Test 2

Test Two
Part A
Directions:
You will hear 10 short dialogues. 
For each dialogue, there is one question and four possible answers. 
Choose the correct answer—A, B, C or D, and mark it in your test booklet. 
You will have 15 seconds to answer the question and you will hear each dialogue ONLY ONCE.


1. W: How much time did you have for drawing this picture? 
M: We were given 3 hours, but I finished 20 minutes earlier. 


2. M: I got a full mark in my maths exam.
W: That’s wonderful! You must be excited!
M: Yes, I am. I couldn’t sleep last night. 


3. W: Excuse me, could you tell me where the post office is?
M: There’s one upstairs, across from the dutyfree shop.


4. M: Are there any more questions on this lecture? Yes, Mary.
W: Dr.James, do you think students could be elected as president?


5. M: Sue, I’m going to paint the roof. Will you hold the ladder for me?
W: No problem. But be careful while you’re up there.


6. M: Susan likes life in the countryside, doesn’t she?
W: Yes. She lives there for several weeks every year.


7. M: Have you finished your homework?
W: Not yet.
M: But your teacher demands you finish it today.
W: I’ve got a headache today. I will try my best to hand it in tomorrow morning. 


8. W: Can you lend me the book? 
M: Sure. But can you promise to return it before the weekend?


9. W: Tom, do we have to listen to that?
M: Why? Don’t you like it?
W: Er, not particularly. Can we have something more peaceful?


10. W: I sent my son to a private boarding school, and they charged me a large sum of money. 
Do you know how much it costs a year?＄15,000!
M: But I think the tuition is worth every penny of it.


Part B
You will hear four dialogues or monologues. 
Before listening to each one, you will have 5 seconds to read each of the questions which accompany it. 
While listening, answer each question by choosing A, B, C or D. 
After listening, you will have 10 seconds to check your answer to each question. 
You will hear each piece ONLY ONCE. 
Questions 11-13 are based on the following passage about young Americans’ idea of a good meal.
You now have 15 seconds to read Questions 11-13.


The younger members of most American families don’t like foreign food. 
They like hamburgers. 
Their idea of a good meal is a hamburger, served with ketchup and French fried potatoes, which are called French fries. 
French fries are not considered foreign; most American children and teenagers love to eat them any time of the day or night. 
Millions of hamburgers and French fries are eaten every year. 
Thousands of roadside restaurants prepare and sell them. 
These are not really restaurants in the usual sense; they often have little space for tables and chairs.
Many people buy their hamburgers and take them home to eat, or eat them in their cars. 
Sometimes it is not necessary to go inside in order to buy the hamburgers. 
They are ordered through a window in the restaurant and then are handed out through the window to the waiting customer. 
Sometimes the customer does not even have to get out of his car. 
When an American family travels abroad, this is almost always the custom that the younger members of the family miss most.


You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to Questions 11-13.
Questions 14-17 are based on the following dialogue.
You now have 20 seconds to read Questions 14-17.


W: Hi, John!
M: Oh! Hi, Laura! What are you doing here?
W: Uh, I’m usually here on weekends. It’s my dad’s shop. So you are looking for a bike?
M: Yeah. Now that the weather is warming up, I think I should get some exercise instead of taking the bus all the time.
W: Well, you come to the right place. What would you like?
M: Well, I don’t want a racer or a touring bike or anything. Mostly I’ll just use it to get me back and forth from work.
W: How far is that?
M: About four miles.
W: Are there a lot of hills on the way?
M: Some. But maybe I should tell you at first that I only have 150 dollars. Can I get anything decent for that?
W: Well, you are not going to get anything top of the line. But we do have a few tradeins in the back that are in good condition.
M: That sounds good.
W: And you are right. For the kind of ride you are going to be doing, the most important thing is comfort. 
You’d better make sure it’s the right height for you. Follow me and I’ll show you what we’ve got.


You now have 40 seconds to check your answers to Questions 14-17.
Questions 18-21 are based on the following dialogue.
You now have 20 seconds to read Questions 18-21.


When Rachel was two years old, she often climbed onto the piano bench and reached for the violin that belonged to her mother, a 38-year-old professional musician.
“Please don’t touch, Rachel,” her mother scolded. The violin was, after all, worth more than ＄ 20,000.
But Rachel persisted, she longed to handle the graceful instrument that made beautiful sounds. 
Finally, on her third birthday, Rachel was handed a package: a tiny violin, about half the normal size.
Almost from the moment Rachel was born, her mother knew she was sensitive to music. 
For several years mother and daughter practiced together day after day. 
She was eager to learn. Failure often led to tears, though she never once turned from the instrument. 
Instead, she persisted until the problem was overcome.
One day Robert, an American musician, heard Rachel playing the violin. 
He couldn’t believe she was just eight years old. 
“She must make a tape and I will take it to the United States.” the American musician said.
A famous American violin teacher heard the tape. He, too, had difficulty believing his ears. 
The playing was absolutely astonishing. He immediately accepted her as a pupil and recommended her for a full scholarship. 
In 1982, Rachel and her mother moved to New York City, leaving behind a comfortable life in Japan.
You now have 40 seconds to check your answers to Questions 18-21.
Questions 22-25 are based on an interview between a reporter and Dr.Cole on the annual astronomy society meeting.
You now have 20 seconds to read Questions 22-25.
M: Doctor Cole, thank you for agreeing to this interview for the Daily Campus News. 
Can you tell us about what you and your colleagues discussed at the annual astronomy society meeting last month?
W: Sure. For the first time ever, the scientific community has established the existence of planets outside our own solar system. 
Of course we knew that certain distant stars existed. 
But only recently did we learn that several of them are orbited by their own planets.
M: Why did it take so long to locate these planets?
W: You have to understand that they are a billion times dimmer than their parent stars. 
It would be like trying to see the light of a candle next to a huge explosion. 
We don’t currently have a telescope that can be used to see them.
M: But if the astronomers didn’t see the planets through a telescope, how could they find them?
W: By an indirect method. It is hard to describe it with one or two words.
M: There is a powerful new telescope being built in Arizona. Will that help them see these planets?
W: They should be able to see them at least in the form of small spots of light, 
and then the scientists would be able to break down and analyze the light. 
By doing this, they hope to learn about the chemical composition of these planets.
M: I’m looking forward to hearing more when the telescope is in operation. And I’m sure our readers will be interested in it, too.
You now have 40 seconds to check your answers to Questions 22-25.
This is the end of Part B.
Now you have 3 minutes to transfer your answers from your test booklet to ANSWER SHEET 1.
That is the end of the listening comprehension section.