2004考研英语模拟试题(1)听力原文

Section Ⅰ Listening Comprehension　　Directions：　　This section is designed to test your ability to understand spoken English. You will hear a selection of recorded materials and you must answer the questi ons that accompany them. There are three parts in this section, Part A, Part B and Part C.　　Remember, while you are doing the test, you should first put down your answers in your test booklet. At the end of the listening comprehension section, you will have 5 minutes to transfer all your answers from your test booklet to ANSWER SHEET 1.　　Now look at Part A in your test booklet.　　(Pause 0020")　　(Tone)　　Part A　　You will hear a dialogue between Robert Gordon and the receptionist of Saint Martine Hotel of Paris. Listen and fill in the table with the information youve heard for Questions 15. Some of the information has been provided for you. Write only 1 word or number in each numbered box. You will hear the recording twice. You now have 25 seconds to read the table below.　　(Pause 0025") 　　(Tone)　　Receptionist: 452164. Allo?　　Robert: Is that the Saint Martine Hotel?　　Receptionist: Oui. Yes, it is. Can I help you?　　Robert: Have you got a double room for the night of 23rd July?　　Receptionist: One moment please. Ill just have a look. Yes, we have got a double room on that date.　　Robert: Has it got a double bed or two singles?　　Receptionist: Two singles, monsieur.　　Robert: And is that with or without bath?　　Receptionist: Its a room with shower and toilet, monsieur.　　Robert: That sounds fine. Is there a TV?　　Receptionist: Could you repeat that, please?　　Robert: Is there a color television in the room?　　Receptionist: Yes, but of course. And a video, if you choose.　　Robert: How much will it be for one night?　　Receptionist: about four hundred francs.　　Robert: And what does that include?　　Receptionist: It includes morning newspaper, continental breakfast and service.　　Robert:swheresis the nearest metro?　　Receptionist: Opera, monsieur. Its only five minutes from here.　　Robert: And is there an extra charge for children?　　Receptionist: If the child is under sixteen and we put an extra bed in your room, the charge is seventyfive francs. Do you want the room?　　Robert: Yes, for one night-23rd July.　　Receptionist: Oui, monsieur. May I have your name, please?　　Robert: Actually, its for my wife and two daughters-Mrs. Jean Gordon, Linda and Maggie.　　Receptionist: Yes, monsieur. So you need an extra bed. And what time will they be arriving on July 23rd…　　(Pause 0030")　　(Tone)　　Now you will have the recording again.　　［The recording is repeated］　　(Pause 0020")　　(Tone)　　This is the end of Part A.　　Part B　　You will hear an interview with a veterinary doctor or vet(兽医). For Questions 610, complete the sentences or answer the questions while you listen. Use not more than 3 words for each answer. You will hear the recording twice. You now have 25 seconds to read the following questions and sentences.　　(Pause 0025")　　(Tone)　　Interviewer: Now youve been a veterinary doctor for some thirty years; what was it that made you become a vet in the first place?　　Vet: Well, I studied as an ordinary doctor in the beginning, but I slowly realised that I liked animals very much. I almost prefer animals to people. So I took an extra course in animal medicine. Its as simple as that really.　　Interviewer: And you still enjoy working with animals?　　Vet: Oh, yes, very much so. In fact, more than ever now. Ive got to know animals much better, you see, and I get on better with them in every way. Their owners sometimes get on my nerves, though.　　Interviewer: Oh…and why is that?　　Vet: Well, some people know very little about animals and keep them in the wrong conditions.　　Interviewer: What sort of conditions?　　Vet: Oh, you know, some people buy a large dog and then try to keep it in a small flat; they dont take it out enough to give it proper exercise. Other people have a cat and try to keep it in the house all day, but a cat needs to get out and be free to come and go as it pleases. A lot of people dont feed their animals properly. Its very common to give pets too much food which is very bad for them, especially if theyre not getting enough exercise. Or not to feed them regularly, which is equally bad. An animal is a responsibility which is something many people dont seem to realise.　　Interviewer: You mean people keep pets for the wrong reasons?　　Vet: Yes, some people want a pet because theyre lonely, or simply for decoration, or just to show how rich they are.　　Interviewer: And just how do you deal with these people?　　Vet: Well, I try to tell them what the animal needs; what is the right sort of food, the proper exercise. I try to teach them that animals are not toys and if theyre to be healthy, they have to be happy.　　Interviewer: Yes, I suppose youre right. In your thirty years as a vet you must have come across some interesting cases?　　Vet: Oh yes, there are lots of interesting cases. I was once called to a lioness who was giving birth andshavingsdifficulty. Now that was really interesting.　　(Pause 0050")　　(Tone)　　Now you will hear the recording again.　　［The recording is repeated］　　(Pause 0030")　　(Tone)　　This is the end of Part B.　　Part C　　You will hear 3 talks. Before listening to each one, you will have time to read the questions related to it. While listening, answer the questions or complete the sentences by choosing A,B,C or D. You will hear the recording only once.　　