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2007
年
6
月六级完型填空及翻译
A
卷答案以及分析
上海新东方学校
四、六级词综明星教师
李亚妮，靳萌（答案）
上海新东方学校
四、六级词综明星教师
李亚妮（分析）
今年的六级是第一次全部采用改革后的新题型，不过还是令很多考生以及培训机构比较意外的是这次考试并没有像以往六级考试那样综合部分考察改错，而确和四级一样考察了完型填空这种题型，虽然有点出乎大家的意料，不过从这次的考察来看，考察的单词与语法并不算特别难，其实就是换了一种形式考察大家而已。下面简单来分析一下这次的完型填空。
文章中涉及到非实义词的题目并不是很多，有62、65、71、72、76和78这几题，考察以固定搭配和语法居多，例如76考察的是名词性从句，其实what就相当于all that,这个也恰好是78题考点，all为先行词，that为关系代词指代all。像72题就是固定搭配小品词的考察，turn out to be或者turn out that为“证明是”的意思。
除了以上6题非实义词的考察外，其余14题都是动词、名词、形容词和副词等实义词的考察，这些题目需要注意的是，一个要注意上下文对选词的提示，另一个也要注意一些固定搭配，有些时候固定搭配可以帮助我们快速选择出答案来，像66题的reluctance to（不愿，勉强），而66题c选项denial,如果大家对六级词汇单选题熟悉的话，在01年6月45题中denial曾作为正确答案，跟它搭配的一般是of，denial of sth./sb.。考生应该对考试中的四个选项进行充分分析，这次考试中整体来讲20道完型共80个单词单纯从单词本身来讲并不是特别难，像63题，如果只看选项我们也应该意识到B、C、D三个选项的意思都是“明显的”，这时候可以把注意力放在A身上，然后回文章中看下上下文是否通顺就可以了。像70题也有比较明显的固定搭配protect from，这些都是基本的甚至于四级同学都应该知道的一些考点，所以其实提醒我们参加四六级的考生，英语基础非常重要，大家不要在复习的时候只去复习难点，简单的东西都忘记了就不好了。74题四个单词比较难以辨析，不过从上下文我们能看出这个词肯定是个灾难性的词，所以不可能是像C“冲浪”这种意思，我们常说的上网冲浪就叫做surf the Internet，而这题的正确答案surge（巨涌）在近两年的六级考试中在单选题的选项中至少两次出现过，所以如果大家实在不愿对着本词汇书去背单词的话，不妨把历年六级单选题各个选项弄弄清楚。比较难的一道词汇辨析就是79题，而79和80也有一定的联系，A和C都是偏负性单词，“流放，遣散”之义，这里与文章不符合，只有B表示“疏散，把人们移往安全地方”，而对于80题，如果实在不知道这个短语的话，根据79题这句话的意思，官方要帮助人们转移到其他地方，而ride也正好有“搭乘”之义。
并且大家在做完型题的时候要学会瞻前顾后，前后文对我们的提示其实是很重要的，像68题正确答案rebuilding在后文中就出现过rebuild，所以我们也经常开玩笑说，有时候做完型填空也像在玩“连连看”，眼神够尖的同学往往能根据上下文的提示找到正确答案。当然，这个也要我们英语的基本功很扎实，总而言之，虽然这次考试并没像我们想象那样考改错，大家也不要气馁，题型变了，其实万变不离其宗，即使考试形式再怎么变，只要我们基本功扎实了就什么都不怕了。最后祝愿大家能在这次考试中取得好成绩！
附：完型填空以及翻译部分A卷答案
62 B By
63 A
fresh
64 C
live
65 D much
66 A
reluctance
67D human
68 C
rebuilding
69 A
review
70 C
protecting
71 B ever
72 D out
73 B rarely
74 A surge
75 C
followed
76 B where
77 A
enough
78 C
that
79 B evacuate
80 A
ride
81 D negotiations
汉译英
82 competing with overseas/ foreign companies for market share
考察非谓语动词
固定搭配
compete with sb. for sth.
以及常用词组
market share
83 is he able to feel scured and relaxed
考察
only
开头的倒装句，以及重点词汇
secure, relax
过去分词作表语形容词的用法
84 be deprived of the right to receive education/ be denied the right to receive education
考察虚拟语气、固定搭配
be deprived of , be denied...
85 let along / not to speak of the large sum of money we have spent
考察固定搭配
let alone, not to speak of
86 have received/got great attention from the public in the recent tens of years
have been concerned for by the public in the recent decades
考察固定搭配
receive/get attention from sb.; sb.concerned for sth.
