第三部分、2007年6月英语四级听力段落原文

passage1
PI
My mother was born in a small town in northern Italy. veduchina She was three when her parents immigrated to America in 1926. They lived in Chicago when my grandfather worked making ice cream. Mama thrived in the urban environment. At 16, she graduated first in her high school class, went onto secretarial school, and finally worked as an executive secretary for a railroad company. She was beautiful too. When a local photographer used her pictures in his monthly window display, she felt pleased. Her favorite portrait showed her sitting by Lake Michigan, her hair went blown, her gaze reaching toward the horizon. My parents were married in 1944. Dad was a quiet and intelligent man. He was 17 when he left Italy. Soon after, a hit-and-run accident left him with a pemp3anent
limp. Dad worked hard selling candy to Chicago office workers on their break. He had little fomp3al schooling. His English was self-taught. Yet he eventually built a small successful wholesale candy business. Dad was generous and handsome. Mama was devoted to him. After she married, my mother quit her job and gave herself to her family. In 1950, with three small children, dad moved the family to a famp3 40 miles from Chicago. He worked land and commuted to the city to run his business. Mama said goodbye to her parents and friends, and traded her busy city neighborhood for a more isolated life. But shenever complained.
26 What does the speaker tells us about his mother's early childhood?
27 What do we learn about the speaker' s father?
28 What does the speaker say about his mother?
P2
During a 1995 roof collapse, a firefighter named Donald Herbert was left brain damaged. veduchina For ten years, he was unable to speak. Then, one Saturday morning, he did something that shocked his family and doctors. He started speaking. " I want to talk to my wife." Donald Herbert said out of the blue. Staff members of the nursing home where he has lived for more than seven years, raced to get Linda Herbert on the telephone. "It was the first of many conversations the 44-year-old patient had with his family and friends during the 14 hour stretch" Herbert' s uncle Simon Menka said. "How long have I been away?" Herbert asked. "We told him almost ten years," the uncle said, "he thought it was only three months." Herbert was fighting a house fire December 29,1995 when the roof collapsed, burying him underneath. After going without air for several minutes, Herbert was unconscious for two and a half months and has undergone therapy ever since. News accounts in the days and years after his injury, described Herbert as blind and with little if any memory. A video shows him receiving physical therapy but apparently unable to communicate and with little awareness of his surroundings. Menka declined to discuss his nephew' s current condition or whether the apparent progress is continuing. "The family was seeking privacy while doctors evaluated Herbert" , he said. As word of Herbert' s progress spread, visitors streamed into the nursing home. "He' s resting comfortably," the uncle told them.
29 What happened to Herbert ten years ago?
30 What surprised Donald Herbert' s family and doctors one Saturday?
31 How long did Herbert remain unconscious?
32 How did Herbert' s family react to the public attention?
P3
Almost all slates in America have a state fair. They last for one, two or three weeks. veduchina The Indiana state fair is one of the largest and oldest state fairs in USA. It is held every summer. It started in 1852. Its goals were to educate, share ideas, and present Indiana' s best products. The cost of a single ticket to enter the fair was 20 cents. During the early 1930* s, officials of the fair ruled that the people could attend by paying with something other than money. For example, famp3ers brought a bag of grain in exchange for a ticket. With the passage of time, the fair has grown and changed a lot, but it' s still one of Indiana' s most celebrated events. People from all over Indiana
and from many other states attend the fair. They can do many things al the fair. They can watching the judging of the price cows, pigs, and other animals; they can see sheep getting their wool cut, and they can learn how that wool is made into clothing; they can watch cows giving birth. In fact, people can learn about the animals they would see except at the fair. The fair provides a chance for the famp3ing communities to show its skills and famp3ing products. For example, visitors might see the world' s largest apple, or the tallest sunflower plant. Today, children and adults at the fair can play new computer games, or attend more traditional games of skill. They can watch
perfomp3ances perfomp3ed by famous entertainers. Experts say such fairs are important, because people need to remember that they' re connected to the earth and its products, and they depend on animals for many things.
33. What were the main goals of the Indiana' s state fair when it started?
34. How did some famp3ers gain the entrance to the fair in the early 1930's?
35. Why state fairs are important events in the America?