2012年12月英語六級聽力原文—短文

Part III Listening Comprehension

Section B

Passage 1

Since I started working part-time at a grocery store, I have learned that a customer is more than someone who buy something. To me, a customer is a person whose memory fails entirely once he or she starts to push a shopping card. One of the first things customers forget is how to count. There is no other way to explain how so many people get in their express line, which is clearly marked 15 items or less, with 20, 25 or even a cart load of items. Customers also forget why they came to the store in the first place. Just as I finish ringing up an order, a customer will say, “Oops, I forgot to pick up a fresh loaf of bread. I hope you don’t mind waiting while I go get it.” Five minutes later, he’s back with the bread, a bottle of milk, and three rolls of paper towels. Strange is that seems customers also seem to forget that they have to pay for their groceries. Instead of writing a check or looking for a credit card while I am ringing up the groceries, my customers will wait until I announce the total. Then, in surprise, she says, “Oh no, what did I do with my check book?” After 5 minutes of digging through her purse, she borrows my pen because she’s forgotten hers. But I have to be tolerant of customers because they pay my salary, and that’s something I can’t afford to forget.

Q26. What does the speaker say about customers’ entering the grocery A scientific team is studying the thinking ability of eleven and half month old children. The test is a simple one. The baby watches a sort of show on a small stage. In Act One of the show, a yellow cube is lifted from a blue box, and moved across the stage. Then it is returned to the box. This is repeated 6 times. Act Two is similar except that the yellow cube is smaller. Baby boys do not react at all to the difference and the size of the cube. But girls immediately become excited. The scientists interpret the girls’ excitement as meaning they are trying to understand what they have just seen. They are wondering why Act Two is odd and how it differs from Act One. In other words, the little girls are reasoning. This experiment certainly does not definitely prove that girls start to reason before boys, but it provides a clue that scientists would like to study more carefully. Already it is known that bones, muscles and nerves develop faster in baby girls. Perhaps it is early nerve development that makes some infant girls show more intelligence than infant boys. Scientists have also found that nature seems to give another boost to girls. Baby girls usually talk at an earlier age than boys do. Scientists think that there is a physical reason for this. They believe that the nerve endings in the left side of the brain develop faster in girls than in boys, and it is this side of the brain that strongly influences an individual’s ability to use language and remember things.

Q26. What is the difference between Act One and Act Two in the test?

Q27. How do the scientists interpret their observation from the experiment?

Q28. What does the speaker say about the experiment?

Q29. According to scientists, what is another advantage given to girls by nature?

store?

Passage 2

A super attendant of the city municipal building, Dillia Adorno, was responsible for presenting its new security plan to the public. City employees, citizens and reporters gathered in the hall to hear her describe the plan. After outlining the main points she would cover, she assured the audience that she would be happy to answer questions at the end of her presentation. Dillia realized the plan was expensive and potentially controversial. So she was not surprised to see a number of hands go up as soon as she finished speaking. An employ asked, “Would the new system create long lines to get into the building like the line in the airport security checks?” Dillia had anticipated this question and had an answer ready. After repeating the question, she explained that the sufficient number of security guards would be working at peak hours to speed things along. The next question was more confrontational.”Where was the money come from to pay for all of this?”The journalists who ask the question seem hostile. But Dillia was careful not to adopt the defensive tone. She stated that the money would come from the city’s general budget. “I know these are tide times”, she added, “But everyone agrees on the importance of safe guarding our employees and members of the public who come into the building.” Near the end of the 25 minutes she has said, Dillia said she would take two more questions. When those were finished, she concluded the session with a brief restatement of how the new system will improve security and peace of mind in the municipal building.

Question 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.

30. What is the focus of Dillia Adorno’s presentation?

31. What question had Dillia Adorno anticipated?

32. What did the speakers think of the question from the journalist?

Passage 3

Despite unemployment and the lost of her home, Andrea Clark considers herself a blessed and happy woman. Why the cheerful attitude? Her troubles have brought her closer to her family. Last year, Andrea’s husband, Rick, a miner in Nevada was laid off. Though Andrea kept her job as a school bus driver, she knew that they couldn’t pay their bill and support their youngest of five children, Zack, age nine, on one income. “At first their church helped out, but you can’t keep that up forever”, Andrea says. Then Michal, their eldest of her four adult children suggested they move in with his family. For almost three months, seven Clarks lived under one roof. Andrea, Rick and Zack stayed in the basement department, sharing laundry and single bathroom with Michal, his wife and their two children.

The change cut their expenditures in half, but the new living arrangement proved too challenging. When Andrea found a job with a school district closer to her mother’s home in west Jorden, Utah, the family decided to move on. Packing up again with no picnic, Zack had to switch schools for the second time and space is even tighter. Andrea says that the moves themselves are exhausting and Rick is still looking for a job.

The recession has certainly come with more problems than Andrea anticipated, but she remains unfailingly optimistic. She is excited to spend more time with her mother. Another plus, rents are lower in Utah than in Nevada. So Andrea thinks they’ll be able to save up and move out in less than 6 months.

QUESTIONS 33-35 ARE BASED ON THE PASSAGE YOU HAVE JUST HEARD.

Q33 What do we learn about Andrea’s husband?

Q34 Why did Andrea move to live in her eldest son’s home?

Q35 What is Andrea’s attitude toward the hardships brought by the economic recession?