听力原文：
Part ⅡListening Comprehension(25 minutes)
Section A
Kelly Swisher, an Arkansas woman, escaped injury and managed to safely stop her car after a 4-foot-long rat snake came out from under her car seat and slid across her feet as she was driving down the highway. Rat snakes aren’t poisonous or a threat to people generally. But the woman says the snake she encountered Thursday terrified her out of her wits. “It was rough, with big scales,” said Swisher, who was on her way to pick up her friend at the airport when it happened. “I don’t know whether I had my hands on the steering wheel or not. I am not the most flexible person in the world, but I can guarantee my knees were up next to my ears.” She said the snake first slid back under the seat, and she hoped it would stay there until she was able to get off the highway and stop. “That didn't work out,” she said. “Here he comes, and he wound up in my back seat before I could finally get off the road, stop and get out of the car.” She called for help. And Washington County animal control officers came and captured the snake.
Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.
1.How did Kelly Swisher feel when she first came across the rat snake?
2.What does the report say about the snake?
Fast food, it turns out, isn’t quite as fast as it used to be. A new study finds that McDonald’s posted its slowest drive-through times since this survey was first conducted fifteen years ago. At McDonald’s, customers will spend on average three minutes and nine seconds from the time they place their orders until they receive their food. That’s about ten seconds more than the industry average – and a lot slower than a decade ago, according to the study, which was commissioned by QSR, an industry trade publication. And McDonald’s wasn’t alone in slowing down: Other chains also saw their drive-through performance slow down. Among the reasons for the slower service, today there are more choices on the menu, and the products themselves are more complex and take longer to prepare. Speed, of course, is essential to the drive-through experience. And drive-throughs are hugely important to chains, such as McDonald's, Burger King and Taco Bell. “Usually the drive-through accounts for sixty to seventy percent of all business that goes through a fast-food restaurant,” notes Sam Oches, editor of QSR. Of course, consumers also want their orders prepared correctly and on that score, Oches says, “accuracy is still really high.”
Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.
3.What is the news report mainly about?
4.What has slowed down McDonald's drive-through service?
The first private mission outside of Earth’s orbit is closer than many of us think. U.S. government officials are set to approve a mission by privately-held space company Moon Express to travel outside of Earth’s orbit in late 2017. Moon Express’s mission involves plans to land a suitcase-sized package of scientific equipment on the moon for ongoing exploration and commercial development. The decision involved months of lobbying and coordinated conversations between a number of federal agencies. Under international treaties, the U.S. is responsible for the cargo of both public and private spacecraft. This makes commercial space travel a complex legal issue not just domestically, but abroad. A Moon Express representative declined to comment on this story but noted that the company is very optimistic about its proposal. Moon Express is not the only company seeking for the right to travel to outer space. Elon Musk's SpaceX aims to send an unmanned aircraft to Mars by 2018.
Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.
5.What is the news report mainly about?
6.What is Moon Express planning to do?
7.What does Moon Express think of its mission?
Section B
M: Hey, Sophia, how are you doing?
W: Hi, Bob, I’m good, thanks. Actually, I’m on holiday with my family in Thailand at the moment, although I wish it were with my friends instead.
M: Really? You never said you were going to Thailand. How I envy you!
W:I’ve only been here a week. But, you know, Thailand is an amazing place. I’m having a great time here. In fact, I am now lying on the beach in Phuket. I’ve been in the sun for around fifteen minutes only and I’m already getting sunburned. Have you been here before?
M: No, I wish I had. What else have you been doing in Thailand besides enjoying the sun?
W:Well, I met a guy from Germany yesterday. He showed me around the orphanage he works at. There, I met many volunteer teachers who are mainly young people from Europe.
M: Ah, that’s interesting.
W: Yes. I also made a new little friend, Sarah. She was so cute. I was so sad when we had to leave at the end of the day. If I ever come back to Thailand, I’d definitely visit this place again as a volunteer.
M: Well, you can tell me all about it when you get back. My phone battery is almost dead now. Remember to get me something from the souvenir shops. I like to collect bits and pieces from different parts of the world. Bye now. Enjoy yourself, Sophia.
Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
8.What does the woman say she is doing now?
9.What did the woman do yesterday?
10.Why does the man have to end the conversation?
11.Why does the man ask the woman to bring him something from Thailand?
W: Hi, David. There’s a new gym opening in town today. Would you like to go with me this afternoon?
M:Yes, more than glad to. I haven’t been to a gym for ages. I need to do some exercise to tone up.
