听力是六级考试中的重要题型，考生对这部分的复习一定不能松懈，考生可以充分利用暑期时间坚持练习听力，下面是一篇英语六级听力练习，快来练练吧。

November 11 is Veterans Day in the United States. A veteran is anyone who has served in the armed forces. Veterans Day honors the living. A separate holiday, Memorial Day in May, honors those who died in military service.

This week on our program, we talk about Veterans Day. We also tell you about a group of women veterans who played a special part in American military history.

The United States has about 22 million veterans. The term "veteran" is not just for those who have served in wars. It describes anyone who has ever been in the military.

On November 11, communities hold ceremonies and parades to observe Veterans Day. Military bands play. The president and other public officials take part in the events. And soldiers fire guns into the air in a salute to remember those who died in service to their country.

The history of Veterans Day relates to World War I. Many people at the time called it "the war to end all wars."

The United States entered the fighting in Europe in 1917. But the United States armed forces were small. So the government began to draft men between the ages of 21 and 31.

The men came from cities and farms. Some were rich. Others were poor. There were doctors, lawyers, businessmen, professional athletes and college students. Many were married.

The following year, the government expanded the draft. Now it called on men between the ages of 18 and 45. More than 13 million reported for duty.

Many women joined the armed forces, too. Most got office jobs at military bases in the United States. Some, however, went to France to work as nurses in battlefield hospitals.

World War I ended when Germany surrendered at 11 o'clock in the morning on November 11, 1918 – in other words, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

The following year, President Woodrow Wilson signed a declaration to observe November 11th as Armistice Day in the United States. It would be a day to honor the men and women who had served in the American armed forces during the war.

In 1926, Congress made Armistice Day a national holiday.

But new problems were on the way. Soon, everyone knew that World War I would not be the war to end all wars.

In all, more than four million Americans served in the armed forces during the First World War. Four times that many would serve during the second.

Germany surrendered in May 1945. Japan surrendered in August of that year.

Armistice Day in 1945 was a very special day in the United States. Most of the men and women who had served in the war were home.

So, instead of honoring just veterans of World War I, Americans also honored veterans of World War II.

In 1954, Congress decided to change the name of Armistice Day. The holiday became Veterans Day.

Airplanes Don't Know the Difference Between Men and Women

In the 1930s and ‘40s, many people did not believe women should be permitted to join the military. Even fewer thought women should serve as pilots.

But in the early days of World War II there was a severe shortage of male pilots.

Jacqueline Cochran was a well-known female pilot in the United States at that time. She believed that training women to serve as support pilots at home could free up men to fly combat operations overseas.

General Hap Arnold was chief of what was then called the Army Air Forces. Jackie Cochran persuaded him that women were just as able to fly planes as men.

The Army Air Forces created a program called Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP for short. The women themselves were known as WASPs.

They were required to take their own flying lessons before they could be admitted to the program. And they paid their own way to get to the training base in Sweetwater, Texas. In the end, over 1,000 women became members of the group.

In 1943, 25 women were trained to fly an airplane known as the "Widowmaker." Some male pilots had refused to fly it because so many of the planes crashed during training. Several pilots were killed.

The military believed the planes were safe if they were flown correctly. The women were asked to prove it. One of the WASP veterans is named Deanie Parrish. Her daughter Nancy says the women pilots knew the dangers, but volunteered anyway in what she called a very important experiment.

"Airplanes don't know the difference between men and women. They only know that you're a good pilot or you're not a good pilot. And these women were all very good pilots."

Thirty-eight women lost their lives in the WASP program. There were no military honors for these women. Their own families had to pay for their burials.

One of the pilots who died was named Mary Howson. Nancy Parrish retells the story of what Mary Howson's mother told WASP trainees in Texas shortly after her daughter's death.

"'I came because I thought it was important. It's important for you to know so you can tell your families what to expect if something happens to you.'

"She said 'I'm going to read you the telegram that I got from the United States government when Mary was killed.' And she pulled it out and she unfolded it and she read it to this group of trainees.

