21st Century College English (Book 3)
Achievement Test (B)
for Final Examination
Part I Listening Comprehension
(20%)
Section A (10%)
Directions: In this section, you will hear two conversations. Each conversation will
be read twice. After the first listening, try to get the main idea of the conversation.
Listen again and read the questions and the four choices marked A), B), C), and D),
and decide which is the best answer. Then blacken the corresponding letter on the
Answer Sheet.
Questions 1 to 5 are based on the passage you have just heard.
1. When did the woman see her doctor last time?
A) About three months ago.
B) About three weeks ago
C) About three days ago.
D) About three years ago.
2. What happens to the woman every year around the holidays?
A) She gets ill.
B) She doesn’t sleep well.
C) She puts on weight.
D) She thins down a lot.
3. Which of the following symptoms doesn’t a flu have?
A) Fever.
B) Paleness.
C) Cough.
D) Chill.
4. What does the doctor suggest the woman do when she mentions living in the
dormitory?
A) Lie in bed and have a good rest.
B) Get vaccinated against the flu at the university health center.
C) Get some medicine at a drug-store.
D) Isolate herself from her roommates immediately.
5. Why does the woman go to see the doctor?
A) She doesn’t feel well right now.
B) She has been sick for quite long.
C) She is interested in prevention.
D) She visits the doctor every three months.
Questions 6 to 10 are based on the passage you have just heard.
6. Why was the woman able to give Larry so much information about the job?
A) She once worked as Professor Jamason’s assistant.
B) She is a close friend of Professor Jamason.
C) She is in charge of the interview.
D) She is Professor Jamason’s secretary.
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7. What’s her hourly pay when the woman was working at the school post office?
A) 8 dollars.
B) 10 dollars.
C) 5 dollars.
D) 7 dollars.
8. How many hours did the woman usually spend every week when she worked as
Professor Jamason’s assistant?
A) About 3 hours.
B) About 4 hours.
C) About 8 hours.
D) About 6 hours.
9. What is Larry mainly concerned about?
A) How much he will get a week.
B) How much time the job may take.
C) Whether he is able to handle everything.
D) Whether his computer skills are good enough.
10. Why was Larry interested in working as professor Jamason’s assistant?
A) He could earn a living himself.
B) He could learn to use the computer.
C) He had spare time to do it.
D) It would be a good experience for him to becoming a teacher.
Section B (10%)
Directions: In this section you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage,
you will hear a number of questions. Both the passage and the questions will be read
only once. After you hear one question, you must choose the best answer from the
four choices marked A), B), C), and D). Then blacken the corresponding letter on the
answer sheet.
Passage I
Questions 11 to 13 are based on the passage you have just heard.
11. A. The government has overestimated population growth.
B. Britain wants to have the largest railway network.
C. It is due to competition between different companies.
D. It is because the government had not planned carefully.
12. A. To improve service.
B. To have free insurance.
C. To present small gifts.
D. To offer cheap tickets.
13. Which of the following is true about the British Railway service?
A. It’s less comfortable to travel by train than by car.
B. British trains run anywhere passengers want to go.
C. British trains are rather crowded during business hours.
D. Britain was the first to have a railway network.
Passage II
Questions 14 to 17 are based on the passage you have just heard.
14. A. All ads of one type are grouped together.
B. It charges advertisers much more money.
C. Now classified ads are all of the same size.
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D. It always uses headlines and pictures.
15. A. Houses for rent.
B. Lost people.
C. Jobs.
D. Real jewelry for sale.
16. A. They are in the frame of mind to buy anything.
B. They feel lost because there are so many ads.
C. They feel the same way as they look at display ads.
D. They are looking for something they need.
17. A. They don’t have display type.
B. They are more formal.
C. They are all of the same size.
D. They are more attractive.
Passage III
Questions 18 to20 are based on the passage you have just heard.