W:Then this is a good chance. They sent me an invitation with a note saying I could take a friend for free on the first day. Also, if we both sign up before Friday, we can get a discount on a six-month membership.
M:Great. Count me in. I really want to lose some of this belly fat and turn it into muscle. But I’m not sure which of the gym equipment would best help.
W:Well, I know expert of that, but I think you can try lifting weights and do at least 200 sit-ups twice a day.
M: I’ve never tried weight-lifting before. Is it dangerous?
W: No, not at all, if you know some of the basics. Don’t worry. I’ll show you the ropes. I used to practice this at another gym before my membership ended. I’ll be your personal trainer.
M: Thank you. What other equipment do they have?
W:Well, like all gyms, they have all sorts of things to help build up muscles in different parts of the body, like applied bicycles, chest stretching machines, and running machines. You could use any of these to suit your purpose. Now the gym opens at noon. So can we meet up in town at 1:30 p.m.?
M: Perfect. See you there, coach.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
12.What are the speakers talking about?
13.What does the gym offer at its opening?
14.What is the man concerned about?
15.What do we learn about the woman from the conversation?
Section C
In today’s job market, it’s not uncommon for job seekers to submit applications for many positions. That involves lots of time and lots of work to organize. Certainly, you don’t want to waste your precious hours on following the developments in a disorderly fashion and miss important deadlines, confuse interview times, or forget to follow up as a result. Accordingly, managing your job search properly is just as important as identifying job opportunities and submitting your applications. If you are familiar with Microsoft Excel or a similar program, creating a table is a simple and effective way to keep track of your job applications. If Excel isn’t quite your cup of tea, don’t worry, you can create a table in Microsoft Word or a similar word processor. Google is another tool to help you get organized effectively. If you have a Gmail account, you can create, save and send tables in addition to written documents like your cover letter and resume. You can also link up with Google calendar to make sure you stay on top of important dates. Clearly, there are plenty of ways to keep track of your job search and making the effort to simplify your job search will pay off. Nevertheless, you should always focus on quality, not quantity. Only apply for positions you are qualified for, and make each application count, personalizing each cover letter, and updating and editing your resume.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.
16.What does the speaker say about today's job seekers?
17.What can job applicants do with the help of Google?
18.What does the speaker suggest job seekers do?
Some people say, if kids didn’t have to go to school, they’d all be out in the streets. My reply is “No, they wouldn’t.” First, even if school stayed just the way they are, children would spend at least some time there, because that’s where they’d be likely to find friends. Second, schools wouldn’t stay the way they are. They’d get better, because we would have to start making them what they ought to be right now. Last, if we stirred up our brains and gave children a little help, those who did not want to go to school could find other things to do – things many children now do during their holidays. There’s something easier we could do. We need to get kids out of the school buildings, give them a chance to learn about the world at first hand. In Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon, plans are being drawn up for public schools that won’t have any school buildings at all. That will take the students out into the city and help them to use it and its people as a resource. In other words, students perhaps in groups, perhaps independently, will go to libraries, museums, exhibitions, courtrooms, radio and TV stations, meetings, businesses, and laboratories to learn about their world and society at first hand. A small private school in Washington is already doing this. It makes sense. We need more of it.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
19.What are some people worried about according to the speaker?
20.What does the speaker think we could do for kids who dislike school?
21.What does the speaker say is the easier thing we could do?
Before there was the written word, there was the language of dance. Dance expresses love and hate, joy and sorrow, life and death, and everything else in between. Dance in America is everywhere. We dance from Florida to Alaska, from horizon to horizon, and coast to coast. We dance at weddings, birthdays, office parties, or just to fill the time. “I adore dancing,” says Lester Bridges, the owner of a dance studio in a small town in Iowa. “I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life.” Bridges runs dance classes for all ages. “Teaching dance is wonderful. My older students say it makes them feel young. It’s marvelous to watch them. For many of them, it’s a way of meeting people and having a social life. So why do we dance? I can tell you about one young couple,” says Bridges. “They arrive at the class in a bad mood, and they leave with a smile. Dancing seems to change their mood completely.” So do we dance in order to make ourselves feel better, calmer, healthier? Andrea Hillier, a dance teacher, says, “Dance, like the rhythm of a beating heart, is life. Even after all these years, I want to get better and better. I keep practicing even when I’m exhausted. I find it hard to stop. Dancing reminds me I’m alive.”
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
22.What does the passage say about dance in America?
23.What do we know about Lester Bridges’ dance studio?
24.What happened to the young couple after they attended Lester Bridges’ class?
25. What did Andrea Hillier say about dancing?
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