以及完成时的使用。
posted @ 2007-06-24 14:29
姜智德 阅读(1075) |
评论 (4) |
编辑 收藏
2007
年
6
月六级阅读
A
卷答案以及分析
上海新东方学校
四、六级阅读明星教师
薛海滨（答案）
上海新东方学校
四、六级阅读明星教师
郭将（分析）
快速阅读：
1. N
2. Y
3. NG
4. Y
5. those things that they love most
6. products
7. more confidence
8. What do I really want to do?
9. give up, or risk
10. the lack of action
简短回答：
47. The brilliance of S. Brin and L. Page
48. the academic project
49. By word of mouth
50. meet their price
51. advertising
阅读理解：
52. B) Why affluence doesn’t guarantee happiness?
53. D) materialism has run wild in modern society
54. A) Their material pursuits have gone far ahead of their earnings.
55. D) Workers who no longer have secure jobs
56. C) New conflicts and complaints
57. B) the Confucian influence on gender norms in
Japan
58. B) They use fewer of the deferential linguistic form
59. D) They express strong disapproval
60. C) is viewed as a sign of their maturity
61. C) one of their strategies to compete in a male-dominated society
从轻快的笛鼓进行曲《我们和士兵在一起》，滑入热情、奔放的《爱情像一只自由的小鸟》，到随后野性而泼辣的咏叹调，
歌剧《卡门》回味之处，
不仅仅是华丽、紧凑的音乐形式，更重要的是整体的旋律，采用了很夸张的明暗对比，圆润而
莫测。歌剧中我们解读到的
吉卜赛姑娘卡门直率，温和，勇敢，热情等多重似乎清晰的性格特质之上，更多的却是神秘。用歌剧《卡门》，与刚刚揭晓的六级阅读理解相提并论，是牵强的，我却想说，我们在复习的时候不断地捕捉一条条看似清晰准确的技巧，却开始发现，它烘托出的也如卡门姑娘的多重变化？或者这次试题的出现是要提醒我们，学习思路一直以来都在出现一些断裂和偏执？我们是不是太喜欢寻找技巧和规则的寻找了呢？我们逐一来看。
一
快速阅读
快速阅读的“试题稳定，难度适中”的说法在这次的试题中将遭遇巨大的挑战。对比上次新六级试题，快速阅读十个题目当中，有
7
个有明显的定位提示。从
Lance Bass
（第一题）开始，到
Two Australian
（第四题），
2001 NBC TV game
（第五题），
Hilton Hotels
（第六题），最后的
most expensive
（第八题），
500,000 space tourists
（第九题），
two decades
（第十题）。这样的快速阅读难度是比较低的，考生面对大篇幅的文章，很容易准确定位处理的。但是这次的试题，虽然有“
2004
”
(
第一题
)
这样的数字提示，还有“
Mary Lyn Miller
”这样的大写字母，但是“
Mary Lyn Miller
”在文章中的多次出现，使得考生容易困惑，导致时间的浪费。
所以，个人以为快速阅读的变化是这份试卷中最大的，呈现了明显的跳跃，但是，最基本的定位的思路却贯穿其中。可能，我们面对下次的考试，需要的是更好地理解题目中出现的中心词，而非简单地寻找时间，数字，大写字母等明确的定位标志。并且，通过这次考试也需要说明的是，文章中小标题的出现，是非常重要的提示。
二
简答
简答题是这次阅读试卷中，相对最平稳的，且难度适中。而且，在第
47
题“
apart from a series of fortunate events, what is it that has made Google so successful?
”
和第
49
题
”How did Google’ search engine spread all over the world?”