18. A. See where the fire is.
B. Open your window.
C. Feel the door.
D. Crawl on your hands and knees.
19. A. You take blankets or sheets.
B. The window is closed.
C. Door escape is the best way.
D. The fire is not flaming.
20. A. Move towards a wall.
B. Move to the window to let the smoke out.
C. Avoid breathing the smoke.
D. Wait for rescue.
Part II Reading Comprehension (40%)
Directions: There are some questions or unfinished statements in this part. For each of
them there are four choices marked A), B), C), and D). You should decide on the best
choice and blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
Polyester is now being used for bottles. ICI, the chemicals and plastics company,
believes that it is now beginning to break the grip of glass on the bottle business and
thus take advantage of this huge market.
All the plastics manufacturers have been experiencing hard times as their
traditional products have been doing badly world-wide for the last few years.
Between 1982 and 1984 the Plastics Division of ICI had lost a hundred and twenty
million dollars, and they felt that most hopeful new market was in packaging, bottles
and cans.
Since 1982 it has opened three new factories producing “Melinar”, the raw
material from which high quality polyester bottles are made. The polyester bottle was
born in the 1970s, when soft drinks companies like Coca Cola started selling their
drinks in giant two-litre containers. Because of the build-up of the pressure of gas in
these large containers, glass was unsuitable. Nor was PVC, the plastic which had been
used for bottles since the 1960s, suitable for drinks with gas in them. A new plastic
had to be made.
Glass is still cheaper for the smaller bottles, and will continue to be so unless oil
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and plastic become much cheaper, but plastic does well for the larger sizes.
Polyester bottles are virtually unbreakable. The manufacturers claim they are
also lighter, less noisy when being handled, and can be re-used. Shopkeepers and
other business people are unlikely to object to a change from glass to polyester, since
these bottles mean few breakages, which are costly and time-consuming. The public,
though, have been more difficult to persuade. ICI’s commercial department are
developing different bottles with interesting shapes to try to make them visually more
attractive to the public.
The next step could be to develop a plastic which could replace tins for food. The
problem here is the high temperatures necessary for cooking the food in the container.
21. According to the passage, plastics were first used for making bottles __________.
A) in 1982
B) in 1984
C) in the 1960s
D) in the 1970s
22. Why was ICI’s Plastics Division interested in producing polyester bottles?
A) Because its traditional products were not selling well.
B) Because glass manufacturers cannot make enough new bottles.
C) Because they have factories capable of producing them.
D) Because the price of oil keeps changing.
23. We can conclude from the passage that ___________.
A) polyester bottles are usually more attractive than glass bottles
B) polyester bottles are not suitable for glass drinks
C) the public prefer traditional glass bottles to polyester bottles
D) shopkeepers dislike re-usable polyester bottles
24. Manufacturers think polyester bottles are better than glass bottles because they
___________.
A) Are cheaper
B) are more suited to small sizes
C) are heavier
D) are not fragile
25. The last paragraph suggests that plastic containers for food ____________.
A) have been used for many years
B) will be available in the future
C) are possible, but only for hot food
D) are not worth manufacturing
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
One effective way of damaging happiness is to look at something and fix on even
the smallest flaw. It’s like looking up at a tiled ceiling and concentrating on the space
where one tile is missing. As a bald man told me, “Whenever I enter a room, all I see
is hair.”
Once you’ve determined what your missing tile is, explore whether acquiring it
will really make you happy. Then do one of three things: get is, replace it with a
different tile, or forget about it and focus on the tiles in your life that are not missing.
I’ve spent years studying happiness, and one of the most significant conclusions
I’ve drawn is this: there is little correlation between the circumstances of people’s
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lives and how happy they are. A moment’s reflection should make this obvious. We all
know people who have had a relatively easy life yet are essentially unhappy. And we
know people who have suffered a great deal but generally remain happy.
The first secret is gratitude. All happy people are grateful. Ungrateful people
cannot be happy. We tend to think that being unhappy leads people to complain, but
it’s truer to say that complaining leads to people becoming unhappy.
The second secret is realizing that happiness is a byproduct of something else.
The most obvious sources are those pursuits that give our lives purpose — anything
from studying insects to playing baseball. The more passions we have, the more
happiness we’re likely to experience.
