大学英语6级考试听力直通249分 MODEL TEST8

　　[00:12.38]MODEL TEST 8

　　[00:15.31]Section A

　　[00:17.63]Directions:

　　[00:19.28]In this section,

　　[00:20.71]you will hear 8 short conversations

　　[00:23.33]and 2 long conversations.

　　[00:25.78]At the end of each conversation,

　　[00:28.18]one or more questions will be

　　[00:30.38]asked about what was said.

　　[00:32.56]Both the conversation

　　[00:34.30]and the questions

　　[00:35.35]will be spoken only once.

　　[00:37.72]After each question

　　[00:39.59]there will be a pause.

　　[00:41.48]During the pause,

　　[00:42.97]you must read the four choices

　　[00:45.07]marked A), B), C) and D),

　　[00:49.03]and decide which is the best answer.

　　[00:51.95]Then mark the corresponding letter

　　[00:54.82]on Answer Sheet 2

　　[00:57.04]with a single line

　　[00:58.31]through the center.

　　[00:59.91]Now let's begin with

　　[01:02.28]the 8 short conversations.

　　[01:05.36]11. W: Why have you come here, Bill?

　　[01:08.42]It is very late.

　　[01:10.08]I heard the clock had already

　　[01:11.86]stricken eleven a few minutes ago.

　　[01:14.22]M: I came to see you, Helen.

　　[01:16.17]I heard you were very ill,

　　[01:18.24]and I could not sleep

　　[01:20.12]until I had spoken to you.

　　[01:21.91]Q: Why did the man come

　　[01:23.27]to see the woman?

　　[01:39.62]12. W: Councilor Manion,

　　[01:42.94]what do you think of

　　[01:44.48]the increasingly heavy traffic

　　[01:46.39]in the town?

　　[01:47.63]Surely it would be a good idea

　　[01:50.03]if the traffic in the town

　　[01:51.64]were banned altogether.

　　[01:53.11]M: I wouldn’t go along

　　[01:54.38]with you there.

　　[01:56.16]Q: What’s the most likely relationship

　　[01:58.48]between the two speakers?

　　[02:15.19]13. M: Would you like to

　　[02:18.74]come out for a drink, Jane?

　　[02:20.40]W: Thank you,

　　[02:21.21]but could I let you know

　　[02:22.48]in a few minutes?

　　[02:23.68]I’m not sure if

　　[02:24.47]I’ve finished my work for today.

　　[02:26.55]Q: Where does this conversation

　　[02:29.07]most probably take place?

　　[02:45.96]14. M: Now that you’ve been to

　　[02:50.10]so many countries,

　　[02:51.53]you must be able to speak

　　[02:52.87]several different languages.

　　[02:54.39]W: I wish I could,

　　[02:56.06]but to be honest with you,

　　[02:57.72]I’ve only learnt to

　　[02:59.09]speak Spanish and Italian.

　　[03:01.45]Q: What did the woman say about

　　[03:04.22]her knowledge of foreign languages?

　　[03:21.52]15. W: It was a real bargain.

　　[03:26.32]That used tape recorder is

　　[03:28.41]in good condition and cost me

　　[03:30.61]only 50 dollars,

　　[03:32.35]barely one third

　　[03:33.79]the price of a new one.

　　[03:35.70]M: You don’t say!

　　[03:37.33]I can’t believe it.

　　[03:38.99]Q: What is the price of

　　[03:40.59]a new tape recorder of the same model?

　　[03:58.32]16. W: Wow! I thought that the change of

　　[04:04.06]the chef at our school restaurant

　　[04:06.34]might mean better food.

　　[04:08.39]M: I told you that

　　[04:09.70]you were being too optimistic.

　　[04:11.56]Sometimes it was salty or hard.

　　[04:15.50]Q: What did the woman think of

　　[04:17.53]the food at the school restaurant?

　　[04:33.70]17. W: Dr. Richards of Anatole Sports

　　[04:40.09]wants you to confirm his appointment

　　[04:42.04]on the 28th in the morning.

　　[04:44.10]M: Yes, that’s okay.

　　[04:46.03]Can you help me wire him?

　　[04:48.24]Q: What does the man

　　[04:49.54]ask the woman to do?

