2006-2013年英语六级听力原文

2006年12月英语六级听力原文 11. M: I need to find a dentist, you said you know Dr. Smith well, do you recommend her? W: Well, I had to see her a few times, but what impressed me most were the magazines in her waiting room. Q: What does the woman imply? 12. W: I’m afraid I can’t show you the apartment at the moment, because the tenant is still living in it. It’s really a lovely place with a big kitchen and a sunny window, for only ＄200 a month. M: Sounds good, but we really can’t rent an apartment without seeing it first. Q: What do we learn from the conversation? 13. M: So, that’s what’s been keeping you so busy recently! W: Yes, I’ve been tied up with my studies.You know I’m planning to go to the United States this coming summer, but I’m a bit nervous about my English. Q: What is the woman busy doing? 14. W: How did you feel when you found out you had high blood pressure? M: Shocked! The problem for me was that there were no symptoms; it seemed to have sneaked up on me. Q: What does the man mean? 15. W: So, you’re just back from a trip to India. .What were you doing there? M: The trip was intended to bring to the world’s attention the fact that AIDS is not just an African disease; it’s also endangering other countries, notably, India and Thailand. Q: What was the purpose of the man’s trip to India? 16. M: It’s quite clear for my visit, this is a full size, comprehensive university. So why is it still called a college? W: The College of William and Mary is the second oldest institution of higher learning in this country. We have nurtured great minds like Thomas Jefferson and we are proud of our name. Q: What do we learn from this conversation about the College of William and Mary? 17. M: Have the parts we need for the photo copying machine arrived yet? W: I ordered them last week, but something is holding them up. Q: What does the woman say about the parts needed for the photo copying machine? 18. W: The cafeteria provided many kinds of dishes for us today. Did you notice that? M: Yes, kind of rare, isn’t it? Q: What does the man imply? Conversation One W: Hello, Patrick, is that you? M: Yeah Jane, what can I do for you? W: I was calling about the apple tree that you were trimming yesterday. M: That was hard work! W: I’m sure it was. It true looked difficult. M: Yeah, I’m glad it’s finished. Hauling the branches to the front for garbage pick-up was no fun either. W: Well, I don’t think you’re quite finished yet,some of the larger branches fell over into my yard, and I think you should come and get them. M: Listen Jane, I don’t see why I should do that. You’ve eaten all the apples that fall in your yard and you’ve never complained about that before. W: Well, it’s easier to pick up apples than to drag tree branches all the way to the curb. My kids pick up the apples, and the branches are just too big for them to drag. M: Well, I guess you’ll just have to do it yourself Jane. W: Patrick, I wish you would reconsider. We’ve always gotten along fairly well, but I think you’re out of line here.The branches are your responsibility. M: Sorry Jane, I disagree! You take the benefits of the apple tree, but refuse to deal with the bad side of it! Besides, it won’t take you any time to get the branches out front! W: Get the branches off my property or I’ll have to sue you. M: Yeah? For what?! You’re taking those law classes too seriously! I’ve gotta go, I have to pick up my son. W: You’ll be hearing from me. M: Yeah, yeah. See you in court Jane. 19. What did the man do yesterday? 20. What did the woman ask the man to do? 21. What did the woman threaten to do? 22. What was the man’s reaction to the woman’s threat? Conversation Two M: Did you hear about the air crash that occurred in South America recently? It was quite a tragic accident! W: No, I didn’t see anything in the news about it. What happened? M: A foreign airliner was attempting to land at night in a mountainous area of Argentina and flew into a hill! W: That sounds really terrible! Did anyone survive? M: No, everyone aboard, including the crew, was killed instantly. W: What were the circumstances? Was there bad weather, a fire, or engine failure? M: Apparently, there were some low clouds in the area, but mostly it was just miscommunication between the pilots and the air traffic controllers. W: Weren’t they both speaking in English, the official international aviation language? M: Yes, they were. But the transmission from poor quality radios was slightly distorted and the accents of the Spanish speaking controllers were so strong that the pilots misunderstood a vital instruction. W: How could a misunderstanding like that caused such a serious accident? M: The pilots were told to descend to two-two thousand feet. The instruction actually meant 22,000 feet, but they thought they heard descend to 2,000 feet. That’s a huge difference, and it should have been confirmed, but it was not. Unfortunately, the terrain of the mountains in Norweija extends up 20,000 feet. W: So the pilots did descend to the wrong altitude then, thinking they were following the air controllers' instructions. M: Sadly enough, yes they did. It was a really bad mistake. Many people died as a result of the simple misunderstanding. W: Wow, that’s a powerful lesson on how important it can be to accurately communicate to each other. 