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SECTION A TALK
Questions 1 to 5 refer to the talk in this section. At the end of the talk you w ill be given 15 seconds to answer each of the following five questions. Now list en to the talk.
1. The technology to make machines quieter ___.
A. has been in use since the 1930's
B. has accelerated industrial production
C. has just been in commercial use
D. has been invented to remove all noises
2. The modern electronic anti-noise devices ___.
A. are an update version of the traditional methods
B. share similarities with the traditional methods
C. are as inefficient as the traditional methods
D. are based on an entirely new working principle
3. The French company is working on anti-noise techniques to be used in a ll EXCEPT ___.
A. streets B. factories C. aircraft D. cars
4. According to the talk, workers in "zones of quiet" can ___.
A. be more affected by noise B. hear talk from outside the zone
C. work more efficiently D. be heard outside the zone
5. The main theme of the talk is about ___.
A. noise-control technology B. noise in factories
C. noise-control regulations D. noise-related effects
SECTION B INTERVIEW
Questions 6 to 10 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview you wil l be given 15 seconds to answer each of the following five questions. Now listen to the interview.
6. Employees in the US are paid for their time. This means that they are supposed to ___.
A. work hard while their boss is around
B. come to work when there is work to be done
C. work with initiative and willingness
D. work through their lunch break
7. One of the advantages of flexible working hours is that ___.
A. pressure from work can be reduced
B. working women can have more time at home
C. traffic and commuting problems can be solved
D. personal relationships in offices can be improved
8. On the issue of working contracts in the US, which statement is NOT co rrect?
A. Performance at work matters more than anything else.
B. There are laws protecting employees' working rights.
C. Good reasons must be provided in order to fire workers.
D. Working contracts in the US are mostly short-term ones.
9. We can be assumed from the interview that an informal atmosphere might be found in ___.
A. small firms B. major banksC. big corporations D. law offices
10. The interview is mainly about ___ in the USA.
A. office hierarchies B. office conditions C. office roles D. office life
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
Question 11 is based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you wil l be given 15 seconds to answer the question. Now listen to the news.
11. Senator Bob Dole's attitude towards Clinton's anti-crime policy is that of ___.
A. opposition B. support C. ambiguity D . indifference
Questions 12 and 13 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item , you will be given 30 seconds to answer the questions . Now listen to the news.
12. Japan and the United States are now ___.
A. negotiating about photographic material
B. negotiating an automobile agreement
C. facing serious problems in trade
D. on the verge of a large-scale trade war
13. The news item seems to indicate that the agreement ___.
A. will end all other related trade conflicts
B. is unlikely to solve the dispute once and for all
C. is linked to other trade agreements
D. is the last of its kind to be reached
Questions 14 and 15 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 30 seconds to answer the questions . Now listen to the news.