Finally, the belief that something permanent transcends(超越) us and that our
existence has some larger meaning can help us be happier. We need a spiritual or
religious faith, or a philosophy of life.
Whatever your philosophy is, it should encompass this truism: if you choose to
find the positive in virtually every situation, you will be blessed, and if you choose to
find the awful, you will be cursed. As with happiness itself, this is largely your
decision to make.
26. What is the main idea of the text?
A) How to find the flaw in your happiness.
B) How to make your life happy.
C) A secret to your happy life.
D) A happy life relys on more passions.
27. By saying “whenever I enter a room, all I see is hair,” the bald man means
“_____________”.
A) we should try our best to look at bright parts of our life
B) we should compare our flaws with others’ merits
C) life is a fierce struggle for a better thing
D) the fact is that even if I am unhappy, others are happy
28. According to the writer, which of the following can be considered happy?
A) A man whose family ensures him of everlasting comfortable life.
B) A man who believes that nobody but himself can bring happiness to him.
C) A patient who is to die in a week but is grateful that life has given him enough.
D) A student who fails to graduate but worries nothing as he thinks life is still
going on.
29. By saying that “happiness is byproduct of something else”, the writer implies
“____________”.
A) studying insects can bring happiness
B) one can find boundless happiness in sports
C) life without passions is like a man without a secret
D) set up an aim and follow it and you will get rewarded
30. From the text the best policy in our life is to remain ___________.
A) pessimistic
B. indifferent
C. optimistic
D. secretive
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Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
We often wonder if we lead technology or technology leads us. In fact, each is
true. We invent something, then it develops a life all its own. Thomas Edison foresaw
nothing of the musical explosion initiated by his phonograph (he thought it would be
used to keep oral records of wills); Henry Ford imagined the auto as a farmer’s tool
(the Model T doubled as a tractor); radio was at first thought to be useful at best for
communication between ships at sea; television was just radio with pictures — visual
radio. No one saw it for what it became: the most powerful instrument of social
transformation in the latter half of the 20th century.
Television was America’s great equalizer. Radio and Hollywood had begun to
break down barriers that divided the country into regions, and TV accelerated the
process by codifying the imagery of desire (through advertising), of behavior (through
the classic sitcoms), of the world around us (through an electronic town green, the
news). When people in Maine looked at the same thing as people in California night
after night, a different sense of nationhood was imprinted on our consciousness.
Television reflected us, and directed us. One could chart a social history of the past 60
years with shows such as Lucy (married to an immigrant, she lived in the city but
pined for Connecticut), to the suburban Dick Van Dyke (he even worked in
television!), to All in the Family, with its intolerant Archie Bunker (the fractured ’70s)
and, finally, to Seinfeld (the absurdist, cynical ’90s).
The awareness of television’s impact came slowly. Asked in 1960 to name the
most powerful journalistic enterprise covering his presidential campaign, John
Kennedy picked Time magazine, even as he prepared for televised debates that many
think clinched his victory. Civil rights struggles were beamed into our homes, and the
brutal Birmingham police, seen alongside dignified Montgomery bus boycotters,
impressed upon viewers the righteousness or Martin Luther King’s campaign. Would
America’s commitment to the Vietnam war have proceeded without objection of war
had not become dinnertime fare in Iowa? Just as it forged a national identity, network
TV at its peak forced consensus upon a nation.
The technology of communication describes an arc across this century. The
telegram allowed us to send a single message to a single person. Then came
broadcasting — a farming term for the casting of seeds. The arrival of cable television
gave us narrowcasting — niche markets — and now, with the advent of the Internet,
we are again in an age of two-way messaging among the likeminded. It is possible
once more to ignore the national culture or to transcend it in favor of individual taste.
If so, then the heyday of network television may someday be seen as a seminal
moment in America’s cultural identity, a time when 200 some million could gather
together, hold hands and, in the flicker or the omnipresent tube, be a nation.
31. Which of the following could best be the title of the text?
A) History of TV
B) How TV Shaped America
C) TV Has Brought to America Equality
D) The Impact of Modern Technology
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32. “An electronic town green” in paragraph two most likely means “___________”.