23. What was the cause of the tragedy? 24. How high are the mountains in Norweija? 25. What lesson could be drawn from the accident? Section B Passage One Edgar Allen Poe, an American writer, was born in 1809. His parents were actors. Edgar was a baby when his father left the family. He was two years old when his mother died. He was taken into the home of a wealthy businessman named John Allen. He then received his new name, Edgar Allen Poe. As a young man, Poe attended the University of Virginia. He was a good student, but he liked to drink alcohol and play card games for money. As an unskilled game player, he often lost money. Since he couldn’t pay off his gambling debt, he left university and began working for magazines. He worked hard, yet he was not well paid, or well known. At the age of 27, he got married. For a time it seemed that Poe would find some happiness, but his wife was sick for most of their marriage, and died in 1847. Through all his crises, Poe produced many stories and poems which appeared in different publications, yet he didn’t become famous until 1845, when his poem, The Raven, was published. There is a question, however, about Poe’s importance in American Literature. Some critics say Poe was one of America’s best writers, and even had a great influence on many French writers, but others disagree. They say Poe’s work is difficult to understand and most of his writing describes many unpleasant situations and events. Edgar Allen Poe died in 1849 when he was 40 years old. It is said that he was found dead after days of heavy drinking . 26. What happened to Edgar Allen Poe’s family, when he was only two years old? 27. Why did Edgar Allen Poe leave the University of Virginia? 28. What do some critics say about Edgar Allen Poe? 29. How did Edgar Allen Poe’s life come to an end? Passage Two More than fifty years ago, the United Nations declared that literacy is a basic human right. It’s very important for improving the lives of individuals, however, it is estimated that 880 million adults around the world are illiterate, that is, they are unable to read or write. A majority of them are women. More than 110 million school age children in the world do not attend school. Many others complete school or fail to finish their studies without learning to read or write. Many countries depend on the efforts of people who offer their time to help illiterate individuals. For example, John Mogger became concerned about the problem of illiteracy three years ago, so he started teaching five prisoners in Brazil. In his teaching, he developed a system with this group of prisoners. He says his way of teaching can help anyone learn how to read and write with about thirty hours of study. To learn his system, people must first know how to write letters of the alphabet and learn which sounds they represent. The system divides letters into three groups. The first group of letters can be written between two lines. The second can be written between two lines but part of the letters is above the top line. The third group has letters that are partly written below the lower line. John Mogger taught his students to write simple words from the letters, in this way, his students learned more than 700 words. Many of them can now write to family members. They also can read newspapers and magazines. 30. According to the speaker, which group of people makes up of the majority of the illiterate population? 31. What is the most important feature of John Mogger’s method of teaching the alphabet? 32. What does John Mogger say about his teaching method? Passage Three Farmers usually use ploughs to prepare their fields for planting crops. Plows cut into the ground, and lift up weeds and other unwanted plants. However, plowing is blamed for causing severe damage to topsoil by removing the plants that protect soil from being blown or washed away. Many farmers in South Asia are now trying a process called Low Till Farming. Low Till Farming limits the use of ploughs. In this method of farming seeds and fertilizer are put into the soil through a small cut made in the surface of the ground. Low Till Agriculture leaves much or all of the soil and remains of plants on the ground. They serve as a natural fertilizer and help support the roots of future crops. They take in rain and allow it to flow into the soil instead of running off. It has been proved that Low Till Farming increases harvests and reduces water use, and this method reduces the need for chemical products because there are fewer unwanted plants. Scientists say Low Till Farming is becoming popular in South Asia, which is facing a severe water shortage. They say the area will become dependent on imported food unless water is saved through methods like Low Till Farming. Currently, more than 150 million people in South Asia depend on local rice and wheat crops. Farmers grow rice during wet weather. During the dry season they grow wheat in the same fields. Farmers are using the Low Till method to plant wheat after harvesting rice. Scientists say Low Till Agriculture is one of the best examples in the world of technologies working for both people, and the environment. 