　　[05:05.99]18. W: I suppose you heard about

　　[05:10.15]that chunk of concrete falling onto a car

　　[05:13.32]in South Street yesterday,

　　[05:15.31]didn’t you, Ted? I saw the car,

　　[05:17.61]it was a complete wreck.

　　[05:20.32]M: Yes, I saw it in the paper.

　　[05:22.82]From a 250 feet high building,

　　[05:25.58]wasn’t it?

　　[05:26.87]Q: What happened to the car?

　　[05:43.92]Now you will hear the

　　[05:46.63]two long conversations.

　　[05:49.30]Conversation One

　　[05:52.54]W: Jerry, How have you been?

　　[05:54.12]M: Good. But I’m surprised

　　[05:56.55]to see you on the city bus.

　　[05:58.33]Is your car broken?

　　[05:59.87]W: No. I’ve just been thinking

　　[06:01.56]a lot about the environment lately.

　　[06:04.26]And I find the air will be

　　[06:05.97]a lot cleaner if we

　　[06:07.52]all use public transportation

　　[06:09.61]when we could.

　　[06:11.22]M: I’m sure you are right.

　　[06:12.55]But the diesel

　　[06:13.91]bus isn’t exactly pollution free.

　　[06:16.23]W: We were just talking about

　　[06:18.12]that in my environmental engineering class.

　　[06:21.07]M: What could people do?

　　[06:22.71]Install pollution filters in all their buses?

　　[06:25.90]W: They could,

　　[06:26.88]but those filters make the engines work harder

　　[06:30.21]and really cut down

　　[06:31.65]on the fuel efficiency. Instead

　　[06:34.34]they found a way to make their engines

　　[06:36.62]more efficient.

　　[06:37.79]M: How?

　　[06:38.90]W: Well, there is a material

　　[06:40.45]that’s a really good insulator.

　　[06:43.03]And a thin coat of it gets sprayed

　　[06:45.57]on the certain part of the engine.

　　[06:47.62]M: An insulator.

　　[06:48.85]W: Yeah. What it does is reflecting back

　　[06:52.25]the heat of burning fuel.

　　[06:54.08]So the fuel will burn much hotter

　　[06:56.42]and burn up more completely.

　　[06:59.03]M: So a lot less unburned fuel

　　[07:01.25]comes out to pollute the air.

　　[07:02.88]W: And the bus will need less fuel.

　　[07:04.84]So saving on fuel cost.

　　[07:07.16]M: Sounds like people should all go out

　　[07:09.63]and get some this stuff

　　[07:10.30]to spray their car engines.

　　[07:11.96]W: Well, it’s not really that easy.

　　[07:14.25]You see, normally,

　　[07:15.66]the materials are fine powder.

　　[07:18.01]To melt it so you can spray

　　[07:20.07]a coat of it on the engine parts,

　　[07:22.08]you first have to

　　[07:23.30]heat it over 10 000 degrees

　　[07:26.34]and then ..., well,

　　[07:28.03]you get the idea.

　　[07:29.34]It’s not something you

　　[07:30.77]or I will be able to do ourselves.

　　[07:33.71]Questions 19 to 21 are based

　　[07:37.04]on the conversation you have just heard.

　　[07:39.62]19. What is the conversation mainly about?

　　[07:59.44]20. Why did the woman

　　[08:02.92]decide to take the city bus?

　　[08:20.22]21. What can we learn about

　　[08:24.76]the new material?

　　[08:40.90]Conversation Two

　　[08:43.54]M: Hi, Lucy, what do you think of

　　[08:46.31]our Children’s Literature class?

　　[08:48.40]W: It looks pretty good.

　　[08:52.87]I was surprised to see you here.

　　[08:55.36]Are you also majoring

　　[08:56.82]in elementary education?

　　[08:58.71]M: No, I’m not,

　　[09:00.07]but as a psychology major,

　　[09:02.46]I can use this to fulfill

　　[09:04.01]the requirement in developmental psychology.

　　[09:06.47]W: Have you finished your

　　[09:07.98]first assignment yet?

　　[09:09.08]Our teacher said we should hand

　　[09:10.92]in the assignment on Tuesday.

　　[09:12.91]Ah, that’s tomorrow.

　　[09:14.95]M: Not yet.

