聽力理解短文原文

　　Section B

　　Passage One

　　Everyone is looking for a good investment these days. And with stocks, currencies and companies all crashing, some are finding that taking the trip of a lifetime is actually a smart move right now. Prices are good, crowds are fewer and the dividends like expanded worldview, lifelong memories, the satisfaction of boosting the global economy—can't be easily snatched away. Sylvia and Paul Custerson, a retired couple from Cambridge, England, recently took a 16-day vacation to Namibia, where they went on bird-watching excursions. Later this year, they are planning a trip to Patagonia. "We're using our capital now," says Sylvia, "And why not? We're not getting any interest in the bank. If it's a place we really want to go, then we will go. We may as well travel while we're fit and healthy. "

　　Some travel agents are thriving in spite of the economy. "We've had more people booking in the first quarter of this year than last," says Hubert Moineau, founder of Tselana Travel, which is planning to introduce a new program of longer adventure trips, including polar expeditions and cruises in the Galápagos. "We're hearing things like, 'We don't know what the situation will be in six months so let's travel now' ", Ashley Toft, managing director of the U. K. tour operator Explore has been surprised to see an increase in last-minute bookings of high-priced trips to such places as India, Bhutan and Nepal. "It seems people would rather give up something else than the big trip," he says. Travel has become a necessity. It's just how we travel that is changing.

　　Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　26. According to the speaker, why are some people willing to spend their money on travel these days?

　　27. What is Tselana Travel planning to do, according to its founder?

　　28. According to Ashley Toft, managing director of Explore, what is changing now with regard to travels?

　　Passage Two

　　Somehow the old male and female stereotypes no longer fit. Men and women in this country haven't been fulfilling their traditional roles for some time now. And there seem to be fewer and fewer differences between the sexes. For instance, even though more women than men are still homemakers without paying jobs, women have been taking over more responsibility in the business world, earning higher salaries than ever before and entering fields of work that used to be exclusively male areas. At office meetings and in group discussions, they might speak up more often, express strong opinions and come up with more creative and practical ideas than their male colleagues. Several days ago, my 23-year-old daughter came to me with some important news. Not only had she found the highest paying job of her career, but she'd also accepted a date with the most charming men she'd ever met.

　　"Really?", I responded," tell me about them."

　　"Receptionist in an attorney's office and a welder at a construction site." She answered in a matter-of-fact way. The interesting thing is my daughter's date is the receptionist and my daughter is the welder. The old stereotypes of men's and women's work have been changing more quickly than ever before, except perhaps in my own marriage.

　　"Who's going to mow the lawn? " I asked my husband this morning.

　　"Oh, I will," he answered politely. "That's men's work. "

　　"What?" Irritated, I raised my voice. "That's a ridiculous stereotype. I'll show you who can do the best job on the lawn."

　　The work took 3 hours and I did it all myself.

　　Questions 29 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　29. What is the speaker mainly talking about?

　　30. What might women do at office meetings nowadays according to the speaker?

　　31. Why did the speaker mow the lawn herself that morning?

　　Passage Three

　　Florence Hayes is a journalist for the Green Ville Journal, the daily newspaper in town. Specifically she covers crime in the Green Ville area. This responsibility takes her to many different places every week——the police station, the court and the hospital. Most of the crimes that she writes about fall into two groups: violent crimes and crimes against property. There isn't much violent crime in a small town like Green Ville, or at least not as much as in the large urban areas. But assaults often occur on Friday and Saturday nights, near the bars downtown. There're also one or two rapes on campus every semester. Florence is very interested in this type of crime and tries to write a long article about each one. She expects that this will make women more careful when they walk around Green Ville alone at night

　　Fortunately, there were usually no murders in Green Ville. Crimes against property make up most of Miss Heyes' reporting. They range from minor cases of deliberate damaging of things to much more serious offenses, such as car accidents involving drunk drivers or bank robberies but Florence has to report all of these violations from the thief who took typewriters from every unlock room in the dormitory to the thief who stole one million dollars worth of art work from the university museum. Miss Hayes enjoys working for a newspaper but she sometimes gets unhappy about all the crime she has to report. She would prefer to start writing about something more interesting and less unpleasant such as local news or politics, maybe next year

　　Florence Hayes

　　Green Ville

　　Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　32 What is Florence Hayes' main responsibility as a journalist?

　　33 What does the speaker say about security in Green Ville?

　　34 What do we learn about crimes against property in the Green Ville area?

　　35 What would Florence Hayes prefer to do?

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　　Section C Compound Dictation

　　In America, people are faced with more and more decisions every day, whether it's picking one of thirty-one ice cream flavors, or deciding whether and when to get married. That sounds like a great thing, but as a recent study has shown, too many choices can make us confused, unhappy, even paralyzed with indecision. 'That's particularly true when it comes to the work place', says Barry Schwartz, an author of six books about human behavior. Students are graduating with a variety of skills and interests, but often find themselves overwhelmed when it comes to choosing an ultimate career goal. In a study, Schwartz observed decision-making among college students during their senior year. Based on answers to questions regarding their job hunting strategies and career decisions, he divided the students into two groups：maximizers, who consider every possible option, and satisficers, who look until they find an option that is good enough. You might expect that the student who had undertaken the most exhausted search would be the most satisfied with their final decision, but it turns out that's not true. Schwartz found that while maximizers ended up with better-paying jobs than satisficers on average, they weren't as happy with their decision. The reason why these people feel less satisfied is that a world of possibilities may also be a world of missed opportunities. When you look at every possible option, you tend to focus more on what was given up than what was gained. After surveying every option, a person is more acutely aware of the opportunities they had to turn down to pursue just one career.