33. What is the main problem caused by the usual way of plowing? 34. What does the speaker say about Low Till Farming? 35. Where is Low Till Farming becoming popular? Section C Adults are getting smarter about how smart babies are. Not long ago, researchers learned that 4-day-olds could understand addition and subtraction. Now, British research psychologist Graham Schafer has discovered that infants can learn words for uncommon things long before they can speak. He found that 9-month-old infants could be taught, through repeated show-and-tell, to recognize the names of objects that were foreign to them, a result that challenges in some ways the received wisdom that, apart from learning to identify things common to their daily lives, children don’t begin to build vocabulary until well into their second year. “It’s no secret that children learn words, but the words they tend to know are words linked to specific situations in the home, ”explains Schafer. “This is the first demonstration that we can choose what words the children will learn and that they can respond to them with an unfamiliar voice giving instructions in an unfamiliar setting.” Figuring out how humans acquire language may shed light on why some children learn to read and write later than others, Schafer says, and could lead to better treatments for developmental problems. What’s more, the study of language acquisition offers direct insight into how humans learn. “Language is a test case for human cognitive development,” says Schafer. But parents eager to teach their infants should take note：even without being taught new words a control group caught up with the other infants within a few months. “This is not about advancing development,” he says. “It’s just about what children can do at an earlier age than what educators have often thought.” 2007年6月英语六级听力原文 11. W: Jim, you are on the net again! When are you going to get off? It’s time for the talk show. M: Just a minute dear! I’m looking at a new jewelry site. I want to make sure I get the right gift for mom’s birthday. Q: What is the man doing right now? 12. W: I have never seen you have such confidence before in the exam! M: It’s more than confidence! Right now I feel that if I get less than an A, it will be the fault of the exam itself. Q: What does the man mean? 13. W: Just look at this newspaper! Nothing but murder, death and war! Do you still believe people are basically good? M: Of course, I do! But newspapers hardly ever report stories about peace and generosity. They are not news! Q: What do we learn from the conversation? 14. M: Tom must be joking when he said he plans to sell his shop and go to medical school. W: You are quite right! He’s just kidding! He’s also told me time and time again he wished to study for some profession instead of going into business. Q: What will Tom probably do according to the conversation? 15. W: I hear your boss has a real good impression of you, and he is thinking about giving you two more days off each month. M: I hope not. I’d rather get more work hours , so I can get enough bucks to help out my two kids at college. Q: What does the man truly want? 16. M: I heard you took a trip to Mexico last month. How did you like it? W: Oh, I got sick and tired of the hotels and hotel food! So now I understand the thing: East, west, home’s best! Q: What does the woman mean? 17. W: I’m worried about Anna. She’s really been depressed lately. All she does is staying in her room all day. M: That sounds serious! She’d better see a psychiatrist at the counseling center. Q: What does the man suggest Anna do? 18. M: I could hardly recognize Sam after he got that new job! He’s always in a suit and tie now. W: Yeah. He was never liked that in college. Back then, he went around in old T-shirts and jeans. Q: What do the speakers say about Sam? Conversation One M: Hi, Ann! Welcome back! How was your trip to the States? W: Very busy. I had a lot of meetings, so, of course, I didn’t have much time to see New York. M: What a pity! Actually, I have a trip there myself next week. W: Do you? Then take my advice, do the well-being in the air program. It really works. M: Oh, I read about that in a magazine. You say it works? W: Yes, I did the program on the flight to the States, and when I arrived in New York, I didn’t have any problem, no jet lag