A) a window to the world
B) B) a place relaxation
C) a means to get public opinions
D) a peaceful spot within the troubled world
33. The text implies that John Kennedy’s victory in the general election was mainly
due to __________.
A) his winning the debates
B) the Time coverage of his campaign
C) journalists’ support
D) his publicity after the televised debates
34. Everything happened because of TV except ___________.
A) the successful spread of the image of a new product
B) the wide acceptance of Martin Luther King’s ideology
C) the universal objection to America’s involvement in Vietnam War
D) a national high premium on civil rights
35. From the last paragraph, we can conclude that ___________.
A) two-way messaging will change one’s ideology in an instant
B) individualism will prevail in future life
C) the impact of TV technology on people will be even greater
D) the nation will have only one culture left
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
Drunken driving — sometimes called America’s socially accepted form of
murder — has become a national epidemic. Every hour of every day about three
Americans on average are killed by drunken drivers, adding up to an incredible
250,000 over the past decade.
A drunken driver is usually defined as one with a 0.10 blood alcohol content or
roughly three beers, glasses of wine or shots of whisky drunk within two hours.
Heavy drinking used to be an acceptable part of the American macho image and
judges were lenient in most courts, but the drunken slaughter has recently caused so
many well-publicized tragedies, especially involving young children, that public
opinion is no longer so tolerant.
Twenty states have raised the legal drinking age to 21, reversing a trend in the
1960s to reduce it to 18. After New Jersey lowered it to 18, the number of people
killed by 18-20-year-old drivers more than doubled, so the state recently upped it back
to 21.
Reformers, however, fear raising the drinking age will have little effect unless
accompanied by educational programs to help young people to develop “responsible
attitudes” about drinking and teach them to resist peer pressure to drink.
Tough new laws have led to increased arrests and tests and, in many areas
already, to a marked decline in fatalities. Some states are also penalizing bars for
serving customers too many drinks. A tavern in Massachusetts was fined for serving
six or more double brandies to a customer who was “obviously intoxicated” and later
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drove off the road, killing a nine-year-old boy.
As the fatalities continue to occur daily in every state, some Americans are even
beginning to speak well of the 13 years of national prohibition of alcohol that began
in 1919, what President Hoover called the “noble experiment”. They forget that legal
prohibition didn’t stop drinking, but encouraged political corruption and organized
crime. As with the booming drug trade generally, there is no easy solution.
36. Drunken driving has become a serious problem in America because __________.
A) most drunken drivers drive their cars at stop speed
B) most drivers regard heavy drinking as part of the American macho image
C) car accidents attract so much publicity
D) about 25,000 people on average are killed every year by drunken drivers
37. Why have the public changed their opinion about drunken driving?
A) Because detailed statistics on drunken slaughter are now available.
B) Because they are no longer tolerant of the drunken slaughter.
C) Because judges usually give more severe sentences to drunken drivers.
D) Because drunken drivers are more conscious of their image.
38. The statistics issued in New Jersey suggested that ___________.
A) many drunken drivers were not of legal age
B) young people were often bad drivers
C) raising the legal drinking age would have little effect on the reduction of tragedies
D) raising the legal drinking age would reduce the number of people killed by
drunken drivers
39. Laws recently introduced in some states have ___________.
A) reduced the number of convictions
B) resulted in fewer fatalities of traffic accidents
C) prevented bars from serving drunken drivers
D) specified the amount drivers can drink
40. What is the author’s attitude toward the solution of drunken driving in the United
States?
A) Realistic.
B. Casual.
C. Optimistic.
D. Pessimistic.
Part III Vocabulary
Section A (5%)
Directions: There are 10 incomplete sentences in this section. For each sentence there
are four choices marked A, B), C), and D). Choose the one that best completes the
sentence. Then blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.
