2008年12月四级考试听力原文

2008年12月四级考试听力原文短对话

ShortConversations

11．M:IjustreceivedanEmailfromoneofmyformerclassmates.Iwassurprised,Ihadn’theardfromhimforages.

W:Well,I’vebeenoutoftouchwithmostofmyoldfriends,onlyoneortwostilldropmealineoccasionally,

Q:Whatdoesthewomanmean?

12.M:Ifyoucanmakeupyourmindaboutthecolor,Icanstartontheoutsideofyourhouseearlynextweek.

W:Well,rightnowIthinkIwantwhiteforthewindowframesandyellowforthewalls,butI’llletyouknowtomorrow.

Q:Whoisthewomantalkingto?

13.W:Excuseme,doyouhaveanyapartmentsavailableforunder500dollarsamonth?Ineedtomoveinnextweekwhenmynewjobstarts.

M:TheonlyvacantoneIhaveis600dollars,haveyouinquiredattheapartmentcomplexdownthestreet?

Q:Whatdoesthemansuggestthewomando?

14.W:Youboughtapairofjeansyesterday,didn’tyou?Whataretheylike?

M:Oh,theyareprettymuchlikemyotherones,exceptwithalargerwaist.IguessIhaven’tspentmuchtimeexercisinglately.

Q:Whatcanweinferfromtheconversationabouttheman?

15.W:Ireallylikethoseabstractpaintingswesawyesterday.Whatdoyouthink?

M:Iguessit’ssomethingIhaven’tacquiredatasteforyet.

Q:Whatdoesthemanimply?

16.W:Youhaven’tseenabluenotebook,haveyou?IhopeIdidn’tleaveitinthereadingroom.

M:Didyoucheckthatpileofjournalsyou’veborrowedfromthelibrarytheotherday?

Q:Whatisthemantryingtosaytothewoman?

17.M:Howaboutjoiningmeforacupofcoffee?

W:I’dloveto,butI’mexhausted.Iwasuptill3thismorning,writingapaperformyliteratureclass.

Q:Whydoesthewomandeclinetheman’sinvitation?

18.W:Youhadajobinterviewyesterday,didn’tyou?Howdiditgo?

M:Nottoobad,Iguess.Therewereabout20candidatescompetingforthesalesmanager’sjob.Andfinallyitwasdowntothreeofus,buttheothertwoseemedbetterqualified.

Q:Whatdoesthemanimply?

听力长对话1

F:Simon,howdoesitfeeltoberetired?

M:Well,notsobad.

F:Howhaveyoubeenspendingyourtime?

M:Ihavebeenspendingmoretimewithmyfamily.I’vealsotravelledabit,youknow,offseasonwheneverywhereislesscrowdedandhotelscostless.

F:Great.

M:YouknowIhaven’tstoppedworkcompletely.

F:Yes,couldyoutellusmoreaboutthis?

M:I’monaschemethat’scalledphasedretirement;Ihadasix-monthbreakfromwork,afterthatIcouldapplyforprojectworkwiththecompanyIusedtoworkfor.

F:Howdoestheschemework?

M:Well,it’satrialatthemoment.Insteadofhiringtemporarystuff,thecompanyadvertisespostsonitswebsitethatretiredemployeeslikemyselfcanaccess.

F:Whatsortofworksadvertised?

M:Well,allsortsofthings,really.Administrativeworkandmorespecializedwork,thesortofthingIcando.Someoftheprojectscanlastfiveorsixmonths,andotherscanjustbeacoupleofdays.Icandecidemoreorlesswhentowork.SoIcanmanagemyowntime.

F:Icanseeit’sgoodforyou.Whatisyourcompanygetoutofthis?

M:Well,Istillhaveallmyoldcontactsatwork,soIknowwhotocontacttogetsomethingdone.Thecompanygetsflexibility,too.Oncethejob’sover,that’sit.I’mnotontheirbooksanymore.

Questions19-21arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

19.WhydoesSimonfindhisretiredlifeenjoyable?

20.HowdoesSimongettoknowaboutthecompany’savailableposts?

21.Whydoesthecompanyadoptthephasedretirementscheme?

