[01:38.02]1
[01:41.35]M: I'm looking for an unfurnished two-bedroom apartment,
[01:45.20]but all your apartments are furnished.
[01:47.98]W: We can take care of that. We can simply remove the furniture.
[01:52.40]Q: What does the woman mean?
[02:08.99]2
[02:11.47]W: I don't agree with Mr. Johnson on his views about social welfare.
[02:16.34]He seems tosuggest that the poor are robbing the rich.
[02:20.38]M: He might have used better words to express his ideas.
[02:24.08]But I've found what he said makes a lot of sense.
[02:27.42]Q: What does the man mean?
[02:45.66]3
[02:48.29]W: I've been studying all the time,
[02:50.84]but I still can't see any improvement in my grades.
[02:54.47]M: Maybe instead of studying in your dorm,
[02:57.44]you'd better go some place where there are fewer distractions.
[03:01.70]Q: What does the man advise the woman to do?
[03:21.74]4
[03:24.29]W: The seminar originally scheduled for today has been cancelled.
[03:28.90]The hours I've spent preparing for it are totally wasted.
[03:33.06]M: Not really. As far as I know it's been postponed till next week.
[03:38.74]Q: What does the man say about the seminar?
[03:57.68]5
[04:00.21]M: Hi, Janet, I hear you've just returned from a tour of Australia.
[04:05.64]Did you get a chance to visit the Sydney Opera House?
[04:09.07]W: Of course I did.
[04:10.88]It would be a shame for anyone visiting Australia not to see this unique creation in architecture.
[04:18.28]Its magnificent beauty is simply beyond description.
[04:22.69]Q: What do we learn from this conversation?
[04:41.07]6
[04:43.35]M: Sherry, how are you doing with your thesis?
[04:46.99]W: Oh my thesis. That's something I definitely don't want to talk about right now.
[04:52.66]I finished my first draft some time ago.
[04:55.78]But my supervisor said I should do more research
[04:58.94]if I want to achieve the quality that he expects of me.
[05:02.58]Q: What do we learn from the conversation about the woman's thesis?
[05:22.14]7
[05:24.72]W: I can't believe Karen is late for such an importance occasion as a job interview.
[05:30.15]I reminded her time and again yesterday.
[05:33.34]M: You should have known her better by now.
[05:35.97]Everything you tell her goes in one earand out the other. .
[05:41.01]Q: What does the man imply?
[05:59.88]8
[06:02.10]W: Hi, Joe, I wonder if you could do me a favor and tell the professor I've lost my voice.
[06:08.34]So I can't attend this morning's class. I need time to study for tomorrow's exam.
[06:14.21]M: I don't think it's wise to say so.
[06:16.45]Since you're not going to give the lecture,
[06:19.34]you might as well simply skip the class and apologize to the professor later.
[06:24.92]Q: What will the woman probably do?
[06:44.43]9.
[06:46.75]M: After high school, I'd like to go to college and major in business administration.
[06:53.25]I really like power and enjoy telling people what to do.
[06:57.46]W: You're very ambitious.
[06:59.34]But I'd rather spend my college days finding out what children are interested in.
[07:04.62]Child's psychology is for me.
[07:06.95]Q: What do we learn from the conversation?
[07:26.10]10.
[07:28.57]M: It seems the restaurants here have little business these days.
[07:33.35]W: That's true. But ours is a scenic resort.
[07:36.74]And this is not the busy season.
[07:38.92]When summer comes, you'll see armies of tourists waiting in line in order to get a seat.
[07:45.48]Q: What do we learn from the conversation about the restaurants in the town?
[08:41.67]Passage 1
[08:44.56]Both John and Sue joined the staff of a successful public relations firm in New Yorkduring the same year.
[08:53.47]They had just completed their PR degrees at a nearby university
[08:59.20]and were thrilled to be hired by one of the finest PR firms in the city.
[09:04.84]John's first assignment was to create a promotion campaign for a client who was putting a new game on the market.
[09:13.66]Initially Sue was assigned to work with a sportswear companyon a marketing concept for its newest line of clothing.
[09:22.41]As time passed and work with their respective first clients became more and more difficult,
[09:29.49]John and Sue realizedthat they had been assigned two of the toughest clients in town.
[09:36.35]Although John completed his assignments quickly and successfully,
[09:41.36]he was furious when he learned that the boss had deliberately assigned him a difficult client.
[09:48.33]In response he not only complained to his colleagues but also to the boss's secretary.
[09:55.30]Sue, on the other hand,had a more difficult time satisfying her first client
[10:01.47]and she took several additional months to actually complete the assignment.
