Part III Listening Comprehension (35 minutes)

Section A

Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A), B), C) and D), and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre,

Now you'll bear two long conversations.
Conversation One

W: Hello, Gary. How 're you?

M: Fine! And yourself?

W: Can't complain. Did you have time to look at my proposal?

M: No, not really. Can we go over it now?

W: Sure. I’ve been trying to come up with some new production and advertising strategies. First of all, if we want to stay competitive, we need to modernize our factory. New equipment should've been installed long ago.

M: How much will that cost?

W: We have several options ranging from one hundred thousand dollars all the way up to Half a million.

M: OK. We'll have to discuss these costs with finance.

W: We should also consider human resources. I've been talking to personnel as well as our staff at the factory.

M: And what's the picture?

W: We'll probably have to hire a couple of engineers to help us modernize the factory.

M: What about advertising?

W: Marketing has some interesting ideas for television commercials.

M: TV? Isn' t that a bit too expensive for us? What's wrong with advertising in the papers, as usual?

W: Quite frankly, it's just not enough anymore. We need to be more aggressive in order to keep ahead of our competitors.

M: Will we be able to afford all this?

W: I'll look into it, but I think higher costs will be justified. These investments will result in higher profits for our company.

M: We'll have to look at the figures more closely. Have finance draw up a budget for these investments.                                                                                  W: All right. I'll see to it.

Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just beard.

19. What are the two speakers talking about?

  A) The benefit of strong business competition.
  B) A proposal to lower the cost of production.
  C) Complaints about the expense of modernization.
  D) Suggestions concerning new business strategies.

20. What does the woman say about the equipment of their factory?

  A) It cost much more that its worth.
  B) It should be brought up-to-date.
  C) It calls for immediate repairs.
  D) It can still be used for a long time.

21. What does the woman suggest about human resources?

  A) The personnel manager should be fired for inefficiency.
  B) A few engineers should be employed to modernize the factory.
  C) The entire staff should be retrained.
  D) Better-educated employees should be promoted.

22. Why does the woman suggest advertising on TV?
  A) Their competitors have long been advertising on TV.
  B) TV commercials are less expensive.
  C) Advertising in newspapers alone is not sufficient.
  D) TV commercials attract more investments.

Conversation Two

W: Sir, you've been using the online catalogue for quite a while. Is there anything I can do to help you?

M: Well, I've got to write a paper about Hollywood in the 30s and 40s, and I'm really struggling. There are hundreds of books, and I just don’t know where to begin.

W: Your topic sounds pretty big. Why don't you narrow it down to something like... uh...the history of the studios during that time?

M: You know, I was thinking about doing that, but more man 30 books came up when I typed in "movie studios."

W: You could cut that down even further by listing the specific years you want. Try adding "1930s" or "1940s" or maybe "Golden Age."

M: "Golden Age" is a good idea. Let me type that in …. Hey, look, just 6 books this time. That's a lot better.

W: Oh... another thing you might consider ... have you tried looking for any magazine or newspaper articles?

M: No, I've only been searching for books.

W: Well, you can look up magazine articles in the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature.And we do have the Los Angeles Times available over there. You might go through their indexes to see if there's anything you want.

M: Okay. I think I'll get started with these books and then I'll go over the magazines.

W: If you need any help, I'll be over at the Reference Desk.

M: Great, thanks a lot.

Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard-

23. What is the man doing?
   A) Searching for reference material.
   B) Watching a film of the 1930’s.
   C) Writing a course book.
   D) Looking for a job in a movie studio.

24. What does the librarian think of the topic the man is working on?
   A) It’s too broad to cope with.
   B) It’s controversial.
   C) It’s a bit outdated.
   D) It’s of little practical value.

25. Where can the man find the relevant magazine articles?

   A) At the end of the online catalogue.
   B) At the Reference Desk.
   C) In The New York Times.
   D) In the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature.

 

   标准答案：
   19.D  20.B   21.B  22.C   23.A  24.A  25.D