长对话2

W:Oh,wherearewegoing?

M:Iwanttoshowyousomething.

W:Iknow,butwhatisit?

M:Afarm.It’sjustdownthisroad.It’sasmallplace,butatleastitwouldbeourown.

W:Afarm?Howcanweaffordtobuyafarm?

M:Itisn’tverylarge,only40acres.Wewouldn’thavetopayverymuchrightnow.

W:Isthereahouseontheplace?

M:Asmallone,twobedrooms,butitneedstobefixedupalittle.Icandothejobmyself.

W:OK.Isthereenoughspaceforakitchengarden?

M:Thereisabouthalfanacrearoundthehouse.That’splentyofspace.

W:Thenwecangrowourownfreshvegetables.Andmaybekeepafewchickens,couldn’twe?

M:Yes,andwecanprobablygrowalotofourownfood.

W:Whatareyouthinkingaboutgrowing,ifwedotakethisplace?

M:Well,itreallyisn’tbigenoughforcorn.Ithoughtwemighttrytoraiseacropofpotatoes.

W:Potatoes?Therearealotofwork.

M:Weareusedtohardwork,aren’twe?

W:Yes,weare,butthemoney.Dowehaveenoughtogetstarted?Itseemslikeadream.

M:Ithinkwe’vesavedenough.Wecanpayalittleonthefarmandmaybeputafewdollarsdownonthetractor,too.

Questions22to25arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

Q22:

Whatarethespeakersgoingtodoatthetimeoftheconversation?

29.HowhastheCommunityPolicingProgramturnedouttobe?

Andtheprogramseemstobeworking,crimeisdownandourcitizensreportthattheyfeelmoresecure.

篇章2

Therearebetween3000and6000publiclanguagesintheworld,andwemustaddapproximately6billionprivatelanguagessinceeachoneofusnecessarilyhasone.Consideringthesefacts,thepossibilitiesforbreakdownsincommunicationseeminfiniteinnumber.However,wedocommunicatesuccessfullyfromtimetotime.Andwedolearntospeaklanguages.Butlearningtospeaklanguagesseemstobeaverymysteriousprocess.Foralongtime,peoplethoughtthatwelearnedalanguageonlybyimitationandassociation.Forexample,ababytouchesahotpotandstartstocry.Themothersays,“Hot,hot!”Andthebaby,whenitstopscrying,imitatesthemotherandsays,“Hot,hot!”However,NoamChomsky,afamousexpertinlanguage,pointedoutthatalthoughchildrendolearnsomewordsbyimitationandassociation,theyalsocombinewordstomakemeaningfulsentencesinwaysthatareunique,unlearnedandcreative.Becauseyoungchildrencanmakesentencestheyhaveneverheardbefore,Chomskysuggestedthathumaninfantsarebornwiththeabilitytolearnlanguage.Chomskymeantthatunderneathallthedifferencesbetweenpublicandprivatelanguages,thereisauniversallanguagemechanismthatmakesitpossibleforus,asinfants,tolearnanylanguageintheworld.Thistheoryexplainsthepotentialthathumaninfantshaveforlearninglanguage.Butitdoesnotreallyexplainhowchildrencometouselanguageinparticularways.

Questions30to32arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

Question30.Whydoesthespeakersaytherearegreatpossibilitiesforcommunicationbreakdowns?

Therearenumerouspublicandprivatelanguages.

Question31.WhatisChomsky’spointontheabilitytolearnalanguage?

Humaninfantsarebornwiththeabilitytolearnlanguageandthepotentialtolearnanylanguageintheworld.

Question32.WhatdoesChomsky’stheoryfailtoexplainaccordingtothespeaker?

Itdoesnotreallyexplainhowchildrencometouselanguageinparticularways.

复合式听写

CompoundDictation:

Crimeisincreasingworldwide.Thereiseveryreasontobelievethetrendwillcontinuethroughthenextfewdecades.Crimerateshavealwaysbeenhighinmulti-culturalindustrializedsocietiessuchastheUnitedStates.Butanewphenomenonhasappearedontheworldscene:rapidlyrisingcrimeratesinnations