41. Our car is a much older ___________ than yours.
A) model
B) pattern
C) design
D) production
42. One of his faults is that he never ____________ to anything very long.
A) sees
B) refers
C) sticks
D) turns
43. Paragliding is sport which ___________ people to work together.
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A) suggests
B) demands
C) leads
D) requires
44. Paragliding first __________ in Europe in the late 1980s.
A) invented
B) appeared
C) moved
D) arrived
45. The traffic is very ___________. It’s quicker to walk.
A) noisy
B) heavy
C) crowded
D) narrow
46. Free medical treatment in this country covers sickness of mind as well as ________
sickness.
A) normal
B) ordinary
C) average
D) regular
47. To be a good teacher, you must be able to __________ the attention and interest of
your students.
A) pay
B) fix
C) focus
D) hold
48. The actor has to ___________ exactly the same words each time he plays a certain
part in a play.
A) speak
B) repeat
C) act
D) perform
49. What he has to do is to make all these carefully ___________ words and actions
seem natural on the stage.
A) learnt
B) kept
C) formed
D) played
50. The teacher therefore has to ___________ his act to the needs of his audience.
A) suit
B) match
C) agree
D) put
Section B (10%)
Directions: There are 10 sentences in this section. Write a definition or synonym
of the italicized word on the Answer Sheet.
51. Your preference will be accommodated.
52. You should learn to make your own way in life.
53. For Americans, the idea of individual freedom is strongly positive.
54. She wrote the book is collaboration with her sister.
55. They are committed to supporting the International Space Station.
56. They lost their way, which delayed them considerably.
57. To be successful, applicants need to make their applications stand out, which plays
a crucial role in gaining a position.
58. We believe that he is competent to take up the task.
59. I will get around to answering letter one of these days.
60. You will stand a chance of getting a job with Master’s degree.
Part IV Cloze (10%)
Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four
choices marked A), B), C), and D) at the end of the passage. Choose the answer that
best fits into the context, and then blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer
Sheet.
There was a time when parents who wanted an educational present for their
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children would buy a typewriter, a globe or an encyclopedia set. Now those
61_____seem hopelessly old-fashioned: this Christmas, there were a lot of
62_____computers under the tree. 63_____that computers are their key to success,
parents are also frantically insisting that children 64_____taught to use them in
school-as early as possible.
The problem for schools is that when it 65_____computers, parents do not
always know best. Many schools are 66_____parental impatience and are purchasing
hardware 67_____sound educational planning so they can say, “Ok, we’ve moved
into the computer age.” Teachers 68_____themselves caught in the middle of the
problem-between parent pressure and 69_____educational decisions.
Educators do not even agree 70_____how computers should be used. A lot of
money is going for computerized educational materials 71_____research has shown
can be taught 72_____with pencil and paper. Even those who believe that all children
should 73_____to computer, warn of potential 74_____to the very young.
The temptation remains strong largely because young children 75_____so well to
computers. First graders have been 76_____willing to work for two hours on math
skills. Some have an attention span of 20 minutes. 77_____every school can afford to
go into computing, and that creates 78_____another problem: a division between the
haves and have-nots. Very few parents ask 79_____computer instruction in poor
school districts, 80_____there may be barely enough money to pay the reading
teacher.
61. A) items
62. A) private
63. A)Given
64. A) are
65. A) talks about
66. A) ignorant of
67. A) without
68. A)relied on
69. A) wise
70. A)on
71. A)however
72. A)equally
73. A)be open
74. A) approaches
75. A)adopt
76. A) watched
77. A) High
78. A) already
79. A) for
80. A) due that
B) toys
B)children
B) Provided
B) be
B) comes to
B) blaming
B)with
B) relaxed
B)clever
B) with
B) where
B)in the same way
B) have access
B)exposures
B)keep
B) seen
B)Not
B)of course
B) against
B)in any case
C) sets
C) school
C)Convinced
C) are being
C) turns to
C) yielding to
C) through
C)freed
C)slow
C) to
C)what
C)just as well
C)look
C) dangers
C) adapt
C) told
C) No
C) in addition
C) to buy
C)although
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D) series
D)personal
D)Believed
D) were
D) mentions
D) turning a deaf ear to
D) for
D) found
D)enough
D)about
D) that
D) not as well
D)turn
D) laziness
D)devote
D) taught
D)Any
D)yet
D) to use
D) where
Part V Writing (15%)
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition entitled a
letter to high school classmate. Your composition should be based on the following
outline given.
