Passage 1
Water scooters are water vehicles that look very much like motorcycles. Nowadays speedy colorful water scooters are gaining in popularity. They can travel anywhere a small boat can and are typically popular with young people. The rising popularity of the craft has raised a question of water scooter regulation. In this case, the argument for strict regulation is compelling. Water scooters are a particularly deadly form of water recreation. For example, two women were vacationing in Longboat Key. While they were floating on a rubber boat along the shore, a water scooter crashed into them and killed them. Also, water scooter operators have been killed and seriously injured in collisions with other watercraft. Others have been stranded at sea when their scooters either failed or sank far from shore. Many water scooter operators are inexperienced and ignorant of navigational rules, which increases the potential for accidents. The increasing popularity of the scooter has aggravated the problem, providing more water vehicles to compete for the same space. Crowded water ways are simply an open invitation to disaster. In addition to the inherent operational hazards of water scooters, they are proven to be an environmental nuisance. Beach residents complain of the noise of the scooters. The Pacific Whale Foundation on the west coast expressed the concern that the scooters are frightening away an endangered species of whale that migrates to Hawaii for breeding. Regulations, such as minimum operating age, restricted operating areas, and compulsory classes in water safety, are essential. Without such regulations, tragedies involving water scooters are sure to multiply, which makes many beaches unsafe for recreation.
Questions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 26: What does the speaker say about water scooters?
Question 27: What is mentioned as one of the causes of water accidents?
Question 28: In what way are water scooters said to be an environmental nuisance?
Question 29: What does the speaker propose to ensure the safety of beaches for recreation?
Passage 2
It seems to me that neighbors are going out of style in America. The friend next door from whom you borrowed four eggs or a ladder has moved and the people in there now are strangers.
Some of the traditional stories of neighborliness are impractical or silly, and it may be just as well that our relations with our neighbors are changing. The saying in the Bible “Love Thy Neighbor” was probably a poor translation of what must have originally been “Respect Thy Neighbor.” Love can’t be called up on order. Fewer than half the people in the United States live in the same house they lived in five years ago, so there’s no reason to love the people who live next door to you just because they happened to wander into a real estate office that listed the place next door to yours. The only thing neighbors have in common, to begin with, is proximity, and unless something more develops, that isn’t reason enough to be best friends. It sometimes happens naturally, but the chances are very small that your neighbors will be you choice as friends. Or that you will be theirs, either.
The best relationship with neighbors is one of friendly distance. You say hello, you small-talk if you see them in the yard, you discuss problems as they arise and you help each other in an emergency. The driveway or the fence between you is not really a cold shoulder, but a clear boundary. We all like clearly-defined boundaries for ourselves.
Questions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 30: What does the speaker say about the relations among neighbors nowadays?
Question 31: Why does the speaker say it may be difficult for people to love their neighbors?
Question 32: What should neighbors do in the speaker's opinion?
Passage 3
Articles in magazines and newspapers and special reports on radio and television reflect the concern of many Americans about the increasing dropout rate in our junior and senior high schools. Coupled with this fact is the warning that soon we will no longer have workforce to fill the many jobs that require properly-educated personnel. The highest student dropout rate is not a recent development. Ten years ago, many urban schools were reporting dropout rates between 35 and 50 percent. Some administrators maintain that dropouts remain the single greatest problem in their schools. Consequently, much effort has been spent on identifying students with problems in order to give them more attention before they become failures. Since the dropout problem doesn't start in senior high school, special programs in junior high school focus on students who show promise but have a record of truancy, that is, staying away from school without permission. Under the guidance of counselors, these students are placed in classes with teachers who have had success in working with similar young people. Strategies to motivate students in high school include rewarding academic excellence by designating scholars of the month, or by issuing articles of clothing such as school letter jackets formally given only to athletes. No one working with these students claims to know how to keep all students in school. Counselors, teachers, and administrators are in the frontlines of what seems at times to be a losing battle. Actually, this problem should be everyone's concern, since uneducated, unemployed citizens affect us all.
Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 33: Why are many Americans concerned with the increasing dropout rate in school?
Question 34: What do we learn about the student dropout problem in America?
Question 35: What is mentioned as one of the strategies used to motivate students?
短长对话：
Short Conversation
11.
M: Good news! I am not going to have surgery after all. The doctor says I can start working out again soon and maybe play football like before in a few weeks.
W: That's terrific. It will be great if you could get back in shape in time for the world's cup.
Q: What do we learn from the conversation?
12.
M: I really need to make some extra money. You know, I've practically spent my entire budget for this semester.
