2010年12月英语四级听力真题和答案
M: Which university was that?
W: The University of Manchester. I’ve got a degree in English.
M: You said you’ve been working in Geneva. Do you have any special reason for wanting to come back?
W: I thought it would be nice to be near to the family.
M: I see, and how do you see yourself developing in this job?
W: Well, I’m ambitious. I do hope that my career as a secretary will lead me eventually into management.
M: I see. You have foreign languages?
W: French and Italian.
M: Well, I think the best thing for you to do is do reply a writing to the advertisement.
W: Can’t I arrange for an interview now?
M: Well, I’m afraid we must wait until all the applications are in, in writing, and then decide on the short list. If you are on the short list, of course we should see you.
W: Oh, I see.
M: I look forward to receiving your application in writing in a day or two.
W: Oh, yes, yes, certainly.
M: Ok, thank you very much. Goodbye.
W: Thank you. Goodbye.
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
22. How did the woman get to know about the job vacancy?
23. Why did the woman find the job appealing?
24. What had the woman been doing in Geneva?
25. What was the woman asked to do in the end?
Section B
Passage One
One of the greatest heartbreaks for fire fighters occurs when they fail to rescue a child from a burning building because the child, frightened by smoke and noise, hides under a bed or in a closet and is later found dead. Saddest of all is when children catch a glimpse of the masked the fire fighter but hide because they think they have seen a monster. To prevent such tragedies, fire fighter Eric Velez gives talks to children in his community, explaining that they should never hide during a fire. He displays fire fighters’ equipment, including the oxygen mask, which he encourages his listeners to play with and put on. “If you see us,” Velez tells them, “don’t hide! We are not monsters. We have come to rescue you。” Velez gives his presentations in English and Spanish. Growing up in San Francisco, he learnt Spanish from his immigrant parents. Velez and other fire fighters throughout North America, who give similar presentations, will never know how many lives they save through their talks. But it’s a fact that informative speaking saves lives. For example, several months after listening to an informative speech, Pete Gentry in North Carolina rescued his brother who is choking on food, by using the method taught by student speaker, Julie Paris. In addition to saving lives, informative speakers help people learn new skills, solve problems and acquire fascinating facts about the exciting world in which they live.
26 Why do some children trapped in a burning building hide from masked fire fighters?
27 What does the passage tell us about fire fighter Eric Velez?
28 What do we learn about Pete Gentry?
29 What message is the speaker trying to convey?
Passage Two
Some people want to make and save a lot of money in order to retire early. I see people pursuing higher paying and increasingly demanding careers to accomplish this goal. They make many personal sacrifices in exchange for income today. The problem is that tomorrow might not come. Even if it all goes according to plan, will you know how to be happy when you are not working if you spend your entire life making money? More importantly, who will be around for you to share your leisure time with? At the other extreme are people who live only for today. Why bother saving when I might not be here tomorrow, they argue. The danger of this approach is that tomorrow may come after all. And most people don't want to spend all their tomorrows working for a living. The earlier neglect of saving, however, makes it difficult not to work when you are older. You maybe surprise to hear me say that if you must pick an extreme I think it's better to pick the spend-all approach. As long as you don't mind continuing to work, assuming your health allows, you should be OK. At least, you are making use of your money, and hopefully deriving value and pleasure from it. Postponing doing what you love and being with people you love until retirement can be a mistake. It may never come. Retirement can be a great time for some people. For others, it is a time of boredom, loneliness and poor health.