六级听力练习IV 录音文字

Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear two long conversations.At the end of each conversation, you will hear some questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once.After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D).Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1with a single line through the centre. Conversation One W: Today's guest on "Science Update" is David Brown. Dr. Brown, you and your team have found bacteria far below the Earth's surface. You must be thrilled about your discovery. M: Well, yes, it's very exciting. For a long time we'd suspected the presence of such organisms, but we lacked substantial evidence. W: How did you confirm the existence of the bacteria? M: Well, technology helped. Our drilling techniques have improved significantly, and so the risk that surface bacteria could be mistaken for those found at much greater depth was reduced. With the new techniques, we could get much deeper into the Earth. W: How far down did you actually get? M: In one case, about three kilometers. We were surprised, I must tell you, that there were organisms that far down. W: You know, it sounds like fiction, something like a lost world. M: Let's call it a hidden biosphere, and it's probably a very extensive one. The mass of the living organisms below the surface may be equal in size to the mass of the surface bacteria. W: Have you found any unique life-forms? M: Yes. We've found a very special organism. Let's call it Type-A bacterium. It can live and grow only where there is no oxygen. W: Is there any danger of these bacteria infecting people when you bring them to the surface? M: These bacteria were adapted to an environment that's completely different from humans'. That's to say, they could not survive in our environment. So we really don't need to worry about these bacteria causing illness in people. Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 1. What have Dr. Brown and his team discovered? 2. What helps to confirm the existence of bacteria below the Earth's surface? 3. How deep down did the man find the bacteria? 4. Why does the man say there is no danger of infection by the bacteria brought to surface? Conversation Two W: I haven't seen you here for a couple weeks. Have you stopped eating or something? M: No. Does it look like I've stopped eating? I've been spending a lot of time in the library. W: Working on a paper? M: I wish I was working on a paper! I'm working on three different papers:anthropology, English literature, and history. W: Wow, that is a lot of work. M: Yeah, and what's frustrating is that I'm studying the nineteenth century British Empire in all three classes, but I can't just write a single paper for all three. W: Why not? M: The professors won't let me even if I make it three times as long as the suggested length. W: That's too bad. Could you write your papers on three aspects of one topic? M: Hmm. What do you mean? Do you have something in mind? W: Well, let's see. Hmm...Maybe you could do something with Romanticism, like, oh... write your anthropology paper on the cultural basis of Romanticism, and, uh, your history paper on the influence of the Romantic poets on British foreign policy, and, OK, and your English paper on an analysis of some Romantic poems. M: Hey, that's not a bad idea! I've already started the research for one of the papers, so I can use that. What can I do to repay you? W: You want to write up my chemistry paper for me? M: I'd love to, but I've never taken chemistry, so I'm not sure you'd like the results. W: Oh well, no thanks necessary then. I'll do it myself. Have a good weekend, and try to get out of the library and get some sleep. You have big circles under your eyes. M: OK, I'll try. See you later. Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 5. What has the man been busy doing recently? 6. What does the woman suggest the man do to make his work easier? 7. Why does the woman mention Romanticism? 8. Why doesn't the man want to help the woman? Section B Directions: In this section, you will hear two passages.At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions.Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once.After you hear a question, you must choose the best answerfrom the four choices marked A), B), C) and D).Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1with a single line through the centre. Passage One I hope you have all finished reading the assigned chapter on insurance-so that you're prepared for our discussion today. But, before we start, I'd like to mention a few things your text doesn't go into. It's interesting to note that insurance has existed in some form for a very long time. The earliest insurance policies provided shipping protection for merchants as far back as 3000 B. C. In general, the contracts were often no more than verbal agreements. They granted loans to merchants with the understanding that if a particular shipment of goods was lost at sea, the loan didn't have to be repaid. Interest on the loans varied according to how risky it was to transport the goods. During periods of heavy piracy at sea, for example, the amount of interest and the cost of the policy went up considerably. So, you can see how insurance helped encourage international trade. Even the most cautious merchants became willing to risk shipping their goods over long distances-not to mention in hazardous weather conditions-when they had this kind of protection available. Generally speaking, the basic form of an insurance policy has been pretty much the same since the Middle Ages. There are four points that were prominent then and remain dominant in all policies today. These were outlined in chapter six and will serve as the basis for the rest of today's discussion. Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard. 9. Who were the first insurance contracts designed to protect? 10. What determined the interest on the loans? 11. What does the speaker say about current insurance policies? Passage Two Milk was a basic food of man long before history was written. It will probably keep on being one as long as there are animals that give milk. Many ancient people thought that milk had great healing power. One of the most famous Greek doctors told his patients to drink milk to cure illness. For more than two hundred years most people got their milk from their own cattle or from a nearby dairy herd. But in time new inventions made the dairy industry a big business. In 1851 Gail Borden, founder of a milk company, found a way to take some of the water out of milk. This made it keep much longer. Four years later, Louis Pasteur introduced the pasteurization process. This process killed the bacteria in milk that caused it to spoil. Next, a special milk bottle was designed. This was followed by the invention of machines that could fill bottles and cap them automatically. These discoveries had a great effect on the dairy industry. They meant that milk could be stored longer. It could be safely shipped over long distances. Preparing and distributing milk soon became a large-scale business. Recently, in a single year more than sixty billion quarts of milk were sold in the United States. Some people believe that milk drinking will become less popular in America than it has been. But remember how long milk has been a basic food and think of the many ways in which it is useful. It seems safe to say that the milk industry will always be important. Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard. 12. What did ancient people think about milk? 13. Why did milk become a big business? 14. What invention made milk keep longer in 1851? 15. What does the speaker think of the milk industry in the future? Section C Directions: In this section,you will hear recordings of lectures or talksfollowed by some questions.The recordings will be played only once.After you hear a question,you must choose the best answerfrom the four choices marked A), B), C) and D).Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1with a single line through the centre. Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 16 to 19. Fifty years ago, when I began exploring the ocean, no one imagined that we could do anything to harm the ocean by what we put into it or by what we took out of it. It seemed, at that time, to be a sea of paradise, but now we know that we are facing paradise lost. I want to share with you my personal view of changes in the sea that affect all of us, and to consider why it matters that in 50 years, we've lost---actually, we've taken, we've eaten---more than 90 percent of the big fish in the sea; why you should care that nearly half of the coral reefs have disappeared; why a reduction of oxygen in large areas of the Pacific should concern not only the creatures that are dying, but it really should concern you. It does concern you, as well. There was still time. Well, now is that time. I hope for your help to explore and protect the wild ocean in ways that will restore the health and, in so doing, secure hope for humankind. Health to the ocean means health for us. For me, as a scientist, it all began in 1953when I first tried underwater breathing device. It's when I first got to know how fish swimming in mysterious ocean. I actually love diving at night; you see a lot of fish then that you don't see in the daytime. Since then, I've started designing and building 13 underwater systems to access the deep sea. I led a five-year National Geographic expedition, the Sustainable Seas expeditions, using these little submarines. They're so simple to drive that even a scientist can do it. And I'm living proof. Over time, most of the planet's organic carbon has been absorbed and stored there. The ocean drives climate and weather, stabilizes temperature, shapes Earth's chemistry. Water from the sea provides home for about 97 percent of life in the world, maybe in the universe. No water, no life; no blue, no green. A global plan of action with a world conservation union is underway to protect biodiversity, to recover from the impacts of climate change. New technologies are needed to map, photograph and explore the 95 percent of the ocean that we have yet to see. I wish you would use all means at your disposal---films, expeditions, the web, new submarines---and campaign to arouse public support for a global network of marine protected areas---hope spots large enough to save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet. 16. What was beyond imagination when the speaker began to explore the ocean 50 years ago? 17. What should we worry about in the Pacific except for the dying creatures? 