W: Why not check out the new cafeteria at Market Street. I think there are still a few opening suitable for seniors like you.
W: What does the woman suggest the man do?
13.
M: I hear John left his cat in your care while he’s on vocation abroad. How are you getting along with it?
W: Well, it never comes when I call it. It spills its food and sheds all over the place. I can't wait till John gets back.
Q: How does the woman find the cat?
14.
W: Hello, Professor White, I got my grade in the mail this morning, but I think there might be a mistake in my mark.
M: Yeah, I've got several calls, just like yours, there must be a problem with the computing system. It should be straightened out in a couple of hours.
Q: What does the man mean?
15.
M: Professor Johnson, last night when I was putting the finishing touches on my paper, a computer failure completely wiped out my files. Do you think I could have another day to retype it?
W: I'm sorry Rod. I'm leaving for a conference tomorrow and I'll be away two weeks. I suppose you could send me an e-copy.
Q: Why does the man say he can't submit his assignment on time?
16.
W: I just called the travel agency. It's all set. On June first, we are heading for the mountains, and we’ll be camping there for a whole week.
M: Have you checked the academic calendar? My classes aren’t over until the 8th.
Q: What does the man imply?
17.
W: I thought there were still time for me to apply for a student loan, but someone just told me that the closing date was last Tuesday.
M: Are you sure? I thought we still had another month. Wait. I got a brochure right here. Last Tuesday was the opening date.
Q: What does the man imply?
18.
W: Look at all the pollutants going into the air from those factories. Do you think they'll ever get that under control?
M: Now with the new laws in effect and social awareness increasing, we are sure to turn things around.
Q: What does the man mean?
Long conversations
Conversation One:
W: Tell me, Peter, what makes Harold’s so famous?
M: Well, it's the biggest department store in the UK, and its food hall and Egyptian hall are very famous. People come to Harold’s just to see them.
W: What is special about the food hall?
M: It sells many different kinds of food. For example, it has two hundred and fifty kinds of cheese from all over the world, more than 180 kinds of bread. Customers also love all the different kinds of chocolate. They buy a hundred tons every year.
W: That's amazing, and why is the Egyptian hall so famous?
M: Well, when people see it they feel they're in another world. It looks like an Egyptian building from 4000 years ago, and it sells beautiful objects. They are not 4000 years old, of course.
W: Is it true that Harold's produces it's own electricity?
M: Yes, it does. 70%, enough for a small town. To light the outside of the building we use 11,500 light bulbs.
W: Really, tell me, how many customers do you have on an average day? And how much do they spend?
M: About 30,000 people come on an average day. But during the sales, the number increases to 300,000 customers a day. How much do they spend? Well, on average, customers spend about 1.5 million pounds a day. The record for one day is 9 million pounds.
W: 9 million pounds in one day?
M: Yes, on the first day of the January sales.
W: Harold's says it sells everything to everybody everywhere, is that really true?
M: Oh, yes, of course. Absolutely everything.
Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 19: What is the food hall of Harold's noted for?
Question 20: What does the Egyptian hall seem like to the customers?
Question 21: What may customers find surprising about Harold's.?
Question 22: About how many customers come to Harold's on an average day?
Conversation Two:
W: Hi, Kevin.
M: HI, Lora, long time no see. What have you been up to lately?
W: Not much I can assure you. And you?
M: Much the same except I do have some big news.
W: Come on, the suspense is killing me.
M: Not really, what have you been doing these past few weeks? The last time I saw you, you were looking for a new job.
W: Well that's not exactly true. I was thinking about changing jobs. Luckily, they offered me a new position in the accounting department.
M: A step up in the big business world.
W: I wouldn't exaggerate, but I'm pleased. I had been hoping to get promotion for a while, so when it finally came through I was relieved. Actually, that's why I was looking for a new job. I just didn't want to work there anymore if they weren't going to recognize my efforts.
M: Right, sometimes you can do your best and it seems like the others don't know you exist. I hope the money is better.
W: I got a reasonable raise. Now, enough about me. I'm dying to hear your news.
M: I'm getting married.
W: No, you said you'd never get married.
M: That was then, and this is now, you've got to meet Andrea. She is great.
W: This is all news to me. I didn't even know you were dating.
M: We weren't. We've just been dating for two weeks now.
W: And you are getting married?
M: I know. I can't help it. I just know she is the one.
W: Well, congratulations. That's fantastic.
M: Thanks, I'm glad to hear you feel that way.
Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 23: What was the woman doing when the man last saw her?
Question 24: Why does the woman say she was relieved?
Question 25: Why is the woman surprised at the man's news?