14. According to the news, the ice from Greenland provides information ab out ___.
A. oxygen B. ancient weather C. carbon dioxide D. temperature
15. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
A. Drastic changes in the weather have been common since ancient times.
B. The change in weather from very cold to very hot lasted over a century.
C. The scientists have been studying ice to forecast weather in the future.
D. The past 10,000 years have seen minor changes in the weather.
参考答案及详细解释：
SECTION A TALK
1.答案：C
【问句译文】使机器噪音小一些的技术如何？
【试题分析】本题为细节区分题。
【详细解答】谈话的第五句说"Now although the idea dates back to the 1930s, it's only recently that advances in computer technology have made anti-noise a commercial possibility."由此可知，这种方法可追溯到二十世纪30年代，但只是近来才被应用于商业。因此答案选C。
2.答案：D
【问句译文】现代电子抗噪音设备如何？
【试题分析】本题为推理概括题。
【详细解答】由关键句"The modern electronic anti-noise devices don't reduce sound. Instead, sound is used to attack sound."可知，现代电子抗噪音设备是以噪音抗噪音的全新原理而设计的，故答案选D。
3.答案：A
【问句译文】下列哪一项不是法国公司的抗噪音技术的应用？
【试题分析】本题为细节题，可用排除法解答。
【详细解答】谈话中专门介绍说，法国公司把这一技术应用于工厂、汽车、飞机，而未提到“ 街道”，故选项A为正确答案。
4.答案：B
【问句译文】根据该谈话录音，在安静区的工人们能怎样？
【试题分析】本题为细节题。
【详细解答】在谈到安静区（zones of quiet）时，录音中说"… it cuts noise levels enough for somebody inside the zone to hear a conversation from another part of the work place. Yet, this is only one-way; shouts from the quiet zone could not be heard over the factory noise by those outside it, because the rest of the workp lace remains noisy."由此可知，“安静区”的工人可以听到外边区域的谈话，而外面却听不到里面的谈话，故选项B为正确答案。
5.答案：A
【问句译文】这段谈话的主题是什么？
【试题分析】本题为主旨题。
【详细解答】听完全文可知，选项B、C、D都只是录音的某一部分内容，只有选项A能全面地概括全文大意，故为正确答案。
SECTION B INTERVIEW
6.答案：C
【问句译文】美国雇员是按时间付薪金的，那么这就意味着他们该怎样呢？
【试题分析】本题为细节题。
【详细解答】在谈到美国雇员是按时间付薪金时，被采访者说道"So employees are expected to find other work if their own desks are clear, or to help someone else with his or her work."由此可知，雇员如果干完了自己的活，就应该去帮助别的人，积极主动地去找活干。故答案选C。
7.答案：B
【问句译文】灵活的工作时间的一个益处是什么？
【试题分析】本题为细节理解题。
【详细解答】由关键句"And as more women now work it gives more family time."可知，灵活的工作时间使得妇女有更多时间呆在家里，故答案选B。
8.答案：D
【问句译文】关于美国的工作合同问题，下列哪一项是不正确的？
【试题分析】本题为细节题。
【详细解答】当采访者问到顾主是否可以无故解雇他时，被采访者说"There are, of course, legal protections in the US. So employees cannot be unjustly fired without good reasons."由此可否定美国的劳动合同多数是短期的说法，故答案选D。
9.答案：A
【问句译文】从该采访中可推断出不拘礼节的工作气氛可能会出现在哪类公司？
【试题分析】本题为推理题。
【详细解答】在采访临近尾声时，男士说"But in many establishments with fewer employees the atmosphere is loose and easy with a lot of joking, and teasing, and wandering in and out of offices among all levels of employees.”由此可知，在那些雇员少的公司，也就是小公司会有不拘礼节的工作气氛，故答案选A。
10.答案：D
【问句译文】这次采访主要是关于美国在哪一方面的情况？
【试题分析】本题为主旨题。
【详细解答】从这四个选项来分析，office hierarchies, office conditions和office roles只是office life的各个方面。只有用office life才能较全面地概括这次采访的内容。故答案选D。
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
News Item 1
11.答案：A
【问句译文】参议员多尔对克林顿的反犯罪政策持什么态度？
【试题分析】本题为推理题。
【详细解答】由关键句"…retiring Senator Bob Dole, has repeatedly disapproved of Mr. Clinton's record on fighting crime"由此可知，多尔是不赞成克林顿的反犯罪政策的，故选项A为正确答案。
News Item 2
12.答案：A
【问句译文】日本和美国正在做什么？
【试题分析】本题为细节理解题。
【详细解答】新闻中讲到"At the moment, they are negotiating about photographic film and photographic paper."由此可知，他们正在就照相用的胶卷和纸进行谈判，故答案选A。
13.答案：B
【问句译文】新闻似乎在暗示两国间的协议怎样？
【试题分析】本题为推理题。
【详细解答】新闻临近结尾时说"This is certainly not the first dispute and it certainly won't be the last dispute, either."这里是说这不是美、日两国之间的第一次矛盾冲突，这次的协议不能作为一个永久性的协议。由此可知，该协议不可能永久性地解决争端，故答案选B。
News Item 3
14.答案：B
【问句译文】根据该新闻，这块来自格陵兰冰块可以提供哪一方面的信息？
【试题分析】本题为主旨题。
【详细解答】在谈到该冰块时，科学家们说"It provides one of the clearest records of ancient weather."由此可知，从该冰块可以了解古时候的天气状况。
15.答案：D
【问句译文】下列哪一项陈述是正确的？
【试题分析】本题为细节理解题。
【详细解答】新闻临近结尾时说"…the scientific teams say that the past 10,000 years is the only period during which the weather has not changed very much."由此可知，那段时期的气候变化不是很大，故选项D为正确答案。
听力原文：
SECTION A TALK
As we all know, when machines work they give off a lot of noise, and the no ise can sometimes be very unpleasant, or annoying. As a result, people have been trying to find ways to reduce noise. Although it may sound a bit strange to you all, one of the best ways to make machines quieter, in cars for example, may be to make them noisier. The source of this paradox is electronic anti-noise which creates sound waves to cancel out unwanted noise, such as rattles, blare, etc.
