全新版大学英语听说教程第三册 b3_Test1

Test 1

Part A

Conversation 1:

W: Cathy has the habit of keeping us waiting for over 30 minutes. Maybe either you or I should give her a ring before each meeting.

M: That's really a nuisance, but I'll do it if you want.

Q: What will the man probably do?

Conversation 2:

M: Could you keep the noise down, Mary? I'm trying to listen to the recording 1.

W: Sorry, it's not me. There is a party downstairs.

Q: What does the woman imply?

Conversation 3:

W: Mr. Brown, I tried to memorize the script but I keep forgetting the lines.

M: Look, Jane, you'll be fine if you stop putting so much pressure on yourself.

Q: What does the man mean?

Conversation 4:

M: You've spent too much time doing coursework, Sally. Don't you think you should go out and get some fresh air?

W: Thanks for the advice. But this is how I relieve my stress. I'd rather not get too far behind.

Q: What can you infer from the woman's response?

Conversation 5:

M: I'm having trouble making ends meet. It looks like I have to make another phone call to my parents.

W: I don't think it would be a problem if you cut down on the discs you buy.

Q: What does the woman mean?

Conversation 6:

W: I hope you enjoyed the movie last night. I wasn't sure I would.

M: I wasn't either, but once it started, I simply got glued to the screen.

Q: What can you learn from the conversation?

Conversation 7:

M: Congratulations! I heard your debating team has reached the final.

W: Yes, we're all excited about it. Now we're working hard to prepare for it.

Q: What will the woman's team probably do?

Conversation 8:

W: Bill is a great guy. He nearly got killed when he tried to rescue an aged 2 woman from a fire yesterday.

M: Well, so far as I know that was not the first dangerous situation he was in.

Q: Which of the following adjectives best describes Bill?

Conversation 9:

M: What kind of father am I? My daughter is sick. She has had a fever for a couple of days. But I didn't even know about it.

W: Don't blame yourself too much. You've been too much involved in the company's work to notice it, I guess. You really should take some time off.

Q: What do you know about the man from the conversation?

Conversation 10:

M: Is Mary still in a critical condition?

W: I'm afraid so, but we've kept the news from her mother.

Q: What do we know about Mary's mother?

Part B

Passage:

Women in many countries now see themselves in a new light for they have discovered that they are as competent as men and can do just as well as men in any profession. Some of them have gone to the top, which has given women pride and self-confidence. Of course the picture is not perfect. In the first place a very large number of women do not even try to enter 'male' professions because they lack the necessary training or because they are not bold enough to take risks on new paths. For one woman executive or one woman judge, there are still countless 3 typists and saleswomen who struggle through their day without any sense of fulfillment. Besides, many of their braver sisters, who dare to compete with men in higher fields, find that male opposition 4 is still strong, and that society is still ready to explain a woman's success by reasons that have nothing to do with her intelligence. Still, the fact remains 5 that women are now free to enter any career that attracts them; the situation has improved, and the tide is not likely to turn back.

Part C

Passage 1

Many people suffer from some form of extreme anxiety. Some experience occasional attacks of panic for almost no reason. Others go around in a state of continual uneasiness. How do we control anxiety? The best way is to take drugs which help patients manage their anxiety. Patients who take these drugs say that they are able to work, to sleep and to go to places they feared to visit before. But the effects of the drugs on the human body, especially on the nervous system have not been known for a long time.

Scientists have started a series of studies to identify the effects of the drugs on the brain and have gained some insight into the costs and benefits of the anti-anxiety drugs. They are valuable because they can reduce the effects of expected failure, frustration 6 and disappointment. But their value demands a price. Two effects of the drugs are obviously harmful. First, they weaken a person's ability to react to changes; second, they fail to help a person deal with unexpected troubles. It is fairly sure that people will meet with problems they have never expected, so these harmful effects may make the price of anti-anxiety drugs too high.

Questions 1 and 2 are based on the passage you've just heard.

1. What does the passage mainly tell us?

2. What is the speaker's attitude toward anti-anxiety drugs?

Passage 2

Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is the development of intelligence dependent on environment and experience? Strangely enough, the answer to these questions is yes. To some extent our intelligence is given us at birth. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied 7 surroundings.

It is easy to show that intelligence is something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Therefore if we take two unrelated people at random 8 from the population, it is likely that their degree of intelligence will be completely different. If we take two identical twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.

Imagine that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence development, and this indicates that environment as well as birth plays a part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all, are likely to have a similar degree of intelligence.

Questions 3 and 4 are based on the passage you've just heard.

3. Which of the following can best serve as a title of the passage?

4. What does the example of sending the twins to different places show us?