18. How long has the National Geographic expedition led by the speaker lasted? 19. What is the purpose for the global plan of action? Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 20 to 22. Financially speaking, makeup can be a burden. By one estimate, a woman in the US will spend an average of $15,000 on makeup in her lifetime. The fact is that the ingredients in these products often account for no more than 15% of the cost, according to Randy Schueller, a cosmetic chemist who has been in the beauty business for more than 30 years. What people are mainly paying for is marketing, packaging, and brands. That's why lipstick, for example, which is mostly wax, oil, and pigments, routinely costs more than $20 a tube at a department store makeup counter. Schueller says that, because ingredients are such a small share of the cost, "price does not really relate to quality when it comes to cosmetic products." In fact, packaging has become such a focus in the industry that there are actually awards given out for it. Where the makeup is sold matters, too. It's a form of marketing in itself, which is evident when you consider the difference between upscale brands carried at retailers such as Sephora and Ulta and mass-market brands sold at drugstores. Karen Grant, the global beauty industry analyst at research firm NPD, says they're two different models, and consumers pay for that difference. At higher-end stores, you "pay for the display areas and the people who are helping to sell the product, whereas in a mass environment it can be sealed up behind a package and sit on a shelf," she says. High-end shops also often make tester items available, and may accept returns even on used items. It simply costs a retailer more to be profitable in that environment, and those costs are factored into the price tags on the products. There's evidence that consumers are buying into famous brands at increasing rates. Sales in the global cosmetics market are rising-to $56.9 billion last year, according to Euromonitor and are expected to keep growing. But it's not because the price of makeup is getting more expensive. In fact, it hasn't. What should a consumer do? Know what you're looking for. If you want a lipstick that will last, then go with one designed for that. But don't assume that more expensive means better. More than anything else, what the price of makeup simply reflects is the price that you're willing to pay for it. 20. What do we learn about Randy Schueller according to the speaker? 21. What is Randy Schueller's conclusion about ingredients as a small share of the cost? 22. What is the evident of more and more consumers buying into famous brands? Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 23 to 25. Mountain of Light, one of the world's best-known diamonds, is on the Queen Elizabeth's crown. But the Indians want it back. A group of Indian stars and businessmen has united to instruct lawyers to begin legal proceedings in London's High Court to return the Mountain of Light diamond. The group says that the 105-carat diamond worth a reported ￡100m was stolen from its true home in India and they are demanding that the UK Government returns it. The diamond was in the crown worn by the Queen Elizabeth at her crowning ceremony in 1953. Bollywood star Bhumicka Singh, also part of the group, said: "The Mountain of Light is not just a 105-carat stone, but part of our history and culture and should undoubtedly be returned." British Lawyers instructed by the "Mountain of Light" group to return the stone, said they would base their case on the Return of Cultural Objects Act, which gives national institutions in the UK the power to return stolen art. Satish Jakhu, of Birmingham-based law firm Rubric Lois King, said they would make their claim under the common law doctrine of "trespass to goods", arguing that the government had stolen the diamond. He added that they would be taking their case to the International Court of Justice. Historian Andrew Roberts told the Mail on Sunday:"Those involved in this ridiculous case should recognize that the British Crown Jewels is precisely the right place for the Mountain of Light diamond to reside, in grateful recognition for over three centuries of British involvement in India, which led to the modernization, development, protection, agrarian advance, linguistic unification and ultimately the democratization of the sub-continent." According to legend, the gem can only be worn by God or women, and whoever wears the jewel will become extremely powerful, but if a man wears it, he will meet an unfortunate end. The UK Government has so far rejected the claims. 23. What do the Indian stars and businessmen want to do? 24. What is the use of the Return of Cultural Objects Act? 25. What will a man become if he wears the diamond according to the legend?