Now although the idea dates back to the 1930s, it's only recently that advances in computer technology have made anti-noise a commercial possibility. Take Franc e for example. Here industry spends a fortune to get rid of noise. We all know h ow unpleasant it is. Both people working in factories and ordinary people at hom e enjoying their leisure can be affected by noise. Delicate machines are affecte d by noise as well. The government has passed a lot of regulations concerning ac ceptable levels of noise.
Noise is costly to industry. In the first place, just following a single regulation can cost 1 to 2 billion US dollars in the textile industry, they say.
Then secondly, of course, vibration can cause damage to machinery. Even very sma ll vibrations can cause parts to wear out and equipment to fail. And naturally e nough, this gets added on to the price of the products. About $ to 15% of the price of a product comes from noise and vibration costs, it's estimated.
At present, methods used to dampen down noise and vibrations rely on tech niques that are 30 or 40 years old. These usually involve wrapping the noisy or vibrating component in anything from cotton to concrete. But this is often expen sive and inefficient.
The modern electronic anti-noise devices don't reduce sound. Instead, sound is used to attack sound. The trick is to hit these sound waves with other waves in a carefully controlled way. It may not be possible to eliminate noise comple tely, but engineers can build systems to eliminate specific kinds of noise and v ibration. The new systems can deal with repetitive noise. This unfortunately means that there is not much that can be done about one-off noise, like someone try ing to learn to play a trumpet. But they can handle fairly regular things like e ngine noise.
A French company has developed a technique which uses a microphone and a mi croprocessor. The processor measures the sound and directs a speaker to broadcas t sound waves that are out of phase with the engine noise. The company claimed t hat it will make a car engine quieter, if not completely 100% silent. There are a number of other areas of application in the noisy, industrial environment of today. One system which the company is developing, aims to minimize the noise of aircraft engines and helicopter vibrations. Now anti-noise systems would be able to reduce noise in the cabin of an airplane to mere acceptable levels.
Another area which affects ordinary households nowadays concerns the noise which electricity and gas suppliers create. The electricity companies spend a lo t of money each year, cutting the harm of transformers, trying to quiet the nois e and maintaining equipment that is constantly affected by vibration. If they can get rid of or even stop the vibrations, manufacturers can increase
production speeds. But, of course, people working in noisy workplaces are perhaps mere affected than anything by the effects of noise. Anti-noise can also create "zones of quiet" in noisy workplaces. To create such a zone, you do two things.
First, microphones are suspended around the workplace. Then speakers that produ ce out-of-phase sound waves can then be put close to the worker under the desk o r the machine. A company working in this area has tested this system and says th at it cuts noise levels enough for somebody inside the zone to hear a conversati on from another part of the work place. Yet, this is only one-way; shouts from the quiet zone could not be heard over the factory noise by those outside it, bec ause the rest of the workplace remains noisy. This is one of the anti-noise meas ures experimented with today. If this proves to be feasible in many workplaces, I'm sure it can contribute to the reduction of noise in factory workshops in the future.
SECTION B INTERVIEW
W: First of all, when do people start work in American offices?
M: Right, well, the official work day starts at 9:00 am. This really means 9 o'clock-not ten past or half past nine.
W: Would you say that people work very hard in offices in America?
M: Well, I don't know about employees in your country. But some nations have a philosophy that you work when the "boss" is around. And any time he's not th ere, one can relax by reading the newspaper or whatever one likes doing in a per sonel way.
W: And things are different in the States, you're saying?
M: Well, in America one is being paid for one's time. So employees are expecte d to find other work if their own desks are clear, or to help someone else with his or her work. But you never sit idle doing nothing.
W: Yes, as the saying goes: "Time is money."
M: Exactly. Your employer "owns" your time while he is paying you for it. That is precisely what "Time is money" means. And anyway the boss doesn't ask more of you than he is doing himself: he ...he will probably work through the lun ch hou r himself and even take work home at night.
W: Talking about lunch hours. What about them? Do you have to take them seriously?