的回答中，既可以返回原文找一些相对接近的句子，也可以通过文章阅读和理解，用自己的语言进行终结和概括，表达出自己的思考，展示考生填句和总结能力。这种类型题目的出现，体现了题目设计越来越侧重检验考生扎实的基本功。
该部分其他的题目，居多都可以在文章中找到相对应的句子，用定位的思路比较容易完成。尤其是，题目中出现了一些大写字母的提示，非常方便做题。
三
仔细阅读
仔细阅读部分，难度比上次考试略有上升。在这次的试题当中，延续了上次新六级考试中大量的细节题。这样的题目比较容易用定位的思路完成。这些题目体现的共同的特色是喜欢在题干当中出现细节提问的标志词，比如时间，数字，大写字母，原因性词汇，比较性词汇。考生如果打开试卷盲目对全部题目进行定位，一定会浪费时间，因为并不是每个题目都是依靠单一的定位思路完成的，所以，看到题目以后首先是要对题干进行分析和判断，看它是否适合定位。
需要特别说明的是，这次的定位法的题目当中，对考生的单词和句子理解能力提出了更高的要求。比如
60
题。因为题干中有“
Yoshiko Matsumoto
”的大写提示，很容易找到答案的大概出处，在原文倒数第二段第三行，“
after all, it is not a sign of simple femininity, but of a sign of maturity and refinement, and its use could be taken to indicate a change in the nature of one’s social relations as well
”。但是在进行选择的时候，比较有难度。考生一般可以迅速排除选项
B
和
D
，但是，在
A
和
C
之间难得取舍。仔细分析发现，真正的难度体现在用词
“indicate”
上，
“indicate”
表示“提示，暗指，表明”的意思，它并不等同于选项
A
中的“
lead to
”，所以，我们倾向于选
C
。
综合来看，这次的新六级题目整体设计上，从始至终地提醒了我们，在一个考试不断升级的世界里，盲目推崇技巧和方法思辩的幼稚心态很容易把严肃的考试堕落为一场混乱的游戏。我们必须清醒的意识到，技巧、方法和基本功是相辅相成的。缺失基本功的技巧和方法最终必然走向枯竭。可能，我们在复习中，基本的单词和句子的把握才是真正复习的核心。对于复习，应该做得更朴素一些。
posted @ 2007-06-24 14:27
姜智德 阅读(348) |
评论 (1) |
编辑 收藏
2007
年
6
月六级英语短对话原文，
A
卷答案以及分析
上海新东方学校
四、六级听力明星教师
姜智德
11
．
W: Jim, you are on the net again! We are 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?
A) Surfing the net.
12
．
W: I’ve never seen you have such confidence before in the exam!
M: It’s more than confidence! Right now I felt that if I got less than an A, it will be the fault of the exam itself.
Q: What does the man mean?
B) He is sure of his success in the exam.
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?
D) The man is quite optimistic about human nature.
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?
C) Stay in business
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 I can get enough bucks to help out my two kids at college.
Q: What does the man truly want?
A) More money.
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 hotel and hotel food! So now I understand the thing: East, west, home’s best!
Q: What does the woman mean?
B) She missed the comforts of home.
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 centre.
Q: What does the man suggest Anna do?
C) Seek professional advice.
18
．
M: I could hardly recognize Sam after we 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 does the speaker say about Sam?
A)
He dresses more formally now.
总的来说，本次
6
级考试听力的短对话部分难度并不高。除了对话的长度比
4
级稍长，
速度略快，其对话本身的判断十分容易，不易误选，选项长度也很短。其中
12
，
16
，
18
题可以用性别指示原则确定答案出处；
12
题的
BC
两项还是相反项；
11
，
14
，
17
题考察的是计划行动；
15
题考察的是对象；只有
13
题稍微难一点，男女都要听并且需要对比才能出答案。
从题目本身的角度看，这次考察的主打内容是语气语调，其中
12
，
13
，
14
，
16
，
17
，
18
都重点涉及了语气语调的考察，并且构成出答案的重要线索。此外，
11
，
15
题考察了敏感关键词，只要听出对话中的多个关键词中的一个既可做出答案，这在我们的考前串讲中曾经涉及过。其中
15
题的
buck
这个词语我在上课的时候还特别强调过。另外
17
题考察了建议请求关键词
she’d better
，这一点和我们考前串讲一道例题几乎一模一样。最后
18
题当中的绝对化词语
never
也是我在串讲中重点提示过的。
综上所述，有几个要点需要将来的
6
级考生特别注意了。首先最重要的是，基本交流能力的考察已经上升到一个很重要的地位了。语气语调的考察竟然上升到了
6
个题目，占到了
75%
的比例，说明所谓考试技巧这个概念本身已经在漫漫淡化了，重要的是语言的实际应用能力。我相信如果平时很喜欢看美国电影的这部分考生完成听力部分一定轻而易举！其次，从上课的经验中我发现，很多学生同样的一种课程不止来上一次，在上课的过程中我们所讲述的内容到最后总结复习的时候还是一问三不知。其实从上面的分析我们就可以看出，绝大部分的内容是我们上课的时候都讲过，甚至是特别强调过的。就连复合式听写当中第
39
空的单词也是我在上课的时候专门听写过的。所以如果考生上课的时候认真记录总结过的话这次的考试也会取得不俗的成绩。最后，很多考生反映在考试速度上有问题，不仅是听力部分，后面的阅读和综合部分更是这样。所以，在保证正确率的前提下提高速度这也是不容忽视的要点。而且现在考点主题的变换很快，去年还是相反项主打，今年就转换到了语气语调了。因此也希望大家在以后的复习中尽量做到全面撒网，逐个深入，这样才能做到百战不殆。
2007
年
6
月六级听力长对话原文，
A
卷答案以及分析
上海新东方学校
四、六级听力明星教师
洪薇薇
Conversation One:
M: Hi, Anna! Welcome back! How’s 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 at
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 meant a lot of difference.