Your high school classmate Zheng Ping wrote you a letter yesterday, asking you to
attend a reunion next weekend. But unfortunately. You will have a business trip at that
time. So, write a note to her, telling her you cannot make it. You should write about 100
words.
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21st Century College English (Book 3)
Achievement Test (B)
for Final Examination
Keys
1.A
11.C
21.C
31.B
41.A
2.A
12.D
22.A
32.A
42.C
3.B
4.B
13.D 14.A
23.C 24.D
33.D 34.C
43.D 44.B
5.C
15.C
25.B
35.C
45.B
6.A
16.D
26.B
36.B
46.B
7.C
17.D
27.A
37.B
47.D
8.D
18.C
28.C
38.D
48.B
9.B
19.B
29.D
39.B
49.A
68.D
78.D
69.C
79.A
10.D
20.A
30.C
40.D
50.A
51-60 (for reference)
51. to be considered, to be taken care of , to make room for
52. to become successful through one’s own efforts
53. supported
54. in working together to produce sth.
55. to be decided to do sth.
56. a lot, quite a bit
57. extremely important
58. to have the ability to do sth.
59. to do sth. eventually
60. a possibility of success.
61.A
71.D
62.D
72.B
63.A
73.B
64.B
74.C
65.B
75.C
66.C
76.B
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67.A
77.B
70.A
80.D
21st Century College English (Book 3)
Achievement Test (B)
for Final Examination
Tape scripts
Part I Listening Comprehension
Section A
Directions: In this section, you will hear two conversations. Each conversation will be
read twice. After the first listening, try to get the main idea of the conversation. Listen
again and read the questions and the four choices marked A), B), C), and D), and
decide which is the best answer. Then blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer
Sheet.
Conversation One
W: Hello, doctor. I haven’t seen you for almost three months.
M: Now what seems to be the problem?
W: Actually I’m a little embarrassed about coming here. I feel fine right now. But
you know every year around the holidays likes clockwork I come down with
something.
M: So you’re interested in prevention. What symptoms do you usually get?
W: You know, cough, fever, running-nose, my head and bones ache, chills even.
I’m usually miserable for a week and it ends up ruining my holidays.
M: Sounds like a typical flu to me. As you said, lots of people have it. Influenza
often strikes when people are overtired, stressed out and not eating nutritious
food. And also you increase your exposure to a virus when you’re in big
crowds where lots of people are coughing and sneezing.
W: I certainly spend a lot of time in department stores around the holidays buying
gifts for people.
M: Yes. And so you increase your exposure to airborne viruses just when your
body’s resistance is already low from all the running around you do.
W: So what can I do to ward off the flu?
M: Actually it’s fairly simple. Get a lot of rest, eat well. That way your immune
system will be boosted. And you’ll be more able to fight off illness.
W: All these things make sense. But one more question. Aren’t I bound to get sick
anyway if there’s an outbreak in the dorm?
M: Oh, you didn’t mention you live in the dormitory. In that case, I’d also suggest
you get immunized. The vaccine available prevents three main types of
influenza. Why don’t you go to the university health center. The shots are free
there.
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W: I’ll do it right away. It will be nice to feel well during the holidays for once.
Conversation two
W: Hi, Larry, are you waiting to see Professor Jamason, too?
M: Yah, since I got one of the five highest grades in her managerial economics
class, she asked me if I’d be interested in working as her assistant next
summer. I’m here now for my interview.
W: Oh, yes. I know all about that job. I did it two years ago.
M: Really? Did you like it?
W: I think it was the best job I’ve had at school. It paid eight dollars an hour,
which was three dollars an hour more than I got working at the school post
office the year before.
M: That is a good salary. What did you do?
W: I was in charge of grading all the problem sets that were assigned as
homework. I never had trouble doing it, and of course, Professor Jamason was
always available to help me if I had any questions.