　　[09:16.21]I just bought the books today.

　　[09:18.10]How about you?

　　[09:19.47]W: I started this afternoon.

　　[09:21.11]It’s great fun reading those wonderful

　　[09:24.15]children’s stories by Dr. Thews.

　　[09:26.64]M: Dr. Thews?

　　[09:27.97]I don’t remember seeing his name

　　[09:29.88]on the reading list.

　　[09:30.93]W: His full name is Theodore Thews Gaisle.

　　[09:33.85]That’s how it’s listed in the bibliography.

　　[09:36.41]Dr. Thews is his pen-name.

　　[09:38.87]M: I love reading those stories as a child.

　　[09:41.24]It’ll be interesting to read them

　　[09:43.61]now from a different perspective.

　　[09:45.24]I guess it’ll give me a good idea

　　[09:46.94]on how children think.

　　[09:48.45]W: Those stories are also great

　　[09:50.30]for classroom use.

　　[09:51.76]M: How is that?

　　[09:52.92]W: Well, take a typical Dr. Thews’ book

　　[09:55.77]like The Cat in the Hat.

　　[09:57.89]It has a controlled vocabulary

　　[10:00.10]of only 200 words.

　　[10:02.26]M: So that means the children

　　[10:03.96]get lots of practice

　　[10:05.34]in using a small number of words

　　[10:07.13]over and over.

　　[10:08.48]W: Exactly. In fact,

　　[10:10.30]The Cat in the Hat was written primarily

　　[10:13.09]to show how a controlled vocabulary

　　[10:15.36]reader could also find reading

　　[10:17.57]to be interesting and fun.

　　[10:19.95]M: Well, it sounds like all

　　[10:21.37]these courses are also going

　　[10:22.53]to be interesting and fun.

　　[10:23.88]I think I’ll get started

　　[10:25.06]on this reading list tonight.

　　[10:26.68]Questions 22 to 25 are based on

　　[10:30.79]the conversation you have just heard.

　　[10:33.80]22. What was the man’s major field of study?

　　[10:53.95]23. Why would the man

　　[10:57.78]read children’s stories?

　　[11:14.62]24. When did the conversation

　　[11:19.04]probably take place?

　　[11:35.74]25. What could be inferred

　　[11:40.03]about The Cat in the Hat?

　　[11:57.09]Section B

　　[12:01.10]Directions:

　　[12:02.52]In this section,

　　[12:03.92]you will hear 3 short passages.

　　[12:07.12]At the end of each passage,

　　[12:09.35]you will hear some questions.

　　[12:11.54]Both the passage

　　[12:12.99]and the questions will be

　　[12:14.85]spoken only once.

　　[12:17.46]After you hear a question,

　　[12:19.09]you must choose the best answer

　　[12:21.32]from the four choices

　　[12:23.19]marked A), B), C) and D).

　　[12:27.02]Then mark the corresponding letter

　　[12:29.99]on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line

　　[12:33.64]through the center.

　　[12:35.15]Passage One

　　[12:37.02]Margaret Mitchell,

　　[12:38.49]the renowned American novelist,

　　[12:40.59]is the author of the enormously popular novel

　　[12:43.17]Gone With the Wind.

　　[12:44.75]She grew up in Atlanta, Georigia.

　　[12:47.40]When her mother died in 1919,

　　[12:50.32]she returned home from college.

　　[12:52.35]Between 1922 and 1926 she was a writer

　　[12:56.98]and reporter for the Atlanta Journal.

　　[12:59.10]After an ankle injury in 1926

　　[13:02.35]she left the paper and,

　　[13:04.41]for the next 10 years,

　　[13:05.81]worked slowly on a romantic novel

　　[13:08.70]about the Civil War and Reconstruction

　　[13:11.13]as seen from a Southern point of view.

　　[13:13.51]The novel featured Scarlet O. Hara,

　　[13:15.99]a strong-willed heroine.

　　[13:17.55]From her family Mitchell

　　[13:19.73]has absorbed the history of the South,

　　[13:21.72]the tragedy of the war,

　　[13:23.18]and the romance of the Lost Cause.

　　[13:26.11]She worked at her novel

　　[13:27.76]in a scattered manner,

　　[13:28.87]composing episodes

　　[13:30.51]and later fitting them together

　　[13:32.03]into sequences.