Questions 1113 are based on the following talk about the famous magician Harry Houdini. You now have 15 seconds to read Questions 1113.　　(Pause 0015")　　(Tone)　　We all know that a magician does not really depend on "magic" to perform his tricks. He depends on his ability to act at great speed. However, this does not prevent us from enjoying watching a magician produce rabbits from a hat, swallow countless eggs, or saw his wife in two.　　Probably the greatest magician of all time was Harry Houdini who died in 1926. His real name was Ehrich Weiss. He adopted the name "Houdini" after reading a book written by a famous magician called Robert Houdin. 　　Houdini mastered the art of escaping. He could free himself from the tightest knots or the most complicated locks. Although no one really knows how he did this, there is no doubt that he had made a close study of every type of lock ever invented. He would carry a small steel needlelike tool strapped to his leg and he used this in place of a key.　　Houdini once asked the Chicago police to lock him in prison. They bound him up, but he freed himself in an instant. The police accused him ofshavingsused a tool and locked him up again. This time he wore no clothes and there were chains round his neck, waist, wrists, and legs; but he again escaped in a few minutes. 　　Houdini had probably hidden his "needle" in a waxlike substance and dropped it on the floor in the passage. As he went past, he stepped on it so that it stuck to the bottom of his foot. 　　His most famous escape, however, was altogether astonishing. He was heavily chained up and enclosed in an empty wooden chest, the lid of which was nailed down. The chest was droppedsintosthe sea in New York harbour. In one minute, Houdini had swum to the surface. When the chest was brought up，it was opened and the chains were found inside.　　(Tone)　　You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to Questions 1113.　　(Pause 0030")　　(Tone)　　Questions 1416 are based on the following talk about the history of rainmaking. You now have 15 seconds to read Questions 1416.　　(Pause 0015")　　(Tone)　　The idea of rainmaking is almost as old as man, but it was not until 1946 that man succeeded in making rain. In ancient times, rainmakers had claimed to bring rain by many methods: dancing, singing, killing various kinds of living creatures (including humans), and blowing a stream of watersintosthe air from a kind of pipe.　　More recently, some rainmakers claimed to make rain by shooting guns, causing explosions, or burning chemicals, the smoke of which was supposed to cause rain to fall. These rainmakers asked for as much as 1,000 dollars to make an inch of rain. One of them was so successful that he was almost hanged. He was believed to have caused a 20inch rain in southern California that flooded the land, killed several people, and did millions of dollars of damage.　　Before 1946, rainmakers were either liars or honest people who happened to have good luck. Scientific rainmaking was started in that year by Vincent J. Schaefer, a scientist at the laboratories of the General Electric Company in New York State. His success was the result of a lucky accident that changed years of failuresintosvictory.　　(Tone)　　You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to Questions 1416.　　(Pause 0030")　　(Tone)　　Questions 1720 are based on the following talk about the earths magnetism. You now have 20 seconds to read Questions 1720.　　(Pause 0020")　　(Tone)　　We are all familiar with magnets! The Chinese knew about them in the eleventh century. But the earth itself is also a magnet, with a magnetic North and a magnetic South.　　No one really understands very much about the earths magnetism, although many people have written about it. Scientists believe the centre of the earth is like an enormous magnet, giving out a steady magnetic force. This slowly moves away from the centre and up to the surface. By the time it reaches the surface, the force is really very weak.　　But even this weak force is very slowly becoming weaker. Today it is fifty percent weaker than it was 2，500 years ago, and after another few centuries it may disappear completely. 　　At the beginning of the present century, an Italian was studying the strength of the earths magnetism over a period of many centuries. He discovered something which astonished him: in the eighth century BC, the magnetic poles were the opposite of their position today.　　Scientists now believe the earths magnetic poles have changed many times. One such change may have taken place about 33,000 BC. This date is about when modern man first appeared on earth.　　Many scientists now believe the magnetism of the earth may have a strong influence on life itself. In the distant past, many kinds of animals and plants died out suddenly, when the North and South magnetic Poles changed position. 　　Animals, birds and even people are to some extent controlled by magnetic forces. When there is a sudden increase in magnetic strength, many animals have difficulty finding their way. Mice, placed near a strong magnet, lose their hair and die early. And when the earths magnetism suddenly decreases, the number of men or women who kill themselves increases.　　(Tone)　　You now have 40 seconds to check your answers to Questions 1720.　　(Pause 0040")　　(Tone)　　This is the end of Part C.　　You now have 5 minutes to transfer all your answers from your test booklet to ANSWER SHEET 1.　　(Pause 0500")　　(Tone)　　This is the end of Listening Comprehension.