"And this is what it said, 'Your daughter was killed this morning. Where do you want us to ship the body?'"

The WASP program ended a few weeks after the last class graduated in 1944. WASP members had served their country by flying fighters, bombers and transport aircraft. They trained other pilots, flew test flights and pulled targets for shooting practice. They transported planes as well as troops and supplies, including parts of the atomic bomb.

In all, they flew more than 96 million kilometers.

For years, WASP members fought to get the recognition they had earned. Not until 1977 were the women fully recognized as military veterans.

In 2010, surviving members of the group received Congress' highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal. WASP veteran Deanie Parrish spoke at a ceremony held in the United States Capitol building.

"Over 65 years ago we each served our country without any expectation of recognition or glory. And we did it without compromising the values that we were taught as we grew up -- honor, integrity, patriotism, service, faith and commitment.

"We did it because our country needed us. I believe I speak for every WASP when I say that it was both a privilege and an honor to serve our country during some of the darkest days of World War II."

Fewer than 300 WASP members are still alive. More than 200 of them attended the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony. Some wore their old uniforms.

Deanie Parrish accepted the medal for the group. She said the award itself was not as important as what it represents.

"All we ever asked for is that our overlooked history would someday no longer be a missing chapter in the history World War II, in the history of the Air Force, in the history of aviation, and most especially the history of America."

Deanie Parrish and her daughter Nancy launched the organization Wings Across America. The purpose is to educate Americans about the WASP program.

They have interviewed more than 100 of the women who served. Parts of the interviews can be seen in a video at .

"They can look at us and they can hear the words coming from us: go for it. Because that's what we did. We went for it."

"What we did was very hush-hush. No one knew. I couldn't even tell Mother and Daddy what I was doing."

"We realized the danger, the danger in anything that you attempt. But there was that camaraderie about the love of flying that drew us together."

全面掌握四六级考试信息，为备考复习做准备！

什么人能考四六级：全日制专科、本科、研究生在校生可报考四六级，其中英语四级考试成绩达到425分以上（含425分）的在校大学生才可报考六级，同一考试批次，四级和六级不能兼报。点击查看更多>>

四六级什么时候考：大学英语四六级考试每年举办两次，分别是6月中下旬的周六和12月中下旬的周六，具体时间每年略有不同，需查看本校教务处报名通知了解。点击查看最新考试时间>>

四六级在哪儿报名：英语四六级考试现在都由各学校组织报名，一般会通过学校的教务网站或者各学院集体报名，报名后还有信息确认的过程，部分学校需要电子摄像。点击查看更多>>

四六级报名费要多少：四六级报名费用由各院校在报名时收取，不同地区及院校收费标准不同，一般在15-70元不等，部分院校不设立现场交费，采取从校园卡或银行卡统一划扣方式收取。点击查看更多>>

四六级考试流程是怎样的：英语四六级是同一天考试，上午考四级，下午考六级。考场上先试音，然后进行作文部分答题，之后是听力部分考试，最后是剩余题型考试。点击查看更多>>

四六级分数怎么计算：大学英语四、六级考试的分数报道采用常模参照方式，不设及格线。四六级考试单项成绩有四个部分，这四个部分以及所占的分值比例为：听力占35%，阅读占35%，翻译占15%，作文占15%。点击查看更多>>

四六级考试改革了哪些：CET考委会宣布从2013年12月考次起对英语四六级考试题型改革。本次四六级考试改革取消了完形填空、快速阅读，增加阅读理解匹配题，复合式听写改为单词和词组听写，句子翻译改为短文汉译英。点击了解更多>>

四六级成绩什么时候出：四六级考试成绩一般是考后两个月左右公布，一般在成绩查询开始前10天左右，四六级考委会网站会公布成绩查询通知，告知大家确切的成绩查询开始时间及成绩查询方式。点击了解更多>>

四六级多少分过：四六级报道成绩满分为710分，凡成绩在220分以上的考生，发给成绩单，不设官方及格线。但考委会规定“四级成绩达到425分以上（含425分）者方可报考六级”，故一般认为四级及格线是425分。点击了解更多>>