　　[13:33.13]She did not think of publication at first,

　　[13:35.81]and for six years after the book

　　[13:37.94]was finished the novel wasn’t exposed

　　[13:40.27]to the public. But in 1935 Mitchell

　　[13:43.43]was persuaded to submit her manuscript

　　[13:45.44]for publication. It appeared in 1936

　　[13:48.79]as Gone With the Wind.

　　[13:50.64]Within six months 1 000 000 copies

　　[13:53.03]had been sold; 50 000 copies were sold

　　[13:56.17]in one day. It went on to sell more copies

　　[13:59.31]than any other novel in U. S.

　　[14:00.97]publishing history,

　　[14:02.35]with sales passing 12 million by 1965,

　　[14:05.94]and was eventually translated into

　　[14:08.58]25 languages and sold in 40 countries.

　　[14:12.34]It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1937.

　　[14:16.60]The book was soon adapted into a film,

　　[14:18.85]starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable.

　　[14:21.65]The film won nine major Oscars

　　[14:23.98]and within two decades ranked

　　[14:26.55]as the top moneymaking film of all time.

　　[14:29.01]Mitchell, who never started another book,

　　[14:31.65]died after an automobile accident in 1949.

　　[14:35.68]Questions 26 to 28 are based on

　　[14:39.99]the passage you have just heard.

　　[14:42.42]26. Why did Margaret Mitchell

　　[14:46.60]leave the Atlanta Journal?

　　[15:03.62]27. How many copies of Gone With the Wind

　　[15:09.03]had been sold within six months

　　[15:11.78]after it appeared in 1936?

　　[15:28.90]28. How many major Oscars did the film

　　[15:34.59]Gone With the Wind win?

　　[15:51.93]Passage Two

　　[15:54.05]Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on Jan 29, 1954,

　　[16:00.45]in a farmer family. Oprah’s parents

　　[16:03.72]separated when she was young,

　　[16:05.48]leaving her to be raised

　　[16:07.28]by her strict grandmother.

　　[16:09.19]To amuse herself, Oprah began speaking

　　[16:11.94]and play acting at a very early age.

　　[16:15.34]As a child, her favorite hobby

　　[16:17.32]was reading.

　　[16:18.71]She began reading very early,

　　[16:20.63]and her interest

　　[16:21.82]in reading eventually developed into

　　[16:24.03]her lifelong combat against illiteracy.

　　[16:27.53]Her father encouraged Oprah to read

　　[16:29.40]and engaged her in discussions.

　　[16:31.53]He demanded that his daughter

　　[16:33.67]add five new words to her vocabulary

　　[16:36.39]before she could have dinner each day.

　　[16:39.04]Oprah Winfrey won a speech contest

　　[16:41.33]that guaranteed her a full scholarship

　　[16:43.84]to the University of Tennessee.

　　[16:46.17]She also received an invitation to

　　[16:48.39]the White House Conference on Youth.

　　[16:50.95]At Tennessee State, Winfrey entered

　　[16:53.57]and won several beauty contests.

　　[16:55.96]She was subsequently offered a position

　　[16:58.19]by the local CBS

　　[17:00.17]affiliate television station

　　[17:02.27]while she was still in college.

　　[17:04.40]After graduation in 1976,

　　[17:07.23]Winfrey accepted an offer

　　[17:09.01]from the ABC affiliate in Baltimore.

　　[17:12.15]She was then assigned to

　　[17:13.64]an early morning talk show.

　　[17:15.32]By 1985 her talk show was expanded

　　[17:18.65]and renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show.

　　[17:21.26]Winfrey attracted scores of viewers,

　　[17:24.10]primarily women. A frank interviewer,

　　[17:26.95]Winfrey was equally honest

　　[17:28.76]when talking about herself.

　　[17:30.86]For years, she shared her uphill battle

　　[17:33.42]with her weight with her fans.

　　[17:35.36]Not satisfied with her success

　　[17:37.75]as a TV show host,

　　[17:39.34]Winfrey also participated

　　[17:41.40]in movie making

　　[17:42.73]in the 1980s and wrote a cookbook

　　[17:45.55]in 1993 that became an immediate bestseller.

