting a new business or being an emergency room doctor. These jobs are different everyday, so they never know what will happen. That’s why many sensation-seekers also like extreme sports. When you do rock-climbing, you never know what will happen. The activity is always new and different.

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

　　33. According to the speaker, what is a common trait among risk-takers?

　　34. What do sensation-seekers find boring?

　　35. What is the speaker’s profession?

　　Section C

　　If you are like most people, you’ve indulged in fake listening many times. You go to history class, sit in the third row, and look squarely (36) at the instructor as she speaks. But your mind is far away, floating (37) in the clouds of pleasant daydreams. Occasionally (38) you come back to earth: the instructor writes an important term on the chalkboard, and you dutifully (39) copy it in your notebook. Every once in a while the instructor makes a witty (40) remark, causing others in the class to laugh. You smile politely, pretending that you’ve heard the remark and found it mildly humorous (41). You have a vague sense of guilt (42) that you aren’t paying close attention, but you tell yourself that any material (43) you miss can be picked up from a friend’s notes. Besides, the instructor is talking about road construction in ancient Rome and nothing could be more boring (44). So back you go into your private little world. Only later do you realize you’ve missed important information for a test.

　　Fake listening may be easily exposed, since many speakers are sensitive to facial cues and can tell if you’re merely pretending to listen. Your blank expression and the faraway look in your eyes are the cues that betray you inattentiveness (45).

　　Even if you’re not exposed, there’s another reason to avoid fakery: it’s easy for this behavior to become a habit. For some people, the habit is so deeply rooted that they automatically start daydreaming when a speaker begins talking on something complex or uninteresting (46). As a result, they miss lots of valuable information.