[10:06.94]However, she just laughed when sheheard that the boss had made the assignment purposely.
[10:13.51]Over the next two years, John worked reluctantly with each assignment and problem that he encountered.
[10:21.15]Sue accepted each assignment cheerfully.
[10:24.49]And when problems arose, she responded with her characteristic "No problem, I can handle it."
[10:31.24]Although Sue took longer to complete her projects than John
[10:35.85]and both were equally successful on the assignments they completed,
[10:40.31]Sue was given the first promotion when there came a vacancy.
[10:45.83]Questions 11 to 14 are based on the passage you have just heard.
[10:51.99]11. What's the relationship between John and Sue now?
[11:12.36]12. Why was John furious after he finished his first assignment?
[11:34.60]13. What's Sue's attitude to difficult tasks?
[11:56.89]14. How does the story end?
[12:15.82]Passage 2
[12:18.94]American visitors to Eastern Asia are often surprised and puzzled by how Asian cultures
[12:25.84]and customs differ from those in the United States.
[12:30.53]What's considered typical or proper social conduct in one country may be regard as odd,
[12:37.66]improper or even rude in the other.
[12:41.52]For example, people from some Eastern Asian countries may begin aconversation
[12:47.54]with a stranger by asking personal questions about family, home or work.
[12:53.16]Such questions are thought to be friendly,
[12:56.51]whereas they might be considered offensive in the United States.
[13:00.72]On the other hand, people in most Asian cultures are far more guarded
[13:06.54]about expressing their feelings publicly than most Americans are.
[13:11.55]Openly displaying annoyance or anger, yelling, arguing loudly
[13:17.62]and so forth is considered ill-mannered in countries such as Japan.
[13:23.28]Many Eastern Asians prefer to hold theiremotions in check
[13:28.01]and instead express themselves with great politeness.
[13:33.00]They try not to be blunt and avoid making direct criticisms.
[13:37.85]In fact, they often keep theirdifferences of opinion to themselves
[13:42.96]and merely smile and remain silent rather than engage in a confrontation.
[13:49.45]By comparison, Americans are often frank about displaying both positive
[13:54.31]and negative emotions on the street and in other public places.
[14:00.38]Americans visiting Asia should keep in mind that such behavior may cause offense.
[14:07.87]Amajor difference between Americans culture and most Eastern Asian cultures is that in Eastern Asia,
[14:16.06]the community is more important than the individual.
[14:20.17]Most Americansare considered a success when they make a name for themselves.
[14:27.17]Questions 15 to 17 are based on the passage you have just heard.
[14:34.36]15. How would some Asians start their conversation when they meet for the first time?
[14:59.14]16. What would a Japanese do when he feels annoyed?
[15:21.03]17. What is encouraged in American culture according to the passage?
[15:43.21]Passage 3
[15:46.43]In order for a chemical to be considered a drug,
[15:49.58]it must have the capacity to affect how the body works.
[15:54.02]No substance that has the power to do this is completely safe.
[15:59.26]Drugs are approved only after tests have demonstrated that
[16:03.61]they are relatively safewhen used as directed and when their benefits outweigh their risks.
[16:10.27]Thus some very dangerous drugs are approved
[16:13.78]because they are necessary to treat serious illnesses.
[16:17.64]Many people suffer ill effects from drugs called side effects,
[16:22.74]even though they take the drug exactly as directed.
[16:26.06]The human population contains a great variety of genetic variation,
[16:32.40]but drugs are tested on just a few thousand people.
[16:36.04]When a particular drug is taken by millions,
[16:39.32]some people may not respond in a predictable way, even though the drug has been tested.
[16:46.21]A patient may also acquire a tolerance for a certain drug,
[16:50.82]which means the patient has to take ever larger doses to produce the desired effect.
[16:56.70]To lerance may lead to habituation,
[16:59.53]in which the person becomes so dependent on the drug that he or she becomes addicted to it.
[17:05.79]Addition causes severe psychological and physical disturbances when the drug is taken away.
[17:12.16]Finally, drugs often have unwanted side effects.
[17:16.75]This usually causes only minor discomfort, such as a skin rash,headache or sleepiness.
[17:22.85]Certain drugs, however, can produce serious adverse reactions.
[17:28.37]Questions 18 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.
[17:34.38]18. Under what circumstances are drugs approved?
[17:56.46]19. Why do many people suffer side effects from a drug even though they take it asdirected?
[18:21.14]20. What will happen when patients acquire a tolerance for a certain drug?