　　[17:50.33]As the most successful woman

　　[17:52.46]in entertainment in America,

　　[17:54.50]Oprah Winfrey’s extraordinary accomplishments

　　[17:57.60]are amazing by any standards.

　　[18:00.82]Questions 29 to 31 are based

　　[18:04.50]on the passage you have just heard.

　　[18:06.56]29. What happened to Oprah Winfrey’s

　　[18:11.24]parents when she was young?

　　[18:27.74]30. How did Oprah Winfrey

　　[18:31.80]get a full scholarship to

　　[18:33.46]the University of Tennessee?

　　[18:50.26]31. What are most of

　　[18:53.97]Oprah Winfrey’s viewers?

　　[19:11.06]Passage Three

　　[19:12.51]Good evening.

　　[19:13.76]Welcome to the first meeting

　　[19:15.67]of our spring cycling season.

　　[19:17.83]It’s pleasure to see so many

　　[19:19.56]new faces here. I certainly hope

　　[19:21.73]that most of you will soon feel right

　　[19:23.57]at home with our group and that

　　[19:25.28]bicycling will become a regular hobby

　　[19:27.31]for you and a part of

　　[19:28.87]your physical fitness routine.

　　[19:30.71]Some of you may not realize

　　[19:32.34]that the state of New Jersey offers

　　[19:34.23]ample opportunities for bicyclists

　　[19:36.31]of all abilities. We have rolling

　　[19:38.73]countryside, miles of beaches,

　　[19:41.22]lovely hills and valleys and thousands

　　[19:44.07]of miles of little-used roads.

　　[19:46.28]Beginners will find the shore

　　[19:48.58]and area south of Princeton suitable for

　　[19:50.86]their needs while expert riders will discover

　　[19:53.85]that the steep trails to the region

　　[19:55.71]around High Point offer a challenge

　　[19:57.73]to their skill and stamina.

　　[19:59.83]In addition, New Jersey is rich

　　[20:02.19]in places of historical interest.

　　[20:03.94]Most are carefully preserved.

　　[20:06.43]All have been meticulously restored.

　　[20:09.14]We organize tours to a variety

　　[20:11.66]of places nearly every weekend.

　　[20:13.60]Next, Saturday’s tour will be

　　[20:16.05]a relatively easy one,

　　[20:17.30]from Rutgers University to

　　[20:18.93]the Gate Way National Park.

　　[20:21.05]Interested cyclists should meet

　　[20:23.36]at eight a. m. in the parking lot

　　[20:25.26]at the corner of Hamilton Street

　　[20:26.80]and College Avenue in New Brunswick.

　　[20:29.26]The minimum time

　　[20:30.59]for this tour is about six hours.

　　[20:32.19]We will use a “buddy system”

　　[20:34.61]throughout the ride.

　　[20:35.79]Each new rider should team up

　　[20:37.65]with a more experienced rider.

　　[20:39.64]If the buddies looked after each other,

　　[20:41.97]we can be sure that

　　[20:43.23]no one will be left behind

　　[20:44.39]on the back roads.

　　[20:45.58]You can pick up a map of Saturday’s tour

　　[20:48.27]at the information table

　　[20:49.68]before you leave this evening.

　　[20:51.01]Questions 32 to 35 are based on

　　[20:55.51]the passage you have just heard.

　　[20:57.65]32. What is the passage

　　[21:01.64]mainly talk about?

　　[21:17.96]33. According to the speaker,

　　[21:22.43]what makes New Jersey

　　[21:24.07]a good place to bicycle?

　　[21:40.71]34. What will some of

　　[21:44.47]the listeners probably do on Saturday?

　　[22:02.07]35. What is the purpose

　　[22:06.19]of the “buddy system”?

　　[22:22.98]Section C

　　[22:24.97]Directions: In this section,

　　[22:28.12]you will hear a passage

　　[22:29.94]three times.

　　[22:31.69]When the passage is read

　　[22:33.11]for the first time,

　　[22:34.43]you should listen carefully

　　[22:36.29]for its general idea.

　　[22:38.37]When the passage is read

　　[22:39.68]for the second time,

　　[22:40.95]you are required to fill

　　[22:42.49]in the blanks numbered

　　[22:44.69]from 36 to 43

　　[22:47.27]with the exact words

　　[22:49.34]you have just heard.