at all. On the way back, I didn’t do it, and I felt terrible. M: You’re joking! W: Not at all, it really made a lot of difference. M: En. So what did you do? W: Well, I didn’t drink any alcohol or coffee, and I didn’t eat any meat or rich food. I drink a lot of water, and free juice, and I ate the meals on the well-being menu. They’re lighter. They have fish, vegetables, and noodles, for example, and I did some of the exercises in the program. M: Exercises? On a plane? W: Yes. I didn’t do many, of course, there isn’t much space on a plane. M: How many passengers do the exercises? W: Not many. M: Then how much champagne did they drink? W: A lot! It was more popular than mineral water. M: So, basically, it's a choice. Mineral water and exercises, or champagne and jet lag. W: That’s right! It’s a difficult choice. 19. Why did the woman go to New York? 20. What does the woman say about the well-being in the air program? 21. What did the woman do to follow the well-being menu? 22. What did the woman say about other passengers? Conversation Two W: Morning. Can I help you? M: Well, I’ m not really sure. I' m just looking. W: I see. Well, there’s plenty to look at it again this year. I’m sure you have to walk miles to see each stand. M: That’s true. W: Er..., would you like a coffee? Come and sit down for a minute, no obligation. M: Well, that’s very kind of you, but… W: Now, please. Is this the first year you’ve been to the fair, Mr... M: Yes, Johnson, James Johnson. W: My name's Susan Carter. Are you looking for anything in particular, or are you just interested in computers in general? M: Well, actually, I have some specific jobs in mind. I own a small company, we’ve grown quite dramatically over the past 12 months, and we really need some technological help to enable us to keep on top of everything. W: What’s your line of business, Mr. Johnson? M: We’re a training consultancy. W: I see. And what do you need “to keep on top”? M: The first thing is correspondence. We have a lot of standard letters and forms. So I suppose we need some kind of word processor. W: Right. Well, that’s no problem. But it may be possible for you to get a system that does a lot of other things in addition to word processing. What might suit you is the MR5000. That’s it over there! It’s IBM compatible. M: What about the price? W: Well, the MR5000 costs 1,050 pounds. Software comes free with the hardware. M: Well, I’ll think about it. Thank you. W: Here’s my card. Please feel free to contact me. 23. Where did the conversation take place? 24. What are the speakers talking about? 25. What is the man’s line of business? Section B Passage One The new year always brings with the cultural tradition of new possibilities. We see it as a chance for renewal. We begin to dream of new possible selves. We design our ideal self or an image that is quite different from what we are now. For some of us, we roll at dreamy film in our heads just because it’s the beginning of a new year. But we aren’t serious about making changes. We just make some half-hearted resolution and it evaporates after a week or two. The experience makes us feel less successful and leads us to discount our ability to change in the future. It’s not the changes impossible but that it won’t last unless our resolutions are supported with plans for implementation. We have to make our intentions manageable by detailing the specific steps that will carry us to our goal. Say your goal is to lose weight by dieting and cutting off sweets. But one night you just have to have a cookie. And you know there’s a bag of your favorites in the cupboard. You want one, you eat two, you check the bag and find out you’ve just shot 132 calories. You say to yourself, “What the hell!” and polish off the whole bag. Then you begin to draw all kinds of unpleasant conclusions about yourself. To protect your sense of self, you begin to discount the goal. You may think – "Well, dieting wasn’t that important to me and I won’t make it anyhow.” So you abandon the goal and return to your bad habits. 26. What do people usually wish to do at the beginning of a new year? 27. How can people turn their new year’s resolutions into reality? 28. Why does the speaker mention the example of sweets and cookies? Passage Two 25 years ago, Ray Anderson, a single parent with a one-year-old son witnessed a terrible accident which took place when the driver of a truck ran a red light and collided with the car of Sandra D. The impact of the collision killed Sandra instantly. But her three-month-old daughter was left trapped in the burning car. While others looked on in horror, Andersen jumped out of his vehicle and crawled into the car through the shadowed rear window to try to free the infant. Seconds later, the car was enclosed in flames. But to everyone’s amazement, Andersen was able to pull the baby to safety. While the baby was all right, Andersen was seriously injured. Two days later he died. Bu