M: En. So what did you do?
W: Well, I didn’t drink an alcohol or coffee, and I didn’t eat any meat or rich food. I drink a lot of water, and fresh juice, and I ate the noodles on the well-being menu. They’re lighter. They have fish, vegetables, and noodles, for example, and I did some of the exercises of 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.
Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you’ve just heard.
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 rally 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 interested in computers in general?
M: Well, actually, I have some specific jobs in mind. I owe 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 mean “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.
Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you’ve just heard:
23. Where did the conversation take place?
24. What are the speakers talking about?
25. What is the man’s line of business?
Keys:
19. B) To have meetings.
20. D) It can lessen the discomfort cased by air travel.
21. D) Avoided eating rich food.
22. C) Not many of them chose to do what she did.
23. A) At a fair.
24. C) The purchasing of some equipment.
25. B) Training consultancy.
应试框架下的能力考察——
浅析
2007
年
6
月六级听力长对话部分
今年六级听力考试的长对话部分，集中体现了命题组对于考试改革的诉求——强调在实际环境中的语言运用能力。从六级考试的定位来分析，由于六级针对的往往是高校的高年级学生，这些考生即将走上社会，投入实际工作，因此他们的英语学习不能仅停留在对书本知识的表层理解上，而要“学以致用”。
命题以工作场景为核心，强调商务英语
在这一指导原则下，今年长对话的命题完全脱离了以往听力题目以学校生活为主要背景的做法，而将对话内容全部安排在工作和商务场景之下。其实，早在国家教委所发行的六级样题中，长对话的
conversation one
内容为一家公司招聘初级销售经理，这已经给以后的六级长对话命题提供了线索——这类新题型是专门在新的英语应用要求下应运而生的，因此会广泛地结合工作内容。而这种线索，在
6
月
23
日的六级考试中无疑得到了具体验证。
在题目中涉及工作内容，这从九十年代中期起，就在短对话的命题中有所体现，但当时只是“蜻蜓点水”，通常只在对话中安插个别与工作相关的单词，与整体的解题关系比较间接，够不成难度。但在今年的第二篇长对话中，场景是在一次展销会上，其中的男生由于要为公司采购计算机设备，因此来展销会参观，而女生则是他在展销会上碰到的一位销售人员。两人的对话频繁涉及会展、商业洽谈、产品介绍、价格询洽、建立商业往来等内容，且层次丰富、信息容量大（六级的长对话篇幅比四级长，而且每位说话人每次发言的句子都比较复杂，这是四级和六级长对话在难度上的一大区别）。据很多考生事后反映，对于这类题目颇感措手不及，听的时候大脑的反应跟不上对话的节奏。比如女生向男生介绍新形电脑产品时有这样一句话：
But it may be possible for you to get a system that does a lot of other things in addition to word processing… It’s IBM compatible.
其中的
word processing
指电脑的文档处理系统，而
compatible
这个词表示“可兼容的”，在这里指这套计算机系统可以和
IBM
电脑兼容。这两个词都是非常典型的六级词汇，很多考生虽然在词汇手册上背到过，但放到句子的语言环境中来具体理解，就觉得比较吃力了。同样地，当女生询问男生所从事的职业时，她说：
What’s your line of business?
在这里，就不能把
line, business
之类的词单独理解了，
line of business
作为一个完整的固定表达，意为“行业领域”；女生向男生介绍售价时有这样一句表达：
Software comes free with hardware.
意思是软件是随同硬件免费附赠的。像这些语言，其实对于六级的考生来说，不存在任何难词，但由于对整体语言环境缺乏把握，容易造成理解上的困难。
难词依然存在，但不影响解题
说到这次长对话中的难词、偏词，可能要数
conversation one
中提到的
jet lag
了。这篇长对话发生在同事之间，女生刚从纽约出差回来，向男生介绍了飞机旅途中的一项
well-being program
（健康计划），其中提到这项健康计划旨在降低旅客的
jet lag
，即“由飞行引起的身体不适”。这个词先后两次出现在文章中。而第
20
题针对健康计划的目的和作用来提问，因此必须理解
jet lag
才能解题。但要理解这个词，不一定要事先背过单词，只要利用上下文稍加推测即可。男生在对话结尾处提到：
So, basically, it’s a choice. Mineral water and exercises, or champagne and jet lag.