　　[22:51.06]For blanks numbered

　　[22:52.37]from 44 to 46

　　[22:54.77]you are required to fill

　　[22:56.48]in the missing information.

　　[22:58.35]For these blanks,

　　[23:00.33]you can either use the exact words

　　[23:02.50]you have just heard

　　[23:03.74]or write down the main points

　　[23:06.29]in your own words.

　　[23:07.92]Finally, when the passage

　　[23:09.87]is read for the third time,

　　[23:11.66]you should check

　　[23:12.94]what you have written.

　　[23:14.46]Now listen to the passage.

　　[23:18.15]If you listen to American music,

　　[23:21.82]watch American television or read magazines,

　　[23:25.01]you will probably

　　[23:26.19]agree that the most popular

　　[23:28.05]subject of these forms

　　[23:29.86]of entertainment is love.

　　[23:31.93]Romantic love always finds an audience

　　[23:35.24]in the United States.

　　[23:36.87]Falling in love,

　　[23:38.62]solving the problems of love,

　　[23:40.32]and achieving the happy ending—

　　[23:42.62]the big wedding are subjects

　　[23:44.66]of interest to the adult as well

　　[23:46.75]as the teenage public.

　　[23:48.53]Millions of Americans

　　[23:50.37]celebrate Valentine’s Day

　　[23:52.68]with special cards and gifts

　　[23:54.89]that announce their love

　　[23:56.60]to their mates, their friends,

　　[23:58.71]their coworkers, and their families.

　　[24:01.99]Popular songs tell us that

　　[24:03.71]“all the world love a lover”.

　　[24:05.84]A popular saying is “Love conquers all”.

　　[24:09.42]Numerous columns in magazines

　　[24:11.67]and newspapers offer advice

　　[24:13.64]to the lovelorn, those

　　[24:15.41]with difficulties of heart.

　　[24:17.38]To most Americans, romantic love

　　[24:19.74]is central to a happy life.

　　[24:22.31]Not only do Americans believe

　　[24:24.18]in romantic love but they also

　　[24:26.13]believe that it is

　　[24:27.35]the best basis for marriage.

　　[24:29.50]Despite the high divorce rate

　　[24:31.86]in the United States,

　　[24:33.32]young men and women continue

　　[24:35.88]to marry on the basis of romantic love.

　　[24:40.10]Americans consider marriage

　　[24:41.91]a private arrangement between

　　[24:43.84]the two people involved.

　　[24:45.87]Young Americans feel free to

　　[24:47.94]choose their own marriage partners

　　[24:49.97]from any social, economic,

　　[24:51.93]or religious background.

　　[24:53.66]The man or woman may have strong ties

　　[24:55.99]with parents, brothers,

　　[24:57.51]or sisters, but when he

　　[24:59.72]or she falls in love,

　　[25:01.38]the strongest feelings

　　[25:03.28]are supposed to be for the loved one.

　　[25:05.98]When an American couple marries,

　　[25:08.37]they generally plan to live apart

　　[25:11.12]from both sets of parents

　　[25:13.37]and build their own

　　[25:14.65]independent family structure.

　　[25:17.68]Now the passage will be read again.

　　[25:20.03]If you listen to American music,

　　[25:23.28]watch American television or read magazines,

　　[25:26.24]you will probably

　　[25:27.50]agree that the most popular

　　[25:29.36]subject of these forms

　　[25:31.14]of entertainment is love.

　　[25:33.51]Romantic love always finds an audience

　　[25:36.70]in the United States.

　　[25:38.26]Falling in love,

　　[25:39.80]solving the problems of love,

　　[25:41.64]and achieving the happy ending-

　　[25:43.85]the big wedding are subjects

　　[25:46.00]of interest to the adult as well

　　[25:47.96]as the teenage public.

　　[25:49.90]Millions of Americans

　　[25:51.73]celebrate Valentine’s Day

　　[25:54.04]with special cards and gifts

　　[25:56.31]that announce their love

　　[25:57.72]to their mates, their friends,

　　[26:00.11]their coworkers, and their families.

　　[26:02.94]Popular songs tell us that

　　[26:05.02]“all the world love a lover”.

