Section B
W: Hi, Kevin. Your roommate told me that I could find you here. What are you doing here?
M: What does it look like I am doing?
W: Well, it looks like you are watching television, but we have a math test tomorrow, so I thought you’d be studying for it and maybe I can study with you.
M: Oh, well, I am just taking a break. This equation stuff gives me a headache if I work on it too long.
W: I know what you mean. I’ve been working on it for three hours already. I’m beginning to go over. I just don’t get some of them.
M: But I can’t believe you are coming to me. I mean you do know what I got on the last test, don’t you?
W: Yeah, I know. You told me. I just thought two heads might be better than one.
M: Yeah, that's nice idea, but...you know, I wish I knew that person in our class who got a full score on the last test. She didn't miss a question. Umm...was it Elizabeth?
W: Oh yeah, Elizabeth! She is a friend of mine. She’d be a big help right now. Why don't I give her a call?
M: What? At this hour? It’s already 10:30. I don't want to impose on her.
W: Yeah, I guess you are right, but you know what, she owes me a big favor. Let’s at least give her a call and see what she says. Maybe going over some of the problems with us would help her review the material.
M: It's worth a try.
Questions 11 to 15 are based on the longer conversation you have just heard.
11. What are the speakers mainly discussing?
12. Why is the man watching television?
13. Why is the man surprised that the woman wants to study with him?
14. Why doesn’t the man want to call Elizabeth?
15. What makes the woman insist on calling?
Section C
Passage One
Today I want to mention an early form of transportation, one that brought the first European settlers to America. And that is the wooden sailing ship.
From colonial times sailing ships were vital to the economy. Many towns on the coast depended on fishing or whaling for employment and income. This was especially true in the northeastern states. The wood from nearby forests and the skills of local designers and workers also formed the basis of an important shipbuilding industry, but the big profits were to be made on trade with faraway places, and since sea captains often became one of the owners of their ships, they had a strong interest in the commercial success of their voyages. Therefore they carried on a very profitable trade with other parts of the world.
The high point of this trade came in the mid-19th century with the introduction of the clipper ship, the enormous clipper ships with huge sails reaching nearly two hundred feet into sky. They could carry passengers and cargo from New York around South America to San Francisco in less than three months and clear to China in just half a year. At that time this seemed unbelievably fast and efficient, but in the 1860s, more reliable steam-powered ships began to take over, and soon the important role of sailing ships in the US economy would come to an end.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.
16. What aspect of United States history does this passage mainly discuss?
17. According to the passage, what may be one reason for the success of the merchant ships of the United States?
18. What can we learn about clipper ships?
Passage Two
Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and is a major world center of research and teaching in many fields of inquiry. It was established in 1636 as a cooperative educational university, and admitted both men and women into its growing ranks of students, which now totals 16,871 undergraduates. It also has 10 professional and graduate schools, many of which play a leading role in setting trends. Undergraduates, after their freshman year, live in 1 of 13 halls of residence, which have their own living, dining, library, and sports facilities. However, the main attraction of the university is its library, which holds no fewer than 11 million volumes.
Cambridge University, in Cambridge, England, was founded at the beginning of 13th century, and admitted only male students for many years since its foundation. All students must be members of colleges, and admission of undergraduates, numbering about 9,900, is controlled entirely by these colleges, but acceptance of graduate students is decided primarily by university bodies. Special features of the university include the university library which holds more than 4 million volumes, as well as specialized museums, and the Cavendish Laboratories, for the study of physics.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
19. Where is Harvard University?
20. Who were first admitted into Cambridge University when it was founded?
21.What is the number of books in the library of Harvard compared with that of those in the library of Cambridge?
Passage three
There was once a man in South America who had a parrot, a pet bird that could imitate human speech. The parrot was unique. There was no bird like him in the whole world because he could learn to say any word except one. He could not say the name of his native town, Ketunnel. The man did everything he could to teach the parrot to say Ketunnel, but he never succeeded. At first he was very gentle with the bird. But gradually, he lost his temper. “You stupid bird. Why can’t you learn to say that one word? Say Ketunnel or I will kill you.” But the parrot would not say it. Many times the man screamed, “Say Ketunel, or I'll kill you.” But the bird would never repeat the name. Finally, the man gave up. He picked up the parrot and threw him into the chicken house. “You are even more stupid than the chickens.” In the chicken house, there were four old chickens, waiting to be killed for Sunday's dinner. The next morning, when he went out to the chicken house, the man opened the door. He was shocked by what he saw. He could not believe his eyes and ears. On the floor lay three dead chickens. The parrot was screaming at the fourth, “Say Ketunel, or I'll kill you.”
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
22. Why was the parrot unique?
23. Why did the man lose his temper?
24. Who killed the three chickens?
25. Why was he shocked at the scene the next morning?
Section D
Now, the passage will be read for the first time.
What we consider to be writing today, that is words made up of letters or characters that make up sentences began to be developed around 3000 years BC in ancient Egypt, about 2000 BC in Greece, in southern Europe, and about 1500 years BC in China. The system that developed in Greece, however, gradually developed into alphabet form used in most languages, although the ancient form of writing is still used in China today.
The Western alphabet was developed by the ancient Greeks nearly 3000 years ago. The alphabet, as it is called, is named after the first two Greek letters, Alpha and Beta, and is believed to be highly unique. In fact, the Greeks are the only civilization that has ever invented an alphabet-based language for writing. And what makes this form of writing so important in modern societies is that words can be spelled out, to avoid confusion or misunderstanding, especially when communicating verbally(口头的) using a telephone. Indeed, if we consider how the Greek alphabet makes communication possible we realize just how fascinating a development it was. For example, consider how much more difficult it would be to use a computer keyboard without the use of an alphabet.
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