M: I think I’d enjoy doing that sort of work. It would be a very good experience
for anyone thinking about becoming a teacher.
W: Absolutely. You also learn how to use the computer data base, because the
records are kept on it, and building up your computer skills is a good
preparation for lots of jobs.
M: The job sounds great, but I’m a little worried about how much time it might
take?
W: It’s pretty reasonable. It never took me more than five hours a week to do all
the grading and then another thirty to forty minutes to record the grades on the
computer.
M: That sounds manageable.
W: By the way, you can do the grading in your room or in the library. You just
need to get each set back for the next class, but that means you always have at
least two days and sometimes four.
M: It sounds great.
W: Good luck with your interview.
Section B
Directions: In this section you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage,
you will hear a number of questions. Both the passage and the questions will be read
only once. After you hear one question, you must choose the best answer from the
four choices marked A), B), C), and D). Then blacken the corresponding letter on the
answer sheet.
Passage I
Britain was the first country in the world to develop a network of railways
joining major towns and cities with each other. In the 1840’s railway building became
intensive as different companies competed with each other to build lines. The result
was that Britain had a lot more railway lines than it needed, and in many cases trains
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didn’t run where the passengers wanted to go.
In modern times the old differences between the companies are supposed to have
disappeared. In place of the old competition between railway companies, there is now
competition between air travel, road travel and rail travel. British Rail faces the
competition by offering all sorts of cheap fares to encourage people to travel outside
business hours. Sometimes there are so many possibilities that even booking clerks at
stations don’t know. But in most cases, once a passenger has his ticket and manages to
catch his train, he can reach his destination more comfortably than if he had to drive
himself.
Questions 11 to 13 are based on the passage you have just heard.
11. Why does Britain have more railway lines than it needs?
12. How does British Rail face the competition with air travel and road travel?
13. Which of the following is true about the British Railway service?
Passage II
Classified Advertising is that advertising which is grouped in certain sections of
the paper and is thus distinguished from display advertising. Such groupings as “Help
Wanted”, “Lost and Found” are made, the rate charged being less than that for display
advertising.
It is evident that the reader approaches the classified advertisement in a different
frame of mind from that in which he approaches the other advertisements in the paper.
He turns to a page of classified advertisements to search for the particular
advertisement that will meet his needs. As his attention is voluntary, the advertiser
does not need to rely to much extent on display type to get the reader’s attention.
Formerly all classified advertisements were of the same size and did not have
display type. With the increase of such advertisements, each advertiser is trying to
attract the readers’ attention. Then the result has been an increase in the size and the
addition of headlines and pictures. It has in reality become a display advertisement.
Questions 14 to 17 are based on the passage you have just heard.
14. In what way is classified advertising essentially different from display advertising?
15. What might be found in “Help Wanted” ads?
16. What sort of attitude do people have when they look at classified advertisements?
17. What is true about the present classified advertisements?
Passage III
Is there anything you can do to help yourself and perhaps others as well-in a big
fire? Yes, indeed, you can escape or increase your chances of rescue if you use your
head and know what to do. If the smell of smoke wakes you up at night, don’t rush to
the door and fling it open. First feel it cautiously. If it is hot, don’t open it! Open your
window, call for help and wait to be rescued. The closed door will hold back heat,
flames and smoke for quite a long time. If the door is not hot, you can open it
carefully. Make sure that you’ve closed the window before opening door. Otherwise,
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suddenly receiving a supply of fresh air, a fire might burst into flames. If you must
escape through a room filled with smoke, crawl on your heads and knees, with your
face close to the floor where the air will be cleaner. But if you are lost in a smoke
filled room, you’d better make for a wall and then continue around it until you reach
the door.
If you must escape through a window, do not jump out of the window. You can
reduce the length of your fall by 6 or 7 feet by dropping properly. If you do not panic,
you may easily have time to knot blankets and sheets together, tie one end to a heavy
piece of furniture and climb down much or all of the way.
Questions 18 to20 are based on the passage you have just heard.
18. What should you do before opening a door?
19. What should you make sure before opening the door?
20. What should you do if you cannot find your way in a smoke filled room?
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