　　[26:07.19]A popular saying is “Love conquers all”.

　　[26:10.90]Numerous columns in magazines

　　[26:12.94]and news papers offer advice

　　[26:14.93]to the lovelorn, those

　　[26:16.53]with difficulties of heart.

　　[26:18.66]To most Americans, romantic love

　　[26:21.09]is central to a happy life.

　　[26:23.65]Not only do Americans believe

　　[26:25.66]in romantic love but they also

　　[26:27.58]believe that it is

　　[26:28.71]the best basis for marriage.

　　[26:31.40]Despite the high divorce rate

　　[26:33.32]in the United States,

　　[26:34.75]young men and women continue

　　[26:37.26]to marry on the basis of romantic love.

　　[26:40.72]

　　[27:38.96]Americans consider marriage

　　[27:43.40]a private arrangement between

　　[27:46.31]the two people involved.

　　[27:47.51]Young Americans feel free to

　　[27:49.45]choose their own marriage partners

　　[27:51.23]from any social, economic,

　　[27:53.45]or religious background.

　　[27:55.49]The man or woman may have strong ties

　　[27:57.51]with parents, brothers,

　　[27:58.99]or sisters, but when he

　　[28:01.18]or she falls in love,

　　[28:03.02]the strongest feelings

　　[28:04.74]are supposed to be for the loved one.

　　[28:07.44]

　　[29:08.41]When an American couple marries,

　　[29:10.35]they generally plan to live apart

　　[29:12.69]from both sets of parents

　　[29:15.06]and build their own

　　[29:16.51]independent family structure.

　　[29:39.22]

　　[30:18.76]Now the passage will be

　　[30:20.40]read for the third time.

　　[30:23.08]If you listen to American music,

　　[30:25.50]watch American television or read magazines,

　　[30:28.73]you will probably

　　[30:29.84]agree that the most popular

　　[30:31.75]subject of these forms

　　[30:33.39]of entertainment is love.

　　[30:35.96]Romantic love always finds an audience

　　[30:39.07]in the United States.

　　[30:40.81]Falling in love,

　　[30:42.15]solving the problems of love,

　　[30:44.09]and achieving the happy ending-

　　[30:46.33]the big wedding are subjects

　　[30:48.38]of interest to the adult as well

　　[30:50.45]as the teenage public.

　　[30:52.72]Millions of Americans

　　[30:54.14]celebrate Valentine’s Day

　　[30:56.45]with special cards and gifts

　　[30:58.63]that announce their love

　　[31:00.10]to their mates, their friends,

　　[31:02.43]their coworkers, and their families.

　　[31:05.39]Popular songs tell us that

　　[31:07.22]“all the world love a lover”.

　　[31:09.31]A popular saying is “Love conquers all”.

　　[31:13.31]Numerous columns in magazines

　　[31:15.39]and news papers offer advice

　　[31:17.44]to the lovelorn, those

　　[31:19.09]with difficulties of heart.

　　[31:20.89]To most Americans, romantic love

　　[31:23.42]is central to a happy life.

　　[31:26.01]Not only do Americans believe

　　[31:27.79]in romantic love but they also

　　[31:29.96]believe that it is

　　[31:30.98]the best basis for marriage.

　　[31:33.66]Despite the high divorce rate

　　[31:35.67]in the United States,

　　[31:37.08]young men and women continue

　　[31:39.62]to marry on the basis of romantic love.

　　[31:43.29]Americans consider marriage

　　[31:45.57]a private arrangement between

　　[31:47.52]the two people involved.

　　[31:49.95]Young Americans feel free to

　　[31:51.25]choose their own marriage partners

　　[31:53.75]from any social, economic,

　　[31:55.67]or religious background.

　　[31:57.40]The man or woman may have strong ties

　　[31:59.58]with parents, brothers,

　　[32:01.27]or sisters, but when he

　　[32:03.23]or she falls in love,

　　[32:05.49]the strongest feelings

　　[32:07.07]are supposed to be for the loved one.

　　[32:10.21]When an American couple marries,

　　[32:12.12]they generally plan to live apart

　　[32:14.76]from both sets of parents

　　[32:16.94]and build their own

　　[32:18.30]independent family structure.

　　[32:21.15]This is the end of listening comprehension.