提示
jet lag
是和锻炼等健康的生活方式相反的一个选择，也就是会另人不适的，理解到这一曾就可以做题了。
顺便提一句，类似情况在这次的级长对话中也有所体现。题目有一处提到了
continental breakfast
，即“欧洲大陆早餐”，这种早餐通常只提供面包卷、黄油、咖啡等，与生活在欧洲大陆之外的英国人吃的早餐有较大不同，因此得名。这些内容，
native speaker
说起来非常自然，但对于中国考生来说，不了解文化社会的背景知识，可能觉得很陌生。虽然有一题针对
continental breakfast
提问，但并没有要求考生搞懂这种早餐到底是什么，因此做题时，只要接收到有关
breakfast
的信息就足够了。但以后的命题很可能反复出现这类信息，如果要在考试时真正有把握理解对话整体，需要考生补充过去容易忽略的文化常识。这体现出了四六级考试对于在校大学生英语学习的导向性作用，值得大家借鉴。
考点与清晰，解题顺序清楚
conversation two
问了三道题，分别是对话发生的地点、对话主要内容和男生从事的行业。前两题都是短对话中常见的问题，考生比较熟悉，也较容易把握。其实，只要一看第
23
的选项，四个
in, at
开头加地点名词的短语，熟悉选项预读技巧的同学可以在听录音之前就直接判断出题方向了。且三道题目，２３考察在对话开头，２４通过对话的层层展开得到提示，２５在文章结尾处出现答案，这种考点布置的手法，与短文理解题如出一辙。总之，从题型的角度来说，长对话需要我们在听之前借鉴短对话的预读方法做预判，而听的时候以短文理解题的思路，逐题定位答案。
2007
年
6
月六级听力
Passage
原文，
A
卷答案以及分析
上海新东方学校
四、六级听力明星教师
范广军，关键（听写）
上海新东方学校
四、六级听力明星教师
范广军（分析）
P1
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’ not the change is impossible but that it would lose(?) 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?
P2
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. But his heroic act was published widely in the media. His son was soon adopted by relatives. The most remarkable part of the story unfolded only last week. Karen and her boyfriend Michael were looking through some old boxes when they came across some old newspaper clippings. “This is me when I was a new born baby. I was rescued from a burning car. But my mother died in the accident,” explained Karen. Although Michael knew Karen’s mother had died years earlier, he never fully understood the circumstances until he skimmed over the newspaper article. To Karen’s surprise, Michael was absorbed in the details of the accident. And he began to cry uncontrollably. Then he revealed that the man that pulled Karen from the flames was the father he never knew. The two embraced and shed many tears, recounting stories told to them about their parents.
29 What happened twenty-five years ago?
30 What does the speaker say about Michael’s father?
31 Why did Michael cry uncontrollably when he skimmed over the newspaper article?
P3
Americans suffer from an overdose of work. Regardless of who they are or what they do. Americans spend more time at work than that any time since World War II. In 1950, the
US
had fewer working hours than any other industrialized country. Today, it exceeds every country but
Japan
where industrialized employees load 2155 hours a year compared with 1951 in the
US
and 1603 in the former
West Germany
. Between 1969 and 1989, employed Americans add an average of 138 hours to their yearly work schedules. The workweek has remained above 40 hours. But people are working more weeks each year. Specifically pay time off holidays, vacations, sick leave shrink by 50% in the 1980s. As corporations have experienced stiff competitions and slow in growth of productivity, they have pressed employees to work longer. Cost-cutting lay-offs in the 1980s reduce the professional and managerial runs, leaving fewer people to get the job done. In lower paid occupations where wages have been reduced, workers have added hours in overtime or extra jobs to preserve their living standards. The government estimates that more than 7 million people hold a second job. For the first time, large numbers of people say they want to cut back on working hours even it means earning less money. But most employers are unwilling to let them do so. The government which has stepped back from its traditional role as a regulator of work time should take steps to make shorter hours possible.
Question 32-35 are based on the passage you’ve just heard
32. In which country do industrial employees work the longest hours?
33. How do employed Americans manage to work more hours?
34. Why do corporations press their employees to work longer hours according to the speaker?
35. What does the speaker say many Americans prefer to do?
26 D Attempt something impossible.
27 D By making detailed plans and carrying them out.
28 D To illustrate how easily people abandon their goals.
29 C Karen’s mother died in a car accident.
30 B He sacrificed his life to save a baby girl.
31 A The reported hero turned out to be his father.
32 B
Japan
.