M: Oh, yes, sure, of course. An employee's lunch hour should he taken within the period allowed, unless you are officially discussing company business-say ... en ... on a business lunch. It's the same too with the end of the day. I mean, en, work until the day officially ends at five o'clock, unless you are in an office where "flextime" is the accepted practice.
W: Oh, so you have the flextime system, do you? I wasn't sure about that.
M: Oh yes, sure. Flexible working hours, that is, en ... starting or ending work earlier or later I ... I know it's still relatively new. However, there are more and more Americans on the system today. Well, for the same reasons as in Europe-to keep traffic and commuting problems down. And as more women now work it gives more family time.
W: Er ... could you say something about contracts or hiring in America, please?
M: Well, it's different in America from, say, European countries like Germany or France, perhaps Japan, too, I'm not sure. I know that in some countries people relax once they have got a job, because they know that they will almost never be fired-unless they do something wrong.
W: You mean that your employer can just fire you in America?
M: No, no, no. There are, of course, legal protections in the US. So employees cannot be unjustly fired without good reasons. Workers must do a good job, produce well, and get along with their colleagues-or they can be "let go", as it is called.
W: From one day to the next, you mean?
M: Well, it's rarely done without warning, but it is important to remember tha t in the US you are a member of a business firm and not a family. It makes a diff erence.
W: I wonder, is the physical or external appearances of office life different fr om European offices?
M: Well, I have heard people comment on the informality found in American offices. And this is certainly a little difficult for people who are more used to a hierarchical system, of course. But there are some very formal offices, too, say, in... in big banks, law firms and major corporations. But in many establishments with fewer employees the atmosphere is loose and easy with a lot of joking, and teasing, and wandering in and out of offices among all levels of employees.
W: Well, that sounds quite interesting. I think that's all I want to know really. Thank you very much.
M: My pleasure.
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
News Item 1(For Question 11)
President Clinton begins a 3-day campaign-styled trip to the western US later today to highlight his domestic agenda.
White House spokesman says crime, the most important issue for Americans this election year according to public opinion polls, will be a key theme of Pres ident Clinton's trips to California, Nevada and New Mexico. Mr. Clinton's pres um ptive Republican challenger, retiring Senator Bob Dole, has repeatedly disapprov ed of Mr. Clinton's record on fighting crime. The president is expected to argue that his policies have helped make American communities safer places. Mr. Clint on will also attend a number of political fund-raising events during his visits to California and Nevada.
News Item 2(For Questions 12-13)
Reports say Japan and the US have reached an agreement on their dispute ov er air-cargo transport rights in Asia.
The agreement will mean that Washington and Tokyo will renegotiate a 1952 Aviation Treaty which allowed American airlines to fly on from Tokyo to other pl aces in Asia but didn't allow Japanese airlines the same rights to fly on from America to other destinations. Tokyo has always said that the treaty was unfair and Japan has always wanted it changed.
According to the agreement, Japan will allow the American airline carrier Federal Express to fly on through Tokyo to 7 other destinations in Asia. Now Japan has always said it was happy to allow that, if the treaty was renegotiated. It does seem very clear that Japan has come out of this one on top.
This is certainly not the first dispute and it certainly won't be the last dispute, either. There are several outstanding areas of friction between Japan and the US. At the moment, they are negotiating about photographic film and photographic paper. It could take a year to resolve. But even where the two countries do reach agreement there is still room for argument. They reached this famous car agreement about a month ago. They are already bickering about it.
News Item 3(For Questions 14-15)
Scientists say they can tell what air and sea conditions were like hundreds of thousands of years ago. They say pieces of ice taken from Greenland provide such information.
Scientists took the ice from more than one-and-a-half mile deep in huge masses of ice that float on the sea. That is the deepest scientists ever have drilled for ice. The ice represents 25,000 years of history. It provides one of the clearest records of ancient weather. European and American scientific teams have been studying ice from the same area to confirm each other s findings. The scientists examine the ice that was formed each year. They measure the oxygen and carbon dioxide in the ice. These measurements tell about the years temperature.
From these measurements, the scientific teams say that the past 10,000 years is the only period during which the weather has not changed very much. Before that time, they believe very large, sudden changes in the weather were common. The ice appears to show that at some periods, earth's weather changed from very hot to very cold in only ten years.
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